woeful attendance

[The Laughing Policeman]

I could waste  everyones time regaling you with the highs and lows of my time as a Villa Supporter.
!955 first ever Villa game. lost 1-0 to Cardiff. All the trials and tribulations between then and now.
But I have never wavered in my support for the football club that I love. And that means getting down to Villa Park at every opportunity. Even traveling from abroad in the late 70's to mid 90's.
I'm an OAP now but I still make a point of getting  to as many matches as I can.
It's oh so easy in the age of the internet to sit at a keyboard and criticise what you see or hear on the web. Get your arses down there in the depths of winter or even on a day like today and maybe then some of your criticisms would have more validity..
Don't moan about the size of the crowd or the lack of investment in the squad unless you are willing to put your money behind what your fingers type.
And by the way, going back to that DOL banner....yes some of you are fickle.

[kippaxvilla2]

I am one of the so called but correctly termed 'squeezed middle'.  For me it is undoubtedly to do with priorities of cash spending with three kids under the age of 10.  I just came back from Tenerife for two weeks and its nearly cleaned me out.  The fact is,  I have to choose carefully entertainment.  I am one of those who probably would find the money if there was enough to get me back there but frankly there isn't.  So many things that happened this summer in particular made me have enough.

1.  The headhunting of McLeish.  Not content with not touching him with a bargepole - they actually went after him and flew to his holiday resort to secure him.
2.  Downings treachery.  I know it goes on all the time but there was something particularly galling about this little pipsqueaks behaviour.
3. Paying compensation to the shit for securing McLeish.
4. Becoming the Premier Leagues official feeder club.  Bolton, Manure, Man Citeh, Liverpool.
5. Releasing all those players and only signing two and the board thinking no one would notice.

Are the main reasons.

[pauliewalnuts]

I don't for one second class myself as "better than you fan" but to me supporting my club means doing so even when the going gets tough..

But that's at odds with what you're saying.

To you being a fan means going all the time, regardless of how things are going.

To others, it doesn't mean going all the time whatever the reason, and whatever the reasons are, they're going to be easier to overcome when the football is good and things are looking promising.

To disparage the people in the latter category as gloryhunters sounds exactly like "better fan than you" to me.

There are lots of reasons the crowd was poor today, and none of them were the fault of the supporters - far more appropriate to look at the people who've run us so shambolically for a year now.

[pauliewalnuts]

Don't moan about the size of the crowd or the lack of investment in the squad unless you are willing to put your money behind what your fingers type.

What about those of us moaning who are season ticket holders?

[itbrvilla]

Brought a house last year, got married last month, went on honeymoon so am completely skint now. Couldnt give a toss about the ginger tosser either way. And as I've experience a lot of foreign leagues a have experienced many clubs including major clubs matchday experience, I feel like a mug pay the PL prices to watch what can describe simply as overpaid, couldn't care less wankers sporting our proud colours just because they have the PL label On them. The PL is nowhere near the best league in the world.

[ozzjim]

I could waste  everyones time regaling you with the highs and lows of my time as a Villa Supporter.
!955 first ever Villa game. lost 1-0 to Cardiff. All the trials and tribulations between then and now.
But I have never wavered in my support for the football club that I love. And that means getting down to Villa Park at every opportunity. Even traveling from abroad in the late 70's to mid 90's.
I'm an OAP now but I still make a point of getting  to as many matches as I can.
It's oh so easy in the age of the internet to sit at a keyboard and criticise what you see or hear on the web. Get your arses down there in the depths of winter or even on a day like today and maybe then some of your criticisms would have more validity..
Don't moan about the size of the crowd or the lack of investment in the squad unless you are willing to put your money behind what your fingers type.
And by the way, going back to that DOL banner....yes some of you are fickle.

It is a very blinkered view. I am 29, and have had 13 season tickets. I am not there this season, with reasons almost identical to those put more intelligently above by the Fish and Chip man. Fickle I may be, but I have other priorities than a football team to spend money on, you have clearly been fortunate to have the disposable income to not have to make that decision.

[Sexual Ealing]

Can I just say, having kind of started all this, that I think those who go to every ame actually are better fans than those who don't. It's just the simple application of logic as far as I can see.

[pauliewalnuts]

Can I just say, having kind of started all this, that I think those who go to every ame actually are better fans than those who don't. It's just the simple application of logic as far as I can see.

What about the ones who can't afford it?

What about the ones who have to work?

What about the ones who live abroad?

I know people who go every match and never stop throwing abuse at the players and manager. What kind of support is that?

[kippaxvilla2]

By the way can I have my old moniker back now please moderators.  I see Risso has reverted to type.

[pauliewalnuts]

By the way can I have my old moniker back now please moderators.  I see Risso has reverted to type.

