JohnCresswell Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 You may have noticed a small number of Vikings at Villa Park at our last home game. Nothing to worry about though - it was a group of the friendly Norwegian Villa Supporters Club, who had come to watch the victory over West Ham. Here is Michelsen's report, along with some of the pictures taken.... I thought you'd might appreciate a report from my week-end trip down from Oslo to see the boys entertain West Ham. Needless to say I had a great time, however the trip turned out even better than I'd dreamt it could be. I booked my trip only two weeks ago while listening to the Watford game on VillaWorld. Too late, I thought, to join the Norwegian Supporter's club, who I knew had a planned a trip up to Bodymoor Heath and a tour of Villa Park. Ah well, I thought, I'll just spend Friday sightseeing around Birmingham. Luckily, I bumped into a couple of the guys from the AVSCN in the airport and they invited me along. Before I knew it, I was at Villa's training ground waiting for the players to show up for training. I soon forgot all about the players though, when a certain American pulled up in his car. We waved and cheered, and out stepped the most down to earth billionaire you could imagine. His t-shirt not even tucked properly in like he'd just got out of bed, Mr Randy Lerner greeted thirty crazy Norwegians like he was one of us. I got to shake his hand and thank him, and he was more than happy to pose for photos for everyone. I was stunned by how real this man really appeared, and you could tell how he thoroughly enjoys being a part of Aston Villa. A couple of the guys from the AVSCN had arranged a meeting with Martin O'Neill, and returned full of praise for the manager as well. According to them, a fantastic character. We then made our way in to Villa Park for a nice lunch at the Corner Flag and an interesting tour of the stadium. I thought the tour guide was a top man, and the old fellow made no effort to hide how pleased he was with Ellis being gone and Randy taking over. He also said he expected there to be an announcement regarding theNorth Stand in the near future, however he made it very clear that was only an educated guess and that he had no inside information. Then the club gave us a special discount in the Villa Shop, a fine gesture I think appreciating the effort put in to come all the way from Norway to support the club. On Saturday I got to the stadium early, having walked from the hotel to get a feel of the local area surrounding Villa Park. The weather was excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Villa News&Record on the steps of the Holte End. I presume everyone know all about the game by now, but I must say the atmosphere was fantastic and seeing as this was my first win at Villa Park in five attempts, I've never felt better being a Villa fan. Obviously, having a Norwegian player whom I've followed since he was a mere kid scoring the winner contributed to that feeling of pride I had walking through Aston Park on my way home. This club is going places, General sir, and I can't tell you how grateful I am to the man I had the honour of shaking hands with on that Friday for making it all possible. The whole trip was such a fantastic success for me personally, I wish I could do it every week-end. Hopefully I'll be back in April for more of the same. Pictures: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian1 Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Thank you John for helping me putting the pictures up on the site!! And Michelsen, sorry for stealing your report, I just fealt that it described our day perfectly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Legend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancsVillan Posted March 6, 2007 Moderator Share Posted March 6, 2007 superb stuff nice to see everyone had a day to remember Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmygreaves Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 That's really great! Smashing effort from all concerned, well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted March 6, 2007 Moderator Share Posted March 6, 2007 Yep nice report, enjoyed reading it and the message it sends about Mr Lerner et al (are you reading Murphy?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom_Wren Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRL Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Good stuff. Fantastic gesture by Randy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewiek2 Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Fan-fookin-fastic stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnePablo Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Ironically, I've just got back from Oslo. My trip was fairly boring though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted March 6, 2007 Moderator Share Posted March 6, 2007 superb stuff nice to see everyone had a day to remember Spot on, Al. Nice one Michelsen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Zen Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Thank you John for helping me putting the pictures up on the site!! And Michelsen, sorry for stealing your report, I just fealt that it described our day perfectly No problem, Kristian, I'm happy to contribute. It really was a fantastic trip. I'm the 6ft4" guy with short blond hair wearing glasses, standing next to Kristian in the group picture. Kristian is the gentleman photographed with MON (you lucky b*stard). Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone wanted to buy me a beer next time I visit Villa Park :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jones1328 Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 was that Ashley Young with John Carew? I heard they car share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Zen Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 You're right. Ashley, John and Bardsley were all in the same car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkr Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Cool pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted March 7, 2007 Moderator Share Posted March 7, 2007 You're right. Ashley, John and Bardsley were all in the same car. I'm presuming but this is probably because none of them actually have a house yet so are probably staying in the same hotel. Just a guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Zen Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 You're right. Ashley, John and Bardsley were all in the same car. I'm presuming but this is probably because none of them actually have a house yet so are probably staying in the same hotel. Just a guess That would probably be an accurate presumption too, Bicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRL Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Was John driving? Wonder why Ashley or Bardsley didnt object when John said; "Im Driving." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Zen Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Was John driving? Wonder why Ashley or Bardsley didnt object when John said; "Im Driving." Actually it was Ashley who was driving, as it was probably his car. I must say he looked about eight years old sitting in the driver's seat of his BMW X5 chelsea tractor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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