Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Drummond on March 11, 2024, 12:07:49 PM
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So, it's an age old question, and is being mentioned in different threads, but I figured it could do with a thread of its own.
Should the supporters be expected to sing songs, cheer and go for it, to try and motivate the team? There's lots to be said for other grounds where this happens, such as Anfield where the fans seem to make a difference.
Or should the team get stuck in from the off and give the fans something to really get behind?
At Villa Park, I think as supporters we recognise big games, but the atmosphere doesn't truly get going until we're given something to get behind, whether it's some thunderous challenges, a goal or the referee being a twat. I can't decide whether the pre-match music is actually hindering things. With some of the music being played you could see it getting their fans more excited, and surely that's not what we want.
There was a nervousness in the air yesterday, and on the pitch there just wasn't anything to really get it going.
I suspect Ajax on Thursday with a full crowd will work well.
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I put this in the Ajax thread, but I think it's relevant here:
The problem, is Emery's style doesn't make for an exciting spectacle quite often. Ignoring yesterday for a moment, it's made us successful which is great, but it's not the sort of football to get you off your seats. Sometimes it does, like when Bailey is driving into the box, but a 30 yard pass back to Torres to restart possession, whilst clever football that is the bedrock for how we play, it's not going to get the crowd roaring.
Personally, I don't care, as I'd much rather watch a win under any circumstances and I'm not particularly bothered about the crowd, but if you want a raucous, belligerent Villa Park driving the players on, then Emery probably isn't the manager for you.
To add: It's obviously a two way thing to a certain extent, but the crowd will always respond to a great bit of play. I've been to lots of games where the players haven't responded to a great atmoshphere. The balance is therefore that the players are there to entertain the crowd. The atmoshphere at Anfield is only better than ours because they mostly play better football and win things.
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It's both I think. Sometimes the crowd needs to lift the team, but sometimes the team can set the tone.
It's always been the same since I can remember at VP, not that I get to as many games as I'd like these days. Sometimes there's just the sense that we're about to do something ace (Newcastle at home last year) whereas at other times it just feels a bit flatter. We seem to be at our best when we're looking up, and not as great when looking over our shoulder. Or maybe that's just my mid playing tricks.
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Yesterday was a bit different I think. After looking forward to this fixture it was like the fans were in shock at how it went. The crowd usually makes noise when we are attacking but we weren't taking the the game to spurs nearly enough.
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Easy for me to say from a couple of thousand miles away, but wasn't the atmosphere yesterday down to everyone being soaked and sober?
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I don't think there's a set of supporters in the country who would have been in full voice if their team put in a display and a result like yesterday to be honest.
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I don't think there's a set of supporters in the country who would have been in full voice if their team put in a display and a result like yesterday to be honest.
I’d agree and that may have been a reaction to what looked like a total capitulation, I’m
Wondering if we were so shocked at how inept we were at times it just kicked the voice from us.
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I don't think there's a set of supporters in the country who would have been in full voice if their team put in a display and a result like yesterday to be honest.
I’d agree and that may have been a reaction to what looked like a total capitulation, I’m
Wondering if we were so shocked at how inept we were at times it just kicked the voice from us.
As I say above, the default atmosphere is only just above average usually, because the football isn't get the ball forward at every opportunity, kick and rush, 100mph stuff. When we play well and win, the atmosphere naturally goes up a couple of notches, but when we play badly, it doesn't take much for there to be no atmoshpere at all.
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Given everything we've become used to over more years than we'd care to remember, and indeed recent weeks, there seemed to be a general air of apprehension and tension amongst the supporters yesterday ahead of the game, which was only exacerbated once the game got under way and everyone could see how the team had been set up. And once the second goal went in, the air of tension inevitably became that of weary resignation.
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Can we book Russ Abbott for Lower Grounds . That would get things going.
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Easy for me to say from a couple of thousand miles away, but wasn't the atmosphere yesterday down to everyone being soaked and sober?
The wind was blowing in such a direction that the rain was soaking us in our part of the lower holte. First world problems, when i used to be caged in behind a fence, in all sorts of conditions in the 80s, but neverthless it definitely muted the atmosphere a bit.
But Risso also has a point about the style of playing and patient build up.
Saying all of that, the Man City game and the first 10-15 mins of the Arsenal game is some of the noisiest Ive heard the holte in years.
I have a feeling Thursday will start off loud and will continue if we play well
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Can we book Russ Abbott for Lower Grounds . That would get things going.
I think you need balloons for that to work, Tim
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I can only really speak for myself, but most of the time I'm far too nervous about our position in games to be raucous. I suppose in answer to the question, I'm happy to be partly responsible for the atmosphere as long as I'm comfortable with what I'm seeing.
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It’s up to the youngsters to create the atmosphere
I’ve done my bit in Years gone by, I’m to old to stand there belly busting a song out nowadays, although I do manage a chant or two when things get really exciting
anyway the young ones need to come up with a better more original chants, stop nicking songs of other people and raise the roof with them
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Controversial but it’s another reason for a new ground imo. We need 10,000 cheap seats/safe standing where the priority is to sing through-out. Like an away game.
