Aston Villa feel the ‘Big Club’ strain as first bus parked to prolong 25-year wait

Aston Villa have made it. The first bus has been parked and after the job Sheffield United did on them it won’t be the last.

Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You) by Chef from South Park was making a mockery of Britpop in the UK charts, ‘You’ve Got Mail’ had just come out at the height of the romcom, Bill Clinton was impeached over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the average price of a house in central London was £115,000 and a fair few of you Football365 readers will have been mere glints in your father’s eyes.

December 28 1998 was the last time Aston Villa topped the Premier League table, and against all logic they failed in their bid to end that 25-year wait on Friday, as goal difference keeps Arsenal above them after a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.

John Gregory led the side back then with Julian Joachim and Dion Dublin up front and Gareth Southgate in defence. They finished sixth that season, 24 points behind title-winners Manchester United, after picking up just 16 points from their last 18 games.

This Aston Villa side won’t slip that far. Unai Emery is no John Gregory, whose one Indian Super League trophy doesn’t stack up hugely well against Emery’s four Europa League gongs.

And the current boss has both quality and depth in his squad far beyond what they had 25 years ago, or at any other point in Premier League history. While Aston Villa had no chance of winning the Premier League in 1998/99, the fans would have gone home with not unrealistic hope of glory had they not missed a giant opportunity against Sheffield United.

They still could do it, but the title winners don’t typically drop points at home against the division’s bottom side.

Sheffield United’s approach was a compliment to how far Villa have come under Unai Emery. They’ve blown teams away at Villa Park this season, scoring three goals or more in six of their eight games, and they could easily have managed that many in their 1-0 win over Manchester City.

Chris Wilder instructed his side to camp on the edge of their box, flooding the middle of the pitch with bodies and allowing no space in behind for Leon Bailey, Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins to exploit.

By playing so deep the Blades nullified Villa’s counter-attacking threat, tested their patience in possession and ability to probe for weak spots, with the pace of their forward line neutralised.

Villa were reduced to potshots from distance and inopportune crosses onto the heads of the three Sheffield United centre-backs, with Auston Trusty’s bonce particularly magnetic.

And after Bailey had a goal ruled out for a Jacob Ramsey tug on Wes Foderingham’s arm, whether because of a misplaced feeling of injustice on Villa’s part, or increased Blades confidence as the minutes ticked by, Wilder’s side started to get more joy and took what had seemed for 80 minutes like an impossible lead.

Cameron Archer’s finish was excellent, but the goal was made by the brilliance of Gustavo Hamer, who diddled John McGinn on the byline with a dummy and chop back, before sliding the ball into Archer’s path in the box.

Had it been the winner, Sheffield United wouldn’t just have ruined Villa’s 100 per cent record but also claimed their first away win of the season. Even the draw is extraordinary, but it would have been a hugely memorable and significant moment had they held on.

But in the seventh minute of stoppage time, Villa drew level, as Nicolo Zaniolo rose ahead of Foderingham – who came out into no-man’s land – to flick Douglas Luiz’s cross into tho the back of the net.

Villa Park was briefly up, as another two minutes offered the chance of a remarkable late comeback, but there was nothing doing, and those fans will go home downbeat after a massive missed opportunity.

Like Emery and his players, they will have to get used to games like this, in which teams come to their patch with their eyes on a point, in the knowledge that if they fight for anything more they could leave with their confidence shot having been battered by a far superior football team.

Because the secret’s now out: Aston Villa are very good. And they can expect many more teams to shut up shop after the job Sheffield United have just done on them. Congratulations guys, parked buses come with the territory. You’ve made it. The frustration starts here.