OFFICIAL FOOTBALL CLUB Christmas videos are usually dull as dishwater.
Why would anybody risk doing anything entertaining when they can just stand glumly and tick it off the list of club obligations until next year?
But, this holiday season, Aston Villa no longer care about being a laughing stock as they sit propping up the Premier League table with just one win in 15 games. On Villa’s YouTube channel, in between such seasonal dross as ‘Christmas shopping with Ian Taylor,’ Remi Garde’s pre-match press conference, Zat Knight’s left-foot swinger against Arsenal in ’08 and John Gregory’s appearance in a music video, there’s this incredibly entertaining ‘Bad Santa’ gift-giving clip – where, thankfully, the players’ dire league situation is not mirrored by their mood.
This is a great video for many reasons, but we have to separate them out into two categories: the scripted forced-banter parts brought by the presents and the free-flowing, off-the-cuff slapstick nature they just can’t help lending to it.
In the scripted corner [SPOILER ALERT, YouTube fans]
- There’s a blow-up mattress for Jack Grealish, in case he wants to lie down…
… y’know, in Tenerife or wherever.
- Ciaran Clark has a brand new Daniel O’Donnell album.
“You pretend you’re Irish, so we thought…”
It’s the unscripted treats that really make it worth watching
- Micah Richards’ laugh is more infectious than man flu.
- And then there’s this grand finale.
While Richards’ laugh screeches over everything, his playful jab at Gabi Agbobonlahor causes a domino effect that ends with Angry Alan Hutton careering over the Christmas tree.
At least they can smile at this difficult time, God love them.
