Although he was only to be at the club for a season-and-a-bit, I do have memories of a ten year old fanatic being excited at the arrival in the summer of 1967 of Tommy Cummings after our relegation to Div 2 and the dismal performance by Dick Taylor (better shopkeeper than football manager). Cummings made several signings and although they were all dismal failures ultimately, for a young Villa Lad it was great stuff and we were surely going straight back up – how naive of me… First there was Tommy Michinson who came from Cummings’ previous club, Mansfield, where he had been a bit of a hero. He wore the #8 at the Villa and then didn’t do alot although I remember he looked quite doing so…Then T.C. bought in the B.G.’s – Brian Godfrey and Brian Greenhalgh from Preston. This was very exciting and Godfrey was a solid player, and captain, for a few seasons. My favourite memory of these two was being at Villa Park with BlueNoses, Stephen (who had unforgivably changed from Villa to Blues after our relegation) and David Prentice and their Dad, Mr. Len Prentice. I’m not sure why they were there but needless to say they wanted Blackpool to beat us (and cheered when the Seasiders scored, much to my anger and frustration). However, it finished 3-2 to Villa and I think the B.G.’s scored a couple of the goals to add to an impressive start at the club. Godfrey was great that day and almost supplanted an injured Alan Deakin as my superhero! The Argus headline was “Villa B.G.’s do it again” and I’ve never forgotten it… Unfortunately, their positive start did not last. We finished not far from the bottom of Div 2, including a 2-4 embarrassment at home to the BlueNoses in front of over 50,000, which has some value if only for the diabolical tackle made by Edwards on BlueNose hero Johnny Vincent – they should have had a penalty I can now admit over forty years later… Despite adding the likes of Dick Edwards, Tommy Ferguson, Oscar Arce, and Barry Hole (“he’s here, he’s there, he’s every f***in’ where”) in the off-season, Cummings departure was inevitable after a poor start to the 1968-69 season, which again included a defeat to the BlueNoses (0-4 at St. Arthur’s) – very tough to take at my new school (H.G.S.) where it was a tense, equal parts Villa, BlueNoses and WBA, unlike a comfortable Birches Green Junior School which had been 60-30, Villa to BlueNoses (10% Spurs and Man U glory chasers). He was replaced by the ‘Messiah’, Tommy Doc following “The Revolution” in November 1968… I spoke with my Dad today and he remembers (I don’t) that we were at Cummings’ last game, along with 13,372 disgruntled others, as we went down 0-1 to Preston. My Dad did not attend the ‘Revolutionary Meetings’ of the ensuing weeks but I remember how much they were talked about in our house with my Villa Granddad who lived with us and my Uncle Roland, my Dad’s older brother – not a shy man! Thanks for doing your best, Tommy, it was a no-win time at Villa Park in every sense and whilst my memories are quite vivid they are not happy ones…R.I.P. Steve of Withers, Wright, Aitken, Chatterley or Park, Sleeuwenhoek, DEAKIN (I was wearing an old #6 jersey of his to sleep in at the time), MacLeod or Rudge, Mitchenson, Greenhalgh, Godfrey, Anderson (the next George Best)…

As a brief insight which may explain some of my comments within these pages, I thought I’d share the teams who, currently (’cause this can change), make my Top Tens of both My Most Disliked Teams and My Least Disliked Teams. Obviously, being a true Villan, I don’t really like anyone else but if Villa cannot win  the Cup in my lifetime then I’m not completely opposed to one of the teams on the second list below doing so. It should go without saying that I wish for nothing except ill-fortune for all those teams on the first list…

Ten Most Disliked…

1. BlueNoses – no change there then..

2. Liverpool – that’s what living in a country valley with three football fans, all Red Scouse, will do for you…Benitez and the “Red Media” also helped them get 2nd on this list…

3. Chelsea – that’s what will happen as a result of being behind the bar in a city pub where loads of new, loud, Chelsea fans watch their new team…

4. Man U – you know the reasons…

5. Tottenham – ’cause they’ve done virtually nothing for 40 years yet the press and media think they have…Crap fans too…

6. W.B.A. – owning a bar with a Baggies fan will do this…

7. Newcastle – see 5. Also repeatedly being told the oft-repeated lie that they have “the world’s best fans” is very annoying…

