Latest SCG Answers

The massive flag is controlled though voice etc...
Flatten Villa Park? Wow, didn't think you'd go for that sort of thing!?!?!? I think if Villa moved from Villa Park, my love affair would end. It is too historic a ground surely? Albeit, I understand, with all the stands now having been changed... etc. Interesting opinion that one. Agree the tannoy is no good!

Ime with you choc how much entertainment do you need for such a short break ? As for this announcement business its another dreaded americanism we dont need the gee up we are already up for it . Like choc says a Jimmy then a suspicious look at what they call pies lol mind you might add Ime in the same age bracket as choc judging by the 50 years support.

Oh Jeez chocolate, you've blown it now, I was going to be dancing on the pitch at half time this week and they've just cancelled!!!! Yes, I think the problem with the PA is that it is very loud in places and muffled in other places. They have had trouble with it for years, think Ellis brought in a nice cheap system when it was fitted! ;o))

Fear - Aston is dead. Small Heath is dead. Wolves have a well placed staduim, but unfortunately for them the city is dead. There are certain clubs where the club is the hearbeat of a community, Newcastle, both Scouse clubs, Norwich amongst others. But Villa and many others, suffer nowadays due to their location. Like you I have been coming for years, for many of our age group it would be a wrench to leave Villa Park. The emotions, memories, the formative years make it almost impossible to consider. But for anyone under the age of 35 they are not likely to live within 3 miles of Villa Park. The club is no longer home to the community it serves. But most problematic is that it is not fundamentally easy to get to. There is spare land on the East of the City Centre. Easy for a majority of fans to reach by bus, train, metro or car. It would be central to the brummy community and therfore central to the people who support it. Maybe put this up as an article as you mentioned. It is painful but I believe holding onto history could hold us back. Someone with vision could bring the club into the upper echelons of the game??

Btw, voth I meant you make a good argument 'for change' not 'for a change'. You almost always make a good case for your views. ;-)

vwra. I think you can see that the conversation isn't about immigration, but a wider regeneration issue. However the clubs I mentioned are based in 'white' areas that are part of the fabric of the club. Villa probably do more to reach out to the local community than other clubs because of the specific challenges faced of being in an area that is far removed from its traditional core support. When I see a playing field in Liverpool all the kids are wearing Liverpool and Everton shirts. When I see kids playing football next to Villa Park they are wearing Manure and Liverpool shirts. This social divide and snub of the Villa is an issue that isnt going to be resolved anytime soon by some outreach work. And no I do not want a souless ground such as Small Heath, Riverside, Pride Park etc. But there is certainly a call for somebody with vision, either to move Villa to the centre of its own universe or to make it the focal point of the community in which it is based.

This is the sort of idea that would make the suits sit up and take notice. It could also be far sighted. Both the Merseyside clubs have outgrown their grounds and appear unwilling to ground share. That will hold them back for years. The issue of many English football grounds being in deprived, inner city areas is a pressing one. The locations were appropriate during the nineteenth-century but times have changed. You might have persuaded me, voth.

wvra, lergy. It is good you are on the same page as me on this. It is emotive. Villa Park will be my football love until I draw my final breath, but the thought of a Villa Park in the centre of Brum would convince me that there is life after the old place. There is the space for it by the Aston Science Park if only someone with the vision to do this would grasp the bull by the horns. Rebuild Villa Park on the same traditions as the current ground, brick built and solid. Not a plastic clad abboration as suffered by so many clubs. Surround it with casinos, health clubs, gymnasiums, our museum, retail outlets, bars and restaurants and a s*****y new hotel and the club would grow ten fold. Transport and location is the key. Being in the centre then I would guess that 95% of people would be able to get to it on matchday by just one journey, be that a bus, the Metro or the train. Less people would go to matches in the car which would mean massive extra trade for bars and restaurants as well as good revenue the public transport network. Fans would be more inclined to make a day out of watching the game. Shops in the city centre would benefit. It would be a great venue for international and European Final games, again bringing massive revenue into the City. There are a quarter of a million people in Birmingham City Centre every day. They would all be able to visit whenever they want for lunch, tickets, shopping, going to the gym. At night time the bars, casino and gyms would make the place a constant hub and a focal point of many peoples lives. This would also help the cultural groups who currently shun the football club to integrate. Thinking out of the box maybe even build a new church/mosque/synagogue in keeping with the surroundings to actively encourage the area as a multi faith use. I fully understand the emotive reasons for staying at Villa Park. I understand tradition and heritage. Man Citeh do not seem to be doing so bad since leaving Main Road, Arsenal since leaving Highbury, Red and Blue Scouse are both desperate to leave their traditional home (and it could be argued that they have equally as much reason/history/tradition for wanting to stay in their current grounds). It makes sense despite the emotive attachment to the area. There is the land to do it. It would take the club to an entirely different level. And I tell you something for nothing, if a club up the road gets proper ownership and financial backing they will do it. And that really would put us in a precarious position. Do unto him as would be done to you. But do it first.

Whilst i agree to the points made by VOTH about moving VP to a more accessable and commercially interesting part of Brum, the actual reality is it just aint going to happan or anytime inthe next 5/10 years, Villa is re-builing into a team that can once compete in the Prem league once again, let alone affording spending on a new £200/300million stadium with dwindeling crowds at VP and a team in transition this aint happaning anytime soon tbh but i at least agre it would benefit Villa long term to move but it would hurt and rip my guts out tbh i luv VP

ctv - It needs vision. In the normal context you are 100% correct, but this is radical. It requires radical solutions and would need Randolph to partner up with a whole host of public and private partners. It is a seperate issue to current team building and plans. Merlin - there are lots of questions/obtacles/worries etc however the basic idea is sound. And let me stress that I am sure that at some stage if we do not put a marker down for it as our project then somebody nearbye will. This needs to be done before/if the money arrives in Small Heath.

I couldn't disagree with voiceoftheholte more. His argument is just too muddled and contradictory. It also makes assumptions about religion I think is prejudicial. He says that the reason Villa Park is never quite full is because the fans are fickle or glory-hunters. So, if that is true, how is moving to another location going to change that fact? If Witton is supposed to be so rough the land is not going to be worth much and the cost of demolition is not going to leave much left over to build the Villa Emirates, which cost £390m. I do not like the implications of bringing "population changes" and religion into it. Football is supposed to cross all boundaries and let us not forget that Zidane was a Muslim and rather poorer than the denizens of Witton and Aston. The reason the local population are unlikely to attend Villa Park is that the local area is poor, just as it has been for decades. Its not that the locals have rejected football, it's that football has rejected them by pricing them out of the market. As for transport, Villa Park is between the two main railway lines, is on the outer-circle and is well-served by buses from north Birmingham - Sutton, Kingstanding and Great Bar. In short the area of 19th Century Aston, from Walmley to Birmingham. I am surprised to find those who imply that there is something immutable about the club, seem so keen to trade it in for a plastic replica.

Good points Steve and well made but I think you have looked at my views from a slightly different position. However it makes for a very interesting debate.