Outrage: 13-year Villa Season Ticket Holder Ejected & Banned and Holte End Walk-Out Protest

Holte End ejections, fans banned from buying tickets and a walk-out protest.

Aston Villa, the only Premier League club to publicly back safe standing, in the first two home games of the season has taken a worryingly heavy-handed approach of ejecting Villa supporters in L8 of the Holte End for simply doing something that the club wishes to return to the Holte – standing. MOMS was in L7 of the Holte End for the Liverpool game and saw stewards and then the police enter the section of the Holte to remove young Villans who were doing nothing more than supporting their team.

These supporters are not trouble makers or hooligans, they were just doing what most supporters do home and away during a game. Cast your mind back to the League Cup semi-final against Bradford City last season and not one bum touched a seat in the Holte End during the 90 minutes of the second leg. Why wasn’t the entire stand ejected for such behavior? I know personally, in recent years, I’ve spent at least 75% of my time at Villa Park, standing, whether it be in the Holte End or lower North stand. Maybe I’m not welcome by the club any more?

We will go into the full implications of the standing situation at a later date, now we just want to bring your attention to what happened at the Rotherham League Cup game, when supporters were ejected from the game, including  a 13-year Villa season ticket holder who also has been blocked from buying further tickets to games. It’s nothing short of an outrage.

In MOMS’ various dealings with the club over the last couple of years, there has been an incredulous lack of empathy for what  a football supporter is. If the club want to consider Villa fans simply as ‘consumers’, then legally with the literal duty of care that comes with that, they’re opening up a can of worms.

Standing in all-seater stadiums is a grey area, but it is not illegal and shouldn’t be tackled with such zero tolerance sanctions. What was the club’s marketing hashtag again? #Cometogether?

Below is the statement from the Brigada 1874 in regards of what happened at the Rotherham game on Wednesday night:

Brigada 1874 Statement

Although the title of James’ iconic 1991 hit “Sit Down” is made up of the two favourite words of our hi-viz clad friends at Villa Park you get the impression that they aren’t so familiar with the content of the song.

The “extremes of sweet and sour” that James’ lead singer Tim Booth sings of are ones that are all too familiar with football fans, ecstasy and agony are states of mind that football fans the world over embrace and endure throughout the course of 90 minutes. Though I may be wrong, it is hard to imagine feeling the same spectrum of emotion when ejecting a season ticket holder of 13 years for simply standing up and supporting his team.

What happened on Wednesday night against Rotherham was a disgrace. As expected the ground wasn’t as full as the previous Saturday and this was the same in L8 where about 50 people had turned out. Despite the low numbers the atmosphere was jovial, there was persistent singing and fans were enjoying themselves. This was up until about the 8th minute of the game when we were joined by around 8-10 stewards, including senior stewards who demanded that supporters towards the front of the section sit down, they confiscated the tickets of a number of fans and then departed.

Following a few seconds break the singing started again, moments later the stewards returned, this time accompanied by a couple of police officers. A number of fans at the front of the section were then led away under the concourse by senior stewards and police. A couple of minutes later the stewards and police returned once more to harass people on the next row, they confiscated a number of tickets from these fans but did not eject them. On learning that the fans who had been led away moments earlier had been told to leave the ground the remaining group members left the ground in protest, provoking applause from some supportive fans on the way out.

On leaving we met other members who had arrived late and who also joined the walkout despite failing to see a single ball being kicked in anger. Not being welcome in the ground we decided to walk down to the corner of Trinity Road where the Holte meets the Trinity, we stood there for the remaining 20 minutes or so of the first half and supported the team from outside the ground [see video of protest], where we were able to stand and sing without harassment. In must be remembered that while standing we were blocking no one’s view, there was no danger of us getting vertigo and falling from our feet and no danger of being swept out of the ground by high winds coming in from Aston Hall.

