Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: russon on September 12, 2011, 08:19:54 PM
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I suppose those under a certain age have never known it as anything except the Doug Ellis but I for one still call it the Witton Lane. I'm stubborn like that.
I'd like to know the true story of how the Witton Lane Stand was 'awarded' it's new name because if you're telling me the blighter had nothing to do with it then my name's Bernard.
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Witton Lane for me.
I don't believe the naming was a birthday surprise either.
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I've always called it Witton Lane (and the North Stand "the Witton End") but everyone I know calls it "the Doug Ellis" or "the Ellis". Now that I sit in it I call it "the Doug Ellis" too.
I feel somehow disappointed:-(
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Witton Lane.
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Still the Witton Lane and Witton End for me.
Unless of course they decide to name one of them after me. ;D
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Witton Lane.
+1
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Still the Witton Lane and Witton End for me.
Unless of course they decide to name one of them after me. ;D
Laughing Policeman Lane? Does have a certain ring to it.
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1st season ticket was in the Witton Lane. Always will be the Witton Lane stand.
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I`m sorry to say that I call it the Doug Ellis or Ellis stand because thats what its called!
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I`m sorry to say that I call it the Doug Ellis or Ellis stand because thats what its called!
Currently. No need to be sorry.
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Slightly off topic but I remember standing at the top of the Witton End with an amazingly steep earth bank to fall down. Wot! No health & safety?
No cover, of course, and many an opposition fan to share the afternoon with.
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Witton Lane.
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Witton Lane stand. I call it that when in the ticket office too.
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Witton Lane for me every time.
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Witton Lane. My first ever Villa game was spent in a wooden seat in the lower tier. Early 90s, Villa 1-0 Notts County - a certain youngster called Dwight Yorke scoring the only goal of the game.
Amazingly there's a thread on here about that game - http://www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=41396.0
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Only ever known it as the Doug Ellis stand. But would prefer it if it was called Witton Lane. Prefer stands named after roads for some reason
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Does anyone still refer to the North Stand as the Witton End?
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I used to feel quite strongly about the issue, but now I couldn't care less what it is called. It will always be the Witton Lane to me, and the so called North Stand will be the Witton (End). And the Birmingham End at Edgbaston will be The City End.
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Witton Lane / North Stand. I am of a certain vintage.
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There will be a Witton Lane long after Doug has departed. Yesterday Witton Lane, today Witton Lane, tomorrow Witton Lane.
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I used to feel quite strongly about the issue, but now I couldn't care less what it is called. It will always be the Witton Lane to me, and the so called North Stand will be the Witton (End). And the Birmingham End at Edgbaston will be The City End.
renaming the City End at Edgbaston is stupid ...in my opinion.
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My first match was in the Witton Lane stand (standing I might add), so, since I'm a bit of a stubborn bugger as well, it will always be that to me.
Besides, I don't believe that transitory officials who have been involved with the club for only a fraction in time of it's total existence have a right to name stands after themselves. That privilege should be for history to decide, if at all.
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Does anyone still refer to the North Stand as the Witton End?
'Fraid so.
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Doug Ellis.
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I'd like it to be called The Whichever Multinational Is Stupid Enough To Give Us £5 million a year For Naming Rights Stand.
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Should name it after someone important in a positive way in the history of Aston Villa. Either that or rename the others after DOL, Callaghan and Curcic so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.
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About ten years ago the late Brian Moore briefly did a show on TalkShite in which he interviewed personalities from the football world, and one week his guest was the esteemed ping-pong champion and inventor of the bicycle kick. The listeners were invited to phone in with questions for the travel agent, so I called in. I was doing shift work at the time and hadn't got on air by the time I had to leave for work, so I phoned again and said there was no point in them calling me back, but could they put my question to him anyway. I was on my way to work when I heard Moore say, "A bit of a spiky question here Doug from one of the listeners, asking why you decided to name a stand after yourself." I can't remember the exact wording of his long-winded answer but I recall it was a long and flatulent ramble about how the shareholders had voted for the name and he was humbled by it. Obviously Doug, being Doug, managed to sound anything but humble as he boasted about it. Hot, thick smarm was pouring out of my radio. I remember being really annoyed that Moore let him off the hook and moved swiftly on, probably to let Doug challenge the universe to a game of tennis or something. Is anyone else aware of this shareholder's vote on the name? Some of our former greats haven't got so much as a banqueting suite named in their honour. It's a bloody disgrace. I said it then and I'll say it now. Grrr.
