You have to deal with disappointments following the Villa, Part 4 !!!!!!!

Friday saw me take a drive to Villa Park to see their 150th Anniversary Game, which had been deemed to be the Third Rond FA Cup game at home to West Ham. Tickets were reduced to £25 and less for children so another grandson was able to come along and see his first ever game at Aston Villa.

Other celebratory actions were the use of an Anniversary kit of black shirts, to pay homage to the original shirts that also had no sponsorship or player names on them. There were also items for sale in the club shop, which had lengthy queues, for £1.50, as well as a souvenir programme for the same price. Unfortunately only a few had been printed and although we entered the North Stand an hour early, there were none left, although they were for sale on eBay the next day at a very inflated price. Subsequent to this a new batch have been re-printed for sale to fans.

It was a cold clear night with the car temperature registering minus 4 degrees as we parked, and we were soon chilled on the way to the stadium, but inside, where there was a full house, it was warmer. There had been rumblings about Villa making this their anniversary match yet I felt the full house was a vindication considering the weather , a Friday night and the game being on TV. It also gave the chance for younger fans to attend and get their first taste of the Villa bug.

Villa fans were in good voice as too were the 6000 from West Ham who helped to create a good atmosphere.

Aston Villa 2 West Ham 1

Friday 10th February 2025 20.00 pm kick off F.A. Cup 3rd Round

Villa Park, Trinity Road, Aston, Birmingham, B6 6HE, Villains v Hammers

Villa; Black shirts, white shorts West Ham; White Shirts, claret shorts.

The noise ramped up as the game started with both sides looking to take control. A mistake trying to head clear a challenge in the centre of the pitch was swept out to the West Ham right and the ball was quickly moved forward to be centred which allowed Luca Paqueta to shoot low to the left of Olsen, in goal for Villa, maybe for the last time, into the corner of the net to take the lead with 9 minutes gone.

Villa looked sluggish at this point and continual sideways passes with no result were greeted with derision by the home fans. The continual probing didn’t lead to anything and their flow was disrupted on 23 minutes when Barkley was substituted for Onana after a leg injury, not long after Fullkrug had been replaced for West Ham by ex villain Danny Ings. The probing pattern of play continued for Villa, with West Ham occasionally making a quick break but neither side looked like adding to the score as the clock wound down to half time. A group of past players were warmly applauded when they walked around the pitch at the break.

The second half started without West Ham’s Summerville who had been influential in the visitors play.

Villa took more control yet still didn’t score even though they forced a series of corners. One corner from the right was swung in to be headed on by Tyrone Mings to Ezri Konsa at the back post who headed it down into the ground where it was spilled by Fabianski, the West Ham keeper, after an intervention by a defender. The ball was pounced on by the imposing Onana who poked it over the line. Should the Hammers goal Hero, Paqueta, not have fallen over next to Konsa, he would have been able to challenge his goalward header.

The goal signalled a resurgent Villa which was also helped by the immediate introduction of three substitutes. Five minutes after the goal, Yuri Tielemans released a long ground pass from deep in his own half to Emi Buendia, who had started with a positive go forward attitude, who swept the ball out to the left where Ollie Watkins raced into the Hammers penalty area and flashed the ball along the ground to Morgan Rogers who with one strike buried it into the net. A typical Villa goal under Unai Emery. The onslaught continued and only the left hand post stopped Jacob Ramsey’s beautiful curling shot from making it three.

Villa relaxed a little and it was their other substitute, Nedeljkovic who raced back at impressive speed to block a goalward bound shot. Villa fans were now in full flow and were relieved and pleased at their teams second half play. For 70 minutes I though that I would need to write ‘ You have to deal with disappointments following the Villa part 4’ but my influence had changed which I put down to wearing my claret and blue scarf, knitted by my mother 30 years ago, to keep me warm.

UP THE VILLA, even though I couldn’t get any chips with the huge queue, because all food and drink was £1.50 and the crowd was 40898.

Real Union Club, S.A.D.

Because I was passing and being an Aston Villa fan, I couldn’t resist popping in to see Real Union’s ground in Irun.

Real Union were bought by the magician, Unai Emery, in June 2021.

Formed in 1915 through the merger of two teams, one of which was started in 1902.

Real Union have a long history being one of the initial clubs that founded the Spanish National League Championship in 1929 but have not returned to those heights since being relegated in 1932. They currently play in the third level of Spanish football.

