Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Villa Memories => Topic started by: wittonwarrior on November 29, 2015, 11:12:52 AM
-
The weekly Villa Times - I was so proud that we had a kind of 2 matchday programmes - also miss the Sports Argus on a Saturday Evening.
Postponed games - there was a period in the late 70's when we suffered a spate of cancellations home and away - Everton away, Bolton at Home, Spurs at Home and loads more - at these times having travelled up from London and not just wanting to waste a full day, went to the likes of Wolves v Plymouth, Coventry v Blues.
£10 junior season ticket and you didn't even need proof that you were under 16. How it was abused.
Programme vouchers - as a season ticket holder you would almost certainly have had the opportunity of getting hold of 2 tickets for cup finals.
Cup replays the Palace one sticks out in my memory and of course the semi and final of the league cup.
Celtic /Rangers chants and the wearing of Scotland Shirts.
No segregation at away games >:(
-
Sports Argus was amazing. Loved the little fixtures box complete with result and goalscorers
-
I used to love picking up the Sports Argos on the way home from a game, getting off the 51 in Great Barr and popping in the local newsagent - first thing I'd look for was the "Form Rate"
Sometimes - if we'd played away and I'd been in town shopping or at work, it was the first way of finding out how we'd got on - how did we manage pre 1990s without the internet ??
I remember The Villa Times - as you say Witton we not only had the match programme, we had our own newspaper as well.
The vouchers "awe" - they got me tickets for both the 1975 and 1977 league Cup Finals - I always had a full set for years prior to getting my first season ticket "Villa Vouchers Are Valuable" !!
-
Loads of blokes stood outside Radio Rentals at 4.40pm on a Saturday.
-
Loads of blokes stood outside Radio Rentals at 4.40pm on a Saturday.
Ha ha ha - nice one PWS - I remember that - the days when most people "rented" a television and games finished at twenty to five !
-
Villa bingo tickets.
4 page Aston Villa News & Record for reserve games.
Silky scarfs which became shredded when hung out the car window for away games.
-
Changing ends at Villa Park. Holte End first half and Witton end second, or vice versa.
I remember a match when the fog was so thick you couldn't see the other end and I only knew we had scored by the cheers from the Witton end.
-
Sports Argus was amazing. Loved the little fixtures box complete with result and goalscorers
yeah i used to go the newsagents by us at 6pm ,,and the evening mail van would bring it about quarter past
there would be about 15 people waiting for it
-
i used to watch the wrestling on saturday afternoon if i wasnt at a match for goal flashes
and on the vidiprinter
-
Villa bingo tickets.
4 page Aston Villa News & Record for reserve games.
Silky scarfs which became shredded when hung out the car window for away games.
I've still got my silk scarves = League Cup Winners 1975 & 1977
Scarves tied around supporters wrists -
I also used to sell Villa bingo tickets and the 3 n easy I think it was lottery - 10p a week and I had three £100 winners - decent money back in the mid 70s
-
i used to like going that chip shop on witton lane ,,,,,other side of the road from the bingo hall by the holte before you get to the church where the road to the serpentine car park was
we used to play pinball there before the match,,,,,,with no flippers
you had to get 3 ,,,,,4 or even 5 balls in a row ,,,,a bit like bingo ,,,,to win money
but had to be careful not to tilt
-
The grass/weed/gravel bank at the back of the Witton End - running down it at full-time and flying into those who'd gone the safer way down the steps.
Muddy pitches
Golden Goal tickets and Golden Goal Girls.
Night matches finishing at 9.10 and being home in time to watch Sportsnight
The Daily Express 5-a-side Championships on Sportsnight and the thrill of discovering Villa were in it and had got through the first round meaning we might be shown.
Driving into towns and cities around the country and finding the grounds just by looking out for floodlight pylons.
-
Changing ends at Villa Park. Holte End first half and Witton end second, or vice versa.
I remember a match when the fog was so thick you couldn't see the other end and I only knew we had scored by the cheers from the Witton end.
That might have been Villa v Man City 1965. It's a long time ago but
I remember their goalie Ken Mulherne asking people in the Holte if the ref had called the match off as he could only see a few yards.Anyone else remember that game?
