Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Nii Lamptey on March 16, 2026, 07:36:57 PM
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Just voicing my opinion as I feel I'm really starting to fall out of love with football, top flight football at least, and just wondering if I'm the only one in this camp?
It's a feeling that has been slowly creeping up on me over the last 18 months or so, and I think I'm close to calling it a day, both home and away - I turned 50 at the end of last year, and I'm starting to think there are better things I could be doing with my time. I go to home and away games by myself, but will occasionally meet up with mates pre-match at the pub, or chat with season ticket holders sat near me.
Odds stacked against us
We probably have the best manager we've had in my Villa supporting lifetime (*I didn't properly follow Villa until the inception of the Premier League), but to me, I feel we've never been further from making that step up into the 'serial contenders' bracket. Hamstrung by spending constraints, it feels very much like one step forward, two steps back - Robbing Peter to pay Paul. As an example, no way will Rogers be here next season if we don't get Champions League football, and this is looking increasingly likely due to how spending constraints have hamstrung us this past season or so.
Watching live football - Is it all that?
To me, the highlight of going to watch Villa 'live' is the thrill ride of getting caught up in the atmosphere- The fast paced action, the singing, cheering, celebration, etc. These past few years, barring the odd highlight such as the Bayern or PSG games, has deteriorated massively, and it's not just Villa, I'd tag most clubs in the league with the same problem. It's flat.
I think it's a two-sided issue - This new 'play from the back' system that most clubs have employed in the past few seasons doesn't exactly get bums off seats. It's akin to a team seeing out injury time with a 1-0 lead, but for the full 90 mins.
On the other side, there is the clamour to fleece fans for every penny they can. Having a season ticket in the Upper Trinity, I see it more evidently than most - 'Customers' that rock up with their half n half scarves, taking selfies throughout the match, not singing along when songs start breaking out (*as most of the time they don't even know the players' names, let alone the songs!). Lifelong fans who I've sat by for years, have slowly drifted away and been replaced with day trippers (*or away fans). I'm not saying you don't get devoted fans in there, of course you do, but our recent limelight has started to attract people who have blatantly have no interest in following Villa.
Then there is the never-ending rising cost involved following Villa, along with ridiculous kick-off times that derail any form of family life. Saturday 3pms, you knew you had the mornings and evenings to do family/dad things - Russian roulette with the football calendar these days.
And the cherry on top - VAR.
Some might label me not a proper fan, and that's fair enough, but to me, it's starting to feel like more of a chore, than something I look forward to as the weekend gets closer.
I'll always love and follow the Villa, but I think I'll be dusting off the armchair before much longer. 😔
UTV
-Nii
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Post of the decade. Show this to senior management and they'd be glad another low-spender is going.
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I’m the same age (50), this post sums up my feelings too. I’m already in the armchair, have turned down free tickets to go to games as I just don’t enjoy it like I used to.
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I feel the same, and to top off this corrupted sack of shite is a world cup in America. Vile.
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Some might label me not a proper fan...
Not a chance, Nii. Your post screams proper fan.
Cherry on the cake today is Chelsea being fined £10.75m for basically cheating. We know that if Villa (or Forest, Newcastle, Everton, etc) decide to go that route and then fess up the penalty would be significantly more harsh, but that's probably for another thread.
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I stopped going some years ago. I flatly refuse to pay the piss take prices on principle. Club don't care as i'll have been replaced, and once you haven't been for a while you don't really miss it. There was a time when i'd have hated missing a LC 2nd round 2nd leg against someone like Rochdale having already won the 1st leg 3-0, now I'm not bothered I missed Bayern, PSG etc. I still love the Villa which is why I spend so much time on here, but the love changes.
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Some might label me not a proper fan...
Not a chance, Nii. Your post screams proper fan.
Cherry on the cake today is Chelsea being fined £10.75m for basically cheating. We know that if Villa (or Forest, Newcastle, Everton, etc) decide to go that route and then fess up the penalty would be significantly more harsh, but that's probably for another thread.
Thanks Chris. This is what actually sparked my post.... on top of being beaten by a team who can still spend the equivalent of a developing country's GDP, despite being literally billions in debt?!
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I am sort of at the same point but with football itself. The ever increasingly ridiculous financial restrictions, the obvious bias towards the favoured few, the contant changing of the laws, the interpretation of VAR in England, the media, the terrible refereeing, the Manchester City 115/130 charges. And then there's FIFA - celebrating an obviously warmongering orange octogenarian child as a peaceful man, leaving the World Cup in America, the financial scandals, the ever expanding tournaments. The list just goes on.
I carry on going to Villa Park to see friends - I used to think I was in love with football but it really is just a love of Villa and the club’s history. How long that will last I have no idea but it is 50+ years so far.
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Excellent post
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Yeah but what would you do instead ? It's too late, you'll always need your Villa fix.
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Spot on.
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Hmm.
Season 2025/26. The season where we were so comfortable in third at the midway point that there was chatter online about the Villa park atmosphere suffering from the lack of jeopardy to our games yet by March we were less comfortable but still 4th and the whole chatter seems convinced the entire club is about to collapse.
Make it make sense.
p.s I hate the rules too but we are still a pretty top team right now and I have loved the past 4 years.
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I love the Villa but hate modern football. The eight hour round trip for each home game is becoming more difficult to justify. However I would love to see Villa win just one more cup before I say I'm done. I'm 63 so I do wonder how old I will be before I can retire...
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I don’t know. I get the sentiment of the thread. I’m
52 now and I understand the corruption of football via the money now involved, no point in repeating everything that’s already been said.
And yes its a rip off as well, I pay for me and my sons lower holte season tickets as well as the euro games on my credit card and by the time its paid off, it’ll be time to go again, unless they price me out.
I understand I’m being ripped off and I understand the monetisation of football is creating a seemingly impossible cartel to break into….and even if Villa did, then what.
But despite all of that, recent years have been some of my most enjoyable ever in over 40 years of going down. I loved when Dean became our manager and the 10 game run to the play off final was exhilarating. I loved regularly taking apart the so called better teams under Emery and some of the European nights have been incredible. Maybe its because I’ve shared those moments with firstly both my kids as they’ve grown up, now just my son as my daughter has moved away to uni and stopped going. Maybe if and when my lad wants to go with his mates rather than his dad, or in a couple of years he decides to move away to uni, I may feel differently, I can’t imagine going without him.
I think age and personal circumstances play a part and if you really have had enough, maybe its time for you, it’ll come to us all at some point.
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Thats a really good post.
I do think football has lost something in the last 5-10 years or so. I've not been much this season - we moved house and its a bit of a doer-upper so finanically and timewise it has been challanging. To be fair the people I normally go with havent seemed any more keen to go more.
Some is due to the cost. A little bit is we havent really played that well this season - even on our winning run. We have often looked professional and organised but nothing like 2 seasons ago.
I have started to resent the whole idea of trying to become an elite club (whilst at the same time desperate we get there). I hate the consitent fear of Villa not over-achieving and having to lose even more players than we normally do in the summer. Or worse Unai leaving.
I have had some amazing times watching villa over the past few years. But I hate selling players you become attached to - or worse not selling them when you should and not getting the PSR advantage.
I hate the awful, awful punditary that cames with every game, and all the click bate bollocks. I hate the fact we pretend the rules are even remotely suited to having VAR applied to them. And no-one standing up to say tha a rule from 140 years ago was never meant to be analysied to within a millameter.
The most I enjoyed a game this seaon was on boxing day - staying with the inlaws - and I last minute decided to go and watch Braintree v Southend. I really enjoyed it - but even than cost £22 - the kids had no interest in coming - plus I couldnt get a cup of tea at half time.
I know that a player today is better than 30 years ago - but I dont think a football match is. The thought of watching a game on TV that doesnt involve Villa is completely alien.
I think football in this country is at risk of killing itself. Or, Im getting old.
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Wonderful post
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I’m 62 this year and share the same sentiments as others on this thread. It’s very sad.
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I'm 70 and sadly have to agree with the post too. At least I can say that we've won the FA Cup in my lifetime!
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I can't. I'm 55 now and that is the only one I've never experienced. Sticking it on my revised bucket list.
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I wish I could remember it though!!
