Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on April 11, 2022, 11:02:46 AM
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I've just noticed that quietly and without any fuss, our online presence celebrated its 25th anniversary two weeks ago.
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Crikey. I was a couple of years late to the party, because I found it in 1999. I feel old again.
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Blimey, how the years slip by. Easily the best football forum in the world, and I've made some amazing and lifelong friends through this place.
Thanks to everybody involved in setting it up and keeping it going over the years, including Dave, Mac, Martin, Lee and all the other moderators.
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Long live H&V!
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I’ve never met any of you except Drummond and Mac briefly. How weird is that.
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It is very weird. They are both holograms.
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That’s quite a thing.
Well done to everybody concerned.
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H&V ZINDABAD.
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God, 21 years of my life here ...
A stunning achievement by Davem Mac, Martin et al.
And to all the contributors that make it what it is!
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H&V is my digital home, and has been since I found the Manila version 20-odd hearsay ago.
One thing I never quite got my head around was that there was another H&V forum (where folk like Hawksey lived) and was eventually merged with Manila one this platform.
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So was it setup on the 1st April?
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Well done all!
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Thanks to Dave and everyone else involved in setting up and maintaining H&V online
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So was it setup on the 1st April?
Mac and Eigentor's idea of a sick April Fools joke.
Happy Birthday H&V - would be good if some of the soap's best characters could come back for a 25th anniv live episode/match thread (Fletcher, Mazrim, Hawkesey, Deej, CanIPlayDaddy?/John Blackwell, Peter W, James Toner, OnlyOneIanTaylor etc. to name but a few).
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Congratulations to the founders.
Well done to the contributors.
I'm privileged and proud to be part of the family.
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Bloody hell think I found this place in 1999 when I was bored at work. It’s probably been the one constant in my life ever since which is both scary and quite life affirming at the same time.
Thanks to everyone no matter the part they’ve played.
Will we be cupping each other’s slenders in celebration?
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I think I found it in 1999 when I wasn't called Bad English. I didn't post much on the old 'Manila' site but when we moved to the first version of this forum I started posting a bit more but only in the Heroes Discussion bit. After a while I went into Off-Topic and the sight of all those threads on all those subjects was akin to the scene when the visitors to Jurassic Park pull up in the jeeps and see the brachiosaurus for the first time: weird yet awesome at the same time.
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I've been a Golden Muppet since they started in 2007 too. That's fifteen years of Paypal to Martin. He must be wearing an Audemars Piguet and driving a Tesla by now.
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H&V has given me hours of pleasure, anger, laughs, education and friends I have never met. Thank you to all concerned.
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A privilege to be a part of the H&V family. If it hadn’t been for this forum, I would have never gotten a ticket for the Cup Final, so taking away the actual football, that's a kindness I'll certainly never forget.
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Congratulations to Dave and everyone who started H&V it's the best site ever like others have said it's given me hours and hours of pleasure long may it continue.
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I’ve never met any of you except Drummond and Mac briefly. How weird is that.
You poor sod. I can't think how long ago that might have been?
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I’ve never met any of you except Drummond and Mac briefly. How weird is that.
You poor sod. I can't think how long ago that might have been?
Well it was probably between 2006 and 2009 outside the church. I remember referring to you as Harry and I quickly made my exit as you were already tired of that one!
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I’ve met Drummond underneath a tree. I was expecting someone shorter 😀
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I've met Drummond in a Liverpool pub.
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My profile shows I have been a member since 2006.
I am sure i was around before then, something happened and I had to re register. I clearly remember the lead up to the Chelsea cup final
Anyway, greetings and cheers to one and all.
I well remember looking forward to the post being delivered with my latest copy, at that time sent by my late dad.
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Happy birthday H&V! Relative newcomer to the forum, but been reading the articles on-off since probably close to it's launch (mid-late 90s, couldn't say exactly when).
