Dave Parsons

What is your name?
Dave Parsons

How old are you?
27

What is your gender?
Male

What do you do for a living?
Lighting Design Engineer

What is your level of education?
A level Maths and fully qualified lighting engineer.

Do you hold any religious beliefs?
Not really.

Do you wish for your entry to be anonymous or under a pseudonym?
Real full name is ok

What Stand do you sit in?
Holte End Lower

How long have you been going to Villa Park?
Since Feb 1988 – just over 20 years.

Can you describe some of your favourite goals?
Collymore v Athletico Madrid UEFA Cup 1998 – Fantastic goal and gave us (false!) hope that we would progress in UEFA Cup.

Carbone v Leeds FA Cup 2000 – Another great goal in front of the Holte.

Merson v Coventry 2001 – Not just for sending them down (although that was nice!) but just the way the goal sealed the comeback and the atmosphere was electric that day.

Mellberg v Arsenal (a) 2006 – The O’Leary days were gone and we were back. I ended up about 10 rows in front of my seat after the celebration.

Cahill v Blues 2006 – Surely no explanation required !!

Bouma v Newcastle 2008 – Putting money on a player who have never scored to get the first goal in the second half at 66/1 may seem mad but it paid off on this day !!!

Can you tell us about your favourite players?
As a centre forward myself who slipped through the professional footballing net (!) my main heroes have been forwards. McInally (my first hero), Platt who was fantastic for us and I was gutted when he left, Dublin who always put his body on the line and got some important goals and Yorke who always played the game in the right spirit and was a pleasure to watch. It saddens me to hear some of the abuse he gets from Villa fans these days. Ian Taylor will always be a hero as it is so refreshing in todays game to see a local fan come good and of course Paul McGrath who it was an absolute honour to see in a Villa shirt.

What are your favourite Villa-related moments?
The FA Cup run of 2000 especially the semi-final and final. I know these games were bad but it was the first time in a generation that the Villa had done something in the FA Cup. Also the league cup win in 1996 when we were so dominant from start to finish.

What would be your best-ever eleven players (plus 5 subs) and why?
Bosnich – On his day he was the best in the world.
Price – He’s got no hair but we don’t care!
Staunton – Very dependable and got some cracking goals.
McGrath – Quite simply the greatest centre half that I’ve ever seen.
Laursen – When he is fit he is the only defender I’ve seen at the Villa that can rival McGrath. He is that good !
Merson – A class player who we never replaced.
Taylor – Local Hero and never gave less then 100%.
Young – It’s frightening to think how good he can become.
Platt – The first player I saw who became a world star.
Yorke – Fantastic attitude and always seemed to get a goal.
McInally – Every good team needs an old fashioned centre forward and Rambo would fit into this team.

Subs
Spink – Villa legend.
Mellberg – We got some good years out of him and he’ll be missed when he goes to Juventus.
Dublin – A true cult hero and one I always enjoyed watching.
Townsend – A reliable captain who led from the front. He can count himself unlucky he never got into my team.
Barry – Has been a wonderful player for a decade now.

Bosnich

Price McGrath Laursen Staunton

Merson Taylor Young

Platt Yorke McInally

Why are you a Villa fan?
Followed my Dad.

Can you tell us about some important moments in your Villa supporting life and where they were?
Leicester (h) 1988 – My first ever game. League Cup 1996 at Wembley – first cup I saw us win live.
FA Cup Semi Final v Bolton at Wembley – Only time I’ve cried at a football ground.
Bradford (h) in 1988 – I was only 7 and I didn’t understand the significance until years later.
Norwich (h) in 1990 – Again I was too young to fully understand the significance but I just remember everyone being gutted as we blew a 3-1 lead and gave the title to Liverpool.
Coventry (a) 1996 – My first away game.

What incidents have you been present at (on/off field)?
Barry’s debut at Hillsborough 1998. League Cup Final 1996 FA Cup Final 2000

Can you tell us any interesting/little known fact about yourself in connection with Aston Villa?
My Great-Great Uncle on my Mom’s side was licensee of the Holte Pub in the 1920’s.

