I knew 2 Albion fans growing up. I still only know 3 now. At work (a fairly large building in the centre of town) I know a few Blues, a few Villa, a couple of West Ham, yet no Albion fans. I am sure there are some here, but it is a bit of a puzzle where they appear from. The ones I do meet seem to live in this world of self righteous belief that Albion are actually relevant to the other clubs in the area.
Unfortunately we live in an age driven by spin and media manipulation.We're obviously a horrible club that have never supported Acorns and invested in one of the deepest and most long lasting partnerships between a high profile business and a local charity.Similarly we've never invested in giving young local kids a chance through the VMF restaurant project, or launched the Villa in the Community charity.We've never offered support for injured servicemen in rehab at the QE or established a partnership with Help 4 Heroes.We certainly weren't one of the first football clubs to work together with The Prince's Trust to help disadvantaged youngsters.We don't help in the community with projects such as the Villa Kicks programme which actively targets engaging young people in community support activities in the most hard pressed areas of the city or any of the 20 or so community projects we're definitely not involved in.We're absolutely not a club that goes quietly about it's business, trying to do so with decency and integrity (pigs in mud comments not withstanding ).And we absolutely do not have a support that fans of most other clubs regard with respect for the sheer numbers and volume generated on the road or shock visiting supporters when the Holte End gets going.Unfortunately non of that is sensationalist enough to make good copy, so whilst Mourinho goes around bad mouthing anyone who upsets him, Man Utd players have indulged in verbal abuse and physical intimidation of match officials for the best part of 25 years without fear of sanction or reprisal, nothing is said "because it's all good copy."The likes of John Terry are fêted in the national media as national heroes and "the epitome of that bulldog spirit" because he's popular with a certain segment of society that buys certain rags, and the hype of busted flush managers such as Harry Redknapp is never held up to scrutiny because "they're always good for a story or a quote"To the media that just don't get passion, emotion and fans that give a shit, instead of customers that have come to be entertained I can offer nothing more constructive than this!
Quote from: Villa in Denmark on March 10, 2015, 09:53:16 PMUnfortunately we live in an age driven by spin and media manipulation.We're obviously a horrible club that have never supported Acorns and invested in one of the deepest and most long lasting partnerships between a high profile business and a local charity.Similarly we've never invested in giving young local kids a chance through the VMF restaurant project, or launched the Villa in the Community charity.We've never offered support for injured servicemen in rehab at the QE or established a partnership with Help 4 Heroes.We certainly weren't one of the first football clubs to work together with The Prince's Trust to help disadvantaged youngsters.We don't help in the community with projects such as the Villa Kicks programme which actively targets engaging young people in community support activities in the most hard pressed areas of the city or any of the 20 or so community projects we're definitely not involved in.We're absolutely not a club that goes quietly about it's business, trying to do so with decency and integrity (pigs in mud comments not withstanding ).And we absolutely do not have a support that fans of most other clubs regard with respect for the sheer numbers and volume generated on the road or shock visiting supporters when the Holte End gets going.Unfortunately non of that is sensationalist enough to make good copy, so whilst Mourinho goes around bad mouthing anyone who upsets him, Man Utd players have indulged in verbal abuse and physical intimidation of match officials for the best part of 25 years without fear of sanction or reprisal, nothing is said "because it's all good copy."The likes of John Terry are fêted in the national media as national heroes and "the epitome of that bulldog spirit" because he's popular with a certain segment of society that buys certain rags, and the hype of busted flush managers such as Harry Redknapp is never held up to scrutiny because "they're always good for a story or a quote"To the media that just don't get passion, emotion and fans that give a shit, instead of customers that have come to be entertained I can offer nothing more constructive than this!Wonderful.
Anyone notice how there seems to be a total lack of acknowledgement from Albion and the local press to the way we reacted to the 9th minute? Mentioned during the Beeb commentary with the very accurate "always has been a classy club" from Pearce.
Graham Lovett who played for the Albion was a year ahead of me at school. Other than that I can't recall a single Albion connection around our end at all.
Quote from: dave shelley on March 11, 2015, 01:53:24 PMGraham Lovett who played for the Albion was a year ahead of me at school. Other than that I can't recall a single Albion connection around our end at all.His Mom and Dad lived next door to my Cousins when I was really young and he gave me some football books. I don't remember him but my parents spoke fondly of him.
Regarding the Bill Howell story in Mail please see below the response that I received from them:Thank you for your email regarding the West Bromwich Albion comment article.It is our job to provide provocative and engaging content for our audience and sometimes this means expressing views that not everyone will agree with.On reflection, this particular article failed to express the real views of the author in an appropriate manner and we made the decision to take it down from our website this morning.I hope this resolves your complaint.If not, please visit http://www.trinitymirror.com/howtocomplain where you will find information on how to follow our complaints procedure.