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I can't. I'm 55 now and that is the only one I've never experienced. Sticking it on my revised bucket list.
Please don't! 😉
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I don’t know. I get the sentiment of the thread. I’m
52 now and I understand the corruption of football via the money now involved, no point in repeating everything that’s already been said.
And yes its a rip off as well, I pay for me and my sons lower holte season tickets as well as the euro games on my credit card and by the time its paid off, it’ll be time to go again, unless they price me out.
I understand I’m being ripped off and I understand the monetisation of football is creating a seemingly impossible cartel to break into….and even if Villa did, then what.
But despite all of that, recent years have been some of my most enjoyable ever in over 40 years of going down. I loved when Dean became our manager and the 10 game run to the play off final was exhilarating. I loved regularly taking apart the so called better teams under Emery and some of the European nights have been incredible. Maybe its because I’ve shared those moments with firstly both my kids as they’ve grown up, now just my son as my daughter has moved away to uni and stopped going. Maybe if and when my lad wants to go with his mates rather than his dad, or in a couple of years he decides to move away to uni, I may feel differently, I can’t imagine going without him.
I think age and personal circumstances play a part and if you really have had enough, maybe its time for you, it’ll come to us all at some point.
Same here Andy, these topics always appear when our fortunes on the field tail off. It’s always been the same. We’re not a London club, we’re not a Manchester Utd, we’re not a media club, no one likes Birmingham and a host of other excuses/unfairness/and whatever. Since the PL and before the PL it has been the way. It will remain that way until we disrupt the “favoured”. We’re fairly close at the moment and need to keep our nerve.
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I agree, Brend. Keep our heads, we’re nearly there and once we get over that barrier we’ll be just as hard to displace.
We’ll be fine :)
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I've just turned 37 and I've been disillusioned with football for a long while; probably 20 years.
The top-level game is as close to being rigged as it's possible to get without it being so transparent as to destroy the illusion of competition.
I am possibly more embittered than most because my formative years as a supporter were kind of from Yorke leaving up to MON being appointed, and I went to a school (2000-2007) that was about 80% Man Utd 'supporters'. If anybody dare remember or look up our record against those fucking scumbags in those years, it is the ultimate proof that god and natural justice do not exist. The amount of verbal bullshit and dirty plastic fingers mockingly pointing in my face during that time, from people who were born and lived within about three miles of VP, makes me wish in hindsight that I was a Percy-type (no disrespect, Perce) and had chinned every last one of them.
I went to 5-10 games a season in the Championship but I haven't been to a game since we were promoted. Some of that is ticket prices and difficulty getting tickets for me, my Dad and brother together. But part of it, undoubtedly, is apathy.
I'll always love Villa and they'll forever hold the power to make or destroy my happiness for an entire week, but the game itself is broken.
I don't think there is any conspiracy involved, it's just demographics and economics, but what we have now is a product, not a sport.
Maybe it was always the case and it has simply come into sharper focus over the last two or three decades. I don't know.
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Thos OP has nailed it.
I'm a former Holte End season ticket holder exiled for many years now. Whenever i'm back in Blighty during the season I always go as I have family and friends with season tickets and they always sort me out.
But what staggers me when I go is always how boring and flat the atmospheres are nowadays, even with this Emery team. The whole experience feels steralised, from dull uninspiring football to a sport commercialised to death at the expence of the match going punter.
Thank God I saw us in the 80/81 title era and throughout the 90's when it felt like an even playing field, I can't see anyway i'd be forking out for a season ticket nowadays.
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Yep, I'm slowly coming to the same conclusions so an excellent post and it's sad to see so many feel the same.
I think VAR will eventually do it for me, it'll be one decision too far, although the dour style of football most teams play (most certainly including us) also just makes me bored watching.
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Maybe we just need to cheat for a few years, worked for Chelsea and Man city.
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Great thread Nils and reflects my sentiment.
I am getting fed up with the dishonesty of the officials and how there is now more left to their interpretation enabling them to have the hand in the scales, the reason why Arse will win the league is because they are the most cynical and set piece savvy team.
I do not trust the FA/Premier League UEFA FIFA.The Man Citeh situation Trump Peace prize shows that the game is corrupt at its core and we are watching this play out in games.
The kick off times , the horrible Sky Sports presentation of the game.
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I only watch Villa on the tele, promise myself I will go to sleep and watch the replay in the morning, but, I usually wake up just before kick off and stagger out of bed to watch it live. I am transfixed on the witton end and spot where i used to stand in all weathers, frozen feet and hands, the days of Dixon and Peter Mac. Everyone stood and thats where I think the atmosphere has gone, the crowwd used to have movement, swaying to the movement of the ball. It has been ruined by those with vested interest in maintaining the status qou, Man City a tin pot club bought by another nation and allowed to spend a fortune, now untouchable it seems.
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I'm another thinking of knocking it on the head.
45+ years as a home season ticket/regular, really don't think I'll be making it to 50.
The memories now are of bad VAR decisions, favouritism of the 'big 6',same old same old & the greed of all clubs
Don't even get ST card now or a ticket stub to remind you of any good times.
It was A way of life . It has now become a chore
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I don’t think it’d take much more than Emery ending up at somewhere like Man Utd next season for me to lose enough enthusiasm that I’d probably be less inclined to watch so many games. We’ve qualified for Europe 3 (maybe 4) times in a row and not much has really changed. In past years, with this coach, we’d be genuinely title contenders and winning cups, of that I’ve no doubt. But we won’t be able to do that and that’s the killer.
The fact we have to pay so much money to watch this makes it an even bigger piss take.
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OK I was flippant last night but I stick to my guns.
The last three years have demonstrated, clearly, that the right manager can take a club far. There was an established top six and we have smashed right through it. Even before Emery, Smith gave us the 7-2 game and wins at Arsenal and Old Trafford. The next step is the hardest, but it always was. Newcastle and ourselves came close in the 90s to winning it and just fell short. If we hadn't the injuries that would probably be us this year coming 2nd or 3rd.
I get it that the Ci££y and Chavski stuff stinks to high heaven while Manure and Liverpool have always had the advantage of cashing in on the fact their success came with television giving them a big casual following. Spurs and the others were lucky in that they were in the right place to cash in on being good in the early 2010s when social media burst on the scene.
Which brings me to us. The clubs above played smart but until NSWE have we ever played smart? The ghosts of the past still lurk. We didn't kick on in the 90s and inexplicably Randy Lerner just gave up at precisely the worst time. When we needed eyeballs on us circa 2010-2016 we served up McLeish, Lambert, Remi Garde and the rest. Playing devil's advocate, that's more our fault than it is anybody else's. Again, it's interesting how similar Newcastle are to us- they had a similar 2010s to us too.
To bring it back, I hate the FFP/PSR/SCR shite and the 'big six' shite. I don't gave Sky a penny of my money. I hated the price increases and the Heck stuff as is well documented. But nothing is forever and whatever shape the game is in by 2036 the Unai Emery years have given us back some hope that our great club can compete and I hope there is 50,000 inside Villa Park to roar the team on.
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Take the social side away and I wouldn't go. I like a drink in Town with mates before and after a game, but Sunday just isn't the same. Midweek, the public transport is appalling so I end up driving and I know the club neither wants me nor values my support whatever game I attend.
There's nowhere to congregate pre or post match, the Warehouse things sounds horrific, plastic glasses and godawful music, the Barton's and the Heart the latest to go and the most recent development in the ground, a singing section, has pushed me further to the day I jack the lot in.
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I can understand the sentiment but going to the Villa is too ingrained to consider it at the moment. I’m fortunate I suppose in that travel in straightforward for me, I go with my middle son and the other two come when circumstances allow and I also meet my brother, nephews and assorted mates for a pint before and after. I’m in the senior season ticket bracket now but as long as body and mind hold up I reckon I’ll stick with it.
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I'm done, I'm just not enjoying going anymore.
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Chelsea getting away with cheating their way to trophies (as per yesterday's judgement) certainly does not help. Everything they "won" in the period they were cheating should be struck off the list. Alas the game has zero integrity or credibility when it comes to that kind of thing.
