credit: Sky Sports Football

Max Wilkins

Mon 14 April 2025 11:10, UK

Aston Villa fans certainly weren’t impressed by Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner after his side lost 2-0 to Peterbrough United on Sunday.

The Posh retained the EFL Trophy on 13 April thanks to first-half goals from Harley Mills and Hector Kyprianou at Wembley Stadium.

This saw Villa Park favourite Jed Steer pick up yet another trophy at the home of football in what came as a surprise against the League One champions.

Despite falling to defeat, the Small Heath outfit were caught in a moment with their owner Wagner, which certainly hasn’t gone down well.

Aston Villa fans react to Birmingham City owner Wagner at Wembley

It is safe to say that Blues have had an upward turn since the introduction of the US businessman and NFL legend Tom Brady.

This has seen them earn promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt, but not after spending over £25million to do so.

With that being said, it was almost seen as a far gone conclusion that the St Andrews’ side would secure the EFL Trophy in their second trip to Wembley in 15 years.

That wasn’t the case in the end, but that didn’t stop Wagner capturing the headlines for a speech towards his players after the collection of their runners-up medals.

It is fair to say that this hasn’t gone down well with English football fans, with Villa fans being particularly scathing on social media, with many describing him as “embarrassing”.

Another compared it to Villa’s hierarchy, suggesting the Villa players “being publicly addressed by Wes Edens” is “unthinkable”.

Aston Villa fans grateful after Birmingham City footage emerges

Sometimes, having owners who are front-facing can be a positive and there is no doubt that it has worked to save Blues after years of mismanagement.

With that being said, the footage of Wagner has only made the Villa faithful appreciate Edens and Nasef Sawiris even more.

The duo have worked together behind the scenes to great effect and have taken the Villans from the Championship to the Champions League in just six years.

Under Unai Emery, Villa have been simply superb and have quietly gone about their business with little need for public displays of “passion” for TV and documentary cameras.