“The atmosphere was quite flat considering we’ve gone second in the league and won 3-1,” Ollie Watkins said in his post-match interview after Aston Villa’s victory against Nottingham Forest in January.
“I don’t know if there’s some expectancy creeping in, but I saw people leaving early. People need to enjoy it and embrace it because what we are doing doesn’t happen very often. So, yeah, not to expect too much from us, and stay until the end and keep singing.”
Watkins can be a candid talker. From a public relations standpoint, having a player admit his disappointment in supporters after a win is not ideal, yet Watkins’ sentiment is broadly understood within the club.
Unai Emery’s tenure has been built on robust foundations at home. Thirteen straight league victories underpinned Villa securing Champions League qualification in 2023-24, while this season, a club-record 15 consecutive wins could achieve something similar. Villa lost once in 2025 at home.
There was a reason Emery learned the word “fortress” in English to express his team’s home dominance. For all his painstaking efforts to control as many strands of football as possible, he acknowledges other elements of winning, such as home supporters making a difference.
Lately, there has been a sense from some supporters that the Villa Park atmosphere is declining. This can be overlooked when Villa are on stretches of form, but when things take a downturn — just one win in the previous five across all competitions, including three defeats — debates encompassing the stadium’s noise, or lack of it, proliferate.
Villa have shown a willingness to engage with supporters, including with the fan advisory board (FAB), and accepted that they need to improve the atmosphere.
Emery is a chief driver in wanting improvement alongside senior aides, including the director of football operations, Damian Vidagany. They are asking what else can be done and have outlined their desire to reach out to supporter groups through supporter liaison officer, Matthew Dainty. One idea is to organise a singing section ahead of upcoming fixtures.
Senior sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to do so, have reiterated that a noisy Villa Park is critical.
Villa away supporters remain loud and unyielding, but working to enhance the sound of home fans is a growing issue.
Villa supporters during the draw with Leeds last weekend (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
The atmosphere at Villa Park can be imposing for top-tier opponents or during night matches. The Holte End drives the noise, with flags, banners and, more recently, sprawling Champions League-inspired tifos.
Those heady nights make the contrast more discernible. Before Saturday’s visit of Leeds United, Emery wrote in his programme notes that he required Villa Park to be at “full throttle”.
Yet this was a match Villa were anticipated to win. The 1-1 result was another case of Villa Park’s atmosphere affected by the burden of pressure, leading to a quieter, more anxious crowd. There was one case in the first half where Ezri Konsa gestured for supporters to calm down after groans when Villa were playing the ball around the back line.
“In the last couple of years, it’s really gone downhill,” says Rob Steele, season-ticket holder in The Holte End since 2013. “You’d assume a full Villa Park would generate a better atmosphere, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“The season we got promoted from the Championship was superb. The crowds were lower but you had people there to support Villa no matter what. Now that Villa are in the Premier League, you have some people there to watch Premier League football and not to support Villa.
“The atmosphere can be directly linked to what happens on the pitch. Take Leeds: Villa did not register a shot on target until the 42nd minute. The supporters can give their all, but we need something in return from those on the pitch. Things are difficult with injuries, but we need something to feed off. It’s a two-way street.
“When Villa Park is rocking, it’s incredible. Too often nowadays it’s a mix of expectation to win and the continually rising ticket prices are leading to a tourist-style atmosphere.”
What makes the discussion around Villa Park’s atmosphere tricky is that the perceived negativity is at odds with how fans continue to marvel at Emery’s coaching expertise. Villa are third in the Premier League, despite stuttering form, and are overachieving.
Consequently, even raising the subject of home noise can seem jarring.
“When we won the league in 1980-81, I went to every home and away game,” recalls Stephen Morley, director of the Aston Villa Supporters Trust. “Having seen us also win the European Cup, I know I’m privileged. But any Villa fan criticising our performances and booing under the best coach we have ever had is ridiculous. Ron Saunders was the best manager, but Emery is taking us to another level.”
The inverse view is that supporters do have reason to share concerns. Explanations include the high expense of tickets, the fear of potential ramifications should Villa miss out on the Champions League and fixture scheduling.
