There’s a cauldron bubbling in B6

There’s a certain level of noise that Villa Park can create, where you feel it can’t possibly get any louder.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been going to Villa Park for nearly 20 years and can recall a handful of occasions where it’s been truly deafening; Middlesborough in the 2018 play-off semi final second leg (I missed the West Brom game this year but I’m sure that was just as loud), the UEFA Cup tie vs Ajax in 2008, and a few derbies against Blues. Last night’s electric atmosphere in our 2–0 win over Everton was as good as any of them.

Being under the lights on a warm summer’s evening certainly added to the romance of it. Shirt sleeves always enhance the claret and blue colours around the ground, the grass seemed greener than ever (that might just be me — I’m enjoying our new partnership with Purity ale), and for some reason, even live, everything now looks glossier than it did in the Championship.

With our return to the Premier League, you’ll hear many pundits and opposing fans praise Villa Park for being a traditional ground, “a proper ground”. It’s becoming increasingly rare for a top flight club to have four separate, standalone stands. But while the enclosed, often bowl-shaped, stadiums of the rest of the league no doubt have the acoustic benefit of retaining noise, there’s nothing quite like the reverberation of sound around B6.

When the Trinity Road and Doug Ellis Stand amplify the ever-growing noise from the North Stand and the unrivalled voice of The Holte End as they did last night, the result is spine-tingling.

There was a stoppage in play heading into injury time with the score still at 1–0, where the entire ground was galvanised once more for a final rally. Relentless choruses of ‘Allez Allez Allez’ grew louder and louder with every round. It was the perfect response to a tense situation.

As a fan, singing at the top of your voice is a great way to cope with nerves, 1) because it gives you something to do other than worry, bite your nails or in my dad’s case, bury your head in your hands until it’s all over, and 2) because in that moment, you’re doing everything you possibly can to support your team.

And my word did they respond. The supporters undoubtedly carried their team over the line, once again highlighting the strength of bond between players and fans that Dean Smith and his team have worked so hard to achieve since last October. For a while last night, it felt like our Wembley party had never ended.

Brian Little spoke recently about the power of momentum at Aston Villa, “I have been at this club for a long time now and I have seen three big waves of momentum. The first was 69–70, coming in and seeing the club relegated to the Third Division and 12 years later winning the European Cup… That momentum of a team. I do feel it now, genuinely. I think the supporters feel it too. There is a real togetherness.”

Those words feel particularly apt after last night. We might just be onto something here.

Dave Rule

*@DRule91*