Aston Villa are rebuilding their squad and their stadium at the same time, and the absence of the North Stand has changed the feel of a ground that became such a weapon under Unai Emery. With five home games coming in October, Villa now have the opportunity to make Villa Park feel like home again.
There has been so much change at Aston Villa over the past few months that it is easy to concentrate entirely on the players who have gone and those who have arrived, but one of the biggest things I have noticed in the opening weeks of this season has nothing to do with the transfer window. Going to Villa Park just feels different at the moment, and I think that is going to take some getting used to for everyone.
It is obviously something we knew was coming. The North Stand redevelopment is an important part of where Villa want to go as a football club and, when everything is finished, Villa Park should be better for it. But knowing that a stand is going to disappear for a period and actually sitting inside the ground while Villa are playing without it are two very different things. Where I sit in the Holte End, I am looking directly towards what used to be the North Stand, and watching Villa or the opposition attack a goal with effectively nobody behind it is a really strange experience. I can't remember having that feeling at Villa Park before.
Perhaps what makes it even more noticeable is that the stadium is changing at exactly the same time as the team. For the last few years, we have become accustomed to turning up at Villa Park and watching a fairly familiar group of players. There were changes every summer, of course, but there was a core that remained recognisable and became synonymous with Unai Emery's Villa. This summer has been completely different. Some hugely important players have gone, new players have arrived and suddenly you are watching a new Aston Villa side develop in front of you while one end of the stadium is quite literally being rebuilt at the same time.
I don't think we should underestimate the impact of losing the North Stand temporarily either. It probably hasn't always received the same attention as the Holte End or Trinity Road when people talk about the atmosphere at Villa Park, but over the last few seasons it became a real asset. There was the noise generated from that end itself, but also the interaction with the away supporters next to it, particularly on the big European nights when the whole ground seemed to feed off each other. Frankie Maguire made the point on The 1874 Podcast that he sat in the North Stand for the Paris Saint-Germain game and remembered just how extraordinary the atmosphere was when Villa were fighting their way back into the tie. Those are the occasions when you realise what that part of the ground had become.
From where I sit now, the difference is particularly noticeable because I can't hear anything from the rest of Villa Park. That isn't a criticism of the supporters in the other stands, because I think it is largely down to the acoustics of the stadium having changed. The sound isn't travelling in the same way and the away supporters almost have an end of the ground to themselves acoustically as well. It creates an unusual dynamic and, although it is impossible to quantify how much difference something like that makes to the players, I find it difficult to believe it makes no difference at all.
There may even be more practical consequences. Frankie mentioned noticing the way Zion Suzuki's kicking appeared to be affected by the wind during the Nottingham Forest game, with one ball seemingly holding up and others travelling further in the opposite direction later in the match. Whether that was entirely because of the open end is impossible to know, but it is another reminder that removing an entire stand changes the environment of a stadium in ways that perhaps aren't immediately obvious until you actually start playing games there.
The timing is interesting because Villa Park has become such an important part of Emery's success. There have been plenty of periods during my time supporting Villa when you would arrive for certain home games already fearing what might happen. Under Emery, that mentality has completely changed. More often than not, I have walked into Villa Park expecting Aston Villa to win, regardless of who the opposition are, because that is what this team and manager have conditioned us to believe.
That makes the start to this season at home feel even more unusual. Villa have played twice at Villa Park in the Premier League and lost both games, while their three victories across all competitions have come away from home. There are obviously far more important footballing reasons behind individual results than the absence of one stand, particularly when Villa themselves have been dealing with so much upheaval, but I do think the changed environment is another factor this new group is having to adjust to.
It is why the period immediately after the international break feels particularly important. Five of Villa's seven games in October are at Villa Park, beginning with Brentford, and that creates an opportunity to make the stadium feel like home again very quickly. With so many new players, there is something to be said for building that association between Villa Park and winning as early as possible. One big performance and one big victory could change the mood considerably, because once supporters become accustomed to the new surroundings and the players begin to establish their own relationship with the ground, some of the current strangeness should naturally disappear.
There is also a bigger picture here which is genuinely exciting. In a year's time, the stand will be there, the stadium will look completely different and many of the players currently trying to establish themselves at Aston Villa should have had a full season together under Emery. We are watching two rebuilds taking place simultaneously, and ultimately both are designed to take the club somewhere better.
For now, though, Villa Park doesn't quite feel like the Villa Park we have become accustomed to under Emery. That doesn't mean it cannot become a huge advantage again this season, but it does mean supporters and players are going to have to create a slightly different version of home while the work continues around them. October gives Villa five opportunities in three different competitions to start doing exactly that.