Real Unión were one of the most successful teams 100 years ago, winning the Copa del Rey in 1918, 1924 and 1927, and runners-up in 1922.

Unai Emery’s father and grandfather used to play for the team although Unai Emery never did.

The Emery family are now running the club that had been beset with financial problems for some time.

Unfortunately they have yet to advance up the league system and currently sit 6th having taken 13 points from eight games.

You have to deal with disappointments following the Villa Part 3.

As soon as the final whistle had blown at Loughborough I was in the car to drive across to Villa Park for an 8.00 pm kick off.

A very relaxed 10 minute walk from the car park we use to the ground amongst happy Villa fans. They should have been happy, they were guaranteed a minimum 5th place finish and were the only English side in a European Semi-Final.

Many of the fans gathered underneath the part of the Holte End that struts out over the road to welcome the Villa team bus. The acoustics amplified the songs and enhanced the flares as the coach passed and emptied the hero’s into the ground.

The packed ground was rocking to Villa songs and chants as a cold wind whipped through the opening to where we were standing high up in the Holte End. It’s a great atmosphere at Villa for any game but the glare of the lights seem to turn it up a notch.

Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 2

English Premier League, Saturday 27th April 2024, 20.00 pm kick off.

Villa v The Blues, 4th V 9th. Villa; Claret shirts with light blue sleeves and white shorts. Chelsea; All royal Blue kit.

Villa were off to a great start when they took the lead after just 4 minutes when a John McGinn’s miss hit shot deflected off Marc Cucurella into the net. The crowd went mad but became more subdued as they realised that their team was under par for this game. Chelsea’s Nicholas Jackson had a goal disallowed by VAR for offside and he hit the foot of the post with a well placed header.

With the home side riding their luck they went two ahead just on half time when the ever improving Morgan Rogers took the ball to the left of the goal and slotted a class goal between a defenders legs and the keepers outstretched right hand.

It all looked fine but when the ‘World’s number one goal keeper’ doesn’t come out in the second half because of an injury you feel a bit tense. Chelsea put further pressure on Aston Villa from the start of the second half and when the Villa midfield gave away a simple ball Noni Madueke made no mistake putting the ball in the corner of the net. It was all Chelsea and the Villa fans tried to calm their nerves with a repertoire of old songs not used for some time, but Chelsea kept on the pressure.

With 80 minutes gone Connor Gallagher engineered himself some space on the edge of the keepers area and curled the ball into the top corner. The Chelsea fans were now delirious and both sides created chances as the game opened up some more. Ollie Watkins blasted a cut back over the bar almost into the top tier and during added time Disasi headed home for Chelsea. The Villa fans were distraught but also angry that a push in the back of Diego Carlos in the build up had been ignored. Cue the inevitable VAR and the goal was disallowed for the push which drew protests from the ay team. Once play had continued Villa nearly stole it in the final moment when from a corner Carlos headed the ball onto the roof of the net.

At the final whistle the Chelsea team surrounded the referee but the pushing and shoving that ensued was soon broken up. Villa were lucky to gain the one point on a night when they looked second best. Perhaps their astonishing efforts this season are catching up with them, they need to hang on in there and recover their style for the few remaining games and perhaps an amazing end to the season.

There were chips! which were hot, golden, crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle but had a slight seasoning on them which reduced their score to 60.

What a great day, having been lucky enough to see 11 goals and two very intriguing games, I drove home with a smile.

If you would have read the previous blogs regarding Aston Villa you will remember that I haven’t seen them win for some time hence the caption. This time I didn’t wear my vintage beanie hat or any other Villa item and they managed a draw, perhaps I will see a win next time.

You have to deal with disappointments following the Villa Part 2

On Wednesday I was treated to see Aston Villa play Manchester City at the Ethiad. The last game I had seen Villa play was in their 2023 home defeat to Stevenage when I posted ‘You have to deal with disappointments following the Villa’ after I saw them dumped out of the FA Cup by the League 2 side.

So much has changed under the fantastic Unai Emery, a place in European football and fourth place in the league behind Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City.

On my last visit to the Etihad I watched a limp Villa go down badly, without much fight, in what unfolded as their relegation year.

