Championship life ?

[john e]

New grounds, new towns, massive allocations and i think we'd take more fans away than we do now with the novelty factor and the fact we'd be challenging for promotion.

and saturday 3 o'clock kick offs

[Chico Hamilton III]

87-88 season was certainly more memorable and entertaining than many mediocre premiership seasons

a wonderful season. Some unbelievable away games - Shrewsburyon a week night, Bournemouth for a seaside special....erm...Leeds ....Blues...Hull...Swindon...

OK, maybe I'm looking through rose-tinted specs.

Still, a wonderful season. Almost makes me like David Platt when I think of his goal against Bradford

[Chris Smith]

It would be crap to be relegated.

[Dave P]

It would be crap to be relegated.

Is the correct answer.

/thread.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

I saw nearly all the third division games home and away. Yes it was fantastic at the time and Im happy to regale your all with stories about going to Notts County, and shit grounds  like Rochdale and Halifax.
However, I want to remain amongst the  band of those who will all now be pretty well over 50 and know whats its like to see Villa in the 3rd tier. In fact I want to live till Im a 104 and be like one of the last surviving 1st world war veterans, coming on Heroes & Villains and still trotting out the stories.

[Archie]

A drink with the Millwall fans?

[badluckeric(gates)]

I too was there in the 3rd division. The problem now is that relegation is a different animal. The huge financial differences were not there then so our massive support carried us through (and back).
Times have changed relegation could be disastrous.

[richard moore]

87-88 season was certainly more memorable and entertaining than many mediocre premiership seasons

Although getting relegated isn't meant to be fun, I had a great time that season.

A friend learning to drive and being given free use of his mom's ancient Maxi meant we could travel all over the place watching us at some right dumps.

Happy days. I suspect the reality of relegation is somewhat different these days, though.

One of the great things about this site is thinking you were probably stood in the same away end as someone on here all of 25 odd years ago - Barnsley, Sheffield United, Leeds etc...

[The Left Side]

I keep chanting to myself, "we will be ok, we will be ok, etc." I am not worried yet but if we continue to stutter through January then the panic button will be pressed.

[maidstonevillain]

  A promotion winning season breeds confidence and that momentum and winning mentality can carry a team through the next yr in the Prem and then they can reinforce and go again.

Bet that's what the Leeds and Middlesborough fans were saying.

However, I am one of the dwindling breed who went to most of the third division and second division games in the following seasons, and they were my favourite times. But the game was different then.

[PeterWithesShin]

I wonder how many Sheff Weds fans thought it would be fun to have new grounds to visit for a season? Relegation could be a long term disaster for the club, not a "romantic" trip to new grounds, most of which we've been to anyway.

[PeterWithe]

Like many I remember 87 being one of my favourite years following the Villa, I wouldn't mind doing it all again if things were more equal but they're not so it would be a disaster that we might not recover from.

[john e]

Like many I remember 87 being one of my favourite years following the Villa, I wouldn't mind doing it all again if things were more equal but they're not so it would be a disaster that we might not recover from.

yeah, lets hope we can have another 10 years like the last in the cosy comfort of the prem league,

[Billy Walker]

I look upon that relegation season of the eighties as being one of the most wretched eras of my Villa-supporting life.  Getting promotion back up was great and a huge relief but it took a good few years for the club to regain any semblance of credibility.

The bottom line for me is that Birmingham's major club should never be in any league other than the top league and should always be competing for every major honour available.  Anything less than that would be selling ourselves criminally short, surely?  This is our one hundredth year in the top flight - we're not a Middlesborough or a Coventry!!

[SoccerHQ]

No thanks.