Perry Barr has written the following;
It doesn’t matter whether you support Manchester United, Scunthorpe or Kidderminster Harriers, you always claim that you are the greatest supporters in the world (as well as your team being ‘the best…. the world has ever seen’) but with alarm bells ringing more loudly with each passing game at Villa Park, maybe its time to look at ourselves and the way we support the club – but more importantly, decide whether we want to help the team get out of this mess.. or simply add to the pressure building up on all concerned. At the same time, lets also decide whether we are, in fact, the best fans in the country… because i believe we have a strong case to claim just that!!
Lets go back a terrifyingly few years – Villa were certainly a top 8 Premiership team and possibly top 6 (3 consecutive sixth place finishes would suggest so). We were playing great football, scoring goals and taking the countries top teams on, often taking points from them and easily putting the middle and lower PL sides to the sword…. so all looked very rosy indeed. I think I remember during one England game, noticing that 7 players on the field (yes – 7!!!) were either current or ex Villa players… we rocked, we produced quality footballers and it was easy to support ‘the greatest team – the world has ever seen’!!
Then – following one tantrum and resignation too many… the board accepted Mr O’Neill’s latest ‘I quit” and BOOM! – the club went into massive decline.
Villa supporters are in one of two camps where our up-his-own-ass ex-manager is concerned (no prizes for guessing which one I’m in!!) and both arguments have their merits – but I cannot find it in me to forgive the man for walking hours before the start of a season – lets face it, from that moment we have not recovered.
I digress a little; but I also need to make the point that I do not subscribe to this ‘Villa are settling for being a selling club’ mentality. I don’t believe managers or directors/owners have ever sat down and decided ‘sod-this, lets sell our best players and bring in some cash – that is football suicide, they know it and we know it. But when a player (or his agent) knocks on the door and says Manchester’s United or City want us and they will treble our salary, there is (painful as it may be for us to swallow) very little that Aston Villa can do to keep them – in fact nothing at all because they will sulk, make trouble and be a general pain in the ass until they get their way, so I think Villa bashing because players have left is a little unfair – ask yourselves where these players went to and then tell me, in reality, what could have been done?
But still; despite the shock of losing our manager on the eve of the season and replacing him with possibly the very last man the supporters wanted or would ever accept, we kept on turning up, we kept singing our heads off; we just kept supporting them.
No – we are not a Small Heath, who’s fans seem to disappear faster than Ashley Young in a battle, when things aren’t going well (voiced our displeasure on occasions yes, but that is our right), but we still attended games in huge numbers – that is support!
So we got our wish – Paul Lambert in and a new era beckoned…..
But again – despite this horrendous situation we find ourselves in, we still turn up, we still support the team/club, we still keep believing. We see the things going on at our club and understand its not a great period in our proud history; we know the trouble we’re in but most of us like Lambert and desperately want him to succeed. We all vividly remember being one of the countries top 6 teams; yet we can’t help but support our club… over 30,000 yesterday when we slipped into the bottom 3… lets face it – the whole country has been laughing at us lately and not just over the Bradford result. Oh, how they laughed at us when Chelsea scored 8 and Wigan murdered us at Villa Park – but we’re not demonstrating at the gates every morning, we’re not calling for the managers execution – NO; we’re Villa supporters and we know our football. We know just how difficult a job there is to be done, we understand this, we don’t like it of course, but we know where we are and we will keep supporting the club until the end.
This is why I believe we are the best fans in the country – be proud of yourselves – lets face it, there’s not a lot else to be proud of just now!!
Not being funny but i used to back villa fans as some of the best in the world. But recently its become more of an embarrassment, not for the results(which are bad) but for the shit the villa fans come out with. “Sack lambert” what will that achieve? Who in their right mind would manage a club with kids, no money and terrible fans.
Its that bad that its been kicking off between the fans in the stands, my friend has a season ticket right behind lambert, and what he told me yesterday was disgusting. Fans hurling abuse at the players and lambert not even at half time, well before it. Its just pathetic, since we’ve started loosing i cant more than agree that the villa fans are as everyone says, extremely fickle.
When fans see whats happening and a clueless manager what should they do.
“dont worry as long as you pick up your £40k a week while i struggle to pay the bills you just carry on”
I agree with this. I have a season ticket in the Doug Ellis stand. But years ago somebody lent me their tickets behind the dug out and villa were getting stuffed by Arsenal. The abuse Brian Little was getting was an absolute disgrace from villa fans and he was one of our all time heroes.
There’s always bad apples at every club. We all want the club to win every game and if we don’t we play the blame game.
Good positive post perry Barr and nice to change track a bit. We have got good supporters especially going back to out div 3 days we have great crowds even then. And to still get over 30,000 watching the shit Wev been served for last 3 years we deserve medals!!!
Whoops, I forgot to say that it’s Perry Barr’s article.
Correcting now.
We follow are club through thick and thin but sometimes i have to keep saying we have the most thickest supporters in the land.
Were i sit in the holte end proves my point.
1) stoke have a throw fan behind me slates bent. ????
2) constant singing of paul lambert and benteke. ???
3) woman behind me doesnt know the rules of the game and constantly shrieks. ???
4) brigada praising ireland and bannan. ???
5) fans expecting lerner to sell at a drop of a hat and think theres ques of billionares standing outside villa park. ???
6) any fan who speaks the truth gets slated as if there criminals
Lol think that’s the same with all fans mate. On the Lerner front though he needs to sell. It’s not a question of selling to a billionaire it’s a question of selling to shrewd football people who no what they are doing. Clearly Lerner and Faulkner are clueless a d Lerner stands to lose circa a 100 m when we drop down.
