What time will the players arrive before kick off?

[eamonn]

I never had any interest in that kind of thing as a kid. Met a few players of the time at a Panini Swap Shop in the leisure centre in about '87 and got some autographs, but I was more interested in actuallly geeting the stickers I needed and unloading my 13 copies of Lee Sinnot.

Who was Lee Sinnot? Sounds like a wrong'un from Corrie.

[Exeter 77]

He played for Watford notably in the 1984 Cup Final and was was from somewhere local but I can't remember where.

[boozey182]

Everton used to stay at the Hagley Road Marriott.

Villa used to eat there on match days under O'Neill. My mate was the head chef there and got to know the players a bit. He went Christmas shopping with John Carew one year. He also said Carew and Petrov had this weird arrangement where one of them would carry the tray for the other one as they made their way along the buffet queue. #ITK.

[SoccerHQ]

I never had any interest in that kind of thing as a kid. Met a few players of the time at a Panini Swap Shop in the leisure centre in about '87 and got some autographs, but I was more interested in actuallly geeting the stickers I needed and unloading my 13 copies of Lee Sinnot.

Who was Lee Sinnot? Sounds like a wrong'un from Corrie.

Was a lower league manager. His son also a footballer and sadly lost his life in a stabbing a few years back.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-51534417

[Marlon From Bearwood]

The players didn’t travel to home games by coach last season. We hung around after the Palace game at the end of last season as my youngest lad wanted to get his shirt signed. The players came out one by one, to their cars. I’d say there was about a 50/50 split between those who gave up plenty of their time to sign and pose for a photo with pretty every one of the many fans who’d waited, and those who fucked straight off in their cars without signing a single thing. Gerrard didn’t even acknowledge a single fan.

Not sure about before the game. Deano used to get them there really early for a pre match meal in the corner flag. Not sure if that’s still being done.

[Brazilian Villain]

Everton used to stay at the Hagley Road Marriott.

Villa used to eat there on match days under O'Neill. My mate was the head chef there and got to know the players a bit. He went Christmas shopping with John Carew one year. He also said Carew and Petrov had this weird arrangement where one of them would carry the tray for the other one as they made their way along the buffet queue. #ITK.

That made me smile, I've never heard of or seen anyone doing that at a buffet.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Normally 45 minutes after kick off.

[Footy-Vill]

Does ayone know what time the players tend to arrive at VP before a 3pm KO? I'm taking my son and he's desperate to try to get some autographs. Let's hope it doesn't rain...

Let us know over course of weekend and all here how you went with the experience. Hope all works out.
Good Luck JB and son
Up the Villa!

[Jim Bradley]

We decided not to go early after Si's helpful video from the Arsenal game. It's pretty sad that the players aren't allowed to sign autographs for 5 minutes before they go in but pretty much everything about modern football is rubbish. As for Bodymoor Heath, as a kid I could stand on the edge of the training pitches, retrieve the balls and chat to some of the players before getting pretty much all of the European Cup winning team to sign my autograph book and for Tony Morley to apologise to us for swearing on more than one occasion!!

[Gareth]

When I was a kid, which admittedly was 20 years ago, the players all used to arrive at different times in their individual cars and most would spend some time signing autographs and interacting with fans.

It's very sad that this generation of young Villa fans will never experience the thrill of obtaining Mark Kinsella and Oyvind Leonhardsen's autographs.

I take your Kinsella and Leonhardsen and raise you an Andy Comyn, in a long black coat looking like the Allo Allo gestapo :-)

[Risso]

I got Ray Houghton's autograph when I was queuing up for League Cup 94 tickets. He arrived in a black cab, as he was banned from driving.

[Chico Hamilton III]

I was talking to Darren outside the Trinity on Saturday and Jedinak walked past. Darren asked for a photo and Jedinak muttered something and posed with him for half a second before scuttling off. We were talking after about how friendly Gary Shaw was when we saw him a few weeks before. A mate was telling me about the time when Gary Shaw did a Q&A evening in a pub in Stourbridge. After the session, Shaw asked if anyone was going back to town and he jumped on the number 9 with a few delighted Villa fans. Imagine getting on the buz with a European champion…

[eamonn]

Yeah, how far removed players are from Joe Soap these days is a bit disheartening.

I'd rather something slick that relied on the players putting on a bit of an act like Risso describes the Man City set-up, instead of the sheepish/can't be arsed/half-arsed approach we get at the Villa Park gates.

For all of Grealish's flaws, his interactions with fans are unrivalled.
Players don't have to care about those kids for longer than the 30 seconds to 2 minutes they're asked to spend with them. And I think it's as much out of shyness and embarassment, being out of their comfort zone for one of the few times in their existence, that they don't make much effort. But if the club put in a smooth and consistent way of doing it, the players would feel less uncomfortable and who knows, might even enjoy the odd interaction?