Every day is as good as any other to remind Aston Villa fans what the club is always up against. There is an active and on-purpose agenda against any side that is not a part of the 'big six.' At the time, through anonymity, a while back, one of the executives of one of the 'big six' members even came out and mentioned their disdain for Leicester City having won the Premier League.
This makes it that much more the case when also factoring in how loud and confident Villa are in their pursuit of their goals.
For the establishment, watching the likes of Villa and Nottingham Forest continue to exceed past the spending and ingrained advantages of Chelsea and Tottenham is poking a finger in the eye of their own club operations.
In theory, the EPL operates on a level playing field. It is known that this is far from the case in reality.
Pushing the boundaries at Aston Villa
Although Villa could always be doing something better, the obstacle of attempting to bring down the current system as is is something that needs to be taken into account more when following the club. Trying to keep pace with and, in some cases, outdo the Premier League counterparts will always be difficult. When keeping in mind, however, that the vision and efforts of people like Unai Emery continue to push boundaries, then there should be some added room for leeway and forgiveness when things do not immediately appear to be in a good place.
Now heading to the United States for the upcoming preseason friendlies, Villa is going to embark on a campaign in which they hope to once again overcome the odds stacked against their favor and take one more block out of the Jenga tower of the 'big six.'