Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Villa Memories => Topic started by: kippaxvilla2 on July 01, 2014, 01:15:13 PM
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To lighten the mood.......
1. The Les Sealey rant at George Courtney.
2. Gary Megson waving at the Holte in response to the ginger twat rendition.
3. The Gustavo Cisneros link.
4. Michael Neville's revolutionary new idea - broadband.
5. A song I will never forget being sung by one solitary man in the away end at Newcastle. 'Bobby Robson smells of wee.' It was just so surreal but funny at the time, no one including the Geordies could do anything other than laugh.
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Randy had bought the Villa, O'Neill was the manager and there was a refreshing optimism in the air,
it was first game at the Emirates v Arsenal, Mellberg had scored to put us one nil up and the noise in the away section was excellent (as usual), we were positioned in the away end at the front near the corner flag and Thierry Henry comes over to take a corner and we started pointing at him and singing you'll never play for Villa....he just shrugged and smiled...
IT was funny...you had to be there, I suppose :)
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Tommy Johnson throwing up at the side of the pitch.
Emile Heskey scoring in front of the Holte End.
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The bloke in a Panda costume at Sheffield United in 90/91 agreeing wholeheartedly with the chant "are you Gascoigne in disguise".
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The Craig Bellamy hamstring 'pop' followed by pretty much everyone laughing
Les Ferdinands two yellows & a red in 30 seconds for Leicester
Deano & Parker taking pot shots at the Rover being driven round the track during warm ups
Paul Tait....
One that would only be funny for neutrals not us was the standard of reffing vs Celta
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Rodney Marsh (or was it Stan Bowles) dropping their shorts when the Holte end sang about his wife and the milkman.
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David Dunn trying to do a fancy flick between his legs, missing and falling over, then the camera scrolling back to Steve Bruce who was pissing himself laughing.
Duff scoring the own goal that relegated Newcastle.
Bouma's miss-hit shot, that trickled past an injured Shay Given and crept into the net.
The 5-1 against Blues ;D
Coventry throwing away a 2-0 half-time lead and losing 3-2 and pretty much relegating themselves in the process and the bloke with the 'we'll be back' sign.
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Oh and Milan Baros handling the ball 17 times before scoring against Everton before scoring....
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What about Batman chasing Ian Dowie at The Dell?
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A guy dressed as Michael Jackson, dangling a toy doll over the top tier of the away end, at Bolton, chucking it up in the air, spinning around and catching it again. I did a LOL.
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Batman chasing Ian Dowie was so funny. Our support is truly amazing..
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"We're not fickle, we just don't like you"
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Alex McLeish.
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Not a great memory but seeing Santa Claus falling from the Trinity Road.
Alpay telling, by gesture, the people who paid his wages to be quiet.
Two adult men in their 40's with beer guts wearing Villa onesies.
Seeing Pele and Santos at Villa Park
Watching Vinnie Jones throwing a punch at Paul McGrath, missing, and then immediately apologising for this grave error of judgement.
Holte End balloons at the beginning of matches in the 70s.
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The mass pelting of wolves fans with snowballs from us in the south bank in the in the late 70s.
Then the police trying to stop it vain absolute classic.
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Savo spitting towards the away end at rovers .............
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Seeing us win at home last season.
'Johnny Angel' blaring from the tannoy on the day JPA made his first appearance for us.
The boos ringing out when we made our first appearance in the yellow and blue away shirt because we all thought they were Italians.
Every Div 3 awayday.
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The continued abuse and subsequent collapse in performance of the Oxford United Goalkeeper during a League Cup game at the Manor Ground in Oct 1993.
The Holte End genuflecting when some Portuguese team bought on a sub called Jesus in the UEFA Cup mid 80's.
The Villa v Blose home game in the torrential rain in 1983.
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Just a few months after watching our team win the European Cup, and still pinching myself believing it had all been a crazy dream - I drove home from work down the Aston Expressway listening to our first defence of the trophy on the radio. It was a surreal moment as the game was actually taking place over to my left behind closed doors at Villa Park. A quiet Wednesday afternoon in Brum felt so far removed from that night in Rotterdam, and as someone who was at every home and away game around that time it felt really strange not to be able to watch it.
