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West Bromwich Albion


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On 10/05/2023 at 10:53, HKP90 said:

While I agree with most of what you say, I would argue about Baggies potential fan base (and I can't believe I'm saying this). 

I'm from the black country, and all my relatives and most of my friends support Albion. My whole family does, really (apart from my Dad, hence I'm a Villan). It's Baggie heartland. It's a much better fit for Yam Yams like me to support Albion, because most from here consider West Brom to be part of the Black Country, unlike Wolverhampton. Most folk I know don't consider Wolverhampton to be part of the black country. 

If Albion can market themselves as 'the team of the black country', they have a population of 1.1M to draw on, which is an excellent potential base. 

Luckily they think small time, and keep looking over their shoulder to the east.  

Wolves surely have more, they pretty much whole of Shropshire as fanbase and Stafford area has a fair amount aswell. West Brom seem to draw fanbase from likes of Kiddy/Stourbridge but plenty of us down there aswell (and SHA on the quiet). 

West Brom's just a solid 25k crowd imo. If they ever extended Hawthorns to 40k they wouldn't sell out half of their premier league games imo if/when they return.

Wolves fanbase fluctuates wildly historically but even in league one they were getting 20k + crowds a fair amount.

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1 hour ago, VillaChris said:

Wolves surely have more, they pretty much whole of Shropshire as fanbase and Stafford area has a fair amount aswell. West Brom seem to draw fanbase from likes of Kiddy/Stourbridge but plenty of us down there aswell (and SHA on the quiet). 

West Brom's just a solid 25k crowd imo. If they ever extended Hawthorns to 40k they wouldn't sell out half of their premier league games imo if/when they return.

Wolves fanbase fluctuates wildly historically but even in league one they were getting 20k + crowds a fair amount.

I think there is still an old fanbase for Wolves based on the heady days of the 1950's. I agree that they have some support in the shires like Villa (mate) but increasingly I suspect the usual top 6 get younger fans. 

Albion is always a bit confused geographically as it is basically a black country team with the stadium adjacent to the Birmingham boundary.

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On 10/05/2023 at 18:42, Xela said:

I find it fascinating that people in the same direct family can support different teams. I support Villa because my Dad does. His Dad did and so on. I don't think there was any choice really! :D 

My Dad's side of the family do originate from North Brum, around Aston/Newtown originally, and then Kingstanding and Erdington as time went on, so it was the obvious (and only) choice! 

It’s easy/obvious when everyone is from the same area and then massively different when they aren’t.

My Dad is from Newport and supports Newport County. My Mum is from Newcastle and supports Newcastle United. I’m from Solihull and support Villa. Influence for the team came far more from friendship groups etc than my parents. 

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On 10/05/2023 at 18:42, Xela said:

I find it fascinating that people in the same direct family can support different teams. I support Villa because my Dad does. His Dad did and so on. I don't think there was any choice really! :D 

My Dad's side of the family do originate from North Brum, around Aston/Newtown originally, and then Kingstanding and Erdington as time went on, so it was the obvious (and only) choice! 

For my part, yes it came from my Dad, in a sea of Baggie supporters, and I'm sure his support rubbed off on me, but the big one that got me hooked for life was my first trip to Villa Park. Just everything about it. It was 30 years ago, and I was 12 but I remember it like it was yesterday. 

I guess the main influence my Dad had on my support was giving me that moment. 

If my first game was at Albion, things may have been different. Thank god.

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9 hours ago, mjmooney said:

I've mentioned before that two of my closest and oldest friends support the Baggies. I've never really thought to ask them why, but I will. One grew up in Nechells (his brother is a nose), the other in Bourneville (his brother is Villa). So perhaps sibling rivalry. 

Dropped as babies

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On 10/05/2023 at 10:53, HKP90 said:

While I agree with most of what you say, I would argue about Baggies potential fan base (and I can't believe I'm saying this). 

I'm from the black country, and all my relatives and most of my friends support Albion. My whole family does, really (apart from my Dad, hence I'm a Villan). It's Baggie heartland. It's a much better fit for Yam Yams like me to support Albion, because most from here consider West Brom to be part of the Black Country, unlike Wolverhampton. Most folk I know don't consider Wolverhampton to be part of the black country. 

If Albion can market themselves as 'the team of the black country', they have a population of 1.1M to draw on, which is an excellent potential base. 

Luckily they think small time, and keep looking over their shoulder to the east.  

But how many of those 1.1m folk have the correct allocation of fingers to qualify as a baggie. Small ground too

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5 minutes ago, Talldarkandransome said:

Dropped as babies

Funnily enough, way back in the day, I once asked one of them: "Were you dropped on your head as a baby? And if not, why not?". It still gets frequently quoted. 

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Working out in Stratford upon Avon, I’ve noted that area has quite a few Albion fans, when I asked some why, they said the train runs direct from Stratford to Hawthorns and never had to get off, so as a kid it was the easiest ground to get to.

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10 hours ago, mikeyp102 said:

Working out in Stratford upon Avon, I’ve noted that area has quite a few Albion fans, when I asked some why, they said the train runs direct from Stratford to Hawthorns and never had to get off, so as a kid it was the easiest ground to get to.

What I enjoy about that claim is that Small Heath would be much closer on the same line, so this suggests they just refused to get off there. 

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48 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

What I enjoy about that claim is that Small Heath would be much closer on the same line, so this suggests they just refused to get off there. 

Perhaps some of them are more intelligent than we give them credit for then 🤣

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2 hours ago, mikeyp102 said:

Na, too thick to change trains, so just get off like sheep 

Well they say folk follow the crowd so no wonder they never get off at Bordesley 

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Interesting point about the Stratford-Upon-Avon Baggies connection, I worked there a while back and there is quite a few villa down there too, you will see on a weekend in the town center and near that pub by the canal and main bridge particularly people wearing villa shirts on a summers day. There is also 1 or 2 very famous and well known villa fans down that way too, who regularly go to games!

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