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About ten years ago the late Brian Moore briefly did a show on TalkShite in which he interviewed personalities from the football world, and one week his guest was the esteemed ping-pong champion and inventor of the bicycle kick. The listeners were invited to phone in with questions for the travel agent, so I called in. I was doing shift work at the time and hadn't got on air by the time I had to leave for work, so I phoned again and said there was no point in them calling me back, but could they put my question to him anyway. I was on my way to work when I heard Moore say, "A bit of a spiky question here Doug from one of the listeners, asking why you decided to name a stand after yourself." I can't remember the exact wording of his long-winded answer but I recall it was a long and flatulent ramble about how the shareholders had voted for the name and he was humbled by it. Obviously Doug, being Doug, managed to sound anything but humble as he boasted about it. Hot, thick smarm was pouring out of my radio. I remember being really annoyed that Moore let him off the hook and moved swiftly on, probably to let Doug challenge the universe to a game of tennis or something. Is anyone else aware of this shareholder's vote on the name? Some of our former greats haven't got so much as a banqueting suite named in their honour. It's a bloody disgrace. I said it then and I'll say it now. Grrr.
Me arse they did.
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Didn't Doug state that somebody wrote in and suggested it as a birthday present or something, at which time he made himself absent from the room while the other directors voted on it?
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Does anyone still refer to the North Stand as the Witton End?
Yes.
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Didn't Doug state that somebody wrote in and suggested it as a birthday present or something, at which time he made himself absent from the room while the other directors voted on it?
As the day approached for Doug's 70th birthday, a Doug's 70th Birthday Committee was established.
"But how will we mark the occasion?" one of them was heard to cry. "Whatever can we do for the man who has everything?"
"I know," said another member (believed to be a certain ITV-cum-Sky football, boxing and greyhounds commentator. "We'll name the new stand after him. But it will have to be a secret. He can't know until the big day"
"Bravo." they all cried. "What a good idea! But we must keep it from him. It'll be such jolly fun to see the look on his face when we tell him."
And so it come to pass that at Doug's 70th Birthday Party, shortly after everyone had played Pass the Brown Paper Parcel and Pin the Tail on the Bicycle Kick, the commentator announced that they had a big surprise for Doug. And they handed him a model of the stand, with 'The Doug Ellis Stand' written in crayon along the side.
You should have seen the look on his face!
"Well I never!" said Doug. "This IS a surprise! I never expected this!"
How they all laughed!
And they all lived happily ever after.
The End.
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It did sound utterly phony. Like a deluded old man trying to justify something unjustifiable. The birthday present thing rings a bell too, I vaguely remember that being rumoured. I guess we'll never know. Maybe the best thing would be to rename it. Out of interest, what has to happen for that to occur? Wolves have renamed a couple of stands in the recent past - the Steve Bull Stand is a new one (I think it's the one that used to be the John Ireland Stand). Was that on a whim of the club owners? Was it fan pressure that brought it about? Is it an insult to the family of John Ireland? Does that matter? If we changed Witton Lane to the Eric Houghton Stand, for example, and at the same time unveiled the new Doug Ellis Bovril Kiosk, would that be okay?
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Due to its size and general inadequacy in the 70s and 80s, we always referred to it as the bus shelter.
I guess a generation will go to the grave calling it Witton Lane, another generation will go to the grave calling it the Doug Ellis and the next generation after that will go to the grave asking who was Doug Ellis.
If we're not playing in a concrete circus tent in Elmdon by then, of course.
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Witton Lane.
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Illogical - Dougie Ellis and Witton End
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It won't be renamed until they rebuild it. Far too much of a personal insult otherwise.