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The Villa/Newcastle game that saw Carew's hattrick and Bouma's goal, as Keegan had recently rejoined them and they were getting hammered by us in the second half. The chants of 'there's only one Kevin Keegan' by our fans towards the end of the game had me in stitches.
The subsequent game the following season when they were relegated, the banner of 'Who's your next messiah Ant or Dec?', Their inept cannot be arsed performance even though a draw would have saved them I think and then the 'down with the baggies chant' so loud that when it was shown on Football first/Motd and it cut to Shearer looking unhappy with the chants all around him.
Bannan trying to outjump Zigic in 10/11 against Blues and the fan heading the ball back onto the pitch in the same game, only to be turfed out I think by the stewards.
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The half caste guy, think his name was Moses, getting chased around Meadow Lane sodden wet pitch by about two dozen coppers, in his crombie , bowler hat and brolly and the coppers falling over in the mud like nine pins.
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Standing in Oldhams Boundary Park about 30 minutes before kick off, I think it was the 6-0 win in 71/72.
You became aware of a car horn going off. Looking over to the corner they had a ramp which allowed those light blue disability three wheeler cars to drive down and watch the game from the cinder track. One of them had fallen off the edge of the ramp and was on its side. Three or four stewards walked over picked the car up to put upright and the driver simply carried on and took up his position on the track.
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The half caste guy, think his name was Moses, getting chased around Meadow Lane sodden wet pitch by about two dozen coppers, in his crombie , bowler hat and brolly and the coppers falling over in the mud like nine pins.
PC Pendant alert. I think the phrase that should be used now is ' of mixed race' or ' of mixed ethnic background' however it was the term of the time and I am pretty sure Moses would not have worried too much about the label.
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As our sixth goal went in against Everton in the 6-2 drubbing, my glasses flew off in the surging melee and disappeared into the massed throng below us in the Holte. I was convinced I'd have to watch the rest of the game in blur-o-vision, but then a complete stranger came up through the crowd from at least 20 feet further down and handed me back my specs. I can only assume that he knew they were mine from my screwed up face. They had landed in the hood of his parka and were in immaculate condition.
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Chris Nicholl scoring all four goals in the 2-2 draw at Leicester.
Tearing apart the best team in Europe 5-1 in 45 minutes with a rookie centre back playing.
Rodney Marsh's grundies/arse when he mooned the Holte End.
Saying hello to Pele and giving him a pat on the back at Highbury in 1981.
Dion Dublin dropping the nut on Savage.
Frank Carrodus dribbling round what seemed like the whole of the Man City defence and then tread on the ball and fall flat on his face with only the keeper to beat. The Holte End collectively pissed itself.
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As our sixth goal went in against Everton in the 6-2 drubbing, my glasses flew off in the surging melee and disappeared into the massed throng below us in the Holte. I was convinced I'd have to watch the rest of the game in blur-o-vision, but then a complete stranger came up through the crowd from at least 20 feet further down and handed me back my specs. I can only assume that he knew they were mine from my screwed up face. They had landed in the hood of his parka and were in immaculate condition.
Am I right in thinking there were only 17,000 at that game and it seemed like so many more given sasid melee's.
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As our sixth goal went in against Everton in the 6-2 drubbing, my glasses flew off in the surging melee and disappeared into the massed throng below us in the Holte. I was convinced I'd have to watch the rest of the game in blur-o-vision, but then a complete stranger came up through the crowd from at least 20 feet further down and handed me back my specs. I can only assume that he knew they were mine from my screwed up face. They had landed in the hood of his parka and were in immaculate condition.
Am I right in thinking there were only 17,000 at that game and it seemed like so many more given sasid melee's.
If I remember it was on Sunday and on TV so the crowd probably wasn't that big, but there was a fair bit of dancing on the Holte that day. We played Forest once two days before Christmas in a Milk/Zenith/Whatever Cup type thing and I think there was only about 6000 there but the atmosphere (and melee) was mental although that might have been something to do with the amount of pre Christmas bevvies.
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Dean Saunders throw in off the back of the opposition player that lead to a goal
Still makes me laugh thinking about it
Just wish I could remember who we were playing and who scored..........
As a footnote my son did the same in an under 15 game last year whereupon the other player chased him, kicked him up in the air and was sent off.........
