This week at ProSoccerTalk we will be detailing what we love about each Premier League club competing in the 2019-20 season and next up it is Aston Villa.
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Each day we will release details on why who adore each team in particular as we remind ourselves just how awesome the PL is as we await its return following the suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Time to focus on The Villa.
We love, love, love Villa Park: There are a lot of beautiful stadiums around today but let’s be honest, a lot of them look very similar and most like spaceships. Villa Park has managed to blend the old with the new beautifully. If you’re ever lucky enough to stroll through Aston on a fall day, as the leaves brush your feet you can look up and see the golden brown bricks of the Holte End from far away. A stadium having four separate stands is a rare thing in the modern game and when you visit Villa Park it is like you’re going back in time.
Jack Grealish, generally, and his socks: Talking about a throwback, Jack Grealish is one of those. A playmaker who plays the game at a different pace to most in the Premier League, Grealish is a boyhood Aston Villa fan who has come through their academy ranks to captain the team he loves. Grealish led Villa to promotion back to the Premier League and has easily been their best player this season. From his excessive use of hair gel reminiscent of a character from Peaky Blinders to his rolled down socks, Grealish stands out and, most importantly, is a genius with the ball at his feet. A once in a generation player who has finally matured.
The sense of humor Villa fans have: For some reason I always remember a study I read when I was younger which voted Birmingham, England as the most miserable place in the UK. You wouldn’t think it if you met Villa’s fans who are always smiling or joking about something. Their sense of humor has remained through all of their recent struggles and their fans are okay with having a laugh at their own misfortunes and don’t take themselves too seriously. Let’s not forget, Prince William and Tom Hanks are Villa fans too. US and UK royalty.
The former European champs are truly a sleeping giant: A lot of clubs claim they are sleeping giants but Aston Villa truly are. Birmingham is known as England’s second city and Aston Villa have a huge, loyal fanbase. They won the European Cup in 1982, something a lot a people forget about, and in the early 1900s they dominated English football. Birmingham is a city which was transformed by the industrial revolution and amid that Aston Villa were one of the founding members of the Football League way back in 1888. Since their heyday in the early 1990s they’ve also won five League Cups, an FA Cup and the league titles to add to their European title. They are historic. They are massive. They are a sleeping giant.
