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Regular My Old Man Said columns
Five Reasons to Be Cheerful After a Week of Mixed Emotions for Emery
Five Reasons to be Cheerful After Brugge Win and Forest LossA mixed week has seen Villa finally pick up their first win of the new campaign, after getting their Champions League season off to a winning start with a hard-fought victory in Bruges. The positive momentum proved short-lived, however, as Villa slumped to a late home defeat against Nottingham Forest in a game that...
Five Reasons to Be Cheerful After Villa Stalemate in Hull
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villans after Goalless Hull DrawWith the transfer window finally closed, Unai Emery can get back to doing what he does best: coaching players and building a team on the pitch. The performances against Arsenal and Hull have offered encouragement, even if the rather important business of putting the ball in the net remains unresolved.As Villa move on to...
Unai Emery’s Villa Squad Rebuild Aims to Silence the Doubters
The Good, Bad and Ugly of Emery’s Villa 2.0The transfer window has come and gone, and so has the majority of Aston Villa’s starting...
Five Reasons to Be Cheerful After Emery’s New Lions Look Beyond Arsenal Defeat
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villans after Arsenal Home DefeatWith the new season following the rather unwelcome pattern of last year's slow start,...
Five Reasons To Be Cheerful As Seagulls Drop One on Depleted Villa
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villans after Brighton LossIt's hard to remember a more dramatic pre-season at Villa Park, and after today's heavy...
Are Aston Villa Going Into the New Season Without a Spine?
The Good, Bad and Ugly as The Winds of Change BlowThere we are then. Aston Villa are about to embark upon another season under...
The Good, Bad and Ugly: Aston Villa’s Summer Transfer Window So Far
The Good, Bad and Ugly Summer Transfer UpdateNew faces in, old faces going or gone, minutes in the tank and a new great hope,...
Five Reasons to Be Cheerful as Aston Villa’s Preseason Begins
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villans - Preseason BeginsAfter arguably the best season Aston Villa have enjoyed in a generation, Unai Emery's squad...
World Cup Villa Reflections – Konsa Scapegoating, Villa Injury Woe and Ex-Villa Hero
The Good, Bad and Ugly of World Cup 2026 So FarWhile Aston Villa fans are either enjoying a summer off or worrying about UEFA...
What We Learnt From the Villa’s Immediate Post-Season
Aston Villa are Europa League winners, Champions League returnees, and already three weeks into the summer transfer rumour cycle. Here are the three observations...
Why Nobody Linking Morgan Rogers to a Move Has Done the Maths
Those Morgan Rogers Transfer LinksAre you bored of the Morgan Rogers transfer rumours yet?How many times have we seen this situation before?Over the years,...
The Curse of the Claret Sleeves — Aston Villa’s New Kit Has a History Problem
The Curse of the Claret SleevesAston Villa and Adidas have unveiled the new 2026-27 home kit, describing it as inspired by 'the club's designs...
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villans After “Fantastic” Week
Champions League football earned through a fourth-place finish in the league and a Europa League trophy in the cabinet, Aston Villa's end to the...
The Good, Bad and Ugly of SC Freiburg
Europa League Final Preview: SC Freiburg vs Aston Villa - Are we the Bad Guys?After 44 years, Aston Villa have reached a major European...