Your biggest let down as a Villa fan

[ColinMac]

FA Cup semi final with Liverpool in 96, the week after winning the league cup, we actually played well on the day, but Robbie Fowler scored a couple of great goals and we lost 3-0.

Its purely a personal thing, but i was more disappointed after that result than any of the wembley cup final defeats.

[ez]

Agree with those already mentioned.
Also us not making a big name signing under Doug when those around us did.
Lerner's villa not being able to make the top 5.
Our inability to win the fa cup in my lifetime.

[Pete3206]

Hands down 2000.

Horrible day, beaten by a horrible team with horrible players and patronised by horrible fans.

[castlefields_villan]

For me this is an easy one - West Ham away in our FA Cup 1980.  After struggling to beat Cambridge and Blackburn not sure what I should have expected, just given the fact that the happy hammers were a 2nd Division team and we always gave it to them on the pitch.  Really disappointing.  The rest of the season petered out after that culminating  in having to watch Liverpool destroy us last game of the season at Anfield where like West Ham we were up against it on and off the pitch. 

The next 48 months though I was in fantasy land.

Yes, the way we lost - to a dubious last minute penalty puts this up there towards the top of the list - I really thought 1980 was our year for the FA Cup - a bitter disappointment (although I only watched in a hotel) was the 1996 semi final defeat - how we lost that game 3-0 I still don't know.

[rob_bridge]

- The recentish FA Cup finals. The first for not giving it a go, and the second for being absolutely humiliated.
- The ten minutes of Fergie time when Bruce scored twice
- Chucking away the battle for 4th spot with Arsenal under Pubehead. The 2-2 draw with Stoke and signing Emile Heskey being symptomatic.
- Apparently agreeing a fee for Les Ferdinand and him then choosing Newcastle
- Stan Collymore not being the fabled "missing piece of the jigsaw after all".
- Sir Brian Little's final season as manager.

Thats' the Who's Who for me. Although wasn't too fussed at Ferdinand because I thought we had a chance with Bergkamp.

Add in 96 SF

*solemnly nods head in agreement*

[Flamingo Lane]

A very big let down was exiting the EUFA Cup very meekly in the first round v FC Antwerp in 1975/76, losing 5-1 on aggregate.  In the first leg away we were 4-0 down at half-time before pulling one back, then in the second leg (att 31,000) we conceded after 15 minutes and that was that.  I dug out the match programme the other day, and was surprised to see that Louis Van Gaal played in both legs for them.

[four fornicholl]

Running out of steam in 89-90.

[Damo70]

Running out of steam in 89-90.

I walked out of White Hart Lane genuinely convinced we would win the league. Then we had a nightmare against Wimbledon and never really recovered. I seem to remember we won at Arsenal but lost at Coventry and at home to Man City and dropped points against QPR, Norwich and Everton. I think it was after the Norwich game it was mathematically impossible for us. I seem to remember a scrappy 1-0 win at Villa Park over a Millwall side on their way down.

[castlefields_villan]

Running out of steam in 89-90.

I walked out of White Hart Lane genuinely convinced we would win the league. Then we had a nightmare against Wimbledon and never really recovered. I seem to remember we won at Arsenal but lost at Coventry and at home to Man City and dropped points against QPR, Norwich and Everton. I think it was after the Norwich game it was mathematically impossible for us. I seem to remember a scrappy 1-0 win at Villa Park over a Millwall side on their way down.

Looking back - how big a moment was David Platt's penalty miss ?

[LeeB]

Running out of steam in 89-90.

I walked out of White Hart Lane genuinely convinced we would win the league. Then we had a nightmare against Wimbledon and never really recovered. I seem to remember we won at Arsenal but lost at Coventry and at home to Man City and dropped points against QPR, Norwich and Everton. I think it was after the Norwich game it was mathematically impossible for us. I seem to remember a scrappy 1-0 win at Villa Park over a Millwall side on their way down.

Looking back - how big a moment was David Platt's penalty miss ?

Huge. Mountfields knee injury scuppered us as well

[four fornicholl]

Running out of steam in 89-90.

I walked out of White Hart Lane genuinely convinced we would win the league. Then we had a nightmare against Wimbledon and never really recovered. I seem to remember we won at Arsenal but lost at Coventry and at home to Man City and dropped points against QPR, Norwich and Everton. I think it was after the Norwich game it was mathematically impossible for us. I seem to remember a scrappy 1-0 win at Villa Park over a Millwall side on their way down.

Looking back - how big a moment was David Platt's penalty miss ?

Huge. Mountfields knee injury scuppered us as well

Coventry on Sky on the sunday was the defining moment, we never recovered. So sad.

[rob_bridge]

Running out of steam in 89-90.

I walked out of White Hart Lane genuinely convinced we would win the league. Then we had a nightmare against Wimbledon and never really recovered. I seem to remember we won at Arsenal but lost at Coventry and at home to Man City and dropped points against QPR, Norwich and Everton. I think it was after the Norwich game it was mathematically impossible for us. I seem to remember a scrappy 1-0 win at Villa Park over a Millwall side on their way down.

Looking back - how big a moment was David Platt's penalty miss ?

Huge. Mountfields knee injury scuppered us as well

Coventry on Sky on the sunday was the defining moment, we never recovered. So sad.

ITV

[Exeter 77]

The Man City game in 1990 was when I accepted it wasn't of going to happen but carried on hoping but, as we were strong relegation contenders the previous September, it was great season anyway. The 2000 Cup Final outstrips everything though as it was entirely our fault. In the League Cup in 2010 we could blame Dowd in 2000 there was no-one else but ourselves.

[Damo70]

Staying up all night listening to 'tut wireless' when we lost to Dangermouse's mate 'Penfold' in December 1982. We would have been champions of the world.

[Clampy]

Staying up all night listening to 'tut wireless' when we lost to Dangermouse's mate 'Penfold' in December 1982. We would have been champions of the world.

Me and my brother did that as well.