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It won't be renamed until after the old geezer shuffles off his mortal coil. (After a suitable period of mourning.)
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Witton Lane and the Witton End. Oh and as far as i am concerned it will always be the City end at Edgbaston .
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Witton Lane and the Witton End. Oh and as far as i am concerned it will always be the City end at Edgbaston .
I agree
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In my view if we're going to name it after anyone it should be George Ramsay. Until then Witton Lane.
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Although easily old enough to remember the Witton I never sat in there until it was the Doug Ellis so I m afraid I call it the Doug Ellis :(
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Witton Lane regardless of the preposterous story the old codger peddles about its current name.
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My very first match at the Villa was at the Witton End back in the 1970s. It was Boxing Day, home to Nottingham Forest. We were 2-0 down at half-time but came back to draw 2-2. I yelled and shouted so much that I literally lost my voice for 3 days! Wonder why my family encouraged me to go again? These days I'm in the Upper Holte, but still think of the other end as the Witton.
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Witton Lane.
I expect I'll regret this, but what have they renamed the City End to at Edgbaston?
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Maybe the best thing would be to rename it. Out of interest, what has to happen for that to occur?
Doug to die and enough time to have elapsed so that we don't look like heartless bastids.
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Perhaps the club can offer Doug a compromise and agree to him being buried under it in exchange for letting them rename it in a sponsership deal. Hell, he doesn't even have to wait till he's dead if he likes.
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Witton Lane, my grandfather wouldn't forgive me if I referred to it as the Doug Ellis.
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My first ever Villa game was in the Witton Lane. 2-0 against Wolves, first goal a freak chipped backpass and second goal a John Deehan rocket.
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It's Witton Lane for me too. I seem to remember that someone asked the General about renaming it back when we were in fashion. He said it'd be like 'poking him in the eye' and wouldn't be right. I'd guess it'll be the Carlsberg stand or something like that not long after Doug's passed on.
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There is no Doug Ellis Stand. However there is some wording on the side of the Witton Lane Stand to that effect - an anomaly which is long overdue revising.
Wasn't the vote basically his son, lawyer and doctor or is that an urban myth I have peddled for best part of 2 decades after reading it in H&V way back when?
It should be the Ron Saunders Stand. The Holte is The Holte, as is the Trinity.
And I'm too young to remember it as anything other than the North Stand, though happy for that name to be sold to the highest bidder.
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I expect I'll regret this, but what have they renamed the City End to at Edgbaston?
The Birmingham End. I'm not sure it's official or just a tie-in with the sponsorship by VisitBirmingham.com who have adverts all over that bit of the ground.
Hopefully they'll rename it after Ian Bell soon.
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I expect I'll regret this, but what have they renamed the City End to at Edgbaston?
The Birmingham End. I'm not sure it's official or just a tie-in with the sponsorship by VisitBirmingham.com who have adverts all over that bit of the ground.
Hopefully they'll rename it after Ian Bell soon.
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Prefer it to be Gladstone Small - he complimented me on my Villa Top when I bumped into him at the Ashes in Brisbane last year.
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Renaming the North End to the Witton End is more of a priority in my opinion - once the bulldozers eventually get to work on wiping football's ugliest stand off the face of the earth.
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I'd like it to be called The Whichever Multinational Is Stupid Enough To Give Us £5 million a year For Naming Rights Stand.
No, No, thrice No!
As far as multinationals are concerned, they can stick their Emirates/Etihad/Britannia/KC/Ricoh/American Express/King Power/Etc naming rights up their arse.
I'd rather have the Witton Lane called the Doug Ellis in perpetuity than have Villa Park sullied by naked commercial exploitation.
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I'd like it to be called The Whichever Multinational Is Stupid Enough To Give Us £5 million a year For Naming Rights Stand.
No, No, thrice No!
As far as multinationals are concerned, they can stick their Emirates/Etihad/Britannia/KC/Ricoh/American Express/King Power/Etc naming rights up their arse.
