Who is enjoying this? I am.

[ender4]

i have a feeling that the opening post was ever so slightly sarcastic.

or at least firmly tongue-in-cheek.

so yes i agree, so looking forward to being shit and finishing mid-table 13th in the championship next year.

we get parachute payments, we get 23 home games rather than 19, we lose £40-50 million of revenue.

also, McLeish will do even better at getting draws next season, he'll have 46 chances to get 0-0 draws rather than 38.

[irishjay]

I have been through the 5 stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). Now I accept the inevitable that we will be in the Championship next year, it's a joke that we have been through the 5 stages twice in the same season. First when it was rumoured McLeish was going to be our manager and now as he is about to relegate us. Sadly even after the relegation I have a feeling that McLeish will still be here as he has "Championship experience" to go with his "Premier League experience", a sick joke from our idiot of an owner and his inept directors, and advisors. Get out of my club McLeish and Lerner, dumb and dumber.

[Villaboy69]

There is no way I want to see my beloved club relegated - no way whatsoever.

But I have been saying for weeks that since the injuries came along we would do well to survive. With the results, performances, and players available as they are I think it is inevitable now that we will go down and I pretty much resigned to it. I will be elated if we survive now.

How anyone can claim to be enjoying this is beyond me. In fact it really tells you how far this club has fallen.

However whilst I believe it will be a disater for the club from a personal point of view it will have no effect on me other than being miserable for a few week.

I will still travel away and will look forward to going to places I've never been to and I'll still have a really great time with the lads I go with.

All I really want is for the return to the Villa Park experience being a happy one. This season has without doubt been the worst in my experience and I include the last time we were relegated.

[A.J.Rimmer]

There is not a single sentiment expressed above with which I cannot to some degree identify.

I worry less about AVFC than in yesteryear... for me the recent teams will never be like watching Cowans Little & Gray, Mortimer Shaw & Morley or even McGrath Saunders & Sicknote... I really loved every one of them.

But going down should be avoided at all costs... who knows if we will ever come back?

[diddymonster666]

We have a choice I believe. We stay up, Mcleish stays. We get relegated, Mcleish may go.

!

I think that theres a lot of people who fall into the category of thinking that relegation would instantly see McCleish sacked (I have read the word 'may' in your comment btw - I'm just using your post to make a point ) Chances are though, being that Lerner seems to think he's the man to rebuild our club, he wont go - and then what? Will those same people all be happy to drop to League 1 'just incase?'

If its our time to go down, then its our time to go down - I'll accept it when I have to, but it'd be nice to see the club go down with a fight rather than some of the dross we've been subjected to over the past few months!

I understand that there is more to life than football, and maybe taking it on the chin now is many people's way of dealing with the situation that we're in right now, but relegation is simply not the way - or a 'quick fix' to the situation we find ourselves in!! Randy & co will still be here!! You can take me to the Championship but I'll sure as hell be kicking and screaming my way all the way there!!

[KjParton]

I have already accepted we're being relegated. Atleast we'll get to win some games next season :')

[irreverentad]

I don't want to see us relegated. But I wouldn't be distraught if it happened.

I would still enjoy the games, especially if a new manager is in place. New grounds, players like Carruthers etc playing more regularly, nice to take a break from the Premier League PR spin machine, chance to rid ourselves of underperforming, over paid players etc etc.

As I say I absolutely don't want us to be relegated but if it does happen there are some positives.

[b6bloke]

Not enjoying but have just accepted that this is how it is and will be no matter if we stay up or go down. I laughed when they equalised because I just knew it would happen, when we scored my mate said "im not getting excited because history states that they will equalise straight away. We are so shit and predictable, AM's teams selection and tactics are also so mind boggling that you have no choice but to laugh.

[mjmooney]

I'm not happy. I've even tried calling out 'Gouranga', but even that didn't work.

[juanpabloangel18]

I'll get a ST if we go down (or stay up, obviously) and McLeish is replaced by someone decent. Chances are slim though.

[Pilchard]

I must admit part of me is thinking 'Well, we did tell you this would happen and you ignored us.

Still, at least Pete165 will be donating £500 to Acorns and £500 to Leukaemia care. Though I haven't seen him recently....

[Laivasse]

I can definitely understand the masochistic streak that secretly gets a bit of stimulation from all this. Personally, I don't see any meangingful positives from relegation and think there is a not insignificant chance that it could be the death of Villa as a top league club. I'm not convinced it will mean seeing the back of McLeish.

Still, all football fans want to see their club playing the best football they can play. When I see Villa playing bad football for simple reasons, due to the ignorant decisions of those at the top, it's hard to even stay enthusiastic for our success because it vindicates Lerner and Faulkner's idiocy, just giving them the green light to make the same screw-ups further down the line. I support AVFC, not the hopeless, dismal, freakish football experiment 'EckFC' that we seem to have become, so I think it's natural to be feeling some serious cognitive dissonance about the situation we're in.

