Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: cdward on December 12, 2012, 10:30:54 PM
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After hearing great reports about our away support last night and then seeing this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20700529
Can't believe only 1 fan turned up, those Italians are real lightweights.
i wondered when and where did Villa take the least amount of fans to an away game?
I always think we have great away support, possibly to do with being less than 4 hours from any ground.
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After hearing great reports about our away support last night and then seeing this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20700529
Can't believe only 1 fan turned up, those Italians are real lightweights.
i wondered when and where did Villa take the least amount of fans to an away game?
I always think we have great away support, possibly to do with being less than 4 hours from any ground.
I'll start the bidding with the 250 we took to Bury the week before the 1971 League Cup Final but my memory will need jogging as I am sure that I have been in some where we have only taken about 50 but can't remember when, European matches excluded of course. There were 60 on The Special to Bristol one night.
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I was in Odense for the inter-toto where we took around 300
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I remember Sunderland away back in the dark 80's on a Tuesday night - it was freezing and snowing and there could not have been more than 300 of us
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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.
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Matches in the north east - I remember Sunderland in the mid eighties with 2- 300 there - were particularly poorly attended. Before segregation there seemed to be no Villa presence at some games. I remember getting in to Upton Park just as Andy Gray scored in the first minute in the seventies and not seeing any Villa celebrating anywhere in the ground - there were probably quite a few there scattered about but they just kept quiet!
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New years day against Sunderland I think 01 or 02 I am sure out attendance was minimal. Remember hearing reports of around 300.
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I remember that game at Upton Park...3 of us were sat in the seats above the Chicken run. We didnt celebrate Gray's goal!!!!
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I was in Odense for the inter-toto where we took around 300
I reckon it was more than 300, you can count them if you want. We made a noise and it was a good trip all the same.
(http://www.groundhopping.se/res/Odense/villafans.jpg)
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I have a vague memory of about 100 being reported to have travelled to our game with Penarol in Tokyo in December 1982 for the World Club thingy when it was simply European champions versus the South American equivalent.
I can't imagine it being that high though.
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Mid 1970s I hitchhiked to the old Yugoslavia and watched pre season friendlies in Ljubljana and Rijeka, I dont remember seeing any other Villa fan there.
Also in the 1970s we played friendlies at St Etienne and Reims in France. Me and three mates drove there, again the following was next to nothing.
In terms of a domestic game, I remember as a kid going on the supporters coach to Bolton in 1967. I think it was just the one coach, and what seemed like a handful of Villa grouped together on the open terrace.
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Was that Bolton game the one we lost 3 - 2. If so i was on that one coach!!!!
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Why not change the question to the most away fans others than Semis or Cup finals ....... cant believe that Highbury day we won the title will be beat ! All I recall that afternoon is after about 15 minutes ignoring the game infront of me and listening to the radio with just about everyone else there - what a day
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St James' Park in 1975; we lost 3-0 (SuperMac hattrick). I didn't count up the number of Villa fans, but there couldn't have been more than 100 or so.
The locals in the away end were so bored they were fighting amongst themselves; quite nerve-wracking ...
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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)
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Rapid Vienna couldn't have been more than 150.
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Besiktas away no more than 100 ... some bods went on the train 5 day trip !
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Seven at a friendly v Fiorentina, 1993.
In England - 138 v Millwall, FA Cup 1986.
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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.
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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 !
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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.
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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.
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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.,
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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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
I seem to remember massive followings at Bradford, Oldham and Rotherham, where we basically took over the towns!!!
The old tribal instinct kicked in big time!
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After hearing great reports about our away support last night and then seeing this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20700529
Can't believe only 1 fan turned up, those Italians are real lightweights.
i wondered when and where did Villa take the least amount of fans to an away game?
I always think we have great away support, possibly to do with being less than 4 hours from any ground.
I'll start the bidding with the 250 we took to Bury the week before the 1971 League Cup Final but my memory will need jogging as I am sure that I have been in some where we have only taken about 50 but can't remember when, European matches excluded of course. There were 60 on The Special to Bristol one night.
There were about 40 on the special train to Barnsley for the midweek league match in our second season in Div 3.
Something to do with smashing the place up the previous year.
The police rounded us up at the station - 'we' were mostly car coated 30 - 40 yr olds - and some officer gave a fair bit of chapter and verse about what would happen if there were any trouble to a very bemused and outnumbered audience.
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I'll start the bidding with the 250 we took to Bury the week before the 1971 League Cup Final.
I was one of the 250 Dave, and we feckin lost!
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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.
Rudy, I was at that one v Bristol City. It was a rescheduled game as we had both been knocked out of the cup and I remember being confused by the blue clad fans in the away end. As you say, they had gone before half time.
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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.
The club put on free coaches and, if I remember correctly, tickets to the game were only £10 each. That obviously helped boost our support.
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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.
The club put on free coaches and, if I remember correctly, tickets to the game were only £10 each. That obviously helped boost our support.
£20 a ticket, and I think we took 6000.
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Right. Thanks, Chris.
On a slight tangent, and I've posted this before, we went on the train. The train back from Euston was a dry train with quite a few police on board. I think us three were the only football supporters on there. For obvious reasons.
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I remember about 10 of us being at Ron Saunders' first match at Osnabruck.
