Do you have the right to moan?

[Chris Jameson]

if you want to live in another country or miles away from VP then that's your choice, the Villa experience obviously wasn't to high when you made it

That's the sort of nonsense Greg Nash used to come out with, if you've got the opportunity to sample life in another country or move to make life better for yourself or your family and you put a football club first then you need your head testing.

Anyhow, there's this French band called Aston Villa....

[VillaSpen]

I've been down the Villa on less than half a dozen occasions over the last 6 years but I think that prior to moving out here I'd invested enough financially and, more importantly, emotionally over the preceding 21 years that I am entitled to maintain my right to moan. I've known and sat next to blokes at Villa Park that have seen the full 90 minutes live whilst sober yet still spewed utter nonsense about the game they'd just seen when discussing it less than an hour after the final whistle so I don't necessarily agree that going to the ground makes you more insightful. I do believe that you have more right to vocalise your distaste if you're coughing up currency and spending time at games, however.

[Ian.]

if you want to live in another country or miles away from VP then that's your choice, the Villa experience obviously wasn't to high when you made it

That's the sort of nonsense Greg Nash used to come out with, if you've got the opportunity to sample life in another country or move to make life better for yourself or your family and you put a football club first then you need your head testing.

Anyhow, there's this French band called Aston Villa....

I'd be worried if you chose watching Villa over a move to maybe better your life.

Surely you either support Villa or you don't.
I have lived in Devon since '83 so I have gone whenever I could but not often enough as I played football myself. I went to most home matches for a couple of years on the spin while I was out injured. I have not been regularly for 10 years now as I have been busy breeding!
I would love to be more involved, maybe one day I will with my little lad.
I watch enough and spend enough of my time still with the Villa via media so I can moan if I like.

[john e]

if you want to live in another country or miles away from VP then that's your choice, the Villa experience obviously wasn't to high when you made it

That's the sort of nonsense Greg Nash used to come out with, if you've got the opportunity to sample life in another country or move to make life better for yourself or your family and you put a football club first then you need your head testing.

Anyhow, there's this French band called Aston Villa....

I'd be worried if you chose watching Villa over a move to maybe better your life.

Surely you either support Villa or you don't.
I have lived in Devon since '83 so I have gone whenever I could but not often enough as I played football myself. I went to most home matches for a couple of years on the spin while I was out injured. I have not been regularly for 10 years now as I have been busy breeding!
I would love to be more involved, maybe one day I will with my little lad.
I watch enough and spend enough of my time still with the Villa via media so I can moan if I like.

thats the problem when people just pick out a bit of a post and comment on it as if thats what the context was saying
my post was far longer than just that snippet which people have jumped on

their are things in life more inportant than Villa, if you read the original post i also said i was one supporter who doesnt go as much as i used to, much like yourself,
 it doesnt mean i am not a supporter, but i admit there are a lot more loyal and committed fans than me, there are probably supporters who would never leave the area, because watching Villa is more important than it is to you and me

the problem i have is one of the stock retorts from posters is the ' your a better fan than me' mantra, well if you are sitting miles away posting on a website about a team you watch every blue moon, then someone who goes every week or has a season ticket is a more commited fan than you, its pretty simple really, yes they are a better fan, theirs plenty on here better than me, i dont get the problem

i agree it can go through phases, money, lifchanges with children, jobs, distance, these can all change and affect are attendance, when i was in my 20's i went to every game, i lived in Cov and my time was my own, i'm 50  now so things have changed a bit

[frank black]

I am a brummie, moaning is in my genes.

[KevinGage]

I know some people who go to VP purely for the social element - in one instance, it's just about the only thing they do as a family.  They couldn't really give a toss about the football. In fact it often gets in the way. 

On the other hand, I've known people who've lived in Australia for 40 odd years and obsess over the results far more than I ever did.  So again, how can you realistically measure how big a part it is of someone's life.      Attending matches is one obvious indicator.  But it isn't the only one.

[PeterWithesShin]

How many games someones goes to is irrelevant to how good a fan they are. Who is the better fan?

Person A who is loaded and can easily afford to go to every Villa game as they don't have much else to do with their time or money, or Person B for whom money is mega tight and it's a real sacrifice to scrimp and save to go to 2-3 games a year? I go for B.

As I mentioned earlier, the only ones I have no time for are the ones who stop going just because we're crap.

[Chris Jameson]

Is Prince William a Villa fan?

[Ads]

I follow Villa home and away, but readily admit that the likes of Villajk and DC5 are more dedicated than I as they freely put the effort into friendlies and reserve games. I say that as somebody who isn't local either.

[danlanza]

To go to both home and away games takes a lot of dedication, effort and money. I take my hat of to anybody who can do this and hold them in the highest regard. But, it does not make you a better fan than somebody who lives in Australia, America, Nigeria, Spain, Portugal, Italy or any other country around the world. It does mean that you are fortunate enough to be able to do it and that does not make you a better fan.
It makes you jammy, rich buggers with to much time on your hands.

[not3bad]

Is Prince William a Villa fan?

Apparently he was moaning about the defence something shocking the other day. Wouldn't shut up. Moan, moan, moan.

[richardhubbard]

I. Moved away 14 years ago and until 2 years ago had season tickets but had lads who now play footy on a Saturday and it just had to be a decision to help my kids develop or watch the villa.

We still go when we can. I probably now got more interest than in 4 years.


We all have right to moan but be realistic with it!

[JUAN PABLO]

Im not bothered If someone goes every game or has not been down in years   . I just know when I bump into a Villa fan any where in the world , I am chuffed to pieces and love a long chat about the club .

 I don't think I ever mention If they go down to VP ( as less its a long long chat ) , I just start chatting about the players and the results  .

[Small Rodent]

You should sack your minister if the offering is more important than the spirit.

[sonlyme]

Moaning lies at the heart of what it means to be a Villa fan.  Without moaning I don't think there would be an Aston Villa FC.  Wailing, whining, whingeing, gurning, and griping all fall within our remit.  You can attend every match - first team, reserves, and academy but your complaints carry no more weight than those of a moaner whose closest contact with the club is that he once drove past Villa Park on the way to an elderly relatives when he was a child. Which is something many moan about.

But it makes no difference to Villa - the right to moan is the right to life.

The right to complain is enshrined in the mythical 'Constitution of Aston' - and Parliaments have been founded on William McGregor's famous words - 'Fuck this for a game of soldiers - I'm off'.

Indeed the founding fathers of our noble club knew what they were doing when, in 1871,  they sited the first ground between a shop selling bed linen and one selling tins of paint.

Moaning in fact used to be enforced by law in Aston.  In the early 1800's the men of the area had to meet every Sunday on the Lower Grounds and practice complaining. 

Which, by the way, is how the game of football was invented. One bitter winter morning as little groups of men complained in steamy huddles about the weather - one young lad moaned that all this griping was boring and so they started kicking a ball about instead - arguing amongst themselves just how the game should be played, and thus - football as we know it was born. Albeit in the face of complaints from local residents.

Moaning is in our blood - it is the blue of dissatisfaction to go with the claret of our passion. 

I would refer younger scholars of our club to our original motto of 1874...

'We're Aston Villa - we'll moan when we want'

[The whole or parts of this article are authorised to be re-used as fact on North America, African, or Asian websites and blogs about the Premier League]