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A Footballing Decree Nisi


GaztonVilla

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For me, this period of where we are actually as a club at the at the moment is the worst of my life. I'm 29 and although things were bad under Ellis/ O'leary there's a genuine sense that we'll be relegated this year and with an owner seemingly clueless and throwing in a white flag and not going anywhere, it's pretty feasible that we'll be squandering around the lower leagues for seasons to come, just like the Leeds', Forests and other old giants.

I don't have any problem with your feelings, if that's how you feel, it's how you feel, but like others have said, I don't really understand why you need to denounce the fans, obviously things get messy when results don't go our way, it's human nature, we all want to succeed. I'm bored of people thinking that any sets of fans are any different to any others. It really boils down to results, if the world's richest man took over us tomorrow, ran the club impeccably, improved the youth system, the community around Aston. We won the league, challenged for the European cup, the mood would be fantastic, you'd feel better in yourself and you wouldn't have an issue with the fans.

When things get tough people start to blame everyone and everything, start saying that Sky and money has ruined the game and everyone in the media has a massive personal agenda against us. Blah blah.

It's hard being a Villa fan at the moment, It's actually embarrassing but it's still the team that my dad took me to watch my first game when I was around 9 years old and it's still the team that I care about deeply, wherever we are or whatever league we'll be in. The fans are the essence and soul of the game we all love, opinions will always clash. If you feel that you have fallen out of love with it, then that's absolutely fine but deep down I'm not entirely sure you mean it, everyone is just hugely frustrated at the moment.

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I’ve had a long chat with myself recently. I’ve come to the realisation that, having fallen out of love with football a while ago, I can no longer rightly call myself an Aston Villa fan.

I’ve been holding on to this delusion, justifying to myself the time, money and effort I have invested in being a Villa supporter. The tens of thousands of miles driven, the thousands of pounds and the thousands of hours are not easily written off. The effort I put into starting and running a supporters club in this small corner of the country, again not easy to write off.

However, like a marriage that stays in place for the sake of this kids, my marriage to Villa has remained for the sake of my own sanity. For my own sake, I must now declare this marriage over. I’ve reached the tipping point. I’m out.

I don’t get any joy from being a Villa supporter anymore. In days gone by, win lose or draw, I’d have enjoyed the match. Newcastle and Sunderland would be the first 2 away games I’d look for when the fixtures were released. Last season, I didn’t even check to see when those fixtures were on. This season I haven’t bothered either.

What has caused me to finally decide on this sporting emancipation? You probably won’t like the answer. I could go on for hours and pages and days and paragraphs explaining exactly why, but it boils down to this simple statement.

The people.

Footballers, the people who run the game, and the supporters. Each group has their faults and I am powerless to change them. Yet, I am particularly turned off by the attitude and actions of some of the so-called supporters of Aston Villa. If things don’t go their way, the immediate reaction is to lash out and blame individuals. The sporting element is gone. People are immediately branded as poor human beings. This ire isn’t restricted to the players. Men and women who simply do their best at their daily jobs are subjected to some pretty horrific abuse by the nameless and the mindless. Have a read of some of the posts on this website or listen to the talk in the stands at Villa Park and try to tell me that these distasteful actions and words are those of a minority. Where I once enjoyed the tribal element of supporting this football club, I now find that things have irretrievably too far.

So, I’ve taken the decision to divorce myself from AVFC. In all honesty, it’s an easy decision to make. The plaster doesn’t need ripping off – it’s already limp and falling off anyway. What I’m doing now is simply deciding to embrace what should have been obvious to me for some time.

I’m sure I’ll have a mourning period and, like a lonely divorcee, I’ll be tempted to go back during some particularly dark moments. I’ll wean myself off things like Villa Talk and I’ll probably be seen in the Off-Topic sections for a little bit. This will fade away too I’m sure. And if you're muttering to yourself about this being self-indulgent hogwash, good for you.

I’m pretty strong in my resolve and I’m out.

