How do we change the 'cultural' make up of football crowds?

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

So are you saying it's unacceptable for anyone to support the Villa if they're not from Birmingham / West Midlands?

Yes, unless they are a) in a different country or b) through a parent/guardian (but only if the parent/guardian supported their local team).

[maidstonevillain]

Good friend of mine grew on the Wirral as a Villa fan as we were the best team at the time.  So is he a glory hunter or a dedicated fan for sticking with us for 30 years of non-glory?

Glory hunter. But if your other choices are Tranmere or Marine, who can blame him.

[pedro25]

How ridiculous, what about the many counties/areas of the UK like Pembrokeshire, Cornwall etc that have no professional teams, have to follow a different sport do they?

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

Good friend of mine grew on the Wirral as a Villa fan as we were the best team at the time.  So is he a glory hunter or a dedicated fan for sticking with us for 30 years of non-glory?

Gloryhunter yes.

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

If we're talking about supporting our local team, Handsworth Wood is closer to The Hawthorns than it is to Villa Park.

And it's miles away from St Andrews

Yeah my dad is probably a local glory hunter.

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

If we're talking about supporting our local team, Handsworth Wood is closer to The Hawthorns than it is to Villa Park.

And it's miles away from St Andrews

Yeah my dad is probably a local glory hunter.

My next door neighbour is a cross dresser.
He's our local Gloria Gaynor.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Who does Gloria Hunniford support?

I hope it's Man United

[itbrvilla]

Was surprised by the amount of black, asian and mixed race supporters in the crowd away to L'Arse.  Think in the area I was sitting they made up ~5-10%, very encouraging.

[Concrete John]

Good friend of mine grew on the Wirral as a Villa fan as we were the best team at the time.  So is he a glory hunter or a dedicated fan for sticking with us for 30 years of non-glory?

Gloryhunter yes.

Well, he's failed miserably if that was his aim!

Point being that we should welcome all Villa fans, for whatever reason they support us.  Their support is no less valid than yours or mine.

[Percy McCarthy]

That is encouraging itbr. I don't care about the ethnic make-up of our support per se, but we do need to attract a good cross-section to maintain a high level of support in a city like ours. If this, in turn, makes Astonian asians feel more at home in our ground, so much the better.

[garyshawsknee]

Im in a similar boat being from Luton,supporting the club because Gary Shaw was always in shoot magazine every week,then being teased week in week out during the mid 80s when we were terrible and Luton had their best ever team.

I've earned my stripes!

[drisaac]

Is 'coconut' racist now?

Not sure if it's racist.

Can you be racist to your own race?

It's definitely an insult though.

It means the same as 'oreo' and 'bounty'

It occurred to me that 1. Chinese Oreos are differently shaped to American Oreos, and 2. Bounty comes in two flavours - "Black" or "Coloured".  What was the point again?

Anyway when I first started going to see Villa play I was poor and working class.  Now I'm well-off and middle class.  Still white though, but I'm doing my bit...

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

Was surprised by the amount of black, asian and mixed race supporters in the crowd away to L'Arse.  Think in the area I was sitting they made up ~5-10%, very encouraging.

Good to hear.

Arsenal seem to have loads of black fans.

Must be to do with Henry, Vieira, Wiltord etc?

[Percy McCarthy]

I'm still poor, working-class and white, but I've got lots of mixed-race children who are Villa fans, so I'd like to know who's doing more than me to change things.

I think I deserve an award, presented by Luis Suarez.

[remy]

Let me wade in here.

Im Asian and being going down the Villa since 1991 (supporting since 1987). Back in that "glorious" year we were relegated. I started supporting them because my class was made up of Villans, knuckledraggers and Stripeys. There were very few who supported Liverpool and if they did they kept quiet. The Villans seem to be more civilised and I looked up the history of the club. What a fantastic institution! Silverware, League founders, Cup winners, European Champions, Pioneers. The more I read the more I could identify with them and what they stood for. Equally Im proud of the city I was born in - Birmingham. Supporting your local team and all that. Im not getting all Carl Chinn on you but I have an affinity for history and local rivalry.

The reason I support Villa is because they are my local team that I can identify most with. If I didnt support them I would be a Blues fan. There wasnt anybody to pass the torch to me, I took it upon myself to announce proudly that I am now Aston Villa FC. Cue cheers and boos in equal measure one PE lesson. Supporting another english team from another city isnt something I would be comfortable with (although I did semi support Barnsley in a drunken binge one play off under Beezlebub but thats another story). Most of my cousins and asian friends RARELY support their local team. They just go with whoever happens to be the most successful at the time. If we were massively successful as ManUre of the last 15 years we would have shedloads of asians wearing tops all over the city. Frankly the "local" thing just isnt attractive enough to encourage these fans. Many fans sitting next to me in the Trinity have had their support passed down to them which is what I am doing to my children, nephews and nieces. You can bet your bottom pound, the minute an Asian player steps onto the field and creates a noise with his skills the asian supporters will follow him in droves no matter what team he plays for. 

I didnt encounter a hint of trouble since Ive being going until about 4 years ago when after taking my long awaited pair of sons down the match we were racially abused. One time! Was it enough to put us off - not on your nelly! The miscreant was the kind that has sycophantic mates who are too stupid or too scared to disagree, and he smelled of urine so lets hope he hasnt polluted the gene pool.

This "coconut" thing. Being of Indian origin with all its bells, whistles, religons and culture and living in England brings its clashes with the 2 sets of east and west mentalities. You get one sort that have completely lost all trace of indian heritage (probably some of the latest generation) to the ones that are fighting to keep hold of it (Mostly my parents generation) and then there is my generation thats caught in the middle trying to balance the two. I beleive with a dose of common sense and comprimise its possible to have the two in equal measure. This person, the Football Against Racism loudspeaker has bascially undermined his own cause by calling another asian a coconut. He means that he has gone 'too far the other way'mainly towards shedding his "asian-ness" by supporting Liverpool? Is he being racist? As I interpret it, he is basically saying the Scouse fan is "too white". Dear me ! Its like having a Turkey waving a placard saying Stop the mass slaughter! then voting for Christmas on Twitter.

At every party now there will always be the unholy triumvirate - the Manure supporter, the Liverpool and then the other that flits between, Chelski or Man Citeh. This being a party in Birmingham or London with locals I might add. Cue "banter" about how crap Villa are and that Manure are now bigger than Liverpool blah. How many times have you been to old trafford / Anfield / Sheds? Silence.