Aston Villa fans who mocked West Ham look very silly today as the reality of a rare European adventure becomes clear.
Aston Villa and West Ham may share the famous claret and blue but many of their fans have been at one another throats on social media over the summer.
It took West Ham supporters all of 30 seconds of the new Premier League season to remind everyone they are champions of Europe.
Aston Villa are – quite rightly – incredibly proud of the fact they won Europe’s top competition back in 1982. That was a time when the European Cup, as the Champions League was known then, was “proper”.
When West Ham lifted their first major European trophy for 58 years by beating Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final, it was a momentous occasion.
West Ham’s players, staff and fans celebrated for days after that triumph.
And hundreds of thousands of jubilant Hammers fans lined the streets of east London for the victory parade.
While that was going on, many Villa fans took a pop at West Ham for over celebrating what was dubbed a “two bob” trophy. Indeed even Aston Villa player Jacob Ramsey mocked the Conference League and fans for celebrating their qualification for the competition.
They weren’t the only rival fans to have a pop at West Ham of course. And some of them did congratulate their Premier League rivals too.
But as winners of the “proper” European Cup some 41 years ago, some Aston Villa supporters took the frenzy around West Ham’s triumph as something of an affront to their past achievement.
Aston Villa fans who mocked West Ham look very silly today as reality of rare European adventure becomes clear
But Aston Villa fans who mocked West Ham look very silly today as the reality of a rare European adventure becomes clear.
Oh how the tables turned at Hibernian last night.
Villa fans travelled in great numbers and celebrated each of their side’s five goals with gusto as the Midlands side put one foot in the Europa Conference group stage.
With that will come a guaranteed six European nights for Villa. Supporters are excited and hopeful they have the squad to go on an emulate what West Ham achieved last term.
Oh how the tables have turned! Good luck to Villa but it won’t be as easy as many think
It was always rather rich of those Villa supporters who tried to belittle West Ham to criticise the club’s celebrations after lifting the Conference League trophy.
Especially given the way they and their players celebrated a 1-1 draw at West Ham which kept them in the Premier League a couple of seasons ago.
Good luck to Villa and if they perform anything like West Ham have in Europe over the last two years then they are in for a great adventure.
They may find it’s not as easy as they think to juggle Europe and the league as well as the Hammers have.
And as for securing three consecutive seasons in Europe – two of them in the Europa League – well Villa have some way to go.