Today, on Saturday 31st August a fan went on-line to check availability for the Hull away fixture, he found that his log in was blocked so he rang the club. On doing so the staff member on the end of the phone informed him that he wasn’t allowed to buy tickets, he asked why and the staff member said he would have to speak to his supervisor, he then asked the fan if he was at the Rotherham game, he replied that he was and was then told that he had been blocked from buying tickets for future Villa matches and that an employee of Aston Villa Football Club would phone him on Monday to discuss the issue further.

We do not know whether this represents a temporary or permanent ban. It is clear to the group that the club have an agenda to make the lives of those in L8 as difficult as possible, last season we had the debacle around the “One Stan Petrov” banner, which prompted the head of media at Aston Villa to appear on a radio talk show berating the group, the group were given no prior notice that we would be the topic of conversation on the phone in. We’ve had stewards try to snatch banners off fans at the Sunderland game and now the club have moved to the pretext of “persistent standing” as a stick with which to beat the group. Away fans persistently stand, fans in areas or the upper Holte and Lower North persistently stand and rightly so! [The whole of the Holte stood throughout the semi-final vs Bradford City – Ed] We stand because we want to support our club and should be free to do so in L8 as other fans are in other sections of the ground.

There has been much talk recently about the trial of safe standing at Villa Park [Villa ironically are the only Premier League team to publicly support the idea – Ed], the current reality is that standing in certain sections of the ground comes with very real risk of being escorted off the premises by police. There have been calls from the club for the “12th Man” to turn Villa Park into a cauldron that visiting teams will find intimidating and difficult to play in, the fans want this to happen and are trying to make it happen, but we can’t do this if we’re sat slumped in our seats beneath the watchful eye of the boys in iridescent orange and yellow.

We shall not be moved, stand up if you love Villa!

[Ends]

Please add your comments and eye-witness accounts in the comments section below. If you want to remain anonymous, feel free to contact us directly. UTV

Original Brigada 1874 statement

Follow MOMS on Twitter – @oldmansaid

73 COMMENTS

  1. The club actually called the season ticket holder they ejected to apologise for their mistake. The club also called MOMS to confirm there was an error of judgement in this case. UTV

  2. Rotterdam82 Bruisedshins MyOldManSaid If you’re point was that making random and unfounded accusations about people you don’t know may lead to them giving you a bit of stick on a forum, then yes you have proved your point.

  3. Bruisedshins Rotterdam82 MyOldManSaid December 06, 2010, heroesandvillains
    “but some members are mates with Green Brigade members.” 
    And them bhoys don’t  do any pro-IRA singing do they now???

  4. Bruisedshins Rotterdam82 MyOldManSaid 
    Tut tut tut temper temper, a bit of criticism and I’m talking out my arse and a condescending loon? I think you’ve proven my point for me, thank you.

  5. Rotterdam82 Bruisedshins MyOldManSaid And I think you’re talking out your arse you condescending loon. Neither I nor anyone else in the group has ever “bullied” anyone and I certainly don’t need to take moral advice off someone on the internet who appears to have an axe to grind.

  6. Bruisedshins Rotterdam82 MyOldManSaid 
    I think you’re in denial regarding the behavior of you and your minions towards other supporters, I think you need to take a long hard look in the mirror and for the record I’ve sat by your lot at a fair few games and it’s this experience that’s formed my opinion not any hearsay or second hand accounts.

  7. Rotterdam82 Bruisedshins MyOldManSaid I very much doubt that “hoards of the faithful” feel the need to respond to every bit of nonsence they read on internet forums.

  8. Bruisedshins Rotterdam82 MyOldManSaid 
    All I can say is there are hardly hoards of the faithful jumping to your  defense, nuff said.

  9. Rotterdam82 MyOldManSaid Bully boy tactics? People being verbally abused? This is utter nonsence, if you’re going to post such absurd allegations then please back them up with some facts. No one has been bullied and no one has been verbally abused. There are so many accusations going around from people who for whatever reason don’t like the group. From us being IRA supporters to fascist boot boys. I don’t expect everyone to like what the group are doing, but there’s no reason to make up rumours to influence others.