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Walk in silence. Don't turn away, in silence.Your confusion. My illusion.
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Controversial but it’s another reason for a new ground imo. We need 10,000 cheap seats/safe standing where the priority is to sing through-out. Like an away game.
anyone heard from Brigada lately
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Walk in silence. Don't turn away, in silence.Your confusion. My illusion.
Worn like a mask of self-hate (i.e. having to face the mirror the morning after yesterday's game).
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That dreadfully pa system prevented the crowd from building up a head of steam prior to kick off yesterday. It was my first match in years (and will likely be my last). Way too much razzmatazz. The teams emerged from the tunnel to some cackling cretin crack adict by the sound of it. What happened to the old fan fare and we will rock you? I sat in the trinity with " football in a library" on continuous play in my head.
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There isn't anything happening at Villa Park in terms of atmosphere that isn't happening everywhere else. That's just the way it is when lots of people are paying 60 quid a ticket, it changes the demographic.
FWIW, Villa Park is great because of the proximity of the fans to the pitch - the fans are basically towering over it, like few grounds these days, so when the atmosphere IS good, it can be better than anywhere else.
I think Anfield is similar.
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Flintstone power raging over Monster energy drinks (or Emery drinks….) that’s who! Or God/science. We did ok in lockdown without any crowd at all tbf
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That dreadfully pa system prevented the crowd from building up a head of steam prior to kick off yesterday. It was my first match in years (and will likely be my last). Way too much razzmatazz. The teams emerged from the tunnel to some cackling cretin crack adict by the sound of it. What happened to the old fan fare and we will rock you? I sat in the trinity with " football in a library" on continuous play in my head.
The PA system is garbage . It was better when I was a kid and they just played "theme tune from an unmade movie" and I used to watch Sid fizzing passes across the pitch in his warm up.
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I don’t think the PA was the issue yesterday it was the garbage music they were trying to pump through it…was literally just noise…betw Hi Ho and Crazy Town had absolutely no idea what it was :-)
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They played the theme tune to the A-Team as the team ran out every game in 86-87 when we got relegated.
Gallows humour
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I don’t think the PA was the issue yesterday it was the garbage music they were trying to pump through it…was literally just noise…betw Hi Ho and Crazy Town had absolutely no idea what it was :-)
They played Rainbow, Since You’ve Been Gone. Strange one.
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Symbiotic relationship.
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I don’t think the PA was the issue yesterday it was the garbage music they were trying to pump through it…was literally just noise…betw Hi Ho and Crazy Town had absolutely no idea what it was :-)
They played Rainbow, Since You’ve Been Gone. Strange one.
Would have been better to be the theme tune from Rainbow :-)
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I don’t think the PA was the issue yesterday it was the garbage music they were trying to pump through it…was literally just noise…betw Hi Ho and Crazy Town had absolutely no idea what it was :-)
They played Rainbow, Since You’ve Been Gone. Strange one.
Would have been better to be the theme tune from Rainbow :-)
and Zippy in defence he would have kept things tighter
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Cheaper tickets, proper kick off time and easier access to booze before hand. That is what is needed.
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Symbiotic relationship.
Who sang that one.
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Symbiotic relationship.
Who sang that one.
Count Five.
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I think Risso’s point above about our style yesterday not being conducive to a raucous atmosphere is spot on. The fact we were hemmed in for much of our own half doesn’t help get the crowd geed up for a game when we were playing a team on a similar footing to ourselves. Contrast this to the response from the crowd when we get off to an aggressive start in big games, such as the Newcastle, Spurs and a Brighton games last spring when we were on a mission and the whole ground was absolutely rocking. See also Arsenal and Man City more recently.
The 1-1 draw against Man City last year also had a great atmosphere as the crowd were willing us on to hold out against the zillionaires and the players responded. In each of these games the players and fans fed off each other’s energy. Yesterday felt flat before kick off and the slow start to the game sucked a lot of energy out of the crowd.
Our pre match music is pretty poor and I think they should just get the DJ in from the Aston Social for a few bob. Caveat, I haven’t been in there this season but presume he is still working the crowd up nicely. A lot better than crazy train and the other stuff that we hear.
Finally, I wouldn’t be beating ourselves up on this. In my experience most grounds now have an average atmosphere at best. Anfiield for me is a myth for most league games, based on my own experience and mates who go there, but comes alive for their big rivals and European games (on tv at least). The best atmosphere I have heard this season was Forest, helped by a noisy start and then an early goal in each half, and the fact they were up for a fight against a top team - just like we were against Man City last year.
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Sorry to be a bore, but some of those players are paid more in a week than many supporters are paid in five years - and it is the supporters who give up their money to attend.
When the players play well, create chances, take shots, win corners, whatever, then the supporters respond. That's what they are there for - to 'support', not cheer for something the team are failing to deliver.
If the players need the crowd to inspire them, they should give a proportion of their salary to Paddy and ask him to sort them out with a few lines before KO and at HT.
I'm not exactly vitriolic when we play shite. Everyone has bad days.
But the men, women and children who pay for their seat in VP are in no way to blame for those days.
