Away Support

[bertlambshank]

Rapid Vienna couldn't have been more than 150.

[Sunny Villa]

Besiktas  away no more than 100 ... some bods went on the train 5 day trip !

[dave.woodhall]

Seven at a friendly v Fiorentina, 1993.

In England - 138 v Millwall, FA Cup 1986.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I thought I was the only Villa supporter at a pre-season friendly against Benfica in 2000. I later heard there were a few others who had been moved to the Press Box.

As sub Ian Taylor was warming up during the second half I gave him a shout from amongst the thousands of Benfica fans that surrounded me. The look and smile on his face when he saw me in there was priceless.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Was that Bolton game the one we lost 3 - 2. If so i was on that one coach!!!!

November 1967. We won 3-2.  I was only 10 and with my older brother. What I do remember was we got off the coach on the big car park in front of the main stand. Must have been a couple of hours before kick off and it was all very quiet. An older lad led us all to some turnstiles, "been here before, this is where we go in lads." When about 4 had gone in, he burst out laughing and we all went to the other end of the ground leaving those poor buggers stuck in the Bolton end !

[TonyD]

Ayresome Park in the seventies, barely 100 for one game and not much more for another. I was living in Newcastle in the eighties and was forever being mocked for the size of our away following for a couple of matches at St James Park.

Chris, I have posted this before but I remember we put the final nail in Newcastle's coffin in Division 1 in a midweek game around 1978.

We beat them 2-0 and there were literally a handful of Geordies there who had travelled down in a transit van. The Mail had a story the next day that the Newcastle players were touched by their loyalty and had a whip round to pay their petrol money. Fast forward four years and they were getting gates of 83,000 with Keegan.

Also, I don't think I ever saw a MIddlesbrough fan at Villa Park until 1981. Literally not one ( that I can remember anyway)

There was very few Boro fans in 81,  last home game of the season I seem to remember, 3.0. A sprinkling in the Witton Bank.

[Clampy]

I remember being up at Ayresome Park in the late 80's (i think) for a Semi-Final of what might have been the Simod Cup (i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong). I don't recall there being many there either.

[The Laughing Policeman]

Millwall on a Tuesday night in April 1975. Three coaches, so about 120 of us. We won 3-1. And our coach got well and truly bricked about a mile from the ground.,

[SX150]

Millwall on a Tuesday night in April 1974. Three coaches, so about 120 of us. We won 3-1. And our coach got well and truly bricked about a mile from the ground.,

I was there for a 3-1 win midweek, Little 2 & Leonard. Thought it was April 1st 1975 though. Very few Villa there.

[danlanza]

I am going to check this out, but we must surely be in the top five when it comes to away followings. We take loads everywhere we go.
9,000 AWAY at Chelski in the cup when we got beat 4-0 must be some sort of record for a midweek game, and we took their pubs, drank all their beer and their wanky headhunters were nowhere in site. Villa on the march is something to behold. UTV.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

For big away followings, 1971/2 at Notts. C. There were 34,000 in Meadow Lane. It was mostly Villa on 3 sides of the ground. The traffic jams started at Tamworth.
In the 3rd division we nearly always had massive away followings, ones that particularly come to mind were at Bristol Rovers, Wrexham, Swansea, Chesterfield.

[ChrissyPrice]

Slovan Bratislava in '93 (?) wasn't the biggest turnout ever. I remember speaking to a bloke from Leeds cycling through Europe who fancied a game and a slightly fearful middle-aged American couple who'd been bundled in the away end on the assumption that they were obviously English hoolies. Nige Kennedy was there mind.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Ayresome Park in the seventies, barely 100 for one game and not much more for another. I was living in Newcastle in the eighties and was forever being mocked for the size of our away following for a couple of matches at St James Park.

Chris, I have posted this before but I remember we put the final nail in Newcastle's coffin in Division 1 in a midweek game around 1978.

We beat them 2-0 and there were literally a handful of Geordies there who had travelled down in a transit van. The Mail had a story the next day that the Newcastle players were touched by their loyalty and had a whip round to pay their petrol money. Fast forward four years and they were getting gates of 83,000 with Keegan.

Also, I don't think I ever saw a MIddlesbrough fan at Villa Park until 1981. Literally not one ( that I can remember anyway)

I recall we played one of the Bristol clubs (I think City) in the 80's at a caged Villa Park and a load of knuckledraggers, whose game had been called off, turned up with the Bristol fans in one small pen in the Lower North Stand. After about 30 minutes the knuckledraggers left, leaving what could only have been a handfull of Bristol fans.

[john e]

For big away followings, 1971/2 at Notts. C. There were 34,000 in Meadow Lane. It was mostly Villa on 3 sides of the ground. The traffic jams started at Tamworth.
In the 3rd division we nearly always had massive away followings, ones that particularly come to mind were at Bristol Rovers, Wrexham, Swansea, Chesterfield.

i was at Mansfield, another big one

[brian green]

The lowest numerically I can recall was a midweek against Oxford when Damon was up there.   He would have been about 19 so that would make it late 80s.   There were so few of us we were allotted the space behind one goal but only as far as the first row of crush barriers.   All I recall was that the coppers were spoiling for a fight and that Spinky got booked for time wasting after 13 minutes.

Least number of Villa fans I have ever been to a game with was when we had a game frozen off and six of us went to the Wolves to see them play Crewe.   First time we ever saw Platty.   How did he turn into the Pilsbury Doughboy?