Undesirable

This is how it feels to be city This is how it feels to be small This is how it feels when your teams won nothing at all nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all

Just got the train to work and back. Way there was on time, way back was about 5 minutes late. Standard. It seems that in the winter the train home is always 5 late.

It would be a bit like the Christmas football match between the two sides in WWI, in fact it'd be a bloody good form of crowd control!

Anyone know if it's causing any problems on the lichfield/reddicth line?

Don't go w/ this attitude. They'll spot you as easy pickings in an instant. Well that's a sure fire way to ensure someone doesn't have that attitude :? I wouldn't worry to be honest, unless you're planning on walking up digbeth high street in full villa kit and a framed picture of tracey andrews held aloft i don't think you'll have too many problems. Just enjoy the day and get behind the team.

I'd go with that.

I'm pretty certain he'll play the full 11.

I was readin The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe, but this has been interrupted by the arrival of Beating the Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action http://beatingthefascists.org/ which is a fascinating read. The book describes the political climate of the time, the tactics employed by militant anti-fascists and the challenges they faced from the far-right, the liberl left and the law. It's a fairly unreported part of British history (hence the title!) and is well worth a read if you're interested in working class politics.

The negativity here is astounding. Granted we've got injury problems and we're really going to miss the likes of Petrov, Coker and super Marc Albrighton but i still think there's every chance we'll win, we're playing blues not Barcelona. We can't afford to lose this game, Gerard knows this, the players know this, the club knows it and the fans know it, because of this we will get a result, we have to.

Simple. AVFC.

Is it right that blues don't have undersoil heating? If so i can't see how this will go ahead if temperatures are going down to -5c and not getting much above 2c for the next two days.

Only about a 10-15 minute walk down Digbeth High Street and then left at some point. Colours are a bad idea outside the ground.

We've got to play better than we did against Arsenal. We've got to win. End of.

One of our worst performances in a while. Nothing went righ today. A number of the lads looked out heir depth and some of the experienced players had shockers. Downing didn't seem to want to challenge for any 50/50 or run for a ball that he might have won, he should stood off for most of the game, seemed as though he'd lost of notion of depth perception and left balls he good have had. Clarke had a shocker of a first half but atoned with 2 goals, though he could've had a hatrick. Arsenal weren't even that good, we just let them have too much time on the ball and showed them far too much respect, poor all round.

Mine too, no idea why.

Upper Holte. Anywhere up there is a good view. I'm leftside but K4 near the middle and towards the back is definately the best atmosphere

very nicely put! And some will be hitting people with batons for the fun of it, dare I say. Back to what Undesirable said, I think you're dead right. You will literally have every Villa 'lad' out for this one, and I'd imagine the same from the Lulu's, but then you've more than likely got hundreds more from each side who will just be up for it on the night, because of the circumstances surrounding the game (ie. night match, quarter final, lots of police, lots of potential for trouble, the feeling that there is less chance of being caught on CCTV in the dark, first match of its kind since Rocky Lane etc etc). So in conclusion, I don't think it matters how many police are put on patrol, it could well be carnage. The 500 police didn't help whatsoever during the West Ham v Milwall derby did they? People ended up getting bloody stabbed. Whether the main incidents happen right outside the ground or a bit away from it on Wednesday remains to be seen, hopefully the latter so no inocents get caught up in it. It'd all be so much simpler if the brawlers followed the Ukrainian rules of meeting in a park, miles away from the game and just had it there. This would save the trouble of ordinary fans getting shit off the police and the 2 hour walk home from the sty, however i doubt it would stop certain noses from having a pop at scarfers. I've always thought this. The lads involved get to fight each other, the people at the ground can go without fear of having a housebrick tossed at their head, and the clubs would save money on excessive police budgets. Win win situation? Not to mention a better quality of youtube video It almost seems like hooliganism in the Ukraine and to a lesser extent Russia is a regulated profession, they have group colours, even mma gloves and rules about ettiquette when someone goes to ground, many don't drink, smoke or take any intoxicants because of the effect it has on stamina! Anyway, back on topic, i don't think anyone should be worried about attending the game, the fact is that despite the knuckledraggers you're highly unlikely to get hurt, there will be nigh on 4,000 villa at the sty, everyone singing their hearts out, it's going to be bloody brilliant.

very nicely put! And some will be hitting people with batons for the fun of it, dare I say. Back to what Undesirable said, I think you're dead right. You will literally have every Villa 'lad' out for this one, and I'd imagine the same from the Lulu's, but then you've more than likely got hundreds more from each side who will just be up for it on the night, because of the circumstances surrounding the game (ie. night match, quarter final, lots of police, lots of potential for trouble, the feeling that there is less chance of being caught on CCTV in the dark, first match of its kind since Rocky Lane etc etc). So in conclusion, I don't think it matters how many police are put on patrol, it could well be carnage. The 500 police didn't help whatsoever during the West Ham v Milwall derby did they? People ended up getting bloody stabbed. Whether the main incidents happen right outside the ground or a bit away from it on Wednesday remains to be seen, hopefully the latter so no inocents get caught up in it. It'd all be so much simpler if the brawlers followed the Ukrainian rules of meeting in a park, miles away from the game and just had it there. This would save the trouble of ordinary fans getting shit off the police and the 2 hour walk home from the sty, however i doubt it would stop certain noses from having a pop at scarfers.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/west_ham/article6811560.ece "over 500". So i'd imagine a similar amount. If large numbers of people in an attendence of 30,000 going to and from the ground want to fight each other then there is very little police can do.

Yeah it only mentions Villa once, it's still a cracking song for football though. I do agree, it's a very bouncy song that I could imagine lots of people joining in with... if only we could fit a few more words in there about Villa or Villa players! How about then When i see you Villa, I go out my head I just can't get enough I just can't get enough Walking up to Villa Park, we'd do it every day I just can't get enough I just can't get enough We slip and slide as we fall in love and i just can't seem to get enough

I hope these 500 police have a bit more mettle than those who were getting sparked by 19 year olds called Ollie in London the yesterday

Cheers Dave, much appreciated

I had very little hope in us getting anything from this game but hearing that Fabregas is out has bouyed my expectations, he's a massive miss for them as their whole team revolves around him.

The one thing Aston isn't short of is good boozers. If you're looking for atmosphere i'd say either the New Adventurers (en rout to the ground from Aston station) or the Aston Hotel (behind the north stand on witton lane) are the best. If you want somewhere family friendly and cheap then Power League is ok. The Aston Social (behind the adventureres) is also good, as is the Manor Tavern up Lichfield Road. Most of these places will ask for £1 on entry.

Cheers folks, so i'm guessing that row 30 will be pretty near the back then.