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I think it’s mainly down to the players. Supporters will always cheer when someone chases someone down or puts in a great tackle (especially if it leaves one on) or produces a great bit of skill. That in turn pushes the players on replicate receiving the support and applause.
Negative play is not going to get supporters on side, especially at home. I think that the interview McGinn gave before the spurs game was because he knew how what the likely reaction would be to our set up. It was not an approach that was going to get supporters belting from the rafters at another attempt of Konsa trying to pass to Cash in a back 5 under pressure at home from a half decent Spurs. Although that may be something we may need to get use to if we did get into the champions league.
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I think it’s mainly down to the players. Supporters will always cheer when someone chases someone down or puts in a great tackle (especially if it leaves one on) or produces a great bit of skill. That in turn pushes the players on replicate receiving the support and applause.
Negative play is not going to get supporters on side, especially at home. I think that the interview McGinn gave before the spurs game was because he knew how what the likely reaction would be to our set up. It was not an approach that was going to get supporters belting from the rafters at another attempt of Konsa trying to pass to Cash in a back 5 under pressure at home from a half decent Spurs. Although that may be something we may need to get use to if we did get into the champions league.
Its ironic really, but just before he got sent off, McGinn was harrying their defence like a man possessed, won the ball, created a chance and got the Holte End right up….and then he got carried away..
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I think the vibe the fans create is incredibly important and it's something that I've heard the players and manager(s) constantly repeat - like any human they respond to positivity and support. When we beat Everton in our first match back the atmosphere was incredible and there was simply no way we were going to lose - even some of the Everton players remarked that they'd rarely experienced such a crowd.
The question is would Villa stand more chance of winning the Conference League and finishing top four with a home crowd that's bang at it, (metaphorically) fighting and kicking each and every ball with the players, or with a home crowd that's anxious, flat as a pancake and waiting to be entertained? If we want to end our trophy drought and get Champs League football this season I think we have to play our part. In my experience Villa are unbeatable when Villa Park is together and totally up for it.
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Can we book Russ Abbott for Lower Grounds . That would get things going.
Thanks for the reminder that Russ Abbot is still alive. Still only 76, but there's been neither sight nor sound of him for years.
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Agree with Risso, who are the noisy fans when their team is putting in a crap performance and losing 2-0 at home.
Seen some very quiet top six grounds when the game is flat.
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Can we book Russ Abbott for Lower Grounds . That would get things going.
Thanks for the reminder that Russ Abbot is still alive. Still only 76, but there's been neither sight nor sound of him for years.
He played a character on (from what I remember was...) a shit TV detective show a couple of years back. Like Death in Paradise type thing, but I don't think it was Death in Paradise.
Spent half the show skwinting trying to work out who he was, cos I recognised his face but nothing else.
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I think the vibe the fans create is incredibly important and it's something that I've heard the players and manager(s) constantly repeat - like any human they respond to positivity and support. When we beat Everton in our first match back the atmosphere was incredible and there was simply no way we were going to lose - even some of the Everton players remarked that they'd rarely experienced such a crowd.
The question is would Villa stand more chance of winning the Conference League and finishing top four with a home crowd that's bang at it, (metaphorically) fighting and kicking each and every ball with the players, or with a home crowd that's anxious, flat as a pancake and waiting to be entertained? If we want to end our trophy drought and get Champs League football this season I think we have to play our part. In my experience Villa are unbeatable when Villa Park is together and totally up for it.
As the Ajax tickets are more reasonably priced then you might have a point. But I paid £110 for an adult and under 21 ticket on the Holte for Spurs and if the club want to go down that kind of pricing route then they can also set the tone for the atmosphere and give me something to get excited about.
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Agree with Risso, who are the noisy fans when their team is putting in a crap performance and losing 2-0 at home.
Seen some very quiet top six grounds when the game is flat.
It can even be the same for some away fans. Hardly a peep from Spurs until they were winning on Sunday and after that very loud. At least our away following isn't that fair weather.
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The fans 100%.
If it was all down to how the team/players are doing struggling mid-table and relegation threatened teams would have no atmospheres at all.
Obviously if the players on the pitch are doing well, then any atmosphere will be heightened.
I have little time for the ‘feed me entertain me’ types, whilst sitting on their hands.
Back in the day the trinity road stand would stamp their feet to generate atmosphere. That was a unique sound that is sadly missing these days.
Unfortunately I couldn’t attend last Sunday and I won’t be there Thursday, but I fully expected Villa fans to boo every touch by a spuds player (to create an intimidating atmosphere). I gather this didn’t happen. I hope it does vs Ajax and that Villa fans demonstrate themselves as being the proverbial 12th man!
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I thought it was down-to the bloke who controls the sound on the PA system and the pre kick off sound effects.
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When it is £100+ for a couple of tickets to spurs then you’re probably pricing out a fair chunk of the youngsters and people most likely to create the atmosphere.
Again, if we had bigger ground we could have a 10k ‘holding pen’ that under 30s can pass through,
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I thought it was down-to the bloke who controls the sound on the PA system and the pre kick off sound effects.
If we could invest in a better sound system that would help . Then just bang out some decent tunes in the build up and that should generally be an improvement.
