I’m seeing some commenters on here beginning to question where we stand in the scheme of what is English football and I think this needs addressing.
No, we aren’t the draw we were, but we are still a MASSIVE club.
The fact that I constantly hear supporters of the top 4 clubs, as well as many others (even noses), asking what is currently going on, makes me realise that footy fans generally don’t want to see us in this current situation.
We even had a boggie intimating exactly that, just last night on here. This just re-affirms it for me.
While the current tripe football is what we have to endure, we should realise that we really are a top club.
Let’s look at the positives;
We genuinely have one of the finest histories in the game; that’s without doubt and surely cannot be questioned, even though much of it was early days.
Even then, we’ve won everything, including “big ears”.
We have one of the finest stadiums in the British game; that’s also unquestionable.
You know that’s true when you have had Liverpool fans (as I have) drooling, in this respect.
One of our directors practically started the game as we know it. That’s also undeniable.
We can still attract a very good crowd, if there’s decent fair on offer.
The point is, we have many things in our favour and while the current rubbish we’re being offered isn’t great (to say the least), we should not let things get us down too much.
Is this a desperate rallying call, in troubled times?
Am I deluded?
Some of you might see it like that, but I don’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I bitch and moan along with the best of them. That’s what the game is about.
It’s just a reminder of what we really are, as viewed from the vast majority of fans of the game.
What we are seeing is only temporary, in my opinion and we will always be a MASSIVE club.
Yes, times are hard, but trust me, many old timers on here will attest that if you can hack it as it is now, so it makes top achievements all the more better.
Keep the faith and let’s not forget what we are;
We are ASTON VILLA.
We have won the top league once in the last hundred years. How can you convince non villa people we are a big club with that record. As much as it pains me to admit it, we are a joke of a club that just makes up the numbers (and not for much longer by the look of things). We are not an attractive option to investers, media or potential new fans. My son gets laughed at when he wears his villa top to school and he is eight years old. He jumped off his chair on Sunday when we scored and it made me feel better seeing his delight than the goal itself. Point I’m trying to make is we are living in a bubble as Villa fans . Outside of our own we are a nothing in the grand scheme of things. We will rise again but there is only so many false dawns you can take. Lambert Out !
Interesting question Badger and one not easy to answer. Historically we stand head and shoulders above others in the way that we have influenced the development of competitive football in England. We have won ALL the major trophies in English football a number of times where most clubs dream of winning just one of those competitions once! We also won the European Cup when it was, without doubt, the ‘Cup of Cups’. No one BUT no one can doubt our pedigree and standing in the game.
History is littered with the past glories of the Mighty that have fallen or been slain by the new order and, sadly, I feel that is the present position that our once mighty club finds itself. Yes other supporters genuinely mourn our passing as it heralds the passing if the old into the new BUT that in itself does not confirm our status amongst the modern elite.
Rebirth starts with realistic and honest self appraisal and that HAS to be led by the fans. Our history entitles us to nothing nor does it give us a right to future success. Realism MUST prevail and to that end (given that Randy is going nowhere) I now feel that Lambert has to go ……………… BUT he is not going to be (nor should he be) replaced by some messianic manager that will satiate fans desire for recognition but fail to deliver what is sorely needed.
Whether we like it or not we need a gritty, experienced manager that can drag us out of the mire into which we have fallen. That means a Big Sam type guy and the only one available that I can see is Pullis. How can he be any worse than Lambert – answer he can’t!
If Pullis can kindle the rebirth of our once mighty club and Fox can drive commercial success then they have my vote.
Now I’m back to the bar to contemplate a very large rum.
There’s your answer Badger two good replies, we are on the decline, and at a sorry state of affairs, we don’t even get a chance to have major games in our stadium , we are not chosen even for the women’s tournament or play offs in cup games as we used to, in a true Villa fans eyes we are a great club, what we don’t have is good management running our once great club. As Hitchen points out we need a manager that comes here for football honour, not for the money we can pay like we did in O’Neil, and the other toe rags.
First off, I will never stop supporting Villa, Villa is in my blood but Personally I have come to realise that there are an awful lot of fans who cant let go of the past and still cling on to the hope that one day it will all come flooding back. It wont. Not anytime soon anyway whilst we still have Lambert and Lerner at the fold. Football moves on fast nowadays and we should only look at the last 5-10 years. The outcome (take your biased glasses off for a moment)…. We are an average football team with average players, one or two above average but certainly not enough to compete at the top level. We haven’t won anything for god knows how long! League Cup 96? and we don’t look like going close anytime soon either. The stadium be it nice and historical isn’t really anything to shout it needs a new lease of life as much as the team. We have for a long time been classed as a boring, long ball team and based on this season you couldn’t tell them otherwise. Lets wake up people, we have fallen a long way since the olden days and we are a mid table at best club with a joke of an owner and manager. The only direction we are going currently is down. Lambert OUT!