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The green sand
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A couple of streakers, the first was female at Bramall Lane in 1991 who ran into Paul McGrath as the game was going on.
The 2nd was a night match against Charlton at the Valley at Xmas 1998, he was arrested and marched past the Villa fans who sang 'What the fucking hell is that!'
The solo Elvis impersonator at Elland Road in the Villa End (2003), you definitely had to be there!
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Dalian Atkinson and the umbrella.
Big Ron's on pitch announcements.
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All the flags being thrown onto the pitch through the sleet from the Holte towards the end of the Bradford semi-final felt a bit surreal at the time.
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Standing in Oldhams Boundary Park about 30 minutes before kick off, I think it was the 6-0 win in 71/72.
You became aware of a car horn going off. Looking over to the corner they had a ramp which allowed those light blue disability three wheeler cars to drive down and watch the game from the cinder track. One of them had fallen off the edge of the ramp and was on its side. Three or four stewards walked over picked the car up to put upright and the driver simply carried on and took up his position on the track.
I remember that- you're right it was the 6-0 game-, some Villa fans help put the car right, I think
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Dean Saunders throw in off the back of the opposition player that lead to a goal
Still makes me laugh thinking about it
Just wish I could remember who we were playing and who scored..........
As a footnote my son did the same in an under 15 game last year whereupon the other player chased him, kicked him up in the air and was sent off.........
He did that while playing for Sheffield United as well. I saw it on the telly.
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Seeing us win at home last season.
'Johnny Angel' blaring from the tannoy on the day JPA made his first appearance for us.
The boos ringing out when we made our first appearance in the yellow and blue away shirt because we all thought they were Italians.
Every Div 3 awayday.
Loved the last two of these LP - remember the penny dropping after a bit with the new away kit, when my mate said "That bloke looks just like Dick Edwards".
Also the Brian Greenhalgh goal from an impossible angle and Willie Anderson scoring penalty after penalty in the top left corner every time - the one time he changed it, he missed!
(When penalties are taken these days I always think they should do a "Willie Anderson" top left corner - it's the farthest a keeper has to travel to reach the ball)
Chris Nicholl's 35 yarder v Everton!
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Angel missing a penalty and scoring an own goal all in about five minutes.
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The corner flag incident.
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A bomb scare at home to Huddersfield in 1987. They opened the gates and announced over the tannoy that anyone who wanted to leave could do so. Considering what a dire game utter was nobody moved.
A fire in the Holte End against Ipswich in about 1994.
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Angel missing 2 penalties at Fulham then we gave up a 1-0 lead with the last kick of the game to Lee Clark!
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A bomb scare at home to Huddersfield in 1987. They opened the gates and announced over the tannoy that anyone who wanted to leave could do so. Considering what a dire game utter was nobody moved.
A fire in the Holte End against Ipswich in about 1994.
Re Huddersfield 1987. Not quite nobody moved. Eldest son, then 12, now a member on here, wanted to leave and I couldn't see anything on the pitch to warrant a disagreement. IIRC we were unsure as to go to this match or the next one at home to Hull, chose this one and pretty sure we beat Hull 5-0 in the next match.
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Villa fans invading the pitch from all 4 stands to do a mass conga on the centre circle at Loftus Road in 1993
Thousands of Villa at Old Trafford in the late 80s, falling into total silence waiting for Tarzan to do his war cry
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Thousands of Villa at Old Trafford in the late 80s, falling into total silence waiting for Tarzan to do his war cry
That made me smile... on 5th November 1988 and remember it like it was yesterday!
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That Everton game was great, and it did shock me when the attendance was announced bringing the usual utterings of 'Doug's keeping his taxes down again!'
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Most of the above I remember, I did find the 2 warren bartons chant funny, think it was Ridgewells home debut as well.
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Old Trafford last game of the season what a turn out,86 I think.
Steve Sims defending at Bradford in 87 is the funniest 90 minutes of football you can witness.
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Blackburn away in the cup about 1977 I think..They had a local brass band playing before the game who I think must have warmed up in the bar..!! After they passed the villa fans one went arse over tit , fell over the advertising boards and finished up in the seats.
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At the Dalian Atkinson umbrella goal of the season game...they were giving away jars of Ragu at Waterloo station. Every Villa fan on the way to the game had at least two jars. The police were frisking people on the way in and confiscating the jars. There was a pile of Ragu the size of the old Witton End Bankjust inside the turnstiles.