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Watching the game from afar it would be very difficult to get noisy support when the players for whatever reason do not appear to be up for it. Our forwards were bullied from the off and offered nothing.
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The fans 100%.
If it was all down to how the team/players are doing struggling mid-table and relegation threatened teams would have no atmospheres at all.
Obviously if the players on the pitch are doing well, then any atmosphere will be heightened.
I have little time for the ‘feed me entertain me’ types, whilst sitting on their hands.
Back in the day the trinity road stand would stamp their feet to generate atmosphere. That was a unique sound that is sadly missing these days.
Unfortunately I couldn’t attend last Sunday and I won’t be there Thursday, but I fully expected Villa fans to boo every touch by a spuds player (to create an intimidating atmosphere). I gather this didn’t happen. I hope it does vs Ajax and that Villa fans demonstrate themselves as being the proverbial 12th man!
Brilliant. "You're all shit fans for not cheering and singing when watching that dross. I wasn't actually there myself, but if I was, I'd definitely have been going ballistic, believe me!"
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James Maddison. Tossed out of a helicopter over Villa Park Scarface-style, before the next league match.
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Thanks for the reminder that Russ Abbot is still alive. Still only 76, but there's been neither sight nor sound of him for years.
He played a character on (from what I remember was...) a shit TV detective show a couple of years back. Like Death in Paradise type thing, but I don't think it was Death in Paradise.
Spent half the show skwinting trying to work out who he was, cos I recognised his face but nothing else.
I've often wondered who actually watches Death in Paradise. Putting Russ Abbot in it might make me watch one episode, solely out of curiosity.
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Emery has spent most of the season telling the fans to calm down when things have gone a bit end to end and the crowd are up and noisy.
However i think there are times when we need to be loud and intimidating. Sunday was one of them.
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Players. I hate it when players urge the fans on by waving their arms, although not see this by our players.
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Let’s just look back at the match from Sunday. Everyone was probably soaked to the skin from the rain. It’s then really bloody cold. We then have the usual shit from the PA, blasting our ears out. The team then decide to stay in the dressing room. Not much to actually get excited about was there really?
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Let’s just look back at the match from Sunday. Everyone was probably soaked to the skin from the rain. It’s then really
bloody cold. We then have the usual shit from the PA, blasting our ears out. The team then decide to stay in the dressing room. Not much to actually get excited about was there really?
That was exactly my experience.
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James Maddison. Tossed out of a helicopter over Villa Park Scarface-style, before the next league match.
His mug is the bullseye on my dartboard.
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I think the vibe the fans create is incredibly important and it's something that I've heard the players and manager(s) constantly repeat - like any human they respond to positivity and support. When we beat Everton in our first match back the atmosphere was incredible and there was simply no way we were going to lose - even some of the Everton players remarked that they'd rarely experienced such a crowd.
The question is would Villa stand more chance of winning the Conference League and finishing top four with a home crowd that's bang at it, (metaphorically) fighting and kicking each and every ball with the players, or with a home crowd that's anxious, flat as a pancake and waiting to be entertained? If we want to end our trophy drought and get Champs League football this season I think we have to play our part. In my experience Villa are unbeatable when Villa Park is together and totally up for it.
Agreed. Whoevers responsibility it is, there's no doubt that the atmosphere makes a huge difference. The fact that fans have paid their money and have no obligations is not in question. Nor is the fact that there have been commercial decisions and price hikes that will have impacted on the crowd dynamic. But even so, a raucous stadium would help the players and it's a shame the atmosphere is nowhere near what it could/should be most weeks.
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The fans 100%.
If it was all down to how the team/players are doing struggling mid-table and relegation threatened teams would have no atmospheres at all.
Obviously if the players on the pitch are doing well, then any atmosphere will be heightened.
I have little time for the ‘feed me entertain me’ types, whilst sitting on their hands.
Back in the day the trinity road stand would stamp their feet to generate atmosphere. That was a unique sound that is sadly missing these days.
Unfortunately I couldn’t attend last Sunday and I won’t be there Thursday, but I fully expected Villa fans to boo every touch by a spuds player (to create an intimidating atmosphere). I gather this didn’t happen. I hope it does vs Ajax and that Villa fans demonstrate themselves as being the proverbial 12th man!
Brilliant. "You're all shit fans for not cheering and singing when watching that dross. I wasn't actually there myself, but if I was, I'd definitely have been going ballistic, believe me!"
Larf larf!
What a truly wonderful make-believe world you live in!
Keep sitting on your hands pal!
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i went to a match in Spain a few years ago and they had pop up Cruzcampo tents manned by sports girls dotted around outside the ground with free draught pints on tap. That seemed to work .
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i went to a match in Spain a few years ago and they had pop up Cruzcampo tents manned by sports girls dotted around outside the ground with free draught pints on tap. That seemed to work .
I second this proposal.
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i went to a match in Spain a few years ago and they had pop up Cruzcampo tents manned by sports girls dotted around outside the ground with free draught pints on tap. That seemed to work .
I second this proposal.
I'm not sure, is Cruzcampo better than Madri and Estrella Damm?
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i went to a match in Spain a few years ago and they had pop up Cruzcampo tents manned by sports girls dotted around outside the ground with free draught pints on tap. That seemed to work .
