Another few days where nothing much happened.
The week starts off badly with reports that Gary Shaw is seriously ill after a fall. It sounds bad although nobody’s too sure of the details.
Then, the wild optimism of getting through one round of internationals unscathed comes to a grinding halt with Ezri Konsa going off injured while playing for England. It’s another ‘precaution’. We’ve heard that before.
Outrage over the opening day and Champions League prices still rumbles on with the Daily Mail, bastion of truth and decency, talking about overflowing toilets and PSR problems. The two are, apparently related. It’s all becoming very embarassing.
Then once our international contingent returns it’s time for the serious business of getting ready to beat Everton. Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings are back in training, which almost means we might start having almost a full-strength squad. Almost.
That lovable scamp Chris Heck, never backwards in coming forward, announces plans for our 150th anniversary. They include a celebation when we play Bayern, a gala dinner on the pitch and an as yet unidentified statue. Truly, the fun will never cease. You’ll notice “Chris Heck announces,” not “Villa”. The corporate hospitality entity that is Aston Villa only announce the bad news, such as blaming everyone else for not having the ground ready in time. At least they’ve had plenty of practice.
And finally matchday comes round. Everyone gets in more or less on time, the toilets work and the fanzone looks like a cross between a paddle steamer and a flat-roof pub. Everton at home is always one of the highlights of the season, partly because it’s good to see a proper club with vaguely proper supporters, but mainly because we usually beat them. Konsa and Ollie Watkins are starting, Leon Bailey is out of the squad. You can get away with resting players against teams who are bottom of the league and seeingly hellbent on emulating the Villa circa 2016.
Back then, and for a long time before we used to look at matches against teams who haven’t got a point and managed to go from two up with a couple of minutes left to losing 3-2 in their last game with the certainty that they’re going to make up for it today. Now, though, we are Unai Emery’s all-conqueing football machine and swat such foes aside with nonchalent ease.
And so we go two down, made doubly worrying that not even Remi Garde managed a team to throw away a two goal lead twice in succession. Fortunately Ollie Watkins has other ideas and he gets his first of the season, followed by his second. Villa press on and into the fray enters the one man you can rely on to do something. What that something might be, we’re never sure but this time it’s one of the best goals you’ll ever witness. Fully thirty yards out, the ball rose, swerved, dipped and went into the top corner leaving everyone in the ground open-mouthed in wonder and Emi Martinez thinking “I’d have saved it”. And he probably would. Three harder-earned points than they should have been and we’re in the top four.
Then Sunday and the shock news that Gary has died. Tributes are paid from around the world, until the further news that he’s still alive, but critical.