Become my digital home after a period of being nomadic, with my old (music) forums having disappeared in the mid 2010s.
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I've met Drummond upstairs in the Barton's. It was after Milan Baros scored on his debut, I believe.
There were quite a few other notable names there too. Red Robbo, Amfy, Joe_c, The Weatherman, Whatever the councillor was called back then.... Disco Stu?
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My profile says I've been a poster since 2005 but it seems longer than that (and I'm sure it does to others as well).
I've met Dave W and he sold me 6 fanzines and I didnt even want one!
It's been emotional.
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It's a brilliant site for lots of reasons - you should be really proud of it. Long may it continue.
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Something definitely happened to the platform in 2005 and we all had to re-register.
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Yup. I remember finding on dial-up the Manila H&V site and only posted on threads that were on the main page. I think it took me a few months to realise there was a forum behind the home page. Little did I know how bloody addictive it would become.
Apart some of the great people I've met through this place, the real truth is I probably (most certainly) would have given up on the Villa years ago if it hadn't existed. Thanks to broadband and you lot on here, I haven't missed a game in god knows how many years. There are plenty I wish I had but then it's all part of the journey.. I hope. An FA Cup Final win would do nicely to complete my set. Until then..
Congratulations and a BIG thank you to Dave, Mac, Martin and Eig, the Mods and everybody else that has made this place what it is.
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There can’t have been many other areas to go to in the early days as you had to put x % Villa etc in the subject title.
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Total Time Spent Online:42 days, 8 hours and 20 minutes, that's a lot of reading about the Villa, more time than actually watching the games.
Great forum, which has kept me connected to reading and talking about the Villa since moving away from Birmingham nearly 30 years ago, which i am thankful for.
Keep up the good work.
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Well done all, I don't even want to think about how many hours I have spent basically 'listening ' to other people's conversations....and long may it continue.
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The best Villa-related site around, though it can't be a coincidence that since it started Villa have never won a trophy of any real standing !
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Blimey, how the years slip by. Easily the best football forum in the world, and I've made some amazing and lifelong friends through this place.
Thanks to everybody involved in setting it up and keeping it going over the years, including Dave, Mac, Martin, Lee and all the other moderators.
H&V has given me hours of pleasure, anger, laughs, education and friends I have never met. Thank you to all concerned.
I've been on here 20 years and echo all of those sentiments, really was a great outlet during lockdown. Well done to all involved!
However I have to point out that H&V has been online for 25 years and Villa haven't won a trophy for 26 years. :( Just saying!
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There can’t have been many other areas to go to in the early days as you had to put x % Villa etc in the subject title.
Only the Mailing List until H&V came along.
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Well done and congratulations!
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25 years and we've fuck all in that time other than a Peace Cup and promotion. Good grief we've been shit. H&V OUT
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2001 - Intertoto Cup Winners!
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All of human life is here. That was the motto of the now defunct News of the World but it is a good fit for H and V.
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All of human life is here. That was the motto of the now defunct News of the World but it is a good fit for H and V.
Very true, only yesterday I read "It's the Son wot won it" in the post-match thread.
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I remember signing up to vent about David O'Leary - I thought the forum seemed like an honest bunch of lads.
It's strange and rather stalker-ish to say, but I feel like I know so many of you; having read, laughed, grimaced, empathised and inevitably despaired along with you for many years. H&V is a huge part of my Villa support. I'd be lost and uninformed without it.
Someone get out the orange dot for old time sake.
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I remember signing up to vent about David O'Leary - I thought the forum seemed like an honest bunch of lads.
Sugarbag.
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One of the best things about H&V is no matter how sad/stupid you feel for getting pissed off with Villa losing, there's always a bigger nutter than you on here who, either eloquently or hilariously (often both) is raging about how a football team has ruined another weekend.
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If Carlsberg made…………
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Isn’t this the programme then?
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H & V made me develop an obsessive interest in celebrity death.
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The place I spend most of my time online. Thanks to all who make it possible.