I'd rather have the Witton Lane called the Doug Ellis in perpetuity than have Villa Park sullied by naked commercial exploitation.
For £5m a year, we could have afforded Scott Parker.
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We could have had Scott Parker based on the difference between having the name of a casino and the name of a charity on our shirt.
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We could have had Scott Parker based on the difference between having the name of a casino and the name of a charity on our shirt.
"Two Scott Parkers there's only two Scott Parkers", Yep it goes.
I fancy that in those days if MON had wanted Parker he would have got him, Acorns or not.
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Witton, always will be.......
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I'd like it to be called The Whichever Multinational Is Stupid Enough To Give Us £5 million a year For Naming Rights Stand.
No, No, thrice No!
As far as multinationals are concerned, they can stick their Emirates/Etihad/Britannia/KC/Ricoh/American Express/King Power/Etc naming rights up their arse.
I'd rather have the Witton Lane called the Doug Ellis in perpetuity than have Villa Park sullied by naked commercial exploitation.
I wouldn't want them to rename the Holte, the Trinity or the stadium, but give us enough cash and you can call either of the other two stands the I Love Blokes With Big Arses Stand for all I care.
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I used to feel quite strongly about the issue, but now I couldn't care less what it is called. It will always be the Witton Lane to me, and the so called North Stand will be the Witton (End). And the Birmingham End at Edgbaston will be The City End.
I called the Hollies stand the Rea Bank the other day and felt very, very old.
It depends on who I'm talking to; instinctively I'll say Witton Lane but it's too much bother explaining to people who don't know the story.
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Chris Is the Tom Dollery Stand still called the Tom Dollery Stand?
As for the Witton Stand my first visit to Villa Park was to see the bomb damage. I wonder if the Luftwaffe were really aiming for it. Schweinhunds.
The bank at the Witton End is a much neglected topic. When there was a full house we used to scramble up the ashes to the crest of the mound and by pushing those in front down the slope on the pitch side you could make room for yourself to get a view. Trouble was when the compressed mass of fans heaved backwards, those of us on the top used to go arse over tip all the way back to the bottom. It was sort of egg shaped so the cascades of humanity would come tumbling all down the sides as well.
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Brian, I believe it us now the William Ansell Stand.
One of my regrets is never standing on the Witton End, if memory serves there was a shack on top shaped like a football.
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It started out as an orange to facilitate the sales of Mason's Jaffarade but the smoke from the trains soon made it football coloured.
That was a very busy train line at the back of the Witton mound. If it had occurred to me or any of the other numbskulls I used to hang out with we could have had what these days would be called a multi recreational experience for our tanner admission and collected some train numbers. When Man U supporters used do their party piece and throw glass bottles onto the heads of the crowd below we would get lumps of stone from the railway lines and use them to return fire.
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It should be called The “Run for your lives! Its gone 85 minutes!” Stand.
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Never knew there were trains running at the back of the Witton End!! Are you sure? When did that stop?
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A few years ago my dad invited me to join him for a villa game. He began watching the villa when he was about 8 or 9, during the 1930's.
Anyway, he had a season ticket and the one next to him was going so I took it. We went into the Doug Ellis Stand. I remember because it was the first time dad invited me and that was how he described where we were sitting. With a lot of laughing at the name!
I think there are quite a few old supporters who really don't give a proverbial what it's called. They just want to have a ticket to see the match.
Just for preference, though, I would rather see the 'Witton Lane' or 'Gordon / Sid Cowans' stand!
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Witton Lane. More banter with the away fans .......
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Didn't like it at the time, but -whichever way you want to cut it- he was a vital figure in our history for the best part of 40 years.
And, if I'm honest a (very) small part of me actually admires the sheer brass neck of the old coot. An utterly shameless thing to do, considering the many other contenders a club like ours would have for such an honour. But it sums him up quite well, I think. Unpopular and done on the cheap. The bottom line rather than the aesthetic quality (quality of any kind some might say) or history of the club was the main motivating factor. Hence asbestos, cramped seats, in house builders and all the rest of it.
