My Old Man Said — An Aston Villa Podcast

Burnley away. The home team had only one win during 2026 so far and hadn't scored at home in months. Villa needed a win to pretty much secure Champions League football. The 2-2 draw was bordering on predictable. The My Old Man Said post-mortem dissects a performance that tells you more about the bigger picture than the result: two goals from a corner and a long punt, a performance spectrum throughout this year that drops to low.

Also, we take in Amadou Onana's latest injury and the familiar availability pattern that's plagued Villa across four seasons, Emery's...

Villa beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 at Villa Park to reach the Europa League final in Istanbul. Freiburg await. One more job to do to end 30-years of hurt.

Some nights you have a feeling about before a ball is kicked. On a European night, not many English grounds can hold a candle to Villa Park on a European night. The atmosphere was electric and the players on the pitch also made sure they made it an unforgettable night, as well — four goals, a complete performance, and a European final earned in the most emphatic fashion possible.

Before the biggest night at Villa Park in years, a solo My Old Man Said show, with some personal memories and reflections back to 1994, and an honest assessment of what the second leg of the Europa League semi-final requires.

In 1994, Villa were three-nil down at Tranmere in a League Cup semi-final first leg. The fanbase were feeling angry that the club were squandering a real good chance of silverware to put them back on the map, after a difficult decade. The build up to the second leg has parallels, as does the build-up to the final...

What happened against Spurs on Sunday night? Unai Emery elected to shuffle his pack, and there were seven changes, but the line-up wasn't too dissimilar from the one that beat Fenerbahçe away 1-0 in the Europa League. The back four was the same apart from the left-back; the base of the midfield was the same with Bogarde next to Tieliemans, with Sancho and Rogers further forward, and Barkley and Abraham in instead of Watkins and Buendia (who both did come on), but they have been patchy at best anyway. At least against Spurs, you also had Martinez in g...

Some Villa supporters have spent the week since the Fulham defeat getting increasingly pessimistic about the Europa League semi-final tie against Nottingham Forest. Especially after the Tricky Trees tonked Sunderland 5-0 in their own backyard. Have they forgotten about Unai Emery's record in this tournament?

In a first impressions solo preview, My Old Man Said host David Michael takes a clear-eyed look at the reasons for genuine confidence, and what Villa actually need from the first leg at the City Ground to set up Villa Park for the occasion it deserves.

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Villa are building a bigger stadium… but as the age profile of the current Aston Villa squad suggests, they will soon need to build a new team too.

With the Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest bubbling away on the horizon for Aston Villa, the main show of My Old Man Said gets up to speed on a series of key issues like Villa's aging squad and the North Stand development, while also looking at the BBC's decision to cancel Football Focus. Need a ticket to the City Ground for the first leg of the Europa Le...

One Eye on Fulham, Both Eyes on Forest

A 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage that was never really about Fulham.

Villa lost to Fulham on Saturday. Ryan Sessegnon, who has made a habit of tormenting Villa over the years, scored the only goal. Rogers and Watkins missed big chances within thirty seconds of each other that, on another day, would have settled the game before half-time. The four substitutions made simultaneously at the seventy-fourth minute told you everything about where Emery's priorities lie this week.

In this episode the show...

The most chaotic win of the season. And potentially one of the most significant.

Three-one up and coasting. Then Sancho came on. Then it was three-three. Then Martinez stood up when it mattered most. Then Abraham scored the winner from a Digne cross that could have been measured with a ruler. Ten points clear of Chelsea. Champions League football confirmation is getting closer.

The latest episode of the My Old Man Said podcast show unpacks the full emotional spectrum of a game that had everything — brilliant team goals, inexplicable defensive gaps, a substitution th...

A 4-0 win on the night, 7-1 on aggregate. Aston Villa dispatched Bologna with comfortable ease to set up an all-English Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Villa were three goals up before half-time, Buendia was the player of the night in what may have been his most complete performance in a Villa shirt, and the second half became an extended exercise in managing minutes ahead of Sunderland on Sunday.

In this episode of My Old Man Said, the show breaks down a night that confirmed Villa as legitimate Europa League favourites, and...

After Villa's first leg 3-1 win in Bologna, the second leg at Villa Park seems to be a formality, but Unai Emery will take in the lessons of Bologna's win in Roma in the previous round. Champions League football isn't quite in touching distance just yet.

In this Europa Vision episode of the My Old Man Said podcast show, we take in the full picture: the Bologna second leg and what Emery needs to do tactically to see it out, the Forest versus Porto quarter-final that is poised far more delicately than expected, and what the...

