After a couple of weeks of dour disappointment following Championship Play-Off defeat to Fulham at Wembley, news hasn’t been kind to us Aston Villa fans.
Promotion failure, a Winding Up Order as news of cash flow problems came through and a realisation of how much promotion this season meant to us financially hit home. Learning we’d factored vital transfer fees for a quicker cash influx, the Chief Executive Officer being suspended and launching his own Constructive Dismissal campaign…oh yes pointless tweets and the utter silence whilst we shell out on swanky London office space instead of saving money and using, erm, our own property…
Have I forgot anything? I hope so, I’m not sure any of us can take anymore.
But just as it gets dark, you can always trust a Villan to turn on a light (even if we’re turning them off at Villa Park and Bodymoor Heath under the guise of climate change!).
The reaction to news of the EFL Cup Round 1 draw this week did bring a smile to my face, even if I largely continue calling it the League Cup – cause you know, it involves Welsh sides and they aren’t English even if some rebranding idiot missed that.
The tweet from the club was utterly inconsequential.
π @Carabao_Cup Round One Draw details have been confirmed…
We'll be ball number 2οΈβ£ in the Southern Section this Friday.
π Friday 15th June 2018
β° 10.45am (UK time)
π Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam#AVFC pic.twitter.com/6ZxbWupSDL— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) June 11, 2018
Aside from the fact that every time I read Ho Chi Minh I instantly think of Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam, some of the responses did stop me from replaying that soundtrack in my head.
There was the excited.
YES BALL NUMBER 2!!! WEMBLEY HERE WE COME #avfc
— Dave (@davehoey81) June 11, 2018
— Scott Mooney (@ScottMooney92) June 11, 2018
— jonesy (@jonesy73) June 11, 2018
And then we come to the downright cynical – my kind of people even if some weren’t strictly fans!
Could you get yourselves an upfront payment on your inevitable cup success? And get a loan using the cup as collateral?
— Matt (@LawMattLaw) June 11, 2018
Can we get a loan against our participation?
— Tom Castle (@Ten_Hi) June 11, 2018
We will prob have gone under by then so donβt get to carried away
— davidAVFCfortnam (@davidfortnam1) June 11, 2018
Need good cup run money will help
— joe h (@Joe46167263) June 11, 2018
We will be lucky if we make it to Friday let alone the actual game
— Liam (@LiamC23_) June 11, 2018
Just waiting for the corner flag of doom to show up and the words club statement
— CM???????? (@SteerEsque) June 11, 2018
And then we have the downright grumpy – and let’s face it we’ve all been there!
Or whoever runs the account is doing their job and knows as much as we do about the whole situation?
— Oldbury Lions (@OldburyLions) June 11, 2018
I couldn't give a shit about this cup competition
— Scott (@scottavfc9) June 11, 2018
Well, it cheered me up!