Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on March 11, 2018, 11:20:39 AM
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With a bit of non-Villa to start.
http://thebirminghampress.com/2018/03/into-the-lions-den-2/
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Well put Dave, Tuesdays game is as big now, as we don't want yesterdays performance to be for nothing. Sorry for the loss of your friend, football needs more folk like her. UTV
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Done.
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Comment about Terry is spot on. He also did the same towards Witton End on his way back from the Holte. Can not fault that man's passion.
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Good write-up Dave, with a close friend coming to the end of her fight against cancer I can appreciate your feelings.
There are times when football is not the be all and end all but there are also times when it can seem the best thing in the world and yesterday's performance was one of those days. Everybody, team, officials and Fans united as one......magic
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Your article shows dave that every club has fantastic supporters although they are sometimes over shadowed by the odd idiot every club has. It shows it's still the greatest game on earth but sometimes we can forget it is just a game. There aren't many games where simply by wearing a team shirt that you can strike up a conversation with total strangers around the globe.People like your friend get football and all the positives it can bring.
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Sometimes, after watching your team put in another turgid performance, you wonder why you bother, then you get a game like yesterday, and you know exactly why. As Alex Ferguson once said “football, bloody hell”.
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That's a brilliant piece. UTV.
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I have to say that was one of the most enjoyable and special games I've seen in a virtually uninterrupted period of 26+ years of watching The Villa at home.
Total commitment from everyone and a fantastic team togetherness throughout.
Some superb individual performances I know but what a team effort from back to front.
We've put out a serious statement to others and I don't see a reason why we can't get out of this League this season.
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I hope if nothing else yesterday strengthens the position of those who believed already we had very good and even excellent players and brings belief to those who held doubts. We took on statistically the best team in the division with players who are playing well below their established grade. Yet our players not only matched them physically and in passion but critically technically. Not just Jack Grealish who elevated himself to another level versus Neves, Costa, Jota etc, but other players throughout the team who proved without a shadow of a doubt that they are excellent players at this level. And maybe have the collective belief to prove themselves and demonstrate their ability at the next.
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Good piece.
I echoed those thoughts in the pub, that victory was a real flag in the ground statement.
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Point about Terry is so true - he's moved past the point of being a so-called 'model professional' (that we all knew he was anyway) and looks as though he is truly loving every minute of this.
This season is something of a first for him in a few ways - it's obviously not to the level of being a serial league and cup winner with Chelsea. But the raw-ness and unpredictability of the Championship, the fact we're the only other club he's played for, and the job he and Bruce have been tasked with doing with this side is certainly different to some of the Rolls Royce teams he has walked the Premier League with in the past. You've got to really fight in the trenches to get out of the Championship, and I think he and the rest of the players have really connected to the joy of the fans who for much of the last decade have been understandably disenchanted.
Bruce made an excellent point in his interview with AVTV yesterday, probably the most insightful and pertinent one he's made all season - that in the last 2 months a bond and association has begun to form with the fans and the players, feeding off one another's passion - something that we may not even have seen in the peak MON days. Partly because it's so hard to do and you need leaders on and off the pitch, with players who give everything to win. He deserves immense credit for that in turning us around.
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Don't normally comment but like the performance yesterday that's the best piece yet Dave!
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That's a fine piece of writing, Dave. Enjoyed it.
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Very well written Dave, and a great point about Terry. The man oozes professionalism and I think his mentality has helped enormously behind the scenes this season.
Onwards and upwards
UTV
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Good piece Dave. Nice tribute to a very fair minded person in Sheila too.
If anyone still doubts John Terry's commitment, just have a look at the front page of the Villa website.
Cardiff have a hell of a run of fixtures. No complacency now Villa and we might just sneak it. Prays!!
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I'm sorry - but I have to disagree
John Terry was not the defining moment of the game
Jack Grealish - and his accomplished performance was
He was head and shoulders the difference between the two teams
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Good piece Dave. Nice tribute to a very fair minded person in Sheila too.
If anyone still doubts John Terry's commitment, just have a look at the front page of the Villa website.
Cardiff have a hell of a run of fixtures. No complacency now Villa and we might just sneak it. Prays!!
Never mind JT jumping, having been prompted to look through the match pic gallery on the OS, I notice the sky turned a vintage claret and blue again I see!
(http://thumb.ibb.co/dRCAoS/IMG_2670.jpg) (http://ibb.co/dRCAoS)
Having had to do a (nearly successful) Likely Lads avoiding the score watching a recording a couple of hours later, I wasn't there to see it myself, did others notice/photograph?
Very much like my no filter pic that I took from the Holte half-time through beating Chelsea 15/2/14 (memorable as my last match with my old name prior to a 4month ordination retreat in Spain!)
(http://thumb.ibb.co/fL7wv7/IMG_9253.jpg) (http://ibb.co/fL7wv7)
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Just like our performance on Saturday Dave a brilliant written piece.
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I'm sorry - but I have to disagree
John Terry was not the defining moment of the game
Jack Grealish - and his accomplished performance was
He was head and shoulders the difference between the two teams
Yes but as his piece is widely read Mr Woodhall is trying to hide Jack😉
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Great read
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Good piece Dave. Nice tribute to a very fair minded person in Sheila too.
If anyone still doubts John Terry's commitment, just have a look at the front page of the Villa website.
Cardiff have a hell of a run of fixtures. No complacency now Villa and we might just sneak it. Prays!!
Never mind JT jumping, having been prompted to look through the match pic gallery on the OS, I notice the sky turned a vintage claret and blue again I see!
