Aston Villa Fun Facts
Här finns lite kuriosa om Aston Villa. Dessutom en lista på "kändisar" som håller på Aston Villa! Det mesta är baserat på artiklar i Birmingham Mail.
Fun Facts / kuriosa:
The alphabetical story of Aston Villa
Aston Villa have a long and illustrious history - too long and illustrious for us to go into in full right now.
The claret and blue faithful, like all proud football supporters, like to tell anybody and everybody they meet about this great club.
So to make spreading the AVFC gospel that little bit simply we've condensed it into 26 easy to follow bullet points, helpfully listed into alphabetic order.
Länk: www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gallery/bluffers-guide-aston-villa-transfer-29222584
A - Aston Villa.
The club’s name is believed to derive from the Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel situated close to a Georgian house called Aston Villa where Villa Road, Lozells Road and Heathfield Road meet in Lozells. In his excellent Villa book, Children of the Revolution, author Richard Whitehead wrote: “There are loads of Uniteds, lots of Citys and Towns, a goodly sprinkling of Wanderers and Rovers and even a few Albions. “But there is only one Villa - the greatest name in football in every sense.” Former boss John Gregory agrees, observing in his autobiography The Boss: “Even the name is beautifully symmetrical, with five letters in each word.”
B – Brothers.
Seventeen sets of siblings have played together for Villa. Archie and Andy Hunter, Harry and Joe Simmonds, Arthur and Albert Brown, James and John Cowan, John and Will Devey, Bert and Jack Sharp, Alfred and Martin Watkins, Clem, Jimmy and George T. Stephenson, Harry and George Hampton, Sam and George Hardy, Frank and Amos Moss, Alec and James Logan, John and Albert McLachlan, Bruce and Neil Rioch, Alan and Brian Little, Stefan and Luke Moore (pictured). And most recently, Aaron and Jacob Ramsey. Gary Gardner had always dreamed of playing alongside big brother Craig Gardner in the same Villa team, apparently – but he had to do it down the road at Blues instead.
C – Charlie
Villa have seen their fair share of big-time Charlies down the years, but only one genuine long-time Charlie. Scottish left-back Charlie Aitken was one of the most loyal club men Villa are ever likely to boast – and he still hosts the appearance record, playing 660 times between 1961 and 1976. Sadly taken from us, you can read a lovely tribute to him here
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tribute-charlie-aitken-aston-villa-28027401
D – Deadly
Or Sir Herbert Douglas Ellis to give him his full title. He invented the bicycle kick. The package holiday entrepreneur divided opinion during his long stewardship of Aston Villa from 1968 to 2006 (tellingly, during Ellis’ absence between 1979 and 1982 Aston Villa won the First Division title in 1981 and European Cup 1982). Valued by some for keeping Villa on a sound financial footing, pilloried by others for lacking ambition, and known by most for sacking managers, Sir Doug passed away in 2018.
E – England
Villa have provided the second highest amount of England internationals, with the number currently at 77. Howard Vaughton and Arthur Brown were the first in 1882, with Ezri Konsa the latest. ‘Who will be next?’ is the big question. Hopefully during the next few years the Bodymoor Heath production line can provide even more.
F – FA Cup
Villa have lost the FA Cup more times than some of their rivals have won it, as the old joke goes. Villa have lifted the famous trophy seven times, although after their second triumph in 1895, the cup, won in a 1-0 victory over Albion, was taken on the night of September 11, from a football equipment shop run by William Shillcock in Birmingham’s Newtown Row and was never recovered. Also never recovered has been Villa’s secret of winning the FA Cup, with their last triumph coming way back in 1957. Could Villa see cup glory under Unai Emery?
G – God
Villa fans can never hear the spiritual song Kumbaya without replacing the words with ‘Paul McGrath, my lord, Paul McGrath’. McGrath was a flawed genius, nicknamed God for turning defending into an art form despite battling alcoholism. Renowned as one of the best players in Aston Villa history, and rightly so, a genuine legend who illuminated the club between 1989 and 1996.
H- Holte End
Formerly the largest terrace in Europe, housing 26,000 fans, the Holte End is still the biggest behind the goal stand in the continent, now seating 13,000 home supporters in two tiers. It was last used as a terrace against Liverpool on the final day of 1993-94, when Villa hit back from a goal down at half-time to win 2-1 with two Dwight Yorke goals in front of the Holte End. Fans were seen streaming away from the ground with souvenirs of the Holte End, including toilet seats! Holte Enders in the Sky is a famous Villa terrace chant, to the tune of Johnny Cash’s Ghost Riders in the Sky.
I – Ivo Stas
Is the answer to the amusing trivia question, ‘Which Villa player scored for the club without ever playing a game for them?’ Stas scored an own goal playing for Banik Ostrava during Villa’s 2-1 victory over the Slovakian club in the UEFA Cup in October 1990. Despite the o.g. the defender actually played well and was signed by Villa boss Jo Venglos the following month, only to suffer an achilles tendon injury which prevented him ever kicking a ball competitively for the club. His spell prompted an amusing spoof Ivo Writes Home column in fanzine Heroes and Villains, featuring fictitious letters to his family about passing him time sight-seeing in Brum rather than playing football.