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I just couldn't. I was fairly late to fall in love with the game, but 4 generations of my family being supporters, living in Great Barr, relative with blood ties to someone very prestigious in the clubs history, all of it keeps me going and supporting and I don't think that will ever change.
As others have also said, the game is at times almost secondary to social aspect of attending, or even just the discourse that follows a game in general. I'd really struggle giving that up for many reasons.
I do get it, the deck feels stacked against us and hyperbole or not, it does feel like we're witnessing a real sliding doors moment for the club. Regardless, football gives me too much for me to give it up, good and bad.
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The problem I have is that the game has always been about money. So it's not just that but the fact that other clubs now aren't allowed to have money even if they have it.
That the clubs with it still exploit the system unfairly (Chelsea) have charges to suggest they did (ManC), have huge amounts of debt (ManU) means the new rules just don't stand up to scrutiny.
But you only have to look at what our neighbours are doing, to see that money still counts for something.
We're richer than most, yet we are still underdogs.
Even kids football is about the richest clubs, and it's been like that for as long as I can remember.
But I get a lot of satisfaction in just watching a hard fought game that could go either way. We can compete again and that makes a difference. When were a bit shit (as we are at the moment) we feel more despondent, but we'll come good again.
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Fantastic post Nil.
Before seeing your post I posted this on the FFP thread earlier today:
'In the last twenty years Man City have won the EPL 7 times (115 cases outstanding), Chelsea 5 times (proven cheats), Man Utd 5 times (nearly a billion in debt), Liverpool 2 times (well run club), Leicester once (5000/1).
With the odds stacked heavily in the favour of the so called 'big 6', Arsenal and Tottenham should be embarrased they couldn't win a league title in twenty years when there are effectively 6 teams in the league.
What a 'joke' the Premier League is.'Crime never pays'. It does in the Premier League.
Enough to make me sick.'
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I’ll argue it’s not Manure, Liverpool, Arsenal that have fcuked it for us. It’s the Johnny come lately Chelsea and Man Citeh that have. Got in before the drawbridge was raised.
I last went to Villa regularly when lambert came in and stopped due to kids etc. I’ve been back to a few games since but don’t miss it at all.
There’s so many things making my blood boil that have turned it into a perfect storm for the also rans like us.
1. The blatant fixing of the rules to make it impossible for us to compete.
2. The blatant cheating going on elsewhere and not properly punished.
3. The constant selling of our best players which incidentally has been going on a long time before PSR.
4. The cack handed double whammy that if you’re successful enough to qualify for Europe you’re punished for it.
5. That the soul of the club is being stretched by the constant fleecing of fans who were around when the trinity road stand was closed during low attendances in the championship.
6. Our own fucking ineptitude in the transfer market in the last few windows which has exacerbated our own position. Onana, Malen, Elliott, Ramsey, guessand, Sancho, Bailey. To name a few. Fancy spunking all that money whenhaving limited funds then letting one of our brightest academy talents go.
7. The constant constant media wankfest over those clubs. Everyone in the media is desperate for spurs to stay up. They don’t catch the public mood music at all. The rest of us are desperate for it to happen. Then manure. Twatterface ‘the premier league is a poorer place without a strong and successful man united.’ No it fcuking isn’t it’s comically funny. Everywhere I go these days even the bbc it’s constant. Not even veiled anymore. Then having biased pundits commentating on their own teams. Then our own local media having a massive agenda against us for as long as I can remember.
8. The atrocious state of refereeing. And no consequences for it. I’m one of the few that agrees with VAR as it is one of the few things that can actually potentially keep the big six from getting unfair decisions. But its execution is just beyond amateurish. They literally don’t know what they’re doing from one match to another.
So yeh all in all it sucks and I don’t like it a quarter as much as I used to. Enjoy the relative pain free experience of watching Doncaster matches instead! Football is about entertainment and pulling people out of their mundane lives with a fix every weekend. It’s now a chore for a lot.
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They don't even attempt to hide the corruption anymore. Referee from Manchester. VAR from Manchester. They might not be Man Ure fans, but they sure as hell will know plenty. It's gone beyond a joke. I was convinced on Sunday that they would find a reason to disallow our goal.
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Im almost done. I am not and never was a regular attendee of football due to a myriad of reasons. Last time I was a regular was in the DiMatteo/Bruce years. It has all become a circus to me to be honest.
The glass ceiling, the leaking of our talent and the blatant corruption as to not damage 'the brand'. Coupled with media coverage that is biased against anyone not in the scab 6. Deep down, it is the internal strife that pisses me off the most in that we get so far to doing something then we bottle it. FA cup 2000, 2015, last year in the semi. It is as if the club gets so high, stops, then shits the bed, gets a nose bleed, whatever.
Meanwhile, teams who consider the League Cup beneath them hoover them up year after year.
Going to VP now is beyond my means. It feels like how massive arena concerts are. An event within an event to fleece fans.
Then there is the case of Sheffield Weds who have been royally cooked whilst the Oil barons and Russian backed johhny come lately lot get away with a slap on the wrist or delayed actions.
It has all become boring beyond belief. Much like any sport Sky gets their hands on (see F1).
It isn't about entitlement or a slide in form. It is that we never really look like competing and there are active forces preventing us from doing so. Get into Europe, get slapped with restrictions, dont get into Europe, lose our top players. How can anyone get to the top under this way of working and sustain it long term? The anomaly of Blackburn and Leicester winning the league means that in the 30 odd year existence of the Premier League, Man U, Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool (albeit took the latter a long time) have dominated either by winning the league or by getting the CL spots. As pointed out, Liverpool are an amazingly ran club (no beef with Liverpool at all) but Man City and Chelsea basically cheated their way to the top and stopped anyone else cracking on.
It also annoys me deeply it is 30 years since we won any silverware at all. A club of our size, that is not good enough and I honestly have given up any hope of us ever changing that.
We got to the edge of greatness but feel something has gone very wrong at the club and that this is as good as it will get for this period of our history. But I am feeling, even when we were doing well, something felt off and that I just have never felt so distant from Villa as I do right now.
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We've not won enough recently but we'll all feel better when we do
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Yep. I've only just come to this thread having been mulling over by myself for a day or two the exact same sentiments as I have now read in the thread, my own feelings best encapsulated by Nils, Exeter and Kippax.
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I’ve found this thread a depressing read. I had no idea so many posters are feeling so disillusioned with the game. Maybe the ever changing nature of the game leads to a yearning for how it was? Is this an age thing? Villa park attendances are consistent higher than I’ve ever known them, is it mainly younger fans attending? I fully understand that the exorbitant prices are not affordable for those with families.
I know once you stop going it’s hard to reconnect. I stopped in the late 1980’s and rare visits in that period always felt weird.
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I had my last ST in 09-10 after having one for over 20 years. It was getting smelly then but nowadays it absolutely stinks. My one son loves going but he's fairly new to it, my other son goes but isn't quite as arsed. We get free tickets and they usually have them, I consider it a bit of a chore if I go, especially if it's on TV. If that makes me an armchair fan so be it.
I really thought I'd struggle when we ditched the ST but after the first season I wasn't arsed, I sometimes wonder whether to stop watching altogether for many of the reasons mentioned by the OP about how corrupt it all is these days. In the 90s it used to be the highlight of my week much of the time, and the away days were a laugh, so quite a fall off for me. I too am 50.
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I had my last ST in 09-10 after having one for over 20 years. It was getting smelly then but nowadays it absolutely stinks. My one son loves going but he's fairly new to it, my other son goes but isn't quite as arsed. We get free tickets and they usually have them, I consider it a bit of a chore if I go, especially if it's on TV. If that makes me an armchair fan so be it.
I really thought I'd struggle when we ditched the ST but after the first season I wasn't arsed, I sometimes wonder whether to stop watching altogether for many of the reasons mentioned by the OP about how corrupt it all is these days. In the 90s it used to be the highlight of my week much of the time, and the away days were a laugh, so quite a fall off for me. I too am 50.
I bet the result can still make or break your weekend though?
I should have said once I got back into it around 20 years ago I’ve had a season ticket ever since. It helps that I go with family, if they stop I’m sure I will too. I often think I’m fed up of the long walk to the ground, having to stand up all game in the Holte, crap beer at a ridiculous price. Can’t let go yet though! I’m in my 70’s and when I go to Chasetown fc I see plenty of guys my age enjoying the match with a beer….. that might well be me one day.
