my first villa match

[Deano's Mullet]

Yes, it spoilt what was and still is the most unique stand in football.

Thanks for posting those 2 clips.  I don't miss that awful kit though !

I quite liked it at the time as youngsters probably do like dodgy kit designs. I see people wearing it at Villa Park now and it brings a smile to my face. This and the Muller stripes are the only non traditional home tops we've had that I liked. The rest were cack.

[castlefields_villan]

A Villa kit for me has to be :

Claret (proper claret - deep) shirts, with sky blue arms

White shorts

Sky blue socks (preferably with a couple of narrow hoops at the top)

However I also like to us in

Blue shorts and claret socks (but the two have to go together).

[itbrvilla]

A Villa kit for me has to be :

Claret (proper claret - deep) shirts, with sky blue arms

White shorts

Sky blue socks (preferably with a couple of narrow hoops at the top)

However I also like to us in

Blue shorts and claret socks (but the two have to go together).

Black socks please. Looks more traditional and classy.

[Deano's Mullet]

Blue socks with home kit please. Only ever remember us in black under MCleish.

Blue shorts if we have to change away from home but still wear the home top.

[Perthvillan]

Freaky Pete you must be about my age.
I was at that Ipswich game in 1968.
They won the Division 2 title that season.
The only thing I can remember about that game is they got a late equaliser from a penalty..
One of our defenders handled the ball to keep it out in front of the Holte.

[Perthvillan]

Oh yeah, my first game was earlier in that 67/68 season against Carlisle United.
We won 1-0, Tommy Mitchinson with a second half winner at the Witton end.
As kids we didn't have a lot back then so going to VP was a fantastic experience.
Most of the little ones went down the front so we could see in those standing days.

[castlefields_villan]

You guys must be around my age as well (I was 59 a month ago).

I remember going to the last game of 1967-68 season against QPR when they beat us 2-1 to clinch promotion.  I remember standing the very front of the old standing Trinity Road Enclosure.  (I'm not in favour of a return to standing - but I did love that terrace).  I can still visualise being about 30 yards to the left of the halfway line and looking up at the old Holte End and feeling the noise coming from it.  I was stood next to a couple of QPR fans (who actually I remember as being ok !)

[Rioch is King]

Villa 1 - 0 Halifax. Won by a Ray Graydon goal around christmas in 1970 or 71 in the 3rd division.  I was a kid in the Trinity road seats and was dumbstruck by the Holte end, it's presence and the unearthly noise.

When you're watching match of the day or star soccer you get the impression all stadiums are a bit  alike  -  So it wasn't until I went to my first away games (Ashton gate, Portman rd., St Andrews) that I realized how special Villa park was/is?) and how lucky (in this respect) I was to be born into a Villa supporting family. I don't like being boastful about this because if I'd been born into a Bristol City family I'd have gone with it, but the other grounds were like the equivalent of garden sheds to a house.

[Dave P]

My first game was a 2-1 win over Leicester in the 87/88 season which was our last time in the second tier.  Lillis and Evans scored I think.

My first away game was a 2-1 win over Coventry at Highfield road in 96/97 when Staunton got the winner with a screamer.

[castlefields_villan]

Villa 1 - 0 Halifax. Won by a Ray Graydon goal around christmas in 1970 or 71 in the 3rd division.  I was a kid in the Trinity road seats and was dumbstruck by the Holte end, it's presence and the unearthly noise.

When you're watching match of the day or star soccer you get the impression all stadiums are a bit  alike  -  So it wasn't until I went to my first away games (Ashton gate, Portman rd., St Andrews) that I realized how special Villa park was/is?) and how lucky (in this respect) I was to be born into a Villa supporting family. I don't like being boastful about this because if I'd been born into a Bristol City family I'd have gone with it, but the other grounds were like the equivalent of garden sheds to a house.

I seem to remember a 1-0 win over Halifax in the 1971-72 season - which it would've been as this was the year seats were put into the Trinity Road enc.

I remember the Villa Park experience hitting me as a child, and I didn't extend to the Holte End until the 1970-71 when I went with my older brother who used to stand towards the back - and as you say the depth of the volume of noise was very impressionable.  I also went to Hawthorns and St. Andrews for other games around this time (with non Villa supporting family friends) and the difference was always clear to feel.  Like you, I'll be ever thankful (however bad the last few years may have been) to have been born into a "Villa supporting family".

I've said on here many times, whatever the team does or doesn't do on the pitch, nobody will ever be able to dispute the truly magnificent, unique ground and its facilities we have had past and present (and future).

[The Left Side]

1980-81 Ipswich at home, when we lost to the "rightful" champions. I was only 7 but at least I can say we say us in a championship winning season.

[jcsutv]

1980-81 Ipswich at home, when we lost to the "rightful" champions. I was only 7 but at least I can say we say us in a championship winning season.

You had my ticket as I was poorly! Jonah!

[castlefields_villan]

1980-81 Ipswich at home, when we lost to the "rightful" champions. I was only 7 but at least I can say we say us in a championship winning season.

You had my ticket as I was poorly! Jonah!

A truly unforgettable night and those words "do you want to bet against us" still ring loud and true - what a first match for you to go to !

[Dave Cooper please]

I honestly don't know what my first Villa game was. Is that bad?

I used to tell everyone that it was the Liverpool 5-1 game, but that was a lie, my VP debut would have been the season before against someone like Bristol City or Notts County or someone and a game equally as unmemorable.

The caveat to this is that at the time I wasn't a "mad" Villa fan, my Dad supported West Brom but never went, my football fix came from cycling the three miles to The Lamb to watch Tamworth. I only became a "proper" Villa fan because the next door neighbour started taking me along with his two sons.

[somec]

My first away game was a 2-1 win over Coventry at Highfield road in 96/97 when Staunton got the winner with a screamer.

That was my first away game as well.

My first Villa match was 1-0 v Chelsea in 89/90 when we were gunning for the title. Sid got the goal IIRC.