Villa Park Lap of Honour
The most frustrating thing about the last few deadwood months of this season, is due to the limbo caused by the pending sale, the club can’t look forward to next season.
If a new owner was in place, we could be announcing the new Villa boss at the last home of the season, make a rebate promise to season ticket holders if the club don’t make the play-offs at least next season, and fire-up the supporter base for the mission ahead.
Instead, next season hasn’t been mentioned apart from the meek season ticket price news and the closure and redevelopment of stands that will only dampen the atmosphere next season.
When the final whistle blows on the terrible 2015-16 season, in MOMS’ book the most pathetic season in the club’s history, no supporter will want to dwell on it or look back with any sentimentality, which raises the question – should there be a lap of honour/appreciation by the Villa squad?
To Lap or Not to Lap
The question has come up for each of the previous recent seasons of under-achievement. As the end of season player awards have been scrapped, the validity of the players deserving a lap of honour after the final home game has been asked.
In the past few seasons, despite sub-40 point hauls, the players did their laps, albeit they have been rebilled as ‘laps of appreciation’ to the fans. Most fans didn’t think it was a ceremony worth bothering with, as three-quarters of supporters left the stadium by the time the players returned to the field with their family members to do a lap.
Some Villa supporters though, especially younger ones, certainly appreciate the gesture, but his season though, we’re talking about a team that has earned less then half the points of the previous teams we’ve had second thoughts on fulfilling the end of season tradition.
Perhaps more fitting would be the club handing out punnets of rotten tomatoes to fans, to participate in a ‘lap of shame’ instead, with a Games of Thrones style shame bell ringing out loud over the stadium PA.
Would supporters mind, if the players were excused a lap? Or would we see that as an insult, in the same way we view players not applauding the crowd before they leave the pitch at the end of the game?
It’s kind of a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation.
After the final whistle blows against Newcastle, MOMS for one, doesn’t want to see those players again at Villa Park, but what do you think? Vote in the poll below. UTV
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