I tried to start a chant of "Ragu Aggro" and nobody joined in :(
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Derby away in the 70,s.
Think it was a cup game, we all on the side, ground absolutely packed. Alan Dewar dropped to the floor clutching his chest. big gap opened up around him.
Cue, Saint Johns Ambulance men hauling him onto the pitch, walking him off in an old fashioned stretcher around the touch line. only for him to jump up like Lazarus, start dancing and waving his Villa scarf before jumping back into the crowd and disappearing.
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Old Trafford last game of the season what a turn out,86 I think.
Steve Sims defending at Bradford in 87 is the funniest 90 minutes of football you can witness.
The second penalty was a particularly fine piece of handball, worthy of a top goalkeeper.
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The 1977 League Cup final at Wembley. Two Villa fans behind us knocking seven bells of shit out of each other for some unknown reason when a truce was called because one of them had lost a contact lens. Cue about twenty of us on our hands and knees trying to find it. I don't know if we ever did because the teams came out. Funny because during half time didn't a bandsman lose a ceremonial spur or something from his boot that had them hold the equivalent of a treasure hunt until it was found?
The lines of the pitch marked blue in the snow and ice during the big freeze of 1963 when we eventually got a game on.
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The continued abuse and subsequent collapse in performance of the Oxford United Goalkeeper during a League Cup game at the Manor Ground in Oct 1993.
No Hair
The Keepers Got No Hair
The Keepers Got No Hair
The Keepers Got No Hair
No Hair
Repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat.
The bloke got pelters that day.
21 years on and now i've got NO HAIR..... What goes round... :)
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Old Trafford last game of the season what a turn out,86 I think.
Steve Sims defending at Bradford in 87 is the funniest 90 minutes of football you can witness.
The second penalty was a particularly fine piece of handball, worthy of a top goalkeeper.
Steve Sims insisted on taking any free kicks we were awarded deep in our own half. I lost count of the number of grounds I was at to witness him attempt to kick the ball deep into the opposition half, only to succeed in kicking it out of play. This was always followed by him quizzically examining him boot in attempt to find out what went wrong!
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A match ball being stuck in the top of the old Trinity Road stand for weeks on end around 1984 - am I right in thinking it was a mis-clearance from Andy Blair that put it there ?
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Beating Wolves 3 times in a couple of weeks in the autumn of 1981
League Cup - First leg (H) 3-2
League (A) 3-0 chants of "we'll be back on Tuesday night"
League Cup - Second leg (A) 2-1 (I think)
They were still the big enemy at the time - as it was only two years since the unimaginable happened and Andy Gray had left us to go there
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Home game v Ipswich early '90s.
Ipswich attacking the Holte, ball rolls across the edge of the penalty area.
Ipswich player no 1 takes a total fresh air shot and lands on his arse.
Ball rolls further to Ipswich player no 2 who promptly tako a fresh air shot and lands on.his arse.
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I have always found Noel Blake's manic celebration of what he thought was an equaliser at VP in '83 very funny. Also, on the subject of derby goal celebrations, does anyone else have a recollection of Howard Gayle scoring what turned out to be the winner in the return match that season? As I remember it, in the belief he had received some racist abuse from the crowd he climbed the fencing of the kop to perform a monkey impression.
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A match ball being stuck in the top of the old Trinity Road stand for weeks on end around 1984 - am I right in thinking it was a mis-clearance from Andy Blair that put it there ?
I remember it happening, Sid Cowans put it there in 1983 against Wolves in the FA Cup, and I'm sure it stayed there years!
Am I the only one who remembers a mini pitch invasion by our fans against Stoke later that same season in a 4-0 win, I'm sure several dozen ran onto the field from the old Witton Lane stand and returned to the seats, no idea why.
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The Coventry fan trying to stage a sit in on the centre spot after Cyrille Regis had scored for us after about 12 seconds in the last game if 1991-92.
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The corner flag incident.