A tifo of Emery at Villa Park (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Leeds was upgraded to a category three fixture (the top pricing bracket), despite being a newly-promoted side. The minimum price for an adult ticket was £58 — £11 more than the lower category pricing — with sitting in the upper tier of the Holte End £77. This was a markup of £24.
Higher costs can elevate expectations. A senior figure at Villa, however, explained the reasoning behind the Leeds pricing, insisting that it was a high-demand match — partly owing to the first home Saturday 3pm kick-off in more than a year — with available seats almost selling out before going on general sale. The demand was therefore evident.
Undeniably, though, pricing for Leeds’ visit was a further example of supporters having to absorb higher costs. The season’s curtain-raiser against Newcastle United provoked scrutiny from the Football Supporters Association (FSA) after Villa charged £77 for an adult ticket in the Holte End.
Under the previous president of business operations, Chris Heck, Villa made no secret of their desire to increase matchday revenue. At the start of the 2023-24 campaign, fans in the Holte End were not informed that the Holte Suite, which could hold around 1,000 fans and was an accessible route for disabled people, was no longer open to ordinary match-ticket holders.
Instead, Villa aimed to turn the suite into a hospitality area for 500 fans, calling the initiative ‘The Lower Grounds’, open three hours before matches with all-you-can-eat food and drinks packages. Although hospitality areas are financially lucrative, they can impact the atmosphere.
“Sometimes, there are a lot of empty seats near me due to the corporate areas, which can diminish the noise,” says Adam Bennett, a season-ticket holder in the Holte End.
“Pricing has had a big impact on the atmosphere. Although a singing section with more like-minded and passionate fans to congregate in the Holte and constantly sing is one potential start to improving things.”
Premium seating has continued to expand into new pockets of the stadium. In the summer of 2024, 900 fans were told they either had to relocate seats or pay premium prices for newly installed hospitality in the Trinity, North and Doug Ellis Stands.
“I understand it’s difficult from Villa’s perspective, but they are pricing out the ‘proper’ working-class supporters who were there when the club was at its lowest,” Steele says.
Ticket pricing is impacted by Villa needing to generate revenue in line with their rivals at the top end of the Premier League and negotiate the capacity of Villa Park, which is not large enough to drive revenue to a significant extent. Redevelopment of the North Stand will begin in the summer and install 5,926 additional seats, taking the overall capacity to 48,809 before plans to expand further. This should alleviate the demand of around 27,000 supporters on the season-ticket waiting list.
“Having sections of supporters could be used as an instrument to get the crowd going,” says Chad Williams, a season-ticket holder in the Trinity Road Stand. “More fans will make a big difference. More hospitality areas have ruined the atmosphere as it’s too segregated and takes away the authentic matchday atmosphere.”
Needless to say, Champions League revenue would help immensely. Reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2024-25 amassed more than £70million, ensuring Villa topped £300m in income for the first time.
Fans are well-informed of Villa’s balancing act in navigating restrictions. In turn, there is trepidation during games of the possible effects if they do not qualify for Europe’s blue-chip competition, ranging from selling star assets, Emery’s future and further tightening of the club’s belt.
Emery sees Villa Park being a fortress as key to their success (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
Francesco Calvo succeeded Heck and has been keen to look at ways to improve the matchday experience.
Calvo’s appointment was influenced by his track record at previous clubs, including at Juventus, for building stronger relationships with the fanbase. Calvo started last July, when ticket prices had already long been a concern.
Calvo’s remit is to boost matchday revenue, but he has shown greater transparency with supporters. Unlike Heck, Calvo regularly attends FAB meetings and responds to supporters’ queries when contacted. He will be aware of Villa Park’s atmosphere as it is within his remit to seek suggestions and solutions.
An upshot of Villa’s European participation, Leeds was the first time in 371 days they had hosted an opponent at 3pm on a Saturday. Often, the schedule means Villa play at differing times, which, if on a Saturday lunchtime or a Sunday, the atmosphere can be quieter.
“Kick-off times and how TV fixtures are changing is killing the matchday experience,” says Steele. “As someone who travels over two hours each way for games, some of the fixture times have been an absolute nightmare.”
With pivotal fixtures to come, including Chelsea, Liverpool and however many Europa League contests, Villa know making their home a thunderous, tub-thumping fortress again would help enormously. How they ensure every game is loud and imposing, however, is a question that supporters and the club itself are pondering.