If there’s one feeling that Aston Villa fans love it’s… well it’s the smug feeling of not supporting Tom Brady’s embarrassing shower from the other side of the city, but that’s not important right now.
If there’s a second feeling that Aston Villa fans love, it’s the pinpointing of a scapegoat.
Whatever your age and Villa-supporting vintage, you’ll remember your first. For me, it was Ulises de la Cruz, who had the perfect combination of a lack of talent, and a first name that sounded a bit like ‘useless’.
So, welcome to the Aston Villa Scapegoat Index – a semi-regular look at how blame is being apportioned both online and in B6, with an added dash of how fair that criticism is, and which real culprits are blamelessly getting away with it.
And so, as the Doug Ellis Stand shout at Matty Cash the moment he’s got three feet of space in front of him, it’s time to 'GET ON WITH IT!’
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PSR/FFP/UEFA
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An external scapegoat? In the first ever scapegoat index? If only Villa could rip up the rulebook like I am here, because there’s no doubt where the focus of the Holte End’s ire has been all summer and into the first few weeks of the season.
Is this the column to moan about all that’s wrong with the rules? I think we’ve all had enough of that, but it’s certainly created a convenient boogeyman on which to blame all of Villa’s travails early in the season.
Is the blame justified?
Yes, the rules, for teams like Villa, are an absolute nightmare. But it also feels like Villa spent the whole summer focused on the injustice of the rules, punting away the first month of the season in the process.
Matty Cash
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There was a moment during the Bologna win when Cash, deep in his own half, beat two men and was suddenly presented with the freedom of the right-hand side.
Even if you don’t remember what happened, you know exactly what Cash did next… he cut inside. The resulting groan following his safe pass to Ezri Konsa was maybe the low point of the first six weeks of the season.
Cash turned to the fans, shouting and raising his arms in exasperation. That safety-first moment, that lack of killer instinct, summed up the early-season goal drought.
Is the blame justified?
Cash is wildly unlucky. His backpass at Old Trafford was disastrous, but he didn’t force Emiliano Martínez to bodycheck whichever United no-mark was through on goal. His cross against Newcastle United was poor, but it took a million other, worse, mistakes for Konsa to get sent off.
And it’s not just that he’s unlucky, but the stink of scapegoat means every tiny mistake is magnified.
Here’s the thing.
[Hey, editor, can you see how far people read before closing the page, I want to try something…]
Cash has been Villa’s best and most consistent player this season. He does exactly what the manager asks of him. There’s a reason he’s stuck in the team for half a decade with no priority given to replace him.
Morgan Rogers
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There was another moment in that Bologna game when Morgan Rogers completed a pass and was greeted with ironic cheers.
After an extraordinary first 18 months in claret and blue, Halesowen’s finest came back to Earth with a bump to start to start the season – Hollywood balls ending up in the Pacific, gallivanting runs failing to take the ball with them, curling efforts ending up in the top tier rather than the top corner. Maybe the Second Tier podcast was right?
Is the blame justified?
Tough one, this. Rogers has clearly not hit the ludicrously high standards he set last season, but even as his end product has slowed, in recent weeks he’s looked more like his old self, getting in the right areas and being far more involved with the play, all while adjusting to being the focal point of opposition defensive efforts. It’s been a frustrating six weeks, but the signs are there that he’s about to come good.
Emiliano Martínez
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You daft sod, Emi.
Is the blame justified?
Yes. You daft sod, Emi.
Unai Emery
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For the first time in King Unai’s three years at Villa Park, there’s been a bit of disquiet around some of the gaffer’s decision-making – the slow start to the season, the slow build up, the slow integration of new players.
It rarely translates to anything worse than indifference in the ground, but has been a bit noisier online, perhaps most notably in the Twitter replies when Emi Buendía came on for Harvey Elliott at half time in the Fulham game.
Six minutes later, Buendía had a goal and an assist.
Is the blame justified?
Yes, absolutely.
That feeling you feel when Villa don’t win… Unai’s fault. The frustration after the semi final and the United games last season… Unai’s fault.
The man has raised expectations for Villa beyond what any of us dreamed was possible. As such, every moment of disappointment when we’re not world beaters is entirely his fault. You bastard. You glorious bastard.
Thomas Bramall
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Nope, still not over it.
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