Matt Maher: Aston Villa are still in a strong position - yet here's why their season feels at risk of unravelling
There was a moment in the immediate aftermath of Villa’s miserable defeat at Wolves which would have fitted into any of the darkest days of the club’s history.
The sight of vice-captain Ezri Konsa having to be restrained by security staff, having apparently gotten into a row with visiting supporters, felt like a throwback to times best forgotten.
It was a flashpoint from which no-one emerged looking good.
Konsa, who appeared to mouth an insult toward the fans, no doubt regrets reacting in the way he did.
Yet the England international is also among the more measured and unflappable members of Villa’s squad, who has been there through the good times and the bad. In a sport of big egos, he’s one of the good guys.
It is hard to believe his response was not caused by some significant provocation. No player is ever deserving of abuse, not least one who has been among the club’s best and most consistent performers of recent years.
There’s a strong temptation to dismiss the whole thing as the storm in the tea cup it probably was, at a time when emotion and frustration are always running at their highest. We are only talking, after all, about a handful of supporters at most.
Except the incident also fed into the appeal for unity made by Unai Emery in his post-match press conference a short while later.