I've never known a more poisonous, unsupportive lot of fans than the 10-15 per-cent of fuckwits who follow our club. I'm not surprised you want out because they are a wearying, energy-sapping bunch. We need positive people with reserves of support and belief to lift the club. I 'd urge you to think again,my friend, and keep the faith. Don't allow negative people to relegate you or our club.

I could not disagree with you more ....I don't think any of our supporters deserve the discription as poisonous. I think Villa Fans are amongst the best in the country.

Some fans manage a better resolve than others, some will put up with most things that hit them others are more discerning and want the top prizes or play top class football. The ones that set their sights high are the most likely to get frustrated first, but Hey arn't they entitled to reach for the stars.

We have experienced in the last few years a catalogue of poor decisions at the club.... some fans handle that better than others, it doesn't make one camp anymore right than the other.

This manager clearly has a bigger job than we all thought , but already some misjudgements have been made because PL intimated that there will be no more signings a few weeks back... with 2 poor performances it looks like we are now desperate for some.

The judgement/Decision making at the club seems to change like the weather.

To start blaming any % of fans is barking up the wrong tree.

as they say don't shoot the messenger.

i can see where you're coming from - but some of those people who were moaning when we were 6th - were right to do so.

Whether you care to admit it or not - The decision to back MON with all that money has destroyed this club.

Do you think when we were 6th and people such as I were moaning and wanting rid of MON were doing it cos we were bored etc? I could see the damage that MON was doing to us - ridiculous completely unsustainable wages to - on the whole - very average players with little re-sale value.

Yes MON and Lerner bought the fun times back to us and the secind half of the second season was a joy to behold - we were punching above our weight and it was great! Then a catalogue of terrible decisions by MON (and lerner for backing him) changed everything. When you saw that our wage bill was growing so high but the squad was only improving very slightly the alarms started to ring.

Why would someone like me complain and moan? Because I love the club and don't us to jeopardise its future. For every Ashley Young, James Milner there were tons of average players who have dragged us down.

It's quite strange to say this - but we as fans should be careful what we wish for.... we all wanted MON (myself included) and ultimately the decision to back him (when it was obvious he was not to be trusted with money) has cost this club far more than a lot of us will ever realise.

I'm still going now and against my better judgement renewed again - but going to Villa park over the past 3 seasons and seeing the ineptitude of players like Collins (40k), Dunne (50k), Warnock (45k) Hutton (50k), NZog (55k) - Carew in his last 2 years, (50k), Ireland (60k) etc then the non players Sidwell (60k), Shorey (35k), Beye (40k), Luke Young (65k), Curtis Davies (30k) then the try hard but still massively overpaid and not worth their wages... Gabby (65k), Bent (80k), Heskey (65k), Given (65k), Cuellar (40k)

and there you have it that much money pissed down the drain for what? Putting up with shit football, finishing 6th, winning nothing and screwing the club financially. We still have fans that criticise Lerner for not investing - when you look at the accounts you'll actually begin to realise that if it wasn't for his massive investments - over the past 3 years particularly - we'd be bankrupt and there probably wouldn't be a football club at all.

It pains me to say it but compare us with west brom - they are currently a club to be proud of - whereas we're a club to be ashamed of. And they've got a better team at the moment

This isn't Lamberts fault - he's just the unlucky one to pick up from the past 5 years of mass mismanagement of the club from top to bottom

That just about sums it for me and despite the fact few will agree ,I think you are spot on.

I said in one of my earlier posts the poor transfer dealings has set the club back years.To keep that up you would want Bill Gates in charge not Randy Lerner.

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Just a small reminder to what is currently happening in the world at the moment

the world

Gaztonvilla - you have been a good honest poster and one who's posts have caught my interest in the time that I have been registered on the site. Not sure if it is your love for Villa or football in general that has disappeared? Im reading 'I Am The Secret Footballer' at the moment (it's **** amazing, please do read it) and he is touching on everything that sucks about football and it's players.

