Former Aston Villa Operations Director Steve Stride has hit out at TNT Sports for a graphic that disregarded the achievements of Unai Emery’s side this season.
It’s party time at Aston Villa as the 2023/24 season concluded on Sunday afternoon, seeing Unai Emery’s side finish in fourth place in the Premier League.
The remarkable campaign ended on less thrilling terms as a 5-0 defeat to Crystal Palace played out in South London however, the party atmosphere remained in the squad and from Villa supporters far and wide as Champions League football was already secured.
Before Emery took charge in 2022, Villa were staring at the relegation zone under Steven Gerrard, telling of the incredible work the former Arsenal boss has achieved in his first full season in the Midlands.
For all of the joy currently at Villa as a result of a formidable campaign in both the Premier League and in Europe, there have been some complaints from former Operations Director Steve Stride, who explained one frustration he had on the final day.
Steve Stride hits out at ‘top 6’ Premier League claim
On the final day of the season, TNT Sports posted a graphic to celebrate the successes of Arsenal this term, detailing that the Gunners were ‘unbeaten against the top six’.
The graphic stood out to Stride, who took to Twitter to explain his confusion over the claim that Arsenal were unbeaten against the top six, considering that Villa beat the North Londoners both at home and away.
‘I was sure we finished in the top four and beat them twice. I must have been dreaming.’
TNT identify the ‘top six’ as being Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool, when in reality, Villa are part of the top six with United excluded.
It was a graphic that caused a lot of engagement from Villa fans, who joined Stride in expressing their dissatisfaction with the Villans being disregarded as a ‘top six’ club in the Premier League.
Aston Villa fans react to ‘disrespectful’ TNT Sports graphic
One fan, @Afcads1, responded to the former Villa director’s reaction to the TNT Sports post, saying it was ‘disrespectful’ that Emery’s side’s double over Arsenal was not taken into consideration.
‘Disrespectful, unfortunately teams like United always get referred to as top 6 no matter how awful they have been.’
Another supporter, @1ShaunReynolds, explained that Villa are still not regarded as a top-six team by the media, backing the claims of disrespect towards the squad that rightly finished fourth in the table.
An image shared by the Premier League showcased just how consistent Villa have been over the 2023/24 campaign, with Emery’s side not dropping out of the top five from as early as matchweek seven, earning their top-four finish.
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