Remembering First Second City Derby Experiences

It’s Like Breathing

Earlier in the season MOMS asked its readers why they actually hate the Blues.  there was an various assortment of responses but our favourite had to be Villa supporter, Roger Kendall’s.

‘I have no idea,” he said. “It’s a little like breathing, it is something that I have done from birth!’

Villa vs Blues derbies in recent years haven’t been as frequent as most would like (blame the Blues for that), but you’d be foolish to think the rivalry has diminished in any way. While it’s not competitive in terms of achievements and winning trophies, an underlining hatred seems to continually fuel the expectation of the fixture.

Since Villa have come down to the Blues’ standard level of the Championship, we can perhaps embrace it more with it being the main event of the season in this division…unless of course, the Blues keep the habit of being a league below us and get relegated this season.

While the Manchester derby gets pushed out to the football universe by a rabid hype machine, Villa-Blues remains more of a local concern. The almost irrational distaste between the teams, in a strange way, kind of keeps things real and is welcome as football becomes an increasingly sanitised experience.

As we’ve stated before, like bull fighting, while the outside world pours scorn upon its violent nature, it’s simply tradition for the locals.

First Experiences of the Derby

I had personally missed seeing Villa-Blues games in the 1980’s due to living out of town and being a kid, then came a five-year gap of the fixture not being played, after Villa had beaten them three times in a season in 1988. So my first chance of catching the derby was the 1993 League Cup two-leg game.

It was a good job I made it to the mid-week fixture at Villa Park, because after that, we didn’t play again for another nine years.

Listen to MOMS experience of the night here:

When the derby did return, as we’ll also hear in the above short 10 minute podcast, it didn’t exactly fill Villa fans with too much joy. The Blues went three seasons unbeaten in the fixture, including the nightmare at St Andrews, that Dan Rogers recounts as his first Second City derby experience.

Happier days were round the corner though, as Villa started to win regularly when the two teams clashed, as Chad Wrenn recalls the 5-1 smashing in the podcast.

What were your first Second City derby experiences? Share them in the comments section below!

UTV

Make sure you follow MOMS on Twitter by clicking here – @oldmansaid

For my info and other ways to listen and subscribe to the podcast, check out www.myoldmansaid.co.uk

Show Running Order

Harry Redknapp’s approach to managing the Blues

Show Intro

Villa vs Blues 1993

Blues vs Villa 2002

Villa vs Blue 2008

Featuring:

David Michael – @oldmansaid

Dan Rodgers – @avfc_vilr

Chad Wrenn – @ChadBillyWrenn

1 COMMENT

  1. Aston Villa v Blues. Does it matter? Yes of course it does. It always matters. Whatever league we are both in, whichever cup competition we are playing in, whether the result has a bearing on our league position or our progress in a cup, it matters. Just beat the Blues. Please. Preferably with style. And by a huge margin.

    However, I long for those days when the team from Small Heath had no relevance for us. When we were winning the First Division. And European Cups. And they were struggling one or two leagues below us. When their games were occasionally shown on TV, all we could hear was their fans singing “s**t on the villa”. And I would think that they had no ambition except to try and beat us, despite the shocking state their club was in.

    So I will be sitting in my favourite seat in B2 Trinity Road on Sunday, hating every misplaced pass, wondering why we can’t keep possession, hoping for a moment of magic from Jack, optimistic that Hogan will suddenly hit prolific goalscoring form. But I will still be nostalgic for those times when the Blues were an irrelevance, and hoping those days are returning.

Comments are closed.