The Etihad is an amazing stadium with further development on going as they add further seating behind one goal. This will complete the refashioning of the stadium which will then have a capacity of 61968, certainly worthy of World Club Champions. Its not just the ground that catches the breath but also the other pitches and facilities that have been built to ensure their continued success. The club shop was busy with a lot of foreign voices looking at and buying merchandise, emphasising that this has become a true football tourist destination.

There are those that would say that it is just a franchise model copied from the USA with vast amounts of foreign money invested to give their owners the best publicity for themselves. There are also rumours that the Premier league are looking at circa 150 breaches of their rules, of which a verdict has taken a long time coming as against punishments metered out against Everton and Nottingham Forest for breaking the Profitability and Sustainability Rules. These rules are hampering competition from up and coming clubs who may have the resource to buy outstanding players and make competition more equal but can not because they will breach the profitability rules and be deducted points.

Against all of this Manchester City have truly helped English club football achieve the highest status in Europe for players and managers alike. Others have followed or are readying to join the party.

Back to the evening, having not pre booked parking we found ourselves both parked in what we felt appeared to be dodgy ‘secure parking’ which however turned out fine, We walked to the ground, very early, and walked around the stadium killing time to be let in 2 hours before the game. Meat pie, coffee, a look at the program and a lot of catching up meant the time whizzed by and we sat in our seats high up in the Villa section. The seats were the trial standing ones, which you could almost call cages, and as expected the Villa fans stood the whole game.

Villa’s season has been exceptional but long term and niggling injuries have played their part too. Only 40 minutes before the start we heard that Martinez will not be in goal due to a sickness. This added to recent injuries to Ollie Watkins, Pau Torres (on the bench being brought back into the team), John Mc Ginn suspended, and long term Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia, Boubacar Kamara, Matty Cash and Jacob Ramsey who keeps coming back and then breaking down again all of whom are side-lined. So it was with some trepidation that we viewed the game but like all fans there was hope and the Villa away fans were in good humour and voice as they greeted their heroes and goaded a rather quiet Manchester support.

Manchester City 4 Aston Villa 1

Wednesday 3rd April 2024 English Premier League, Kick off 20.15 pm

Etihad Stadium, Ashton New Road, Manchester M11 3FF

3rd v 4th, Manchester City nickname, City (Amongst others): Aston Villa nickname, Villa.

City: Sky blue shirts and white shorts. Villa: Claret shirts with light blue sleeves with claret shorts with light blue side slash.

Villa immediately set up to defend and make quick stylish breaks on the counter with City moving forward with methodical play and releasing the wide wingers of Doku on the right and Grealish on the left. It was Doku who was causing the greatest havoc and some neat play to get him past the defenders enabled him to pinpoint a ball to Rodri on the near post to ram home. City continued this style but to the Villa fans delight Grealish, who was booed or given a rendition of ‘Villa till I die’ every time he touched the ball was forced inside on his right foot every time and looked lost and ineffective.

Villas counter attacking set up bore fruit on 20 minutes when Morgan Rogers put Jhon Duran in on goal to put the ball past Stefan Ortega, in goal for City, with a sweeping fierce shot.

Continuing nerves at City attack after attack brought us to 45 minutes and still level but there were still 4 minutes of added time to see out. A disputed free kick just off centre of the goal keepers area was converted by Phil Foden with a free kick to the right of Olsen. If the Villa wall would have stood strong the ball would have hit Zaniolo and not meant the home side had the advantage at half time.

The second half saw Douglas Luiz test Ortega but an equaliser wasn’t coming and Villa conceded two more goals in the 62nd and 69th minute to two thunderbolts from Phil Foden, a top class act on the night, above many class acts.

For Villa Olsen deputising for Martinez, arguably the best keeper in the world at the moment, did well and could not have been faulted for any of the goals.

Villa fans kept singing even on the stair wells as they left the ground and drifted of with the surge of other supporters down the Ashton New Road.

Man City kept up their challenge on the top 3 and Villa stayed in fourth and need to revive tired legs for their home game with Brentford at the weekend. This may have been another of those dealing with disappointment moments, but somehow it didn’t because you just knew that everyone gave everything they could on the night.

No Chips, again, so it was another steak pie , compared to Mondays at Chesterfield it was drier and had less chunky meat, but in reality it was welcome even though 75 P dearer. the coffee though was 25 P cheaper but was very weak.

Great night out, up the Villa.