J – Jimmy
Jimmy was Villa’s first manager, and their second, with Jimmy McMullan taking over team affars which prior to June 1934 had always been managed by committee. McMullan flopped as Villa were relegated for the first time in their history in his second season, before successor Jimmy Hogan restored them to the top flight as Division Two champions in his second season in 1937-38. The story of Hogan is a fascinating one - and you can familiarise yourselves with it here.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-jimmy-hogan-legend-12227795
K – King
Villa boast the past King, namely Phil King, he of penalty scoring fame during that cracking UEFA shootout win over Inter Milan in September 1995 (sadly, his shirt from that heady night was lost in a garage fire at his mother-in-law’s home). Villa also boast the future King, namely famous fan Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, who most recently witnessed the club's match against Olympiakos.
Wills, along with Hollywood megastar Tom Hanks and Prime Minister David Cameron have stolen fiddler Nigel Kennedy’s crown as Villa’s most well known celebrity supporter. Oh, while we on the subject of kings, Sir Mervyn King, the former Governor of the Bank of England, is a claret and blue fanatic too, who had a brief spell on the club's board.
N – Chris Nicholl
It’s rare for a player to score four goals in one game. It’s even more unusual for two of them to be in the right net and two in the wrong net. That was the situation when Nicholl hit two goals and two own goals during a 2-2 Division One draw with Leicester at Filbert Street in March 1976. Nicholl twice put the Foxes in front, before grabbing two equalisers for Villa! Sadly passed away recently.
O – Oh it must be, it is, Peter Withe
Next time you are at Villa Park, have a glance at the North Stand and familiarise yourself with the banner celebrating Brian Moore's memorable piece of commentary. It commemorates quite a moment in Aston Villa’s history, not that Villa fans like to talk about it - much!
P – Pongo Waring
The unusually-named striker kicked up quite a stink by scoring the most goals in a single season for Villa. He notched 50 overall, with 49 in the league and one in the FA Cup in 1930-31. It was also the season Villa scored their highest number of league goals – 128. Want to know more? Then read on here.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/who-pongo-waring-you-need-8094928
Q – Quote
“If there is a club in the country which deserves to be dubbed the greatest (and the matter is one of some delicacy) few will deny the right of Aston Villa to share the highest niche of fame with even the most historic of other aspirants. For brilliancy and, at the same time, for consistency of achievement, for activity in philanthropic enterprise, for astuteness of management and for general alertness, the superiors of Aston Villa cannot be found.” William McGregor.
S – Shambles
That was the word Graham Taylor used to describe Aston Villa when he took over the club following their relegation from the First Division in 1986-87. He soon put things right. Taylor picked Villa up off the floor with an instant promotion-winning campaign. ‘Sir’ Graham was the saviour who set the Villa straight and is rightly lauded for doing so.
T –Trabzonspor
It has emerged that Villa are the inspiration for the Turkish club’s claret and blue colours. Former Villa secretary Steve Stride now works as a UEFA delegate and found out the story behind Trabzonspor’s kit before their Europa League match against Apollon Limassol. The club’s president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu revealed that when his club were formed in 1967 they had no money for kit so contacted a number of clubs in Europe and Villa were the only ones to respond, sending a full set.
U – Unsworth
Slang for ‘under the thumb’. David Unsworth signed for Villa for £4 million from West Ham in 1998, only for Mrs Unsworth to prompt a dramatic change of heart. Manager John Gregory joked that Unsworth’s wife thought Birmingham was near Bolton when the defender asked to leave Villa for Everton to be nearer his Lancashire home, just a week after arriving at Villa Park and soon got his wish. “He was told he’d got to be home by one o’clock or his dinner would be in the bin,” quipped Gregory, while Unsworth was greeted with chants of ‘Does your missus know you’re here?” on all subsequent visits to Villa Park.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/david-unsworth-aston-villa-everton-12839854
V – Venglos
Jozef Venglos. A foreign manager? In England? It will never work! Sadly, it didn’t for Villa as the Czech pioneer struggled at Villa where some of his methods were a bit too ahead of his time. He couldn’t get why the players wanted to drink beer after matches. The Birmingham Mail headline ‘For God’s sake go, Jo’ summed up a season that was doomed to fail, although Venglos did mastermind a thrilling 2-0 victory over Inter Milan at Villa Park.
W - William McGregor.
He’s the bearded bloke made of bronze and holding a piece of paper outside Villa Park. If you don’t know who he is by now, Google him. He’s quite important.
Y – Yorke
Start spreading the news, he’s playing today, I want to see him score again, Dwight Yorke, Dwight Yorke. Villa fans saw him score for them 98 times in 287 appearances. But it was not just the goals, it was the enjoyment and entertainment as the smiling striker, chipped in penalty, dazzled with drag-backs and even provided pre-match cheer by balancing the ball on his head as he ran the length of the pitch.