There is more to life than football and I also refuse to base how I feel on a weekend thanks to a 90 minute football match. Footballers are generally a bunch of rocket polishers who couldn't give a toss about you and I, yet we are spending hundreds/thousands to help pay for said rocket polishers.

Im going to be as fickle as I want to be going forward and if we start acting like a proper club and start to be run properly then i will start turning up. I aint spending a penny while we are playing people like Bannan in midfield expecting to turn over Everton.

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Can't help but think most of this simply comes down to the fact we've been mostly losing for the past 2 years. It might be an indirect effect - supporters are more likely to act like tools when the club is losing and you're more likely to notice the bad elements off the pitch when there's nothing good on the pitch - but it's the losing which is the heart of it. Most football supporters are junkies. We need a sufficient fix of wins (or at least goals) to keep our enthusiasm.

We haven't won two games in a row since May 2011 and even they were bittersweet 'cause they were way too late in a miserable season to mean anything. It's been an utterly depressing time to support Villa, but we will win again...sometime...hopefully!

Its not the winning at all, but I will grant you, to a large section of supporters thats what it is all about. Winning though has a lazy habit of papering over the cracks, because ultimately that is what it is all about.

This is very difficult to say, but some fans can see a bit deeper than others and the storm clouds or deficiencies can be picked up by some and scoffed at by others.

In my humble opinion a direct style of football requires less ball control and less technical ability from the player, whilst ekking out results can be acheived.... problem is it will only take you so far and is arguably not sustainable.

We have paid far too much money in terms of wages and fee's for players with questionable levels of technical ability and the day of reckoning comes when you try to sell them because many other clubs ain't quite so gullible.

We have lost fortunes and only selling the few has resembled any kind of sense of financial order.

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I can understand where Gazton is coming from. I know accept and expect defeat. It got to 5:30 Saturday and I didn't feel pain, I already expected we would lose. I no longer wake on a Saturday and think we have a chance of a win, but wonder if we can scrape a draw. The chairmain is taking and not giving, there is a stale feeling about us now. We're not a football club, they try and improve the team. We're a money saving operation which is not the 'Villa' I support.

I support the players, the fact we play to win, hole-Enders in the sky, claret and blue, the lion, William McGregor, Ron Saunders and everything in our PROUD HISTORY that screams Aston Villa.

I want to support a team, a football team. Not to look at the line up and wonder which of my favourite players will be sold next.

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We still have fans that criticise Lerner for not investing - when you look at the accounts you'll actually begin to realise that if it wasn't for his massive investments - over the past 3 years particularly - we'd be bankrupt and there probably wouldn't be a football club at all.

What utter nonsense!!!!

Look at the accounts. When we lose £37m and £53m in respective years - where does that money come from? Randy Lerner subsiding us. This isn't conjecture it's stone cold hard fact.

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We still have fans that criticise Lerner for not investing - when you look at the accounts you'll actually begin to realise that if it wasn't for his massive investments - over the past 3 years particularly - we'd be bankrupt and there probably wouldn't be a football club at all.

What utter nonsense!!!!

Look at the accounts. When we lose £37m and £53m in respective years - where does that money come from? Randy Lerner subsiding is. This isn't conjecture it's stone cold hard fact.

Thats what you are up against.... I thought your previous post on the heart of the problem, was brilliant.

Ps I think the main draw back to Randy and Faulkner is they are not football people unlike Steve Stride.

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Are we still blaming MoN? And yes I'm sure the people moaning while he was in charge knew all the inside details of our finances during that time :lol:

Ultimately Lerner agreed to every contract we gave out and he was the sole person at this club who should have had a clear idea of our finances, wages to turnover and how this would continue in the future.

His decisions after MON walked/pushed have continued to effect our finances. If we had appointed the right man after MoN and given them the money houllier and Mcleish had along with some of the compensation we've paid out recently we'd be in a much better position right now.

That would mean we could still invest small amount, getting finances sorted and not worrying about relegation.

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Do you know what you need Gaz?