I can see the de-Stalinisation logic behind such a move, but to change it now would be a snub to a frail old man in his final years - and yes, a Villa man too. Re-name it when we bulldoze it. I'd like to see it developed as part of an overall restructuring involving the North Stand at some point - though I accept we might be a while off that based on recent events. And attendances.
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To be fair, Doug stepped aside at just the right time to allow us our major triumph. That we do have to thank him for!
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It should be called The “Run for your lives! Its gone 85 minutes!” Stand.
Ha, very true.
Ditto the rest of the stadium....
I don't give a shit what the stands called anymore, who really cares ?
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Witton Lane
I challenged Doug on it at one of the AGM's when the Trinity was being redone.
I asked what it was to be called and would the board be giving Doug another 'surprise!' and call the Trinity Road Stand the Doug Ellis West
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It'll always be the Witton Lane stand to me, but I wouldn't change it back now because it would seen as an insult to Doug Ellis, and as a club we shouldn't lower ourselves to be so offensive to a decent man.
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If the name of the stand had been changed as a memorial to Doug, I don't think I'd have a problem with it, but the fact he did it himself while in office will always be a reminder of the size of his ego.
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If the name of the stand had been changed as a memorial to Doug, I don't think I'd have a problem with it, but the fact he did it himself while in office will always be a reminder of the size of his ego.
Yep, that's the point.
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Witton Lane. Always.
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Witton Lane for me.
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It'll always be the Witton Lane stand to me, but I wouldn't change it back now because it would seen as an insult to Doug Ellis, and as a club we shouldn't lower ourselves to be so offensive to a decent man.
Here here. If someone came along with a wad of cash to sponsor it, that would be different maybe. I am sure the old man could be expected to understand!
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It'll always be the Witton Lane stand to me, but I wouldn't change it back now because it would seen as an insult to Doug Ellis, and as a club we shouldn't lower ourselves to be so offensive to a decent man.
It was an insult for him to change the name of the stand to his in the first place. Did he consult the Villa fans about this? Whether you liked him or not, you can't expect someone who was hated by so many to name a stand after themselves.
What next, No.10 Downing Street to be renamed Margaret Thatcher Cottage?
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It'll always be the Witton Lane stand to me, but I wouldn't change it back now because it would seen as an insult to Doug Ellis, and as a club we shouldn't lower ourselves to be so offensive to a decent man.
It was an insult for him to change the name of the stand to his in the first place. Did he consult the Villa fans about this? Whether you liked him or not, you can't expect someone who was hated by so many to name a stand after themselves.
What next, No.10 Downing Street to be renamed Margaret Thatcher Cottage?
Only idiots with no perspective on life "hate" him. I was never a fan, but it was clear he loves and cared for the club. Changing the name while he's still around would be a really cheap and nasty thing to do. Something I wouldn't want associated with our great club.
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It'll always be the Witton Lane stand to me, but I wouldn't change it back now because it would seen as an insult to Doug Ellis, and as a club we shouldn't lower ourselves to be so offensive to a decent man.
It was an insult for him to change the name of the stand to his in the first place. Did he consult the Villa fans about this? Whether you liked him or not, you can't expect someone who was hated by so many to name a stand after themselves.
What next, No.10 Downing Street to be renamed Margaret Thatcher Cottage?
Only idiots with no perspective on life "hate" him. I was never a fan, but it was clear he loves and cared for the club. Changing the name while he's still around would be a really cheap and nasty thing to do. Something I wouldn't want associated with our great club.
OK, I agree, hated may be a bit strong, but a large majority disliked him greatly - enough for common sense to tell you that you shouldn't be naming a stand after yourself.
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It'll always be the Witton to me. Just as the Trinty Road stand is the Trinity and the Holte End is the Holte.
We can't rename it now as we will look petty and small minded. However I would like to see the North Stand renamed if and when it's redeveloped. The Saunders Stand has a ring to it but I fear that we will end up with it being commercially named
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I think my username says it all really!!
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Does anyone still refer to the North Stand as the Witton End?
Yes.