I second this proposal.
I'm not sure, is Cruzcampo better than Madri and Estrella Damm?
Cruzcampo has a great glass, possibly the greatest, so wins my vote
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i went to a match in Spain a few years ago and they had pop up Cruzcampo tents manned by sports girls dotted around outside the ground with free draught pints on tap. That seemed to work .
One of the great things in Spain is they ban TV advertising of alcohol so the major brands spend their budget with pop-up stalls giving it away. As for draught beer, even though I've never been a lager drinker, Mahou in Madrid was a pleasant surprise, far better than the piss water that is San Miguel.
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Just bumping this thread in case any of the crowd or Villa players are on their phones.
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Atmosphere is so poor tonight so far
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The BBC said it was raucous
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It was good I thought!
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Atmosphere was great, some old songs being thrown about as well. The crowd responded to the players in answer to the original question.
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Gutted I wasn’t there and couldn’t pass on my ticket either. Our national treasure train network cancelled the last train back to London scheduled For 23:15 so I didn’t come up.
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Massive improvement compared to the wake that was Sunday. Ground sounded lovely from the Trinity 👏🏼
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The atmosphere was great tonight. Holte was really loud from my seat in the Trinity Lower. We even joined in a few times. Quite magic at times.
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The atmosphere was great tonight. Holte was really loud from my seat in the Trinity Lower. We even joined in a few times. Quite magic at times.
Sounded good on the telly. A couple of lulls e.g. during the scrappy start to the second half, but very loud once Bailey scored.
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Yeah, it did sound good on the telly.
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There has to be a great atmosphere tonight. 4/5/6 in the league pales to winning something.
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Lets get that villa roar on. I think they should have had flags tonight to get that atmosphere up
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Atmosphere is great tonight. 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% other gases. Pretty much exactly what we should be looking for.
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Mate of mine (Bees fan) joined us for something to eat after the game on Saturday. He made an unsolicited comment on how there was this massive surge of noise from the Holte during the second half. He was really impressed.
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I think we got a bit nervous at 2-0 and that was evident by reactions of the players; Martinez for example was trying to gee the crowd up in the second half.
It was a tense game, and I think we need to be the ones to help stimulate the atmosphere.
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There’s too many grumpy middle/old aged men for there to be an atmosphere of yore.
Not enough youth in the ground these days for a raucous atmosphere.
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Mate of mine (Bees fan) joined us for something to eat after the game on Saturday. He made an unsolicited comment on how there was this massive surge of noise from the Holte during the second half. He was really impressed.
The Holte End Roar is a thing of beauty. It was definitely there on Thursday.
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There’s too many grumpy middle/old aged men for there to be an atmosphere of yore.
Not enough youth in the ground these days for a raucous atmosphere.
I arrived at New street on Thursday as the police were herding the Lille fans on to the platform and a really obvious point was that all of their fans seemed to be 25-30 years old. I reckon half our fans over there this week will be 50+.
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There’s too many grumpy middle/old aged men for there to be an atmosphere of yore.
Not enough youth in the ground these days for a raucous atmosphere.
I arrived at New street on Thursday as the police were herding the Lille fans on to the platform and a really obvious point was that all of their fans seemed to be 25-30 years old. I reckon half our fans over there this week will be 50+.
Oh yes the demographic of your average English football fan has definitely got older certainly for the bigger clubs. I was talking to a C115y neighbour of mine the other day and he said it’s very noticeable how much older the European away demographic is compared to domestic aways.
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I used to work with a Chelsea fan who said that for European away games he barely saw a fan under 40 so it’s obviously a factor that seems to apply to English clubs.
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First time on the Holte this season today and it was rocking. Tremendous ovation for Emi and even when we went behind, full support. Well done us.
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Great atmosphere today well done all around
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Interesting that there seemed to be a 'brigada' group in the top of the Doug Ellis where the away fans normally sit today. They weren't there against Brentford.
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They set up early today, I believe. About 1pm.
Fair play to them.
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1897 Group
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1897 Group
Yeah saw that banner. They weren't there at the Brentford game, but we're today and made a bit of noise to be fair.
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It was brilliant to see so many Villa fans awaiting the arrival of the team bus. I can only think that if the players had any doubts on how important today was, they soon realised it. from all the videos I've seen, the fans were massive today.
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The ground was fairly subdued for a good proportion of the game all things considered I thought, wasn’t exactly bouncing. Didn’t hear a peep from that 1897 section.
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It was brilliant to see so many Villa fans awaiting the arrival of the team bus. I can only think that if the players had any doubts on how important today was, they soon realised it. from all the videos I've seen, the fans were massive today.
Its only the Conference FFS!
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The atmosphere was very good, yes there were times when it was quiet but they coincided with when were knocking it around in our defensive third of the field so there was little to react to. We are an English club and the atmosphere mirrors what's happening on the field rather than a co-ordinated noise unconnected to the play, as preferred by our continental friends.
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The ground was fairly subdued for a good proportion of the game all things considered I thought, wasn’t exactly bouncing. Didn’t hear a peep from that 1897 section.