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I've got to say I agree with Nii..
Over priced tickets
No atmosphere at most games
No chance of getting an away ticket...best times for me years ago
Not enough youngsters at games
Style of play can be mind numbingly dull and borderline tedious at times
Kick off times to suit tv audience
Clubs knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing
Decades of corruption and shithousery by FIFA/UEFA/PREMIER LEAGUE
..and the less said about VAR the better.
The Chelsea fiasco this week just shows how the corrupt football machine works sadly
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I had my last ST in 09-10 after having one for over 20 years.
I bet the result can still make or break your weekend though
Make or break might be a stretch but it does effect my mood. Obviously that means that I'm still bothered about the Villa and why I do still watch it and sometimes go. It's starting to feel like a curse, not really because of the Villa but because of how up against it we are with the corruption. I sometimes wish that I wasn't arsed. I agree with Kippax, most of the annoyance is directed towards Man City and Chelsea. Why should those wankers be allowed to build themselves up by spending what they please and us not? It makes a mockery of it all really.
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Whether by design or not VAR, has become a tool used to support the SKY 6 get even more benefits than before. I detest it.
The Chelsea thing I think has finally pushed me over the edge. The level of benefit they’ve received as part of their cheating is so significant and yet they’ve just been allowed to jog on, nothing to see here, whereas non-SKY 6 clubs get slapped down instantly for any sort of upty behaviour. The premier league or not even trying to hide it. A points deduction would almost certainly have stopped Chelsea qualifying for the champions league this season but there’s no way that can be allowed to happen. City will be next in being waved through. There’s not even a semblance of meritocracy or hiding the agenda, so I’m really not sure where hope can spring from.
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I’ve a good mind to post Michael Sheen quoting Dylan Thomas and “Rage against the Dying of the Light” but if it’s genuinely how people feel then I suppose I have to respect that.
I’m 57 and have never felt more alive about my club than I do now. Yes I share all those frustrations and some others about how “modern football” is but if you can’t get excited about what we’ve experienced these last few years which is pretty much better than anything we’ve seen for the last 40 odd years then I’m struggling I’m afraid.
Anyway each to their own and onwards to Thursday. UTV!
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Wow the initial post on this thread could have been written by me. I’ve been attending Villa Park for 60 years. When I started watching the game, grounds were shit by today’s standards, the pitches were mud pies by January, food and drink was something you had away from the ground, potential violence was always a possibility.
I’d have it all back in a heartbeat, well, maybe not the violence,
Yes there was always that gap between those clubs with money, and those with less, but it wasn’t nearly so great. The football could be agricultural at times, but boy it was exciting. Kick off times were pretty dependable, 3 o’clock on a Saturday, was the norm. The game was simply more romantic, and it,and the players, were a lot closer to the fans. Oh, and no f***ng VAR, and a 5 minute wait to see if someone’s big toe was offside. It was all so much more fun then. I used to go to matches, because I simply loved it. Now I go more out of ingrained habit, and to keep in touch with mates. The game I loved is on life support,with some of us seriously wondering whether to pull the plug. So sad.
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There is a lot of validity on this thread and there are a lot of roses tinted glasses. I remember a good chunk of the 80s having largely 11 or 12k in the ground, fighting outside it and really bad football. I also remember hearing players racially abused regularly.
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I’m feeling the same way as many, but I wonder if it’s just me getting old and moany in an ‘all new music is a load of rubbish’, out of touch sort of way.
My son still can’t get enough of going to football. He couldn’t give a toss about PSR/FFP, loves all the YouTube/content creator twats, judges players on their FC26 rating, is non plussed by VAR as it’s all he’s ever known, and gets just as upset when players in his fantasy team don’t score as when Villa lose. Football belongs to him and his generation now. Time for us old duffers to move along.
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
I personally think it would be a good idea to.
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You'll always get some that look down on those that have already walked away ftom attending, or are thinking about it. Which is a shame as it's often for valid reasons. I first went when I was 4 in 1974, done well over 1000 games but not a chance i'll pay the current prices. Everything has a value and even if we were winning everything in sight there's no way i'm paying £70+ to watch a league game v Leeds in the Holte. We all have different thresholds for when we feel the price of something is a piss take and the club went over that for me some years ago.
Most PL clubs don't care, someone that will pay those prices is there and that's all that matters. Not going becomes a habit though, and I don't miss it any more.
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
No bother.
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
They deserve to be. Especially the opening post.
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Reminded of the scene at the end of the Casino movie, De Niro's character reminiscing about the good old days in Vegas. All getting older
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I empathise with you completely NL and thank you for airing your views.
For me a relocation to Scotland made regular attendance impractical, but in truth I'd left the room already. Partly for some of the reasons listed in this thread but you can add the play acting, posturing and preening of players and coaches. I'm no rugby fan, I only watch the 6Nations, but each time I admire the respect given to the ref, the jumping straight back up when injured, the all round wholesome nature of it all.
My biggest gripe is how footballers feign injury at every turn, buying decisions from gullible refs, confronting officials nose to nose, you know the drill, but we barely criticise now because it's cemented as modus operandi. A flick in the face and they're down like a sack of potatoes, a slight trip and they're rolling over theatrically (Nakamba's), I won't list all the misdemeanours, you'll have your own pet hates I'm sure.
Then you've the coaches, performing like Christopher Biggins at the panto and treating the technical area boundary with utter disdain. They're like spoiled children, berating 4th officials, setting the tone for players to follow. Players and coaches are multi-millionaires, they couldn't give two hoots what we think of them in the main, only the likes of SJM give me much pleasure watching these days.
I bring my boys down to VP from Stonehaven, 800 mile round trip, 2-3 times a season and we enjoy our day out but I'd take some persuading getting a season ticket if I moved back down again. But....all of that said.....I know fine that I'll likely watch every game on TV that Villa are involved in from here to eternity, more out of compulsion/habit than enjoyment though.
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
No problem
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Football is escapism - a space where maybe your hopes and dreams could come true.
We all know they probably wont - but maybe - just maybe.
Now it just reflects the reality you're trying escape - you know you wont achieve what you dreamt of as a kid, and you know its because the system is stacked against you.
And you know youll have to spend a fortune for just taking part
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
no at all
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
Go for it Dave. Football is eating itself.
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
I think it would be good to get this stuff out there, I am sure there are many many more who feel the same way.
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I've not spoken about this on here, but my last game was the Man City League Cup final. In my mind that was about three years ago, but have just realised it's nearly six. Wow. Ex-season ticket holder, seven trips to Wembley, followed away here and in Europe. Woke up one day and called it.
Should add a caveat here that I'm the kind of wanker who finds big money disgusting. If everyone in the world was comfortable, crack on, but misery driven by inequality is rife, so fuck off. I'm not on social media, don't feed the media outside of independents and am very selective with my bank (which you can't win with unfortunately). The Premier League is absolutely geared up for wealth extraction in every possible way, and they have attached themselves to our game to fleece us. They are just as bad as those listed. Customers who won't walk away due to emotional attachment? Perfect.
Tried to overlook it for years. Love the Villa too much, but the only indirect money I've put in over the last six years is a few beers when the game's on in the pub. Am I missing out on the community and collective benefits of following Villa? 100%. Do I regret making the decision considering the above, and how deeply I feel on these matters? Not for a second.
I have a nephew now who loves Villa, but his dad isn't too big on football, so that might pull me back in for a bit. I'm not going to deny him that over my own personal principles, but other than that...it can eat itself for all I care.
Gutted the Super League didn't happen. Was hoping for an implosion and rebuild. Maybe next time.
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
No problem from me
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I can see it from both sides.
I really think how this season ends will define how I feel in the immediate future. Miss out on champions league, have to sell best players to comply with some arbitrary rules, accept our place back in 'the chasing pack' and hope for the occasional cup win (or even one before I die would be nice please Villa) or Europa spot, while other teams can seemingly do whatever they want. Maybe end up looking back fondly at the couple of seasons where we really looked like we were going to kick on.