8. The Arse -  – good to watch; horrible to listen to the excuses when they lose…

9. West Ham – cos’ they apparently play the “West Ham way” which I haven’t actually seen them do since 1973 or so…

10. All other teams Villa play and do not beat (on a week-to-week basis)…

Ten Least Dilsiked:

1.Oxford Utd – spent formative summers (‘64-67′) in Oxford with my Auntie Rose and Uncle Sid…

2.Walsall – despite the 70-71 and 71-72 seasons, most Villa fans’ favorite lovable loser/underdog

3.Derby – thanks to the early Clough and Taylor days; most entertaining team on A.T.V.’s Star Soccer…

4.Hereford – my cousins live there and their second team is Villa; Hereford 2-1 Newcastle 1972…

5.Hartlepool – Monkey hangers; can’t imagine living there – must be tough..

6.Burnley – can’t work out why – claret and blue kit?…

7.Shrewsbury – farmer fans but in the lovely county of Shropshire (not Norfolk); excellent pies…

8.Notts County – one of the original 12; oldest club; Laurie Sirrel – ugliest manager ever…

9.Accrington Stanley – for the fans who suffered for so long…

10.Whoever Brian Little is managing – so I suppose that’s Wrexham for now…

The Gareth Barry transfer saga continues but the end may finally be in sight. His proposed move from Villa Park to Anfield seems certain to take place, particularly with the player putting the final few nails in his Villa coffin over the past few days with his comments in the press.

Why do footballers feel they have to do this. In Barry’s case he has announced that if he wants to play in the European Champions League he must go to Liverpool. Staying at Villa will not get him there. He also says that Manager Martin O’Neill’s participation as television pundit for Euro 2008 meant that the “gaffer” had not expressed any interest in keeping Gareth at the club.

What a load of old bollocks all that is!. We are all very aware that playing for Liverpool rather than Villa has a much greater liklihood of resulting in E.C.L. football. It has done so for decades and will almost certainly continue to do so for some time. But why he has to say so, and thus alienate the many Villa fans who have supported his rise from promising full-back at Brighton to England part-time captain, is beyond me.

Why do departing players feel the need to abuse the club they are leaving. Why can’t they show a little class for once – thank the club and fans for all they have done for the player’s career; mention how the club will always have special memories – even if it’s not true, I suppose!

As for O’Neill’s apparent disinterest in re-signing Barry that is just wrong. He has clearly stated that he would love to keep Barry in claret and light blue. Just because he took a three-week break did not signify otherwise. Barry is now trying to put the ‘blame’ of his move on to the Villa manager – another classless act.

In my opinion,Gareth Barry was not one of the Villa ‘greats’, just one of the ‘very goods’… As my Dad said on many occasions following a match, “Barry was alright today, but he just doesn’t like to get his shorts dirty”. Perfect. Barry is a very good player but too often over his Villa career he would disappear in games – not good for a “star” and midfield general.. He was one of Villa’s best performers over the past couple of seasons. Prior to that he was very inconsistent, hence his merely sporadic appearances for England. I for one believe that for eighteen million we should be dancing up and down the Holte End with joy. He can and will be replaced; the money will hopefully bring in an equally good midfielder, plus an extra midfielder, another forward to back-up Carew and Agbonlahor, a right-back (we didn’t have one last year), a centre-back (to replace the dear, departed Mellberg, who selflessly capably performed at right back for much of the season), and a keeper to replace Carson and Sorensen. Eighteen million for Barry plus some pocket money from Chairman Randy Lerner should make O’Neill happy, and the Villa a top six club…I wish Barry well, certainly in an England shirt, and his efforts in the past two years will mean he will not be forgotten by the Villa faithful, but now, perhaps, as a result of his recent comments, he will not be forgiven either…

