Radio WM

[john e]

The Birmingham Mail is a truly awful advert for this city.

Half-brained bollocks with next to zero journalistic merit. I used to think Small Heath were the most embarrassingly small time outfit associated with this city, but the Mail make them look like Juventus by comparison.

This infuriates me the most here.

London media round 'ere don't give a toss about Midlands football, so I've come to expect it.

But the Meaning Evil and WM, supposedly THE local outlets, and you'd think would be the most supportive of ALL our clubs, have this clear anti-Villa hatred and bias. If the voice of reason is Ron Toss, once a week on a radio station few struggle to remember its name, we have no chance here.

Maybe we should adopt Millwall's 'no-one likes us' song?

I can confirm that MK Dons already adopted that song

[dave.woodhall]

Our problem has been that we don't care if anyone likes us. Compare and contrast to the Stripeys twenty year charm offensive.

[pauliewalnuts]

Talking of sad bastards, the biggest hypocrite in Birmingham is still at it.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/west-brom-comment-case-defence-8812893

What an utter, utter wanker.

Surprisingly that article has now been pulled! Did somebody complain to the PCC?

I am not surprised at all, it really was a pointless bit of trolling with absolutely zero journalistic merit.

What a hypocritical twat Bill Howell is. I wonder how he managed to keep this bitterness towards all things Villa quiet all that time he was making a living following the club everywhere we went?

[Damo70]

Our problem has been that we don't care if anyone likes us. Compare and contrast to the Stripeys twenty year charm offensive.

I think they just come across as rather 'needy'.

[pauliewalnuts]

Our problem has been that we don't care if anyone likes us. Compare and contrast to the Stripeys twenty year charm offensive.

I think they just come across as rather 'needy'.

I think that's about right.

I also think it is hard for them to understand how lop-sided the bitterness between them and us is.

I know you're from the finer side of the city too, Damo, I don't know what your experience was, but suspect it is similar to mine, but bar one uncle, growing up in the 70s / 80s I can honestly say I never met a single Albion fan.

You just didn't see them. You saw loads of Blues fans, loads of revolting "Brummie Reds" too, but pretty much never Albion fans.

I understand why some of us really, really hate them, but at the same time, to me they have about as much relevance to my life as a football supporter as, say, Stoke City or Leicester City.

[aj2k77]

The press of this region are shit.

We've had 4 years of terrible football and record breaking shiteness and only during the last few weeks of it did the mail start asking relevant questions, I know no one reads it anymore but come on, it's your job to ask what needs asking.

Over the City at the spittoon of humanity in Small Heath they are ran in to the ground, also go on record breakingly bad home runs, have the owner imprisoned and various other deeds but no one at the paper ever reports anything, asks or questions anything. You have twats like Colin Twattum toeing the party line going on like everything is fine and dandy and cosying up with whichever scumbag runs the rags that week.

It's all very poor journalism.

[cheltenhamlion]

I am sorry but that piece from Howell is disgraceful.

[dave.woodhall]

Needy or not, they've made friends and influenced people. We should have done the same.

[Brend'Watkins]

'The spitoon of humanity'

Must remember that one.

[Damo70]

Our problem has been that we don't care if anyone likes us. Compare and contrast to the Stripeys twenty year charm offensive.

I think they just come across as rather 'needy'.

I think that's about right.

I also think it is hard for them to understand how lop-sided the bitterness between them and us is.

I know you're from the finer side of the city too, Damo, I don't know what your experience was, but suspect it is similar to mine, but bar one uncle, growing up in the 70s / 80s I can honestly say I never met a single Albion fan.

You just didn't see them. You saw loads of Blues fans, loads of revolting "Brummie Reds" too, but pretty much never Albion fans.

I understand why some of us really, really hate them, but at the same time, to me they have about as much relevance to my life as a football supporter as, say, Stoke City or Leicester City.

When I was a kid my parents had some friends from Evesham they met on holiday. The bloke was an Albion fan who gave me a load of their old programmes. I went to college and became good mates with another Albion fan. I worked in a pub and became good friends with another Albion fan who I used to go to Hall Green dogs with. Three good blokes. The first one sadly died of CJD. The second accompanied me onto the Kop at St Andrews to join in with the protests for a laugh after Albion had beaten Small Heath 1-4 in the late eighties. We had been standing in the away end. I think they are the only three Albion fans I have ever really known. My mate Wolverhampton Dave has a fantastic rehearsed rant about Albion that even Dave Woodhall would be proud of.

[PeterWithe]

Same here really, I didnt know many Albion fans growing up and I liked all of them, now I live in Sutton there are more of them than SHA fans but all of the ones I've met have been sound.

[fbriai]

I went to school just outside of Wolverhampton and one of my best mates is an Albion fan from that time. Minorities sticking together and all that.

To be honest, though, I never really got much stick for being Villa and I don't reckon he ever got too much hassle for being Albion. It was only when I later moved to Brum that I encountered that, and it was always from the fans of that lot down the road. I often found it to be borderline hatred, too. It just all seemed ridiculously exaggerated. For the vast majority of my life up to then they had been completely irrelevant to me.

[atomicjam]

I moved to Northfield last year and just the other night did that nearest sports team search and was surprised to find the nearest football ground (in the top 4 leagues) to me is West Brom. I see hardly any of their fans around here. Villa fans edge it over Blues in terms of visible support. Oh and on topic, Bill Howell is an immature and bitter individual.

[rob_bridge]

Got 1 Albion supporting mate who is a top bloke - his Granddad was one of those who bought Vila shares in 1968.

Some of the lot I encountered on Saturday were rather unpleasant though I dare say there were Villa equivalents dotted about the place.

Is there as copy of that brilliant ranting article anywhere on here? Was in H&V about 6-7 years ago

[Clampy]

I am sorry but that piece from Howell is disgraceful.

The other thing about him is that he tries to be funny and fails in spectacular fashion. He's no Charlie Brooker.