Dan Bardell

And like I said, I was 10 last time, so I don't really remember it.

We were there at Wembley and my dad was alive in 1982, so he's seen Villa win the big one.

But I could tell last night that it meant an awful lot to him.

I dragged him on my podcast afterwards and he was getting emotional talking about it and talking about Villa.

It might be another 30 years without a trophy.

I don't think it will be if Emery stays, but it might be a long, long time without a trophy.

So to take in and save that moment with him and the rest of my family, it was genuinely really special.

I mean, even the last day of the transfer window back in August or September, whenever it closed, if a team had come in for him,

Villa would have sold him.

He was out the picture.

He got an awful injury a few years ago when he'd had a really good pre-season and missed the entirety of that season that Villa qualified for the Champions League.

That would have been 23, 24.

Came back in 24, 25.

First half of the season on the bench, barely ever came on.

Emery just didn't fancy him.

And he went on loan to Leverkusen in the second half of the season and didn't get much of a look in there.

But he came back in the summer, determined that he was going to make an impact at Villa.

And, you know, many people would have laughed at that, probably me included.

I thought his time had been and gone at Villa.

I wasn't sure he'd be able to make any kind of impact there.