Matt Maher: Needless ticket price hikes again risk souring the mood at Aston Villa
Sunday afternoon at Villa Park gave supporters a chance to savour both the past and present while dreaming of glory in the near future.
The half-time break of a 2-0 win over West Ham which pushed Unai Emery’s team closer to making a Champions League return featured a lap of honour from former boss Brian Little and members of the club’s 1996 League Cup-winning team.
Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of their triumph, which remains Villa’s last major trophy win.
The unit Emery has assembled now feels closer than ever to breaking the drought, with a quarter-final against Bologna the next step on the path to winning the Europa League.
Pity, then, that some of those same fans who cheered Little’s men around the pitch perhaps won’t be there to witness the full journey.
For many, euphoria from last week’s last-16 triumph over Lille was punctured within two hours of the final whistle when the club published ticket prices for the Bologna second leg, with season ticket holders being asked to pay between £55 to £67 to attend and non-season ticket holders a tenner more.
Villa might well point out the pricing structure is precisely the one announced last summer for knockout European ties.
