Wembley Archive

Villa are going to Wembley, Blues ent!

Villa are going to Wembley, Blues ent!

There isn’t a lot to talk about today so I thought I would take this moment to talk about the bitterness that is coming from across the City.

I’m sure we have all had a bluenose come up to us and laugh about what happened in the Carling Cup Final – they couldn’t accept that Nemanja Vidic should of sore red, it was all purely because we was rubbish.

Well what goes around comes around. Birmingham failed to progress to the Semi Final of the FA Cup in a game, if we are all honest, they were expected to win.

The excuse’s come and fell on death ears, very much the same way our excuses did on the Monday morning after the cup final. But what really made me laugh was where Villa fans said by having Vidic sent off, it wouldn’t mean victory, but a good chance. Birmingham fans seem to believe that Ridgewell’s goal that never was should of counted – which I do agree with – but then they would of gone on to win the game? Come on!

Just remember Birmingham you are where you belong, still the second team in the Midlands, and still jealous and bitter by the fact that Villa is going to Wembley for the second time this season.

And yes there’s a possibility that we could lose, just like we could win – but at least we are there and no matter what excuse you come up with, you know deep down that you wish Birmingham were there to!

So, Wemberleeee, Wemberleeee, it’s the famous part of London that the Blues will never see!

We are going to WEMBLEY again.

We are going to WEMBLEY again.

Boring boring Villa? I like to think we entertain the watching fans and we didn’t disappoint this afternoon when we took on Reading in the quarter final of the FA Cup.

An upset looked like it was on the cards when Reading went two-up just before half time.

Reading took the lead on 27 minutes when a corner from Howard was headed on by Mills and Long was free at the back post to head past Friedel.

The home side soon doubled their lead when Sigurdsson found Kebe who outpaced Warnock and he cut the ball back across goal for Long to make it 2-0.

I will admit that I gave up hope of any comeback. We looked down, and out after last week’s defeat at Wembley but how wrong could I have been. Martin O’Neill deserves credit for whatever he said in the dressing room because Villa comes out in the second half on a mission.

In a thrilling first ten minutes in the second half Villa completed turned this tie on its head.

On the 47th minute Downing passed to Carew who was in the box, he then chipped a little ball across goal only for Cuellar to mis-kick the ball. But coming in at the back post was Ashley Young and he fired the ball into the back of the net.

Villa was back to their normal selves. Milner found Downing in aches of space on the wing, who then swung in a beautiful cross to reach John Carews head, and Villa are back on level terms.

And then to complete the turnaround of the tie Warnock over lapped Young on the wing and then cantered the ball for John Carew to make it 3-2.

The days’ scoring was complete when John Carew was brought down in the area in the last minute of the game. The big Norwegian stepped up and booked Villas place in the Semi Final.

I know it seems so far away after last week’s result, but guess what lads.. WE ARE GOING TO WEMBLEY AGAIN!!

Weve done it once, we will do it again..

Weve done it once, we will do it again..

Im not going to bore you or make it a even more despressing Monday than it already is so I wont go into yesterday’s game to much.

I’ve just got back home from Wembley, and i did enjoy myself about from the final result of course.

I could moan about the referee’s blatent cock up, and i could moan about the fact that the best English right back was sitting on the bench while a player who can’t play in that position struggles.

I will moan about the lack of respect the United fans had for this competition. Villa fans waited and applauded our players when they got there runners up medals, and we leave as obviously we don’t want to see what could of been.

Only to walk outside the ground and see loads of United fans out there instead of aplauding there fans. And on top of that, the amount of empty seats in the red side of the stadium. Perfetic.

But what we must do is become one and all get behind the lads as we try to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup and return to the new Wembley stadium.

Wembley here we come, Good luck Villa!

Wembley here we come, Good luck Villa!

With not much to talk about today, I thought I would get my pre-match Cup Final post up tonight as I head to Wembley in the morning so I doubt I will be posting again now until Monday at some point.

I’m sure just like myself everyone has been counting the days till the weekend while at work this week so we can head to Wembley and hopefully pick up our first trophy since 1996.

If you are still unsure on travel, and where to drink, be sure to check out Coops Guide to Wembley.

Villa look set to have pretty much a full strength side, and we will be heading into this game after two wins on the bounce.

United beat West Ham in there last outing, but it came at a cost as Anderson was taken off early on with a injury and was later ruled out of the cup final, and the rest of the season.

So unless there are any major changes before I leave for London in the morning, let’s all raise a glass and wish Villa good luck on Sunday. Come on the Villa!