  10. Fully agree with the tone of this article, and a little down heartened with the comments. I think that the Brigade lads are a great concept and something i really hope spreads through the lower holt, if the whole Holt was anything like K4 surely that would spill passion and heart on to the lads on the pitch!! i was at the rotherham game and didnt reserve my season ticket in L3 as i wanted to get them in L8 close the the Brigade guys knowing that the atmosphere at an early cup game would not really be up there… i was absoulutly gutted when the stewards started coming up the stairs, and when the walk out happened that was it.. atmosphere gone!  Really cant understand why, as they were singing “support your team…its not a crime” ive got nothing but admeration for the lads in L8 and hope nothing like this puts the breaks on them, i almost sadly feel proud of them?? their witty banners are up there with the scousers and they must put alot of time into it, if they have a drink and rite good time doing it then all the better! i for one do not go to the footy week in week out to be bored, its the whole package ‘The Big Day Out”  Friends, family, footbal, fun, and on a personal note a few jars…..

  11. Rotterdam82 MyOldManSaid deano1968 I don’t think it’s a reference to ‘fighting’ – haha. They’re hardly a ‘firm’. 
    I know where you’re coming from with this ‘Ultra’ tag and I’ve had this conversation with other Villa supporters, who a) can’t take them serious, using it. Or b) think they this group want to be like the Italian ultras. It’s my understanding, and they can correct me if I’m wrong, that It’s a name they’ve used to signal an undying support to the team. Which isn’t a bad thing – 2-0 up or 3-0 down, they keep supporting.
    In the McLeish era, I’ve seen  other fans leave the ground at half-time, even if the team were just 1-0 down.

  12. So now they are drunken drugged up hooligans…wat an outrageous thing to say..your comments are staggering and downright slanderous

  13. MyOldManSaid Rotterdam82 deano1968
    I appreciate what you are saying but this whole ‘ULTRA’ don’t sit right with me this “We act in unison as a group, while we may have differences of opinion on some issues regarding the club we will always act in unity and back one another up at the game” is this not a charter for violence? Yes or no?

  14. Rotterdam82 deano1968 After nine Villa home league wins in the period of two seasons, which represents pretty much represents the worst home form in the club’s history, maybe it’s time there was more support from the stands (rather than the constant abuse of young players from moaning idiots). If supporters are only allowed to react to what’s happening on the pitch, it’s going to be awfully quiet.. The players need to be lifted to greater performances at times.

  15. deano1968
    Deano you wrote ‘Im not sure what these bully boy tactics’
    well fella here’s some news for you, it’s in their (Brigada’s) founding principles
     ·        We act in unison as a group, while we
    may have differences of opinion on some issues regarding the club we will
    always act in unity and back one another up at the game
     Just all a little Gleichschaltung third
    reichy for my liking.

  16. deano1968 
    Deano its all false mate its like watching some pissed up coked up Rochdale fans having big day out, this whole Brigada thing rings hollow, it feels and looks forced. Supporter react to whats happening on the pitch not to some group in one corner of the Holte having their own private little jolly.

  17. Rotterdam82MyOldManSaid Again, MOMS aren’t the Brigada and don’t sit in L8 of the Holte.
    You’ll find that moaners comment more on the ‘net’ because they want and need a soapbox ; most people stick to the issues unclouded by personal prejudice. 
    ‘Bully boy tactics’ – what a load of nonsense. It’s a football match, fans do swear at each other and I’m guessing their reacting to similar treatment.  I suppose you’ll be calling them communists or fascists, next, like some other misinformed people have.
    MOMS is more interested in all Villa supporters being able to watch the match in relative harmony.

