Robbie Savage has taken a cheeky swipe at Dean Smith’s Aston Villa side, suggesting that the Villans have been average since the 1980s.
Villa failed to find a way past a resolute Reading defence in a frustrating 0-0 stalemate on Saturday afternoon, leaving them ninth in the Championship table, and four points off the play-offs.
Speaking on Radio 5 Live, former Birmingham City man Savage took aim at the uninspired form of his old rivals.
Responding to a Villa fan who had rang in to discuss his side’s recent run, Savage said: “You’ve always been average, let’s be fair.
“Going back to the 1980s when you won the European Cup, you’ve have been average.
“You’ve always been in Birmingham’s shadow really.”
"We really are abject this season!"
It's fair to say former #BCFC man @RobbieSavage8 enjoyed speaking to this frustrated #AVFC supporter ?#BBC606 pic.twitter.com/RPm2MuWAXE
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) February 2, 2019
OPINION
Savage loves a wind-up, and while many Villa fans will dismiss his comments as attention-seeking nonsense, it will still irk them that as far as this season goes, he makes a fairly valid point. City are just ahead of Villa on goal difference in the league, and while you would expect the Villans to leapfrog them by the end of the season, it’s still a point of huge frustration that Dean Smith’s side are struggling like they are. By rights, on paper, they should be challenging for automatic promotion, and while they have righted themselves somewhat since Smith came in, they continue to lack the killer instinct needed to really put games to bed. Villa are the third highest scorers in the league this season, but have also conceded the third highest amount of goals, and that is simply unacceptable. They haven’t lived in City’s shadow, like Savage claims, but they are certainly on their way to becoming long term second tier bedfellows with their rivals, and that is something that will mortify many fans.