1980s football?

[Chico Hamilton III]

Straightforward poll. Only answer if you've experience both eras

[ktvillan]

1980s no contest

[Dave Javu]

1981 or 1987?

[Chico Hamilton III]

It's a close call at the moment.

[Dave Cooper please]

80's

I fucking hate the way football has become, and this has nothing to do with hoolies, atmosphere or terracing.

[RonBurgundy]

Can we add the 1990's to the poll?

[Chris Smith]

The 80s started and finished well but the bit in the middle was truly shit. Far worse than anything we've witnessed in this decade.

Off the pitch there was hooliganism, low crowds, crumbling grounds but it seemed more of a laugh; however, how much of that is just nostalgia I'm not sure.

Like many of these sort of things people will look at the past era with more fondness but what they are really doing is missing being younger.

[Deano's Mullet]

my villa experience started in 88. does that qualify me to vote? if so i definitely vote late 80s early 90s.

[Chico Hamilton III]

 
Like many of these sort of things people will look at the past era with more fondness but what they are really doing is missing being younger.

Which option did you go for, Chris? (I'll guess option 3?)

If someobody asked me whether I preferred the standard of living in the 80s or now, I'd choose now. so I don't think the football question can be explained away conveniently by assuming it's just people missing their youth.

I think it's just a personal preference

[The Man With A Stick]

Only caught the last few years of the 1980s so I missed out on most of the mayhem, but I'd choose the '80s purely because of the old Holte and the lack of Jamie Redknapp.

[Lee]

I started watching the Villa in the 80's. As that fat bearded bloke from the Friday Night Project says "Good Times".

[London Villan]

Gates of 8,000
Rioting and deaths in dilapadated stadiums.
The worst Villa team in living memory
Really useless Villa managers
Crap kits
Simon Stainrod

Or

Overpaid players
Expensive tickets
Selling the game's soul
Blues in the Premier League

[Chris Smith]

 
Like many of these sort of things people will look at the past era with more fondness but what they are really doing is missing being younger.

Which option did you go for, Chris? (I'll guess option 3?)

If someobody asked me whether I preferred the standard of living in the 80s or now, I'd choose now. so I don't think the football question can be explained away conveniently by assuming it's just people missing their youth.

I think it's just a personal preference

The 80s just about because I remember some real good times with my mates, you experience football differently when you're young, free and single. I don't particulary miss all the shit around the grounds with opposition fans, being treated like a terrorist by the coppers, standing in 2 inches of piss in the bogs, half empty grounds much of the time and the truly awful football we witnessd between Barton leaving and Taylor arriving. I wouldn't go back to that for all the tea in China.

[cdward]

The 80s.
Standing on a packed Holte end in full song.
The left side...
knees up mother brown..
burning one of the opposing supporters scarves from the rafters above your heads! (Yes, it really did happen, almost every week as far as i remember).
Tickets that were affordable.
football was crap though.
Would i swap it for now..?

[Steve R]

It would have been nice for us OAPs to have a choice of other decades.

In which case I'd go for the 70s.

Of the two choices on offer, I'd go for football today. Save for the golden seasons early on, the 80s were the second worst time to watch Villa in particular and easily the worst to watch football from a more general perspective.