Relegation

some of my best mates are Newcastle fans as im sure some of yours may be and the season before they were relegated the fans were exactly like us...

constantly moaning and slagging off the owner with an awful team...

they were gutted when they went down but then totally embraced the championship and watched players come in who were hungry and every game at different grounds was a brilliant experience...they found there enthusiasm again

i admit that doesn't happen to all teams that are relegated...

but if the worse happens and we do go down ive got a sneaky feeling your enthusaism may be reignited

we met once a few seasons ago away at Sunderland and you seemed a genuine guy so i know this isnt an overreaction

all the best and UTV!

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We still have fans that criticise Lerner for not investing - when you look at the accounts you'll actually begin to realise that if it wasn't for his massive investments - over the past 3 years particularly - we'd be bankrupt and there probably wouldn't be a football club at all.

What utter nonsense!!!!

Look at the accounts. When we lose £37m and £53m in respective years - where does that money come from? Randy Lerner subsiding is. This isn't conjecture it's stone cold hard fact.

A large percentage of the losses you write about there are not cash losses, they are depreciation. I won't go into detail over it as it is totally off topic but suffice to say AVFC was never in danger of disappearing with or without Lerner.

Anyways, Gazton I can understand you falling out of love with Villa, but to say it is the people is a bit of a generalisation. We have good fans, bad fans and ugly fans... just like every other club and this is no different no matter what the industry or the event.

I don't "love" Villa as much as the majority of people on this site, however I still watch all their games on TV, I still watch Sky Sports on Saturday and I enjoy the days out when I do get the chance to head up to VP.

Villa in moderation is bearable and possibly the best way to be. I don't get upset when we lose, I won't cry if we get relegated but I smile when we win.

Chin up!

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Funny Sonic, I've thought the same a few times these last couple of seasons.

Reassuringly a lot of replies to the original post, show that Villa has some great fans just like any other club and though I share Gazton's hatred of the money involved in the game today, I believe Villa fans are starved of enjoyment.

Things need to pick up on the pitch and badly.

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I’ve had a long chat with myself recently. I’ve come to the realisation that, having fallen out of love with football a while ago, I can no longer rightly call myself an Aston Villa fan.

I’ve been holding on to this delusion, justifying to myself the time, money and effort I have invested in being a Villa supporter. The tens of thousands of miles driven, the thousands of pounds and the thousands of hours are not easily written off. The effort I put into starting and running a supporters club in this small corner of the country, again not easy to write off.

However, like a marriage that stays in place for the sake of this kids, my marriage to Villa has remained for the sake of my own sanity. For my own sake, I must now declare this marriage over. I’ve reached the tipping point. I’m out.

I don’t get any joy from being a Villa supporter anymore. In days gone by, win lose or draw, I’d have enjoyed the match. Newcastle and Sunderland would be the first 2 away games I’d look for when the fixtures were released. Last season, I didn’t even check to see when those fixtures were on. This season I haven’t bothered either.

What has caused me to finally decide on this sporting emancipation? You probably won’t like the answer. I could go on for hours and pages and days and paragraphs explaining exactly why, but it boils down to this simple statement.

The people.

Footballers, the people who run the game, and the supporters. Each group has their faults and I am powerless to change them. Yet, I am particularly turned off by the attitude and actions of some of the so-called supporters of Aston Villa. If things don’t go their way, the immediate reaction is to lash out and blame individuals. The sporting element is gone. People are immediately branded as poor human beings. This ire isn’t restricted to the players. Men and women who simply do their best at their daily jobs are subjected to some pretty horrific abuse by the nameless and the mindless. Have a read of some of the posts on this website or listen to the talk in the stands at Villa Park and try to tell me that these distasteful actions and words are those of a minority. Where I once enjoyed the tribal element of supporting this football club, I now find that things have irretrievably too far.

So, I’ve taken the decision to divorce myself from AVFC. In all honesty, it’s an easy decision to make. The plaster doesn’t need ripping off – it’s already limp and falling off anyway. What I’m doing now is simply deciding to embrace what should have been obvious to me for some time.