Z – Zero, zilch or Zagreb
Bosko Balaban’s scoring tally for Villa amounted to a big round nothing following his £5.8 million arrival from Dinamo Zagreb. Prolific elsewhere in his career, the Croatian centre forward failed to find the net in two starts and nine substitute appearances for Villa between 2001 and 2002 before banging in the goals again for Zagreb and Bruges.
Berömda personer som håller på Aston Villa
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gallery/aston-villa-famous-celebrity-fans-26231806
* The Prince of Darkness himself Ozzy Osbourne is a claret and blue believer
* One of the most die-hard celebrity Aston Villa fans is world renowned violinist Nigel Kennedy
* Royal approval for the Villa cause comes from The Prince Of Wales. He has been to many games, even seen celebrating with John Carew
* Tom Hanks chose to support Aston Villa because he loved the name and the colours. He states that it is his dream to visit Villa Park.
* And also Sabbath's Tony Iommi
* Their bandmate Geezer Butler is also a big fan, as his guitar shows
* Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran was once thought to be a Villa fan, but his allegiances are unclear
* And his bandmate Roger Taylor
* The late UB40 legend Brian Travers was a fan of Aston Villa
* Wes Edens is the owner of Aston Villa, and now his daughter is a self-confessed Villa disciple
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* Magical support for Unai Emery's side comes in the shape of Birmingham actor Oliver Phelps (right) - The Harry Potter star has been a season-ticket holder from an early age.
* Mrs Doyle no less! Pauline McLynn is a huge Aston Villa fan.
* Ruth Jones (aka Nessa Jenkins), from Gavin & Stacey
* David Cameron is the nephew of former Aston Villa chairman Sir William Dugdale
* Erdington born Martin Shaw is most-famous for his roles in The Professionals and Inspector George Gently.
* Brummie Mark Williams has starred in The Fast Show and Harry Potter amongst many other TV and film roles.
* Sir Mervyn King is the former Governor Of The Bank Of England and also a big Villa fan.
* Former Redditch MP Jacqui Smith is a noted Aston Villa fanatic
* Lee Child, author of the bestselling Jack Reacher series of books
* High-jumper Tom Parsons is a Villa fan.
* Kris Marshall is best known for his role in the BT Family adverts and Death In Paradise. The actor had a serious accident in 2008 and suffered head injuries. He credits a letter from Villa wishing him well as aiding his recovery.
* Veteran actor Brendan Gleeson has starred in countless TV shows and films including Braveheart and Harry Potter. He is a huge football fan and supports Aston Villa
* Ian Lavender is most famous for his role in Dad's Army as the hapless Private Pike. On the show he sported a claret and blue scarf.
* Lord Digby Jones is a noted Aston Villa fan
* Aston Villa fan David Bradley is an actor famous for his role in Harry Potter and Broadchurch.
* Veteran actor David Bradley is a huge Villa fan and has starred in promotional videos for the club. His acting credits are endless with roles in Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and many more
* Brum historian Carl Chinn is a an Aston Villa fan
* Poet Benjamin Zephaniah recently starred in Birmingham based BBC drama Peaky Blinders
* Cricketer Ian Bell is an Aston Villa fanatic
* Aston Villa are the team of choice for Chris Woakes
* Katherine Merry is a big Villa fan
* Hockey legend Jane Sixsmith is reported to be a Villa fan
* Floella Benjamin is a Children's TV legend. The internet also claims she is an Aston Villa fan
* Members of Ocean Colour Scene are fans
* Justin Rose is pictured here chatting to Gerard Butler (left) at Wimbledon. Again, rumours on the net say he is a Villa fan. Rose, not Butler. He also seems to support Chelsea. Which we can't have.
* The claret and blue force is strong with Star Wars actor Domhnall Gleeson
* Phil Etheridge from The Twang is a fan
* Ritchie Neville (right) performing at the V Festival with 5ive. Yes, another musical Villa fan.
* DJ and music producer Nathan Dawe is a huge fan
* Line Of Duty's 'H' actor Nigel Boyle is a well known supporter
* Comedian and presenter Adil Ray can often be seen tweeting about the claret and blue
* TV presenter Emma Willis pictured wearing a Villa shirt
* Actor Arthur Darvill has seen plenty of drama at Villa Park
* Dallas Cowboys NFL star Dan Bailey is a very keen Villa follower
* Wrestler Dolph Ziggler (pictured centre), whose real name is Nicholas Nemeth, has confessed to being a Villa fan
* Bob Stephenson, star of Fight Club, Seven and Con Air is an Aston Villa supporting actor in the States (Picture taken from Bob's Twitter account)
* The unmistakeable voice of Redd Pepper can also be heard hollering support for Villa
* Paralympian Dan Greaves is an avid supporter
* Call The Midwife favourite Helen George once dreamed of being a football manager, thanks to her Aston Villa obsessed dad
