Captain_Townsend Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 23 minutes ago, DakotaVilla said: Errr no. That’s why it’s an incredibly sub optimal stadium in the modern age. I guess some may see beauty in what is basically an architectural mess but I’d suggest that they’re probably at least partially blinded by claret and blue tinted glasses. With respect, opposition fans frequently speak to Villa Park being a favourite. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 22 minutes ago, Caravella82 said: Not for me and at the time, not for Ellis either. Redevelopment was forced upon many clubs in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster and the Taylor report. This is why so many clubs changed stadiums in the Nineties (Eg. Sunderland, Coventry, Middlesbrough and Derby) and why most were redevelopment in some manner. Villa unfortunately were ran by a man with no care for how the stadium looked as long as it meant as few pennies as possible were spent. And Ansell's (Financial Director in early 2000's) quote at the time went as follows: 'You can't expect a business, particularly in the service industry, to offer the sort of facilities that are required today in a 76 year old building". Ellis had many priorities but offering Villa fans value for money was never one of them. Being forward thinking was not his forte either. Appropriate though that that quote is valid now for two of our current stands. But the advantage is I believe that now we have two far more advanced thinkers in Sawiris and Edens as our Clubs owners. I think that is slightly unfair on Doug. We have ended up with a serviceable stadium since the 90s development, albeit with some opportunities missed. The alternative would have been a completely unfit-for-purpose stadium like what Hillsborough has become or Goodison which is soon to be bulldozed. The 90s was a completely different era with far less money in the game. People do bemoan the loss of the trinity but by all accounts, it was falling apart and had to go. We could have done a much more sympathetic rebuild,, and it seemed a bit odd that we didn't when compared what we did to the Holte, but what has happened has happened. The general opinion for most away fans is that Villa Park is still a classic ground even if we have messes around with it a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 3 minutes ago, Captain_Townsend said: 27 minutes ago, DakotaVilla said: Errr no. That’s why it’s an incredibly sub optimal stadium in the modern age. I guess some may see beauty in what is basically an architectural mess but I’d suggest that they’re probably at least partially blinded by claret and blue tinted glasses. With respect, opposition fans frequently speak to Villa Park being a favourite. and opposition players… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galway Lion Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 35 minutes ago, DakotaVilla said: Errr no. That’s why it’s an incredibly sub optimal stadium in the modern age. I guess some may see beauty in what is basically an architectural mess but I’d suggest that they’re probably at least partially blinded by claret and blue tinted glasses. Strange that as it is nearly always at the top of people’s lists of favourite away day grounds. It’s not soulless like most new grounds. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caravella82 Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 (edited) 3 hours ago, The Fun Factory said: I think that is slightly unfair on Doug. We have ended up with a serviceable stadium since the 90s development, albeit with some opportunities missed. The alternative would have been a completely unfit-for-purpose stadium like what Hillsborough has become or Goodison which is soon to be bulldozed. The 90s was a completely different era with far less money in the game. People do bemoan the loss of the trinity but by all accounts, it was falling apart and had to go. We could have done a much more sympathetic rebuild,, and it seemed a bit odd that we didn't when compared what we did to the Holte, but what has happened has happened. The general opinion for most away fans is that Villa Park is still a classic ground even if we have messes around with it a bit. I do respect your kinder outlook on the Ellis era changes to the stadium and I am grateful that the club had remained in the same location but I don't agree that the old Trinity was falling down. The manner in which the club went about its demolition was covered in so much denial, broken promises and lies that I detest those involved. A more thoughtful Ibrox style redevelopment was never on their agenda as this would have increased the cost and they were looking to spend the absolute minimum that they could get away with. The result being the mess that is the current Trinity. I think the classic ground comment often comes about due to the fact that decades of underperformance from Villa has resulted in the Super league 6 gaining more than their fair share of favourable results against us. FA Cup semi finals and the unique exterior of the old Trinity and now the Holte End plays its part in that too though as they gave it that an old stadium feel. Edited March 29 by Caravella82 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DakotaVilla Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 6 hours ago, Galway Lion said: Strange that as it is nearly always at the top of people’s lists of favourite away day grounds. It’s not soulless like most new grounds. It’s their favorite stadium because they’ve all got happy memories of beating us so often during our abject years. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaJ100 Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 7 hours ago, The Fun Factory said: I think that is slightly unfair on Doug. We have ended up with a serviceable stadium since the 90s development, albeit with some opportunities missed. The alternative would have been a completely unfit-for-purpose stadium like what Hillsborough has become or Goodison which is soon to be bulldozed. The 90s was a completely different era with far less money in the game. People do bemoan the loss of the trinity but by all accounts, it was falling apart and had to go. We could have done a much more sympathetic rebuild,, and it seemed a bit odd that we didn't when compared what we did to the Holte, but what has happened has happened. The general opinion for most away fans is that Villa Park is still a classic ground even if we have messes around with it a bit. Nah, the tight effer could have bought all the houses surrounding Witton Lane for pennies in the 90's and futureproof us but decided not to, that's why the stand there now is a bit gimped and not as wide as it probably should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 30 VT Supporter Share Posted March 30 13 hours ago, MaVilla said: maybe we should just be done with building outwards, and just build upwards like in the Bet365 curling advert thingy........ have screens further up so you can actually see something from the top.........no need for more land! We can claim to have "highest fans in the world", and it not be illegal! You joke but Barcelona famously built downwards to expand the Nou camp because they weren’t allowed to build the stadium any higher 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 30 VT Supporter Share Posted March 30 13 hours ago, DakotaVilla said: Errr no. That’s why it’s an incredibly sub optimal stadium in the modern age. I guess some may see beauty in what is basically an architectural mess but I’d suggest that they’re probably at least partially blinded by claret and blue tinted glasses. I say this in the nicest way possible, but after your last string of posts in this thread, could I kindly ask what the **** you are on about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DakotaVilla Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 23 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: I say this in the nicest way possible, but after your last string of posts in this thread, could I kindly ask what the **** you are on about? I could ask you exactly the same question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 30 VT Supporter Share Posted March 30 (edited) 14 minutes ago, DakotaVilla said: I could ask you exactly the same question. You could, and I’d answer if you’re specific, but I’m not sure I’ve posted anything particularly interesting in here for a while so I doubt it would be particularly interesting. So go ahead Meanwhile you seem to be advocating knocking down a listed building and trying to tell us all that Villa Park is actually quite shit. Which is… interesting Edited March 30 by Stevo985 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted March 30 VT Supporter Share Posted March 30 14 hours ago, Villa_Vids said: Isn't that the beauty of VP though? It started as a blank canvas that has been built in phases over 150 years. We have speculated about a new stadium and the opportunties it could bring to the club, but the more I see and read about VP the more I think we will lose our soul moving. I hope when the club does redevelop that the whole local community and fans can benefit from the changes. It’s the beauty of all stadia of that kind. Evolution over time brings character and beauty. A one time built for purpose at the best possible value brings the boring corporate bowls that half the league own 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 56 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: You joke but Barcelona famously built downwards to expand the Nou camp because they weren’t allowed to build the stadium any higher It's how City converted the Commonwealth Games stadium from athletics too but it was easier when the stands are so far back whereas we have no room. The Nou Camp didn't have a running track but still had stands far enough back to add about half a tier's worth of seats, having extended upwards about a decade earlier. We just need to build the North Stand, use all that land behind it wisely and get the longer platforms the council have promised. The longer they take the more expensive it will get. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 13 hours ago, The Fun Factory said: People do bemoan the loss of the trinity but by all accounts, it was falling apart and had to go. We could have done a much more sympathetic rebuild,, and it seemed a bit odd that we didn't when compared what we did to the Holte, but what has happened has happened. It's been a sore point for years, but realistically if the new stand needed to be bigger then it had to go over the top of Trinity Road and having a red brick Victorian facade in the style of Archibald Leitch was borderline impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 7 hours ago, DakotaVilla said: It’s their favorite stadium because they’ve all got happy memories of beating us so often during our abject years. No mate, it is definitely more than that. Paul McGrath said before he joined Villa it was his favourite ground. This is something that stretches back a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 10 minutes ago, Captain_Townsend said: No mate, it is definitely more than that. Paul McGrath said before he joined Villa it was his favourite ground. This is something that stretches back a long time. Rhetorical question. They like to visit, but would they like to live there thou? Maybe they would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 I posted in the new stadium thread. If you have a billion to play around with on a new stadium, surely you would offer the properties on Witton Lane good prices and try to acquire that ground so you could start building a new Witton Lane stand behind the existing stand like what they did at Anfield? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaVilla Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 1 hour ago, Captain_Townsend said: I posted in the new stadium thread. If you have a billion to play around with on a new stadium, surely you would offer the properties on Witton Lane good prices and try to acquire that ground so you could start building a new Witton Lane stand behind the existing stand like what they did at Anfield? you can guarantee Dorris on the corner aint gonna sell her house to you for 5 million quid, so you end up incorporating here house in to the new Gabriel Agbonlahor Stand so she has a pitch side view out of her bedroom. I guess she would set up Dorris' Terrace View, £2.5k per 4 person group, with your own retro bathroom, 1970s flowered sofa, and crumpets at half time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Not going to lie, I would pay the money haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa_Vids Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 11 hours ago, DakotaVilla said: It’s their favorite stadium because they’ve all got happy memories of beating us so often during our abject years. I do think that is true with regards to Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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