Probably the 1966 3-0 win I think after checking.
-
i used to watch the wrestling on saturday afternoon if i wasnt at a match for goal flashes
and on the vidiprinter
Me too. Unfortunately my main memory from those days is seeing the late Ray Stewart penalty flash up on FA cup quarter final day 1980.
Villa players like Withe and Evans wearing Villa sweatbands.
Going to parties on a Saturday night as a kid when someone had hired a room for a birthday bash or wedding reception and a bloke coming round selling the Argus. Most of the women on the dance floor and most of the blokes reading the Argus.
-
Changing ends at Villa Park. Holte End first half and Witton end second, or vice versa.
I remember a match when the fog was so thick you couldn't see the other end and I only knew we had scored by the cheers from the Witton end.
That might have been Villa v Man City 1965. It's a long time ago but
I remember their goalie Ken Mulherne asking people in the Holte if the ref had called the match off as he could only see a few yards.Anyone else remember that game?
Probably the 1966 3-0 win I think after checking.
Pretty sure it was the 1966 match.
-
Yes,I was at that with my old man. Villa kicked towards the Holte in the first half ( there wasn't a second half ). I do remember a roar going up at the Holte which would signify a goal and, to this day, I don't know if there was one.
The biggest bummer of that day was; by the time we got home, and we only lived on the Wyrley Birch at the time, the bloody fog had lifted.
-
Sports Argus was amazing. Loved the little fixtures box complete with result and goalscorers
yeah i used to go the newsagents by us at 6pm ,,and the evening mail van would bring it about quarter past
there would be about 15 people waiting for it
When I lived in Manchester I used to get the train back from Villa Park after every home game and there was a newsagent just outside Piccadilly station that sold the Argus. God knows how they got it up there so quickly, pre computer age, but it was always good to feel a little piece of home in that northern hellhole.....
Interesting, Sheffield and Nottingham both had the "Green 'un", their version of the Argus. They were printed in pink or green because the paper was cheaper than white
-
Sports Argus was amazing. Loved the little fixtures box complete with result and goalscorers
yeah i used to go the newsagents by us at 6pm ,,and the evening mail van would bring it about quarter past
there would be about 15 people waiting for it
When I lived in Manchester I used to get the train back from Villa Park after every home game and there was a newsagent just outside Piccadilly station that sold the Argus. God knows how they got it up there so quickly, pre computer age, but it was always good to feel a little piece of home in that northern hellhole.....
Interesting, Sheffield and Nottingham both had the "Green 'un", their version of the Argus. They were printed in pink or green because the paper was cheaper than white
It was the same at Euston Chico - you could buy the Argus when you arrived back down in London.
I lived in Sheffield and the Green Un wasn't a patch on the Argus
-
Seeing the AV floodlights from the Clifton, Walsall Road on night matches
-
The claret and blue football shaped snack bar on top of the Witton End.
-
Seeing the AV floodlights from the Clifton, Walsall Road on night matches
We used to drive over Barr Beacon on the way to the match, and it was a great view of the lights from their. Spine tingling.
-
Seeing the AV floodlights from the Clifton, Walsall Road on night matches
Coming down the Walsall Road - that was a magnificent sight seeing A V illuminate the night sky.
-
Pirate programmes- usually for big games, and usually bought by 'occasional' supporters outside the ground only to find the 'programme' was just 'a brief history of the FA Cup' or something else unassociated with the match!
The scores at halftime on the scoreboard and seeing the numbers expectantly popped in the corresponding number.
Villa Chocolates.
The Villa Tuck Shop.
Players just running out onto the pitch and then kicking off, none of the hoohah of today.
Transferring from the Trinity into the Witton at half time.
Getting the Argus in town off the bus from the game.
Fish and Chips on the bus.
Swirls of pipe and fag smoke coming from the crowd.
Old blokes all wore ties to the game.
Many little 'uns brougfht a crate to stand on.
Pfff... as someone stole your exact 'spot' on the crash barrier on the Holte, so you stood right next to them edging them sideways all match.
Wondering who was in the team because you turned up late and missed the changes announced on the programme.
