Tom's favourite Villa pants. #AVFC
Tom Hanks
Joined July 2020
- Tweets2.5K
- Following1.2K
- Followers1.1K
- Likes610
This take completely misses the point. Sawiris didn’t threaten legal action to win a court case; he used it as a PR weapon to hijack the news cycle, kill the Emery rumors, & force a legacy pundit into a public apology. It wasn't censorship, it was a masterclass in power.
#AVFC
Jamie Carragher has now apologised to Aston Villa for comments this week which were disrespectful but hardly actionable. He was wrong about a proud, historic club. Villa said last night they would “initiate legal action” against Carragher for what they described as his “unacceptable insults about the Club and its fans” on his Stick To Football podcast. Carragher claimed Unai Emery would “fancy” joining Manchester United. This fed Villa’s belief/fear of institutional impediments embedded in the Premier League inhibiting their ambitions.
We live in a media age where views are news. Carragher is a pundit, paid to give opinions shaped by his many experiences as a player. It’s why he’s also employed by Sky Sports, which bankrolls much of football. You may not agree with some of his views expressed in the more informal, pub-vibe podland, but he’s allowed to say them, and discourse is at the heart of being a fan. That said, Carragher certainly shouldn’t be telling Villa fans objecting to his comments to “shut the f**k up” even “in jest”, a strange way of expanding an audience.
“My language this week was clumsy & wrong,” Carragher has now posted on X in his apology to Villa, the owners and fans. “I can assure Villa fans it was tongue in cheek but I can understand it’s not come across that way, so apologies. Good luck today UTV!” Whether this is from pure contrition or a reaction to the threat of legal action remains to be seen.
Carragher’s view on Emery deserved challenging but by Villa’s fans not by the club, which should have risen above it, and certainly not by lawyers. You don’t need to be a diehard Holte Ender to question why on earth Emery would leave Villa for United. Emery runs the football operations at Villa, organising and inspiring the squad and team, and overseeing the successful recruitment model. United are a managerial churn machine, a dysfunctional family, with tensions between fans and board, and a squad that needs a long-overdue overhaul.
Carragher also needed challenging - in a debate, not a court - about his view on a famous club who have contributed so much to the history of the game. Near the players’ entrance is the statue of William McGregor, founder of the Football League. Villa were founder members of the Premier League. Champions of England, champions of Europe, producer of talent like Brian Little, Gabby Agbonlahor, Gary Cahill and Jack Grealish, and a couple more in the pipeline. The Holte End is one of the great stands of football. Villa deserve more respect from Carragher which he now shows belatedly in today’s post.
But Carragher’s suggestion that there is a food chain in football is hardly a radical thought. It’s a view, the game is full of them, and if lawyers are scrambled, and views are censored, then the whole game is the poorer.
This was always a PR exercise not a legal one.
Pundits like @Carra23 are used to punching down from the safety of a television studio, expecting fans to simply absorb the rhetoric. Sawiris essentially walked into the studio and punched back with a billionaire’s megaphone
#avfc
Insightful analysis.
Out ofinterest which city do you live in?
And which cities does your forehead live in? @NimaTavRood
#avfc
unavailable
Carragher’s outburst isn't about Emery, Villa, or UTD - it’s pure ego protection.
When your entire identity & sense of self-worth are anchored to the permanent supremacy of an unfair legacy cartel, seeing outside clubs shatter that hierarchy feels like a personal threat. #avfc
The arrogance of Villa fans is staggering.Five of your seven league titles came when Queen Victoria was on the throne. You’ve won ONE league title since 1910, yet a couple of decent seasons have you lecturing Manchester United about greatness. There’s a fundamental difference between enjoying a period of success and believing it somehow rewrites the hierarchy of English football.
Part of this is the stupidity of the transfer window overlapping with start of the season.
It may not have made any difference to players in and out ultimately - but we wouldn't have two of last year's key players watching at home whilst we try and figure out wtf to do.
#avfc
I feel a
'this isn't a swap honest 🥸'
scenario incoming wrt Emi, Chelsea and a third club.
#avfc
I'd get Buendia on.
He's been a bit shit recently - but at least he looks like he gives a fuck.
Get Sancho off.
Or... Watkins on Sancho off.
#avfc
Spurs completely deserve the lead.
This is absolutely appalling from Villa.
It's embarrassing.
#avfc
Someone please explain to me what you think Emery sees in Bailey to justify him even being in the squad.
#avfc