TRUTH AT VILLA SIMPLY FOOLISH

MOST April Fools’ Day jokes are rather lame, but one that appeared on the sports pages of a national newspaper was utterly pointless. ‘Aston Villa will charge £5 to any fan who attempts to leave the stadium early,’ announced a smirking Sun. The problem was, looking at how poorly run the club has been this season, such an idiotic measure was entirely believable. An internal investigation into this doomed campaign discovered a Bundesliga scout who lived in Australia, and the talent spotter for Spain and Portugal taking a journalism course at university. Sadly, the truth at Villa is more foolish than any stunt.