Claret & Light Blue and remembering the classic John Gregory story when he was Villa manager and we signed Barry from Brighton, about ten years ago…This caused the Brighton Chairman to accuse the Villa of all sorts of improprieties. Barry was the future of Brighton he said; it was a disgrace that Villa had “stolen” him…Upon hearing the Seagull’s Chairman’s comments, Gregory said, “The Brighton Chairman’s claim that Gareth is the future of Brighton is ridiculous. The Chairman has no idea who Gareth Barry is. He wouldn’t even recognise Barry if he saw him on Brighton beach, in a Brighton kit, with a seagull sitting on his head!”…

Following the two recent articles in this space about the behaviour of the BlueNosed hordes following their relegation, I think I should also point out six relevant results over this past season…

Sept 13th, 2007 – Villa Youth 4   BlueNosed Youth 1

Nov 11th, 2007 – BlueNoses 1   Villa 2

December 3rd, 2007 – Villa Reserves 2   BlueNose Reserves 0

March 1st, 2008 – BlueNosed Youth 0   Villa Youth 3

March 31st, 2008 – BlueNose Reserves 0   Villa Reserves 1

April 20th, 2008 – Villa 5  BlueNoses 1

I have nothing else to add…

An interesting piece contributed by Villa Fan, Stained Glass Windows in The Trinity…
A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE BOARD OF BIRMINGHAM CITY – BY DAVID SULLIVAN  – BlueNose Co-Owner…

I’ll never forget Sir Alan Sugar telling Tottenham Hotspur supporters when they demonstrated against him that they were chasing away their best friend.

That’s how I felt Sunday. Yes we have been relegated, statistically likely after promotion, by the narrowest margin of one point.

Yes, we let Steve Bruce go and, yes, we took £3 million in compensation.

But the same people shouting against David Gold and I are the same few hundred that sent me letters begging me to sack Steve after he had lost six out of seven of his final games with the club.

These were the same few hundred that also sent me thank-you letters when we invested £9 million in bringing Alex McLeish, James McFadden, David Murphy and loan star Mauro Zarate to the club.

In yesterday’s paper, Professor John Samuels made a number of points and I would reply that professors are great THEORISTS. In the real world it’s not so easy.

Often you offer players more money (e.g. Gary Cahill) but he chose to go to another club.

The Professor feels we should have matched Sunderland’s expenditure, but does not indicate where the money should come from. IN ADDITION, the last time a Professor ran a football club (Leeds United), we all saw what happened!

Just because he’s a Professor, it’s an impressive ACADEMIC title, it doesn’t mean he could cut it in the business world. For the record I’m an Economics scholar from LondonUniversity and hold a BSc (Hons) in Economics.

Football is a passion. I know that – it’s in the blood. I do not think I can be blamed for not being born a Blues supporter, but I match each of you for the passion I have for the club. I have put in my life, my time, time away from my family and my other businesses, to make Blues the best I can to my ability. In just over 15 years I have missed only one home game and under 20 away league matches.

Maybe for some of you my ability is not good enough. Some of you hate my honesty and bluntness. I make no excuses I am who I am. I am not a spin doctor or marketing genius. I am honest. I’ll tell you the truth, even if it hurts. Pat Murphy said Steve spent only £22 million net during his time as manager, the truth is that its £49.5 million net.

I would also highlight that for the new players bought at the start of the 2007-08 season the club spent in excess of £9.5million with regards to their wages, sign-on fees and contracted bonuses, plus the £9 million we spent on transfers.

In hindsight – and hindsight is a great thing – had we signed Cahill in January we might have stayed up. We have not kept a cleansheet since the Middlesbrough game on December 26th! However, what can you do if a player doesn’t want to live in Birmingham or play for BCFC?

We offered him £2k a week more than Bolton, but he chose Bolton. The reaction of the supporters on Sunday, in a game where we beat the seventh best team in the country 4-1, will not help the cause of bringing players we want to Blues.

We have had success.

In 1993 when I bought Birmingham you were on the verge of extinction. The club was in administration, with years of lack of investment, both on and off the pitch. The ground was a disgrace, there was no infrastructure, no training ground and frankly the future was bleak.

But now we have a decent stadium, which we have spent £13 million on, and have invested just under £3 million on the infrastructure of the training ground.