Having said that, I still love it. I've gone with the same few lads since school, we're all going through our lives at the same stages so now we're taking our young son's with us, and love watching them get excited, wearing their (fucking expensive) villa stuff, and playing together before the games.
Massive sliding doors moment next few months.
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The OP has said pretty much everything I’m feeling these days - ironically I’m also Upper Trinity, and have really noticed a massive upturn in day trippers/away fans up there this season…I think that the main reason is the obscene pricing (£70 for Leeds?!) rules out many average Villa fans, but is bearable to a tourist or the only chance that an away fan has of seeing the game. As much as I hate to say it, it would be interesting to see what the club would do with pricing if the wheels really came off and we returned to mid table (or worse).
Special mention must also go to VAR, and it’s shameless and almost blatant cheating - some if the offsides given against us are an insult to our intelligence, topped off by the moving of limbs in the published picture in the Chelsea game (which could be knocked up by a 10 year old) to convince us that it was legit.
It’s such a shame that seemingly so many of us feel the same at a time when we have the best manager we’ve had in decades, yet the Brasso feels as far out of reach as it ever has, thanks to PSR. No wonder so many of us are calling time.
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I can see it from both sides.
I really think how this season ends will define how I feel in the immediate future. Miss out on champions league, have to sell best players to comply with some arbitrary rules, accept our place back in 'the chasing pack' and hope for the occasional cup win (or even one before I die would be nice please Villa) or Europa spot, while other teams can seemingly do whatever they want. Maybe end up looking back fondly at the couple of seasons where we really looked like we were going to kick on.
Having said that, I still love it. I've gone with the same few lads since school, we're all going through our lives at the same stages so now we're taking our young son's with us, and love watching them get excited, wearing their (fucking expensive) villa stuff, and playing together before the games.
Massive sliding doors moment next few months.
Your massively lucky - my biggest disapointment is I couldnt get either of my kids into sports. Its always been such a big part of my life - and most of my social life has recolved around it in one form or another. Dont get me wrong - there wonderful kids - but I would love nothing more than to sit next to them at the football or cricket
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I’ve followed the Villa since 1959, I never in my wildest dreams did I think we would win the European Cup, I think I’m in this till the lights go out. However the sense of detachment from the club has never felt greater, we are we part of the 90 + percent of clubs who are considered cannon fodder to the SKY 6, this won’t change until the boring football we watch, loses popularity with the public, it will happen.
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I'd guess we're not the only ones feeling this. When you look at other historically big clubs like Everton, Sunderland, Leeds (ahem) we're all just background filler now. Knowing pre-Sky history I can't even imagine what it must be like for fans of Derby, Wolves, Huddersfield, Bolton, WBA etc who are ghosts of what they were and very unlikely to be resurrected.
I'm kinda thankful that I moved away at the turn of the century. The decision whether or not to cling on to actually going to matches was made for me.
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I'd guess we're not the only ones feeling this. When you look at other historically big clubs like Everton, Sunderland, Leeds (ahem) we're all just background filler now. Knowing pre-Sky history I can't even imagine what it must be like for fans of Derby, Wolves, Huddersfield, Bolton, WBA etc who are ghosts of what they were and very unlikely to be resurrected.
I'm kinda thankful that I moved away at the turn of the century. The decision whether or not to cling on to actually going to matches was made for me.
I guess the answer is that we all live in hope. So the clubs you mentioned might never rise again but you never know. If you’d have told me during the Steve Bruce era that we would soon be competing in Europe and in the top 6 year on year I’d have laughed. Look at that lot over at Small Heath, hope on steroids.
You’ve only got to look at the attendances in the premier league, for all the things we don’t like about the modern game you can’t say it’s losing its popularity. In fact the opposite looks truer with teams, including us, expanding their capacities.
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
OK with me
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I can see it from both sides.
I really think how this season ends will define how I feel in the immediate future. Miss out on champions league, have to sell best players to comply with some arbitrary rules, accept our place back in 'the chasing pack' and hope for the occasional cup win (or even one before I die would be nice please Villa) or Europa spot, while other teams can seemingly do whatever they want. Maybe end up looking back fondly at the couple of seasons where we really looked like we were going to kick on.
Having said that, I still love it. I've gone with the same few lads since school, we're all going through our lives at the same stages so now we're taking our young son's with us, and love watching them get excited, wearing their (fucking expensive) villa stuff, and playing together before the games.
Massive sliding doors moment next few months.
Your massively lucky - my biggest disapointment is I couldnt get either of my kids into sports. Its always been such a big part of my life - and most of my social life has recolved around it in one form or another. Dont get me wrong - there wonderful kids - but I would love nothing more than to sit next to them at the football or cricket
Exactly the same with my kids mate, and a big part of why I'm drifting away. I think had they got into it it would have been a 'new' thing, passing on the baton, instead it's just something I disappear off to do by myself.
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I’ve started feeling this way myself. Think the realisation started at Old Trafford at the end of last season. It became obvious that this is not likely to bring me any happiness. The wins have stopped giving me the same sort of buzz and the defeats don’t affect me as much.
I’ve got a 13-year old son and whilst he enjoys going to the odd game, he won’t watch a match on TV and barely has a passing interest in who the players are. I could tell you all their middle names by that age.
VAR, FFP, SCR, the “big 6”, the price of tickets etc, have all had an effect, and I think the subject of this thread does say it all for me. The best I’ve ever known us, but as far away as we’ve ever been.
Still, will be there on Thursday and Sunday.
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I'll have a moan at the state of VAR or favouritism towards the big 6, or the ever growing reliance on the corporate shilling.
I'll listen to a friend who tells me I'm wasting my money and suggest I watch Halesowen every other week for a fraction of the cost.
But alongside the rebranding and the pricing and the WWF fireworks and tifo spectaculars, I still am fortunate enough to go.
I'll never lose the appetite or the appeal because its too ingrained.. Its too much of a routine or ritual that I cant walk away from.
From discussing potential Champions League blowout to wailing about Grant Holt leading the line , I cant let go.
I still get the buzz, just like attending gigs and I think that will only change when its time for me to fly.
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The always excellent Adam Clery explains why it's all becoming so shit on the pitch.
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Being 66 I am lucky enough to have witnessed more success for Villa than most but even when we were not winning trophies going to Villa Park was part of my life from 1974. The irony was I never particularly cared about the game, it was everything else around the match. The rabid passion for Aston Villa is now a warm glow but they are the only team I ever look out for. As for attending matches that is now such a faff I haven't bothered for a couple of years.
I watch in dismay as football has become just another money-making exercise amongst all the other non-essentials. So I celebrate us winning and coming on here to get a vicarious experience from people more engaged than I am but have pretty much had it with the modern game
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I love the Villa but hate modern football. The eight hour round trip for each home game is becoming more difficult to justify. However I would love to see Villa win just one more cup before I say I'm done. I'm 63 so I do wonder how old I will be before I can retire...
Your round trip is almost double what mine is but last season I decided would be my last as a season ticket holder. I've just turned 68, and have to say that not going to VP has been difficult in some respects (I feel guilty - yes, guilty! - for having stopped going to give my support in person), and easy in others. I don't miss the journeys; I don't miss the hanging-around between arrival, parking and entry to the ground; I don't miss the poor catering and other services provided by the club. Now, my main concern is to not have my wife witnessing my angst, bad language and foul tempers!
I remember in 1981 thinking that we were at the beginning of a golden era for Villa: after all, my formative years coincided with the best years in Villa's history, from third-division embarrassment to First Division Champions. Little did I know that those years were the outlier!!
Until now.
Now, our optimistic outlook collides with all the disillusionments so well articulated by Nii and others above. Chelsea's 'lucky outcome', RedManc's obscene debt, Spuds' blatant self-entitlement, Forest's gangster-owner: all these, and other factors, form a toxic sludge enriched with the arrogance of FIFA, the vagaries of VAR, the protectionism of the Premier League for the scab6 and the scourge of variable kick-off times. Let's leave the financial cock-cage out of this!
I'm still emotionally welded to Villa; can't shake it off (it's in the blood). But every week, the unconditional love is tainted, little by little, by the drip-feed of cynicism.
