The week of THE REAL BIRMINGHAM DERBY

[Lucky Eddie]

The side shows over; this Saturday's 'the one'!

COME ON YOU VILLA BOYS.

[willywombat]

Cant deny that this one matters but it doesnt come close to the small heath game for me

[alanclare]

The side shows over; this Saturday's 'the one'!

COME ON YOU VILLA BOYS.

Is that because we drew against our real rivals and managed to lose to them in the Cup-tie?

[Lucky Eddie]

The side shows over; this Saturday's 'the one'!

COME ON YOU VILLA BOYS.

Is that because we drew against our real rivals and managed to lose to them in the Cup-tie?

No, it's because football wasn't invented in 1992 and West Bromwich Albion have been our bitterest rivals for one hundred and twenty years....................next question please.

[darren woolley]

I'm looking forward to it but i would still say they are our rivals aswell as small heath.

[pedro25]

Saturday 3 o clock kick off, yet i bet the attendance will be lower than v Small Heath, showing imo that for the vast majority of Villa fans Blues is a bigger game.

[Blackcountry Villa]

It's as big as Blues for me, mainly because i'm surrounded by Albion fans, most of my mates are Albion fans and the stick i'd get would be unbearable, whereas i only know 2 Blues fans round here. On the whole though it's a bigger game for Albion fans than ours, you can tell by the feeling in the ground it's nowhere near the hatred shown against Blues but if you ask their fans their older fans hate Villa and the younger fans hate Wolves.

Albion fans are deluded aswell, they win a few games and think they're the biggest/best team in the midlands because they're above us for a few weeks. They're getting a bit too big for their boots thinking theyll beat us with ease, i hope we smash them and put them back in their place.

As for the attendance, theres loads of tickets left in our ends, not surprising when some cost £43 two weeks before christmas.

[Legion]

Much prefer the Baggies compared to Small Heath Alliance or the Dingles.

[Blackcountry Villa]

I've always thought Wolves fans were most like ours. They'll moan as soon as something is going wrong and they'll admit they're shit. You try telling an Albion fan they were shit in a particular game, they won't have it, they'll blame the ref and all sorts and like i said as soon as they start winning a few they're world beaters. If Wolves started winning a few they'd be like our fans and say it won't last and expect the worst.

[pedro25]

From my experience Cov fans hate us more than Albion fans do, although I have always lived nearer Cov and bump into more of their fans, and I have seen more trouble at Villa Cov games over the last 10 - 15 years than at Villa Albion over the same time, not that these are the only indicators of what makes a derby bigger.  I have always felt the atmosphere amongst Villa fans for both Cov and West Brom is pretty flat and apathetic, especially at the games themselves, not the same for Blues though of course.  I'e always felt Blues is the biggy and the no. 2 derby (although historically West Brom) depends on where you'r from, you just don't get West Brom/Wolves fans in Warks, Cov etc and likewise Cov fans in the black country for example.  So for me Blues is the biggest, Cov 2nd and West Brom 3rd, for a Villa fan in Wolvo, Wolves is probably 2nd, Baggies 3rd or whatever.  Baggies means little to me as I've met so few of their fans over the years.  I would have thought for most Villa fans, no matter where they live, they dislike Blues most and see that as the big derby.

[Pete3206]

Every midland non-Villa fan hates Villa Pedro.

[Legion]

Every?

[Blackcountry Villa]

I agree about the atmosphere, the last few home atmospheres against Albion and Wolves have been shit and the ground has been silent. Coventry used to be the same aswell, half empty ground and no atmosphere, apart from the 3-2 when we sent them down. The last good atmosphere against Wolves was probably the coca cola cup in 96 and i can't remember the last good one against Albion as i can't remember the 98 FA Cup game very well. When we play Albion away from home our fans are generally up for it and usually take the piss, Coventry would be the same if we drew them in the cup, we'd take 6000 and take the piss.

[Blackcountry Villa]

When we played them in the 90's some time which player was it they had a charity game for, was it Jeff Astle? And what year was it?

[Lambert and Payne]

I enjoy this derby more than the Blose one. More the fact that blose is just pure hatred and theres a bit more to this game. Cant see the atmosphere being a world beater though. Wasnt that good for blose really. The last time this game had a proper atmo was the last minute winner from Hitzlesperger. Remember the time we played em and the attendance was like 33k? That was in 2005 i think