As a foreign fan I have some questions

[villa-revolution]

Vandaq? I have questions for you. How did you become a Villa fan? How do you get on with your fellow Norwegians about this? Are any of them also Villa fans too so that you can share the roller coaster ride of emotion with them or are there any genuine supporters of other teams outside of the usual glory hunters?

 

Incidentally, I always love it when I visit these message boards & regularly see posts from Villa fans in USA, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium, Norway, Australia, Cyprus, Sweden etc etc etc. as it just shows how deep the gospel of Aston Villa FC is being preached.

 

I'm pretty sure, given Benteke's immense talent that we must have plenty of Villa shirts now being proudly worn around the Globe & I would imagine especially so in Belgium given his success in the claret & blue.

[Mart-L7]

Born and live in West Bromwich, became a villa fan at around 13 in the days of Yorke, Platt , Daley. Most the people around here support tescos, my cousin who's also a season ticket holder in the holte end is a wolves fan lol he just enjoys football in general and doesn't cause any shit.

Lately over the last 2 seasons I think the baggies fans are the ones I would hate to be around the most, they seem to have developed some real bad issues with hating Villa.

[Pembers]

I'm from the island of Guernsey where we don't have a professional team, so there tends to be a lot of 'glory hunter' fans over here as they have to choose a team to support as there isn't a local one to automatically follow.

 

The closest team to us is Southampton, in terms of geographic location and the personal link as their legend Matt Le Tissier is of course from Guernsey. Most young players over here who are decent end up having trials with them as the club has a link with the island and they use to take on a batch of players from here every year, however I think they may have stopped this now, we havn't had a professional player come from Guernsey since Le Tissier.

 

I support the Villa as I was one of those that was born into it, my dad's parents are from Sutton Coldfield and so my dad's side of the family all support Villa, we still have family over there and occasionally go over to watch the odd match when we can.

 

There's hardly any Villa fans over here, the majority are Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and people always find it strange when you tell them you support Villa, there's hardly any of us over here, but I like that, it's good to be different and not support one of the 'mainstream' teams over here.

[vandaq]

Vandaq? I have questions for you. How did you become a Villa fan? How do you get on with your fellow Norwegians about this? Are any of them also Villa fans too so that you can share the roller coaster ride of emotion with them or are there any genuine supporters of other teams outside of the usual glory hunters?

 

Incidentally, I always love it when I visit these message boards & regularly see posts from Villa fans in USA, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium, Norway, Australia, Cyprus, Sweden etc etc etc. as it just shows how deep the gospel of Aston Villa FC is being preached.

 

I'm pretty sure, given Benteke's immense talent that we must have plenty of Villa shirts now being proudly worn around the Globe & I would imagine especially so in Belgium given his success in the claret & blue.

I just chose Aston Villa when I grew up, was around 6. I sat in the back of the car while my parents were driving, and I for some reason decided there and then that Aston Villa would be the team to support. I loved football back then(still do ofc) and I had just started playing. I remember Yorke was my favorite player growing up, then after that it was Dion Dublin. And of course, Carew. Heck, that guy grew up like 5 minutes from my house, though he is much older than me. My brother actually played against him(huuuuuuuge talent at the time, he really could have become anything if he really wanted to).

 

Every friend I grew up with were either Manchester united or lLverpool, no doubt. United was always the biggest though, remember when we went on football trips and played tournaments, the coaches riled the kids up singing songs from united. Solskjaer was playing at the time over there, so it was a big thing. After all, not many big talents really come out of Norway, not in the same way he did at least. I never really got that, I never liked the fact that everyone was just supporting the same team over and over again. Every time you meet someone who enjoys football, it seems like they either support one of those two, or arsenal and chelsea. So no, I don`t really have any irl friends that support villa, which I hate. Would really love to just go with some friends at pub, have a drinks and share the same interest in villa. I know that might be common for the lot of you, but that is something that sounds like a dream to me. So that sucks, but then again I would never change a team just to fit in. That also kind of explains why they get so much foreign support as they do. It helps that my oldest brother is an everton fan though, he loves the game as much as I do and we can actually have a conversation that has nothing to do with rednose or something similar. At least when I grew up