A lot of supporters were asking ‘where has the money gone?’ The wage bill alone last season was £30 million and this does not include the costs of buying players – transfer fees etc – and any costs of running the football club such as rent, rates, equipment, infrastructure and police bills, to name but a few.

Since Steve Bruce was appointed and Alex McLeish took over we have spent £56 million net on players (this figure does not include wages, National Insurance contributions, sign-on fees or image rights). We have spent five of the last six seasons in the Premier League.

I like Steve and I do not want to disrespect him. But there were financial disaster buys. Clinton Morrison arrived for £3.75 million, with Andy Johnson going in the opposite direction for free. AJ was then sold on by CrystalPalace to Everton for £8 million. We got just £1.4 million for Clinton when we sold him back to Palace.

Millions of pounds of financial losses were made on the sales of David Dunn, Rowan Vine, Luciano Figueroa, Jesper Gronkjaer, Walter Pandiani and Robbie Blake.

Everybody says how great Blackburn have done – but what about Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Norwich, Ipswich, Southampton, Leicester and Coventry – to name just a few. None of these clubs have done as well as us.

This time last year everybody said how great Reading were – why couldn’t we be like them? And two years ago it was Charlton.

The truth is that IT’S NOT EASY RUNNING A FOOTBALL CLUB.

Trouble like that caused by supporters on Sunday shames the club and it changes the club in a harmful way.

When we joined we had a membership scheme because hooliganism was rife. Supporters and sponsors wouldn’t come. We changed the club through our various family and kids schemes.

We changed the atmosphere for the better and of that I am very proud. Please know that nobody will want to be associated with us if we go back to the trouble days, and if you genuinely want a new owner that’s the sure way to drive us away. Who wants to be associated with difficult, abusive and down right disgraceful supporters?

I don’t claim, and never have, that I have done everything right. I have made mistakes and if I had my time again would do some things differently. BUT I have always done what I thought was the best. I have put my heart, soul and my money into a club no-one else wanted in 1993.

I do not deserve to be treated this badly and I want to build bridges and bring the club success.

I believe that the good times will come back to us and this time next year we will be celebrating with a manager who has a great future and a team that live and die for you.

The best, I believe, is yet to come. Stand by us and we’ll stand by you. Don’t drive your best friend away.

As a final note, I think supporters should know that the journalist Pat Murphy, who wrote the piece to which I’m replying, is suing the club for thousands of pounds for personal injuries sustained following a fall from the TV gantry after the Arsenal game whilst carrying his equipment down the ladder.

This article was also printed today in the Birmingham Post as an agreed FULL right of reply to Pat Murphy’s column earlier in the week. However, the newspaper declined to publish the final paragraph. Birmingham City believes it is important its supporters know the full facts.