Our travellers guide to Wembley

Our travellers guide to Wembley

So the time is nearing for Villa to be making their first appearance at Wembley in 10 years. It’s common knowledge that since that dreadful day in May 2000, Wembley Stadium has been flattened and rebuilt, all at a massive cost. The stadium re-opened in 2007, and I’ve since attended every England game there. Here’s my review of what you can expect next Sunday.

The Stadium:

The new Wembley is everything a ‘modern’ fan would want. Comfortable seating, an exterior like an airport terminal, large concourses, etc. But in my opinion, it has lost all of its charm and character. No more twin towers, no tunnel behind the goal, no merchandise sellers on Wembley way. Just a stadium to primarily suit the businessman on a jolly-up with his company. But for all its loss of character, it is still impressive.

One of the most noticeable changes to the national stadium is the arch, situated on the north side of the ground. It is simply massive, and was constructed as a replacement for the twin towers. Although, in my opinion, the arch is not a patch on the towers, in years to come I’ve no doubt that it will be portrayed as a Wembley icon by Football fans all over the world.

Wembley Way, another landmark of the old stadium of course, still remains.  The exterior of the actual complex itself, is pretty similar to that of before. However, the immediate outside of the ground, consists of two levels. You need to use the higher level if you are sitting in the top tier, and the lower level if you are sitting below.

As you enter Wembley (PS all the turnstiles are electronic), if your seat is in the upper tier, the first thing you notice is that it contains escalators. You’ve probably figured out by now that I’m against virtually anything modern in a Football ground, but these escalators are a god send, especially after 10 pints beforehand. As I mentioned before, the concourses are massive so you’ve plenty of space to have a drink before the match and at half time. However, I’d advise against this, as the prices are ridiculous. Otherwise, facilities are plentiful.

Wembley consists of three tiers all the way around, and is pretty much a larger version of the  Emirates Stadium. Noticeable similarities include the fact that the middle tier is much smaller than the top and bottom tiers, and the side stands are slightly taller towards their centres.  The middle tier consists entirely or Club Wembley seats (prawn sandwich eaters)  and from a perspective of atmosphere, this is a huge flaw in the design. This is due to the fact that, it’s pretty much a given fact that the majority of ‘fans’ in the Club Wembley seats won’t sing, so therefore it’s hard for the top and bottom tiers to sing as one. However, I haven’t yet been to Wembley for a neutral game, where the majority of fans will be enthusiastic about the game and their team, so Sunday’s match could go some way to my opinion of Wembley changing.

Travel:

The traffic congestion problem Wembley had before, hasn’t been rectified, and so it is still a nightmare to drive away from Wembley after a game. If you are driving, by far your best bet is to park at a nearby tube station, and then catch a tube in to Wembley. I won’t go to the trouble of naming the particular stations you could park at, as there are numerous options. A quick look at a map of London and of the Underground is all you need to help you decide.  If sitting in traffic for 2 hours after a game does float your boat, then there is an official car park at the stadium, which is a rip-off by the way, and as expected there are various unofficial places to leave your car for a smaller amount of cash.

Wembley is served by two underground stations. The nearest to the ground is Wembley Park. This is located right at the end of Wembley Way, and is served by the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines. The second station, slightly further away on Wembley High Street, is Wembley Central, served by the Bakerloo line.

The ground is also served by a train station (appropriately called Wembley Stadium). Chiltern trains between Brum-London Marylebone stop here, and access from the platforms to the stadium is good.

Pubs:

For the size and profile of the ground, the number and standard of the pubs near Wembley is poor. However, with the fact that 1; Wembley is in London and 2; The stadium is served by the underground, you aren’t short of options getting a drink in a pub that suits your tastes.

For cup finals, I’ve been informed that pubs are allocated to supporters of each team, depending on which side of the ground their allocation has been located. Villa are on the West side, which means we should have a wider choice of where to drink around the ground on the day. The Green Man, on Dagmar Avenue, and The Greyhound, on Harrow Road, have both been allocated to Villa fans, so you can expect them to be heaving come midday on Sunday. I’ve never been to the Greyhound, however the Green Man has a large bar inside, as well as numerous outside bars, which will be put to maximum use. There are a few pubs on Wembley High Street (between Wembley Central and the stadium), which is also ‘our side’ of the ground, and these include a Wetherspoons. Other than that, there is a small sports bar located about 50 yards down from Wembley Central.

I don’t think there’s a lot else worth mentioning, but I just thought I’d add my penneth worth of knowledge before Sunday. Let’s hope that we do a job on the ‘Mancs’ and that we’re back in April for the semi final.