Was a corner flag once nominated as man of the match or did I imagine it. Early noughties
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Beating Wolves 3 times in a couple of weeks in the autumn of 1981
League Cup - First leg (H) 3-2
League (A) 3-0 chants of "we'll be back on Tuesday night"
League Cup - Second leg (A) 2-1 (I think)
They were still the big enemy at the time - as it was only two years since the unimaginable happened and Andy Gray had left us to go there
I cannot remember if his first game against us was at VP or the dingles, but I do remember him missing a sitter, and my old man sagely nodding his agreement with Ron Saunders for selling him. think it was a cup match.
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I thought his first game against us was at their horrible place a few weeks after he went there - I seem to remember him scoring early on, but that was cancelled by a Gary Shaw special from 25 yards- I remember a lot of tension in that game culminating with Brendan Ormsby landing a right hook on John Richards for elbowing him as they challenged for header - both were sent off.
I remember Andy missing a sitter the year after - again at their place - and we went on to win 1-0 - on our way to winning the league.
was it really more than 33 years ago ?
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I thought his first game against us was at their horrible place a few weeks after he went there - I seem to remember him scoring early on, but that was cancelled by a Gary Shaw special from 25 yards- I remember a lot of tension in that game culminating with Brendan Ormsby landing a right hook on John Richards for elbowing him as they challenged for header - both were sent off.
I remember Andy missing a sitter the year after - again at their place - and we went on to win 1-0 - on our way to winning the league.
was it really more than 33 years ago ?
Did Gray get sent off in that game?
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As I remember Andy Gray was sent off in the first of these 3 games, in a couple of weeks, in the 1st leg of the League Cup at home when we won 3-2 (Autumn 1981)- following a skirmish with Dennis Mortimer. I'm almost sure we came from 2 nil down in that game as well - can anyone confirm ?
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Andy Gray and Dennis Mortimer didn't get on when they were both at Villa. In his book Gray admits it was as bad a challenge as he committed in his career and that he lost his head and deliberately tried to 'do' Dennis Mortimer.
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Us playing in white at home to the kit stealers about four or so years ago - did I dream that?
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Us playing in white at home to the kit stealers about four or so years ago - did I dream that?
Wet Spam, think they forgot to bring their kits.
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I seem to recall a SGT era Watford turning up for a televised game with their sponsors name on the kit, which wasn't allowed at the time. They put some masking tape over it. Around that time Coventry had a big T for Talbot on their shirts. When games were televised they had a version where the T was blanked out. The thing was a blanked out T looks very much like a not blanked out T!
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Away at Carrow Road the first game after Hillsborough...half time entertainment was some cheerleaders who ran onto the far side of the ground to hearty choruses of GYTOFTL. As they approached the centre circle it became clear that the oldest of them was about 12. Cue lots of mumbling and staring at shoes. :-[
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the paper aeroplane home game against Coventry in the early/mid 90s.
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There was one paper aeroplane that seemed to go on forever having been launched in the Upper Holte and eventually landed in the six yard box I think.
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Holte last day, me and my bro were stood about 2/3rds back and in front was a group of blokes including one who wasn't exactly tall. The others were making him the butt of their jokes and he would turn around and chuckle and say good one. Then one of them pretended he was an arm rest, he just turned, looked at the guy then punched him full in the balls.
And any strange happenings have got to include Wolfie in there somewhere. The last game we had at Burnden when he was doing his repertoire of hat changes in the empty striped area (also the place with the "Buy one get one free" chant). The other one was at QPR when a Police Woman asked him to remove his mask and physically recoiled when he did.
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There was one paper aeroplane that seemed to go on forever having been launched in the Upper Holte and eventually landed in the six yard box I think.
Biggest (only) cheer of the night.
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The half caste guy, think his name was Moses, getting chased around Meadow Lane sodden wet pitch by about two dozen coppers, in his crombie , bowler hat and brolly and the coppers falling over in the mud like nine pins.
PC Pendant alert. I think the phrase that should be used now is ' of mixed race' or ' of mixed ethnic background' however it was the term of the time and I am pretty sure Moses would not have worried too much about the label.
Mixed race is okay, dual heritage even better.
Half caste..... no.
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The half caste guy, think his name was Moses, getting chased around Meadow Lane sodden wet pitch by about two dozen coppers, in his crombie , bowler hat and brolly and the coppers falling over in the mud like nine pins.
