Paul McGrath caused a bit of a stir amongst Aston Villa fans with his reactionary tweets as Aston Villa were beaten 2-1 away to Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.
Jonathan Kodjia gave Villa the lead in the match, but was criticised for not passing to Scott Hogan on a number of occasions when the (possibly) Irish striker found himself in scoring positions following a number of good runs.
And few critics were as vocal as Ireland and Villa legend Paul McGrath, who took to twitter to let the world know that if the Ivory Coast international wants to become a top player, he needs to work harder for the team.
Sorry Aston Villa even if he scores four Kodjia is the Villian work rate is nil should have said it the other night dam Horgan is a player
— Paul McGrath (@Paulmcgrath5) February 4, 2017
Sorry don't mean to demean one player , has to be a time to ask what do you bring to Aston Villa . If it's a goal #sad .
— Paul McGrath (@Paulmcgrath5) February 4, 2017
Again Sorry, ten goals in the Championship isn't my idea of class , look this kid has talent but needs to learn how to play in a team game .
— Paul McGrath (@Paulmcgrath5) February 4, 2017
Apologies to Aston Villa supporters and our goal scorer Kodjia , in my defence I'm saddened at where we find ourselves. Only because I care.
— Paul McGrath (@Paulmcgrath5) February 5, 2017
McGrath seemed to regret the personal nature of his criticism, so again on Monday he issued an apology to Kodjia, despite the fact that many Aston Villa fans agreed with him.
To J.kodjia id say sorry , but do I think you'll make a player ' you are a player, do I believe you could be a great player yes #Work .
— Paul McGrath (@Paulmcgrath5) February 6, 2017
The man in question was alerted to the apology, but was quick to play it down, insisting that 'God' was entitled to his opinion for being a club legend.
No need 2 apologise God, u'r a legend of the club & won the right 2 be entitled 2 express your opinion in everything 2 do with@AVFCOfficial https://t.co/I3dNU5EsGj
— Jonathan Kodjia (@J_Kodjia) February 6, 2017
That is great to see from Jonathan Kodjia. Referring to McGrath as 'God' and 'legend', it's clear that he brushed up on his Aston Villa history before joining the club.
McGrath's argument was that goals alone are not enough, and although Kodjia has provided 10 goals so far this season, he does not contribute enough to the team as a whole.
Many of the club's fans agreed with McGrath and replied to an article publicising the Irishman's article to make that clear.
@AVFC_News not sure why God was apologising, it was fair.
— Vital Villa (@VitalVilla) February 6, 2017
@AVFC_News @birminghammail can't say anything these days without getting slammed. The general public needs to grow a pair.
— Bobbie K (@drum_bob) February 6, 2017
@AVFC_News @birminghammail Snowflake culture strikes again. @Paulmcgrath5 is entitled to air his views, he owes an apology to no one.
— Damo Hicks (@damohicks) February 6, 2017
@AVFC_News @birminghammail If every Villa player since was half as good as you Paul, we would be in top half of Premiership.
— Eric Grindrod (@eric_grindrod) February 6, 2017
@AVFC_News @birminghammail no reason for him to apologise. He made a worthwhile point
— Stephen Nee (@StephenNee2) February 6, 2017
@AVFC_News @birminghammail Entitled to Opinion more so if your God @Paulmcgrath5 ??
— darren pio johnston (@chippaper) February 6, 2017
It's always nice to see how much love the Villa fans have for McGrath.
