By 
Albert Adomah, as expected, will not have his contract renewed at Aston Villa.
Words by Mark Jirobe | @VillaMarkPGH
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OHHHHHH ALBERT ADOOOOOMAH.
It may be a generic chant to some, but for the past three seasons, this chant has rained down onto the pitch from the Villa faithful in the stands. “Uncle Albert” has been at the forefront of some very memorable moments for Aston Villa in the Championship. But, it is not only his contributions on the pitch that made Adomah such a memorable player at Villa. Throughout the past three seasons, Adomah has given Villa supporters everything: goals, assists, dances, celebrations, local community and charity work, smiles, hard work and a lot to be proud about.
Football isn’t just about what happens on the pitch. Clubs need good personalities, and Adomah was top-drawer for Villa over the last three seasons. Adomah showed his big personality even when he didn’t need to be with Steve Bruce attempting to ship him out on loan last summer, Adomah kept his head up, kept working hard and kept smiling. He is the definition of a true gentleman of the game and that’s something uncommon in today’s game. Every single Villa supporter owes a debt of gratitude to Adomah’s professionalism, heart and determination to help the club move forward from some seriously dark times. When Adomah joined Villa, the club was not a destination that most footballers would want to go to. In true Adomah fashion, he pulled his socks up and made sure that Villa supporters had something to be proud about whenever his number was called.
No one could have foreseen what his impact when he joined Villa in 2016 from Middlesbrough. Since his arrival to Aston Villa, Adomah has played 7,684 minutes for the Claret & Blue. Adomah also scored 21 goals for Villa, assisting on 17 others. Very few Villa supporters will forget the amazing form Adomah had in the second-half of the 2017-2018 season, which saw the tenacious winger carry Villa towards the Championship Playoffs.
Adomah’s production that season would not be replicated in the 2018-2019 season, but he still had a part to play. No part bigger than his 90th minute winner against Sheffield Wednesday and former Villa boss Steve Bruce. It was a wonderfully typical Adomah finish to win the game for Villa, an opportunistic yet smart finish on a rebound. They say that you do not just find yourself in favourable positions in football, you create favourable positions and Adomah showed that in droves at his time at Villa. Adomah would celebrate this specific goal with a cheeky little dig at his former boss. He decided to take on the body of a pensioner, using an invisible cane while grabbing at his back: indicative of what Steve Bruce thought about him earlier in the season.
Adomah could have easily lost faith in the club when it seemed the club lost faith in him, again a shining example of the sportsman and gentleman he truly is.
There are more than enough examples of times that Adomah was a clutch performer in his time at Villa. Whichever club that he signs with aren’t getting just another footballer, they are getting an amazing human being with very good footballing ability. There are many examples of Adomah’s grace and generosity, but none more definitive than taking home the Aston Villa Foundation Contribution Award this season.
Aston Villa are moving forward in every facet in terms of a footballing club. And it will hurt when some of the players that helped Villa to this point depart for greener pastures of a new start somewhere else. There isn’t a Villa supporter out there that can say Adomah didn’t have a memorable impact on the club, the players and the overall atmosphere of the dressing room. Whatever happens to Adomah for the rest of his career, many will thank him for what he has done at Villa and recognise what he helped to build.
Thank you, Uncle Albert. For the memories, the laughs, the smiles, the charity work, the celebrations and above all…the commitment you showed in helping to get this wonderful football club back to where it belongs. I speak for everyone at Under A Gaslit Lamp by saying how much you are appreciated by us and thank you for leaving it all out on the pitch every time you played.
You’ll always be a Villan to us.
