Date of your first Villa away game.

[Whiney MacWhineface]

7th November 1964. A 4-2 loss at Nottingham Forest. I did a deal with my Brummie Red friend that we’d go see Villa together if I went to see Man Utd there. I don’t remember much about the game except that I was unimpressed by their ground. I think we got there from Sutton by bus. I was 12.

And to be perfectly honest and, of course, unbiased, there aren’t many grounds I’ve been to that have impressed me compared to VP.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

A 4-2 loss at Nottingham Forest.  I think we got there from Sutton by bus. I was 12.

Geek alert - sounds like a Midland Red X99 job. 

[PeterWithesShin]

Not 100% sure but i'd have been 7 or 8 and vaguely remember going to Everton when we got stuffed in the cup, Forest for another cup stuffing, Bristol City away twice with one being a journey home with few coach windows remaining. And locally the Sty and we lost, which was probably part of their 5 in a row, no idea where we were sat but i was so upset a nose behind gave my folks 20p to buy me some sweets to cheer me up. Wolves which even that young I remember being a total dump and more memorable for my mom suffering a collapsed lung there and the Hawthorns where not much happened. And if it counts Wembley '77 where us and Everton put on a footballing masterclass on my 7th birthday.

[West Derby Villan]

21/12/74 Stripeys, lost 2 nil

[Damo70]

Swindon away, 1988.

How we got tickets I don’t know.

Judging by the crush to get in Swindon must have sold about twenty thousand tickets to us. Then stuck us in a piddling little corner of the ground.

Actually, thinking about it, was it even made an all ticket game? I seem to remember just paying on the gate for most away games that year. Or is my memory playing tricks on me?

[PeterWithesShin]

Loads of forgeries. There's a video on youtube about the day i'll see if I can find it.

[PeterWithesShin]

[Pat McMahon]

First away game was a 3-0 drubbing at Walsall on 2 January 1971. They stuffed us. The 8 year old me was inconsolable and could not understand how the team which had beaten Man U 9 days previously could be annihilated by Walsall (who we failed to beat on 4 games in the 3rd division).

First non-Villa Park game under my own steam was the League Cup 2nd replay v Palace at Highfield Rd on 16 October 1978. We won 3-0 and the Mail published a fact in the match report that the 25,000 crowd was higher than Coventry's average crowd.

First away game proper with mates was Cambridge in the FA CUP on 26 January 1980 (I think). Definitely a 1-1 draw, with a goal from Terry Donovan. The special took about 4 hours to get home, presumably because in those days they were classed as second class customers and had to fit in with scheduled trains.

No idea why my first away games were not local derbies.

[somec]

November 1996.  Coventry 1 Villa 2.  Joachim and a screamer from Staunton for us.  Some no-mark called Dion Dublin for them.

Snap

And here it is

[LeeB]

November 1996.  Coventry 1 Villa 2.  Joachim and a screamer from Staunton for us.  Some no-mark called Dion Dublin for them.

Snap

And here it is

I was in the front row that day, and got a high five off Andy Townsend as he ran past us all celebrating Staunton's winner.

[LeeB]

Swindon away, 1988.

How we got tickets I don’t know.

Judging by the crush to get in Swindon must have sold about twenty thousand tickets to us. Then stuck us in a piddling little corner of the ground.

Actually, thinking about it, was it even made an all ticket game? I seem to remember just paying on the gate for most away games that year. Or is my memory playing tricks on me?

I vividly remember the rest of the terrace looking empty, whilst we were crushed into that poxy corner, and those videos show that.

Pre-Hillsborough and all that, good to see the publicity piece for those good old boys in blue. You can get a feel for how they saw their priorities from that footage, patting themselves on the back for avoiding a war between two lots of fans that couldn't give a fuck about each other, whilst 4000 people are stuck in a fenced in space where 3000 should be maximum.

[Damo70]

November 1996.  Coventry 1 Villa 2.  Joachim and a screamer from Staunton for us.  Some no-mark called Dion Dublin for them.

Snap

And here it is

I was in the front row that day, and got a high five off Andy Townsend as he ran past us all celebrating Staunton's winner.

I was in the front row (or certainly one of the rows near the front) at Highfield Road when Coventry player manager at the time Terry Butcher got sent off for an incident right in front of us. The game also qualifies me for this thread as it was my first (and last) Villa away game in the Zenith Data Systems cup. I think it was also the first and last game Alan McLoughlin played for us.

[Damo70]

November 1996.  Coventry 1 Villa 2.  Joachim and a screamer from Staunton for us.  Some no-mark called Dion Dublin for them.

Snap

And here it is

I was in the front row that day, and got a high five off Andy Townsend as he ran past us all celebrating Staunton's winner.

I was in the front row (or certainly one of the rows near the front) at Highfield Road when Coventry player manager at the time Terry Butcher got sent off for an incident right in front of us. The game also qualifies me for this thread as it was my first (and last) Villa away game in the Zenith Data Systems cup. I think it was also the first and last game Alan McLoughlin played for us.

Just checked on Wikipedia and they have him down for '0' appearances in his time at Villa, which shows a disgraceful lack of respect for the ZDS cup in my opinion.

[LeeB]

At least we get to pretend we didn't lose 5-0 at home to Bradford in that case.

[Damo70]

At least we get to pretend we didn't lose 5-0 at home to Bradford in that case.

I was there that night and Ormondroyd caused us loads of problems, which SGT clearly remembered when he signed him the following year. But I still love that competition in whatever guise or by whatever various names it went by as it meant I got to see us stuff the noses 6-0 on my eighteenth birthday.