2014-15

[CJ]

I haven't missed a single home game - league or cup - since 1992, when I started taking my eldest son to games, but my patience has been stretched to breaking point with the dross currently being served up at Villa Park. Renewing next season will depend on two things - whether the friends I've sat with for years in the Upper Holte renew, and whether Paul Lambert has been relieved of his duties. If either of those scenarios happens I'll renew; if neither happens I'll be off. I'd miss my mates, I'd miss the best approach to a ground in football past Aston Hall with the Holte End emerging through the trees, I'd miss being part of something bigger than my day-to-day humdrum life. I wouldn't miss the crushing disappointment at the standard of football being served up by the greatest name in world football, I wouldn't miss the mumbling  myopia of a manager clearly out of his depth, and I wouldn't miss being messed about by Sky and BT Sport moving kick-offs to silly o'clock every week to satisfy the armchair army. As others have said, going to games used to be a huge buzz, now it's a chore, or just another fix for a junkie who no longer gets any high from the drug.

[taylorsworkrate]

I think our support is pretty poor in comparison to clubs of a similar size, who have been infinetly less successful than we have over the past 50 years, such as Man City and Newcastle.

Really?

The truly staggering amount of dross that has been served up at Villa Park over the last few years and we still manage to regularly get crowds of over 35k. I'd say that was pretty remarkable support.

Well poor us ah? "The football is shite, its not fair Tom".

Put it into context; Newcastle recently averaged around 13000 more than that in the second division, Man City averaged that in the 3rd division just under 15 years ago, having spent the previous who knows how many years completely in the shadow of their neighbours. I wonder how fond they were of their football while they were sinking through the leagues?

We sit with so many advantages; we are located in one of the biggest urban conurbations in the UK, with an ability to draw support from several million people, with easy access to a few million more around that. We’re comfortably the biggest club for 80 to 100 miles in any direction, yet our home support has only ever been meh.   

 

Your Tom Ross reference is pretty pathetic, so I'll be the better man and let that go.

Do you think home performances have been good over the last few seasons? Or that the fans should swallow any old shite and keep paying through the nose for the privilege?

My point is that a hell of a lot of people are doing just that. We have turned into perennial relegation candidates, and are still attracting large home crowds, who have in particular been very patient with Lambert.

Newcastle's support is not really a fair comparison to draw. We are the biggest club within the 80 to 100 mile radius that you suggest, but Newcastle are the ONLY club within 25-30 miles in that region. Football in general is also probably viewed with less apathy up there.

[PaulTheVillan]

My last ST was under McLeish.

Not seen anything to make me want to go back.

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I think our support is pretty poor in comparison to clubs of a similar size, who have been infinitely less successful than we have over the past 50 years, such as Man City and Newcastle.

Really?

The truly staggering amount of dross that has been served up at Villa Park over the last few years and we still manage to regularly get crowds of over 35k. I'd say that was pretty remarkable support.

Well poor us ah? "The football is shite, it's not fair Tom".

Put it into context; Newcastle recently averaged around 13000 more than that in the second division, Man City averaged that in the 3rd division just under 15 years ago, having spent the previous who knows how many years completely in the shadow of their neighbours. I wonder how fond they were of their football while they were sinking through the leagues?

We sit with so many advantages; we are located in one of the biggest urban conurbations in the UK, with an ability to draw support from several million people, with easy access to a few million more around that. We’re comfortably the biggest club for 80 to 100 miles in any direction, yet our home support has only ever been meh.   

 

Your Tom Ross reference is pretty pathetic, so I'll be the better man and let that go.

Do you think home performances have been good over the last few seasons? Or that the fans should swallow any old shite and keep paying through the nose for the privilege?

My point is that a hell of a lot of people are doing just that. We have turned into perennial relegation candidates, and are still attracting large home crowds, who have in particular been very patient with Lambert.

Newcastle's support is not really a fair comparison to draw. We are the biggest club within the 80 to 100 mile radius that you suggest, but Newcastle are the ONLY club within 25-30 miles in that region. Football in general is also probably viewed with less apathy up there.

And we're the only club of any consequence in the West Midlands, without a serious local competitor since the late 1970'/early 1980s, sitting in one of the most densely populated regions in the UK, with the potential to draw support from surrounding counties for miles and miles in any direction. Kenwright was spot on when he said that the Villa have the most advantageous position in terms of support base compared to anybody in the country.

I understood your point completely and rebutted it previously. There is no explanation as to why smaller clubs, with less advantageous circumstances drew bigger support through vastly rougher times than we currently do when either poor, or successful for that matter.

We have mediocre home support, there is no other way of swinging it.

[Fin Feds Dad]

Last week, I plucked up the courage to ask my son if he wanted to renew again next year - I had been dreading asking him as I genuinely feared he would say 'No' - and I love doing the father/son thing at the Villa with him that my dad did (and still does) with me. 

He's 11 now and has had a season ticket bought from the day he was born - to guarantee his seat in between me and my Dad (his Grandad) - for when he was finally old enough to start coming to matches (aged 4 onwards). 

My first seven seasons were 74/75 to 80/81 - what a team we had then. Gray, Little, Gidman, Mortimer,Cowans, Shaw, Withe - legends.

His first seven have seen us try and reach the Champions League in 2008/9, two wembley appearances under MON - then 4 years of the worst football and complete tediousness at home (albeit sprinkled with the odd Arsenal (a) win).

After a while he said - 'I'll have one - as long as we stay up'.


   

[Chris Jameson]

Newcastle's support is not really a fair comparison to draw. We are the biggest club within the 80 to 100 mile radius that you suggest, but Newcastle are the ONLY club within 25-30 miles in that region. Football in general is also probably viewed with less apathy up there.

I agree with the point you make, I'm amazed that Villa still get so many at home but there is another city 10 miles away with a football team.

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Who also have significantly larger attendances than we do.

[Richard E]

Who also have significantly larger attendances than we do.

Although is that not at least partly down to the number of freebies they dole out?

[Chris Jameson]

Who also have significantly larger attendances than we do.

Although is that not at least partly down to the number of freebies they dole out?

Yes. And they are the only team within a 10 mile radius.

[not3bad]

Hasn't the whole Villa and their attendances compared to other teams been done a few times now?

[Chris Jameson]

Hasn't the whole Villa and their attendances compared to other teams been done a few times now?

No, never. Is Prince William a Villa fan?

[freethinker]

I've just checked Wikipedia and the population of Tyneside (i.e. excluding Wearside) is about 830,000. That's a lot of people for one football club.

As much as we like to disparage our neighbours, the truth is we share the West Midlands conurbation with several other big clubs (I'm thinking Wolves, West Brom, Blues and to a lesser extent Coventry). Not all of these rivals might get big attendances, but plenty of people still align themselves with them, rather than Villa. I think our crowds have held up really well over the last few years, given the dross we've been served up.

[Chap]

My last ST was under McLeish.

Not seen anything to make me want to go back.

Me also, and gave up after 26 consecutive years as a ST holder.

[myf]

bham has the youngest population structure of any European city. 40% under 25. a major opportunity to grow our fan base and attendences. current form not helping matters though

[Ad@m]

Hasn't the whole Villa and their attendances compared to other teams been done a few times now?

Yep. Not sure how to do links but i did a bit of brief research on it here -