Aston Villa supporters baffled by official pre-season announcement – ‘Yikes’
Aston Villa’s ownership is coming under intense scrutiny following a string of unpopular decisions.
Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens made the headlines last week for deciding to sell Villa Women’s side to generate more cash for the men’s team.
It has put their general management of finances under scrutiny, especially given they may face further ramifications from the Premier League after being fined by UEFA for non-compliance.
The Villans are steadily growing weary of NSWE, which is unlikely to improve following the club’s latest pre-season announcement.
Villa add two friendlies to their pre-season schedule
Aston Villa’s pre-season this summer is set to commence in just nine days as they take on Walsall before travelling to German side FC Hansa Rostock (19 July).
A further four fixtures were then planned across America as part of a US tour. However, Villa officially announced (7 July) the addition of two more fixtures against Olympic de Marseille and Villereal in August.
Unai Emery‘s side is set to travel to France to take on Roberto De Zerbi’s men on 9 August, before travelling to Spain to face the Yellow Submarine barely 24 hours later.
It will be a huge test on the squads fitness to play both games with so little time in between, and will only allow the Claret and Blues five days of recovery ahead of their first Premier League fixture against Newcastle.
The announcement has baffled many Villa supporters, who quickly took to X to express their feelings, with one fan commenting ‘9th and 10th? Yikes’.
New pre-season friendlies won’t help Emery
Pre-season has long been used as a quick and easy money maker, with big clubs incresingly travelling to distant countries to take part in lucrative faux-competitions.
However, it’s primary focus should still be on getting the players in the best shape ahead of a challenging season, and Villa’s plans of playing two games in as many days threatens to derail that objective.
Emery will be forced to heavily rotate his squad between those fixtures to maintain fitness, which will not allow for any continuity and has very little upside so close to the start of the season.
Should any players pick up an injury during those games, especially the second one, it will ultimately be a disasterous move by NSWE and could only harm Emery’s already challenging season ahead.
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