The Good, Bad and Ugly – Full Force Needed
As the season reaches its final bend, Aston Villa are still clinging on. There’s only one way forward now, and that’s full force.
The Good
After one of the worst performances in recent years — that Wembley showing against Crystal Palace (last mention, I promise) — the most important thing against Fulham was simply to get the win at all costs.
Despite a flat atmosphere that not even a handful of leftover fireworks could spark into life, Villa got themselves over the line – and really should have scored a few more to ease the nerves in the crowd.
All in all, job done, with a few encouraging individual performances.
Matty Cash put his body on the line to keep Fulham out and delivered a pinpoint cross for Ollie Watkins, who had an airshot at the start of the second half.
On the opposite flank, Ian Maatsen continued his upward trajectory, again showing improved defensive awareness. He used his lightning pace to recover from the occasional lapse in positioning. Going forward, there are no complaints when he has open space ahead.
The result keeps Villa just about alive in the race for fifth place, despite an inconsistent campaign at both ends of the pitch.
Villan of the Week – Youri Tielemans
There aren’t many players like Tielemans around. When he was brought in on a free, many thought he’d be Douglas Luiz’s deputy or assistant. He’d actually been bought in, as future planning, to replace the Brazilian.
Without Luiz cramping his style, Tielemans has grown into the best player in the Aston Villa side.
His influence and overall performance levels continue to rise, and the header against Fulham showed technique, determination, and – unlike many Villa players – a killer instinct.
Now, his teammates, all need to be more ruthless in the final three games with the Belgian midfielder now expected to be sidelined with a muscle injury.
The Bad
Aston Villa’s President of Business Operations, Chris Heck, will leave the club at the end of the season. Initially, no clear reason was given — but it soon emerged he is set to take up a new post with LIV Golf, the Saudi PIF-backed disruptors of the golf world.
Plenty has been written about Heck’s time at Villa, and plenty more will be in the weeks ahead. But for many fans, the jury is still very much out on the job he’s actually done.
This is, after all, a man who first told the Fan Advisory Board that he was “f###ing great” at landing major sponsorship deals. The evidence? Well, it’s not quite the ringing endorsement he might have hoped for.
Let’s take this season as an example. Aston Villa – a Champions League club for the first time in over four decades, celebrating a 150th anniversary – finished the season without a training kit sponsor or a travel partner.
To put it bluntly: I could pay Aston Villa £1,000 a week to slap my backside on the training kit. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it would show up on the profit and loss sheet as a £52,000 gain. Surely, a real brand could cough up more than that to be associated with a Champions League team?
After all, Heck had claimed that sponsorship income was the key to keeping ticket prices in check, as well as an increase in hospitality (which he did fast-track in terms of revenue increase).
And what about the once-in-a-generation participation in the Champions League itself?
Was it commercial genius to raise ticket prices for matches that were going to sell out anyway? Not quite. It was more like shooting fish in a barrel – opportunistic at best, exploitative of a captive fanbase at worst.
The kit deal with Adidas? That’ll be the same as six other Premier League clubs, who probably don’t have a major shareholder as a co-owner.
And finally – perhaps most telling of all – is this: on top of the improved domestic broadcasting rewards and Premier League placement rewards, the estimated £69.27 million in Champions League prize money that Villa have earned this season came entirely from sporting performance. From Unai Emery’s management, from the players’ drive. When the financial reports are eventually published, remember that number. It was football that earned it.
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The Ugly
Last week, it was Ollie Watkins making life hard for himself with an ill-advised interview. This week, it’s Matty Cash.
After his excellent performance against Fulham, Cash said:
“Sometimes you read things on social media and you think: ‘Just stick with us’. We have three massive games now and try to give us as much confidence as you can. Even during games and stuff, if things don’t go well, it is like there is a big grudge against us, do you know what I mean?”
While abuse of players should never be tolerated, it’s a bit naive of Cash to think this was either the right time to vent or a problem unique to Aston Villa.
Maybe he should have asked Marcus Rashford what his social media looked like after the FA Cup semi-final – which he didn’t even play in.
If the Villa squad aspire to remain at the top of the table, then fans will expect them to perform like top players.
That means not missing big chances, not making rash tackles, and being able to raise their game in the biggest moments.
Ollie Watkins hasn’t scored since he sounded off in the media – let’s hope Cash’s performances aren’t equally as ugly after this interview.
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