lynne

Villans Only one Villa team have broken the glass ceiling in our European history, we know their names, immortal in the history of our great club. Many of us have tried and failed to to bring a magical European trophy back to Villa Park. I remember that night against Atletico Madrid, glorious failure on the night. I've never heard Villa Park so loud. The Holte lead the way, and young Villans in K3, K4, K5, you have the chance to do something special and louder. You can and you must. Make this grand old stadium stand for 90 minutes and never relent for one damn second. But the Holte End is one fourth of the jigsaw. Trinity. We need you. North. We need you. Witton (sorry Doug). We need you. Bayern Munich. Beaten. PSG. Beaten. Atletico Madrid. Beaten. Anderlecht. Beaten. Athletic Bilbao. Beaten. Barcelona. Beaten. Inter Milan. Beaten. Ajax. Beaten. Celtic. Beaten. A handful of clubs have those scalps. The special sauce in every win? You, Villans. YOU. Every one of those wins, the noise rivaled anywhere at any time. We face admirable foe and a special football club that I know very well. A club who believed in miracles and miracles came true for them. Our players need our voices, our songs, our heart and soul on Thursday. Every stand. Every Villan, old or young. Remember when you walked into Villa Park for the first time? The joy, the tears, the pride, holding the hand of your Mom or Dad or excitedly shephereded in by your big brother or sister or best mate? Let the memory of them be your guide tomorrow night. Sing for Spinksy, Birchy, Alan McInally, for Gary Shaw, for Brian Little, for Paul McGrath and for John McGinn. To the players and staff, we know how good you are, and we ALL want you to walk into the pantheon of greats that adorn our halls. As someone once said.. "The lows just make the highs higher. We are at the heart of English football, we have a majestic name, a decorated past, we serve as a shining light among our peers, we are Aston Villa ". I believe. We believe. Villa believes. UP THE FUCKING EUROPEAN VILLA!!!!

To say it's upsetting to find out Gordon Cowans, our "Sid" at Villa, is now in a nursing home as his dementia takes hold, is an understatement and I'm sure upsetting to everyone in the Villa family. As a footballer, he was one of my true heroes, a majestic ball playing midfielder who was criminally underused for England but who drove us to become Champions of England and Europe. Quiet, no fuss, just oozing class and composure always. As a coach at Villa, he was the only one on the coaching staff who didn't judge my mental health issues at a time when others, who should have known better, did. A quiet word here, a chat there, a "well done big man" when I was at my loneliest and weakest showed me the man he is. I saw Sid a few weeks ago at Villa Park, and although it was obvious dementia was taking an ever increasing hold, he still chatted, still instinctively knew his role amongst supporters as an icon, signing autographs and having photos, a lesson to every pro footballer today. If he can, you can. Sid, you're my hero, yesterday, today, tomorrow and for as long as I have breath in my body. You are the very best of the sport we love, the club you represented and still represent with so much grace, and the family and friends who will be by your side. From me and mine, thank you for everything you gave a wide eyed 11 year old, thank you for the words as I lived a nightmare wrapped in a dream come true, and how you epitomise why Aston Villa Football Club is the special place that it is. To Sid's family, sending you much love and wish you the greatest strength at this difficult time. We're Aston Villa, a glorious name, a magnificent history and a bright future ahead. All made possible by men like Gordon Sidney Cowans. "All of my heroes are Villans". Keep fighting, Sid. #UTV 💜💙