Villa drew 1-1 at the City Ground. The result was frustrating. The context is encouraging.

Villa came away from the City Ground with a point that felt like less than they deserved. An own goal. A Morgan Rogers chance that clipped the bar. A Watkins one-on-one that should have been buried. A McGinn effort that forced a brilliant save. The xG may have said 0.98 to Villa, but the show's assessment is it should have been three or four.

This Post-mortem episode of the My Old Man Said podcast show breaks down the three...

The international break debrief — fixture analysis, form tables, and the stat that puts the West Ham win in optimistic context.

Two wins. Momentum restored. Six points clear of Chelsea, five of Liverpool, with seven games remaining and destiny firmly back in Villa's own hands. The question now is simple: can they do it themselves and not have to rely on others?

In this episode the show takes stock of where Villa are, where their rivals are, and what the fixture list actually looks like for the final stretch. We take a closer look at...

The West Ham game was a non-negotiable. Once again, Chelsea and Liverpool had handed Villa the opportunity to take control of the Champions League race and unlike previous fumbles, this time they took it. A McGinn free-kick, a much-needed Watkins' goal, twenty-three shots, and a performance that looked more like the team that had won eleven games in a row than anything seen in the previous two months.

In this episode the My Old Man Said podcast show we break down what actually changed — why the tempo was different, why Sancho suddenly looks like the player cl...

A controlled first half, a second half that finally came to life, and two goals that sent Aston Villa into the Europa League quarter-finals 3-0 on aggregate. Martinez's pinpoint clearance, Sancho's backheel, and McGinn's composed finish, the elements of a great opener, before Leon Bailey finished the tie off.

We look back at the Villa Park conclusion to the Lille two-legged Europa League tie — including a first half at Villa Park so deliberately passive that even those in the ground were losing the will to watch — and discuss the highlights of a much improved second half perf...

A third consecutive Premier League defeat. Eight league games left. And a set of questions about structure, recruitment and ambition that will not wait until the summer.

Villa's 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford was not a shock. It was, as this podcast noted immediately, an expected result, an expected performance... and an expected xG. What makes it significant is the context and manner of it - three consecutive league defeats, a Champions League place that is now being held by inertia rather than form, and a set of structural problems that are becoming harder to attribute...

France Has Fallen. Now for Old Trafford.

Villa win 1-0 in Lille to take control of the Europa League tie — but the harder test arrives Sunday.

In this double-header episode, the show analyses Villa's controlled but unconvincing win in France — the goal, the Watkins miss that should have killed the tie, and the moment John McGinn walked off the bench and immediately reminded everyone what Villa have been missing.

Then it's forward to Sunday and a trip to Old Trafford, where the show sets out exactly why this fixture matters beyo...

Aston Villa's Europa League last sixteen first leg against Lille on Thursday arrives at a critical moment in the season. With Villa sitting seventeenth in the Premier League form table over the last six games, the show discusses whether the Europa League now represents the most realistic route back to the Champions League, and whether the Lille tie can do for this season what the Bologna win did back in October.

The show discusses the injury latest, with McGinn edging closer to a return, the squad selection dilemma for Thursday given the trip to Old Trafford...

For a while, it looked like Villa might just make a fight of it against Chelsea at Villa Park.

The opening goal was exactly what the team needed. Quick tempo, Douglas Luiz breaking forward, Bailey finally receiving the ball in space, and a sharp finish by Luiz to cap a rare moment of attacking fluency.

It was the type of move Villa have been missing.

Then came the moment that changed the night.

Watkins thought he had put Villa 2–1 ahead after a brilliant breakaway move involving Morgan Ro...

This wasn’t just a bad night.

It was a warning.

Villa went to Molineux knowing exactly what was at stake. A six-point cushion. Chelsea next. Momentum fragile but intact. Instead, they produced a performance devoid of conviction and lost to a Wolves side that had won one game in twenty-eight  

The tone was set early. Pau Torres, unmarked from a corner, headed wide when the script demanded a goal. From that moment, belief drained. Villa overplayed and hesitation set in. It was tension disguised as patience.

The...

Aston Villa are third.

Six points clear of the Champions League trapdoor and yet it doesn’t feel comfortable.

This episode digs into the strange duality of Villa’s current position. On paper, the table looks strong. After 27 games, Villa sit on 51 points, three clear of Manchester United and six ahead of the Champions League drop line. Historically, that buffer matters.

But performances tell a different story. The attack has stalled. The midfield spine is missing. The Molineux record is grim.

Kamara, Tielemans and McGinn absent has stri...