What has been your worst ever Villa-related moment?
Bolton in the League Cup semi in 2004. I was convinced that we’d win not only the game but the cup. A 5-2 defeat was shocking. Also the first Blues – Villa game when they came up in 2002. The Enkleman one. Say no more.

Why do you continue to support the club?
It’s a honour to. I feel lucky to support the Villa. Local team. Knowledge that we will get bigger and better.

What changes would you make to any aspect of Aston Villa in order to improve the experience?
This question would have been easier to answer a few years ago but since the new board came in then all the “little” things are being done. Cheapish tickets therefore fuller grounds and more optimistic fans. If anything it’ll be nice to see a team that seriously challenges in the league or cup for honours both domestically and in Europe.

Is there a defining moment in your life as a Villa fan?
My first season ticket in 1995. I’d gone to the odd game before then but I’ve never looked back after getting this.

What memorable moments can you tell us about?
Dublin pre season in 2003. My first abroad trip. Also the day when we sent Coventry down as the game was fantastic in itself but I went to the player of the year award afterwards so that was a great day. The European Cup weekend last season when we went to the forum with the players and then the Sheffield Utd game the day after with the free scarves. That when we all realised how good we can be on and off the pitch.

Are there any family influences?
Mom and Dad.

Where did you grow up/do you live and has that influenced you?
Redditch. Not really any influence.

What have been the influence of clubs/fans (if any) in those areas?
None

How and why did you come to support Aston Villa? Dad taught me well. Took me down and I was hooked.

What is your first memory of the club?
Oddly the league cup semi in 1986 v Oxford. We lost !! I remember reinacting John Aldridge’s goal with the commentary “Sweetly Done”.

Do you have a Villa-related claim to fame?
Not that I can think of.

How do you see the club progressing?
Bigger and better. A few spills along the way but we have all the components to be a force in England.

How long have you supported Aston Villa? All my life. First game 20 years ago.

Do you ‘follow’ any other clubs?
Hull because my wife’s family are from there.

What teams in other sports do you support?
Warwickshire in cricket.

What hobbies and interests do you have outside of supporting Aston Villa?
Playing football, music, family life.

Do you go Home, Away, both or are you an armchair/pub supporter? Why?
All home, some away.

Is there an established family history following the Villa and what does the future hold?
Yes and no other team for my kids !

Have you ever been ‘inside’ the ground and if so, what impressed you the most?
The walk from the changing room to the pitch. One can only imagine what that would be like at 2:55pm on a Saturday.

What are your views on the past, present and future of Aston Villa?
Past – Rich history. Major player in England.
Present – A bit stagnant but always respected.
Future – A club with the resources and fanbase to compete at the highest level.

Do you possess any memorabilia that is particularly special to you and could you explain its meaning?
1957 cup final programme – original. Also have a programme for every Villa game I’ve ever been to.

What are the views of your friends and family to your supporting Aston Villa?
Most of my family are Villa. My best mate and best man at my wedding is a bluenose so we have banter but never anything malicious.

Has supporting Aston Villa affected your lifestyle? If so, how?
Going to the ground every other week dictates what we can and cannot do at the weekend.

Have you ever supported/followed another club? If so, what made you change your allegiance?
No.

Do you feel that away games are for the fan or the family?
Shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. Surely if the family go they are fans.

What changes have you seen that are for the better/worse (prices, atmosphere, obscenities, TV, fans etc)?
SKY is a double edged sword in that they mess fans about with kick off times at a moments notice but their money has meant the Premier League is one of the best, if not the best, league in the world.

The way the rich get richer mean that I doubt we’ll see a team outside the top 3 (and I even discount Liverpool for the time being) even coming close to winning the league for some time.

For Villa in particular, I think the way the new board have looked after us has meant the whole matchday experience is a lot better. Every generation of fan seems to be a lot happier.

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