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The place I spend most of my time online.
Yeah, right! ;)
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Happy belated anniversary folks!
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H & V made me develop an obsessive interest in celebrity death.
All of human life is here.
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I've dabbled with other Villa forums over the years (sorry) but it never lasted and I won't do it again. H&V is by far the best out there. Well done to all those who have made it happen for the last quarter of a century. Cheers 🍻
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Something definitely happened to the platform in 2005 and we all had to re-register.
I was Peter Withe's Shin up until that point, then suddenly someone else was!
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H&V. The place to be. Many happy returns.
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I was mostly a lurker for the first 15 years or so, but read regulalry and posted occaisionally since the manilla site days and pre the split of some to VT. I was also on an e-mail called 'The List' which dealt with Villa news back in more analouge days. I reckon H&V has been my main internet site for well over 20 years.
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Tbar was better though. You got biscuits.
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Given our respective ages, I'll bet there would be quite a few people on here who would recognise each other from down the game over the years.
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The place I spend most of my time online.
Yeah, right! ;)
Can we please put a stop to calling fellow posters wankers!
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Happy belated birthday H&V.
Thank you to all that make it happen, moderate and take part. It’s been a huge help to me for a very long time. Everything from finding decent music, TV to watch, advice, helping through heartbreak and of course a little bit of arguing about football.
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Happy anniversary H&V. Here’s to the next 25 years. I first came across the site round about 2000, having bought the paper version since around ‘94/‘95. I’ve only knowingly met 2 posters in real life apart from the ones I knew already. Is there a ‘where did they go’ type thread for people who used to post but don’t seem to any longer? Some quality moments and posts down the years and you get the full range of opinions from ‘we were shit’ to ‘meh’ to ‘we were fkn brilliant and we would’ve won if it wasn’t for [insert name of ref of your choice]’. Which is why I’ll always be back for more.
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Used to buy the paper one from about 1990 ish i think, i remember laughing at a spoof match report from a cup game against Grimsby which was basically a fish pun-athon. I'm easily pleased. Been on here since about 02-03 time. For the most part i think people on here are pretty fair minded and humorous so it suits me. Congrats anyway to those involved in H&V over the years.
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Given our respective ages, I'll bet there would be quite a few people on here who would recognise each other from down the game over the years.
I thought all the regulars on here got together at the Bartons before and after every home game, in their H&V uniforms, doing the secret handshake and dining on swan.
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Given our respective ages, I'll bet there would be quite a few people on here who would recognise each other from down the game over the years.
I thought all the regulars on here got together at the Bartons before and after every home game, in their H&V uniforms, doing the secret handshake and dining on swan.
Nah, Swann would have been sour and bitter.
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I reckon on a posts to years ratio, I’d be one of the lowest. Been lurking in the shadows on a pretty much daily basis since 1999...
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Well done everybody, great site. I’ll be back later to read the rest.
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Given our respective ages, I'll bet there would be quite a few people on here who would recognise each other from down the game over the years.
I thought all the regulars on here got together at the Bartons before and after every home game, in their H&V uniforms, doing the secret handshake and dining on swan.
Nah, Swann would have been sour and bitter.
Ho ho 😉
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I've just had a look at my stats page and it seems I have spent 246 days 6 hour and 37 minutes on here presumably since the site re-set a few years ago. This is far more than I have spent with some of my family! But then I think I have more in common with many on this site than a big chunk of my family. Thanks for keeping me entertained and informed everyone.
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Remember pestering my dad to buy our first H&V around 1990-ish. There was a short-lived feature called 'Heroes & Villains' in Shoot (?), which was basically a poster of a famous international footballer (that week: Ruud Gullit of AC Milan). I assumed the magazine would be full of posters of footballers who played for Italian sides, and so kept on nagging me dad to buy one until he relented, just outside the gates to Aston Hall.
