Manchester - Capital of Football

[JUAN PABLO]

The Mellotron comes from Birmingham and I love the Mellotron ..

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

If only we were called Birmingham Villa...

[Louzie0]

I think you might have to accept that it's changed a bit in the 30 odd years since you lived there....

I went there last year.  It was a lot smarter than I remembered.  But I go back to Birmingham more often.  I still think it's better for the cohesion of the city centre.
 
C'mon Risso, I'm not going to agree with you although I totally appreciate that you love where you live!  I just love Birmingham! 
Where's the Manchester Floozie in the Jacuzzi? Although I really love the Whitworth.

And I still remember living in Hulme and visiting friends in Moss Side.  When we got home from the pub there were insects all over the floor.  I thought they were common or garden cockroaches, but we apparently were dealing with insects that only lived on the yeast from the Harp lager factory! (local folk myth.)

 The story was that they were living in the walls of the council flats, which were made of pressed vegetable matter, and marched up the road to the factory every night to get their fix!

Manchester has a place in my heart.

[KRS]

Oooh yes, the crime hotspot that is...Solihull!

If you lived in Birmingham for 13 years and decided it was a shithole, why did you only move to Walsall?

And as you consider Walsall to be a shithole why do you live there now?

In fact, is there anywhere you wouldn't class as a shithole?

I clearly stated that I thought Walsall is also a shithole but I happen to live in an area which isnt too bad. May be I should have been clearer when listing areas in which I have previously lived...Solihull was actually pretty nice and would live there again. As Chris mentioned, there is good and bad in all areas including Birmingham and Walsall, but that doesnt change the piss poor image the media and the rest of the country have of Birmingham. my decision of where to buy a house has absolutely nothing to do with this discussion...and yes, I happen to think most of England is a shithole and I wouldnt hesitate to move to a shithole abroad somewhere...at least it would be a hot shithole!

Walsall - and you think you have the right to slag off Birmingham? ;-)

You seem to have a common small-town view that there are muggers and rapists on every corner. Guess what, kids can play out here too. I walked up my road earlier and I even stopped to talk to a neighbour and I didn't get attacked.

As I said there are dodgy areas, just as there are in Walsall, but to call the whole City a shit hole just because you're intimidated by it is just wrong. It's my home town and I think it's great.

I've lived and worked in Birmingham for most of my life so I have every right to slag it off Chris...the same applies to Walsall. Thanks for jumping to conclusions and placing stereotypes on me personally, however I dont have a "small town mentality" and have never been or felt "intimidated" by any places where I have lived.

If you or anyone else are proud of and love Birmingham then fairplay to you...that is your choice as it is mine to dislike it. I just find it unfortunate that the football club we love just so happens to be located in Birmingham and I'll never join in "the city is ours"...they are welcome to the shithole!

[richardhubbard]

Either way, bham and manchester are nicer than Liverpool , that is a shit hole !

[Risso]

Either way, bham and manchester are nicer than Liverpool , that is a shit hole !

I really like Liverpool as well...sorry!  Just about most of it is a massive shit hole, but the city centre has some great pubs, and there's just a nice vibe about the place that's quite unique.

[Chris Smith]

KRS it's just coincidence then that many people from small towns like Walsall and Bromsgrove think of Birmingham as a place where your kids will get abducted if they play out. It's just complete and utter nonsense.

[Merv]

Huge sweeping generalisation, I know, but most of the UK cities I've spent time in have a mix of good and not so good areas... and nowhere is the contrast more stark than glamorous London..!

Back to the football chat: the media have already set the agenda as City v United for the season, so we'd better get used to it. And to be fair, they do look the two outstanding teams this season, so it's understandable. I'm just pleased to see someone else trying to take United on. Especially when United fans play the 'not fair, they're buying the best players' line... as if that's not how United got to the top in the first place...

[Risso]

I wouldn't be quick to write off Chelsea.  I bet they don't mind that all the attention is on the two Manchester clubs.

[Merv]

No, I bet AVB is happy enough about that. Chelsea I'm not sure about yet - but I do like that Villa Boas seems able to overlook the 'bigger' names and pick on merit (Sturridge coming in, for example), which could make them more dangerous.

[Stu]

...and yes, I happen to think most of England is a shithole and I wouldnt hesitate to move to a shithole abroad somewhere...at least it would be a hot shithole!

If you or anyone else are proud of and love Birmingham then fairplay to you...that is your choice as it is mine to dislike it. I just find it unfortunate that the football club we love just so happens to be located in Birmingham and I'll never join in "the city is ours"...they are welcome to the shithole!

There's nothing like a bit of civic pride. If you're so convinced that where you chose to live is a 'shithole', then why don't you do something about it?

Just for the record, where would you say isn't a shithole? I grew up in a small rural community which a lot of people would consider a lovely area. However, I'd say the place is a shithole; no decent pubs, no nightlife, nothing for anyone to do, kids have nowhere to go, no decent public transport, expensive, ran by Tories, a parish council that will only give planning permission to hairdressers because they're terrified of changing anything...

[Vanilla]

Sadly, under MON, because of his reputation in football, we did seem to be getting decent media coverage. Since then, the coverage is only an aside tinged with ridicule.

Perhaps though, in the media, it is perceived (or it could be true) that Villa doesn't sell papers or put bums on seats for TV. We are only picked for FA or League Cup coverage when playing minnows, as TV sport execs think there is going to be an upset; you have to be a virtual insomniac to catch Villa on MOTD; or if we ever get in the Europa League, our coverage will only be Ch5 or ITV4 at best as has usually been the case in the past.
 

[Handsworth Wood Villa]

If we want Birmingham's football image to improve then we need Blues to get back up to the top-flight 

[Ad@m]

...and yes, I happen to think most of England is a shithole and I wouldnt hesitate to move to a shithole abroad somewhere...at least it would be a hot shithole!

What a thoroughly miserable outlook on life.

[UsualSuspect]

'll never join in "the city is ours".
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I think that is probably the worst song we have ever had