As some of you may be aware, Aston Villa Life are building closer links with the club, and given that I am at Villa Park every week now on business, these are only going to mean bigger and better things for the readers of this site.
As part of this partnership, I wanted to take the time to look back into the history of the club and, as we are in a week where international football will dominate rather than Villa, I figured today was the best time to kick things off.
Memories – Sometimes They Are All We Have
After a relatively barren period in Villa’s history, we have to look back to 1996 to see our last taste of success. In an era synonymous with Oasis, Blur, beer at £1 a pint and, for me at least, memories of being at school, it often seems a world away.
Still, looking back at our successful trip to Wembley in 1996, brings back memories. Back then it was me, my brother and my Dad who would follow Villa, in a time where season tickets were literally just that – ripped from a book – rather than slick electronically read cards like today.
I remember Savo’s goal in particular, what with it showing us a tantalising, if ultimately frustrating, glance at the true potential of Milosevic. Here was a goal that was, in my eyes at least, outstanding, and showed there was a a lot more to Savo than the nickname he picked up at Villa – “Miss-a-lot-evic”.
This was further evidenced by Savo’s return to scoring form after he left us and played in La Liga. Great player, even if his potential never peaked at Villa.
Anyway, without me needing to add anything further as a narrative, I figured the best thing was to show the match itself, so sit back and enjoy.
Moving Forwards
Looking at the past though is only part of what this post is about. The main reason I am bringing up the past is, perhaps ironically, because I want to discuss the future. As regularly readers will know, I am friends with people at the club, and Aston Villa Life will be utilising these relationships in the near future to ensure a better quality of relationship between fans and the club.
One of the projects I am involved with was announced this weekend in the Villa v Wigan match programme – the newly created supporters club. As someone who has close links to the Former Players Association, and who meets with them every week, I have been delighted to be part of this, and I hope it will be as well received as when I was first told about it in the North Stand Suite.
The benefits of this club are multi-faceted. Between stronger connections between fans and the club, the ability to meet some of the people who have made our history so proud, and the chance to play a game of football or golf with some of those guys, there’s a lot on offer.
We’ll be announcing more as our club partnership deepens and more is able to be announced but, rest assured, I am working hard to make Aston Villa Life your personal connection to the club and it’s staff.
So, to the future, and to closer links to our beloved club.
*** EXTRA ***
Here’s an interview with Ken McNaught as an additional bonus:
Could you not make the Villa game and you want to know what the latest score is? At http://www.footballscores.com you will get live football score updates from the premiership and other games being played around the globe!
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