They made a positive start to the new Premier League by beating newly promoted Bournemouth, but the jury will still be out for a while when it comes to Aston Villa this season.
Losing their captain Fabian Delph and top scorer Christian Benteke during the summer, they have filled the gaps with players from the French market in particular, including midfielder Idrissa Gueye (Lille) and wing-back Jordan Amavi (Nice).
But are they being well run after years of stagnation and the owner Randy Lerner still trying to sell the club.
The Guardian Midlands football correspondent Stuart James spoke to Off The Ball and as well as assessing the summer action, he also spoke about the perception of manager Tim Sherwood, having kept the club up last season:
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
