Aston Villa's threat of legal action against Jamie Carragher has been dismissed as "total nonsense" after the club accused the pundit of causing "unacceptable insult". Villa chairman Nassef Sawiris announced the club would take legal action against Carragher before dropping the threat after the Liverpool legend apologised.
What Carragher Actually Said
Carragher's offence was to state that Manchester United are a bigger club than Villa, and that Unai Emery would probably move to Old Trafford if offered the job. The article's author describes both claims as glaringly obvious.
The response, the piece argues, shows that everyone at Villa is "unacceptably thin-skinned", adding that pundits say inflammatory things all the time and asking why the club believes its feelings should get special treatment. Threatening to sue a pundit over a legitimate comment is described as nonsense.
Grealish Precedent Raised
The article says Villa's fragility should come as no surprise given how quickly supporters turned on Jack Grealish after he left for Manchester City in 2021. It notes he was a boyhood Villa fan who stuck with the club in the Championship, yet was treated with what the piece calls unhinged petulance.
Morgan Rogers Goal Questioned
The piece also takes aim at the reaction to Morgan Rogers' solo goal against Manchester United, calling it "bang average" and saying the plaudits were overblown. It argues that sprinting 30 yards without having to dodge a single challenge does not make a player Lionel Messi, and that Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez gave Rogers a wider berth than United are giving the top half of the table.
It groups the Rogers strike with Son Heung-min against Burnley and Hatem Ben Arfa against Bolton as goals that were "utterly bog-standard, but hailed as world-class".
Mbappe Apology Criticised
Finally, the article criticises Kylian Mbappe for issuing a grovelling apology to China after calling Chairman Mao a "dictator", saying he folded once his Chinese corporate sponsors objected. It argues that calling Mao a dictator is an indisputable fact and accuses Mbappe of abandoning a conscience when it threatens his bank balance.
