Touching picture of brave young Aston Villa fan shows all that is good about football

This is just beautiful.

Football is an ugly place sometimes. It loses sight of what it supposed to be sometimes. Sometimes, at the top, it gets bogged down in money, in trophies and in bitter rivalries which, in the grand scheme of things, really are not that important at all. Then, every once in a while, a picture comes along and it stuns you. It reminds you of the real beauty of football and it reminds you of what this game is supposed to be. Aston Villa haven't won a competitive trophy in 19 years. The probably won't win one this season either. But it doesn't matter. Aston Villa - and football - is more important than that. It means so much more to people than just a day out. Richard Griffiths captured what football is all about in one equally heartbreaking and uplifting photo from Villa Park at the weekend. His son, Tom, is just seven years old and he's battling with Leukaemia. But when he gets to watch the football - when he gets to watch his beloved Villa - all of that goes away for just a little while. And, for all-too-brief a time, he is just a football fan. Nothing else. This picture is truly beautiful. And it really is what football should always be about. https://twitter.com/Griffwad83/status/638013396194099200