A total irrelevance, Morgan Sanson Cardiff absence explained and new Aston Villa kid on the block
The talking points and some of the quirks from last night’s Peter Whittingham Memorial Match as Cardiff beat Aston Villa 3-1
‘Here’s to you Peter Whittingham’ to the tune of Simon & Garfunkel’s Mrs. Robinson was brilliantly sung by Welsh singer James Fox prior to kick-off last night as Aston Villa and Cardiff City celebrated the life of their former midfielder.
More than 10,000 fans turned out - 781 of which were Villa - as Cardiff beat their English counterparts 3-1 thanks to goals from Kion Etete (2) and Ollie Tanner. Jacob Ramsey reduced the arrears in the second half as head coach Unai Emery experimented having used 21 players - seven of which were from the club’s under-21s.
On an emotionally charged night, here’s some of the talking points and moments you might have missed…
REMEMBERING PETER
‘The result, or the performance, do not matter. A kickabout in memory of a top, top bloke,’ was what a pal of mine said in the aftermath of last night’s friendly and he was spot on. As the two teams walked out before kick-off, it was incredibly emotional - and really upsetting - seeing Whittingham’s two young sons, William and Seb, being led out by their dad’s closest teammates. Whittingham’s youngest, Seb, never got the chance to meet his father as he was born two months after Whittingham’s tragic death - aged just 35 - back in early 2020.
It all put life into perspective with the game and performance totally irrelevant last night. A healthy six-figure sum would have been raised off the back of the friendly as well as the PW7 Foundation being officially launched. Whittingham’s charity will now help look after children who have suffered from bereavement while also supporting his former school back in Coventry, King Henry VIII, as well as the Cardiff City Foundation in south Wales.
Villa, Peter’s first club, more than played their part as well with fans paying to watch last night’s game either in person or via a stream while the match shirts worn by the players will be auctioned off for Peter’s Foundation.
The two sets of supporters had some fun as well with Villa fans winding up the home fans with chants of ‘England, England, England’ off the back of Three Lions’ World Cup win over Wales 24 hours previously. We also had a Cardiff fan run onto the pitch at the end and dodged countless stewards which provided some light entertainment.
LANGE’S BUSY HOTLINE
Villa’s sporting director Johan Lange was in attendance last night and, as ever, he was on his mobile phone. Lange’s hotline is often red-hot and, prior to the match kicking off, spent time pitchside. The Dane’s phone will be all the more busier now as he lines up new signings for Emery to work with in January. Lange will also be involved in helping those wanting to move on, either on loan or permanent. Now, could one of those exits be Philippe Coutinho given the reports overnight linking him with a move back home to Brazil with Flamengo…
SANSON MANAGING A KNOCK
A quick line on Morgan Sanson here as the Frenchman missed last night’s friendly. The midfielder is yet to return to training and is, I’m told, managing an injury but should be involved in Villa’s upcoming trip to Dubai.
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EMERY NOT TOO IMPRESSED
To the match itself and Emery maintained his 4-2-2-2 system for the entire 90 minutes with Cameron Archer and Ollie Watkins in attack in the first half before Danny Ings partnered Leon Bailey in the second. Villa started well and played out from the back beautifully but it soon fizzled out. Emery wasn’t too happy with what he witnessed and knew pretty quickly that, due to the occasion, he wasn’t going to get the performance he would have wanted given Villa’s 16-day break. It was all about dusting off the cobwebs and for those on the fringes to get some much-needed minutes in their legs.
VILLA’S NEW STAR BOY
Sixteen-year-old Kadan Young made his ‘first-team’ bow last night with the winger really making a name for himself at Bodymoor Heath this season. The exciting teenager has made two starts for the under-21s this season playing five years above his age group while, for the under-18s, has a goal and two assists in his three games to date. The England under-16 international is highly thought of at Villa - just check out his goal against Blackburn below…
NEXT STOP: DUBAI
And lastly, Villa will be flying out for a week-long trip to Dubai next week which will include a behind-closed-doors friendly on top of their match with Chelsea in Abu Dhabi on December 11. Sadly, there was no post-match presser with Emery last night while I also missed the chance to ask Cardiff boss Mark Hudson about his Villa loanee, Jaden Philogene, who has been a little bit hit and miss during his first four months at Cardiff. Emery’s first-team will tick over now before jetting out to the Middle East on Monday (December 5).
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