PC Pendant alert. I think the phrase that should be used now is ' of mixed race' or ' of mixed ethnic background' however it was the term of the time and I am pretty sure Moses would not have worried too much about the label.
Mixed race is okay, dual heritage even better.
Half caste..... no.
Remaining off topic, dual heritage sounds horrible to me, so I thought I'd look up half-caste on Wiki (of course) and it says this:
'In today's United Kingdom, the term primarily applies to those of mixed Black and White parentage, but such was not always the case. In just about any area that fell under the crown's dominion, the term was made use of, and anyone of mixed Caucasian and conquered races could be properly described as being half-caste. As such, it did not necessarily carry any stigma with it.[citation needed] For some, the term half-caste is more offensive than mixed-race, even if the latter is suggestive of tainting and dilution of ethnicity.'
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As we left the away end after the epic goodbye to GTmk1 3-3 away at Goodison, Neville Southall wading his way back through the throngs of Villa fans.
Trying to climb up the slope outside the Hawthorns before a League Cup tie mid 80's after heavy snowfall had iced up in freezing temperatures. Took about 3 attempts, people slipping over, we had to create a kind on conga line in teams to get up the hill. We were all pissing ourselves.
Pelting Tony Grealish on the head with snowballs at said match as he was about to take a corner.
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There was one paper aeroplane that seemed to go on forever having been launched in the Upper Holte and eventually landed in the six yard box I think.
Biggest (only) cheer of the night.
That game deserved to be a 0-0 draw on a Monday night.
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There was a midweek 0-0 draw at Meadow Lane in the BFR years that was very, very, very, very cold. Also a ZDS cup game against Forest at Villa Park which was freezing. Must be something to do with Nottingham clubs.
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There was a midweek 0-0 draw at Meadow Lane in the BFR years that was very, very, very, very cold. Also a ZDS cup game against Forest at Villa Park which was freezing. Must be something to do with Nottingham clubs.
Yes, in December on a Friday night, less then 6,000 there.
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There was a midweek 0-0 draw at Meadow Lane in the BFR years that was very, very, very, very cold. Also a ZDS cup game against Forest at Villa Park which was freezing. Must be something to do with Nottingham clubs.
Yes, in December on a Friday night, less then 6,000 there.
I think we played Forest twice at Villa Park in that competition. Once under SGT a couple of days before Christmas 89/90 and once under BFR.
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There was a midweek 0-0 draw at Meadow Lane in the BFR years that was very, very, very, very cold. Also a ZDS cup game against Forest at Villa Park which was freezing. Must be something to do with Nottingham clubs.
Yes, in December on a Friday night, less then 6,000 there.
I think we played Forest twice at Villa Park in that competition. Once under SGT a couple of days before Christmas 89/90 and once under BFR.
Yea we beat them under SGT 2-1 but lost under BFR. I remember the first one because it was a few days before Christmas and I was scouring that shed of a clubshop for gifts and bumped into Nigel Callaghan.
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That Villa fans v Bayern fans kick about game on the Feyenoord training pitches before the 82 European Cup Final. Up to 60 Villa Fans (at least four keepers) versus around 10 Bayern supporters and a desparing groundsman on the sidelines. We won!
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Last day of the Holte - the souvenir looting at the end of the game on the concourse and seeing a guy take the till (empty btw!) from the Ladbrokes booth - he made it about 100yards down Witton Lane before getting a tap on the shoulder
Arsenal away at the Emirates, the 'Barry penalty' game - pub outside the away end before the game and some bright spark brings cabbages & leeks in and starts chucking them around, hilarity at first until some berk started aiming veg at the optics....cue the police emptying the pub rapidly except for about 6 of us who were just stood with our beer and said copper says 'carry on lads, finish your drinks' - think he just wanted someone to talk to....
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Cadbury's parrot being chased by coppers and stewards as he tried to make it towards the player's tunnel at the dell in 1994 during the mass pitch invasion at the end of a 4-1 hiding. Burglars, nuns, vicars, clowns and assorted oddballs cheering him on. Practically the whole away end was on the pitch.
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Often thought of Gordan Cowan's testimonial match in 1993 when Stoke sent on their kit man to play for a while. Never knew why and assumed he was retiring or something. However the BBC are broadcasting a Drama on Thursday night called 'Marvellous' about Neil Baldwin a remarkable guy from Stoke who has become alocal hero-he's a Stoke fan.