David Sullivan

With the F.A. Cup quarter-finals approaching this weekend I am reminded of a previous year when West Bromwich Albion, who play at Division One side Bristol Rovers on Sunday, had a great run. It will soon be the fortieth anniversary of their F.A. Cup Final victory against Everton. The Baggies, one of the Midland’s “Big Six” (Don’t laugh – Villa, BlueNoses, W.B.A., Wolves, Coventry, and Walsall) won 1-0 at Wembley on that occasion, thanks to Jeff Astle’s low drive from 15 yards past Gordon West in the Toffee’s goal, early in the first period of extra-time. As an eleven year old Villa fan growing up on the north side of Birmingham in the late spring of 1968, I was quite pleased. Villa fans hated the BlueNoses, and most didn’t particularly care one way or another about the Baggies as West Brom are known, even though the Albion’s ground, The Hawthorns, was just beyond the Birmingham city limits and was almost as close to my home in Erdington, Birmingham 24 as St. Arthur’s of The BlueNoses was. My Dad didn’t like Everton because he couldn’t stand scouse “comedian” Jimmy Tarbuck (actually a Liverpool fan) and even though neither of us liked the Baggies either, the Tarbuck factor was good enough for me as we settled down to watch the match on the tele. I t was the first Final to be shown in colour actually – too bad we only had a black and white t.v.!
As far as I was concerned, virtually all Villa fans were indifferent towards the Albion; we kept all our true venomous hatred for the team from Small Heath, Birmingham 9 and left it to the Wolves fans to hate the Albion and vice versa, I thought. However, within six months I was to find out that many of the Albion fans did not share my relatively uncommitted view of Baggie/Villan relationships. In the early summer of 1968 I left junior school in the friendly confines of B 24 and in September of that year began a seven year stint at Handsworth Grammar School, located just inside the Birmingham border, a couple of miles from the Hawthorns. The school was far from a haven for Villa fans. I now met a whole army of Villa-hating Albion fans who, over this period of my further education, one which frequently saw a good West Brom team and a Villa team fall as low as Division Three, made my life a recurring battle of nasty jibes, endless taunting, and more than a few “knees in the bollocks”….
Apparently nobody had told these Baggies that they were supposed to vent their feelings on the Wolves fans further north. Many did, I was informed, but the large Baggie-infested communities on the Birmingham border were much closer to Villa Park than Wolves’ Molyneux ground and therefore Villa were their arch enemy…
I had my moments however and the one that comes immediately to mind came about as a result of Astle, who was deemed somehow worthy to put on an England shirt during the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, missing an easy chance against Brazil which could have turned the game (England lost 0-1 in the group stage so admittedly it was a bit of a reach to blame him for our eventual exit from the tournament on him, but we did anyway). As a result, over the ensuing years, every time we played the Albion we treated the Baggie Hordes to some very loud chanting about their hero – “Astle lost the World Cup; Astle lost the World Cup: Astle lost the World Cup”, ad nauseum…The Albion fans hated this chant and therefore it became a classic…
Prediction…Bristol Rovers 0 Baggies 2…

‘B 44 Tommy’ informs us that…
“In today’s edition of Britain’s biggest selling newspaper there is an article adjacent to the Page 3 stunner informing us that our man John ‘Big Lad’ Carew is “doing” the rather lovely Alesha, formely of Mystique and the winner of this year’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. And what a darned attractive gal she is too. Well done that man! No wonder he loves it over here.”

‘Stained Glass in The Trinity’ responds…
“Well done indeed. For more info on this important topic read…

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/article880266.ece

….Reo Coker is going out with ‘Ruth’ of page 3 fame in the same paper.
Micah Richards is going out with ‘Rosie’ off night-time soap ‘Coronation Street’. Lee Chapman is still with Lesley Ash I think as is Harry Kewell is with that bird who used to be on the other “quality” soap ‘Emmerdale’.”

Our ‘Villa Park and Beyond’ Correspondent, “Stained Glass in the Trinity” writes:

The original stained galss windows being destroyed in the first place is a mortal sin. Archibald Leitch would have turned in his grave at the very thought and, maybe with the very news of the new proposed Mosaic, he decided to do so and thus caused the earthquake we all witnessed here the other night.

I do hope that Randy Lerner, who has designs for the development of VP, considers a restoration to the former glory of the great Trinity Rd stand, he’s done an excellent job of the Holte Hotel … Okay it’s a bit ‘clinicy’ on the inside but I think in time it will be a great focal point pub for a pint or two. Regardless of it’s interior I really like it… I shouldn’t really as it has a picture of the former Villa apprentice, Terry Wilson, who stole my bird when I was a young apprentice at Dunlop. I found this out on my return from a weekend rambling around Wales and stayed at a hostel that was some years later criminalised for paedofilia.

Claret & Light Blue replies:

Once again, ‘Stained Glass in The Trinity” provides us with more interesting facts and updates with regards to the ‘Revolution’ in and around Villa Park…However, his personal demons are most troubling. Who really knows the sort of effect on him that the experience of losing his girlfriend to a rival whilst he was away at a hostel full of paedophiles has had?…It’s enough to make one marry a BlueNose!?!

“Carson has made crucial saves (and the odd cock-up)…”

B44 Tommy writes…

To me the problem with Carson is not so much “cock up” as a a complete lack of “crucial saves”. Top 8 keeper? Who’s better? Here’s my list in no particular order.
Cech, James, Van De Sar, Friedel, Given, Hanneman, James, Howard, Green, Reyna, Jaskelinan, even Schwarzer.

