My Old Man Said — An Aston Villa Podcast

Aston Villa face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup final at Stadion Salzburg on Wednesday 12 August — Europa League holders against Champions League holders. An unlikely win will lift Villa up a tier in English teams in terms of European royalty, as not many can boast two Super Cup wins to their name. This week's episode asks the question the squad list can't quite answer yet: is Emery's side actually ready, with the transfer window still open and noticeably weaker than in recent seasons due to injuries and World Cup returning player doubts.

The team-news picture is...

Just over a fortnight out from the Premier League opener at Brighton, this week's episode asks the question Villa's midfield can't avoid: is it actually good enough for the Champions League and this season? Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers are both gone. João Gomes and, everyone hopes, Johan Manzambi are meant to replace them — not like for like, but as a different way of playing altogether.

The conversation works through the practical questions first. Is Gomes the same kind of deep-lying orchestrator Tielemans was, or something with more bite and less silk? Can Boubacar Kamara han...

The preseason catch-up show returns with the foundations of Villa's summer transfer business largely settled — Johan Manzambi, João Gomes and Alejandro Garnacho in, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, and Morgan Rogers out. Also we reflect on Villa player's impact on the summer's World Cup.

From there it's Villa news — the North Stand rebuild, injury concerns and Brian Madjo's registration appeal success. The Three Points has a shirt theme, while Emery's Clipboard tries to unearth more Buendia's.

Subscribe to AVWTF - www.astonvilla.wtf Sharp and informative Villa writing for supporters who can spot the c...

Aston Villa's summer took another turn this week: Morgan Rogers completed a British-record £117m move to Chelsea rather than Arsenal, João Gomes' switch from Wolves was announced, while João Palhinha's loan from Bayern Munich is less straightforward than it looked.

This week's episode goes back over the week that was and explains why Chelsea, not Arsenal, always made more sense once the pieces were on the table — Johan Manzambi's arrival, the timing of the announcement, and what it signalled about who Villa expected to be negotiating with. There's a breakdown of João Gomes' fit al...

Aston Villa's transfer window has gone from silent to frantic inside a week. Youri Tielemans has had his £35m release clause triggered to join Manchester United, Lucas Digne has had his release clause triggered to, as he's heading to join Paris Saint-Germain, and Johan Manzambi is arriving from SC Freiburg.

We look at what frames it all, the restrictive UEFA settlement Villa have in place and the fact they desperately need to refresh an aging squad, that is one of the oldest in the Premier League.

This week's episode gets into why Villa a...

The main show is back. Pre-season friendlies have forming on the horizon, there's a Super Cup to be won, and we know the Premier League fixtures, well, until Sky Sports changes them. The World Cup is on, and while the transfer window is in stasis until the knockout rounds begin in earnest, there is a lot to get through.

We catch up with all the latest news - a positive update on Boubacar Kamara, Villa's key FIFA appeal, progress on Aston train stations, and more.

The Three Points section covers everything from FIFA...

The Mad Few is back. For the uninitiated: the name comes from Steve Bruce's affectionate description of Aston Villa supporters who weren't particularly happy with his management. It stuck. So when the questions for MOMS pile up, they become a Mad Few episode.

Part one of at least two covers the season just gone, the questions it raised, and the conversations it opened. It starts where the season ended: relief, disbelief, and a growing suspicion that what just happened might be the best sustained run of results in over forty years.

Was the...

The season is done. The trophy is in the cabinet. The top-four finish is banked - literally. And now — with the confetti swept and the open-top bus parked — it's time for the honest debrief.

This week's episode is a free-form end of season conversation covering everything from the new 2026-27 home kit to Ollie Watkins' late-season renaissance, from the tipsy final day at Manchester City to the question that will define next season before it has even started: does this summer's transfer window signal genuine ambition or cautious consolidation?

There's also...

Aston Villa are Europa League winners. Three-nil against SC Freiburg on a rain-soaked Wednesday night in Istanbul, that ended in the early hours with a trophy cabinet that finally has something new in it.

This post-mortem covers what actually happened — and what it means. From Youri Tielemans' opening volley, which settled every nerve in the ground the moment it hit the corner of the net, to a second-half of focused control. Three picture-perfect strikes. A goalkeeper who broke a finger in the warm-up and played on regardless. A fanbase that spent two seasons fluent in PSR an...

Aston Villa face SC Freiburg in the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday — and this week's episode is a full lowdown on the opponents, covering their history, their identity, their key players, and the tactical shape of what awaits. It's everything you need to know.

The episode opens with a verdict that captures the problem succinctly: Villa have to shoot Bambi. Freiburg are 100% fan-owned, operate on a fraction of Villa's transfer budget, have the lowest squad turnover rate in the Bundesliga. The rest of the world will be rooting for the virtuous underdog.

...

Aston Villa beat Liverpool 4-2 at Villa Park on Friday evening, sealing Champions League qualification through the league and sending supporters into the Istanbul week in exactly the right frame of mind. The game that looked like a distraction turned into the best possible preparation.

This week's My Old Man Said Post-Mortem opens with the moment that changed everything: the teamsheet. When Emery named the side that beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 in the European semi-final — essentially the expected starting lineup for Wednesday — the game instantly became something else. Not a Premier League fixture to be survived befo...

Aston Villa face Liverpool at Villa Park on Friday evening — the last Premier League fixture before the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday. Champions League qualification still isn't mathematically confirmed through the league.

It should already be wrapped up. It isn't. And that shapes everything about how the Liverpool game needs to be approached — not as a send-off but as unfinished business. The reality is though, Unai Emery and his players will rest up, but will there be at least enough application to make a fight of the game?

This week's main show...

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...