Search icon

Sport

02nd Aug 2016

Aston Villa’s new owner is seriously p*ssed off with Ian Holloway

He has since deleted the tweet...

Robert Redmond

He has since deleted the tweet.

Dr Tony Xia hasn’t been this angry since he was duped into wishing Jimmy Saville happy birthday.

The Aston Villa owner was extremely miffed with Ian Holloway on Monday afternoon, following the Sky Sports’ pundit’s predictions for the upcoming Championship season.

Holloway claimed Villa, recently relegated from the Premier League, will struggle in the Championship and tipped them to finish 16th.

“They’re lucky I’ve put them this high,” the former Blackpool manager said.

“Last season Villa’s players felt the weight of the shirt, but not the importance of it. They didn’t respect the badge enough. I’m worried nothing will change.

“They could easily get relegated again, with the lack of investment and the lack of unity within the playing squad. They’ve got Roberto Di Matteo, who is a wonderful man, but it’s a huge job to carry that expectation. It’s going to take something special to turn it around.”

Xia recently bought Villa from Randy Lerner, appointed Roberto Di Matteo as manager and is seeking to inject some optimism into the downtrodden club.

The Chinese businessman didn’t take kindly to Holloway’s predictions and dubbed him a “failed manager.”

https://twitter.com/FutbolFlawless/status/760107305170067456

He has since deleted the tweet, but undoubtedly gained a raft of new followers in the process.