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VAR does tend to layer on refereeing incompetence but the FA Cup game v Newcastle showed what it's like without it. So many games were decided pre VAR on the back of offside goals and phantom penalties. Refereeing corruption going back to 70s and 80s, English teams in Europe and even likes of Ireland were completely robbed qualifying for tournaments.
It's the instant hit we all get when the ball hits the net that has been watered down with VAR but it's better than the alternative.
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The Chelsea settlement is just setting us up for the Citeh deal.
No points deduction, no transfer embargo and a cash settlement to a charity of your choice.
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The Chelsea settlement is just setting us up for the Citeh deal.
No points deduction, no transfer embargo and a cash settlement to a charity of your choice.
They have made a big deal of the fact that Chelsea only a fine because the new owners 'self-reported' the irregularities after buying the club. I don't agree with the decision to make it only a fine, but I also think that the 'self-reporting' line means it doesn't set any sort of precedent for Man City.
I think if City get any punishment that doesn't include points deductions/embargo, then the footballing world will explode.
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The Chelsea settlement is just setting us up for the Citeh deal.
No points deduction, no transfer embargo and a cash settlement to a charity of your choice.
They have made a big deal of the fact that Chelsea only a fine because the new owners 'self-reported' the irregularities after buying the club. I don't agree with the decision to make it only a fine, but I also think that the 'self-reporting' line means it doesn't set any sort of precedent for Man City.
I think if City get any punishment that doesn't include points deductions/embargo, then the footballing world will explode.
The one thing I'll say gives me a bit of - well, not hope, but something a bit like hope I guess - that City will get an actual punishment is that it suits the powers-that-be clubs to punish upstarts who try and find ways to work around the rules and inject external capital unconnected to revenues. Clubs like us, in other words - and if we're fucked over, why not Man City, in the end? And what would they do, start a Super League by themselves?
There are all sorts of counters to this point obvs, but it is one shred we've got yet.
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Money ruins everything in the end.
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The Chelsea settlement is just setting us up for the Citeh deal.
No points deduction, no transfer embargo and a cash settlement to a charity of your choice.
They have made a big deal of the fact that Chelsea only a fine because the new owners 'self-reported' the irregularities after buying the club. I don't agree with the decision to make it only a fine, but I also think that the 'self-reporting' line means it doesn't set any sort of precedent for Man City.
I think if City get any punishment that doesn't include points deductions/embargo, then the footballing world will explode.
However, as I understand it the report setting out the Chelsea wrongdoing and explaining the punishment does not even contemplate the possibility of a points deduction, with or without the mitigation of the 'self reporting'.
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The Chelsea settlement is just setting us up for the Citeh deal.
No points deduction, no transfer embargo and a cash settlement to a charity of your choice.
They have made a big deal of the fact that Chelsea only a fine because the new owners 'self-reported' the irregularities after buying the club. I don't agree with the decision to make it only a fine, but I also think that the 'self-reporting' line means it doesn't set any sort of precedent for Man City.
I think if City get any punishment that doesn't include points deductions/embargo, then the footballing world will explode.
However, as I understand it the report setting out the Chelsea wrongdoing and explaining the punishment does not even contemplate the possibility of a points deduction, with or without the mitigation of the 'self reporting'.
Listening to a number of experts chat about it on various podcasts (including the excellent 'The Football Boardroom' with Purslow giving his opinion), a points deduction was considered early on, as was a straight transfer ban and a heavy fine, but as the case developed and Chelsea co-operated further, the first option was written off entirely. The extremity of the further two options where also hugely reduced.
Every expert on the matter is however in total agreement that the PL has been far too lenient, not least when taking into account the severity of the punishments handed out to Forest and Everton for arguably lesser infringements. The PL makes little to no mention of how the payments in general could have effected the clubs general overall improved odds of winning what they did, or indeed how said players purchased after the fact influenced performance and club trajectory overall.
It's fucking criminal, literally.
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Money ruins everything in the end.
Is depressingly very accurate.
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The absolute greatest feeling and most joyous high possible (fully clothed) was celebrating a goal, VAR has now destroyed this. That alone is all the reason I need to hate modern football.
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I'm 57 and the same as you I go home and away I understand how you feel I really do but for me I still retain that youthful exuberance watching Villa things have changed for sure and not for he best especially VAR but I will still go as long my health let's me.
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Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?
They deserve to be. Especially the opening post.
agree entirely
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Certainly a thought provoking post and mirrors my own thoughts.
After nearly 40 years as a season ticket holder this will be my last season! I have kept my physical season tickets over the years as a nostalgic momentum of my support of AVFC but the last two years have been a monumental and a bl**dy hassle to obtain a physical card. Do I really want to go through all that again next season in my efforts to support AVFC when they aren’t actually bothered whether I renew or not?
I now go on my own via the train (packed like sardines, late or cancelled, minimal service on a Sunday) and go for the camaraderie of the people around me at the ground. No longer do I go with expectation, excitement and relishing the prospect of seeing the Villa, I just go now because that is what I have been doing all these years.
Someone posted an excellent post the other day saying something like ‘the football we play now is the polar opposite of what I want to watch, which is pace, width and intent’ and I think that is so true even with the best manager we have had in a very, very long time. That is not the all of it though as many have commented. I used to be a referee but I no longer have a clue what the rules are anymore, made up on the day; on that note the refereeing standard has sunk to an all time low! You no long celebrate goals as you know somebody else has to have a say via the corrupt and not fit for purpose system called VAR! I could go on, the big 6, the media, Sky, players wages, all the silly restrictions, when coming 5th in the PL is more important than winning the FA cup, the list is endless.
To be honest I don’t think I will miss it, my son will still go and I will occasionally pop down to see for myself how the club is continuing to lose its core values but I will always support AVFC, they are part of my soul!
Then we have this to look forward to for next season, more shitty rules which make it even worse to compete, but Villa agreed to it!
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For my twopennyworth i think that the ever increasing cost of going to games and clubs milking fans is not a Villa thing it is almost every normal fan you speak to.
My beef is always with the way that certain clubs are favoured in everything from in game decisions, VAR, Media coverage and certainly punishments.
Go all the way back to Cantona and the infamous Kung Fu kick - if that was players of the time Wise, Vinny Jones, Venus, Hartford - properly considered hard men of the game - they would of, quite rightly been banned for life.
Before any one says it was driven by a racist comment by a single fan, i say all think of the pioneers like Regis, Batson and Cunningham had to endure week after week and they never attacked a fan in the stands. When that twat attacked that fan he was adjacent to women and kids - total cnut
He played for any other club... well we know the answer.
No we come to the modern game and the biggest killer for me is not the endless rules any ambitious club have to endure it the fact that when the scum 6 break them they do so with almost carte blanche and get away with it, The Chelsea outcome this week is a joke and if we ever get to the point of City being sorted - it will be the same
All we want is an even playing field but there are too many vested interests for that to ever happen
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Thanks for sharing all your thoughts. I honestly thought there was going to be a bit of a backlash to my original post, but both equally pleased and a little saddened that a lot of us feel a similar way. It almost feels like a therapy session!
Maybe it is a generational thing? We were reared on something a little more raw, less sterile, and definitely less controlled by the media. For the latest generation of fans, I guess it's all they've known, so they're not as at odds with it all. The one shining light is that we DID get to see football in it's heyday.
UTV
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I have often said, to any poor bugger that will listen to me, about the negative bias against us in the mainstream media and sky etc.
Its not a wacky paranoid thing but clearly evident the more you look.
When we broke into the top 4 - the top 3 were shown
When we were 3rd - some quarters only showed the top 2
Pundits, when asked "Are Villa in a title race" some weeks ago when we were flying - almost smirkingly said no
Now they smugly talk of our issues and financial woes paving the way for us to sell the likes of Rogers et al in the summer
The whole game sucks shit
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They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.
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They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.
Not even now we're all at sea.
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They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.
Not even now we're all at sea.
Something fishy going on at Villa
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It's certainly sink or swim time.
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They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.
Bailey regularly gets a mention so that’s not true.
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They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.
Bailey regularly gets a mention so that’s not true.
So does Collymore.
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And when we play Bayern we're a German's Blight.
(Yes, I know it's Bight.)
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We're richer than the Faeroes but the rules mean we might as well have Rockall. Still, I reckon we'd finish Forth if Donyell Malin wasn't far away from this Fair Isle.
