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

[darren woolley]

I'm 57 and the same as you I go home and away I understand how you feel I really do but for me I still retain that youthful exuberance watching Villa things have changed for sure and not for he best especially VAR but I will still go as long my health let's me.

[Hookeysmith]

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

They deserve to be. Especially the opening post.

agree entirely

[achilles]

Certainly a thought provoking post and mirrors my own thoughts.

After nearly 40 years as a season ticket holder this will be my last season! I have kept my physical season tickets over the years as a nostalgic momentum of my support of AVFC but the last two years have been a monumental and a bl**dy hassle to obtain a physical card. Do I really want to go through all that again next season in my efforts to support AVFC when they aren’t actually bothered whether I renew or not?
 
I now go on my own via the train (packed like sardines, late or cancelled, minimal service on a Sunday) and go for the camaraderie of the people around me at the ground. No longer do I go with expectation, excitement and relishing the prospect of seeing the Villa, I just go now because that is what I have been doing all these years.

Someone posted an excellent post the other day saying something like ‘the football we play now is the polar opposite of what I want to watch, which is pace, width and intent’ and I think that is so true even with the best manager we have had in a very, very long time. That is not the all of it though as many have commented. I used to be a referee but I no longer have a clue what the rules are anymore, made up on the day; on that note the refereeing standard has sunk to an all time low! You no long celebrate goals as you know somebody else has to have a say via the corrupt and not fit for purpose system called VAR! I could go on, the big 6, the media, Sky, players wages, all the silly restrictions, when coming 5th in the PL is more important than winning the FA cup, the list is endless.

To be honest I don’t think I will miss it, my son will still go and I will occasionally pop down to see for myself how the club is continuing to lose its core values but I will always support AVFC, they are part of my soul!

Then we have this to look forward to for next season, more shitty rules which make it even worse to compete, but Villa agreed to it!

[Hookeysmith]

For my twopennyworth i think that the ever increasing cost of going to games and clubs milking fans is not a Villa thing it is almost every normal fan you speak to.

My beef is always with the way that certain clubs are favoured in everything from in game decisions, VAR, Media coverage and certainly punishments.

Go all the way back to Cantona and the infamous Kung Fu kick - if that was players of the time Wise, Vinny Jones, Venus, Hartford - properly considered hard men of the game - they would of, quite rightly been banned for life.
Before any one says it was driven by a racist comment by a single fan, i say all think of the pioneers like Regis, Batson and Cunningham had to endure week after week and they never attacked a fan in the stands. When that twat attacked that fan he was adjacent to women and kids - total cnut

He played for any other club... well we know the answer.

No we come to the modern game and the biggest killer for me is not the endless rules any ambitious club have to endure it the fact that when the scum 6 break them they do so with almost carte blanche and get away with it, The Chelsea outcome this week is a joke and if we ever get to the point of City being sorted - it will be the same

All we want is an even playing field but there are too many vested interests for that to ever happen

[Nii Lamptey]

Thanks for sharing all your thoughts. I honestly thought there was going to be a bit of a backlash to my original post, but both equally pleased and a little saddened that a lot of us feel a similar way. It almost feels like a therapy session!

Maybe it is a generational thing? We were reared on something a little more raw, less sterile, and definitely less controlled by the media. For the latest generation of fans, I guess it's all they've known, so they're not as at odds with it all. The one shining light is that we DID get to see football in it's heyday.

UTV

[Hookeysmith]

I have often said, to any poor bugger that will listen to me, about the negative bias against us in the mainstream media and sky etc.

Its not a wacky paranoid thing but clearly evident the more you look.

When we broke into the top 4 - the top 3 were shown
When we were 3rd - some quarters only showed the top 2
Pundits, when asked "Are Villa in a title race" some weeks ago when we were flying - almost smirkingly said no
Now they smugly talk of our issues and financial woes paving the way for us to sell the likes of Rogers et al in the summer

The whole game sucks shit

[Sexual Ealing]

They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.

[Monty]

They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.

Not even now we're all at sea.

[wince]

They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.

Not even now we're all at sea.

Something fishy going on at Villa

[Pete3206]

It's certainly sink or swim time.

[Chris Smith]

They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.

Bailey regularly gets a mention so that’s not true.

[ChicagoLion]

They never seem to mention us on the Shipping Forecast either. Like, never. It can't be a coincidence.

Bailey regularly gets a mention so that’s not true.

So does  Collymore.

[TopDeck113]

And when we play Bayern we're a German's Blight.

(Yes, I know it's Bight.)

[German James]

We're richer than the Faeroes but the rules mean we might as well have Rockall. Still, I reckon we'd finish Forth if Donyell Malin wasn't far away from this Fair Isle.

I'm ashamed of myself.

[Stu82]

The Chelsea settlement is just setting us up for the Citeh deal.
No points deduction, no transfer embargo and a cash settlement to a charity of your choice.

They have made a big deal of the fact that Chelsea only a fine because the new owners 'self-reported' the irregularities after buying the club.  I don't agree with the decision to make it only a fine, but I also think that the 'self-reporting' line means it doesn't set any sort of precedent for Man City. 

I think if City get any punishment that doesn't include points deductions/embargo, then the footballing world will explode.

However, as I understand it the report setting out the Chelsea wrongdoing and explaining the punishment does not even contemplate the possibility of a points deduction, with or without the mitigation of the 'self reporting'.

Listening to a number of experts chat about it on various podcasts (including the excellent 'The Football Boardroom' with Purslow giving his opinion), a points deduction was considered early on, as was a straight transfer ban and a heavy fine, but as the case developed and Chelsea co-operated further, the first option was written off entirely. The extremity of the further two options where also hugely reduced.

Every expert on the matter is however in total agreement that the PL has been far too lenient, not least when taking into account the severity of the punishments handed out to Forest and Everton for arguably lesser infringements. The PL makes little to no mention of how the payments in general could have effected the clubs general overall improved odds of winning what they did, or indeed how said players purchased after the fact influenced performance and club trajectory overall.

It's fucking criminal, literally.

And to top it off, Chelsea won’t pay any fine, it will be paid by the ring fenced money for Ukraine charity’s.