Where do you sit Risso? In the middle of the Holte Lower it seemed pretty loud all the way through. I tend to sit Trinity or Witton upper these days and I don't think the atmosphere from the Holte always transmits there.
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I think we can safely say the acoustics in Villa Park are shite. Unlike Risso I could hear the 1897 lot regularly throughout the game (I’m UT A2) and it seemed to get the Lower North going as well. When we all join in we’re fucking loud but too often the atmosphere seems to dissipate too easily and I’ll die on the hill that the Holte being two tiered is the main reason.
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I just saw a video from a Bournemouth fan walking away from the ground. As well as being complimentary about our performance, he said it was the loudest ground he'd been to all season
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Bournemouth fan in the ground
https://x.com/tylerAV_1/status/1782337159606755491
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I was in the Upper North Stand quite far back and generally thought the atmosphere was poor. In the first half even before their goal I heard the Bournemouth fans singing 'We're Aston Villa, we'll sing when we've won' which I thought was sadly a fair criticism. I did notice the 1897 group after a while and I thought it was a shame that their efforts didn't catch on more. On the plus side it was great to see the fans assemble for the players arrival and hopefully that was helpful in getting the players to raise themselves again after a tough week.
Reading now that the atmosphere was perceived to be good by many does make me wonder about the acoustics. I've spent 99% of my games in the Holte Upper so perhaps my expectations aren't fair.
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I was in the Upper North Stand quite far back and generally thought the atmosphere was poor. In the first half even before their goal I heard the Bournemouth fans singing 'We're Aston Villa, we'll sing when we've won' which I thought was sadly a fair criticism. I did notice the 1897 group after a while and I thought it was a shame that their efforts didn't catch on more. On the plus side it was great to see the fans assemble for the players arrival and hopefully that was helpful in getting the players to raise themselves again after a tough week.
Reading now that the atmosphere was perceived to be good by many does make me wonder about the acoustics. I've spent 99% of my games in the Holte Upper so perhaps my expectations aren't fair.
You're always hear the away fans more easily when you're sat that end.
I think it's well established now due to VP's uniqueness and open ends that noise doesn't really travel that well from one end to the other. That's probably the best argument for filling in the corners one day.
One thing I do know is the atmosphere is always great for big evening games so it will be electric for the final three home games given what is at stake.
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I'm in the mid-Trinity, and there were some loud bits, especially after we'd scored as you'd expect. First half though, I thought it was as bad as Sheffield United at home in terms of atmosphere. Didn't ever hear the first Allez rendition until the second half. Obviously the second half was completely different, both in terms of performance and in the reaction to it. Still not great though, from where I was sat at least.
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I'm in the mid-Trinity, and there were some loud bits, especially after we'd scored as you'd expect. First half though, I thought it was as bad as Sheffield United at home in terms of atmosphere. Didn't ever hear the first Allez rendition until the second half. Obviously the second half was completely different, both in terms of performance and in the reaction to it. Still not great though, from where I was sat at least.
It will be ten times better for Chelsea and Liverpool, don't worry about that.
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I'm in the mid-Trinity, and there were some loud bits, especially after we'd scored as you'd expect. First half though, I thought it was as bad as Sheffield United at home in terms of atmosphere. Didn't ever hear the first Allez rendition until the second half. Obviously the second half was completely different, both in terms of performance and in the reaction to it. Still not great though, from where I was sat at least.
It will be ten times better for Chelsea and Liverpool, don't worry about that.
Depends on how we play, mostly. If we chuck in a stinker like we did against Spurs, it won't be. But we won't, I'm sure.
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I was in the Upper North Stand quite far back and generally thought the atmosphere was poor. In the first half even before their goal I heard the Bournemouth fans singing 'We're Aston Villa, we'll sing when we've won' which I thought was sadly a fair criticism. I did notice the 1897 group after a while and I thought it was a shame that their efforts didn't catch on more. On the plus side it was great to see the fans assemble for the players arrival and hopefully that was helpful in getting the players to raise themselves again after a tough week.
Reading now that the atmosphere was perceived to be good by many does make me wonder about the acoustics. I've spent 99% of my games in the Holte Upper so perhaps my expectations aren't fair.
It's so strange to hear this (and Risso's comment). From the upper Holte it was bouncing for most the game. We can't help it if the Trinity and Witton don't join in, but if felt like an excellent atmosphere where I was sitting.
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I was in the Upper North Stand quite far back and generally thought the atmosphere was poor. In the first half even before their goal I heard the Bournemouth fans singing 'We're Aston Villa, we'll sing when we've won' which I thought was sadly a fair criticism. I did notice the 1897 group after a while and I thought it was a shame that their efforts didn't catch on more. On the plus side it was great to see the fans assemble for the players arrival and hopefully that was helpful in getting the players to raise themselves again after a tough week.
Reading now that the atmosphere was perceived to be good by many does make me wonder about the acoustics. I've spent 99% of my games in the Holte Upper so perhaps my expectations aren't fair.
It's so strange to hear this (and Risso's comment). From the upper Holte it was bouncing for most the game. We can't help it if the Trinity and Witton don't join in, but if felt like an excellent atmosphere where I was sitting.