What was it?

[kippaxvilla2]

By the way can I have my old moniker back now please moderators.  I see Risso has reverted to type.

What was it?

The infamous Kippaxvilla2.

[PeterWithesShin]

I don't for one second class myself as "better than you fan" but to me supporting my club means doing so even when the going gets tough..

But that's at odds with what you're saying.

To you being a fan means going all the time, regardless of how things are going.

To others, it doesn't mean going all the time whatever the reason, and whatever the reasons are, they're going to be easier to overcome when the football is good and things are looking promising.

To disparage the people in the latter category as gloryhunters sounds exactly like "better fan than you" to me.

There are lots of reasons the crowd was poor today, and none of them were the fault of the supporters - far more appropriate to look at the people who've run us so shambolically for a year now.

What I mean is you go as often as you can, be it a ST or 1 or 3 games a year if distance/money is an issue. A few years ago I could only afford about 5 games, and most of those were cheap deal games or cheap cup games. So I understand the money angle. But surely the fact it's such a large and sudden drop there's more to it than just the cost for example?

I'm probably as pissed off and disappointed as anyone with how things are going right now, but as I said, i've seen worse over the years. And as I also mentioned, if we only went because we played attractive football or looked like winning something, we'd have been playing in a near empty VP for the majority of my time.

[Sexual Ealing]

Can I just say, having kind of started all this, that I think those who go to every ame actually are better fans than those who don't. It's just the simple application of logic as far as I can see.

What about the ones who can't afford it?

What about the ones who have to work?

What about the ones who live abroad?

I know people who go every match and never stop throwing abuse at the players and manager. What kind of support is that?

It's the kind of support that, for a million good reasons, isn't as good as paying up and going to the match.

Incidentally, I live in London and rarely go to the match.

[taylorsworkrate]

The West Midlands has been incredibly badly hit by the economic downturn.  When ticket prices have gone up, and investment in the team has gone down, together with the appointment of a manager with two Premier League relegations under his belt, and who has a reputation for playing dull football, simply writing off a poor attendance as being evidence of "glory hunters" is incredibly immature and shows a distinct lack of intelligence.

Spot on.

We had to choose, Villa or holiday. Last season Villa won. We didn't go away. This year we had 10 days away, and I took more joy from the wonder on my 3 year old sons face as he caught unsuspecting sea life and legged it into the sea fully clothed than I did at any point watching Villa last season. When money is tight, the product on the pitch is what SHOULD sell a season ticket for the cost that they are. Blind love for the team should not be a reason to blindly renew every season if the money could be spent on something that brings more fulfillment to you or your family situation. I love the Villa, I am a passionate fan, I generate noise and am very vocal when down there, but I will not be preached to by any fan that tries the whole you have to go if you claim to be a fan. Bollocks. Money and family dictate, and if there if are choices, and the choice of going down the Villa is essentially to watch fairly mundane football (it has been for 3 seasons, appointing ECk and letting Young and Downing go is not going to make it better is it!?) or spend that time with my kids doing something else significantly cheaper, Villa no longer wins. If the product improved, ie it was exciting, we won more, we had players that I would chose to watch playing football that is entertaining, I would reconsider. The blind faith bit should not be a factor, and the guy from retentions that rang me had this explained to him too.

Absolutely bang on ozzjim.

Far and away the best post on the subject.

[pauliewalnuts]

I don't for one second class myself as "better than you fan" but to me supporting my club means doing so even when the going gets tough..

But that's at odds with what you're saying.

To you being a fan means going all the time, regardless of how things are going.

To others, it doesn't mean going all the time whatever the reason, and whatever the reasons are, they're going to be easier to overcome when the football is good and things are looking promising.

To disparage the people in the latter category as gloryhunters sounds exactly like "better fan than you" to me.

There are lots of reasons the crowd was poor today, and none of them were the fault of the supporters - far more appropriate to look at the people who've run us so shambolically for a year now.

What I mean is you go as often as you can, be it a ST or 1 or 3 games a year if distance/money is an issue. A few years ago I could only afford about 5 games, and most of those were cheap deal games or cheap cup games. So I understand the money angle. But surely the fact it's such a large and sudden drop there's more to it than just the cost for example?

I'm probably as pissed off and disappointed as anyone with how things are going right now, but as I said, i've seen worse over the years. And as I also mentioned, if we only went because we played attractive football or looked like winning something, we'd have been playing in a near empty VP for the majority of my time.

Of course it is about more than cost - look at the shite summer we've had. Anyone with any semblance of a clue could have predicted rubbish attendances.

One question - you say money and distance are acceptable reasons to not go. is that it? What about the other things we have to handle in our lives?