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Jimmy Rimmer, Nigel Spink and Mark Bosnich: the three best goalkeepers I’ve seen in my 45 years of attending games at Villa Park.

If we’re being picky, each probably had their weaknesses, though I’ve got to be honest, I don’t remember one for Jimmy. Spinksy wasn’t always to be relied upon coming for crosses, though of course he certainly was on that day of his standout performance, jus...

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There have been some fairly ugly scenes shown on our television screens in recent days, mostly from the self styled ‘Land of the Free’. But for sheer nauseating ugliness nothing compares with the scenes of Chorley players celebrating their hollow FA Cup victory. In the words of my mother whenever the Villa won a game, “And who was it they beat, the blind school?”

Not quite the bl...

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As a one time moderately successful runner I have a fair selection of medals and trophies but despite this I once asked a leading athletics coach if he could suggest ways to help me to have an even bigger collection.

Expecting to be offered words of wisdom along the lines of training methods and diet even to this day his response never ceases to amaze me.  All this sage could offer were...

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Watching the Chelsea match on TV was a strange experience because it did not look like Villa. Things were not helped by the minute size of the Hesgoal screen but Chelsea seemed to be playing some very confident, energetic outfit in white who could spray it about a bit. Not Villa, surely? But, hey, this is the new Aston Villa, the like of which we have rarely seen in my lifetime.

The te...

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When Villa finally sank down to the second level after years of circling the drain, it was clear that there would have to be radical changes to the playing staff. Put simply, Villa hadn’t just been relegated, they had been humiliated, with a total of seventeen points,  half the total achieved by fellow plummetees, Norwich City. The recent arrival of a reputedly-rich new owner suggested that spendi...

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I get the impression that not many Villa supporters now live within easy walking distance of the ground, so being the superstitious lot that we are I expect most have a tried and tested routine before setting out in order to ensure a successful outcome.

Back in the dim and distant days almost beyond recall I used to set off for the ground precisely one hour ahead of the kick-off with th...

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Playing rugby can cause brain damage, or so it has been alleged recently. I went to a rugby playing school and have disliked the thugs’ game ever since, even though it was (is?) supposedly played by gentlemen. I am at low risk of brain damage from the game though, as I preferred to take the cross-country running option whenever possible. A number of the lads who inhabited the scrums used to wear s...

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We’re not always harbingers of spite, bile and hatred towards everyone who isn’t wrapped in claret and blue. There are, believe it or not, some footballers we have a bit of respect for, and there’s (just about) enough of them to put together a decent team. Some are in because they look good, others because of a sublime bit of skill or outrageous talent, and one or just because they’re so downright...

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It was a very good year, it was a very good year for claret and blue bloodied guys of independent means.

1974 being our centenary year – though still nobody had managed to find out for certain the real date of origin – we thought we would invite league champions Leeds United and Don Revie to a Wednesday night friendly. This was a proper pre-season game, so different from Colours v Whit...

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It was a very good year. It was a very good year for the claret and blue, though on my birthday very nearly not for me.

You see, on my birthday, as often happened, my near-neighbour gave me a lift to work on the back of his motor bike. Some roadworks had been carried out at the corner of Brookvale Road and Wyrley Road resulting in loose gravel being left on the surface. The bike drifted...