The main thing is it was loud where you were and hopefully it at least came across loud to the players. and in any case we played well and won so ultimately it doesn't matter anyway. If I have to go to any games on my own I'm certainly going to look into the 1897 thing.
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I was in the upper Witton where they are doing the rail standing directly above Bournemouth.
Looks like the trial had already unofficially started as many were standing all game in our block, singing much of it and the atmosphere was very very loud. Probably why Bournemouth fans thought it good. I couldn't hear the rest of ground if I am honest.
Only downside was my 4 year old had to stand for much of the game and he was pretty tired in 2nd half. Also still a fair bit of swearing.
Lots of flags - I think it looked like some regular Holte Enders had made their way in this part.
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I thought it was a decent atmosphere yesterday. Not Villa Park at it's spine tingling best, but it was loud at times.
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As someone just said:
"those fans in the Holte, sing throughout the game, the rest of you can just rattle your f**king jewellery"
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There’s too many grumpy middle/old aged men for there to be an atmosphere of yore.
Not enough youth in the ground these days for a raucous atmosphere.
Hang on.When your eyesight starts to fail,you have to move away from the Holte.
I rattle my false teeth and shake my hip replacement and if that fails to frighten the opposition,I turn my hearing aid up to a loud whine.
Being grumpy and old,I must complain about the length of games,they severely test the bladder and why are there so many youngsters queueing for the toilet stalls ?
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The 1897 section didn't appear to be making any noise, and didn't seem to be joining in with the rest of the stadium in singing...
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This is another Bournemouth fan saying how load it was.
Are you sure you lot had turned your hearing aids on?
https://x.com/avfcbreaking/status/1782128914799759867
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The 1897 section didn't appear to be making any noise, and didn't seem to be joining in with the rest of the stadium in singing...
I sit lower Witton next to the Holte. It was quite loud at times with others around me in upper and lower joining in. I didn’t once hear the Bournemouth following or the 1897 section. The flag display looked impressive. Are they to be an ultras style (non violent obvs) section?
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This is another Bournemouth fan saying how load it was.
Are you sure you lot had turned your hearing aids on?
https://x.com/avfcbreaking/status/1782128914799759867
They seem alright Bournemouth.
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The 1897 section didn't appear to be making any noise, and didn't seem to be joining in with the rest of the stadium in singing...
I sit lower Witton next to the Holte. It was quite loud at times with others around me in upper and lower joining in. I didn’t once hear the Bournemouth following or the 1897 section. The flag display looked impressive. Are they to be an ultras style (non violent obvs) section?
Sometimes you can't tell exactly where the noise is coming from, but your wouldn't get Bournemouth supporters saying that if the fans around them weren't making some noise. I couldn't really hear 1897 from the Holte, but I'm sure they made a difference.
They're not ultras, just a bunch of fans who want to do displays and make a bit of noise. Fair play to them.
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I sit in the Upper Holte and I thought it was one of the best atmospheres of the season yesterday. Not 'best' as in loudest, maybe, but 'best' as in most positive and encouraging, even when things weren't going well. More robust.
I've been critical of the atmosphere a lot this calendar year - I've often felt that the positivity collapsed as soon as we stopped winning every match, which I guess is understandable, but I felt that the players had earned a bit more from us. Against Brentford, I genuinely think the reaction of the crowd when they scored the first contributed to the following 10 minutes. Around me people started talking about Stoke, and the bloke next to me (my dad) just stared at the floor muttering "we're fucked, we're fucked"! If the opposition could pick our reaction to a goal, they'd want that. (I guess it works both ways though, as we benefited from the Arsenal crowd's nervousness last week. When they went a bit nervy, that's when our team grew in confidence).
That wasn't the case yesterday though, there were plenty of pockets of us that were trying to get chants going, and when we went one down, we kept going. I may be deluded, but I'm sure it makes some kind of difference. There are some days when you turn up and the Holte is in full voice and you just think "there's no way we're losing this".
Just three more games to keep that up...
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The atmosphere was decent but I have a major gripe. That song that is taking off really gets on my nerves, it’s inane drivel, I am of course referring to The “Small Heat get battered” one. Good for getting the crowd up but why make them lot in any way relevant to what we’re doing?
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The atmosphere was decent but I have a major gripe. That song that is taking off really gets on my nerves, it’s inane drivel, I am of course referring to The “Small Heat get battered” one. Good for getting the crowd up but why make them lot in any way relevant to what we’re doing?
Yes, the tune works really well, just a shame it's about Blues.
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The atmosphere was decent but I have a major gripe. That song that is taking off really gets on my nerves, it’s inane drivel, I am of course referring to The “Small Heat get battered” one. Good for getting the crowd up but why make them lot in any way relevant to what we’re doing?
Yeah I agree. We could at least wait and belt it out if they go down.
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The better we get, the bigger the gap, the more we seem to be bothered by them.
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I was in A3, upper Trinity just to the right of the halfway line and thought the atmosphere was ok but not wild. I could hear the 1897 group more than the Holte in the first half and could see them bouncing around. Fair play to them for making en effort and adding noise to what is usually a dead stand (in my experience).
