It turned into an eventful Sunday for Aston Villa fans as we got back to Premier League action after the March international break.
Welcoming Fulham to Villa Park for the tie, few were expecting a repeat of the opening encounter of the 2020/21 campaign as under Scott Parker they have tightened up and shown improvement and we, of course, have struggled since the turn of the New Year and sadly that was how it played out.
We were woeful for the vast majority of the game and although Fulham didn’t really trouble us and there was a huge slice of luck involved with their goal, it’s hard to say they didn’t deserve the lead. It took us 70 odd minutes to even register a shot on target.
Later on in the second half with us chasing the game, head coach Dean Smith got slightly adventurous and following the introduction of Trezeguet, Keinan Davis and latterly Jacob Ramsey, we found a spark and some momentum, and in finally taking the game to them, we turned the game on its head and came out as 3-1 winners.
One of the strangest games of the last decade and it also produced one of the strangest stats I’ve ever seen.
1992 – Aston Villa vs Fulham is the first game in @premierleague history in which every player in the starting XI for both sides was born after the first ever Premier League game on August 15th 1992. Quirky. pic.twitter.com/kotGpvdbi8
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 4, 2021
Most, if not all Villa fans would’ve felt old and tired after those 90 minutes, but for plenty, that stat was another dawning realisation of the passage of time and became something else to smile about as everyone felt a sense of relief following the game.
Comments from our Vital Villa How Old Does This Make You Feel Forum Thread
JW1985
Ancient. I’m 35, 36 in June and I remember feeling old when Stefan Moore became the first player younger than me to play for Villa. The next milestone was not too long ago when I realised that the grizzled old man of the team, Jedinak, was actually younger than me. Thankfully he still looks about 15 years older due to that beard.
sirdennis
Very.
Pangloss
When Stefan Moore broke through Jacob Ramsay was like 1 lol.
Chieftoast
Wayne Rooney is three years younger than me, I remember his debut and hating the fact that someone younger than me was better than me at things. Now he’s retired and I’m still slogging away 9-5. Then thinking that the Villa kids that played Liverpool in the cup were 17ish and theoretically I’m old enough to be their father, I think I might have to give up on the dream of making it as a footballer.
McParlandTheGreat
Can’t feel any older than I do already.
Stephen Jay Hawkins
Took me a long time to accept that some players were younger than me. Now they all are. At least Ibrahimovic is still older than me.
mike_field
I’ve never really thought about it like that. #innerconfidenceoffailure
Villan57
Makes no odds to me I still think it’s 1974.
The Fear
What does make me feel old is the constant talks with my dad that modern football leaves me cold and it was better 20 years (and more) ago.
Xchurch Villa
Ha Ha! I remember standing in the Holte End thinking “one day there will be a player younger than me”. Then one day thinking “blimey – they are all younger than me”. The final crushing moment comes when you realise the Manager and owners are younger than you!
Silhillvilla
That is exactly how I’ve charted my own ageing process in life. Once the manager was younger than me I knew I was in trouble.
Has that stat scared anyone else reading?
Reaction?
God Now I Feel Old
I've Clearly Got A Few Years On Some Of You
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