Hello Fellow Villans!
You might say this is a blast from the past ... and it is! I have been .. away, let's say. A housing problem occurred in October last and it has taken until this month (June) to settle into something that we might call home. It has been something of a traumatic time (but all problems are opportunities are they not?!) and I send my sincere thanks to those of you who inquired of me. But we may yet move again: we will see.
During my time 'away', one of my most frequent Villa communicants, an octogenarian lady born in Aston but latterly of the south of England, very sadly left this life. I felt her loss during the period we went through. God bless her soul.
Coming back to the Villa, though, I went 'off the air' just after Gerrard's departure ... and the change since has been nothing short of phenomenal. A change that certainly gives us, from a playing point of view, much better hope for the Club. The rise of the Villa since October has barely needed any comment from me, and I am so glad to see the resurgence of Skipper McGinn and the rise of Jacob Ramsay, but I do question the release of Ashley Young. I felt he could have something to offer for another season yet. However, Ash helped to get us back into Europe, he being one of those who played the last time we competed there, in 2010. Thanks Ash!
Note that I limit my praise of Villa's rise since October. There are a couple of non-playing things that have transpired these past few months that I have not welcomed, and they can be summed up in this image:
Apart from the basic shirt design - which I am not that keen about - there are two visible changes that are not welcome to me. Firstly: how on earth are we back into using gambling sponsors? Apart from their grotesque logo the very principle of using BK8 appalls me. The quicker it disappears from the shirt the better for me, but in any case, backing the gambling sector should not be a feature of any sport in my humble opinion.
However, the second issue is the club's new logo or emblem. Yes, why not go back to the circular badge and I am happy for its selection. I will say, however, that I believe that this has been an opportunity lost, both artistically and in the presentation of what the club represents to the locality. The badge could have been so much more in my view. But to reverse the direction in which the lion is pointing just begs the question ... WHY? Now, I happen to have some insight here, as I will now explain.
When I was officially looking after the club's memorabilia during the 2007-10 period, I discovered that the original club's lion (from 1878) faced in this, rightmost, direction, and I reported that fact to the hierarchy at Villa, who were very interested to learn this. Little did I realise that in 2023 this right-facing lion would reappear "for historical reasons", but the historical reason for it is lost on me as this right-facing lion only lasted two years at Villa! In 1880 the lion we were all brought up with was instituted: it lasted 143 years. If anything, therefore, why not introduce two lions - left and right facing - if you want to change the lion at all?
What is more mystifying, however, is that this logo will not be universally adopted except on the kit for at least another 12 months! Now, what kind of "brand" is Villa introducing? One lion facing one way ... another the other way. How farcical. It shows scant regard for the club's history and tradition, nor knowledge of it. I am afraid the club seems - in reality - too concerned about its commercial presentation. I say let the results do the presentation, and in that area we seem to be going the right way ... so long as the players all wear a logo with the lion pointing the same way!
I'll write when something else grabs my attention before the season starts.
UTV!