I’m sure I’ll have a mourning period and, like a lonely divorcee, I’ll be tempted to go back during some particularly dark moments. I’ll wean myself off things like Villa Talk and I’ll probably be seen in the Off-Topic sections for a little bit. This will fade away too I’m sure. And if you're muttering to yourself about this being self-indulgent hogwash, good for you.

I’m pretty strong in my resolve and I’m out.

I made the same decision 2/3 years ago, not for exactly the same reasons, but similar.

ps ...and I only live down the road from the ground.

pps you never fall out of love with the club.... I just got fed up of feeling meloncholy every time i watched them play, you end up moaning and over analyising...it just get tedious and repetitive.

this totally sums me as well. I was a st holder for over a decade. Since I was 15.

I just felt miserable watching the villa. The way the heart was ripped and poached from our side by the top clubs recently left me bitter and angry and without hope.

I only go occasionally now, and that's only because my young nephew wants to go. Sadly even he has been bored the last few times. I can't ever remember leaving villa park bored when I was 8 years old.

Sad times

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I can see where the OP is coming from... my love of football has waned over the years. I will always be a Villa fan but I don't dedicate as much time or effort to it as I used to. I guess I grew out of it as I got older and I realised there were a lot more important things in life. I still root for us, take an interest etc but if we lose it doesn't ruin my day like it used to. After all, its just a game.

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Are we still blaming MoN? And yes I'm sure the people moaning while he was in charge knew all the inside details of our finances during that time :lol:

Ultimately Lerner agreed to every contract we gave out and he was the sole person at this club who should have had a clear idea of our finances, wages to turnover and how this would continue in the future.

His decisions after MON walked/pushed have continued to effect our finances. If we had appointed the right man after MoN and given them the money houllier and Mcleish had along with some of the compensation we've paid out recently we'd be in a much better position right now.

That would mean we could still invest small amount, getting finances sorted and not worrying about relegation.

Look at the accounts. The damage was done a long time before MON left, yes it's Lerners responsibility but MONs (and being backed up by Lerner, Faulkner etc) tenure has ruined us.

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We still have fans that criticise Lerner for not investing - when you look at the accounts you'll actually begin to realise that if it wasn't for his massive investments - over the past 3 years particularly - we'd be bankrupt and there probably wouldn't be a football club at all.

What utter nonsense!!!!

Look at the accounts. When we lose £37m and £53m in respective years - where does that money come from? Randy Lerner subsiding is. This isn't conjecture it's stone cold hard fact.

Thats what you are up against.... I thought your previous post on the heart of the problem, was brilliant.

Ps I think the main draw back to Randy and Faulkner is they are not football people unlike Steve Stride.

True! Thanks dude - i think it's really sad becasue eventually those that haven't yet walked away (and I only probably go now as an excuse to ensure my brother and I see each other regularly) will soon do so.

I'm very anti MON and sometimes find it very hard to put into words just how much I dislike him - the foolish majority look at 6th place and a cup final (which we LOST when against the first decent team) and think it was great, no it wasn't not when the result of that is massive, massive losses. £37m and £53m - seriously what could have been done differently to address this shortfall? This isn't a small amount this is major, we'd probably have had to qualify into the champions league and then get through the group two seasons in succession to get anywhere near clawing that money back. The financial position is a complete shambles.

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I stopped being an active Villa fan when the stress and strain of daily support and weekly attendance took too much out of me. I still go to as many reserve and youth games as I am able to attend, and I still love our ill functioning and amateurly run club.

I don't miss the fine spray of saliva that use to regularly hit the back of my neck from the mouths of the ranting idiots who had season tickets in the row behind me. I don't miss the crushing boredom of waiting for ninety minutes to drag by, and I certainly don't miss the miasma of doom and gloom that settled all around me on matchday.

However, I am still Villa through and through, cut me and I bleed claret and blue! That can and will never change. UTV!!!!

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