Etc....
-
The feeling of excitement I always got in the pit of my stomach when the number eleven bus reached the stop at Stockland Green on the way down the Villa. Being mad as hell when the driver had to turn his key in the big clock that was there as it meant a five-minute or so delay. You could also say that I miss the clock.
I got that feeling of excitement even when we were shit because there was always that expectation that we would improve and turn it around.
Something else missing in this modern age, the excited babble on the bus after a win or a great performance.
-
All the number 11 buses queuing around Witton Island after the game.
-
Toilet rolls being thrown into the goalmouth.
Goalkeepers wearing green jerseys, along with the same shorts/socks as the outfield players.
Deciding on the morning of a game whether you were going to travel away, never mind a home game!
-
Taking a milk crate into the holte to stand on
-
Pirate programmes- usually for big games, and usually bought by 'occasional' supporters outside the ground only to find the 'programme' was just 'a brief history of the FA Cup' or something else unassociated with the match!
The scores at halftime on the scoreboard and seeing the numbers expectantly popped in the corresponding number.
Villa Chocolates.
The Villa Tuck Shop.
Players just running out onto the pitch and then kicking off, none of the hoohah of today.
Transferring from the Trinity into the Witton at half time.
Getting the Argus in town off the bus from the game.
Fish and Chips on the bus.
Swirls of pipe and fag smoke coming from the crowd.
Old blokes all wore ties to the game.
Many little 'uns brougfht a crate to stand on.
Pfff... as someone stole your exact 'spot' on the crash barrier on the Holte, so you stood right next to them edging them sideways all match.
Wondering who was in the team because you turned up late and missed the changes announced on the programme.
Etc....
The expected cheer when we saw the rags were losing at half time - I remember we came unstuck once though - they lost 4-3 at Liverpool in the early 70s - but led at half time -
The home score (Liverpool) came up ------------ TWO (Cue big cheer)
The away score (the rags) " Three (Cue gasps truly thinking the scoreboard operators had made a mistake)
-
knees up mother brown
-
"Chico - Chico - Chico"
-
Miss Aston Villa ;)
(http://i4.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/article9189803.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Miss-Aston-Villa-Maria-Stevens-in-December-1984.jpg)
-
Players having to jump up and down on all the balloons before we could kick off.
Saunders coming down from the directors box if we were not playing well.
Photographers either side of the goal, and always Terry Weir.
Left side, right side.
Being able to count the number of fans in the away section when it was Wimbledon.
The Football League Review.
Every set of supporters in the country with the exception of Nottingham Forest having a variation of a song which always started with the same first line.
-
The Villa Park special buses from Bull St.
"Silk" scarves that were useless except for tying round your wrist.
Queueing outside VP for hours to get tickets for big games...............usually derbies or Man Utd.
Hillsborough on the night we won promotion back to Div One in 1975.
-
(http://i4.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/article9189803.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Miss-Aston-Villa-Maria-Stevens-in-December-1984.jpg)
Ginola disputes Gregory claim that he is "carrying a bit of timber".
-
Miss Aston Villa ;)
(http://i4.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/article9189803.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Miss-Aston-Villa-Maria-Stevens-in-December-1984.jpg)
Wasn't she just Doug's secretary?
-
Didier Six innit?
-
I used to hang about at the WH Smith on New Street waiting for the Argus and then dash for my train back north. Could guarantee whilst reading it on the train I'd have people ask for scores and then if they could read it once I'd finished.
-
Police horses nose to tail outside the Holte turnstyles (and avoiding the horse shit)
-
Miss Aston Villa ;)
(http://i4.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/article9189803.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Miss-Aston-Villa-Maria-Stevens-in-December-1984.jpg)
Wasn't she just Doug's secretary?
secretary my arse ,,,,,,,,,doug was the original randy owner of the Villa
-
Police horses nose to tail outside the Holte turnstyles (and avoiding the horse shit)
clappy thing.
-
Toilet rolls being thrown into the goalmouth.
Goalkeepers wearing green jerseys, along with the same shorts/socks as the outfield players.
Deciding on the morning of a game whether you were going to travel away, never mind a home game!