The second half I didn’t notice them so much but more because the Holte was much louder and we were more on the front foot so I was focused on the play in the attacking half.
The comments about acoustics are correct at Villa Park as the open corners mean sound escapes easily. A few times I’ve been in the Holte and thought the atmosphere was good only to be told by my nephew that he couldn’t hear a thing in the North Stand. An obvious point is that the upper Holte is much further from the pitch than the upper tie r of the Shed at Chelsea for example - chosen for comparison because they have very similar capacity to us.
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The atmosphere was decent but I have a major gripe. That song that is taking off really gets on my nerves, it’s inane drivel, I am of course referring to The “Small Heat get battered” one. Good for getting the crowd up but why make them lot in any way relevant to what we’re doing?
Yeah I agree. We could at least wait and belt it out if they go down.
The thing is there was a moment against Wolves (I think) when it really took off during an injury break, even the Trinity got involved and Douggie was clapping along too. It's organic moments like that that really take a song to the next level. I wish it wasn't about Blues, but it just works really well.
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The atmosphere was decent but I have a major gripe. That song that is taking off really gets on my nerves, it’s inane drivel, I am of course referring to The “Small Heat get battered” one. Good for getting the crowd up but why make them lot in any way relevant to what we’re doing?
I dislike it intensely. It's the way it tails off into a minor chord and this makes it sound dreary and without any enthusiasm. Maybe if it was bigging up the Villa I'd have more time for it but we're top 4, cruising in Europe and still singing about the Blues down the road .
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'Villa keep winning everywhere we go, 1,2,3,4, '
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'Villa keep winning everywhere we go, 1,2,3,4, '
Something that simple would make it an ideal chant.
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Singing about 'them' really bothers me. Our best season in forever, (my lifetime at least and I'm 32), and half of the things we're singing are about a team we haven't even played for half a decade. We've surely got enough to add a bit of diversity to the songbook, I don't know what, I do know any song contrived on a forum or twitter/facebook never takes off though!!
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It doesn't bother me at all, it's just a laugh and it makes noise.
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New songs used to be tried out in some of the local pubs or at away games, now the youngsters most minded to sing them haven't got much chance of going to either. Is football heading for a demographic crisis?
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New songs used to be tried out in some of the local pubs or at away games, now the youngsters most minded to sing them haven't got much chance of going to either. Is football heading for a demographic crisis?
I’d suggest it’s already in one.
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New songs used to be tried out in some of the local pubs or at away games, now the youngsters most minded to sing them haven't got much chance of going to either. Is football heading for a demographic crisis?
I’d suggest it’s already in one.
At Lille last week it felt like they had a much larger proportion of their fans in the 15-30 bracket. One of my mates pointed out there’s no way 50 year old blokes can bounce up and down all game like some of the ultras we’ve seen this season do.
Friends who got me tickets said they would expect to be able to get tickets for 25 euros for most games.
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'Villa keep winning everywhere we go, 1,2,3,4, '
Something that simple would make it an ideal chant.
Or
We’ve got three badges, you’ll never sing that
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I thought the atmosphere v Man Utd was rather subdued and disappointing.
It wasn't the most racucous or rocking and possibly contributed t what was a low key affair.
There were no massive banners or flags.
A complete contrast to the Bayern match.
Also will there be fireworks again for the Bologna game?
It was quite a spectacle!
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I thought the atmosphere v Man Utd was rather subdued and disappointing.
It wasn't the most racucous or rocking and possibly contributed t what was a low key affair.
There were no massive banners or flags.
A complete contrast to the Bayern match.
Also will there be fireworks again for the Bologna game?
It was quite a spectacle!
Yep the atmosphere was pants vs manure. Nothing like the munich game
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It was very much an After the Lord Mayors show type of occasion.
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So on the momentous Bayern Victory and atmosphere.
You know the glorious banner with all the players like a floating shrine . How was that banner even erected (please no jokes as that's the right word)
That with the Champions League theme song made me feel incredibly proud! It almost seemed spiritual! The players' faces appeared to us it was a fantastic vision
Though I believe it was fantastic to see the squad players I don't believe Philogene was in it.
I think it would be difficult to explain how much that image impacted me because it was like a religious experience, however I can't find this banner graphic but it was like an awakening on the Tele and it's the closest I felt to any similarities from football to actual religion. Though it's clearly not the same to me and is only a sport compared to Christianity or any faith.
I hope explained that as well as I could and I wasn't even there but there was a haunting quality.
I think if there was one of the 82 squad or just Gary Shaw I would have completely looked to heavens and God even if I'm not familiar with 82 that would have been too much too handle and imagine a lot here and at the ground would have been in tears and on knees to how profound such a striking image would be.
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*Insert South Park meme*
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I loved the setup at the start of the game. It looked incredible
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Have to say the atmosphere pre match for Champions League has been brilliant and all the build up.
The Scarves given out to all was great and their was a touch is Spanish with the scarve waving that was delightful !
At the end of the match the other day to celebrate qualifying fireworks went off !
that was a great touch.
The PSG will be spectacular both home and away.
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Pretty poor show that it got to the ninth post on this thread before anyone mentioned Russ Abbot.