doug ellis/witton lane stand

[The Edge]

It started off as the old stand - with exits and entrances in place from what was probably the 1897 original stand but the season after the new stand opened the lower tier was re-built with the layout we have today.

The links below show the stand under construction with the new seats bolted onto the original profile.

https://www.google.com/search?q=witton+lane+stand+1994&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB829GB829&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjy08yRsZHhAhVlo3EKHWQXBEAQ_AUIDigB&biw=1536&bih=722#imgrc=BfKPrvhQE1ZgWM:

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB829GB829&biw=1536&bih=722&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Z4ySXIqJF4y0UvLFm7AM&q=witton+lane+stnad+1945&oq=witton+lane+stnad+1945&gs_l=img.3...2198.2737..3209...0.0..0.60.330.6......1....1..gws-wiz-img.D_Hv6daCLwk#imgrc=-Zixh5lZ7zY_cM:


https://pixels.com/featured/aston-villa-villa-park-witton-lane-stand-1-april-1993-legendary-football-grounds.html

That make sense?

Great link thanks 👍it highlights something thats always bugged me about VP. When they rebuilt the Holte just how did they make such a hash of connecting it to the Witton Lane? Its such a mish mash of shapes and angles it really messes with my ocd !

[PeterWithesShin]

Probably because the Witton was built while the Holte was terracing so it was built to fit in with that, as Dave says, a lack of long term thinking.

[London Villan]

The smart thing to have done over the past 30 years would have been to accomodate a move of the ground of 20/30 metres into the space of the North Stand car park. That would have been a long term plan, make the most of the land we own and sort out the pinch point of Trinity Road and Witton Lane.

[robbo1874]

I like your thinking LV. But I think Wolves tried something similar in the 80s and not sure it really worked out for them 😂

[VILLA MOLE]

nice sentiment, but the new holte was built prior to the demolition (by several years) of the old trinity. Unless maybe you are suggesting he knew what he was going to do with the trinity rd and compensated in advance with the Holte?

The Holte was built to complement the Trinity. Which was knocked down five years later.

We built three stands in seven years, none of them with any sort of idea how they would fit in with what we already had or were going to have. It was a total lack of long-term planning that summed up Villa at the time.
[/quote]


I agree with you about the planning , but I think some of the grounds charm is the mis match of the stands.  I would like us to sort out the exterior of Trinity with maybe some pics  of Villa greats maybe

[The Edge]

Probably because the Witton was built while the Holte was terracing so it was built to fit in with that, as Dave says, a lack of long term thinking.

There was nothing to stop them profiling the rebuilt lower Holte to conjoin neatly with the Witton Lane. Nothing that is but a penny pinching out of touch old man with the final say on every VP decision. Like you say. Lack of planning.

[AV82EC]

There can be no finer epitaph for Doug than the stand that bears his name as it was poorly constructed, lacked foresight and didn’t quite fit in with its surroundings.

[dave.woodhall]

There can be no finer epitaph for Doug than the stand that bears his name as it was poorly constructed, lacked foresight and didn’t quite fit in with its surroundings.

And it was a health hazard.

[in exile]

My first season ticket was as a 13 year old in the Witton Lane Stand - Door O, Row A but I cant remember my seat number.
Right in line with the 18 yard box, Holte End side.
I used to love it in their. It had it's own smell (from the catering and the dust off the old concrete stairways up to the seats)
Happy, happy days

[cannock villa]

There can be no finer epitaph for Doug than the stand that bears his name as it was poorly constructed, lacked foresight and didn’t quite fit in with its surroundings.

And yet i would imagine we would all jump at the chance to relive those days of him in charge now. Profitable, well run,regularly in Europe and with the odd trophy thrown in.

[The Edge]

There can be no finer epitaph for Doug than the stand that bears his name as it was poorly constructed, lacked foresight and didn’t quite fit in with its surroundings.

And yet i would imagine we would all jump at the chance to relive those days of him in charge now. Profitable, well run,regularly in Europe and with the odd trophy thrown in.

Your opening up a whole nother debate with that comment. Personally i'll never be yearning for the days of Deadly Doug.   We could of achieved so much more in my view.

[maidstonevillain]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47687411

The above is a link to a video showing the new White Hart Lane. Not worth it's own thread, but could have some relevance to the general Villa Park discussions.  About 00.08 seconds in. Is that safe standing via the back door?

[andyh]

Fair play to Spuds.
That stadium looks pretty special.

[The Edge]

Looks very nice and facilities look great. I see they're claiming the South stand as holding 17,500 but it wraps around the sides so not a true "end" in my view although it is very impressive.

[Nev]

I like the fact that Spurs have looked beyond the traditional design that has been so fashionable of late and broken those lines with a single tier end. I believe the naming rights are up for grabs which is a shame.

Although this new stadium looks stunning, for me football grounds are not just about how they look and operate but how they echo with history. It will happen eventually with all these new stadia as the years roll by but nothing beats a ground, on it's original site, that give you goose bumps as you feel the past all around. From the streets and approaches, the pubs and shops, into the stands and that view of something a simple as a patch of grass that has played host to so many up's and downs (well, downs in the case of Small Heath). Older grounds developed over time leading to a hotch potch of stands and designs that gave grounds their own unique character. Paddocks, Spion Kops, enclosures, pop sides, "ends", turnstiles within houses, alleyway access, stairwells over gardens and landmark floodlight pylons that helped many a lost fan find a ground.

The sleek lines and infinitely better facilities mean that while we have gained better H+S and sightlines we have lost something that formed part of my early love affair with football. The thrill of a night game at Highbury, the back streets of Moss Side suddenly giving way to Maine Road, the two ends at the Dell almost collapsing into the corners and the breathtaking approach down Trinity Road to our own dear Villa Park. Maybe one day people will talk in these terms about Spurs new ground or even Brighton's but even the most vivid imagination couldn't conjure up affection for Stoke's ground, whatever it is called, or the grim construction in Middlesbrough.