HEROES AND VILLANS
Aston Villa are a grand old club. One of the 12 founder members of the Football League, they have always had that vibe, a sheepskin coat of a club in a league full of trendy anoraks. The magnificent Villa Park – with its brick facade, Holte End, wood-panelled innards and a grandeur befitting many an FA Cup semi-final – has seen it all in its 126-year history. And in the not-too-distant past, Villa have been champions of England, champions of Europe. More recently, they have been relegated, promoted and a bit average. Villa fans have long dreamt of ending their near-30-year major trophy hiatus (no, we’re not counting the 2001 Intertoto Cup) but nobody thought that it could be the Premier League that ends the drought. The size of a trophy cabinet does not maketh a club (just ask Newcastle), but it certainly helps.
