Now the reality of Europe begins to set in: Between Saturday’s late comeback win against Palace and a visit to Stamford Bridge and struggling Chelsea Sunday, Villa are in Warsaw as the group stage of the Conference League kicks off.
We sold eggs to Eamon Deacy’s parents’ seafood restaurant, an 8-mile bicycle ride each way in wind and rain. Eamon worked there during the summers.
Nine unanswered against Everton and Hibernian. But. That’s how Villa should be handling inferior opposition instead of sweating out cup ties against League Two teams.
Not since the days of Martin O’Neill have Villa been in Europe, and tonight that indignity comes to an end as Villa travel to Easter Road for the first Conference League playoff leg against Hibernian.
So here we are, start of a new season, and this one’s full of hopes and expectations. Me, I’m cautiously optimistic. Which is probably what I’ll have put on my gravestone. As Emi Buendia’s injury illustrates, football can be cruel no matter how well you look to be set up. But. Emi’s only one player and Emery’s reaction has been excellent. Villa were never going to live or die based solely on Buendia.
