Which was your favourite League Cup Final?

[curiousorange]

'94 - a year after being devastated we didn't win the league, to take the treble away from them was great.

But without tempting fate, I'm more excited about this year's final than the two other LC ones I've seen since I've been a Villa fan.

[exiled on the wirral!]

Definetley 94 for me. I travelled down on a west midlands travel timesaver bus in the days i went with the offical travel club. No one gave us a chance and our victory was a real upset.

I think the best final was 77 though it looked a great game watching it on dvd, and the suppport by the villa was amazing. I love that A.V.F.C chant that was sung throughout the match, we should bring it back!

[pendinevilla]

Definetley 94 for me. I travelled down on a west midlands travel timesaver bus in the days i went with the offical travel club. No one gave us a chance and our victory was a real upset.

I think the best final was 77 though it looked a great game watching it on dvd, and the suppport by the villa was amazing. I love that A.V.F.C chant that was sung throughout the match, we should bring it back!

I mentioned some time ago about the chant - a cracker and very atmospheric.
I went to all 3 of those matches in 77 and the bore draw at Wembley was more than compensated for by the final final at Old Trafford.

I couldn't get a ticket in 94 and it really pissed me off, having seen them all since 71

[24-10-90]

1994. Saunders & Atkinson. We've not had a pair like them since imo.

[Irish villain]

1994. Saunders & Atkinson. We've not had a pair like them since imo.

Yorke and Milosevic weren't bad?

The past number of seasons there haven't been stand out strike partnerships in the way there was in the 1990s with Sheaer and Sutton, Yorke and Cole etc etc.

Now it seems that teams just have one out and out striker, Drogba, Torres, Rooney etc. I miss the old days....

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Memories of the 1975 League Cup Final


Born in South Birmingham, I have been supporting the Villa for nearly sixty years and moved to Australia in 2007.

In the sixties and seventies was working in the Theatre and TV professionally.

In 74/75 I was appearing at The Victoria Palace Theatre in London with Max Bygraves (another Villa connection as he was also a supporter due to his close friendship with Harry Parkes).

Max, knowing of my support, asked, one day, if I fancied going with him to Wembley for the LCF against Norwich. There was only one problem! We had two shows to do on a Saturday and as the first one was at 6 o/clock we would have to leave before the final whistle, he would arrange, however, for his driver to be waiting right outside Wembley to rush us to Victoria.

Needless to say the seats were great, right next to the Royal Box, but the game was not the greatest. (I had memories of 1971 and the disappointment at seeing us lose to Spurs). It was still 0-0 when we had to leave.

We got outside the stadium and there was a big roar which quickly died (obviously not a goal), all quiet for a few moments then chanting which then died down (no idea which fans were cheering), then a huge oooh, a moments quiet and a huge roar.

Frustratingly for us not a clue as to what had happened! Just then the car arrived and the driver was able to tell us that Villa had a penalty, Ray Graydon had hit the post but had scored from the rebound. (Suddenly the above made sense!).

Needless to say the shows that night were performed on a real high, although I had to wait till the next day to actually see the goal.

(Very different memories in ’77 driving up and down motorways – London, Sheffield, Manchester…’94 outplaying Manure…’96 overwhelming Leeds).

Will be with you all in spirit on the 28th.

Desi, that's the single most impressive and enjoyable story I've read on here in a long, long time.

Got to agree with Paulie, great story, Desi!

I was also at the 75 Final, dressed in a Claret and Blue top hat my mother had stayed up all night making, but the 77 2nd Replay was the real special one. A game that had everything, us with a weakened team but a never say die attitude. Young Sid, Big Chris, Budgie and the lord himself, Brian Little. Apart from Rotterdam, never has a Villa team lived up so much to the lines 'AVFC - Aston Villa are Magic'. We most certainly were living the dream.

[Simon Ward]

1977 that Chris Nicholl goal still sends shivers down my spine.

[Astral Weeks]

1996 was a great game for the way we were totally and utterly in command all the way through. We mullered Leeds and I loved it. I've never felt so relaxed watching Villa at a big game.

I have particular memories of 1977 because I was in the Merchant Navy and away at sea at the time. We were somewhere in the Indian Ocean I think, and I stayed up until about 2am to hear the result of the second replay on a very crackly BBC World Service sports bulletin.

My favourite has to be 1994 though, because of who we beat, and because we were considered such underdogs, and also because it was the first time I had seen Villa at Wembley.

Unfortunately I won't be there this year because I haven't been to enough games to get a ticket, but my daughter and I will be watching on TV and hoping for a repeat of the '94 scoreline.

I lost my dad six months ago. He first took me to see the Villa in 1966 and kindled a lifelong love affair, and I'd like to think he'll be watching from somewhere too.

[dean saunders left boot]

1996. Was my first season where i'd been going down regularly (nearly every home game) and can remember being so excited when we got our tickets. Had a great seat and view, just the whole day out, the coach journey there and back, seeing Wembley for the first time in person, and the Villa winning of course! The next day I was back in school and my french teacher at the time was a Leeds fan who'd gone to the game so spent the whole lesson winding him up, to say he wasn't impressed would be an understatement!!!

[nico2708]

just come across this

wembley 75

[maidstonevillain]

1977, not for the excitement while they were looking for the bandsman's spur at Wembley.  But for the 3rd game at Old Trafford - trailing for ages, but remaining confident Saunder's boys would triumph.

Same reason. We were never going to lose that game, you could feel it. Also because of the terriffic atmosphere between the two sets of fans in that final game.

[CT]

94 for me. 1996 was a great day, drank a skinfull with some great Leeds fans and won 3-0.

But In 1994 the Utd fans were so arrogant from the start and to be honest nobody thought we'd win with the strength of their team at the time. But we did & we were great!

I'm sure we had one of the first renditions of "F*ck all, you're gonna win f*ck all" when we were 2-0 up. I remember watching the game back later and Kevin Keegan desperately trying to talk over it because it was so loud!

[badluckeric(gates)]

Against man u. Went down with my brother, didnt expect too much other than a good day out!
Just walking back to the tube this united fan ran up to us (I thought 'here we go') and said 'mate, what the fu** happenned?, this was the one we were counting on'). Great day.

[Holte L2]

Definitely 94. I was there aged 10. Don't remember much about the game apart from Deanos penalty. All I remembers standing on my chair without a back waiving my flag.

[big 1st serve]

  94 for me too, Great time at the Green Man, & just a fantastic feeling beating the
  arrogant Mancs.
 
  I can remember falling over those flimsy seats a few times after we,d scored, terrible bruises on me legs the next day.