 

 

I do find it really odd that I took so long to sign up here, I have asked myself that several times after I signed up. This is actually a pretty good forum with a good webdesign that has a lot of good people on(no I am not trying to suck up to you lot ;p) 

 

With all that said, this wasn`t only a thread about why you support villa, I just wonder how things are over there concerning the fact of villa and just little subtle things that goes along with it. Which of the clubs do you have the least amount of trouble with? I would reckon teams like fulham and such gets little hate? Guess a fight could happen against anyone, but generally speaking.

[ChrisVillan]

I'm from the island of Guernsey where we don't have a professional team, so there tends to be a lot of 'glory hunter' fans over here as they have to choose a team to support as there isn't a local one to automatically follow.

 

The closest team to us is Southampton, in terms of geographic location and the personal link as their legend Matt Le Tissier is of course from Guernsey. Most young players over here who are decent end up having trials with them as the club has a link with the island and they use to take on a batch of players from here every year, however I think they may have stopped this now, we havn't had a professional player come from Guernsey since Le Tissier.

 

I support the Villa as I was one of those that was born into it, my dad's parents are from Sutton Coldfield and so my dad's side of the family all support Villa, we still have family over there and occasionally go over to watch the odd match when we can.

 

There's hardly any Villa fans over here, the majority are Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and people always find it strange when you tell them you support Villa, there's hardly any of us over here, but I like that, it's good to be different and not support one of the 'mainstream' teams over here.

 

You been following the GFC story?

[Pembers]

 

I'm from the island of Guernsey where we don't have a professional team, so there tends to be a lot of 'glory hunter' fans over here as they have to choose a team to support as there isn't a local one to automatically follow.

 

The closest team to us is Southampton, in terms of geographic location and the personal link as their legend Matt Le Tissier is of course from Guernsey. Most young players over here who are decent end up having trials with them as the club has a link with the island and they use to take on a batch of players from here every year, however I think they may have stopped this now, we havn't had a professional player come from Guernsey since Le Tissier.

 

I support the Villa as I was one of those that was born into it, my dad's parents are from Sutton Coldfield and so my dad's side of the family all support Villa, we still have family over there and occasionally go over to watch the odd match when we can.

 

There's hardly any Villa fans over here, the majority are Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and people always find it strange when you tell them you support Villa, there's hardly any of us over here, but I like that, it's good to be different and not support one of the 'mainstream' teams over here.

 

You been following the GFC story?

 

 

Yeh, you can't get it away from it here, it's pretty much the biggest thing that's ever happened in Guernsey sport. It's a bit overhyped though in my opinion. It's quite a family orientated scene and most of the attendance seems to be made up of mothers, their kids and old women (most of the men are off watching proper football) and they don't quite understand how far down the league system we are. The league we entered at was of course the very bottom and so the standard was very poor, pretty much pub teams and so our young squad would turn over every team with ease and this created a lot of hype, winning every game 10-0 makes the locals think we're a premier league standard team. 

It has gathered quite a lot of media attention though and so it will be interesting to see if bigger clubs take notice and begin to scout Guernsey for players because theirs a few that could probably make a career in the football league.

 

Never know though, one day I might have to make the difficult decision as to who I want to win the match, Villa or Guernsey.

[pacbuddies]

My father is a bluenose and I was born and brought up in bluenose territory but I quickly realised as a young boy that Birmingham City are scum and that there is only one club in the whole of the Midlands worth supporting.

[villa-revolution]

 

Vandaq? I have questions for you. How did you become a Villa fan? How do you get on with your fellow Norwegians about this? Are any of them also Villa fans too so that you can share the roller coaster ride of emotion with them or are there any genuine supporters of other teams outside of the usual glory hunters?

 

Incidentally, I always love it when I visit these message boards & regularly see posts from Villa fans in USA, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium, Norway, Australia, Cyprus, Sweden etc etc etc. as it just shows how deep the gospel of Aston Villa FC is being preached.

