The last month or so has been a reality check. I went with my Dad to the League Cup Final, thinking the game might be our opportunity to take home a trophy. One disappointing performance – and a very poor refereeing decision later – and our dreams were dashed.
More than just a defeat, the game proved to be a bit of a watershed. The Villa are still in the FA Cup but my natural Brummie despondency leaves me to conclude we’ll lose. We’re still in the hunt for fourth spot in the Premier League, too. Sky Sports would have you believe fourth spot is the promised land; I would vehemently disagree. We don’t win things very often and I would swap fourth place for victory in either of the domestic cup competitions in a heartbeat.
More to the point, I think we’d make an arse of ourselves in the Chumps League. The Villa lost in the qualifying rounds in this season’s Europa Cup and I fear a similar fate should we qualify for the European Cup (that’s the trophy’s real name, in case you’ve forgotten). I think the ‘race for fourth’ (T.M. Sky Sports 2010) will finish as follows:
- (4th) Manchester City – Straightforward run-in; class in depth
- (5th) Aston Villa – Not a bad run-in; not a great squad
- (6th) Tottenham Hotspur – Bloody hard run-in
- (7th) Liverpool – They are going nowhere fast
Which still doesn’t explain why I am being such a miserable swine when it comes to the Villa. Well, because as my Dad said: “What’s the point?” We don’t win trophies, we’re doomed to always come 6th in the League and – even we did qualify for the Chumps League – we’d end up out of the trophy and in debt. So, I had to have a think about why I still love the Villa. And here’s why:
- We invented football – The Football League was invented by former Villa chairman William McGregor
- We have a beautiful name – It’s almost poetic; I mean, just look at it: Aston Villa
- We play in great colours – Not red, not blue, but claret, blue and gold
- We won the European Cup – And no one can ever take that away
- We are not Birmingham City – No more comment required
- We have a great ground – Villa Park is a proper British football ground with four big, separate stands
- We are not arrogant – Villa fans expect little and get little
- We have won stuff – Every so often, things turn out right; we never take winning for granted
- We are the Samuels family – Me, my Dad, my Grandad, my Great Grandad are/were all Villa fans
- We had Paul McGrath – And he is God
Ah, I feel better now. Bring on Chelsea! Bring on the Chumps League!
That’s beautiful. I even thought about cutting and pasting it as my own and substituting the mighty QPR in there but… We really have not won anything since 1967 (League Cup). We’ve only come close once (’76). Also, no-one else in my family has ever supported the Rs and, er, there’s the whole Birminham thing. One thing I will say is that I don’t like Reading being in the league because they have hoops too, we used to be unique; even Arsenal nicked our away hoops. Poetic name? Maybe. Proper ground? Yes, and engagingly miniscule. We are also the first operator of the ‘guest manager’ scheme and our old chaian was threatened with a gun in the boardroom.
Thanks for the love, Pinkers. Hell, QPR’s history is pretty impressive – certainly a lot more impressive than our neighbour’s history.
Another reason:
11. You got thumped 7-1 by Chelsea at the weekend.
Oh.
The dangers of blogging, I guess. And of relying on Aston Villa, too. A life’s lesson should have been learnt by now…
And your sister is a Villa fan too! (not that she was ever given a choice – ask Lily/Jemima in 30 years!)
Great comments, great sentiment,great read. Unfortunately much of what is wrong with Aston Villa is what is wrong with the English game. Our football is too predictable and relies on honest endeavour and not enough guile.In the recent past our better sides contained a real quality player to influence a result. Oh for a Dwight Yorke, a Sid Cowans, a Dean Saunders, a Paul Merson, or a David Platt. Payers of such quality are rare and can make all the difference in the vital final third of the pitch. We have recently seen how much ManU rely on the influence of Wayne Rooney and Liverpool on Gerrard and Torres. Good players make good sides. At best Villa might be regarded as this but great players make great teams and in the English game we simply do not develop enough truly great players. If Milner is a good player and Villa’s best at present I would question how good he really is and if he can achieve the next level up. At times it’s easy to forget just how able and how influential the players I listed above could be. In the summer unfortunately England may fail simply because the current crop of players have been over hyped and fall below the genuine level of class required. We can only hope that Rooney stays fit and that when the hour comes others can prove they have more to offer.
Your comments and sentiments express far more clearly what is wrong with the Villa and the English game. I agree with every single word.