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Regular My Old Man Said columns
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 has returned to Bodymoor Heath after a well-earned summer break. They've barely had time to unpack the sun cream before the squad has already undergone some serious surgery, and there's every chance more arrivals and departures are still to come.With...
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 cost spreadsheets, there's a World Cup on. It's a good chance to remember what football was like before the Premier League made it a product, or is it?The GoodUp to the quarter-final point, it's been a surprisingly entertaining World Cup,...
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villa Fans on the Way to Wembley
After the semi-final grind over two legs against Middlesbrough comes a potentially different kind of match against Fulham at Wembley in the play-off final.Will...
Gabby Agbonlahor’s Alternative Farewell Speech
Gabby's Farewell
Were you underwhelmed by Gabby Agbonlahor's short Villa Park on-pitch farewell speech (in the opening credits) to Aston Villa supporters after the last...
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villa Fans, Prior to the Second Leg
In the end, the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Middlesbrough resembled several of Aston Villa's 1-0 winning defensive grinds on their travels...
Villa to Miss Out on Big Cash for Ex-Player and Loyal Servant Return
'Tony Pulis is apparently up there with Jesus. Although, it has to be said, Pulis turning a headless chicken into a '£30m world beater',...
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villa Fans After Play-offs Confirmed
To many Aston Villa supporters, the play-offs have been inevitable since Villa lost back-to-back games against QPR and Bolton, soon after opening up what...
Excellent EFL Forward Planning Saves Aston Villa Taking Drastic Action
Play-off Irrelevance
When the English Football League decided to revamp English football over 30 years ago, with the introduction of American style play-offs, it just...
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villa Fans After Ipswich Foursome
A routine win against an Ipswich team that went down to 10-men in the first half, made it three on the bounce, as Villa...
Ex-Villa Striker Return on the Cards if Aston Villa Stay in Championship
'Bowery has scored more league goals this season than Jonathan Kodjia, Scott Hogan, Ross McCormack, Keinan Davis and Gabby Agbonlahor, combined'
Forgotten Man
"If Bowery scores,...
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villa Fans Because That’s the Championship
The main prize may be out of reach, but the name of the game can still be promotion, if Aston Villa find their form...
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villa Fans After Bottling Automatic Promotion
Bottle
It's been a poor past few weeks for Aston Villa, which has seen Steve Bruce's men ultimately bottle the automatic promotion challenge. The repeated...
Five Reasons to be Cheerful as Villa Fans After Back-to-Back Shame
If somebody had offered you two or three points for the QPR (h) and Bolton (a) games beforehand, you would have said, 'no, thanks'....
It’s in the Interest of Aston Villa to Ban This Football Cliché
Pretend Cup Finals
If there's one football cliché that irks MOMS the most it's when a manager or owner refers to the remaining games of a...