So close, but never felt so far....

[Clark W Griswold]

I had my last ST in 09-10 after having one for over 20 years. It was getting smelly then but nowadays it absolutely stinks. My one son loves going but he's fairly new to it, my other son goes but isn't quite as arsed. We get free tickets and they usually have them, I consider it a bit of a chore if I go, especially if it's on TV. If that makes me an armchair fan so be it.

I really thought I'd struggle when we ditched the ST but after the first season I wasn't arsed, I sometimes wonder whether to stop watching altogether for many of the reasons mentioned by the OP about how corrupt it all is these days. In the 90s it used to be the highlight of my week much of the time, and the away days were a laugh, so quite a fall off for me. I too am 50.

[walsall villain]

I had my last ST in 09-10 after having one for over 20 years. It was getting smelly then but nowadays it absolutely stinks. My one son loves going but he's fairly new to it, my other son goes but isn't quite as arsed. We get free tickets and they usually have them, I consider it a bit of a chore if I go, especially if it's on TV. If that makes me an armchair fan so be it.

I really thought I'd struggle when we ditched the ST but after the first season I wasn't arsed, I sometimes wonder whether to stop watching altogether for many of the reasons mentioned by the OP about how corrupt it all is these days. In the 90s it used to be the highlight of my week much of the time, and the away days were a laugh, so quite a fall off for me. I too am 50.

I bet the result can still make or break your weekend though?
I should have said once I got back into it around 20 years ago I’ve had a season ticket ever since. It helps that I go with family, if they stop I’m sure I will too. I often think I’m fed up of the long walk to the ground, having to stand up all game in the Holte, crap beer at a ridiculous price. Can’t let go yet though! I’m in my 70’s and when I go to Chasetown fc I see plenty of guys my age enjoying the match with a beer….. that might well be me one day.

[Chip Butty 111]

I've got to say I agree with Nii..
Over priced tickets
No atmosphere at most games
No chance of getting an away ticket...best times for me years ago
Not enough youngsters at games
Style of play can be mind numbingly dull and borderline tedious at times
Kick off times to suit tv audience
Clubs knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing
Decades of corruption and shithousery by FIFA/UEFA/PREMIER LEAGUE
..and the less said about VAR the better.
The Chelsea fiasco this week just shows how the corrupt football machine works sadly

[Clark W Griswold]

I had my last ST in 09-10 after having one for over 20 years.

I bet the result can still make or break your weekend though

Make or break might be a stretch but it does effect my mood. Obviously that means that I'm still bothered about the Villa and why I do still watch it and sometimes go. It's starting to feel like a curse, not really because of the Villa but because of how up against it we are with the corruption. I sometimes wish that I wasn't arsed. I agree with Kippax, most of the annoyance is directed towards Man City and Chelsea. Why should those wankers be allowed to build themselves up by spending what they please and us not? It makes a mockery of it all really.

[LeonW]

Whether by design or not VAR, has become a tool used to support the SKY 6 get even more benefits than before. I detest it.

The Chelsea thing I think has finally pushed me over the edge. The level of benefit they’ve received as part of their cheating is so significant and yet they’ve just been allowed to jog on, nothing to see here, whereas non-SKY 6 clubs get slapped down instantly for any sort of upty behaviour. The premier league or not even trying to hide it. A points deduction would almost certainly have stopped Chelsea qualifying for the champions league this season but there’s no way that can be allowed to happen. City will be next in being waved through. There’s not even a semblance of meritocracy or hiding the agenda, so I’m really not sure where hope can spring from.

[AV82EC]

I’ve a good mind to post Michael Sheen quoting Dylan Thomas and “Rage against the Dying of the Light” but if it’s genuinely how people feel then I suppose I have to respect that.

I’m 57 and have never felt more alive about my club than I do now. Yes I share all those frustrations and some others about how “modern football” is but if you can’t get excited about what we’ve experienced these last few years which is pretty much better than anything we’ve seen for the last 40 odd years then I’m struggling I’m afraid.

Anyway each to their own and onwards to Thursday. UTV!

[bill]

Wow the initial post on this thread could have been written by me. I’ve been attending Villa Park for 60 years. When I started watching the game, grounds were shit by today’s standards, the pitches were mud pies by January, food and drink was something you had away from the ground, potential violence was always a possibility.
I’d have it all back in a heartbeat, well, maybe not the violence,
Yes there was always that gap between those clubs with money, and those with less, but it wasn’t nearly so great. The football could be agricultural at times, but boy it was exciting. Kick off times were pretty dependable, 3 o’clock on a Saturday, was the norm. The game was simply more romantic, and it,and the players, were a lot closer to the fans. Oh, and no f***ng VAR, and a 5 minute wait to see if someone’s big toe was offside. It was all so much more fun then. I used to go to matches, because I simply loved it. Now I go more out of ingrained habit, and to keep in touch with mates. The game I loved is on life support,with some of us seriously wondering whether to pull the plug. So sad.

[RamboandBruno]

There is a lot of validity on this thread and there are a lot of roses tinted glasses. I remember a good chunk of the 80s having largely 11 or 12k in the ground, fighting outside it and really bad football. I also remember hearing players racially abused regularly.

[Halfway to Moseley]

I’m feeling the same way as many, but I wonder if it’s just me getting old and moany in an ‘all new music is a load of rubbish’, out of touch sort of way.

My son still can’t get enough of going to football. He couldn’t give a toss about PSR/FFP, loves all the YouTube/content creator twats, judges players on their FC26 rating, is non plussed by VAR as it’s all he’s ever known, and gets just as upset when players in his fantasy team don’t score as when Villa lose. Football belongs to him and his generation now. Time for us old duffers to move along.

[dave.woodhall]

Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?

[LeonW]

Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?

I personally think it would be a good idea to.

[PeterWithesShin]

You'll always get some that look down on those that have already walked away ftom attending, or are thinking about it. Which is a shame as it's often for valid reasons. I first went when I was 4 in 1974, done well over 1000 games but not a chance i'll pay the current prices. Everything has a value and even if we were winning everything in sight there's no way i'm paying £70+ to watch a league game v Leeds in the Holte. We all have different thresholds for when we feel the price of something is a piss take and the club went over that for me some years ago.

Most PL clubs don't care, someone that will pay those prices is there and that's all that matters. Not going becomes a habit though, and I don't miss it any more.

[kippaxvilla2]

Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?

No bother.

[Baldy]

Would anyone mind if a few of these posts were published to a wider audience?

They deserve to be. Especially the opening post.

[brontebilly]

Reminded of the scene at the end of the Casino movie, De Niro's character reminiscing about the good old days in Vegas. All getting older