I think all clubs have fans who think there way is the only way and anyone else who does not share this opinion is not as big a fan. All football clubs have decent fans none are better or worse than any others.
For me this season Southampton impressed by volume in numbers as did Swansea both teams have to travel a fair distance. The biggest disappointment was Stoke hardly any turned up too watch them at Villa Park
All fans of all clubs need to realise that if you look out for, goto games by merchandise want to keep the manager or want to sack the manager means you support the team. if someone claims to support the team but never looks out for results watches games or is impartial as to what is going on then in my eyes this makes them less of a fan.supporter
I went through the rest of the fixtures, of course its tough but there is still a lot of matches that can be won if the confidence comes back. Relegetion is a very real possibility but nowhere near a done deal.
Perry barr theres fuck all wrong with supporting kiddy harriers.
In general we have amazing supporters. I am no longer able to travel to away games. But we are recognised as having the best travelling fans around. During home matches you can sense the nervousness of the crowd especially in the last couple of seasons. This is understandable given our performances in the last two years. We stil turn up in relatively good numbers as we have even during our dark division 3 days. This is the time when we should all pull together for the sake of this great footballing institution. Whilst I can understand the negativity, I cannot see what it achieves. We need to stand side by side and be in it all together as one unit. Slagging anyone off in our current predicament is pointless and irrelevant…..it wont change anything! We know what Randy is doing and we know what PL is trying to achieve. Why cant we just wait and see where we are in May? We have to move forward as a group and accept these difficult times. It seems that Randy has given PL no, or little financial support. It does not necessarily mean that we should throw the towel in… What would that achieve?. At the end of the day,we are all staunch Villa supporters, we just display our emotions and thoughts in different ways! Is it not possible for negatives and positives on here to join forces for the remaining 16 games as its us, our children and our grandchildren who will keep the club going for many years to come. All i,m asking is that we give our all in supporting our club for the crucial 4 months ahead. We CAN survive, we WILL survive so lets play our part.
UTV
We do play our part but the ones who make the difference carnt be bothered ( players manager ).
So this is whats happened and only a major change in the next 2 weeks which is out of the fans control we will simply rot.
Im fed up with hearing theres still 40 points to play for. Well how many points have we got now with our squad and to think there gonna go on some champions leauge form you are deluded
Well said langford,some fans on here would moan the bog rolls too rough at vp mate.
Is it? Never had the balls to use the cubicles. ..
Tell you what Jeff some funny things go on in toilets… not that I use them that much..
Any way so whats are some of these fans saying? its OK to be leagaly mugged of your money and not say anything? not in my world matey far from it… |I speak my mind we are shite, I dont accept shite heads must roll.
Just take a look at Chelsea’s embarrassing fans. Booing Benitez? Chelsea are 3rd in the league and winning almost every game comfortably. Abramovich has took them from nowhere to be one of the top clubs in Europe and yet they question his every decision.
Most Villa fans understand the situation we are in, there are always some idiots, but in general, we understand our predicament. The appointment of Mcleish was a slap in the face to fans, for many reasons, and the fans made their feelings clear.
Most chelsea fans have only worn the blue shirt in the last decade and only know champions leauge style football and dont know what bad times are.
All i ask of lambert is mancini style attitude. I know are players are way behind them but he kicks every ball and drops a player if he shows attitude or is poor. If ballotelli misses a sitter he lets him know and if he does it again hes dropped. But most of all hes on the touchline animated not sitting with his thumb in his mouth
Most Chelsea fans can’t get over what Benitez said about them when he was Pool’s manager.
I think in the main most clubs are pretty similar. When the club is on a high the owner and manager are heroes and when things are down they are shite. The true fan (and all clubs have them) stick with their club no matter what. In fact in terms of villa – the fans who have stuck with the team over the last 3 years are the real fans not the ones who will return when things get better.
Steve mate im on the side of positivity but dont go down this road of im a better fan lark that really annoys me however negative some fans are they equally support the club as the next fan its in our hearts that will never change.
i think the fans have been great this season especially those attending despite our situation. 32 thou yesterday and the crowd behind the team. theres always the odd knob head at the game but thats the same everywhere.
)mins is up is a different matter and fans have a right to voice their opinion and as has been said most of us understand the situation we’re in, we don’t expect miracles, we know what the owner and manager are trying to achieve but things look very bad indeed.
how many spurs fans were calling for avb’s head in sept, how many everton fans have slagged off their board year in year out bet they’re quiet now.
when the 90(or 98 in man utd games
if i had to sum up the outlook and feeling of villa fans at the moment in one word it would be ‘disillusioned’ and justifiably so
The fans must be idiots to pay to watch that shit served up yesneday, why the hell hav we put up with it? Lambert must be sacked hes not doing his job, and what was lerner plan to create the worst team ever in villa histroy wake up fellow fans vote with your money boycott or play teams like bradford every week your choice
Agree mate this link explains where football elite is going and even city and Chelsea will struggle if utd and arsenal get their way http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2261817/Arsenal-Manchester-United-financial-fair-play-plot-ruin-Premier-League–Martin-Samuel.html
Too true ohhahh but some fans thing everything fine its not, put your money way this is not the sport you remember its a greedy shell full of people who dont care about the fans boycott now
Its a really fine line, you cant simply support your team no matter how poor the management is, no matter how inept the Chairman and board are and no matter how useless the players are, i think too many are simply calling other fans fickle etc when they dare to point out the obvious, however for the 90 minutes of the match you have to get behind the team. Personally i don`t think even that will make much difference this year as the players as a whole are not premier league class so no amount of cheering and chanting will make them any better. Sacking Lambert is obviously risky but if we were to get thrashed by West Brom (which i think we will) and go out the cup to Bradford then not sacking him sends out a message that we have accepted relegation.