I remember Colin Withers wearing all green for a few seasons - jersey, shorts and socks - and thinking it was really cool.
-
Singing each and every players song when the players were warning up pre match and the players individually applauding The Holte when their song was sung. A real connection right there.
-
Singing each and every players song when the players were warning up pre match and the players individually applauding The Holte when their song was sung. A real connection right there.
nice one mate ,,, remember it well ,,,,,,shame that sort of thing has gone
-
Toilet rolls being thrown into the goalmouth.
Goalkeepers wearing green jerseys, along with the same shorts/socks as the outfield players.
Deciding on the morning of a game whether you were going to travel away, never mind a home game!
I remember Colin Withers wearing all green for a few seasons - jersey, shorts and socks - and thinking it was really cool.
That's because it really was cool! As he approached the Holte there was a pungent smell of liniment too.
-
Singing each and every players song when the players were warning up pre match and the players individually applauding The Holte when their song was sung. A real connection right there.
nice one mate ,,, remember it well ,,,,,,shame that sort of thing has gone
Agreed - I miss that too. I wonder when it stopped exactly?
-
Singing each and every players song when the players were warning up pre match and the players individually applauding The Holte when their song was sung. A real connection right there.
nice one mate ,,, remember it well ,,,,,,shame that sort of thing has gone
Agreed - I miss that too. I wonder when it stopped exactly?
What about applauding the opposition goalkeeper as he walked towards the Holte, only for him to be booed mercilessly if he returned the applause.
-
I noticed at the Watford game that Gomes their goalie was roundly boo'd as soon as he moved over the half-way line to head for his goal.
-
The pylons in the old Trinity Road stand - I've known many a player to be "played onside" by one of them.
-
Singing each and every players song when the players were warning up pre match and the players individually applauding The Holte when their song was sung. A real connection right there.
nice one mate ,,, remember it well ,,,,,,shame that sort of thing has gone
Agreed - I miss that too. I wonder when it stopped exactly?
Probably at about the time when it was deemed necessary to play extremely loud music over the tannoy right up to kick-off. This is one that could go straight into the "Annoying" thread.
-
When it was nice and simple you turned up and paid in - home and away.
I cant even now get a ticket for fliggin Norwich away.
-
Yes and you knew it would either be Saturday 3pm or Wednesday at 7.30pm and that was it - and as you say - if you decided on the Friday night you fancied going to Ipswich - you could just get up early and go !
-
Yes and you knew it would either be Saturday 3pm or Wednesday at 7.30pm and that was it - and as you say - if you decided on the Friday night you fancied going to Ipswich - you could just get up early and go !
on the football special train from new st
-
Happy days - I remember going to Ipswich on the football special from New Street for that FA Game in 1975 - when we lost after being 2-0 up (in the days when Ipswich were a first division, top 6 team).
Once I passed my driving test in 1976 - I tended to make my own way to away games which really did mean you could decide any time up to the night before.
-
Yes and you knew it would either be Saturday 3pm or Wednesday at 7.30pm and that was it - and as you say - if you decided on the Friday night you fancied going to Ipswich - you could just get up early and go !
on the football special train from new st
I even remember for some reason we played a game on a Tuesday around 1987 - may even have been a Simod Cup game - and this very elderly chap who we used to stand near for many years said "this is a bit much - playing on a TUESDAY night - I normally take the wife to bingo on Tuesdays !!!"
Didn't we always play Wednesday mid-week and the rags played Tuesday ?
-
Yes and you knew it would either be Saturday 3pm or Wednesday at 7.30pm and that was it - and as you say - if you decided on the Friday night you fancied going to Ipswich - you could just get up early and go !
on the football special train from new st
I even remember for some reason we played a game on a Tuesday around 1987 - may even have been a Simod Cup game - and this very elderly chap who we used to stand near for many years said "this is a bit much - playing on a TUESDAY night - I normally take the wife to bingo on Tuesdays !!!"
Didn't we always play Wednesday mid-week and the rags played Tuesday ?
Most definitely. As a kid Tuesday was always a so what day for me but Wednesday was a potential night for memories