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

[Vegas]

We’re giving up our STs next year. I think apart from very recently the football’s been good over the last 3-4 years.

Not much to add to the other excellent posts above, but for us it’s a bit of costs and kick off times, but mainly that the dream is dead. You need to believe in football that you can build to something big, that better times are around the corner. The current financial rules just means that’s finished. This summer we’ll sell Rogers to the Big 5. Newcastle will sell Tonali to the Big 5.. Forest will sell Anderson to the Big 5. Palace will sell Wharton to the Big 5. Then we’ll all play another season against the Big 5 and see who’s the best at football.

Plus, I’m a match going fan over 50 that’s been a regular for 40 years so no-one gives a fuck what I think - it’s not about me.

[cdward]

Re: selling of our best players to the "big 6".
Yorke, Bosnich, Barry, Milner, Delph, Young, Benteke, Grealish, you just know that Rogers will be next. Even losing out on the likes of Gallagher to Spurs.
This has all slowly chipped away at the enthusiasm we all had at one point.
When you look at the amounts being spent by the big 6,(without the cheating), it's hard to see how we will ever be able to compete.
We need some silverware to keep the dreams alive.
Newcastle, Spurs, Palace, West Ham have all won something recently.
If it's not this year in the Europa, i can't see us winning another trophy.

[kippaxvilla2]

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.

He’s a dogger of a player.’

[ez]

This makes me think back to the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s when I was a regular attender at Villa Park. I would see the old blokes among the crowd still enjoying watching the Villa and thinking that will be me one day. Now I am one of the old blokes except you will rarely find me at Villa Park. Sad really.

[Baldy]

It just seems like a 'perfect storm' at the moment brought on by:

1) Injuries to three of our best players.
2) Subsequent loss of form of other players.
3) Bad transfer dealings to address above problem.
4) Injustices of the elite (Man City*, Chelsea* etc)
5) Re-emergence of Man Utd (really pisses me off)
6) Ever escalating costs

Football aside, throw in the Trump factor and no wonder we are all feeling 'doom and gloom'.

But, but, but if we stuff Lille and the Hammers we will be on cloud nine again. When Tielemans returns we will all explode in a fit of ecstasy and the world will feel right again.

And always remember, you could have been born a Birmingham City supporter.

That feels better. Renew those season tickets folks. 

[kippaxvilla2]

Anyone missing it? :-)

[Hookeysmith]

Yep. International football, unless a knock phase of a comp is so boring.

[algy]

To drop the irony for a moment, the reason it's all fucked is the VAR checks for goals. You can't charge people upwards of £70 a week to deprive them of the one thing that makes it all worthwhile. It's like a drug dealer or a prozzie doubling their prices and giving you a glass of milk and a handshake and telling you it's better for their margin. I don't know why people still go, frankly. They're literally making it worse and charging more for the privilege. I'm not a massive fan of using market forces as an excuse to do anything. This ought to be the opposite of market forces, but the market keeps buying. They won't learn until we do.

This is the problem with leaving things to market forces - people watch Mrs Browns Boys, listen to Coldplay, and vote for the nazis. And yes, they are all roughly equivalent in my eyes.

[walsall villain]

My biggest gripe with the modern game is that the players so paid so much which accounts for most clubs income. We, of course, are having to pay probably twice what we should do to help enable this. League is the strongest in football but literally comes at a cost to us who go.
I still go and hope I stay fit enough to keep going (my choice to stand in the Holte but my ageing legs are feeling it). Such a shame for people who are clearly getting priced out…. I couldn’t have gone when our children were young based on today’s prices. Kick off times are a big issue too. I get the frustration with the issue of the so called top 6 being uncatchable but I do think this will change as more and more wealthy and ambitious owners take control of clubs.
I’m used to us losing our best players, Gerry Hitchens was the first one to chip away at my heart (ask your grandparents).
Thinking about our last game I loved it all, tempo much better. I understand fans find our approach dull at times. I remember thinking the same when we used to be winning with Martin O’Neil at the helm, it wasn’t quite winning in the style I wanted…. After what followed I’m being more careful what I wish for.
I think many aspects of the game have changed for the better. Certainly the quality of football. I recall the ground ringing with applause if one of our players trapped a ball dead from a long ball, now we’d scream in anguish if they didn’t. I’ve watched through decades of fan trouble, that aspect has gone thank goodness, furls safe now.