This is not about one result. It is about direction.

Aston Villa remain in a strong league position, but the performances beneath it are raising legitimate questions. The defensive numbers are impressive. Only five goals conceded in 2026. Structure is there. Organisation is there.Fluency is not.

Across recent weeks, Villa’s open-play chance creation has dipped sharply. The xG numbers now align with what the eye test has been saying for some time. Games at Villa Park have become tight, tense, and dependent on moments rather than patterns.

There is al...

After a quick look ahead to the game against an improving Leeds United team, the MOMS team takes a belated look back on the solid year of progress that was the year 2025. They profile the top five Aston Villa players of the year, look back at the year's high's and low's, as well as the surprises from the year and how Emery's Villa year rated compared to his others.

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The narrative to the FA Cup 4th round clash between Aston Villa and Newcastle United writes itself.

Goalkeeper sent off. Game swings. Villa lose. End of story.

Except it isn’t that simple.

This My Old Man Said post-mortem episode pulls apart the FA Cup tie from the moment of the red card onward and challenges the assumption that it was automatically over. Yes, the dismissal changed the balance. Yes, momentum shifted. But knockout football is rarely decided by a single flashpoint.

The discussion centres on what Vi...

It was flat. It was tense. It was not one for the purists or season highlights.

But it was three points.

Aston Villa laboured past Brighton in a game that never quite caught light. Tempo was slow, rhythm inconsistent, and the usual midfield control absent. Large spells felt like two teams cancelling each other out rather than one asserting itself.

Then came the decisive moment.

A late corner, a near-post run, and Tyrone Mings making sure someone attacked the space properly. In a match short on incision, i...

This game depends on context.

On the surface, a draw after taking the lead feels frustrating. Dig deeper, and it looks very different.

Aston Villa went to one of the league’s most awkward away grounds, against one of the form teams in the division, without their key midfield controllers. What followed was not control or fluency, but resilience.

Villa started brightly, moved the ball well early, and took the lead through Rogers with a cracking finish that hinted at a comfortable afternoon. It didn’t last. Bournemouth raised the tempo...

With Aston Villa dealing with a mounting midfield injury list and a January window shaped more by constraint than ambition, this main show takes stock of where things actually are. Not where fans would like them to be. Not where narratives suggest they should be.

The transfer window assessment is framed through damage limitation, PSR pressure, squad balance, and the reality that replacing key midfielders mid-season is close to impossible.

That context feeds directly into the on-pitch discussion, starting with a battling draw away at Bournemouth. Down bodies, short of control, and under...

The 1-0 home loss wasn't about a lack of effort, it was about what was missing.

Aston Villa had the ball, the territory, and eventually a numerical advantage against Brentford. What they didn’t have were the midfielders who usually turn control into pressure. Kamara. Tielemans. McGinn. Without them, Villa’s dominance stayed neat, predictable, and ultimately harmless.

This My Old Man Said post-mortem episode focuses on how midfield absences shaped the game. Villa circulated the ball patiently but lacked aggression between the lines, runners arriving with intent, or anyone prepared to take resp...

This should not have been complicated. Villa allowed it to be.

Knowing a win would guarantee a top-two finish and second-leg home advantage in the Europa League knockouts, Aston Villa approached the Salzburg game with management in mind. For too long, that drifted into passivity.

The first half lacked tempo and bite. Defensive concentration wavered and a young, fearless Salzburg side were given encouragement they should not have had. Villa looked like a team trying to coast a European night that demanded focus.

The second half changed when Villa did. 2-0...

This was never going to be a glamorous window, but certainly few would have expected such a twist.

With Aston Villa hit by a cluster of midfield injuries at the worst possible time, this transfer catch-up looks at the merit of the triple signings of former players, that were originally signed by Dean Smith. Are we upgrading? Gambling? Or is it just damage limitation?

The conversation centres on the loss of Kamara, Tielemans, and McGinn and why that trio underpins almost everything Villa do well. Defensive stability. Control. Goal contributions. Take all three...

This was the kind of away win that changes perception.

Aston Villa went to St James’ Park, absorbed the noise, managed the pressure, and left with three points without ever losing control of the game. Not through survival. Through composure.

This post-mortem focuses on how Villa dictated terms in an environment that usually overwhelms visiting sides. Newcastle had the crowd and moments of momentum, but Villa had structure, discipline, and clarity in their decision-making.

There’s discussion of how Villa managed territory, why conceding space was part of the plan rathe...

THIS MATCH IS CRUCIAL wrote Unai Emery in the match programme notes for the Everton game. The players it seems didn't get the memo.