Yes. Still the Witton Lane stand and the Witton End to me. Mainly because most of the 250/300 or so games I have attended at Villa Park were in the 70's and 80's. Also my grandparents lived, and my mother was born, almost behind the Witton End (Jardine Road), so it was a big presence in my life before I even went to games.
I have actually only sat in the Witton Lane stand twice. Both memorable games for different reasons. The 5-1 win against Liverpool and the defeat by Ipswich in the 80/81 season.
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How about the Acorns Stand?
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Were you at the SCG too? The Acorns Stand was suggested there and it seems to be an ideal way for Doug to give it back amd come up smelling of roses.
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I was and I suggested it. We will see.
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My first visit to VP was in 1967 and I sat as a 9 yr-old in the Witton Lane Stand. The following season, I stood at the Witton End for my second game. We lost both games, to Everton and QPR respectively. The results are immaterial: the point is that I remember the occasions and the atmosphere and the environment.
People come and go: occcasions live on for ever.
Name them what the hell you want ("Doug 'The Muppet' Stand"; "Acorns Forever"; whatever) - they'll always be what they were when I first visited B6.
What I'm saying is: it doesn't really matter!
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I say "the Doug Ellis stand (spit)"
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Ahh! So i now know who you are! It was good to have a drink with you yesterday
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Wiiton Lane & always will be.
As a club we have had so many great servants who it could have been named after, it just says everything about Doug that his monumental ego would see himself more deserving than many many more deserving candidates.
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The Frederick Rinder Stand has a nice ring to it.
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http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/10/04/ex-aston-villa-chairman-doug-ellis-unveils-5-million-revamped-sports-centre-at-aston-university-97319-29533444/
The ego strikes again. The Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre.
This charlatan Villa fan really winds me up. I don't mind him giving his money for good causes, but why he needs to feed his ego constantly is beyond belief.
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http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/10/04/ex-aston-villa-chairman-doug-ellis-unveils-5-million-revamped-sports-centre-at-aston-university-97319-29533444/
The ego strikes again. The Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre.
This charlatan Villa fan really winds me up. I don't mind him giving his money for good causes, but why he needs to feed his ego constantly is beyond belief.
You just said it - ego. Deep down Doug is a very unhappy, lonely man.
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http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/10/04/ex-aston-villa-chairman-doug-ellis-unveils-5-million-revamped-sports-centre-at-aston-university-97319-29533444/
The ego strikes again. The Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre.
This charlatan Villa fan really winds me up. I don't mind him giving his money for good causes, but why he needs to feed his ego constantly is beyond belief.
You just said it - ego. Deep down Doug is a very unhappy, lonely man.
I never thought of it like that, i feel better about him now, it must be because he knows he is not a real Villa fan, and we are.
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Witton Lane
I challenged Doug on it at one of the AGM's when the Trinity was being redone.
I asked what it was to be called and would the board be giving Doug another 'surprise!' and call the Trinity Road Stand the Doug Ellis West
Thankfully he didn't run with that!
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http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/10/04/ex-aston-villa-chairman-doug-ellis-unveils-5-million-revamped-sports-centre-at-aston-university-97319-29533444/
The ego strikes again. The Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre.
This charlatan Villa fan really winds me up. I don't mind him giving his money for good causes, but why he needs to feed his ego constantly is beyond belief.
You just said it - ego. Deep down Doug is a very unhappy, lonely man.
I never thought of it like that, i feel better about him now, it must be because he knows he is not a real Villa fan, and we are.
He might be a different type of Villa fan to you and I- might love the club for different reasons (primarily for the life style it has given him, the chance to call people like Cruyff, Beckenbauer and co 'friends,' serial name dropper that he is).
But he's still a Villa fan all the same. He doesn't need to come to the games after he sold up- if he was really am Everton, Tranmere, B-lose or Wolves fan, he could spend his free time there.
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http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/10/04/ex-aston-villa-chairman-doug-ellis-unveils-5-million-revamped-sports-centre-at-aston-university-97319-29533444/
The ego strikes again. The Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre.
