Sunday, May 24th 2009
Vs Newcastle United, Premier League, 4pm
By Craig Woodhead
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1.
Why you were looking forward to going to the
ground (or not as the case may be):
This
was the big one for us Newcastle fans, a win
or go home occasion, so I was filled with a
mixture of excitement and nerves. I'd never
been to Villa Park before, so I was also
looking forward to going to a new ground.
2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking? Coach journey down was a good one
filled with plenty of singing. We
stopped off at Lichfield, where we
enjoyed a few pints in a pub called "The
Crown" near the shopping centre. Then onto
Villa Park. From where the coaches parked,
it was impossible to miss the ground as we
parked right next to it.
3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly? We arrived slightly late, so we
just went straight into the ground as soon
as we got there. Alcohol was not on sale on
the concourse, which a lot of fans including
myself weren't happy about, however, there
was a Ladbrokes outlet inside.
4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground? I didn't think that Villa Park was
as big as it is. If the corners of the
stadium get developed, the ground will
definitely be placed as one of the
elite stadiums in the UK. The Away fans are
located in the corner of the ground and for
us the upper and lower tiers were
available. Since all of fans stand up,
leg room wasn't really an issue, but
since I was on the end of the very back
row, my seat was on the stairs, so I nearly
fell down them a couple of times. Probably
my own fault though!
5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc.. The game itself was horrific. No
passion at all from Newcastle, and a scrappy
own goal by Damien Duff confided us to the
Championship next season. The Villa fans
were loud at times, but since they had
nothing to play for really their noise was
good. The fans situated in the corner behind
the goal seem to be the ones trying to
intimidate the away fans, but it was all in
good fun. I found the police and stewards
really friendly and helpful, and they were
much better than the ones that I have seen
on previous away days.
6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game: I'm not sure how long it took to get away from the ground, but it felt like an eternity, probably because we had just been relegated, but the buses did have some difficulty getting out of the car park. The Villa fans also lined the streets on our way out trying to bait us into a reaction. 7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out: The
day itself was great, but it was just a
shame about the result. I would definitely
come back to Villa park again, but it's now
just a matter of when we will get the
opportunity.
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