Part of Guardian article on him: "Macari, like Clarke, grew to love him. He and Baldwin were often seen together in Stoke, walking Macari's dog. And one day in 1993, during a friendly against Aston Villa at Villa Park, Baldwin's old friends among the Stoke supporters saw him, in full Stoke kit, warming up on the touchline. With five minutes to go in the match, Macari actually sent this rather overweight man of nearly 50 on to the pitch. The players on both sides and the referee must have been in on the plan, because Macari then had 12 players on the pitch – and the players passed the ball to Baldwin, who almost got a shot at goal."
Mystery solved!
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I remember going to spurs during the 1990s and the pre match entertainment was Bucks Fizz singing from a makeshift stage at the edge of the pitch.
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The lion wedding at half time was pretty bizarre.
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Watching a Villa DVD and had completely forgotten Neil Cox flicking the V at the Stretford End when he scored in a 3-1 defeat there in '93.
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I remember Juan Pablo Angel attempting to take a corner, missing the ball, kicking the flag and then somehow the ball rolling out for a goal kick. Possibly in his last game for us?
After a night game in about 1994 (against Man City?) there was an epic snowball fight at Aston station.
Another match a few seasons ago at home against West Ham where we played in our away kit for some reason. I remember some guy storming off shouting I came to watch a team in claret and blue not white!
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Does anyone else remember a father and son who used to stand at the bottom of the right side of the Holte in the mid '80s? They used to get really wound up and end up hitting each other most games. Dad was short, wore a flat cap, son was tall and kind of skinny and unshaven.
Remember my brother lifting me on to one of the barriers so I could get a better look at my then-favourite Stainrod warming up. He promptly booted a shot over the bar, over the fences and straight into my face, knocking me off the barrier and causing my brother and his mates to piss themselves laughing.
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You have to be the only person I have ever known who had Simon Stainrod as their favourite player.
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I remember Juan Pablo Angel attempting to take a corner, missing the ball, kicking the flag and then somehow the ball rolling out for a goal kick. Possibly in his last game for us?
He then ran up the other end and accidently headed the ball into our net from an opposition corner. It may have been Tottenham that we were playing. I think he played for us after that though.
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You have to be the only person I have ever known who had Simon Stainrod as their favourite player.
Ha, Stainrod and Aspinall too, the innocence of youth...
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You have to be the only person I have ever known who had Simon Stainrod as their favourite player.
Not sure about that - I reckon Stainrod was the type of player who had posters of himself on his bedroom wall.
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Night game at the Hawthorns, mid winter, packed house, sometime in the '60's. Several inches of snow covered the pitch and only the lines had been cleared of snow. Not a recipe for a good game of football.
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EIA, I think that was a league cup game. I was definitely at something like what you describe. They had a much better side then than we had. What I remember most about that match, other than we lost, was that every time we attacked Tony Hateley got pelted with snowballs, as did Jeff Astle when they did. Sad that both players are now gone.
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I think you could well be right, certainly Hateley and Astle were playing, although the memory's a little hazy these days, (I tell my Villa supporting nephew that it's because I have more to remember than he does) mind you, I can still recite the '57 cup winning team at the drop of a hat.
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Having looked it up there was a LC match 17th Nov 1965. We lost 3-1, Hateley scored for us. Does that ring any bells?
Actually there was one there the following September, too early for snow and i'll be fecked if i'm mentioning the score!
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Often thought of Gordan Cowan's testimonial match in 1993 when Stoke sent on their kit man to play for a while. Never knew why and assumed he was retiring or something. However the BBC are broadcasting a Drama on Thursday night called 'Marvellous' about Neil Baldwin a remarkable guy from Stoke who has become alocal hero-he's a Stoke fan.
Part of Guardian article on him: "Macari, like Clarke, grew to love him. He and Baldwin were often seen together in Stoke, walking Macari's dog. And one day in 1993, during a friendly against Aston Villa at Villa Park, Baldwin's old friends among the Stoke supporters saw him, in full Stoke kit, warming up on the touchline. With five minutes to go in the match, Macari actually sent this rather overweight man of nearly 50 on to the pitch. The players on both sides and the referee must have been in on the plan, because Macari then had 12 players on the pitch – and the players passed the ball to Baldwin, who almost got a shot at goal."