  18. Im not sure what these bully boy tactics are that you refer to but I among many others welcome wat they are trying to do..im fed up of the lack of atmosphere at villa park..there’s too many fans like your good self who are against anything other than the norm…every one has their own ideas of a good matchday experience..mine doesn’t rely solely on the result…AVFC need to set aside a section of the ground for fans to experience a good atmosphere..that way everyone knows …cater for all..

  19. MyOldManSaid Rotterdam82 
    Reading the majority of comments on here it appears you and your Brigada mates aren’t to popular down at VP as you would like to led us to believe  and speaking from experience i can see why. One posted how they had been verbally abused and I have seen this for myself so as others have posted don’t play the innocent on the net and then employ bully boy tactics when you are mob handed down the match.

  20. Rotterdam82 MyOldManSaid Yes, my personal ‘vested interest’ is to help give the Holte End a great atmosphere and be celebrated across the land by all football supporters.  What I don’t like (and I’m not saying this includes you), is selfish people who impose their individual views like moaning mean-spirited consumers ala the nine people who officially complained about the ‘One Stan Petrov’ banner.

  21. MyOldManSaid Rotterdam82
    A smallish group at a back of a stand that impose their will on others and yes I do have a problem with that. Also the attitude of “there are a large group of us so we’ll do as we please”, this is bordering bullying. 
    Do I have chip on my shoulder? Or do you have a vested interest?

  22. Rotterdam82MyOldManSaidIt would be possible to make Health & Safety laws dictate it to be unsafe for anybody to go to a football match seated or not, if you wanted to.
    This is football. Remember the old Holte? Back in the days when we could go to a public toilet without paying and before we had to pay over a quid for a bottle of water, the Holte End would have broken every one of the laws of what you speak.
    People enjoyed the surge and the attempt of staying on your feet when Villa scored. For the shorter fans, it was difficult to see anything, but that didn’t matter. Also, hardly anybody suffered serious injury.
    All I’m personally saying is we have to get some common sense in there some how. We are talking about a smallish group at a back of a stand (who you seem to have a personal chip on your shoulder about).
    I hope you’re not one of these people who used to have fun when you were younger, but now has become a miser! 😉

  23. MyOldManSaid
    That site is simplistic at best and just telling you what you
    want to hear what you need to be looking at the Management of H&S-
    Standing areas without crush barriers cannot be considered as safe,
    At sports grounds where standing accommodation is provided,
    many of the hazards
    arising from crowd pressure on terraces and viewing slopes
    can be eliminated by the
    provision of crush barriers that are appropriately
    designed and constructed.
    The configuration of crush barriers – that is, their layout
    in relation to each other and to
    the gangways – has a crucial influence on the safe
    management of spectators in
    standing areas.
    Although for seated areas the angle can be as steep as
    34°, for standing areas it
    should not exceed 25°.
    .
    If spectators stand, they will, with the exception of the
    front row, experience a
    significant deterioration in the sightlines The focal point
    will move further
    away, usually into the activity area. This is likely to
    prevent spectators who are standing
    in accommodation that was designed for seating from seeing
    the whole of the area, in
    particular that part closest to them. The reduction in the
    visible part of the activity area
    can in practice be significant. This can lead to spectators
    stretching, straining, pushing, jostling and standing on tiptoes (and sometimes
    unacceptably on the seats) in order to get a better view. The situation is
    compounded for those who are smaller, whose view is completely blocked.
    Basically by standing for most if not the entirety of the game
    you are compromising the Health and Safety of supporters as you are using the
    facilities in a way that they were never designed for.

  24. I could see this coming last season, my season ticket was right by these young lads that were associated with this here Brigada bullshit and to be honest they were cocky little bastads and at times well over stepped the mark. I got pissed off with the endless arguments with stewards telling me to sit down whereas  in reality I had little choice other than to stand for 90 in order to see the game. I and a number of others moved to other parts of the ground in order to avoid the hassle, so to be honest fair play to the stewards and the bizzies for having the bollox to deal with them, I only hope the fuck the rest of Brigada dickheads off too.

