The Good Bad and Ugly – Big Boy Battles
Aston Villa, three for three in the Champions League, with a fully fit squad, it’s time to get serious.
The Good
As tempting as it was to jump straight onto the keyboard after the generational win against Bayern Munich, history has taught Villa fans to be cautious about enjoying the moment too soon.
With a game against Manchester United next, followed by a tricky away trip to Fulham, there was a chance that the Bayern win could have already been the high point of the season.
However, there was no need for concern. Aston Villa are genuinely a strong side and exciting to watch, especially when the midfield, marshalled by the excellent Youri Tielemans, clicks into gear.
Even though the goalless draw against United felt like a missed opportunity, injury time foreshadowed the potential of the team’s midfield. The best chance of the game was created, but unfortunately, Jaden Philogene’s shot was blocked.
Then came Fulham, and especially Bologna, where the interplay and interchangeable midfield personnel sliced through the opposition time and again.
While every move doesn’t end with a goal or a chance, it’s a joy to watch the intricate passing and angles that cut through teams.
This isn’t classic Barcelona’s tiki-taka; it’s more like the 1990 West German World Cup winners, with direct, incisive passing coupled with powerful running through teams.
When Morgan Rogers learns to shoot like Lothar Matthäus, there’ll be no stopping Aston Villa.
Villan of the Week – Lucas Digne
Not many people in the Villa fan base have been ‘Digne since day one’. But now, many are singing his praises after a tireless display at Craven Cottage.
The scowling Frenchman has been continually scapegoated because Steven Gerrard signed him on a big wage.
With some Villa fans obsessed with PSR and revenues, Digne and his alleged wages were always top of the list to cash in on.
First, he saw off Matt Targett, then he saw off Unai Emery’s first signing Alex Moreno. Currently, he has the shirt over the lightning-heeled Ian Maatsen.
Competition is everything in a top squad, but Digne is still there and it’s a testament to his pedigree that his wages are no longer the yardstick he is judged on.
The Bad
The bad? It does feel wrong to criticize anything at the minute, but nothing is ever perfect.
The beauty of Villa’s squad, filled with competition and quality, is that players who are underperforming can be taken out of the firing line.
Currently, Leon Bailey is struggling to replicate last season’s form. While the rest of the team is on fire, Bailey, who shared some of the scoring burden with Ollie Watkins last season, seems to be on a different wavelength.
In past seasons, having one of your key players misfiring would have spelled trouble for the team. But now, Villa can keep progressing until Bailey finds his form and fitness.
The Ugly
There is a nagging feeling that Aston Villa aren’t making the most of this golden period on the pitch and building the foundations for a sustained stay at the top.
Issues with ticket pricing and a general disregard for fans are being masked by the exhilarating performances under the lights in the Champions League.
But scratch the surface, and the same ugly problems remain.
The Bologna game wasn’t a sell-out, as evidenced by the multiple emails sent to members and season ticket holders almost daily leading up to the match.
This didn’t stop Spanish football writer Guillem Balague from being fed false information that the game was a sell-out on October 6th.
Then news broke on X/Twitter that resale sites had sold tickets for around £60 less than what fans had paid directly to the club for the same seats.
The recent Fan Advisory Board notes gave more insight into future plans for Villa Park. Some 800 seats are expected to be added by realigning gangways by summer 2025. Given that the club has stopped announcing attendance figures, who knows if this will even be accurate?
With Everton’s new stadium capacity set to be 10,000 more than Villa Park’s, West Ham’s at another 10,000 beyond that, and rumors of Nottingham Forest upgrading, Aston Villa risks being left behind—not just by the traditional Super League six, but by mid-table teams as well.
Realistically, Villa wouldn’t fill a 60,000-seater stadium right now, yet the plans for the New North Stand included expanding capacity (to 50,000) with GA+ hospitality, poised to capitalise on the team’s on-pitch success and set Villa up for the mid-term. Are there even any plans for Villa’s mid-term future now?
It all feels like a government withholding the truth from its voters.
Why the need for misinformation about the Bologna game?
Why ignore common-sense solutions like a stadium walk-around before the season kicks off, considering the work undertaken?
And the biggest eyebrow-raiser was the club’s vague response regarding Euro 2028. Villa Park remains on the list to be a host stadium for 2028, and the club claims to be in regular contact with The FA and UEFA, but there’s no news on the development of Witton train station.
This was seen as a major coup for Aston Villa, a chance to leverage necessary infrastructure improvements ahead of a significant event. Yet the same language was used for Belfast’s Casement Park until that project was scrapped.
Will Villa Park be next to knocked off the Euro host list and will it be spun as a positive?
While the team is at its best in a generation, behind the scenes, the decisions and missteps resemble a political satire – where the decision-makers treat fans like voters to be exploited.
UTV
Follow Phil on X/Twitter here – @prsgame
