We have mixed feelings about Aston Villa’s start to the new season, to put it mildly. The Villans have tremendously impressed as a Premier League force after that opening-day loss at Newcastle and then another forgettable match at Liverpool – especially with that rout of Brighton.
The Seagulls seem to be everyone’s second favourite team at the moment, but they certainly were on the wrong end of a rude awakening at Villa Park when Ollie Watkins helped himself to a hat-trick and Villa bagged six goals in total to move into the top five.
The flip side of all that has been Villa’s form in other competitions – losing their first game of the Europa Conference League group stage and then crashing out of the Carabao Cup to an Everton side they had put to the sword in the league just a few weeks earlier
Off the pitch, Villa fans must be scratching their heads too. Brilliant news as progress on the redevelopment of Villa Park is made, but concern over the club’s kit, crest and a ticketing policy that saw thousands of empty seats for the 2-1 cup defeat by Everton after fans stayed away, due to higher ticket costs.
What do you think about Villa’s next campaign? Our Villa Park poll, which has just eight items, asks about the squad, the manager, his hires, tickets, the amenities at Villa Park, and that wet-looking outfit. After that, we’ll gather your comments and talk about them in a later Claret & Blue Podcast episode. We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to complete it, and if you have a compelling argument, we might even ask you to participate in an interview.