I was disappointed to find that it contained mostly words, but my dad carried on buying it. Once Villa Vouchers stopped being a thing, we stopped getting the official match programme all together and just concentrated on buying H&V.
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I did 20-odd years selling the fanzine (and a couple of years writing for it) and spend an unhealthy amount of time on here. A huge part of my life without which there’s no way I’d have had three books published, or made a website. It was definitely my lucky day when I became mates with Dave whenever it was (late seventies/early eighties?) and I can’t thank him enough, as well as Mac, Martin and everybody who contributes. It really has been emotional.
Whenever a story breaks on the news that I’m interested in, my first port of call to find out what’s really happened and to read it being debated by intelligent, articulate people is off-topic. The actual thought goes ‘hang on, before I say anything, what does H&V think’.
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Whenever a story breaks on the news that I’m interested in, my first port of call to find out what’s really happened and to read it being debated by intelligent, articulate people is off-topic. The actual thought goes ‘hang on, before I say anything, what does H&V think’.
Likewise. Whenever there are 'reports' of a high-profile death, I always go to the deathwatch thread for verification - usually by BV, our very own grim reaper.
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I loved the paper fanzine when I was an ST in the UK and I love the site now that attending is no longer possible. The all round knowledge and humour have kept me both in touch and sane on Villa and other matters on occasions.
Thanks to all involved. UTV.
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I was explaining to a close friend, who doesn’t like football, that bigots, racists, misogynists, homophobes, et al. were run out of town by consensus. Or potted by Dave. And, as a Momentum member, he’d bolster the ranks of the Socialists here!
It really is life affirming stuff.
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First site I log into in the morning, simply can't imagine life without it.
Happy silver anniversary H&V, before we know it we'll be celebrating the golden anniversary!
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When I open Chrome, BBC News, Gmail and this place are the tabs that open automatically each time.
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When I open Chrome, BBC News, Gmail and this place are the tabs that open automatically each time.
Me too, and Pornhub.
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Happy silver anniversary H&V, before we know it we'll be celebrating the golden anniversary!
Ever the optimist. ;)
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Happy silver anniversary H&V, before we know it we'll be celebrating the golden anniversary!
Ever the optimist. ;)
I reckon I'll have carked it by then.
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Happy Anniversary everyone, and thanks for putting up with me. Just reading through Heroes Discussion, now. Don't spoil it for me. I've just reached 2012 and I've got a good feeling about this Lambert bloke.
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Happy Anniversary everyone, and thanks for putting up with me. Just reading through Heroes Discussion, now. Don't spoil it for me. I've just reached 2012 and I've got a good feeling about this Lambert bloke.
His European campaign was excellent. Swansea and Cardiff never knew what hit them.
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When I open Chrome, BBC News, Gmail and this place are the tabs that open automatically each time.
Me too, and Pornhub.
xnxx is better
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I think I've been here since Autumn 1997 and I've never started a thread! Surely I should have outgrown this by now!
I used to come here for Brexit debate and insight. Now, I visit OT for Ads contributions on the Warmongering thread. Real news on a Football forum - that can't be right, can it!?
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This site is my go to for any issue and I can get information and discussion on topics in the news. Having experts explain issues and (usually) an informed debate is more than I have found anywhere. I can even tolerate the wind up merchants!
This morning it has helped to be able to share a painful event.
Thank you one and all.
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Congrats on the 25th anniversary has been part of my life for most of that times thanks
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Late to this thread but have to add that growing up in Southampton I never really acquired any ‘Villa mates’ & even after living in Birmingham, I kept up that habit of turning up at Villa Park on my own.
Through this site I have met so many brilliant people and now have a whole ‘Villa crew’ (you know who you are - not listing as I’ll inevitably miss someone important!) who I’ve had some amazing awayday adventures with, including a number of mad Wembley weekends where ‘The Cottage is Ours’.
Not least, here is where I found my partner in crime, Jane, & she even met her husband from here!
A life changing site! x