This charlatan Villa fan really winds me up. I don't mind him giving his money for good causes, but why he needs to feed his ego constantly is beyond belief.
You just said it - ego. Deep down Doug is a very unhappy, lonely man.
I never thought of it like that, i feel better about him now, it must be because he knows he is not a real Villa fan, and we are.
It's nothing to do with Villa. I have a theory - for all he's done in his life, Doug has got so close to where he wants to be that he can almost touch it, but he never got there. To you and I it's so far away it's not worth thinking about, but Doug nearly made it and that's what hurts the most. He was wealthy but never fuck-you rich until 2006. He was well-known in his own field, but never famous. The A-list names he drops would never boast of knowing him. He was involved in events but never dictated them. And most of all, the League Cup isn't the European Cup no matter how hard he pretends it was all down to him. The loneliest place in the world is on the edge of a conversation.
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It won't be renamed until they rebuild it. Far too much of a personal insult otherwise.
Maybe that's the answer then, because it was piss-poorly built in the first place.
Who was it who built it again?
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The big difference between me being a Villa fan and Doug being a Villa fan, is that no one has ever had reason to doubt my support and loyalty towards Aston Villa, and I have never been involved with other football clubs. I also do not feel the need to keep telling everyone how much of a fan i am, and I don't need to go to every game to prove myself.
Sorry Doug you will never be Mr Aston Villa. He reminds me of Al Fayed trying too hard to be British.
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Beautiful summary Dave. The song 'Can't buy me love' springs to mind.
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I'm surprised people are still hostile towards Doug, he was'nt the best chairman a manager could ever want, but he was'nt the devil's work either.
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I wrote a scene in a book that's set during the derby of 2010 (the one where Milner scored the penalty) and as the characters leave for the car, my narrator says the following: "We sliced our way through the punters heading towards Aston station, under the overhanging shadow of the Witton Lane Stand (never, ever the Doug Ellis)..." and that's how my view will remain until the day I die.
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We should rename the Lower Trinity as the Trinity Road Enclosure and have transfer turnstiles whereby people can pay to change ends if they wish to.
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http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/10/04/ex-aston-villa-chairman-doug-ellis-unveils-5-million-revamped-sports-centre-at-aston-university-97319-29533444/
The ego strikes again. The Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre.
This charlatan Villa fan really winds me up. I don't mind him giving his money for good causes, but why he needs to feed his ego constantly is beyond belief.
You just said it - ego. Deep down Doug is a very unhappy, lonely man.
I never thought of it like that, i feel better about him now, it must be because he knows he is not a real Villa fan, and we are.
It's nothing to do with Villa. I have a theory - for all he's done in his life, Doug has got so close to where he wants to be that he can almost touch it, but he never got there. To you and I it's so far away it's not worth thinking about, but Doug nearly made it and that's what hurts the most. He was wealthy but never fuck-you rich until 2006. He was well-known in his own field, but never famous. The A-list names he drops would never boast of knowing him. He was involved in events but never dictated them. And most of all, the League Cup isn't the European Cup no matter how hard he pretends it was all down to him. The loneliest place in the world is on the edge of a conversation.
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Perfect summing up of the man and one I hope he never reads as it will hurt that vast ego within.
I voted Witton Lane because that's what I grew up with and that's what it is. I just look beyond any signs with his name on.
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It won't be renamed until they rebuild it. Far too much of a personal insult otherwise.
Maybe that's the answer then, because it was piss-poorly built in the first place.
Who was it who built it again?
Is it that badly built? What's the problems with it I've been in it a few times and thought it was pretty decent. Not as good as the Holte End or the Trinity but a decent stand all the same? I also happen to think it looks nice and achieves a lot given the restrictions caused by proximity to Witton Lane.
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Probably just my age but i call it the Doug Ellis. My dad still calls it the witton lane though.
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Probably just my age but i call it the Doug Ellis. My dad still calls it the witton lane though.
I still think of it as the Witton Lane, or the where don't we want to sit stand. But I would leave it as it is; rose tinted glasses and all that.