Aston Villa. Villa Park Fine Art Print

What is it about football club names?  They evoke so many emotions and memories.

On a Saturday afternoon my Dad used to sit in front of our black and white television (a rented Rediffusion without a remote) hushing everyone as he checked off the results on his Pools coupon.  He never forgot, and I never forgot, those wonderful names and as I grew older over the years, I was able to put places to names as I travelled on business and pleasure.

Port Vale, Preston North End, Edinburgh Academicals and Heart of Midlothian.  Arsenal, Accrington Stanley, Cowdenbeath and of course Aston Villa.  Where on earth was Aston Villa?  I’d never heard of a city or town called Aston, only a car, and was it a Roman Villa?

Its location became apparent on a narrow boat holiday when I was about eleven and we went through Aston on one of the Black Country canals.  I didn’t visit the actual ground until much later when my club played there in an FA Cup semi-final.  What a ground.  I was amazed at the size and stature of the place and the roll call of honour.  This really was one of the most impressive grounds I had visited.

The young lads outside the stadium used to run a racket where they charged a fee to “look after” your car on match days.  Every time I visited the ground, I paid the little cherubs and every time I returned to my car, it was perfect. Good Lads.