|
 |
Villa Park Aston Villa v Newcastle United Sunday, May 24th 2009, 4pm Premier League By Craig Woodhead (Newcastle United fan) |
|
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.
|