  25. BrianLambert deano1968 Brina, you sound like  a bit of a moany boring old get to be honest. Suggest you watch from your sofa where the view is excellent I hear

  26. Rmb82 Ah, you said, ‘you persist in ignoring the rules’, that’s why I was distancing ourselves/myself from direct criticism. I’ve personally never sat/stood in L8! We’re just raising the supporter issue.
    Obviously the sun doesn’t shine out of their rears in terms of being innocent parties, but they are tucked away in the corner at the back, so it was a bit harsh to boot them out considering other sections blatantly stand (and people’s views are then blocked). 
    If they were in the middle of a section of a stand and not considerate to other supporters, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation!

  27. Every action has a reaction. The action in this case has been the ignoring of rules/advice. The reaction has been the ejection of said supporters. We could argue all day about the reaction, simply put, play the law of averages and at some point a loss will be conceded. I’m not getting into the inconsistency as this inconsistency is the least of my worries at Villa Park. I would support this situation had I not had to put up with persistent standing for far too long. Any offenders can make it sound so innocent with their keyboards but at the game, we are never afforded the political correctness that people employ here. I’ve been abused and ignored when my money is the same colour as theirs. They say ignorance is bliss, in this case it’s just stupid. With regards to younger supporters I’m confused, you say stick to the point and then go on to say on FB people have praised the atmosphere their children have experienced. Yet distance yourself from the criticism? Which is it to be?
    I stand, I’ll admit that, but I don’t stand when no one else is, just to make a point like these people do. They have been warned more than enough times to now play the innocent party.

  28. MyOldManSaid lil_wizard123 That’s right, they have created their own standing area by default.

  29. shaunwalsh82 rogermalvern Agreed, but in a standing area where it doesn’t affect those who actually want to sit in the SEAT they have paid for.

  30. Rmb82First of all, I’m not ignoring any rules or asking for sympathy, we’re talking about a third party here. 
    As for young supporters, to be honest, it’s a bit tenacious to mention them in this situation. If we stick to the issue, a lot of parents have commented on our FB in the past and have said their sons and daughters have really enjoyed the atmosphere generated from L8. It’s all part of the excitement (lets not confuse it with being intimidated by hooliganism). 
     This has nothing to do with ‘positive’ & ‘negative’, it’s a supporter issue where inconsistency is ripe.
    The rule is ‘Nobody may stand in any seating area whilst play is in progress.’ 
    Now, I’ve broken that rule, along with over 42,000 Villa fans (at least), since visiting Villa Park. So do you ban us all? Other sections of Villa Park stand ALL game.
    It’s the inconsistency that is an issue here.

  31. I was there in L7, watched ridiculous methods of harassment from stewards and police to cause a disruption which were quite clearly organised.
    Regardless of the rights and wrongs (passionate support and health and safety) I would like to raise one point. In the lower north stand where I was last season, fans stand throughout the game, sing, swear have considerable ‘banter’ with opposition fans and regularly ‘engage’ with stewards and police. These fans do not get the same treatment as those in L8 as I imagine there would be a riot.
    If Villa wish to have atmosphere then choosing areas of the ground where fans may wish to sing, stand (within the law as it stands) and and swear (if they want to) will have to be created.
    It may not happen, yet I don’t remember any games versus WBA or BC where whole sections of the ground could easily have been ejected for the same reasons.

  32. So this is positive? Is that what you are saying? You overlook your own words. ‘The club WANT to bring it back’. You are all fully aware it is not allowed at present, yet persist in ignoring the rules that are in place. Then ask for some sort of sympathy when you are punished for persistently ignoring those simply doing their jobs. Season tickets have been blocked for the ignorance shown to a simple set of rules that in the terms and conditions of those season tickets, outline the right to do so in circumstances like this. Having to listen to ‘supporters’ abuse the stewards on a constant basis does create negativity and also intimidates younger ‘supporters’ who have just as much a right to be there as those in question being ejected. Is that relevant enough for you?

