Written By Hannah

It’s been another summer of speculation, hope restoration and fan devastation. From unstoppable highs to unthinkable lows, Aston Villa Football Club have once again had fans on their knees, begging for certainty over a certain number 10. The lad with the short socks, super calves and floppy hair. The one with a Brummy accent that can be heard through a muted television, the one we watched rise exponentially to the top of English football. His name is Jack Grealish. The rumour mill works incredibly hard during the summer months, churning out droplets of transfer gossip and potential drama. Villa’s number ten has undoubtedly been one of the most talked about players over the last three summers as media, clubs and fans all seemed to want a slice of the Grealish drama. Summer 2021 has been no different. In fact, this year has seen more speculation than ever, and eventually the reality of a captain’s departure became more than just Twitter gossip. Jack is off to Manchester City. At the star

As we spent the best part of two months belting out the words of Baddiel and Skinner, we imagined a summer of celebrations and glory. With each stage of the competition, the nervous grumblings grew louder, but so did the hopelessly optimistic verses of Three Lions and World in Motion. From the moment that Kane struck home a penalty rebound in the semi-final against Denmark, England fans were swept up in the unavoidable excitement that the national game may finally bring home pride and a trophy. When we sing ‘it’s coming home’, outsiders hear arrogance and nativity. So what does it mean? Pre-Euro 2020, it meant finally restoring International domination on the grass, and ending those so-called years of hurt. After the pain of Sunday night’s penalty defeat, football may actually have really packed its bags for the short journey home from Wembley, but not for the reasons we had planned. For years, England fans remained detached from their national team. Half-baked campaigns, failed tourn

Local lad Trent Alexander-Arnold helped to relieve some pressure for Liverpool with a stifling 91st minute strike against Aston Villa, ending a streak of six consecutive losses at home. The boyhood fan had been under his own strains following his omittance from the most recent England squad and a poor run of form for club but earnt a vital three points in Liverpool’s battle for a Premier League top four place.  Following mid-week defeat in Europe and looking to end a painful run of successive defeats at Anfield, Liverpool were a determined yet humbled outfit – one much different to the confident, untouchable entity that arrived at Villa Park in October for a 7-2 thumping. Boss Jurgen Klopp and his team were able to redeem themselves from one of the biggest shock results of the season, but it was not without some struggle. Almost unrecognisable from last season, Liverpool’s inability to convert plentiful shots into goals was once again noticeable in this clash, with the Reds registering

Men’s mental health is  known to be linked to sport – so how  much has the pandemic and its  impact on  spectatorship harmed football fans?     As there is  an  increasing focus on mental health  in   the  sporting  sphere , particularly  amongst  men, the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are  yet  to be  wholly  felt  in the psychological wellbeing of sports fans up and down the country.     When  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge  launched the  Heads Up  campaign in 2019, as part of their Heads Together initiative,  men’s football became a stage   for   mental  health  discussions  on  a whole new scale .   Partnering with the FA to  sponsor the FA Cup Final, the  Heads Up  campaign aimed to get men talking about their mental health and break the stigma around mental health problems amongst the male population.      Similar high-profile partnerships have been  established  between  English  f ootballing bodies and mental health charities  in the meantime ,  such as  Mind