Matt Maher: Costly price hikes are just small change in FFP fight
That Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are among the best things ever to happen to Villa is beyond dispute.
Yet their colossal investment since rescuing the club from the brink of administration in 2018 and the extraordinary success which has followed, does not put them beyond criticism.
No owners, no matter the sport, should ever be in that position.
Much as Villa supporters should be grateful to have ambitious owners, they still have every right to be angry at how they are being ripped off with regard to Champions League ticket pricing. Sawiris and Edens, the men ultimately at the helm, need to hear it.
The above point feels an important one to make, after a week in which Villa’s fanbase has wrestled with the question of precisely what to do with the anger and frustration generated by prices which the vast majority agree are far too high by any measure.
Tomorrow’s Premier League match with Everton would appear the obvious opportunity to vent but even at the time of writing, it remains unclear just what form any protest will take.
A common concern circulated on social media has been on avoiding something which might disrupt Unai Emery and his team. By the same token, it feels like it is already well past the point where holding up cards is going to make much of a difference.
The nuclear option of a boycott is already off the table, for now. Within 96 hours of tickets for next month’s match against Bayern Munich going on sale, they were sold out, albeit aided by a scheme which allowed season ticket holders to sign up in advance for Champions League tickets, before they knew the price.