(http://thumb.ibb.co/dRCAoS/IMG_2670.jpg) (http://ibb.co/dRCAoS)
Having had to do a (nearly successful) Likely Lads avoiding the score watching a recording a couple of hours later, I wasn't there to see it myself, did others notice/photograph?
Very much like my no filter pic that I took from the Holte half-time through beating Chelsea 15/2/14 (memorable as my last match with my old name prior to a 4month ordination retreat in Spain!)
(http://thumb.ibb.co/fL7wv7/IMG_9253.jpg) (http://ibb.co/fL7wv7)
its funny you mention the sky colour and brilliant pics by the way! I’ve noticed it before at VP and only ever seen it there like that. I went to a match years ago with my mate and he commented that it was a good omen- we went on to beat whoever it was we were playing soundly. I’ve always looked for it as an omen since- and it usually delivers!
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Good piece Dave. Nice tribute to a very fair minded person in Sheila too.
If anyone still doubts John Terry's commitment, just have a look at the front page of the Villa website.
Cardiff have a hell of a run of fixtures. No complacency now Villa and we might just sneak it. Prays!!
Never mind JT jumping, having been prompted to look through the match pic gallery on the OS, I notice the sky turned a vintage claret and blue again I see!
(http://thumb.ibb.co/dRCAoS/IMG_2670.jpg) (http://ibb.co/dRCAoS)
Having had to do a (nearly successful) Likely Lads avoiding the score watching a recording a couple of hours later, I wasn't there to see it myself, did others notice/photograph?
Very much like my no filter pic that I took from the Holte half-time through beating Chelsea 15/2/14 (memorable as my last match with my old name prior to a 4month ordination retreat in Spain!)
(http://thumb.ibb.co/fL7wv7/IMG_9253.jpg) (http://ibb.co/fL7wv7)
We said at the time.."it's a sign" that the day would be ours. It did look quite spiritual as well as spectacular, a B6 aurora borealis not caused by particles emitted from the the sun but by the souls of Villains that have gone before us doing their bit to ensure that the day indeed was ours.
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Thanks Dave great read, totally agree with your comments about John Terry, I doubt, whether there has been any other player in our history, who has changed the fans view of them so much, from zero to hero.
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defining moment of the afternoon, as John Terry ran towards the Holte End, bouncing up and down with the sheer joy of another personal triumph. Five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, the Champions League and he still delights in every victory. That’s the mark of a champion
100% true
great piece and the link now between players and fans is a thing of beauty especially so after all the toxicity that has been around for years
We have our club back
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I'd say we're getting our club back but there's a lot to do still. A big part of the positive attitude is that we're winning, that's clear. What needs to happen next is that we need to get promoted and show that we're not scared of playing in the top half of the premier league. There have been a few comments about happily staying in this league and winning more than we lose but I think that would turn sour quickly, we should expect to be challenging for Europe year after year, that's when the club will be back and is also when we'll see just how good Xia, Wyness, Round, etc are.
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I'm sorry - but I have to disagree
John Terry was not the defining moment of the game
Jack Grealish - and his accomplished performance was
He was head and shoulders the difference between the two teams
I think the point about Terry isn’t just about the player or the person but it’s all of it combined. It’s what he brings with him, to the other players, to the club and to the fans. He has won it all, played on he highest stage and yet here he is at the end of his career where he could have just coasted and taken the money and instead is everything we hoped he would be as a football professional and leader and more. Jack Grealish is a young kid who is playing very well now but he is also being positively influenced. Much of that is on Jack and credit should go to him, but a lot is now the leadership at the club (not just Terry) but from the top down. It’s an environment that is very positive and is allowing Jack to stay focused and motivated and become a top footballer.
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Good piece Dave. Nice tribute to a very fair minded person in Sheila too.
If anyone still doubts John Terry's commitment, just have a look at the front page of the Villa website.
Cardiff have a hell of a run of fixtures. No complacency now Villa and we might just sneak it. Prays!!
Never mind JT jumping, having been prompted to look through the match pic gallery on the OS, I notice the sky turned a vintage claret and blue again I see!
(http://thumb.ibb.co/dRCAoS/IMG_2670.jpg) (http://ibb.co/dRCAoS)
Having had to do a (nearly successful) Likely Lads avoiding the score watching a recording a couple of hours later, I wasn't there to see it myself, did others notice/photograph?
Very much like my no filter pic that I took from the Holte half-time through beating Chelsea 15/2/14 (memorable as my last match with my old name prior to a 4month ordination retreat in Spain!)
(http://thumb.ibb.co/fL7wv7/IMG_9253.jpg) (http://ibb.co/fL7wv7)
We said at the time.."it's a sign" that the day would be ours. It did look quite spiritual as well as spectacular, a B6 aurora borealis not caused by particles emitted from the the sun but by the souls of Villains that have gone before us doing their bit to ensure that the day indeed was ours.
I would like to think that it's caused by all those Holte Enders in the sky joining in with us still around and getting behind the team.
Soppy or what , i don't care
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Just like our performance on Saturday Dave a brilliant written piece.
Great article, Darren.
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I always enjoy your articles Dave but that one was a classic. Very good comments from the posters as well.
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Nice article and a lovely tribute to your friend Dave (sorry for your loss).
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Sad to read about Sheila.
She was very courageous, good company and a tireless worker. I vividly remember seeing her outside the ground celebrating their 96 semi final win over us at Old Trafford and then being sympathetic to our disappointment.
Lovely article.