What was witnessed, again, merely confirms what we already knew. Aston Villa have now transcended the levels of playing “bad” football, to being an outright rotten football club.
It was a painful 74 minutes to endure for most, indeed, many had opted to stay away entirely, with those who did bother perhaps wishing they hadn’t after a matter of minutes.
From the simplest of corners, Funes Mori nodding in unchallenged. I must sound like a broken record, but it staggers me how we concede such set pieces repeatedly. Defenders watch on – Guzan – astonishingly back in the first XI – was a mere a spectator. 1-0, after barely 5 minutes.
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This is not a Villa team that shakes itself and looks to fight back into games. It is an embarrassing collective of passive, uninspiring players who whimper rather than grind out a competitive edge. It’s not their fault they’re simply not up to Premier League football, but nothing can excuse the sheer lack of effort amongst our numbers.
The second Everton goal was scored after a decent move from Everton, Lennon shooting between the hapless Guzan’s & Lescott’s legs. Bad luck in some respects, but it shouldn’t disguise the absolute panic caused by a straightforward attack & the desperate attempts to keep the visitors out. Sunday League teams would be dissecting this one at half time.
Our approach was lethargic, lacking invention and purpose. The first half as bad as Stoke at the weekend, with the absolute certainty that we wouldn’t be making anything of the fixture. It’s a sad indictment of both how far the club has fallen under Lerner – and – Garde’s inability to inspire the flops he’s inherited.
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The third goal came on the hour mark in what was now a training match for Everton. As I mentioned in the preview, Everton is a game that I will miss. A great club, with a proper following of football fans that until recent years was a combative fixture both home & away. I’d rather we didn’t embarrass ourselves until we are competitive again.
We fans are now, at least, making our voices heard.
There is no right or wrong way to protest. Walking out on 74 minutes is as effective as starving the club of ticket revenue, not buying the atrocious merchandise or chanting anti-owner songs. A sustained and targeted voicing of our anger at what has been inflicted upon us is the right way to approach matters for now.
Tom Fox, rightly came in for some criticism. Our fine CEO has presided over the relegation over one of England’s oldest, most successful and steady football clubs;
I love being a Villa fan, going to Villa Park is in my blood, but I worry about the trajectory our club is following.
I took my seat in The Holte End, like many of us have countless times before, with absolute certainty that we would be defeated. I have respect for Everton’s qualities, but they aren’t Barcelona, yet I knew the outcome as if a medium.
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It wasn’t always like this & it must be changed.
Changed by sustained action, not accepting the lies that are fed to us from the hierarchy of Aston Villa and ultimately taking back what is ours.
I don’t care about the Lerner’s, Fox’s or even the Remi Garde’s of this world. They are transitory figures who are ultimately driven by one incentive. I am interested in how our club will correct the worrying path it is on, how we will solve this as a collective, rather than a fragmented, disillusioned fan-base.
Relegation seems all but a certainty; but our future seems far from it.
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