At a bleak period in their history when they prepare to drop out of the Premier League for the first time, Aston Villa have focused their energies on redesigning the club crest.
According to Villa's official website, the new badge has undergone some subtle design changes, with the most overt difference being the removal of the word "Prepared."
Some reports suggested the rebranding could cost the club up to £2 million, but Villa have insisted the change actually cost less than £80,000 (as per the BBC).
The Villa Park faithful do not seem too happy about the change:
What an absolute joke!!! We are Aston Villa not AVFC a cartoon badge for what has become unfortunately a cartoon club
Gabriel Agbonlahor Investigated by Aston Villa for Allegedly Smoking Shisha Pipe
Apr 1, 2016
STOKE-ON-TRENT, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Gabriel Agbonlahor of Aston Villa during the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and Aston Villa at the Britannia Stadium on February 27, 2016 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. (Photo by Dave Thompson/Getty Images)
Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor will miss the team’s clash with Chelsea on Saturday in keeping with an investigation conducted by the club reportedly looking into player’s conduct.
The club announced the news on Friday morning on their official Twitter feed:
Team news: Gabby Agbonlahor will not be involved in Saturday’s early afternoon clash with @ChelseaFC. #AVFC
As reported by Anthony Hay of the MailOnline, pictures emerged of the 29-year-old appearing to show him smoking a shisha pipe in Dubai during the international break. Hay added he was later spotted in a nightclub alongside team-mate Micah Richards.
Villa are enduring a torrid season, as they are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League and 12 points from safety with just seven games left to play.
The club started the season with Tim Sherwood in charge, although he was sacked and replaced by Frenchman Remi Garde. However, after just four months at the Villa helm, he too was axed earlier this week, having won just two Premier League games.
Agbonlahor is currently the longest-serving player at Villa Park, having come through the club’s academy, and made his debut for the senior side in 2005. A three-time England international, he’s endured a torrid time this season, making 15 appearances in the top flight and scoring just one goal.
Remi Garde, Aston Villa Part Ways: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction
Mar 29, 2016
Aston Villa's Remi Garde takes to the touchline before his team's English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday March 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Aston Villa and Remi Garde have called time on the Frenchman's tenure at Villa Park, where the threat of Premier League relegation looms.
The Midlands outfit confirmed the news in a statement on Tuesday:
Manager, Remi Garde, has today left Aston Villa Football Club by mutual consent.
The Club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Rémi for all his efforts during a difficult period and wish him well in the future.
Eric Black will take over as acting manager until the Club appoints a new manager.
There will be no further comment from the Club at this stage.
Garde leaves Villa at the bottom of the Premier League table and staring at the Championship after a dreadful season that started out with Tim Sherwood in charge.
The former Tottenham Hotspur boss was relieved of his duties in October with the club stuck in 19th place on just four points.
Garde's arrival was met with optimism after he took Lyon to fourth, third and fifth place, respectively, in Ligue 1 from 2011-2014. He also made three cup finals in that time, winning once.
However, the Frenchman has been unable to spark a fight for survival—Squawka Football provided his poor league record at Villa:
Meanwhile, BBC Sport confirmed that Eric Black will take over as interim manager at the Birmingham club until a permanent replacement for Garde is appointed.
The current Villa side will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst sides in Premier League history, having only just surpassed Derby County's record-low 11 points and Sunderland's 15-point season.
Garde's reputation is likely to take a hit after his failure to improve Villa's position or performances, though it will be mitigated somewhat by the difficult situation he had to work with—the club failed to sign any players in January despite reportedly promising him funds to spend in the transfer market, per John Percy of the Telegraph.
As for Villa, a change this late in the season isn't likely to spare them from the inevitable, with Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe not confident that they will win another game:
Their next permanent manager—if they even appoint one before the end of the season—will almost certainly be recruited with the Championship in mind, so expect them to pursue those who have experience with gaining promotion as they seek to bounce back at the first attempt.
Former Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson has long been mooted as a potential option, while Burnley's Sean Dyche has also been linked with the job, per the Telegraph's Matt Law:
Aston Villa plan to hold a club inquiry into the team's season, per the Telegraph'sJohn Percy.
No need, Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling has done it for them.
During Soccer Saturday, Stelling mocked the ridiculousness of the plan before articulating in just 10 seconds everything that has gone wrong for the Birmingham club this season.
Nailed it!
Villa remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table with just 16 points after losing 1-0 to Swansea on Saturday evening.
Tom Fox Resigns as Aston Villa CEO: Latest Details, Comments, and Reaction
Mar 17, 2016
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 02: Remi Garde manager of Aston Villa sits next to Chief Executive Tom Fox before the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at White Hart Lane on November 2, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Aston Villa chief executive officer Tom Fox resigned from his position at the Midlands club with immediate effect on Thursday.
