JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-ignominy-of-aston-villa-1455834198 The Ignominy of Aston Villa Relegation looks all but certain for a legendary English club—a fate made painfully clear with a recent 6-0 drubbing ENLARGE PHOTO: ELISHA COOPER By ELISHA COOPER Updated Feb. 18, 2016 7:46 p.m. ET 0 COMMENTS Birmingham, England The Cleveland Browns should be thankful they don’t play in the English Premier League. If they did they would be relegated—dropped, demoted, sent down because of their league-worst 3-13 record to a hypothetical NFL second division. They would be, in short, Aston Villa. ENLARGE PHOTO: ELISHA COOPER Aston Villa is the worst team in the English Premier League this year. Going into last weekend’s game against Liverpool, Villa had won three of twenty-five games and were sitting at the bottom of the table. Barring a late-season miracle—like last year’s improbable escape by this year’s improbable league-leader Leicester City when they won six of their last eight matches—Aston Villa, along with two other bottom teams in the Premier League, will suffer “the drop.” It’s an ignominy made worse given Villa’s proud history: founding members of the Football League in 1888, founding members of the Premier League in 1992, winners of the European Cup in 1982, seven-time league winners, seven-time FA Cup winners. Villa is one of England’s legendary clubs. During the reign of Queen Victoria, Villa was huge. But Queen Victoria is dead, and the fans filing into Villa Park last Sunday seemed resigned to the fact that their team’s chances of staying up were dead, too. ENLARGE PHOTO: ELISHA COOPER The game started in sunshine. But as shadows slipped across the pitch, so did Villa. Liverpool scored, then scored again. Liverpool ran rampant; the Villans seemed stuck in place. The only thing crisp about Villa were their striped claret and blue socks. Relegation will have consequences. Foremost is the lost $100 million in broadcasting revenue ($140 million went to last year’s league champion, Chelsea), which accompanies the drop to the Championship (the Premier League gives relegated teams “parachute payments” to lessen the financial blow, though that phrase can’t hide that someone is being pushed from a great height). ENLARGE PHOTO: ELISHA COOPER Relegation will be ugly. Not just lost revenue but lost relevance—lost players, lost fans, lost prestige. Arsenal was last relegated in 1913.Manchester United was relegated in 1974 but came back the year after. More often teams never recover, tumbling to lower leagues and struggling to return to the top flight. Remember Leeds? Fulham? As the second half began, Liverpool scored a third time. Then a fourth, a fifth, a sixth. Kolo Touré, who had never scored for Liverpool, scored for Liverpool. The team scored four goals in thirteen minutes. Some teams don’t score four goals in a month. It was a scoring frenzy, a bloodbath. The traveling Liverpool fans were giddy and drunk, and would not stop singing. What started as a football match became a concert for singing Liverpool fans. The only drama was whether the Liverpool players might hurt themselves by pulling a hamstring in their celebratory scrums. ENLARGE PHOTO: ELISHA COOPER Villa fans streamed out of the park, shouting obscenities. One fan threw his hat on the field, then asked for it back. Maybe he’ll want it next year. There’s always hope. Because the other side of relegation is promotion. All over England this spring, the best teams in the lower divisions—like Hull and Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday —will be dreaming big. The top two teams in the Championship win promotion to the Premier League; the next four battle in a playoff for the third spot. These games may be the most exhilarating games in sport. Euphoric games, with players and fans bonded together by the dream of making it to Old Trafford next year. Where a single goal on a muddy field in Yorkshire could be worth $100 million. Imagine that! Imagine, too, the wild possibilities that relegation and promotion could bring to sports in America. The Denver Broncos playing the Iowa Barnstormers. The Golden State Warriors visiting the Kalamazoo Pure. The El Paso Chihuahuas playing in Yankee Stadium. ENLARGE PHOTO: ELISHA COOPER Americans could learn something here. Not only the rough capitalism of relegation, but the irrational exuberance of promotion (many of the teams that are promoted go right back down the following year). Because in both they would experience something vital—real joy, real tears—the knowledge that rooting for ones team matters. There is one American learning this lesson right now: Randy Lerner. Lerner is the American majority-owner of Aston Villa. He also used to be the owner of the Cleveland Browns. Most Popular Videos Distracted Texters Fail the Chewbacca Test Sports Illustrated's 2016 Swimsuit Issue: An Insider's Look Skiers Encounter a Snow Leopard in India Ted Cruz on Trump's Lawsuit, 'Birther' Issue 'Mariam' and the Debate Over Veils Most Popular Articles Pope and Trump Spar Over Immigration and Candidate’s Faith Haute Home Schools for a Bespoke Education Poll: Clinton’s Lead Shrinks as Women Shift to Sanders Pope Says Contraception Can Be Acceptable in Zika-Hit Areas An Entrepreneur’s Whimsical Home Lists for $26 Million Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vancvillan Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 And for those of you who made it all the way through that article, the Samaritans can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 116 123. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Wow, Elisha Cooper brought her snarking A game there, huh. 'Kolo Touré, who had never scored for Liverpool, scored for Liverpool.' Like a dagger, Elisha, like a dagger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 You know relegation is inevitable when comment sections on Villa articles are filled with sympathetic posts from other club's fans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrinityRoadSteps Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 (edited) Love that drawing of The Holte though Edited February 20, 2016 by TrinityRoadSteps 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Yeah, it's a lovely picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 8 hours ago, maqroll said: You know relegation is inevitable when comment sections on Villa articles are filled with sympathetic posts from other club's fans its horrible but ive heard it from people for months but I still wear my Villa colours with pride because as shit as the current team and ownership is, the club and its history itself is still 2nd to **** nobody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Love that drawing of The Holte though All the drawings are great. They are about the only good thing that has come out of our relegation mess recently - a lovely if sad set of pictures as an epitaph to our fall from premier league grace, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phumfeinz Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Laughing at the guy who threw his hat onto the pitch then asked for it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 12 hours ago, Phumfeinz said: Laughing at the guy who threw his hat onto the pitch then asked for it back. Yes, brilliant. He even got a sketch of his own to commemorate the occasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I kind of wish I'd thrown my hat on now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 To be honest I feel if Ayew had not turned into a complete tit against West Ham we would be in a different position, probably 3 points off at most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBM Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 what is on my mind now is how im going to get my son to support this club, i mean, why would i want to? the problem i face is that the other half supports small heath, ive gradually turned my step daughter to support villa and disposed of most small heath memorablia in the house, but she keeps asking me when im going to take her to a game, i make excuses. but my son, my blood, my only child, it would hurt me more if he came out as a small heath fan, than being gay, he will be laughed at in school for being a villa supporter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 yay battered by the youngsters as well, can it get any more embarrassing for these losers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 20 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: yay battered by the youngsters as well, can it get any more embarrassing for these losers? The headline is misleading. The losing team contained, Hutton, Richardson and Sinclair. The under 21's included Ayew who scored 2 of the goals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Just now, Wainy316 said: The headline is misleading. The losing team contained, Hutton, Richardson and Sinclair. The under 21's included Ayew who scored 2 of the goals. Ah really so who was the other 8 players? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Ah really so who was the other 8 players? The other seniors involved were Guzan, Clark, Westwood, Veretout and Gana. Only the latter two I'd consider any good. None of our first choice defence. Fwiw Bacuna played for the u21s too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 At least we actually won a game. Hopefully we can carry it through into the Stoke match, when it really matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I liked the Paddy Power headline of 'Aston Villa aren't even the best team at Aston Villa' 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 24 minutes ago, Wainy316 said: I liked the Paddy Power headline of 'Aston Villa aren't even the best team at Aston Villa' Its got so bad even villa fans are even laughing at their own embarassment of players 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts