My passion for Aston Villa F.C.

[Dante_Lockhart]

25 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Love villa but hate football

 

This is where I am at the moment. Football has changed so much that I'm not enjoying watching any of it.

Still love playing it though.

[The Fun Factory]

Well said. I have had no  enthusiasm for football after the lockdown. I increasingly dislike the Premier League's  lust for money and this five sub rule sums it all up. The Championship is fine if you are winning games but I am increasingly fearful for next season as we could just bring in more duds but on less money.  Even when the lockdown is lifted I will have to think twice to go down to Villa Park to pay money to be miserable in the cold again.

[Zatman]

Money has killed my passion for football especially the corrupt and crap Premier League, was much more enjoyable in the Championship that we could compete or a different competitive league. 

As for Villa Paul Lambert nearly killled it completely but has slowly worked back by Sherwood and then Smith but I don't care as much as maybe 10 years ago. I happily miss a game on TV now if something better to do 

[Guest av1]

I was chatting about this yesterday to a friend that isn't a football fan, and I recalled a thought from Wembley last season when I thought to myself:

'This is why I do it'.

Being consistently shit is draining, but every now and then I'm reminded why I love it. And even though this season has been largely awful, there has been 1/2 of "those moments" Everton at home springs to mind, the atmosphere was incredible. 

 

But like @villa4europe earlier, though I love my club, I've hated football for years. I genuinely can't remember the last match I watched that didn't involve ourselves (or the odd England game). It must literally be years. 

 

[ozvillafan]

Villa, for me, are quite literally on the other side of the world.

I've been following them long enough to remember some of the good times - our table topping run under John Gregory, our League Cup wins, some of our football under MON and our recent promotion. But there have been so many lows during that time too: FA Cup and league cup final submissions, the decline into relegation and, just like yesterday, the inevitable bloody loss to ManUre, replete with abysmal referring decisions.

It's getting me down. I'm not enjoying football like I should and - like you - I only care about Villa. I can stomach highlights from other matches but even then the media love-in for the "big clubs" makes me want to puke.

 

..... But ....

 

Even though I am likely to never be able to physically make it to a game at Villa park - just seeing the sea of Claret and Blue in the stands and hearing the crowd belt out "villa, Villa, VILLA!" still makes the hairs on my neck stand up and my eyes well with tears. They still get me out of bed at 3am in the middle of winter so I can see them live despite occassional poor coverage (especially in the Championship) and mediocre (or worse) performances.

It's an ugly thing, this thing called love.  It hurts so bad when we lose and it elates like nothing else in sport when we succeed. I love the Villa, so I put up with the pain in the (vain?) hope that the highs will be that much sweeter, that much greater, that much more enjoyable and memorable.

I'm going nowhere else.

Up the Villa!

[AVTuco]

So long as we have Sawaris and Edens, there is reason to be calm and hopeful in the longer run.

But supporting Villa will never become an easy ride. I wouldn't want it to be either. Pain is part of life, and part of football. I'd hate to be a Bayern fan. Too easy.

[hippo]

I remember as a much younger man - my then girlfriend wanted me to go to a wedding on a day the villa were at home - I was sort of stalling and she said 

"Surley you can miss one home match"

I looked at her in utter amazement and Instantly roared back 

" Of course I bloody can't !!!!" 

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by hippo

[bielesibub]

Love this topic, all I want to say is 'Up the Villa'

[Xela]

I've been lucky in that I can remember some good times... GT, Big Ron, Little, Gregory, MON, etc. 

I used to live and breathe all football. I could probably name every squad in Division 1 in 1988 from memory as I used to pore over the panini sticker albums.

Today? I'm always going to be a Villa fan but not fussed what league we're in. We'll be more competitive next year in the Championship. As for other football, I very rarely watch it.

The farce of VAR just makes it even worse. I dislike most players I hear about as i'd estimate 75% of them are just mercenaries. Huge salaries, no effort and more concerned with their "brand". 

Can't take my memories away though from when I loved the game. Platt, Daley, Spinksy, Birchy, Alan McInally! The old Holte End and the classic Trinity Road stand. Good times. Better times. Simpler times. 

[chrisvilla4]

Post Mon the most I've enjoyed football (Villa) has been in the championship. Knowing you could win (or lose) every game. 

I remember listening to villa vs forest on a wintery drive over some Yorkshire moors and feeling every emotion, I can still remember laughing at the commentary now. 

Saddest thing for me would be if my son doesn't support us, he's 9 and lives near Manchester, at the moment Villa are probably a playground embarrassment. We will see, he will be at Villa Park with me to watch us win someday!

[A'Villan]

I used to watch between 3-5 full matches of football a week and then the highlights of the better teams from across Europe.

I was obsessed. The front lawn had a patch worn to dirt underneath where the electricity wire connected from the street to the house.

I'd learned how to lob the ball over the wire while doing keep-ups and how to control it on the way down to continue, or smash it on the volley into the underside of the trailer.

I'd play futsal 3 times a week and one of the team's had two Brazilian's and a Venezuelan who were so friendly and schooled me in on how to play the team game.