Probably a few more dotted around. The Newcastle game where there were no away tickets was low as were the Luton and Liverpool games with the same performance.
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I'll start the bidding with the 250 we took to Bury the week before the 1971 League Cup Final.
I was one of the 250 Dave, and we feckin lost!
Also got chased round the ground by chain-wielding Man City fans.
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I think as a group we're a boozy bunch at away games. When all the circumstances come together like they did Tuesday, ie you had to take at least half a day off so most got to Norwich early, we had a good allocation of tickets, it was bloody cold and a big game in a lean patch then the support gets a little, ahem, boisterous.
I heard recently that The Met view as early arrivals who like a drink but don't cause too much trouble. I quite like that !
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26th March 83.
Very few Villa fans.
Gary Shaw got crocked.
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Upton park 1977 2-2 draw. Stood with 2 mates in the away end and were the only Villa there as far as we could see... and we were looking, desperately, but trying hard to look casual. Bloody terrifying experience. There was a huge, monster of a bloke covered in scars wearing a claret and blue scarf who occasionally roared ''come on Villa'' then burst out laughing as the loitering West Ham thugs in the away end looked his way - but we weren't sure he was really Villa... might have been a trap.
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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.
You're right it was '75, me and my mate got taken under the wing of a couple of Spurs fans who'd come to watch us play as it was obvious by then that we'd be playing them next season. At the end of the game they told us to walk between them and escorted us safely back to our coach.
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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.
You're right it was '75, me and my mate got taken under the wing of a couple of Spurs fans who'd come to watch us play as it was obvious by then that we'd be playing them next season. At the end of the game they told us to walk between them and escorted us safely back to our coach.
Header from Leonard and one of Little's goals was beating Bryan King to a long ball and chipping him. We were on the side with the Millwall fans, age 13 at the time. We got alot of verbal but nothing physical. I was too young to know any better just following my uncle.
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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.
I was at that game with a mate and we didn't get moved to the press box.
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Hey if we're going for friendlies - Cardiff in 1984/5?
I was supposed to go with a cardiff supporter who didn't turn up so like a muppet I'm in some god forsaken s*%thole, wearing a Villa top, (how I got away with that I don't know) and seeing Tony Daly run riot without being able to score, (quite a familiar scene in retrospect).
As I didn't see any other Villa supporters there, I'm going for ONE!
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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.
I was at that game with a mate and we didn't get moved to the press box.
Nice. So like me you were in with the Benfica fans. Before the game I went in to their restaurant underneath the stadium, a bit like the Holte Suite. I walked in wearing my Villa shirt and it was like the whole room suddenly fell silent and everybody just seemed to stop what they were doing and turn to look at me. After what seemed like ages but in reality was prpbably just a couple of seconds, everybody just carried on. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Dinner. Actually, it wasn't long distance, I walked from home to the ground, 20 minutes max.
Great game though, I though we played some excellent football that day and I was really optimistic for the new season. How wrong was I. 15 draws that season must be some kind of record.
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York away in the league cup October 73.
lost 1-0
A handfull of fans, the total attendence was only 7,000
I need to dig out the programes as I can not remember if it was prior to the 71 or 72 season, but a couple of hundred villa fans travelled to Bury for a pre season game.
There were more Utd scum bags than every one else combined at the game.
We had gone there 6 strong in a transit.
One particular prat with utd scarves tied to each wrist was leading the pack and crowing over what tossers we were.
What he did not count on was Brummie ternacity.
Being very identifiable ( big twat in red and white) we followed his bus trip home to some god forsaken shitheap
Housing estate.
He was quite suprised to meet up with us again so quickly, we on the other hand wasted no time in explaining to him lessons in expected etiquite and manners to strangers.
Fast forward hasty trip home!
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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.
I was at that game with a mate and we didn't get moved to the press box.
Nice. So like me you were in with the Benfica fans. Before the game I went in to their restaurant underneath the stadium, a bit like the Holte Suite. I walked in wearing my Villa shirt and it was like the whole room suddenly fell silent and everybody just seemed to stop what they were doing and turn to look at me. After what seemed like ages but in reality was prpbably just a couple of seconds, everybody just carried on. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Dinner. Actually, it wasn't long distance, I walked from home to the ground, 20 minutes max.
Great game though, I though we played some excellent football that day and I was really optimistic for the new season. How wrong was I. 15 draws that season must be some kind of record.
I've also been in that resteraunt. I went to Benfica v Belenses in 2010.
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York away in the league cup October 73.
lost 1-0
A handfull of fans, the total attendence was only 7,000
I need to dig out the programes as I can not remember if it was prior to the 71 or 72 season, but a couple of hundred villa fans travelled to Bury for a pre season game.
There were more Utd scum bags than every one else combined at the game.
We had gone there 6 strong in a transit.
One particular prat with utd scarves tied to each wrist was leading the pack and crowing over what tossers we were.
What he did not count on was Brummie ternacity.
Being very identifiable ( big twat in red and white) we followed his bus trip home to some god forsaken shitheap
Housing estate.
He was quite suprised to meet up with us again so quickly, we on the other hand wasted no time in explaining to him lessons in expected etiquite and manners to strangers.
Fast forward hasty trip home!
Class!