Luck also plays its part. As do Fulham...If we had have beaten them in the Play-off final we would have carried on with Tony Xia in charge and Steve Bruce as a manager. That defeat meant that the HRMC missed payment became news and Xia had to sell up. Right price at the right time as Sawiris and Eadens were looking to buy a club. They then sacked Bruce and brought in Dean Smith which set us in the right direction. Yes, there have been missteps such as appointing Gerrard but thanks once again to Fulham a defeat to them saw Gerrard sacked and in the right place at the right time, Emery fancied the challenge (he'd turned down Newcastle before Howe got the job). It didn't take long before Christian Purslow was replaced for his Gerrard vanity project and underwhelming return on trying to increase our turnover.
The owners have been clear since they came in that their vision was to take us back to the very top again, and to stay there. Obviously, all owners say it but they are backing it with positive action (CL tickets aside...). We are well run from top to bottom and its been a great time to be a Villa fan given where we were 5 years ago. That said, as I mentioned, luck has also played its part, but its been mainly excellent decisions off the field, and getting in Unai Emery and given him complete fiefdom over Villa. He has been remarkable and we are lucky to have him.