They taught me so much, most of all how to enjoy the game and the people who make it what it is, and that energy transferred over to Villa, really. 

@AvonVillain @Robtaylor200 @TheStagMan @Herman22 Are to blame also, they were some of the first Villa supporters I came across, and I took a liking to this club even more.

I've always hated the idea of supporters paying premium rates for tickets, and I've always despised betting companies being at the forefront of marketing.

For me it's community. Celebrating growth and development of skill and athleticism. Togetherness most of all, it's special to be in a stadium with up to 100,000 people roaring.

Now that I'm playing basketball again I don't play futsal or watch any football outside of Villa, but I still love it. Some nights it's definitely not worth the disrupted sleeps.

Like 15 goals conceded and 0 scored over 3 games only to lose to Bradford of all teams a week or two later in the semis was a bit of a downer, and I wondered what we were in for.

UTV!

[villa4europe]

3 minutes ago, chrisvilla4 said:

Saddest thing for me would be if my son doesn't support us, he's 9 and lives near Manchester, at the moment Villa are probably a playground embarrassment. We will see, he will be at Villa Park with me to watch us win someday!

Speaking only from my personal experience of my 1 nephew football seems to have changed since I was a kid when you had plastics following man utd all over the playground 

Kids follow players across europe, no real loyalty to the teams, the Ronaldo real Madrid shirts have been replaced by the Ronaldo juve shirts, that he also has a Villa shirt had never really come in to question

With that in mind grealish leaving will be a huge dent for villa, a lot of kids will follow him (at a guess) 

[Farlz]

I've pretty much only ever known Villa to be mostly shit, apart from the MOM years it's been pretty grim. 

What I've realised this season though is that for me it's the Premier League that makes football completely miserable. For how many years we've been whipping boys and relegation fodder, what ever we do or try in this league it never ever works. I'll most likely skip watching the Palace game on Sunday because it clashes with the F1 and I know full well what I'd rather watch. 

While it's mostly a miserable time with supporting Villa, you just have to remember the few good moments. At Wembley for the 2019 playoff final with my dad is the best day I've ever experienced as a Villa fan, especially after what we felt the year previously, and that's what you hold onto. 

[ciggiesnbeer]

12 hours ago, DCJonah said:

The MON years were brilliant and then it went downhill.

Houllier, mcleish took away some of my passion for following villa but it was lambert who destroyed it. 

It came back a little under Bruce, but his football and the way he tried to split the fanbase meant I was never fully invested in him. 

The most passionate I've felt about villa in the last decade was last season. I'd given up on going up that year and then we just kept winning. Players like mings, mcginn, Jack and tammy made you fall in love with them. The streak, the playoffs with the penalty shoot out and then the final. As I say, easily the longest period in the last decade where my passion for villa came flooding back. 

 

Well said mate, yeah end of last season was brilliant. I will always be grateful to Smith and the team, staff for it.  They should be proud of what they achieved last year.

[Nabby]

I don't think its the Prem League that makes football miserable there was plenty of shit times in the championship as well. I saw on twitter people posting the  Grealish goal against Rotherham as better times  I don't want to sound disrespectful to Rotherham but beating a team with a capacity of 12k , the smallest team in the Championship is hardly something to cheer about.We spent millions in fee's and wages over 3 years and never once looked like getting auto promotion let alone winning the league and the play off final defeat was a horrible experience.

How we continue to get things so wrong is frankly amazing for all the wrong reasons.2 Billionaire owners ,various chairmen,various mangers god knows how many players and still we can't get anywhere look at where Wolves are in comparison.If the Newcastle take over goes through I bet they make a success of it also .  We have sold a whole midfield of players who have moved on and been League winners.Player's like Traore currently one of the most in demand players in the league other playing in top leagues in Europe , we look hopeless upfront and there is Ayew popping up with goals that have kept Palace safe from the drop.We buy McCormack who is a goal scoring machine in the Championship and he is hopeless and barely plays for the entirety of his contract .Hogan hopeless for. us sent out on loan and remembers where the goal is.

I can accept challenging to win the league is fantasy thinking but right now I'd settle for just being competitive like Shef United.It would be nice not to go into a game not worried about relegation , not having to suffer the embarrassment of being taken apart by teams like Leicester ( another team who got new ownership and shown what can be done ) 

As soul crushing as it is supporting us I still spend time on here and twitter to talk about us and watch all the games I can. I always have hope it will get better ..its the hope that kills you ..

,

[M_Afro]

It has been a horrible season but I honestly feel we are close. We are in a much better position to turn things around now and when it starts it can move very quickly. The next managerial appointment is massive. Dean is done. Get that right and it could really be lift off. Keep the faith.

[rjw63]

21 hours ago, Chicken Field said:

For all my 30+ years on this earth, I have been passionate towards Villa and football in general. I’ve spent countless hours on football forums and news sides, studying everything football related, especially Villa.

 

I fondly remember my first Villa memory, which was the league cup win against Leeds in 96. A match I was sent a VHS copy months later, from my Grandad. A VHS I watched so many times, that I still remember details from the match, even though I haven’t watched it for many years.

