The Three Dads' Football Season Wonderland

I couldn't post after the Saudi massacre up on Tyneside. The gut punch of game one was too much to bear. All of the pre-season optimism was drained by losing Buendia (one of our best pre-season performers) to an ACL on the eve of the game, and then Mings in-game to another ACL). Villa got slaughtered, and even Pau's [otherwise promising] looking debut was punctuated by a sea of goals against. Football is a nightmare. The sheer swiftness of how we went from being a hugely strengthened squad with great hopes, to a depleted one with confidence sapped; is alarming. What Villa needed of course, was a gimme of a match and Everton provided this. Pau replaced Mings and looked commanding against zero threat. We learn not a lot - but 90 mins of strutting about playing passes and getting a good feel for things certainly can't harm. Diaby continued to look a real menace. Bailey, who would likely not have been picked for the Newcastle game, but for Buendia's injury, kept his place i...

Just under a week to go until the season properly starts, and as a Forest fan the season ahead fills me with a bizarre mix of excitement and dread. Apologies in advance for the long post - as I wrote this I’m sat on a rooftop in Spain several beers deep soaking up the sun before getting back to the rain in the UK. Having managed to avoid the fabled last day survival battle at the end of last season, the hope is there for an improvement this time around, and possibly even building to a push for a mid table finish. However throwing a bit of realism into the mix are 2 causes for concern in my eyes: 1. We don’t have a goalie who could argue they are good enough for a starting spot in the Prem. Matt Turner is looking the most likely option, but good as he may be it’s hard to put faith in someone who doesn’t have any Prem games under their belt. 2. Preseason - it’s been abysmal. Apart from the last game against Frankfurt we have been woeful. I know preseason is about fitness, squad experimen...

The Community Shield has kicked off, and that feint smell of football which has been gradually permeating my consciousness over the past weeks, has now fully manifested. Thanks to Villa's Emery-inspired turnaround of last season, I feel the motivation to put thoughts to paper in this coming season, as for the first time in forever, I go into a season with a feeling that anything is possible, rather than the usual (and perfectly rational) sense of impending disaster. This in itself is un-nerving. Time will tell whether the early season optimism turns to tears before August is out. Speaking of tears, last season ended in actual tears for me. Tears of joy as John McGinn double pumped a fist towards the Holte End, having just successfully ass-shielded the ball for a corner, thus closing out a fabulous win against Brighton, the result we needed to once again (after a decade absence) clinch a place in European competition. The transformation in the Villa side from a limp, soul-less outfi...