Much like many Villa fans lately I was, really questioning why I put myself through the weekly depression of investing hope and emotion in something that so regularly disappoints. When you consider Villa’s last win at Villa Park on a Saturday was seven months ago, one question springs to mind: Is football really worth it?
Yes, yes it is.
A rare three points and a decent performance was a timely reminder of the joy football can bring. The fact that these three points made me so happy is both a sign of how seldom our club wins, and a sign of how Aston Villa can and should be a positive in our lives.
When this season is broken down and analysed the fact is that the reason Aston Villa are in the mire is due to off the field issues. For better or worse it’s the 11 players on the pitch that are our Villa. 3 points after 90 minutes allows a temporary break from the boardroom blues and a reminder of why we’re all here.
This win is further proof of why Garde needs to be the man to rebuild this wounded Lion. Despite being hung out to dry in January and left with a mismatched team recruited by his predecessors, Rémi has gone about his business improving the side, communicating honestly, and proving that he is no yes man to the executives by calling them out on the transfer information.
Few could blame the manager for walking away at the end of the season but everything possible should be done to tie him down long term.
Garde is not the only one proving his worth. Carles Gil and Jordan Veretout gave yet another glimpse of why they should be a part of the Villa rebuild. In more advanced midfield positions the duo regularly provided the through balls and forward passes that the club has seen too little of in recent years and both finished the game with an assist to their name.
Believe it or not Gabby deserves credit too. It took him until the second half to get on the same wavelength as Gil and Veretout, and he still makes the wrong decisions too often but he did what he was there for. In addition to that it was nice to see some local boys getting on the scoresheet when we needed it.(Gabby and Lescott). His post match interview was another reason to raise a smile too.
For today I’ll ignore Idrissa Gueye’s tendency for a couple hospital passes per game and stay positive. Gana was a key figure in making sure that Villa reached the final whistle with a clean sheet. He was constantly back in support of the back four, cutting out Norwich attacks and eagerly driving forward with the ball.
It’s really refreshing to see the team put up a fight. In our previous draws we’ve been more solid. Against Weat Ham things started well until Ayew hit the self-destruct button. On Saturday we added goals to our recent progress.
Villa going on a run might put hope in our hearts only for relegation to be more heartbreaking, but I’d much rather go down with a fight than wave the white flag.
This wasn’t exactly a vintage performance but it was an effective one and showed that at least some people at Aston Villa football club are willing and able to do their jobs.
UTV
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Its my opinion, but in my view from what ive seen and heard from him, Remi Garde will become a very very good manager. Regardless of which league we play in, to have RG with us for the next 3 years would be a fortunate thing for Villa. I honestly think he will end up managing a big club (which once upon a time not so long ago I would’ve deemed us in that category) and having success….