I'm ashamed of myself.
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The Chelsea settlement is just setting us up for the Citeh deal.
No points deduction, no transfer embargo and a cash settlement to a charity of your choice.
They have made a big deal of the fact that Chelsea only a fine because the new owners 'self-reported' the irregularities after buying the club. I don't agree with the decision to make it only a fine, but I also think that the 'self-reporting' line means it doesn't set any sort of precedent for Man City.
I think if City get any punishment that doesn't include points deductions/embargo, then the footballing world will explode.
However, as I understand it the report setting out the Chelsea wrongdoing and explaining the punishment does not even contemplate the possibility of a points deduction, with or without the mitigation of the 'self reporting'.
Listening to a number of experts chat about it on various podcasts (including the excellent 'The Football Boardroom' with Purslow giving his opinion), a points deduction was considered early on, as was a straight transfer ban and a heavy fine, but as the case developed and Chelsea co-operated further, the first option was written off entirely. The extremity of the further two options where also hugely reduced.
Every expert on the matter is however in total agreement that the PL has been far too lenient, not least when taking into account the severity of the punishments handed out to Forest and Everton for arguably lesser infringements. The PL makes little to no mention of how the payments in general could have effected the clubs general overall improved odds of winning what they did, or indeed how said players purchased after the fact influenced performance and club trajectory overall.
It's fucking criminal, literally.
And to top it off, Chelsea won’t pay any fine, it will be paid by the ring fenced money for Ukraine charity’s.
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It's the kickoff times that are spoiling it for me. So few Saturday afternoon games, the time I have ring fenced for 40-odd years for my Villa fix.
Now it's Sunday teatime, Monday night, Friday night - I miss more games now than I've ever done because I have other stuff I need to do at those times.
I never thought I'd say "there's more to life than football" but these days for me there is. I suspect I won't be renewing next year and that's genuinely the main reason. Live fans aren't important , at all.
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It's the kickoff times that are spoiling it for me. So few Saturday afternoon games, the time I have ring fenced for 40-odd years for my Villa fix.
Now it's Sunday teatime, Monday night, Friday night - I miss more games now than I've ever done because I have other stuff I need to do at those times.
I never thought I'd say "there's more to life than football" but these days for me there is. I suspect I won't be renewing next year and that's genuinely the main reason. Live fans aren't important , at all.
That’s largely why we gave up our season ticket at the end of the 98/99 season. Absolutely impossible to plan around fixtures that were increasingly moving away from Saturday 3pm. Then I moved up to Scotland and my parents to Wales, and that was that. Still get to a few games a season, but when the ticket prices are as they are it’s hard to justify going on a regular basis.
That becomes even more so when …
1. There’s no incentive for clubs to blood young players. I know it’s daft, but I want to be able to *believe* that it’s possible for me or my kids or whoever to play for the Villa if they’re good enough. But as it is, anyone who’s saleable gets flogged on. That and the whole Grealish thing makes me think that it’s just not going to happen ever.
2. I’m not a glory hunter, I don’t want or expect Villa to win stuff all the time. But I want to believe that we *can* win stuff, that we could win the league and assert a dominance like we do at the turn of the 20th century. The rules make that so it seems little more than an unobtainable pipe dream.
3. Not to do with Villa, but I disapprove of how cup competitions and in particular the FA Cup have been devalued. Again it’s that dream that in theory any club, even one who plays in the local league, can effectively be crowned champions of England. Obviously they can still win the FA Cup, but it’s kind of a second rate thing compared to the league now. I don’t understand why we can’t lobby UEFA to allow us to give a champions league place to the winner of the oldest, longest running football competition in the world.
I do understand, is because it’s not guaranteed or near enough to one of the sky 6. But it *should* be given near parity with the league, and I don’t approve of it not being.
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Problem is that for all this bluster, I love the Villa and struggle to separate myself from the club. But still, it doesn’t mean that I’m not totally pissed off about it.
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To drop the irony for a moment, the reason it's all fucked is the VAR checks for goals. You can't charge people upwards of £70 a week to deprive them of the one thing that makes it all worthwhile. It's like a drug dealer or a prozzie doubling their prices and giving you a glass of milk and a handshake and telling you it's better for their margin. I don't know why people still go, frankly. They're literally making it worse and charging more for the privilege. I'm not a massive fan of using market forces as an excuse to do anything. This ought to be the opposite of market forces, but the market keeps buying. They won't learn until we do.
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For my twopennyworth i think that the ever increasing cost of going to games and clubs milking fans is not a Villa thing it is almost every normal fan you speak to.
My beef is always with the way that certain clubs are favoured in everything from in game decisions, VAR, Media coverage and certainly punishments.
Go all the way back to Cantona and the infamous Kung Fu kick - if that was players of the time Wise, Vinny Jones, Venus, Hartford - properly considered hard men of the game - they would of, quite rightly been banned for life.
Before any one says it was driven by a racist comment by a single fan, i say all think of the pioneers like Regis, Batson and Cunningham had to endure week after week and they never attacked a fan in the stands. When that twat attacked that fan he was adjacent to women and kids - total cnut
He played for any other club... well we know the answer.
No we come to the modern game and the biggest killer for me is not the endless rules any ambitious club have to endure it the fact that when the scum 6 break them they do so with almost carte blanche and get away with it, The Chelsea outcome this week is a joke and if we ever get to the point of City being sorted - it will be the same
All we want is an even playing field but there are too many vested interests for that to ever happen
That was when it all started. Cantona ushered in a wave of philosophy-football that got the chattering classes interested. It was noticeable how that incident went from Eric is Guilty to Eric is Guilty with Extenuating Circumstances to Eric the Anti-Racist Crusader. As you said, anyone else would have got jail time.
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I thought it was theoretically Nick Hornby who got the "chattering classes" interested in football when Fever Pitch came out.
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I thought it was theoretically Nick Hornby who got the "chattering classes" interested in football when Fever Pitch came out.
Yeah, and Gazza blubbing to Nessun Dorma.
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If we could become a successful cup side, winning one every 3-4 years (inc the Conference/Europa), would you trade 5/6/7/8 on a regular basis for all the Champions League qualification bollocks and angst?.
We'd still get European football, with trips to interesting foreign places: and we'd probably have a better chance of winning the Europa League and Conference that the Chumps League.
Let's be honest, football at Villa has been deadly dull in recent years and going to games seems more of an obligation than a source of enjoyment.
Is it unreasonable to expect some excitement and entertainment for my £50/£60/£70/£80 ticket?
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We have an uncanny ability to dodge trophies. The club motto could be changed to “Close but no cigar”.
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It just seems like a 'perfect storm' at the moment brought on by:
1) Injuries to three of our best players.
2) Subsequent loss of form of other players.
3) Bad transfer dealings to address above problem.
4) Injustices of the elite (Man City*, Chelsea* etc)
5) Re-emergence of Man Utd (really pisses me off)
6) Ever escalating costs
Football aside, throw in the Trump factor and no wonder we are all feeling 'doom and gloom'.
But, but, but if we stuff Lille and the Hammers we will be on cloud nine again. When Tielemans returns we will all explode in a fit of ecstasy and the world will feel right again.
And always remember, you could have been born a Birmingham City supporter.
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If we could become a successful cup side, winning one every 3-4 years (inc the Conference/Europa), would you trade 5/6/7/8 on a regular basis for all the Champions League qualification bollocks and angst?.
We'd still get European football, with trips to interesting foreign places: and we'd probably have a better chance of winning the Europa League and Conference that the Chumps League.
Let's be honest, football at Villa has been deadly dull in recent years and going to games seems more of an obligation than a source of enjoyment.
Is it unreasonable to expect some excitement and entertainment for my £50/£60/£70/£80 ticket?
To re-phrase a business saying; trophies are vanity, Champions League is sanity.
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"Football at Villa has been deadly dull in recent years" is a bold take when we have probably had the best home form in our entire existence, and beaten Bayern Munich, Paris Saint Germain, Ajax and Celtic as well as Arsenal, Man City, Man U, Chelsea and Tottenham multiple times.