  33. BrianLambert What is laughable? Supporters singing and supporting their club? What is illegal – the ground rules? Taken to the letter, you’re not allowed to stand at any time while the game is in play – toilet breaks, refreshment, leaving early to beat traffic – all illegal then. Common sense needs to prevail. ‘Club don’t want it’? They’re the only club to back safe standing. It’s the hardline in punishment that is the issue here.

  34. shaunwalsh82 The government & police made big mistakes in the past (eg in 1989 – fences, poor decisions etc), all-seater stadium gave them the virtual ID scheme they wanted, plus the opportunity for clubs to charge more money. Supporters have suffered since, as has atmospheres at grounds. It doesn’t have to be this way, if common sense does prevail, ala in leagues like Germany.

  35. Rmb82 Don’t even start with this ‘negativity’ label. Irrelevant. Everybody supports the team. This is a supporter issue. Supporters getting their season tickets blocked for doing something that the club want to bring back.

  36. AsifSimjeeCan you please refrain from using profanity throughout your message, it ‘annoys the hell out of me’! There should be a bit more tolerance in certain areas of the ground where people standing don’t block views – i.e. at the back of stands, as in L8.

  37. Ridiculous attitude. NEVER get it back? I suppose we’ll never win the title again either? So we might as well just give up and not bother at all.

  38. Not convinced that leaving the match as a show of protest is going to make much difference seeing as the ticket money has already been paid and the only people feeling any impact at this stage are the fans who walked out.
    People permanently standing up annoy the hell out of me, along with those who can’t stop shouting profanity all game for no real reason (Not groups of people singing a song, but individual morons standing up yelling a torrent of abuse the whole game).
    Both of these categories of people need to be evicted. It’s not like they don’t know what they are doing. They know full well by now that they are breaching the rules so cannot pretend to play the part of innocent victims when the club enforces the rules. “Oh no look at me life long season ticket holder since I was in the womb, poor me the club kicked me out because all I did was ignore the warnings several times and refused to listen to the stewards and ruined the atmosphere for people around me, poor me, the club are picking on me the bastards, I should be allowed to carry on being a moron, it’s not fair poor me life long Villa fan and innocent victim boo fucking hoo”.

    That said, the club should continue to push for an area of the ground where standing is allowed. Currently it would be illegal, so the club needs to tread carefully and fans need to respect the clubs rules. A dedicated section of the ground for standing would be welcome.

  39. The signs around the ground are as clear enough as the announcements made over the last few years. It’s not a choice the club have made, rather a condition of the license issued to Villa Park itself. Without that, there will be no atmosphere altogether. This, it really is the last thing we need at Villa Park right now. There seems to be a constant point you make that could be a solution, go and stand in the North Stand. I for one and by the look of it the majority of the response so far to this statement, think that you need to get a grip. We are not in the 80’s or 90’s anymore. The team is going somewhere, support them don’t create negativity. We’ve had enough of that recently.

  40. rogermalvern Its worth a try though aint it? Whats wrong with giving it a go and trying to get the atmosphere back? Otherwise we’ll all be sitting there clapping our hands going “very good fella very good” Lets try make football what it used to be… Good to go to, why not? Surely you can’t just sit there and watch this… this is rubbish surely? Wheres the fun?

  41. rogermalvern But it should be legal to stand so the law is wrong and needs changing

  42. What is with people trying to stop people creating an atmosphere. Lets have some common sense? These people don’t cause any harm, they are not in any way a danger or hazard. BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL… WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE. This is not a hazard… common sense… simple common sense!

  43. I sit with some of the long time holte enders longer than the 13 years you mention, they find it incredibly annoying and laughable at the same time because you’ll never do it, it is ILLEGAL, the club don’t want it, get over it your own faults, do what Crystal Palace do and talk with the club on how to make it family friendly.

