“There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.” – George Orwell, 1984
First of all, MOMS wants to clear something up…
Aston Villa won 1-0 away at Middlesbrough on Saturday 30th December 2017.
That’s 2-0-1-7.
It was the first of Villa’s five wins on the trot. Remember it…this knowledge will come in useful during this Media Muppets column.
Fast-forward to 2018…
There’s a couple of things I’ve noticed about the year 2018, so far. One is Villa’s 100% winning record in the league, from the FOUR GAMES THEY HAVE PLAYED IN THE YEAR (the reason I’m shouting will become clear soon).
Then, there’s the other observation that the standard of people’s basic mathematics ability in 2018 seems to have dropped alarmingly.
Or… maybe I’m I going mad, because it seems everyone else counts differently from MOMS.
Exhibit Number One
‘Five Championship wins in a row in 2018!’ ???
Can the club now tweet from the future?
Evaluation
As of 1st February 2018, Villa have played four league games in 2018 (as I’ve already shouted) and won them all.
Jan 1st – Bristol City (H) 5-0
Jan 13th – Forest (A) 1-0
Jan 20th – Barnsley (H) 3-1
Jan 30th – Sheffield Utd (A) 1-0
So, where’s this fifth @SkyBetChamp ‘win in a row in 2018’?
Hopefully, it’s coming this weekend against Burton, but it’s not here just yet.
Exhibit Two
It gets worse…this in the Birmingham Mail:
Headline:
‘It’s official: Aston Villa are the best-performing English team of 2018!’
Spiel:
Aston Villa’s run of five consecutive victories means they’re the feared force of the country.
Steve Bruce’s troops cruised through January winning every single game to take them to within a point of second-place.
And as we approach the February fixtures, the current standings make good reading for those in claret and blue.
No other club in the country has enjoyed such an impressive start to 2018.
And with Burton Albion next on the agenda, Villa will be confident of keeping the run going.
Promotion rivals Fulham are the next best Championship outfit with 13 points from a possible 15, the same as Gillingham and Mansfield.
Liverpool have won four of their last five games and are the best-performing Premier League team of the calendar year so far.
Evaluation
1.I’m a Villa supporter, so I don’t mind a bit of positive spin on a story after a defining away win at Sheffield United. However, I also know my mathematics.
As we’ve already established, there have only been four Villa league games played in 2018, the year that Villa are apparently officially “the best-performing English team of 2018”
Well, three other teams in the English leagues have also won all four of their league games – Gillingham (+5 goal difference), Wycombe (+5 gd) and also Fulham (+12 gd).
The thing is Villa’s goal difference is +9 over their four wins, so while you can say they have a better record than the lower league January 100% teams, it’s actually Fulham who are the ‘best-performing English team of 2018’, as the Championship form table for January below shows.
(January 2018 Championship Form Table)
2. ‘No other club in the country has enjoyed such an impressive start to 2018′
Er, wrong, I’ve just listed three other 100% teams for the year 2018, so far.
3. There’s a bit of sloppiness in the article because they have not actually stipulated they are talking about Villa’s league record. So, the claim of ‘Steve Bruce’s troops cruised through January winning every single game’, doesn’t cut the mustard, when you consider Peterborough showed them up in the FA Cup.
4. Liverpool have only played four league games in the calendar year of 2018 (not five, as stated in the Birmingham Mail) and are not the ‘best-performing Premier League team of the calendar year so far’, because Spurs and Manchester City are above them (see below).
(Premier League January 2018 form top 3)
5. This is an article about 2018 form, so this is not really relevant, but if they are trying to pass off an article based on current form, the standard quota for current form is the last six games (and not five). In terms of the last six games, Fulham would be top of the Championship form table on 16 points, with Villa following them in second on 15 points.
(Hopefully, they’ll be a switch around after the next fixture).
Conclusion
I’ve no idea what’s going on here in terms of the Villa universe’s maths? Is it me? Okay, I’m going to have to take solace in George Orwell’s words from 1984.
“There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.”
Media Muppet Score: 9/10
Such elementary errors should chalk up a score of 10/10, but you have to forgive people for their giddiness over the fact Villa are actually winning EVERY week! It’s been a while.
Still, it’s a cautionary tale. As we’ve learnt over the years, be careful what you read and believe.
UTV
The latest MOMS podcast show:
It pays not to trust anything the media says. You are completely correct, the media just assume nobody will ever check the actual facts and they love to exaggerate a story.
These facts could easily have been verified by any media organisation, but instead they blindly copy and paste.
Just think this is a simple football story – what else do they make up and then repeat and repeat until everybody assumes it’s true…
Yep, exactly the point.
The positive energy around Villa right now is uplifting for the team ,fans and the results as anyone who went to Bramall Lane as I did can confirm .So what is the point of this negative article from Moms ? Instead of trying to do a smarty pants peice to put down other media outlets and fan tweets pointing out that Villa aren’t the best form team in England right now ,why not just stoke the fire a bit and point out other positive areas that build enthusiasm and publicity for the Club – things are are good right now so let’s enjoy it !
UTV
Media Muppets articles are nothing to do with whether Villa are doing well or not. The focus is entirely about how the media report football and inaccurate reporting. That is the point. Simple as that. Your reaction seems to mirror the world in general, as it seems some people prefer fake news to reality. They also think that pointing out truth and facts is a case of being a ‘smarty pants’. No, it’s just pointing out the TRUTH.
The way I read it is its a current run of form tally indicating where we are now. Therefore now in 2018 Villa are doing well – end of story. I’m sorry but a bit of a nit picking pointless article in my opinion. UTV.
Does it matter when the last win over Villaboro was apart from the fact that it’s part of a 5 win run ?
It does when your reporting on 2018 form and making headlines out of it! It’s very sloppy indeed.