The pointed refusal by the Villa Park crowd to get behind a very minor, but arguably important, act of dissent planned by one supporters' group let them know in no uncertain terms that the denizens of Villa Park have reached peak meek subservience.
Their unwillingness even to rock the boat gently in the face of exploitation by their club let the hierarchy know they could almost certainly have gone full Oasis, sanctioned dynamic pricing and got away with charging them an awful lot more for tickets. It should be added that the relationship between Villa and their fanbase is far from unique in this regard, but as the club prepare to pull up a chair to Europe's top table for the first time in 41 years when they take on Young Boys in Berne tonight, it is the one making headlines.
As reported on Saturday in the Guardian, a crowdfunder set up by the fans' group Villa Academy in the buildup to their Premier League match against Everton paid for 16,000 red cards which matchgoers were encouraged to wave in the direction of the directors' box for the first 97 seconds after kickoff.
The timeframe was significant - a second for each pound the most expensive tickets will cost for Villa's home group matches against Bayern Munich, Bologna, Juventus and Celtic. As the home side got the ball rolling at 5.30pm there was little or no sign of fan insurrection and the only cards brandished during Villa's impressive come-from-behind win were produced from the pocket of Craig Pawson, the referee.
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