Aston Villa Football Club - California Supporters: August 2011

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Stalemate at Villa Park

This morning's match vs Wolves was disappointing. Villa had a few chances but could not capitalize. Other than a few good runs, the game was not a pleasant one to watch (especially at 4am). Gabby seems to be the only player with potential to create something. Bent didn't get any chances and N'Zogbia did not impact the game. It wasn't due to the amazing play of Wolves. Not winning these winnable games at home can ruin a season. At least we were able to gain a point out of this nil-nil draw.

(click on image to go to avfc.uk.com report)

Friday, August 26, 2011

Carling Cup - Round 1

Click on image to go to AVFC match report.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Fantastic first game at Villa Park

Goals by Heskey, Agbonlahor, and Bent in the opening home game at Villa Park give Villa a 3-1 win over Blackburn today. The biggest change that I saw... once we took a 2-nil lead, we didn't sit back and play "to not lose". Villa kept the pressure on and didn't fold like they did several times last season. (When Blackburn scored in the second half to make it 2-1, Villa's aggressiveness help them extend the lead to 3-1 rather than playing tentatively and giving up a late equalizer.) UTV!

Goal #1 Gabby!

Goal #2 Emile!

Goal #3 Darren!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

4 a.m. in Honolulu

Your AVFC California chairman was in Honolulu for the opener against Fulham. It was dark and quiet on the island, but the Villa was on in the Pacific! UTV!

Enjoying Kahuku Shrimp (windward Oahu)

Sergio, an AVFC California member was at Craven Cottage for the game!

Sergio!!!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Villa Draws with Fulham

I was up at 3:30am to watch the Villa on opening day versus Fulham. Both Villa and Fulham had chances, but nobody scored in this 0-0 draw. I give the nod to Shay Given as man of the match. More than once he stopped Fulham from scoring today! One point to start the season? We'll take it!

http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2419347,00.html

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Villa battles Braga to a 1-1 Draw

The arrival of Charles N'Zogbia has started with a bang! I'm ready for the regular season to start - let's go you Villa!

How Did You Become a Villa Supporter?

"I wonder how many fans are actually originally from Birmingham or surrounding area. I am and I'm always interested if someone isn't from near Villa Park, why did they pick Villa as the team to follow." .............................................................................................. "I like Rick's story, he picked Villa as they were 'sponsored' by Acorns Children's Hospice at the time, a cause close to Rick's heart."..................................................................................................................... "I was born in Solihull (12 miles south of Villa Park) and my older bro turned me into a Villa supporter"................................................................................................................ "I am originally from Vauxhall (Birmingham B7) and have followed the Villa since my dad took me to see a game at Villa Park on my 4th birthday. I was a season ticket holder at VP from 1968 until I moved over here twelve years ago."........................................................................................................................"I am from Halesowen which is right next to the black country. Which is tesco carrier bag territory. However my dad is from the city and he always took me and my brother to villa games. I was a season ticket holder in the holte untill 2007 when I moved out here."......................................................................................................................."So why do I support Villa if I've never been to Birmingham? That's a very good question that I've asked myself many times over the years. When I started following the league almost everyone was a Liverpool fan for the same reason almost everyone now is a United, City, or Chelsea fan. Not being someone who follows the crowd I wanted to support a team that was unique and different. When I was a kid, Andy Gray was one of my favorite players and I used to read his columns in Shoot magazine about playing for Villa and thought a lot of the things about the team were unique: the team name, colors, and specially the history."..................................................................................................................."Born just a couple of miles from Villa park, with my father, mother, grandparents and more than half of my extended family with claret and blue blood (you can work out who the rest of that motley crew supported SOTC) it was written in the stars that I was going to be Villa through and through."...................................................................................................................I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. Played the game for 30 some odd years and have been a Villa fan all my life. I have seen 2 live games(both losses, but a great atmosphere none the less). My grandfather was a steward at Villa Park for many years. My father and brother are members of the Canadian Villa fan club in Toronto. I'm here in the central valley, and know of couple of villa fans here in Fresno................................................................................................................