How big a derby is Coventry for us Villa fans?

[WikiVilla]

Running battles across the park
Oh happy days

[badluckeric(gates)]

I always find their hatred of us highly amusing, it really is a case of an ant trying to upset a rhino.
We really aren't even aware of their existence 99.9% of the time.
I have no feelings towards them but it is just funny.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

We have no local 'rivals'. Neighbours? Yes. Local derbies? Yes. Rivals? No.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

They detest us with a passion.

I think you could call it small man syndrome.

[Shepton Bob]

de Kuip wrote:

"Another thing about Villa at Highfield Road - in 1979 we played a League Cup 3rd round 2nd replay there against Crystal Palace. No more than several hundred Palace fans made it up for the midweek game but the crowd was 25,445 (3,000 more than Cov's average). That's around 24,000 Villa fans at an away midweek game in the early rounds of the League Cup - not a bad effort."

Thanks for reminding me of that game. I went with my late father to that game. Wow the memories came flooding back with your statement. Thanks for that.  A game and occasion we both enjoyed   RIP Dad HEITS .

[Jonathan Collett]

Think it goes a bit deeper than people realise. Coventry was a hugely important historical city and certainly the most important in the traditional county of Warwickshire for many centuries. Birmingham grew rapidly and relatively recently and completely overshadowed Coventry - industrially as well as in status. So there is a huge inferiority complex in Coventry towards Birmingham anyway. Made much worse by Coventry being forced out of "Warwickshire" administrative area and into the unloved West Midlands conurbation again under Birmingham's shadow.

Add all this to the fact that Villa draw a lot of support from areas that Coventry would expect to be theirs such as Nuneaton, Kenilworth, Stratford, Warwick and even Coventry itself and there is a lot of resentment.

In a way it is deeper hatred than a derby which would be a rivalry as it is based on bitterness and resentment.

[cdbearsfan]

wan't it '98 before they beat us? - FA cup on Valentines day IIRC

That was their first win at Villa Park. First win against us at Highfield Road was 1988-89 season.

[Lambert and Payne]

Not sure it's a derby, games would be interesting if we were to play them, especially at the Ricoh, i know a Cov fan who says its split, Villa and Leicester although some think its Wolves. I would love to play them at the Ricoh

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

Worked at Unipart right by the Ricoh and to be far they are fine about Villa and dont even see us as a "rival" or "enemy. We have been apart that long they have other teams that have forged bigger animosity .......

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

It would make more sense for them to forge a rivalry with Blues - they're about the same size.

[darren woolley]

I don't really care about Coventry to me it's not a derby loved it when we sent them down though.

[Mac]

It's only a rivalry from one perspective.

They're like our younger brothers.  They get jumped up aspirations every one in a while and we give them a slapping down to remind them who's boss.

Remember the guy with the "We'll be back" banner when we relegated them?  We're still waiting.

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

I'm going against popular opinion, but this is a derby.

Anyone who ever made the short trip to Highfield Road will tell you what the atmosphere was like inside the ground. It was pure hatred, a derby atmosphere. And the FA Cup defeat at home? The atmosphere was poisonous that day and the defeat hurt like hell.

Also, last day wins at home in 91-92 and when they went down were fantastic days. Villa Park was really rocking. And what about the Savo hatrick in 1995-96?

An irrevelavance? So why are they regularly discussed? The fixture will never rival Blues or Albion, but there will always be an edge to the game if we ever find ourselves in the same division again.

This.

From what I gather:

Blues hate us.
Albion hate Wolves, but only really dislike us.
Wolves are indifferent to us.
Walsall - pre-season friendly
Stoke - not a real derby
East Midland teams (Forest, Derby, Leicester) - not a real derby
Cov hate us.

So surely the fact that Cov fans hate us so much, means that we hate them a least a bit back.

Surely any Villa-hater (Blues or Cov) is an enemy to us Villa fans?

[not3bad]

Albion hate Wolves, but only really dislike us.

Wolves really hate Albion, Albion did really hate Villa but got a bit distracted by Wolves along the way.

[DeKuip]

Surely any Villa-hater (Blues or Cov) is an enemy to us Villa fans?

Why? You'd need to be pretty small-minded or bitter to go through life with that attitude?

My ex hates me... whereas I only ever wish her health and happiness.