 

I passionately started following and understanding football when Martin O’Neill became manager. This was an exciting time to be a Villa fan, we had many great players and some good memories. Though, they ultimately, still, always seemed to end in disappointment.

 

I have stuck with Villa through 2x FA cup final losses, including spending £100’s to travel and attend the Arsenal trashing, 2x League cup finals losses, one play-off final lose, which I again spent £100’s to attend.

 

I’ve experienced so many lows. The ones that pop to mind include the yearly decline following MON, the humiliating semi final loss to Bradford, the nearly 700 minute goalless run in 14/15, in what must have been the least entertaining team to have ever played in the Premier League, the 8-0 loss to Chelsea being maybe the stand out in a plethora of humiliating losses, Petrov’s illness, relegation, including the humiliating way that we got relegated in, and some dreadful seasons in the championship (including nearly going bankrupt). And all my favourite players leaving year by year. So many horrible seasons, so many horrible experiences.

 

On the contrary, I can count the good experiences on one hand. Promotion, Semi-final vs. Liverpool, and some decent wins here and there, particularly vs. Blues.

 

Despite majority of experiences being horrible, I have always stuck with Villa, watched every match I could, which has not always been easy due to the limited coverage of them we get here. I never turned a match of, not even when we lost 8-0. But I think I might finally have cracked. I can’t stand to watch football that is not Villa related, and I can’t stand to watch Villa. There are simply more entertaining ways to spend my time. I have missed some matches lately and turned multiple off. I feel numb to results, with only referee decision resulting in any response from me, like the one today against United. These are always negative emotions. Villa always seem to be a team that plays the least entertaining football in the world, with this current team being up there with the worst in pure entertainment value.

 

Is this an experience anyone else has had?

Did the passion come back and how?

Would be interesting to hear what made people crack and stop caring? (or what is your worst experience or time as a Villa fan).

I first saw Villa in the late 60's.

Lucky enough to see the best Villa team in decades win stuff they'll probably never win again.

Missed about 3 home games in 35 years. Even left my first wife ill in bed while I went to support the team once. Spent a fortune. Obsessed if you will. Used to write for various fanzines. Even used to sell them in all weather outside the ground.

Paul Lamebert and his shite did for me, I suppose I owe him gratitude because I now have weekends to do other stuff that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and hypothermia.

Hopefully your passion will return. Mine is long gone.

Never to return.

I still follow the boys but, for instance, yesterday...just via phone updates. No point wasting two hours of my time when I know we are going to lose to manure for the 50th time in 52 attempts.

[Keener window-cleaner]

For me the corona crisis made me care less about football and Villa for a while, probably quite understandable as there was no football on show and there was a big uncertainty with what was going on and how severe we would be affected by the virus. When there is a crisis and people are dying it's probably a sane thing not to care so much about football. The restart made my enthusiasm come back, but not fully. Probably because the crisis and uncertainty is still ongoing, but also because of the empty stadiums. It is sad and a bit depressing to see the empty seats at Villa Park. The games feel like a behind closed doors friendly, it's hard to build up some real enthusiasm. First time since the restart that I got really passionate was the anger and hate I felt for the unjust penalty decision yesterday.

For me VAR has also affected me negatively. The instant spontaneous passion goes missing when you no longer celebrate a goal but sits quiet for a while with your mouth half open and waits for the VAR decision. A couple of minutes later it's like "oh, ok it was a goal". Then there is the debacle that VAR at the start of the season reviewed too much, too often and interferred in details, but now on the other hand apparently it doesn't intervene when there are clear mistakes.

All in all I think the current decline in passion is a overgoing thing that will go away with the virus, my full enthusiasm will come back when the stadiums are filled once again (I think they already now should be able to fill half or a third of the sections, like in Denmark?), and the Premier League will review the VAR debacle (is there still anyone except the muppets who decided it or earns money on it that still supports it?). Keep the faith!

[Keener window-cleaner]

And regarding the last year and a half, what Dean Smith has given me - the drastic upturn in good attacking football the first games after Bruceball - the 4-4 and other goals galore games before xmas last season - the historic unbeaten run that against the odds took us to a play off place - the semi finals agains WBA - not at least the final at Wembley - the crasy summer with spending £140M on new players - the enthusiasm of being back in the PL after three years - the few wins we have had - all that has the last 1,5 years given me so much more and made me feel more enthusiastic than I've been since the first seasons under MON.

Injuries to McGinn, Heaton, Mings and Wesley, some naitivity, to many players new to the league finding their feet, same goes for the managar, some bad luck - and we are where we are. Still the first 25 mins against Man U, large parts of the Liverpool game, the Newcastle game and the Sheff U game, we haven't been outplayed or given up, we still have the chance to win against CP and WH and that could be enough to stay up. 

[NoelVilla]

Almost lost all interest before the pandemic. I haven't followed our games after the pandemic break.

The biggest problem for keeping interest for me(I think) is that I loathe the Premier League and all it stands for.

Visited On-topic today for the first time in a long while. 

I still would like to travel to Birmingham and go to a game though, and I guess that is why Im still hanging around VT.