 

I'm pretty sure, given Benteke's immense talent that we must have plenty of Villa shirts now being proudly worn around the Globe & I would imagine especially so in Belgium given his success in the claret & blue.

I just chose Aston Villa when I grew up, was around 6. I sat in the back of the car while my parents were driving, and I for some reason decided there and then that Aston Villa would be the team to support. I loved football back then(still do ofc) and I had just started playing. I remember Yorke was my favorite player growing up, then after that it was Dion Dublin. And of course, Carew. Heck, that guy grew up like 5 minutes from my house, though he is much older than me. My brother actually played against him(huuuuuuuge talent at the time, he really could have become anything if he really wanted to).

 

Every friend I grew up with were either Manchester united or lLverpool, no doubt. United was always the biggest though, remember when we went on football trips and played tournaments, the coaches riled the kids up singing songs from united. Solskjaer was playing at the time over there, so it was a big thing. After all, not many big talents really come out of Norway, not in the same way he did at least. I never really got that, I never liked the fact that everyone was just supporting the same team over and over again. Every time you meet someone who enjoys football, it seems like they either support one of those two, or arsenal and chelsea. So no, I don`t really have any irl friends that support villa, which I hate. Would really love to just go with some friends at pub, have a drinks and share the same interest in villa. I know that might be common for the lot of you, but that is something that sounds like a dream to me. So that sucks, but then again I would never change a team just to fit in. That also kind of explains why they get so much foreign support as they do. It helps that my oldest brother is an everton fan though, he loves the game as much as I do and we can actually have a conversation that has nothing to do with rednose or something similar. At least when I grew up

 

 

I do find it really odd that I took so long to sign up here, I have asked myself that several times after I signed up. This is actually a pretty good forum with a good webdesign that has a lot of good people on(no I am not trying to suck up to you lot ;p) 

 

With all that said, this wasn`t only a thread about why you support villa, I just wonder how things are over there concerning the fact of villa and just little subtle things that goes along with it. Which of the clubs do you have the least amount of trouble with? I would reckon teams like fulham and such gets little hate? Guess a fight could happen against anyone, but generally speaking.

 

 

Carew was absolutely immense both in claret & blue & in the Rocket nightclub Vandaq.   When on form he was totally unplayable & not just in a Villa shirt, witness his unbelievable hat trick for Norway against Argentina as testament to this. It was a real pity that we never signed Carew earlier & certainly before his injuries. Absolutely loved the guy, a real Villa legend.

 

Sorry to hear also that you have no fellow villans nearby, especially given Carews success in the Premier League. I guess you'll just have to go out now & recruit some. Shouldn't be too difficult for you when we start really flying next season. Next time we are on live in  your local pub just turn up proudly in your Villa shirt & watch them all come flocking. See how wonderfully it worked for Carew in the Rocket Night Club.   

 

As for trouble at matches, apart from the local derby against small heath, you tend to find it is usually only isolated incidents against most teams these days although as one earlier poster stated you can soon find trouble if you want it. Also, I can't ever remember any trouble with Fulham ever, not even in the bad old days of the 70's & early 80's. Norwich are also another club with very passive fans.

 

If it's a fight you are looking for vandaq I suggest you invade the message boards of small heath alliance where neanderthal man will gladly entertain you.

 

Finally, here's a song for you, hope you like it?

 

"John Carew Carew. He's bigger than me & you, He's bigger than vandaq too, John Carew Carew."

[AValon]

My old fella bled Claret and Blue, I did'nt know there was an alternative from day one.

 

 

Villa/Blues rivalry is so intense it has divided families.....mine included. The heathens amongst us are simply fanatical in their hatred for us, whereas for the majority of Villans its more like an annoying itch you can't scratch!

[Thevillanofoz]

My dad was a Villa supporter, so that's where I get it from. 

 

We left Birmingham when I was 8 (Luxembourg) and because I was a kid, removed from the city, I remember not really getting the local rivalry then. I told my Dad I wanted Birmingham city to do well because they were from the same city and he laughed and said I wasn't supposed to say that - so I got it eventually. 

