Delight and despair as season concludes with highs and lows
THE agony and ecstasy of the Midlands football weekend. The ecstasy of Aston Villa landing seventh position in the Premier League on the last day of the season with a subsequent place in Europe.
The agony of Coventry City losing a penalty shoot-out at Wembley and a place in the Premier League next season; of being in the King Power Stadium and watching my team Leicester City win on the day but being relegated to the Championship… and, for Wolves fans, their team being spanked 5-0 at Arsenal.
What a season for Villa, who made a mid-season managerial change with the inspired choice of Unai Emery.
What has happened since has been remarkable. Emery, with a fine record in Europe, has improved certain players – Tyrone Mings is a good example – and has set the team on winning streaks. Even so, it should not be underestimated the role at the back played by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. There is talk of him possibly leaving. Keeping him is essential. A keeper of his top quality would be hard to replace.
The 2-1 home win over Brighton secured their spot in next season’s Europa Conference League – the third tier of European football. Exciting days for Villa and with Emery winning four Europa League cups I would expect them to follow West Ham’s path to the final next season.
Ollie Watkins scored again on Sunday but I am sure Villa will find him some new strike partners in the summer.
These look like golden days ahead for the Villa. That is the ecstasy. Now to the agony.
It is incredible that a penalty shoot-out should propel Luton Town to the Premier League after the 1-1 draw after extra time at the expense of Coventry.
We all know this is the modern way to resolve cup finals, Euro finals and World Cups when they are still level. But with so much at stake at the end of the season, with a place in the Premier League, I still find it strange there is no replay. Of course, that is not going to happen in these modern times but just a thought. The Sky Blues were poor in the first half at Wembley and Luton should have been 3-0 or 4-0 up instead of just a 1-0 half-time lead. That’s always a dangerous margin.
The Sky Blues were terrific in the second period and their inspirational midfielder, Gus Hamer, equalised. I am sure his injury in the 80th minute was a turning point. So the penalty shoot-out. I suspect it will take poor Fankaty Dabo a while to get over his miss – the first in the 12 taken – but these things happen. Better players in England shirts have missed them over the years, including England manager Gareth Southgate. Coventry manager Mark Robins was quick to defend him. The management and players should be proud of the season they have had. They were bottom of the Championship
on October 1 and went all the way to the play-off final at Wembley on May 27, losing by such a narrow margin.
Of course, both teams wanted a place in the money-laden millions of the Premier League. The financial difference alone is a golden key and even one season in the promised land is worth having.
Being cynical, I believe neither team would survive more than that but, hey, wonderful to find out!
The worry for Coventry now is losing their best players, like Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres, and the need to replace them with similar quality – that won’t be easy.
That is also the problem facing Leicester. James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, Harvey Barnes and others are bound to leave this summer for other clubs. They are quality players.
The other big question is who will be their manager next season? This will be a vital appointment.
I was a guest in the boardroom on Sunday of the Foxes’ CEO Susan Whelan. The club know I am a lifelong supporter and I too felt the pain afterwards.
The Foxes probably put in their best performance of the season in their 2-1 win over West Ham. There have not been many and they always seem to concede. The relegation situation was not in their hands. Everton had to beat Bournemouth and they did, 1-0.
I spoke to West Ham chairman David Sullivan afterwards and he said he felt for Leicester having experienced it twice himself. Relegation is a horrible experience.
I spoke to the owner Aiyawatt (“Top”) Srivaddhanaprabha afterwards. He will continue to invest in the club but bouncing back is not always easy. I hope they can recruit well and soon be back. Time will tell.
Wolves survived this season but they face financial difficulties because the fair play regulations will impact on the club’s spending power this summer.
With star player Ruben Neves and striker Raul Jimenez, plus Joao Moutinho, looking like leaving, head coach Julen Lopetegui is clearly not a happy bunny. Pity because, like Emery at Villa, he is a good one!
With Emery winning four Europa League cups I would expect them to follow West Ham’s path to the final next season.
Please join me in the Sunday Mercury with Utilita Energy and another tale from the Newbon career vaults.