  44. deano1968 Then you and them are a moron, I sit with some of the long time holte enders longer than the 13 years you mention, they find it incredibly annoying it is ILLEGAL, the club don’t want it.

  45. rogermalvernLook at this video of the incident. The fans are at the back of the section and block nobody’s view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOAdsWtoIiI
    In terms of the council, they are only concerned with the ‘reasonable safety’ of stadium –
    If it’s ‘illegal’ then the 20,000+ fans that stood for the full 90 mins against Bradford in the semi-final should be banned. So, it’s not a grey area?

  46. But it is illegal to stand.  The fans ejected were wrong, if unlucky, you have been wrong for a long time from what you say, but the club are also wrong with their heavy-handedness. It is NOT a grey area though, it is wrong to persistently stand in an all-seater stadium.  It restricts the view of fans who do not wish to or simply can not stand and it is against the dreaded health and safety laws so is therefore ILLEGAL.

  47. BrianLambert MyOldManSaid What a bad attitude BrianLambert you have. I’ve had my season ticket since the 75/76 season in the Holte End all that time. What is so wrong with Brigada trying to recreate the old ATOMSPHERE??? I for one miss those days. I sit/stand in L6 with people who have held their season tickets longer than me and we don’t hear or see anything from them that warrants your negativity to them and the clubs inappropriate actions. Perhaps you need to move to some part of the ground where you can sit in peace and quiet

  48. Under the terms of the H&S license issued by Birmingham City Council fans are only allowed to stand during “periods of excitement” during the game. The club are at risk of losing the license if they don’t enforce it, which would ultimately mean games played behind closed doors. We’ve been warned by the council about this before. I’m sure it was in the mail a couple of years ago? The fact is the club are doing what they have to do. Don’t blame them, blame the council.

  49. gped123 As per the reply to the gentleman below, the concern here is specifically to L8 of the Holte, which these supporters purposely moved to, to be out the way and not obstruct supporters in the way you mention. They inhabit the back of L8, so there are no supporter views to block.
    They get targeted by stewards, when other areas of the ground where standing is prevalent don’t.

  50. If you find it annoying then move to the trinity or Doug Ellis stands…the brigada is trying to improve the matchday experience for people who want it..that’s why they are in L8..check out the Crystal Palace fans at today’s game..a fantastic atmosphere…with the help of the club incidentally…

  51. I think you need to consider the more “vulnerable” members of Villa’s fans. What about the kids and even adults who can’t see when they are at the game as everyone stands up in front of them? How about the older supporters who struggle to stand for a whole game? I understand you may enjoy standing but unfortunately as it does impact upon others who wish to watch the game sitting, I feel the club have every right to impose the rule of sitting down. Yes, I agree that consistency would be better but I’m afraid I am in full agreement with the club on this one. That doesn’t mean that supporters can’t stand every so often if there is a good chance or a chant but it should merely be a temporary standing so ALL fans are given an equal chance of watching their team.

  52. gmanvilla To be fair, the supporters in the article are at the back of L8, where they purposely moved to last season to avoid being in the way of other fans. Most of the lower north stand always stand and against Bradford in the semi-final last season, the whole of the Holte stood up in unison for the whole game. Do you throw everybody out because they stand? It’s a grey area, but this group of fans seem to be targeted, when they aren’t actually blocking views.

  53. MyOldManSaid BrianLambert – You will NEVER recreate it, once its gone its gone, we move on, this is just laughable.

  54. I’ve had a season ticket for 20 years and I love a great atmosphere as much as the next bloke. I’ve been in K6 of the Upper Holte since it was built but sat in K4 for the Rotherham game for a bit of a change. I have to say, while the atmosphere was better, there were a couple of morons who stood up for the entire game. Now, they weren’t standing and sitting depending on what was happening on the pitch and nor were they singing, they simply stood and watched. Now, had they been stood in front of me I would have made them sit down myself without the need for stewards or police to intervene because I pay my money, ultimately, to watch the game and if I can’t see it I’m going to be annoyed. To be fair, if I was unable to make them sit, I would welcome the assistance of the stewards/police so I can’t say that I agree with this article. Yes, standing would be amazing but whilst stadiums are all seated, we should respect our fellow supporters and sit down so we can all watch and cheer on the lads at the same time.