The club confirmed the news in a statement on their official website. Fox said:
Regarding my resignation, the owner made it very clear last summer that he and I would seek to recruit a Board that would put the Club in a stronger position in the event that a sale didn't happen. As the Board has taken shape, however, it has become clear that my role also has changed. While I am supportive of where the Board is trying to take the Club, it is my feeling that given the changes they are making, it makes sense for me to seek another challenge. I have accepted the Board's invitation to remain available during a period of transition to ensure a smooth handover.
Chairman Steve Hollis will become the executive chairman on an interim basis until Villa can find a permanent replacement.
Fox took over from Paul Faulkner in 2014 after a five-year stint as Arsenal's chief commercial officer. Sky Sports News HQ summarised the key facts surrounding his departure:
As noted by James Whaling of the Mirror, owner Randy Lerner has handed director Sir Mervyn King and Hollis "a mandate" to "make sweeping changes," with the club facing almost certain relegation from the Premier League and having been on an overall downward trajectory for several years.
The Guardian's Stuart James recently revealed the damning extent of their club's struggles:
Sobering reading Villa's accounts: £27m loss, wages up £14m, CEO's pay up £990k, commercial revenue down, turnover down. Team rock bottom.
Villa are currently nine points from safety and have lost their last five Premier League matches in a row, so Fox's successor's primary duty is likely to be stabilising the club after a drop down to the Championship.
Aston Villa Lose 3-0 to Their Own Under-21 Team in Behind-Closed-Doors Friendly
Feb 22, 2016
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 14: Remi Garde, Manager of Aston Villa looks on before the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa Park on February 14, 2016 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Aston Villa sit bottom of the Premier League, eight points from safety, and crashed out of the FA Cup in the fourth round at home to Manchester City.
So with the return of the cup providing a rare weekend off, manager Remi Garde decided to use the opportunity to stage a friendly between the first team and the club's under-21s in a bid to get a win under their belt.
According to Sky Sports, however, the plan backfired horribly. The youngsters ran out comfortable winners, inflicting an embarrassing 3-0 defeat on a first team that included Brad Guzan, Alan Hutton, Ciaran Clark, Kieran Richardson, Ashley Westwood, Jordan Veretout, Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Bacuna and Scott Sinclair.
Next up for Villa in the Premier League is a trip to face Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
In the moments after Aston Villa's humiliating 6-0 loss to Liverpool, centre-back Joleon Lescott tweeted out a picture of a luxury Mercedes. There was no explanation or context for the picture, but many Villa fans on Twitter were displeased:
Aston Villa fan Steve Ladgrove was thrilled to be seeing his team live in action for the second time in his life on Sunday, having made an arduous journey from Melbourne, Australia, to do so.
Prior to Villa's meeting with Liverpool, the fan tweeted about his excitement for the game—and the club wished him well:
It turned out to be a day to remember, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons. The antipodean fan might have wished he hadn't spent 25 hours in the air, as he witnessed his hapless side lose 6-0 to Liverpool.
Ladgrove's tweet went viral, but he appeared to take the situation in stride:
Good banter between fans. Thanks for all the retweets and likes and banter. Good stuff.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: Wayne Rooney of Manchester United and son Kai attend the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on December 7, 2015 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
We're not too sure what Kai Rooney has done to deserve this.
The Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney tweeted a perfectly innocuous photograph of his six-year-old son Kai and his brother Klay on Tuesday.
Though, thanks to the keen eyes of the Internet, it appears that Kai chose not to wear the red of Old Trafford, but rather the claret and blue of Villa Park.
That's right—it would appear as though Rooney Jr. is a fan of Aston Villa, a theory that the seemingly doomed Birmingham club wasn't going to let slide.
Though if that's not the case, it's time to start asking some serious questions over the parental discipline on display in the household of England's record goalscorer.
[Twitter]
Remi Garde Bans Dressing Room Arguments in Attempt to Improve Aston Villa's Form
Jan 29, 2016
Aston Villa manager Remi Garde gestures to players during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace at Villa Park, Birmingham, England, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Aston Villa boss Remi Garde has finally got his side picking up points in the Premier League, and he'll do anything to see that continue.
The Frenchman, who will look to oversee an unlikely FA Cup upset in the fourth round against Manchester City on Saturday, has banned dressing room arguments in a bid to improve his side's morale, reported the Mirror.
Aston Villa's Scottish defender Alan Hutton (R) reacts after losing the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at White Hart Lane in north London on November 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO / GLYN KIRK
RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL
Garde reportedly believes the British tradition has made it hard for many of his side's 13 fresh faces to settle in at Villa Park. He thinks this was behind a horror start to the season that saw the Birmingham-based club go 19 league games without victory after an opening-day win over Bournemouth.
That winless streak is over, and Villa are three games unbeaten, though they're still bottom of the table, 10 points from Premier League safety.
And who knows? Maybe if they tone down the screaming matches, Garde's side could continue their run of form.