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"Football at Villa has been deadly dull in recent years" is a bold take when we have probably had the best home form in our entire existence, and beaten Bayern Munich, Paris Saint Germain, Ajax and Celtic as well as Arsenal, Man City, Man U, Chelsea and Tottenham multiple times.
There is still a section of our support who let’s be generous and say can’t be doing with the current way we play. They may not be wrong on occasion but the general trend of the way we play is modern, progressive and successful. More of that please.
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'Fuck's sake goal's fucking that way Villa' whenever anyone passes sideways.
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'Fuck's sake goal's fucking that way Villa' whenever anyone passes sideways.
Gerrit in the mixer
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Let's be honest, football at Villa has been deadly dull in recent years and going to games seems more of an obligation than a source of enjoyment.
Is it unreasonable to expect some excitement and entertainment for my £50/£60/£70/£80 ticket?
There has been plenty of excitement so you’re wide of the mark there. I think we’d all like every game to be like the first half of the Barca v Newcastle game last night. If it was that way for every game we’d more than likely be fighting relegation due to more injuries and burn out. Man City, even with their 2+ teams don’t play that way every game so it’s very unrealistic to expect us to. Maybe now that we’re getting towards the business end of the season we’ll see a bit more gung ho.
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We’re giving up our STs next year. I think apart from very recently the football’s been good over the last 3-4 years.
Not much to add to the other excellent posts above, but for us it’s a bit of costs and kick off times, but mainly that the dream is dead. You need to believe in football that you can build to something big, that better times are around the corner. The current financial rules just means that’s finished. This summer we’ll sell Rogers to the Big 5. Newcastle will sell Tonali to the Big 5.. Forest will sell Anderson to the Big 5. Palace will sell Wharton to the Big 5. Then we’ll all play another season against the Big 5 and see who’s the best at football.
Plus, I’m a match going fan over 50 that’s been a regular for 40 years so no-one gives a fuck what I think - it’s not about me.
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Re: selling of our best players to the "big 6".
Yorke, Bosnich, Barry, Milner, Delph, Young, Benteke, Grealish, you just know that Rogers will be next. Even losing out on the likes of Gallagher to Spurs.
This has all slowly chipped away at the enthusiasm we all had at one point.
When you look at the amounts being spent by the big 6,(without the cheating), it's hard to see how we will ever be able to compete.
We need some silverware to keep the dreams alive.
Newcastle, Spurs, Palace, West Ham have all won something recently.
If it's not this year in the Europa, i can't see us winning another trophy.
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They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.
Bailey regularly gets a mention so that’s not true.
He’s a dogger of a player.’
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This makes me think back to the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s when I was a regular attender at Villa Park. I would see the old blokes among the crowd still enjoying watching the Villa and thinking that will be me one day. Now I am one of the old blokes except you will rarely find me at Villa Park. Sad really.
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It just seems like a 'perfect storm' at the moment brought on by:
1) Injuries to three of our best players.
2) Subsequent loss of form of other players.
3) Bad transfer dealings to address above problem.
4) Injustices of the elite (Man City*, Chelsea* etc)
5) Re-emergence of Man Utd (really pisses me off)
6) Ever escalating costs
Football aside, throw in the Trump factor and no wonder we are all feeling 'doom and gloom'.
But, but, but if we stuff Lille and the Hammers we will be on cloud nine again. When Tielemans returns we will all explode in a fit of ecstasy and the world will feel right again.
And always remember, you could have been born a Birmingham City supporter.
That feels better. Renew those season tickets folks. :)
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Anyone missing it? :-)
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Yep. International football, unless a knock phase of a comp is so boring.
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To drop the irony for a moment, the reason it's all fucked is the VAR checks for goals. You can't charge people upwards of £70 a week to deprive them of the one thing that makes it all worthwhile. It's like a drug dealer or a prozzie doubling their prices and giving you a glass of milk and a handshake and telling you it's better for their margin. I don't know why people still go, frankly. They're literally making it worse and charging more for the privilege. I'm not a massive fan of using market forces as an excuse to do anything. This ought to be the opposite of market forces, but the market keeps buying. They won't learn until we do.
This is the problem with leaving things to market forces - people watch Mrs Browns Boys, listen to Coldplay, and vote for the nazis. And yes, they are all roughly equivalent in my eyes.
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My biggest gripe with the modern game is that the players so paid so much which accounts for most clubs income. We, of course, are having to pay probably twice what we should do to help enable this. League is the strongest in football but literally comes at a cost to us who go.
I still go and hope I stay fit enough to keep going (my choice to stand in the Holte but my ageing legs are feeling it). Such a shame for people who are clearly getting priced out…. I couldn’t have gone when our children were young based on today’s prices. Kick off times are a big issue too. I get the frustration with the issue of the so called top 6 being uncatchable but I do think this will change as more and more wealthy and ambitious owners take control of clubs.
I’m used to us losing our best players, Gerry Hitchens was the first one to chip away at my heart (ask your grandparents).
Thinking about our last game I loved it all, tempo much better. I understand fans find our approach dull at times. I remember thinking the same when we used to be winning with Martin O’Neil at the helm, it wasn’t quite winning in the style I wanted…. After what followed I’m being more careful what I wish for.
I think many aspects of the game have changed for the better. Certainly the quality of football. I recall the ground ringing with applause if one of our players trapped a ball dead from a long ball, now we’d scream in anguish if they didn’t. I’ve watched through decades of fan trouble, that aspect has gone thank goodness, furls safe now.
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We have an uncanny ability to dodge trophies. The club motto could be changed to “Close but no cigar”.
A complete change to when I was watching villa in the last century. I saw us in five cup finals and we won them all. Since then we've been in four and lost them all.
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Those ‘knocking it on the head’ thoughts are getting pretty loud right now. Absolutely fuming leaving Villa Park tonight - Another weekend (*bank holiday) derailed by crap football and a fucking ridiculous kickoff time just to appease Americans.
The inevitable season ticket price hike could be the final straw.
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Frees up space for the young uns.
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It all started with Danny Blanchflower.
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Just woke up and still feel absolutely livid. Ive been a Villa fan since 1988. I have rarely felt like this in all thar time. This is Emerys Moscow but potentially if we lose the aftermath could be equally as far reaching.
This was a big game. We could have gone 4th and onto the Forest game in a good mood. We are limping over the line . We might finish 5th having only won 5 out of 17 or whatever it is and barely scraping a point in the last three.
You have Emery gas lighting us in his comments as if we were completely outplayed. Yes we were but from minute 1 there was absolutely no pressing, desire or impetus.
If Tottenham went down thats a rival out of the picture. Stay up and next season they could be back above us . And as for Forest weve rested players for a game we could still lose. How toxic VP could get.
The whole nation bar Tottenham and Small Heath would have been willing us on tonight. From a lot of the comments ive read I know we are now on a lot of peoples shit lists and people will want Forest to win. For Villa fans like me that dont live in Brum it might be quite unpleasant when passing or mixing with other supporters of other teams. I can take banter but this may be a whole new level with people who nornally might have liked us or previously not been bothered about us.
Yes we may win the Europa but i feel so conflicted this morning it leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
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What fans of other teams think of us should not be any sort of list of giving a fuck
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I feel nervous about us achieving our aims and hopefully winning something, hanging onto Emery etc.
spurs going down would be nice, but it doesn’t keep me awake at night. But christ, worrying about what supporters of other clubs think or say, there is nothing that could ever happen in my life where I could conceivably give a shit what supporters of other clubs think, let alone be a reason to consider carrying on going down the Villa.
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Oh no, a West Ham fan hates us because they're shit and we're resting players for arguably our biggest game in years that could alter how our path as a club progresses the next few years.
Can someone please think about West Ham.
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The fact that other teams’ fans like us is proof that we’ve been utterly shit for so long. I want to be hated like Man U.
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I live in Surrey, surrounded by Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man Yoo tripe. They can all fuck off. Villa and proud.
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Oh no, a West Ham fan hates us because they're shit and we're resting players for arguably our biggest game in years that could alter how our path as a club progresses the next few years.
Can someone please think about West Ham.
Much as we’d all prefer Spurs to be relegated, West Ham going is hardly a disaster with the Pornodwarf connection. Shame Brady’s not still there. Oh and there’s that Sendo to remember the two faced prick.