 

I have weird memories of supporting Aston Villa because I couldn't go to games and there was no sky - like writing to Graham Taylor with some tips on how he could improve the  team! (at age 8) One was letting dogs on the pitch to chase away the opposition (I don't think I really got the nuances of the game :-))

 

I live in Sydney now, so the time difference is an arse - I go to games when I come back and have seen some memorable ones. (Gary Cahill scoring scissor kick against the blues was probably the highlight). But there are actually a fair few of us out here (We all go for sydney fc out here as well as the Villa, it's not quite the same)

[VillakevBromsgrove]

I came from Nottingham when I was about 6 or 7, my dad was from Northfield in Birmingham, My mother followed Forest, My Dad Villa, My older brother West Brom and I followed Vila, Went down with My dad when we were in Div 3 and was hooked. My brother no longer follows Football but as a baggies fan that was not suprising as he never went to the ground and got an affinity with the team or game. School was in Rubery, a mix of all local clubs, hell of a lot of banter at the tiime with the blue noses as this was the Trevor Francis era and they were doing well. never had fights over the teams we supported at school just banter and it was great fun unless we lost of cause.

[Hughes]

[vandaq]

Yes, I signed up last year. Had trouble getting signed up there, took like 1-2 months before I could log in. Then I browsed a little bit, checked it out and such. Then I had trouble logging in again and kinda gave up honestly. I live in Lillestrøm though, so yeah not really far away. I would love to go see some games though, that is for sure

[Hughes]

Yes, I signed up last year. Had trouble getting signed up there, took like 1-2 months before I could log in. Then I browsed a little bit, checked it out and such. Then I had trouble logging in again and kinda gave up honestly. I live in Lillestrøm though, so yeah not really far away. I would love to go see some games though, that is for sure

I have sent you a PM.

[wake21334]

I don't know if you are looking for other foreign fans to chime in but I figured this would be a good place to give my first post (aside from the intro post) and explain a little bit here.

 

My name is Scott and I am from Pennsylvania, USA. I have been "soccer" fan about 18 years now (mostly just following the US national team and national competitions). My brother-in-law has been Chelsea supporter for a few years now and has been asking me to try to follow the Premier League and I decided to give it a go this year. I have paid attention to the league leisurely for a near 10 years and I told him I wanted to have a club to support rather than just look up scores and read stuff.

 

This Summer I said I would decide on a club and set some parameters: They must have a player from the US that typically starts (Guzan). They cannot be one of the so called big 6 clubs (As a grown man I refuse to be a front runner or bandwaggon fan or as I am reading here "plastic fan).  They had to have been one of the originial league founding members and they must have a a marquee player that I have heard of (Benteke). After narrowing it down this way, I decided Villa would be the club for me.

 

I have spent the past couple weeks lurking on this site, waking up every morning to get the scoop on whats happening with the club. I am a loyal person and am invested in sports immensly here in America (Pennsylvania to be exact).I played every sport growing up soccer, basketball, baseball, football, hockey, tennis. Sports were a big part of my upringing and are still apart of my life as I am grown.  I am a big fan of american football and basketball and have been a 49er (NFL) fan in american football most of my life and Wake Forest (college basketball) fan for most of my life. I now add a new club to support to my list of favorite teams back in the United States and I greatly look forward to my first year of following Villa.

 

I also just had my wife order me a 13-14 away kit for our one year wedding anniversary coming up. (Sorry I went off on a tangent there)

Edited July 23, 2013 by wake21334

[vandaq]

No that is fine my friend. But do know that once you join this family, there is only one way out. 

[Wainy316]

 

Birmingham and it's surrounded areas is packed with a whole host of fans of different clubs. I'm from Halesowen (a town 30 minutes from Birmingham), but my grandad is a WBA fan, and he's from the same area. I work in Birmingham and my office is full of Villa fans, bluenoses, WBA fans, wolves fans, a derby fan & then the usual plastic Arsenal/ Man Utd/ Liverpool fans, but I get along with all of them. I've even been to a few Villa games with one of the sha fans in my office (who's brother is actually a Villa fan!)

