da pinnacle： Aston Villa have had an absolute shocker this season.
da brwin： The Villa faithful have been let down time and time again both on and off the pitch, and that has resulted in two key board members resigning, one being former Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King.
And following their resignation, Gabriel Agbonlahor was pictured partying in the wake of Villa’s relegation – sealed with a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United. The striker was already on fitness watch and banned from games for two weeks, so these images did little to help his cause with the Villa fans, who have been swift, and justified, in their criticism.
Villa’s stars have been shocking and the attitude shown by a certain handful has been particularly worse than others. The surprising thing for the suffering supporters has been watching some of their bigger, more experienced names make rookie errors with the media, and with their general attitude.
From kicking chewing gum around on the side of pitch to that infamous ‘pocket tweet’, Villa’s season has been plagued with off-the-pitch blunders committed by senior stars, who should be setting a better example to the young players coming through, especially during tough times like these.
But nothing summed up Villa’s plight that Joleon Lescott’s interview after the Manchester United game. The former Manchester City man is used to winning titles and fighting for the Champions League, but his words were truly shocking, and many a football fan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Throughout the season we have given reasons for people to jump on us. It’s part of football, we have to take that on the chin. It’s a tough time at the minute. But at the back of our minds is next season to get promoted. I’m here for as long as Aston Villa want me.”
“It’s about results so regardless of how we played in patches today we are relegated … But now it’s confirmed maybe it’s a weight off the shoulders and we can give these fans what they deserve, some performances.”
If this doesn’t summarise the direction the club is heading, I don’t know what does. For a senior player who claims to be a Villa fan to speak in this way is a complete and utter joke and the supporters have every right to be angry at what is happening.
If it’s easy for the players to take relegation to the second division with one of the worst Premier League records ever ‘on the chin’ then that makes it okay, does it?
It really is one of those moments when you don’t know whether to laugh or thump your head aggressively on the table. Villa face a tough season in the Championship next year, and if these off-the-field troubles aren’t resolved, it could get worse in B6.
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