Everton came to Villa Park with a clear plan and left having disrupted the one area Aston Villa normally rely on for control. The midfield. Not through brilliance, but through physicality, timing, and exploiting a lack of cohesion caused by Villa's injuries and enforced changes.

This My Old Man Said post-mortem focuses on why Villa never established rhythm, why second balls kept going the wrong way, and how Everton...

Some games are not about flair. They are about control.

As Everton arrive at Villa Park, this main show looks past form lines and reputations to focus on why Aston Villa are structurally well suited to matches like this. Patient play, physical resistance, limited space, and an opponent built to frustrate rather than entertain.

The discussion centres on Emery’s evolving approach. Positional discipline, intelligent rotation, and letting the ball do the work rather than chasing it. Villa are not running more than opponents. They are running smarter. The Opta data backs it up...

This one had everything a cup tie should.

Noise, needle, moments of quality, moments of chaos, and a sense that one team understood the occasion far better than the other. Aston Villa went to Tottenham, took the FA Cup seriously, and left having knocked Spurs out for the second season running.

This post-mortem doesn’t run chronologically. It picks out the moments that defined the day. Villa’s control in the first half. Two exquisite goals that reflected preparation and confidence. Spurs’ brief second-half push. And the way Villa weathered it without ever losing...

What does Aston Villa actually play like?

It’s a question people keep trying to answer with labels. Possession-based. Pragmatic. Ruthless. Transitional. And it’s a question that keeps missing the point.

This main show uses the goalless draw at Crystal Palace, the looming FA Cup trip to Spurs, and Villa’s broader winter form to step back and assess the current questions. Not just results, but method. Not just systems, but intent.

There’s discussion of why the Palace game told us very little that we don’t already know, why de...

A new year, the same authority.

After the winning run ended at Arsenal, Aston Villa returned to Villa Park and did exactly what mature sides do. They took control, strangled transitions, and dealt with Nottingham Forest without drama.

Forest pulled one back, but it never felt like a turning point. Villa remained composed, dictated the tempo, and reasserted themselves through midfield dominance, intelligent pressing, and clinical moments at the right time.

This post-mortem focuses on the substance rather than the scoreline. Kamara’s immediate impact. Tielemans running th...

The winning run had to end somewhere. Unfortunately, it ended at the hardest place in the league to do anything at all.

Villa went to the Emirates chasing history and left with a 4–1 defeat that looks brutal on paper, but tells a far more nuanced story when you strip it back. A controlled first half, big chances missed, then everything pivots on one moment: Onana off at half-time and the midfield grip disappearing instantly.

This post-mortem picks through where the game actually swung, why Arsenal’s second goal effectively killed it, and how inju...

Aston Villa were bullied, outplayed, and offered nothing for an hour at Stamford Bridge. Twenty-nine percent possession. No shots. One goal down. Seasoned Villa fans were already bracing themselves.

Then Unai Emery changed everything.

On this My Old Man Said post-mortem show, we dissect one of the most revealing wins of the season. A game that looked dead and buried until a triple substitution flipped the script, Ollie Watkins reminded everyone what a proper centre-forward does, and Villa scored twice in a twenty-minute burst that left Chelsea flat on their backs.

...

The Manchester United post-mortem usually involves burying Villa’s latest trauma and promising not to speak of it again until the next time. Not this time.

On this episode of My Old Man Said, Villa are resurrected. Unai Emery finally gets his second win over United, Christmas is officially saved, and Morgan Rogers announces himself properly with two moments that decide a game Villa did not fully control but absolutely deserved to win.

We break down the key moment that mattered, Watkins’ understated role in the winner, and why Rogers has crossed the line...

Aston Villa arrive at Christmas in form, winning ugly, and climbing quietly. The league table looks healthy. The mood should be festive. And yet Manchester United turn up again, dragging decades of baggage with them.

On this week’s My Old Man Said, we ask the only question that matters. Is this finally an Emery Christmas, or are Villa about to be visited once more by the ghosts of United past?

We strip away the noise around title talk, dig into why Villa still cannot relax against United, and question whether this run of...

Villa go behind. Again. Villa wobble. Again. Villa win. Again.

This post-mortem from the London Stadium digs into a game that should have been a banana skin and nearly was. West Ham had momentum, Jarrod Bowen was running the show, Villa looked leggy after Europe and yet somehow, once noses were in front, the door slammed shut.

We get forensic on the turning point. Digne on, Bowen gone. Control reclaimed. Emery-ball reasserted.

There’s a brutal assessment of the first half, Watkins dithering when the game was there to be ki...