 

So what exactly is it that classifies a fan as "plastic"? Supporting a team he doesn't really have a connection to? 

 

I'm a little curious as to that because I'm from London and we've a number of fans on the board who are not from the UK (Vandaq is one) - do we also count as plastic? Nobody has ever accused me of being a plastic fan, but I imagine that's simply because nobody can currently accuse me of gloryhunting by supporting Villa. But what happens if we qualify for the champions league in a couple of years? Do we then all become plastics? And if not, then what gives Villa fans the right to call fans of other successful teams "plastics"?

 

It is something I've been mulling lately, given I'm actually closer to Arsenal or Chelsea in terms of where I'm from. I suppose this is as good a thread as any to discuss it in.

 

 

For me a plastic is someone that supports a club on the back of their success.  You rarely saw non-local Chelsea fans until recently and any Chelsea fans of that ilk 10 years ago probably had a good reason.

 

It is possible to be a plastic United fan living in Manchester.  I met plenty when i lived there.

[villa-revolution]

I don't know if you are looking for other foreign fans to chime in but I figured this would be a good place to give my first post (aside from the intro post) and explain a little bit here.

 

My name is Scott and I am from Pennsylvania, USA. I have been "soccer" fan about 18 years now (mostly just following the US national team and national competitions). My brother-in-law has been Chelsea supporter for a few years now and has been asking me to try to follow the Premier League and I decided to give it a go this year. I have paid attention to the league leisurely for a near 10 years and I told him I wanted to have a club to support rather than just look up scores and read stuff.

 

This Summer I said I would decide on a club and set some parameters: They must have a player from the US that typically starts (Guzan). They cannot be one of the so called big 6 clubs (As a grown man I refuse to be a front runner or bandwaggon fan or as I am reading here "plastic fan).  They had to have been one of the originial league founding members and they must have a a marquee player that I have heard of (Benteke). After narrowing it down this way, I decided Villa would be the club for me.

 

I have spent the past couple weeks lurking on this site, waking up every morning to get the scoop on whats happening with the club. I am a loyal person and am invested in sports immensly here in America (Pennsylvania to be exact).I played every sport growing up soccer, basketball, baseball, football, hockey, tennis. Sports were a big part of my upringing and are still apart of my life as I am grown.  I am a big fan of american football and basketball and have been a 49er (NFL) fan in american football most of my life and Wake Forest (college basketball) fan for most of my life. I now add a new club to support to my list of favorite teams back in the United States and I greatly look forward to my first year of following Villa.

 

I also just had my wife order me a 13-14 away kit for our one year wedding anniversary coming up. (Sorry I went off on a tangent there)

 

Welcome aboard fellow Villan. You know the old saying, "Once a Villa Man, Always a Villa Man."

 

The fun as you can see as already started

[TRS-T]

I wonder for example if you grew up in birmingham, how is the whole thing divided with birmingham city and aston villa fans? 

 

Traditionally there is a North-South divide with Villa in North Birmingham and Blues in South Birmingham.

 

But because we are the bigger club, we have a lot of fans in South Brum but they don't have many fans in North Brum.

 

 

And how much bigger fansbase does one have over the other?

 

 

Well on FIFA we have 82,989 fans and they have 22,706 fans so maybe 3 times bigger?

[bradarmstrong_]

 

I wonder for example if you grew up in birmingham, how is the whole thing divided with birmingham city and aston villa fans? 

 

Traditionally there is a North-South divide with Villa in North Birmingham and Blues in South Birmingham.

 

But because we are the bigger club, we have a lot of fans in South Brum but they don't have many fans in North Brum.

 

 

And how much bigger fansbase does one have over the other?

 

 

Well on FIFA we have 82,989 fans and they have 22,706 fans so maybe 3 times bigger?

 

Another example, Blues have 41,000 facebook likes and we have 1,300,000