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“Stained Glass in The Trinity” comments…

A good goal keeper can win you games. Not once this season can I say that about Carson. In fact, I’d go as far as to say I haven’t seen him make a really good save apart from the one against Newcastle when we had already scored 4.

He should have saved the free kick against Reading, fortunately that didn’t matter but he should also have easily saved the free kick at Fulham when it did.

I’d still have him though as I think he could get better. His kicking is good and he does talk to his defence. But he isn’t worth the £10 million muted, maybe half that or less.

**************************************

B44 Tommy adds…

Spot on, I wouldn’t mind him either but he’s not worth anywhere near 10 mill. I’m hopeful the young American will be the man. They seem to produce good keepers in Friedal, Hannaman and Kasey Keller.

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Claret & Light Blue says…

Points taken – good ones. Stained Glass is correct – “a good keeper can win you games”..I would add, “a poor or average keeper can lose you games”. Yes, he should have saved the Fulham free-kick which cost us a point, but he has not cost us many other points, has given some solid, “error-free” performances, and has numerous good aspects to his game, as pointed out by “Stained Glass”. He is a decent keeper, aged 22, and, according to O’Neil, has a great attitude and will get much better as a result. At the same time, we are a decent team, including many youngsters, with a superb team spirit and attitude and we will get better. Sounds like the two could go hand-in-hand?…
Admittedly, the price is high but does that really concern us? Really? If he turns out to be a bad buy what does it mean to us? An extra fiver on the season ticket, 25p on the curry sauce?..Besides, what are the alternatives – forget Sorenson and Taylor and don’t pin your hopes on the American just yet..As pointed out by B44 Tom, Brad Guzan is the latest in a increasingly long-line of good keepers from the U.S. – a position that they excel at whilst the rest of their team remains fairly average…It’s been a long time since English goalies were regarded as the best in the world hasn’t it?…
Guzan is very good indeed. He won the best keeper award last season and recently made his international debut. If Martin can get him – the money has been agreed but it’s a work permit issue – then that might be our answer but unless the permit is an absolute “gimme”, as they say, then I have to go with Carson, who I have to emphasise is just 22. O’Neil clearly thinks highly of him and he could well develop into a great Villa goalie and an international goalkeeper of some standing…Lots of speculation obviously but that’s part of the Game…
Tom lists the keepers he believes are better than Carson – strangely he lists James twice which is particularly ironic as this prat was an absolute disgrace during his last spell as England’s keeper (how soon we forget his inept flapping at cross after cross after cross – I can vividly remember pleading that he never plays for England again). Obviously he has performed well of late but how often? I have not seen Portsmouth very much this season. Rednapp talks up all his players as if they should be a World XI…
Anyway the other keepers on Tom’s list are all arguably better than Carson at this point, although I personally wouldn’t put Schwarzer or Howard above him. That leaves the obvious Cech, Van de Saar, and probably Reina as my top three. The others – James, Green, Friedel, Given (who gets plenty of practice), Hanemann, and Jaskelinaan are in the second tier, along with Carson. So it’s a top ten, not eight – who’s counting? Carson is one of the youngest on the list, although it’s hard to believe that Cech is still only 25! (Is that right? – “cech his papers, comrade”)
I say that unless there is a clearly better alternative, he is our best option and we try to get him…and then hire Jim Cumbes to coach him!…
It’s all very interesting…Claret & Light Blue and remembering Geoff Sidebottom…

Background…Until the recent constrution work, Villa Park was the only ground in Britain to have functioning stained glass windows proudly displayed at the back of one of the stands – The Trinity Road Stand. They had been there since the 1920’s. Criminally they were apparently accidentally destroyed during the construcion…One Villa fan had been particularly upset with this sequence of events but now he has writtten in with some most encouraging news…

“Here’s something of interest, I’m not sure where it is going up but I’d guess at the back of the Holte End….” Sincerely, “Stained Galss in the Trinity”

http://www.mymosaicworkshop.co.uk/society/features/Aston%20Villa.html

Claret & Light Blue replies:
Dear “Stained Glass in the Trinity”,
Thanks for your contribution – a very important one indeed. The only negative is that the originals were destroyed in the first place – one of Doug Eliis’ most unpardonable sins…