Why Supporters Must Change Their Negative Outlook Following Reaction to Aston Villa's Draw

Aston Villa opened their season with a 1-1 draw against Hull on Saturday, in what was a classic example of a game of two halves.

The Midlands club dominated the match in the opening period, only to be pegged back by the visitors in the second half.

In reality, a draw against a side who were only recently relegated from the Premier League is not a bad result, especially considering a number of players were most likely lacking match sharpness on the opening day of the season.

Encouragingly for Villa fans, their side created a number of goal scoring opportunities and if they had been a bit more clinical, could have emerged with all three points.

However, this was not the case, and somewhat surprisingly, there has been an air of disappointment and negativity surrounding Saturday's result. This was never more evident than when the substitution of Leandro Bacuna resulted in an uproar of cheers from the home fans.

Following the game, social media was over-flowing with dispirited Villa supporters, and even the club chairman - Tony Xia -  tweeted after the match to show his discontent.

It is perhaps, a sign of times at Villa Park that a steady opening day performance is considered substandard, by a group of supporters who have grown desperate to see their side enjoy some level of success. Last season, the fans were often left dejected by their side's meagre showings, which ultimately saw them finish 13th.

Villa rarely dominated matches for the entire 90 minutes in 2016/17, and the team struggled to score goals on a regular basis. Quite possibly, this was one of the main reasons for the negative feelings surrounding the game, as for some fans, it demonstrated that perhaps Villa still suffer from the same aliments that thwarted their title challenge last year.

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In reality, the problem with Villa supporters is deeper than that, and many are still bearing the scars of the horrific 2015/16 season, which saw the club finish on just 17 points.

This manifested itself on Saturday through the booing of Leandro Bacuna, a player who was present during Villa's relegation season and in many ways embodies the club's decline over the past half a decade.

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Villa fans have simply become used to failure, but in some ways, those in the Holte End are partly to blame.

Jeering Villa players and failing to get behind the team is completely counter productive, and it is perhaps time to move on from that horrific 2015/16 season and focus on the here and now, rather than the horrors Villa fans have grown used to.

The times have changed in B6, and perhaps the supporters need to as well.

Instead of contributing to the toxic atmosphere at Villa Park, maybe the 'boo boys' should concentrate on backing their side, and perhaps, they will see an upswing in performances.