It appeared as though Aston Villa could build an improbable title campaign after winning back-to-back 1-0 games against Manchester City and Arsenal in early December. In less than two months, they will have to fight to qualify for the Champions League.
Their season is starting to resemble a well-known trend in recent Premier League history: a team tries very hard to enter the relatively elite “Big Six” party through the gate, but ultimately falters in the closing stages. Who will be the last club turned away at the door, according to Unai Emery’s team?
After home wins against the first two in early December, there was hope in the second city unseen in over a decade, even though few, if any, really anticipated the Villains to compete with Manchester City, Arsenal, or Liverpool.
Villa had not led the league this far into a season since 1998/99, and maybe the added pressure and the shift in expectations from the summer contributed to a lackluster performance against Chris Wilder’s team. It wasn’t just the victories; their dominance of the champions was particularly impressive, and it was both a rarity in the Pep Guardiola City era and confirmation of the stunning transformation under Emery. Those results put Villa in a position to go top of the tree a week later with a win at home against lowly Sheffield United on December 22. Instead, the result was a late draw, marking the first dropped points at home this season.
Since then, Villa’s performance has significantly declined, winning only two of their six league games: a close 3-2 victory against Burnley at home in 19th place and, to be fair, a 5-0 thrashing of the Blades at Bramall Lane.
There have been two defeats by Manchester United: the first occurred at Old Trafford when the team was leading 2-0, and the second occurred last weekend in a devastating late loss that leaves Erik ten Hag’s team trailing by only five points and carrying a lot of momentum.
Three straight losses at Villa Park after a victory from Scott McTominay in the 87th minute, a stark contrast to their prior dominant home form that saw them win 15 straight games before drawing with Chris Wilder’s team.
The Newcastle defeat, 3-1, was a
There must be a hint of déjà vu for supporters and club members from the last time Villa dared to dream.
Similar to Emery, Martin O’Neill led the team to a Champions League qualifying spot in the late 2000s, and the team was still in contention far into the second half of the season.
With 10 wins from their first 13 league games—the most in the division—and a 2-0 victory at Blackburn on February 7 to make it seven straight—Villa’s strength in 2008–09 was their away performance, which put them comfortably in third place.
a group that included Ashley Young, James Milner, and Gareth Barry, whom O’Neill dubbed the world’s best player following his incredible late victory against Everton earlier in
There was no league win for nearly three months, with Villa winning just two of their last 12 league games, none coming away from home. Six of their 10 league defeats came in this period. They eventually finished sixth, 10 points behind perennial fourth-placers Arsenal.
The following season saw a similar story and the same league finish, albeit in less dramatic fashion, as Villa were usurped by both Tottenham and Manchester City, marking the origins of the ‘Big Six’ we know and love/loathe today.
But for a dodgy lasagne, Spurs would have qualified for the Champions League in 2005/06 and by 2010, Harry Redknapp had built a rather formidable squad featuring Gareth Bale and Luka Modric amongst others.
As for City, two years into their Abu Dhabi ownership era, it was only just beginning – they have not finished outside the top four since, and only once have they dropped below third
