Greetings,
I trust you are well and are as calm as Unai Emery seems to be about not having a fit centre-forward to start against Brighton in the season opener.
I did promise a deep dive on what’s been driving Villa’s ticket prices, but due to the time involved researching some supplementary evidence, I will publish it here in the next edition. So, make sure you’re subscribed to receive that.
It’s been a week of transfer madness with Emi Martínez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins’ situations, so we’ll instead kick off with a little ditty in relation to that on the detective theme of the new away kit launch video. Then we’ll cast our minds forward to Villa’s second ever league stage Champions League draw, before finishing off with the tale of the unleashed lion that is front and centre of both the new away kit and the rather splendid looking new Adidas Originals range.
Fingers crossed for the start of the season.
UTV
David
Where is Watkins?
Eagle-eyed Villans will have noticed the question ‘Where is Watkins?’ on a post-it note on the conspiracy board in the background of the launch film for the new Villa away shirt. It’s certainly a question that has been echoing around the mind of many a Villa supporter since the Super Cup in Salzburg.
As you’ll know by now, he’s very likely on his way to Al Hilal, if the Saudis oblige Villa with a few more mill. Last Monday though, I also ended up doing a bit of detective work, when one of the My Old Man Said podcast crew got a tip-off that Watkins had been sighted at Birmingham airport.
The info I was initially given was a bit vague to mention elsewhere to stand up to social media cross-examination and the Al Hilal situation seemed to be in its infancy.
The next day, after I cross-examined the receiver of the tip-off, the picture started to come together. I had the time of the sighting, the reg and colour of the car that dropped Watkins off, and other specifics.
A quick check of the flights that night showed that there was a very convenient overnight Emirates flight to Dubai at 9.40pm that would arrive at 8.40 am. It timed with the sighting, and considering the cost of a private plane from BHX to Dubai, it would be a great option if one needed to hop over to Dubai for a meet and greet. Such a meeting was going to be a necessity for a player making such a transformative decision considering the financial package at stake and potentially moving country with a young family and seeing the footballing set-up there.
A few days later, the word on the street was that Watkins wanted the move, so he surely paid Al Hilal a visit.
Check out the full story on My Old Man Said: Ollie Watkins Transfer Plot Thickens With Latest Bid Rejection and Airport Sighting
Champions League Draw & Alternate Home Ground
Next Thursday will see Villa’s forthcoming season really shape up as the Champions League draw will be made. While we wait for the club to finish putting together a team to make us competitive in it - a new striker and centre-back are fairly urgent at this point - it’s a good time to look at what’s been happening in the play-offs to see who Villa could potentially face.
1st Leg Results
Celtic 3-0 LASK
N.E.C. 1-3 Bodø/Glimt
Slovan Bratislava 1-1 Celje
Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2-1 Sabah
Levski Sofia 0-0 AEK Athens
GNK Dinamo 2-2 Viking
Fenerbahçe 1-1 Lyon
While Villa would fancy their chances against any of the play-off teams when it comes to ties at Villa Park, away trips to Celtic, Lyon, and Bodø/Glimt would be some of the tougher ties in terms of the lower pots.
If Fenerbahçe can have a good return leg in France, then it would double the chance of Villa returning to Istanbul for a potential third time this year, with Galatasaray already confirmed in POT 3. That said, there’s even the prospect of a fourth trip to the scene of Villa’s Europa League triumph, if double away Turkish delight is drawn.
Projected CL Teams and Pots
Home Ground Switches
On a final note, several teams in the Champions League won’t be playing in their home grounds.
If Villa were to draw the Israeli team Hapoel Beer Sheva, then based on their previous European home games of the past year being moved to other countries due to the Gaza conflict, travelling Villans could find themselves in either Budapest or Bucharest. Then there’s the question of whether Hapoel Beer Sheva fans will be allowed in Villa Park if Villa were drawn to host them, after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned last season.
They won’t be the only team not playing in their own home stadium. Due to the continuing Ukraine/Russia conflict, Shakhtar Donetsk have the dubious pleasure of playing their home matches at Stamford Bridge, an ironic situation considering Chelsea’s previous owner.
Potentially the most annoying switch of all though for travelling Villans is that there will be no chance of an away day at Como’s iconic Stadio Giuseppe-Sinigaglia that overlooks Lake Como. The stadium currently isn’t UEFA approved. Instead, Como will play their home Champions League matches 200km away (over two hours drive/train) at the 21,000-seater Mapei Stadium.
The Champions League draw is on Thursday, 27 August at 17:00 BST in Monaco. In the meantime, you can have fun simulating the draw here.
New Adidas Originals Range & the Unleashed Lion
Four years ago, when I was part of the Villa Fan Consultation Group involved in the new Villa crest consultation process (after a great first meeting, it proved a wasted opportunity; I’ll explain what happened here at a later date), the group was given three options in a vote for the final two designs:
The round badge (that ended up as the ill-fated badge for one season), the supposed gas lamp design and ‘The Lion Unleashed’, which had the lion with no border with Aston Villa written above it and 1874 below it.
I voted for the unleashed lion, as in its minimalism, it was the cleanest of the designs. For me, the lamp post was too clunky and the circle badge looked like a Hollywood remake of an old classic movie.
Unfortunately, the better design was voted out. In mitigation, it was rationalised that elements like the lion could still be taken out of the new club crest to be used on a shirt, when it came to kit designs.
The latest Villa away shirt is the first manifestation of such thinking.
Imagine the above range with a slightly smaller lion with ASTON VILLA curved above it and 1874 below. What do you think?
It’s surely better than the yellow lion with drop shadow on a sky-blue background that tends to look tacky on kits, a badge that must compromise Adidas designers when designing kits, hence probably why they have used a tonal crest on the latest home shirt following the approach they’ve taken with the away and third shirts.
There’s a purist train of thought that insists you shouldn’t mess with a club’s crest, and Adidas have got into trouble with that before with other clubs. In the case of the Chris Heck-conceived Villa badge, which didn’t receive a supporter mandate, it’s essential that Adidas actually do mess around with it.
Check out the new Adidas Originals range (and away shirt) here, it’s probably their best Villa range yet.
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A fantastic read David 💜🩵🫶
Love the "unleashed lion," but I couldn't deal with the sponsor, so I went with the Originals shirt instead. I'm upbeat about the season ahead; the changes have come hard and fast, but with so many players being "Dean Smith's Men," a remake of the club was overdue.