Mystery solved!
I was watching this from the Trinity and remember this bloke coming on. He had the ball passed to him at one point and started running with it only for Sid to take the ball off him to a chorus of boos from all round. Often thought about that. Glad I hadn't dreamt it.
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Having looked it up there was a LC match 17th Nov 1965. We lost 3-1, Hateley scored for us. Does that ring any bells?
Actually there was one there the following September, too early for snow and i'll be fecked if i'm mentioning the score!
Not really, but then little seems to these days, but I strongly suspect that you are right as it must have been around that time.
Another memory of the Villa at the Hawthorns around about that era was of a Scottish player called Willie Hamilton, who was very skilful and stylish. I recall him collecting a ball from a Villa goal kick which reached him in the centre circle. Bizarrely, it appeared that he then proceeded to shoot, but in the direction in which the ball had arrived and if it hadn't been for the agility of the keeper - Colin Withers I think, it would have been an own goal. It may have been the same game.
There were later rumours that he was a bit too fond of pre-match wee drams.
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Having looked it up there was a LC match 17th Nov 1965. We lost 3-1, Hateley scored for us. Does that ring any bells?
Actually there was one there the following September, too early for snow and i'll be fecked if i'm mentioning the score!
Not really, but then little seems to these days, but I strongly suspect that you are right as it must have been around that time.
Another memory of the Villa at the Hawthorns around about that era was of a Scottish player called Willie Hamilton, who was very skilful and stylish. I recall him collecting a ball from a Villa goal kick which reached him in the centre circle. Bizarrely, it appeared that he then proceeded to shoot, but in the direction in which the ball had arrived and if it hadn't been for the agility of the keeper - Colin Withers I think, it would have been an own goal. It may have been the same game.
There were later rumours that he was a bit too fond of pre-match wee drams.
That was the match PWS. Freezing cold as I recall. Those snowballs must have been hard!
EIA, I too remember Willie Hamilton and, you are correct in what you say, very skillful and very fond of the pop. I'm not too sure due to the mists of time but, I have a vague recollection of us being one of the first clubs to be shown on MOD in 1964 when it was shown on BBC2. I distinctly remember Willie Hamilton scoring an absolutely wonderful goal in a match against, I think Middlesborough in front of the cameras and me and the old man couldn't wait to watch it again that night. Cue problem, couldn't get a picture. I still smile when I think of the old man fiddling with the rabbits ears arial trying to get a picture.
BTW, thanks EIA for the commiserations on my finger on the annoying things thread.
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Ronnie Rosenthal
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The Dell, last game of the season (94?) when a Villa fan dressed as Robin ran on the pitch to throw a punch at Iain Dowie. And the ensuing pitch invasion with Doug threatening to identify everyone on the pitch and ban them for life
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20 years on and I still don't know whether to laugh or cry at the bloke in the pink suit singing you'll never walk alone before the Holtes last stand.
I know we weren't happy but the reception he got was very funny at the same time.
A real head shaker.
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Dave Chance was the bloke.
We briefly talked about it in the pub last night. Villa used to sing YNWA at games, and none of us could remember why or when it stopped, it just sort of did.
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A lot of clubs used to sing YNWA.
We definitely sang it at Wembley in 94 but can't remember singing it much after that
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I think we used to sing it because it pissed off the man utd fans.
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I bought a DVD of the 83 Super Cup Final off ebay a few years back and was surprised to hear us singing YNWA.
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Liam Ridgewell nearly being knocked unconcious twice in a couple of seconds against Charlton and then blocking another shot from a colleague later in the game - not sure he ever recovered.
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A lot of clubs used to sing YNWA.
We definitely sang it at Wembley in 94 but can't remember singing it much after that
We sang it at Wembley in 1996 too.
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20 years on and I still don't know whether to laugh or cry at the bloke in the pink suit singing you'll never walk alone before the Holtes last stand.
I know we weren't happy but the reception he got was very funny at the same time.
A real head shaker.
I was thinking of this as well.
We definitely used to sing it on the Holte, but the fact that it was chosen as the last song, before the start of the last match in front of the Holte...when the opposition were Liverpool...well, I don't know what else he expected!