If we do get relegated the only positive is knowing that Lerner's wallet will be suffering as badly as the Villa-loving and football-loving part of all our brains are suffering right now. Still, the long term consequences to the club could be devastating - just as they may be if we stay up with McLeish still at the helm. No light on any horizon. So yes, I understand the OP - the only pleasure we can take from the situation is by having a masochistic streak, so some fans are subconsciously developing one.

[Voinjama]

I can definitely understand the masochistic streak that secretly gets a bit of stimulation from all this.

I am guilty of this. I admit it. Of course I dont want the club to go down, but this constant checking of the table, and guessing the other teams results etc is quite fun.

But when all is said and done, I want survival ASAP:

[Daniel]

I'll happily watch us in the Championship and would enjoy visiting the so called shit grounds.

This x1000. Be nice to have a change.

Just trying to sugar coat the bullshit going on at this club.

[BangkokVilla]

My first regular season of watching Villa with my mates was 87-88 when I was 14 years old. 3 quid in, queues up Trinity road (Left side Holte End.) jumpers for goalposts and all that.

Have to say it was good. Winning games, exciting matches and promotion.

I have been quite lucky really, at least upto 2001, seen a couple of 2nd place finishes, a good number of top six finishes, European nights, last stand of the Holte, some cup wins...I won't mention 2000 FA Cup.

Not a whole lot to get excited about since then apart from some reasonably good times under MON and beating the noses,eventually, but that only made it sweeter.

Anyway, not especially enjoying now, back to 2002-2005 survival mode. We are currently in the shit but I don't think we will go down.

[YLN]

On most levels I don't want to see Villa relegated, but I have some rogue feelings on the subject.

Football is just a day out anyway. Two teams pitted against each other over a 90 minute game of football. While watching that game, I'm going to be cheering for Villa without too much regard for what division they are in. Tickets will be cheaper. More likely to win a game. It would really hurt Randy Lerner financially. I like the sound of that. It's new. I've never seen Villa in a different division. Not on match of the day anymore, so there would be a bit of a hunt to try and see the highlights of the game. It would be a real treat to see them live, rather than tuning into a stream whenever I feel like it. A cup run would mean an awful lot more to me if we were coming up against teams in the premiership and giving them a game.

[CI]

If we're in The Championship we stand a better chance of winning something or a day out at Wembley (if that sort of thing floats your boat).

Personally I detest the new Wembley & the surrounds is as bad as its always been, possibly worserer

[McGregor1888]

Just what we need at the moment.

A thread full of unbelievably silly nonsense. (diddymonster666 excepted - crazy username BTW!)

Relegation would be a complete disaster for Villa. It could take us years to recover - the best way we can repair the club is to get back to winning ways and bigger crowds in the Premier League. Lerner can do all the mea culpa/sack McLeish stuff while we stay up. Our financial position is already dire and would worsen massively if we went down a league.

If there are people who are relishing watching Championship football, I don't know why you haven't **** off a long time ago to watch Coventry every week.

Silly nonsense? I would go beyond that and suggest that what we see here is classic loser mentality. Nine points left to play for and we need every Villa fan that cares about the club to get behind the club. Those that want to follow Championship teams or watch Barcelona v Chelsea should do us all a favour and follow another club because they bring absolutely nothing to Villa other than help drag our great club down.

When times get tough you learn a lot about the character of folk, who are the winners, who are the losers, who are those you want by your side in battle and so on. Bedwetters please stay away from Villa now and the foreseeable future would be my earnest suggestion - go follow Man Utd, Coventry, Leeds Utd, Barcelona, Chelsea...follow the club that provides the thrill you need that Villa so clearly doesn't.

Leave the rest of us to lift our great club back to where it should be.

[CI]

Those words could have been plucked straight from the script of Braveheart

[mjmooney]

Those that want to follow Championship teams or watch Barcelona v Chelsea should do us all a favour and follow another club because they bring absolutely nothing to Villa other than help drag our great club down.

I think you are missing the point.

What if the statement was in the form: "Those that only want to follow the Villa when they are doing well in the top flight should do us all a favour and follow another club (etc.)"?

The other way of looking at it is that a proper fan sticks with their club even in the bad times. I did it in the old Third Division, and also in the years of winning the league and European Cup. It was still the Villa in each case.

Obviously I don't want us to be relegated, but if we are, we are. And TBH, the Premier League stinks anyway.

EDIT: (a bit more...) Many fans on here have only ever experienced Villa in the top flight, so the experience of relegation is beyond their imagination. Well, it hurts, no doubt about that. But in a weird sort of way, it's good for the soul of a supporter - it sorts out the fair-weather fans from the loyalists. If we go down, let's see who's still here on VT next season.