Unfortunately Adam can’t disagree with any of that
The thing is Adam we ain’t your average club, we created the league, we do have a glorious past a rich history and tradition that’s never going to go away.
I don’t know how old you are mate but I went down to my first match in 76 and at the time the winning FA Cup team of 57 seemed like something from biblical times let alone just 19 years previous. And at that first game I attended there were no doubt some old timers that had seen the likes of Billy Walker and Pongo Waring play, and there fathers had seen us win the first ever League and FA Cup double in 1896/97.
The point I am trying to make is it’s all this history is linked, it’s who we are.
I appreciate that when you’re young it all appears to be from a different planet and let just couple of decades earlier and to you the European Cup win of 82 probably appears like something from a bygone age but mate to to me it was like yesterday.
No Adam we are not clinging to the past, we are our past.
BWS, I was not amused to what Adam intermated, it was if us older fans cannot comment about the plight of the club today, is it because we have grown old now or what, I’m glad you’ve set the record straight BWS, some of us got off our arse in the early years when the club was in trouble and got things done, today the young ones accept shit thrown at them, Adam you should in my mind apologize to the more mature fans for thinking that we have to forget the past.every one of my family was a Villa fan,all gone, 12 on my grandfathers side,and 12 on his twin brothers side, we will never forget the past . Sorry for getting old. Bill
Bill from Adam’s post “We haven’t won anything for god knows how long! League Cup 96? and we don’t look like going close anytime soon either”
Well Adam does Bradford City, Capital One Cup, 2013 ring any bells? It was there for the taking but silly me I forgot Lambert doesn’t do cups does he? (And he don’t do the f**king league either!)
Yeah that was a ridiculous chance to win some silverware but we pissed it away! as usual. Lambert OUT!
My comment wasn’t a dig at people being old mate, or telling anyone to forget the past, far from it, it was to make the point that OK we have a proud history (and if you were around at that time then you would have loved it) but times have changed and football has changed so much that I don’t think we should be using that history to stake a claim for being a big club anymore. That’s why I said we should only look at recent history over the last 5 – 10 years. What have we done in those 10 years to suggest we are a big club? nothing. In older history we are a big club but in modern history we aren’t. One thing is for sure and that is we are made to look like a bunch of mugs from the owner and manager and until Lerner is gone I don’t believe much will change. Lambert is just as bad and I want him gone but Lerner is the major reason for our clubs decline.
Nice try but you’ve omitted the part about us falling victim to modern football that has ruined itself in the quest for financial dominance. We’re collateral damage in the battle between the oil rich who are happy to hypocritically preach abstinence to the arab public whilst blowing their nations wealth on fast cars, and stupid football clubs. On the otherhand we have questionable funds flowing from eastern Europe being laundered right under our noses, never mind owners like Leeds and Birmingham City. Clubs like Villa are but shit on their shoes and nobody gives a damn, just the few who blow off on sites like this. I think ignorance must be bliss. The vast majority of those that can be bothered to turn up can’t even muster enough emotion to shout for Lambert’s head.
The best option is for the ‘Big’ clubs to fuck off and play each six times a season. WE ARE ONLY THERE TO MAKE UP THE NUMBERS – NOTHING ELSE. Break away and let’s hand football back to the masses. It’s only going to take a small handful of clubs to crash and it will come falling down like a house of cards. Until the system changes, we can squeal all we want but it will be a waste of time. Think owners like Lerner give a damn about us? Think again. Even if we left VP empty, they’d Photoshop fans in.
P.s. LAMBERT OUT!
Allegedly. Lol!
According to the Express Lambert’s got till the Baggies game to get is act together –
The Express.
“The key for Lambert will be four games leading up to Christmas, away to Burnley and Crystal Palace, home to Leicester and away again to WBA. If Lambert has not stopped the rot by then, he may not see the December 20 home game with Manchester United.”
Personally I think that’s too long (he should have had is P45 already) but nil pois in the games against West Ham and Southampton and its got to be adios amigos.
No peas again? :0 Totally agree that’s too long. 2 games max, give time to make the new appointment with time to add some reinforcements in January. It is hard to see us getting anything against Hull and West Ham who are nothing special. There again they don’t need to be to beat us.
No, no peas again DS.
As well as the Jan window it’ll give them time to asses what he’s got to work with.
Well now…
http://haslambertbeensackedyet.co.uk/
This is becoming a thing.
I suppose the question is, can RL continue to resist the growing unrest of the fans? If the media really get there teeth into PL then he has to go well before Christmas. I cannot see how he could continue if we lose the next two games (and given our present form with Benteke out that’s got to be a very real possibility)
The media seems to think he only has 2 games at most to turn it around, even Yorke’s blaming Lambert, claims “it’s not that he wants him gone”, but I truly think he does, and I can’t see Lambert having a clue on how to change things for the next 2.
One quick look at Newsnow, and many of the articles are anti or critical of Lambert.
Sakho has also been passed fit for the Villa game. Hmmmmmmm…