1996 League Cup final

[dave.woodhall]

The only time we've ever acted like we belonged there.

Unlike 1994 when we were the biggest daytrippers you've ever seen!

I'm glad someone else feels the same way.

[papa lazarou]

The '96 Final means a great deal to me. During the season some of my workmates had been tagging along to some of the games with me. They were a mixed bunch but there were two baggies fans amongst them - they were coming to see Premier League football which was a distant target for them at the time.
With all of the tickets we had bought I managed to qualify for two tickets as well as my own. So what do you do when your mates had been going to the games with you and you have two final tickets - you take your daughter and son of course. They were fifteen and thirteen and didn't know they were going until a few days before. I picked them up from the ex-wife's house and we had a fantastic time. I had a car phone at the time and we called my dad on our way home - he was a happy old Villa fan that day.
Sharing that successful day with my kids will never leave me, it's one of those "do you remember when we..." days.
I also thought that the club then had the impetus to go on to achieve great things but it wasn't to happen.

[AVH87]

I bet if you'd said to somebody at the time 'in 20 years, we won't have won anything since this', you'd have been laughed out of town.

[castlefields_villan]

I really thought this time we could go and be a real force around the top of the premier league for a couple of years at least - I think I felt this even more so than I did with the win under Big Ron two years earlier.

For me, a lot of the joy of winning the League Cup (again) was wiped away when we unjustly lost to Liverpool the following weekend in the FA Cup Semi Final. 

[papa lazarou]

I bet if you'd said to somebody at the time 'in 20 years, we won't have won anything since this', you'd have been laughed out of town.

Probably, there was an air of energy and resolve around that bred confidence.
In retrospect, we would have had to invest heavily then and build on what we had to maintain our status - we bought SVC.

[Chris Harte]

Missed savos goal as was in the little boys room at Wembley courtesy of the previous 5 hours drinking in st Joseph's Irish club just off Wembley way.

I was on my way to the little boys room, stopped at the top of the stairs just in time to see him belt it, then when I arrived at the little boys room and everyone down there had heard the roar and wanted to know what had happened, no-one believed me when I said "Savo's just scored a screamer from 30 yards out."

[Chris Harte]

Oh, and I witnessed the beer fight at The Green Man. Beer was still in the bottles at the time and I've never known an atmosphere change so quickly or seen a pub clear so quickly.

[Dr Butler]

a great day even though I had Savo first goal and 2 nil    (£5 @ 40/1 if I remember right) damn you Dwight...

a brilliant performance and after doing the Arsenal in the semi's from 2 nil down too

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