  55. BrianLambert MyOldManSaid A lot of people like and support the effort they’re trying to make to make the home game experience less sterile. You’ve got to start somewhere. We’re lucky, we’ve experienced the Holte End pre-’94, but a younger generation pine for a better experience of supporting your team at Villa Park. To give up trying to make match days more fun and a better value for money experience, will be the death of going to matches. That’s why Villa supporters increasingly embrace away trips, as they become the best chance to properly support their team.

  56. And the fact they have put out a ‘statement’ makes it even more small time than it already is, the atmosphere went when the old Holte was demolished and reconstructed, accept it and move on.

  57. MyOldManSaid BrianLambert – If you read what I said, I said ‘A lot’ I never said all of them, we have moved on from those days, its dreadfully annoying, someone has obviously complained otherwise they still wouldn’t be there, the Holte will NEVER be as it was I accepted that when the stand was fitted back in 1994, the efforts ‘Brigada’ make are just embarrassing and its obvious some in the Holte End found it annoying, including me.

  58. BrianLambert So the chap who’s been a Villa season ticket holder for 13 years, must have started going when he was 2 years old? If we stick to your generalisations.  The ‘actual crowd’ – if you could hear them sing, you wouldn’t be able to make out the songs being sung by the Villa supporters in L8. They try to create an atmosphere and be this mythical ’12th man’ more than most, so no need to be mean-spirited about it.  As for your ‘you’ll never match Germany you idiots’…it’s irrelevant, as nobody is trying to match anybody.

  59. lil_wizard123 Yep, I think leniency is the key word here. If certain areas of Villa Park are known for more vocal support, then people wanting to sit through the entire game would tend to buy tickets else where. L8 is in the corner, out of the way, and most of the supporters that stand in that section are at the back and all in unison. So they are not impeding on anyone else, so to harass them is out of order.

  60. Good on the club they were bloody well annoying and some of their behaviour was annoying (alot of them are just 15 year old kids), they kept singing different songs to what the actual crowd was singing, honestly this pathetic ultra/Brigada crap is just embarrassing, give it up, you’ll never match Germany you idiots.
    Glad they got banned, good on the club.

  61. I was witness to the situation at Rotherham. I sit in L7 and no sooner had the game began as they began ejecting people who clearly had done no wrong. I have shared the link with Alan Perrins (chairman of the Lions Club) but don’t hold out much hope of his assistance as he seems to just be the club’s puppet. If this continues we can wave goodbye to any atmosphere that may be improving at home games. The Holte should be as it used to be, Loud, Proud and standing up for the team

  62. Both parts of this article are excellent. It is somewhat illogical to expect a spectacular atmosphere from fans while doing everything to stop the actions that create this atmosphere.
    I can sympathise with stewards in most cases as they’re only doing what they’ve been told to do – and indeed, not everybody is able to stand easily etc. and these are factors that need to be considered. However, there needs to be a degree of leniency – ejecting fans is bad enough but in incidents when all is done in support of the team and of no detriment to any fan, steward or the team, we cannot act like this as a club. I feel like we should all be as one as a club in creating an atmosphere and winning games. This is not good to see.

  63. I just cannot believe that this has happened…every time we play away all fans stand for the full 90…..at The Cottage you mix with “home fans” as you go in, then stand above them….and no issue.
    Away fans at VP do the same, they stand, standing is part of our culture as supporters, all supporters of all clubs.
    I don’t see any issues in Germany with it, and what happened in 89 was due to police incompetence, not standing.
    UTV.

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