We’ve got Bournemouth on Saturday. They keep on coming.
We’re getting used to this two matches a week malarkey. Saturday afternoon sees Bournemouth roll into Aston, and they should be suitably grateful for the privilege. A few clubs have done what Bournemouth have managed, coming up from the lower divisions and hanging around the Premier League until they went back where they came from. It’s about time Bournemouth did the same; it’s too far to go and you don’t get enough tickets.
They’ve mid-table and that’s as good as it’ll get for them. They’ve got the usual collection of players the decent clubs don’t want and Tommy Elphick’s their assistant manager, so keep an eye on the goalposts. Their manager is a a Basque, which is the only good thing about them. The handful of supporters they bring will be ever so excited to be in a proper ground and doubtless they’ll go home and say how terrible Aston looks even though all they’ll see of it is about fifty yards of street between the coach park and the turnstiles. Away supporters used to love coming to Villa Park. Now they hate it, I wonder why? They probably still haven’t forgiven us for Tyrone Mings either, and some of them will remember Ted MacDougall.
Our strongest-ever squad continues, although it’s a bit less strong as Jaden Philogene will be banned after getting sent off last week. Daresay there’ll be a few changes from midweek, but not as many as there will be next midweek. All this playing every few days is getting expensive, and Chris Heck would make it more expensive if he had his way. Normally we’d be saying that this is the sort of hangover from a big win where the Villa would slip up. This, though, is no ordinary Villa. This is Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.
