Erase and Rewind

[jimmygreaves]

s I have said on the mailing list, a CL win would make people have very fond memories Jon !!!

Cracking point Ian

[leviramsey]

It is a bold move, this re-badgeing. It's a bold new crest too, IMO - a big departure from the past and one that signals a new intent.

I agree with this, and yet, as others have pointed out, there's a certain throwback quality about it.

Being American, I deliberately use throwback as a connection to recent trends in American sports marketing.

In the late '80s and early '90s, the busy, flamboyant logo became all the rage. Expansion teams used these and started to take greater shares of the merchandise sales; many older teams then decided to redesign their logos to fit in with the new style.

In 1997, the Philadelphia 76ers went from this:

to this:

Meanwhile the Detroit Pistons went from:

to

The Detroit Tigers went from:

to

The Boston Bruins briefly in the '90s emphasized

more than

The New York Rangers went from this shield

to

However, in the past few years, the throwback uniforms started to become hot sellers. With the exception of teams like the Glazers' Buccaneers (which strive to eliminate their team's history prior to the Glazers' taking over... admittedly, the Bucs' history was not that illustrious, but still...), those teams that have anything they can call history have taken to emphasizing their throwbacks as a means of saying that there's something timeless about this club/franchise. The Rangers and Bruins have both gone back to the older logos (though the new logos play a minor role to this day). Baseball, which has to some extent had to fall back on its heritage to fend off the assaults of the NFL and NBA, has emphasized this more completely with a retro stadium design trend that blends modern amenities with a classical look and feel.

I bring this up because, as much as Randy and the General and perhaps even Bob Kain soak up or have soaked up an English mindset, they also bring at least part of an American's perspective, and I think that part of the decision to sanction a throwback crest is rooted in their appreciation of the trend across the Atlantic, and may be part of emphasizing that Villa have a history and timelessness that few sporting enterprises anywhere in any sport can dream of matching.

[LancsVillan]

and may be part of emphasizing that Villa have a history and timelessness that few sporting enterprises anywhere in any sport can dream of matching.

that line is excellent Leviramsey and thanks for the different perspective

[John_Lerwill]

...

We the fans were consulted over preferences for shape and colours and so on. And the new badge has been released to a bizarrely over-excited world. Some fans love it, some hate it, some think it's quite nice, and some not very nice. Well knock me down with a feather! I'd never have guessed that would be the case.

Personally speaking, it's got a lion on it, it says "Prepared" on it, it's a pale blue background, on a shield with no nasty yellow stripes. Looks alright on the club website and will look very nice on the kit. It's more than a nod to the past and we'll soon get used to it. And so will the world, hopefully.

What a sign off! Right to the mark... But the significant thing is that the badge has sparked off so much comment, indicating the emotion that has been contained for so long and is now bursting forth.

Peter is spot on in his assessment, but fans have to say what they want to say.

So, right, it's all been said - let's go off and win a trophy... an FA Cup wouldn't be bad for starters! 8)

... remembering that Villa went to Wembley the year after the first Cup Final there, let's go there next year in like manner, but this time win it.