The Villa Park discourse in the past couple of years has generally been negative – the atmosphere, ticket prices and new hospitality offerings have all caused upset among Aston Villa supporters.
On the pitch, there’s been nothing to complain about. Unai Emery’s side set a new club record of 15 consecutive home league wins on Saturday by beating Arsenal 1-0 less than 72 hours after outplaying treble winners and Premier League champions Man City at Villa Park. The record of consecutive home league wins started nearly 10 months ago, back in March.
It was fitting that Villa managed to claim their historic 15th win in a row against Arsenal, who were the last team to get any points at Villa Park, back in February. Emery has masterminded the club’s ascent from 17th to third place and has also made a conscious effort to connect with fans, praising their efforts to get behind his team and be patient in the early stages of his tenure.
Moans and groans from across the stadium subsided as Emery’s players became more confident in playing out from the back. Supporters quickly worked out how Emery wanted his side to play and it was going to get results after a trio of defeats against Leicester, Man City and Arsenal.
Since then, Villa Park has become a fortress and supporters really have been the 12th man. After beating Fulham 3-1 last month, the club had the opportunity to equal history and then make history against last season’s top two sides, Man City and Arsenal.
There was a crackling atmosphere inside Villa Park for both matches as fans really did have a part to play in both wins. They were celebrating tackles like goals.
“It was more special than I have ever seen it before,” Leon Bailey said after the win over City. “I’ve never seen the stadium rocking the way it was tonight and I can’t tell you how impressed I was on the pitch.
“It was amazing, brilliant. This is the energy and the vibe we want to bring to Villa Park every time we play here.
Diego Carlos added: “Villa Park is special for me, for the team, for everyone. The team is happy with the fans. Every game we win is for them.
“Our family and friends are also coming here. I like the atmosphere. It helps us every game. We always play to win. We don’t play to draw or lose.”
The victory over Arsenal opened up an eight-point gap inside the top five and the club are now guaranteed to be ahead of sixth place come Christmas. While Emery won’t admit Villa are in the hunt for Champions League football, they are more than capable of competing for it.
The club is only moving in one direction and there are of course plans in place for Villa Park to be redeveloped to increase the capacity to 50,000 as tens of thousands of fans are stuck on a waiting list for season tickets.
Villa plans to demolish the North Stand following a Foo Fighters concert at Villa Park on Thursday, June 27, 2024. However, it is anticipated that the new North Stand will be ready by the end of May 2026 – to comply with UEFA regulations ahead of EURO 2028 – meaning that during the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons no fans will be housed behind the goal opposite the Holte End.
It’s a crying shame that fewer fans will be able to watch home games given how well Emery’s team is playing and the success which might come to the club in the coming years, whether that’s a cup run, Champions League football or European football in any form. The North Stand currently only holds 6,537 fans and will be improved to a total of 13,074. For context, the Doug Ellis Stand currently holds 9,450 while it’s 13,561 in the Holte End and 13,109 in the Trinity Road Stand.
Knocking the stand down entirely is viewed as the most efficient way to deliver greater capacity at the stadium, instead of building behind the current structure, like other clubs have done in recent years. Building a new stand behind the current North Stand would prevent construction workers from accessing key areas of the build.
The end bay of the Trinity Road Stand, which is closest to the North Stand, will also be demolished for structural reasons. Villa are planning to merge the new North Stand with the Trinity Road Stand and the Doug Ellis Stand.
Prior to the stand being demolished, up to seven months of preparation is needed to divert drains, high voltage electrics and matchday safety systems, while hundreds of cables will also need to be replaced for broadcasting. It’s a huge undertaking before Villa can even begin building a completely new stand
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