Patrick Ebbutt

What is your name?
Patrick Ebbutt

How old are you?
22

What is your gender?
Male

What do you do for a living?
Student

What is your level of education?
Currently working towards BA in Geography at Leeds

Do you hold any religious beliefs?
No

Do you wish for your entry to be anonymous or under a pseudonym?
No, using my name is fine.

What Stand do you sit in?
Varies on who I’m with. If with mates usually in Holte, if with family then usually on the sides.

How long have you been going to Villa Park?
First game was Villa 7-1 Wimbledon in February 1995

Can you describe some of your favourite goals?
Favourite was probably Gary Cahill vs Blues. What a strike! At the time I thought it was Kevin Phillips… but still brilliant. Other than that probably Hitzlsperger’s against the same opposition a few year before, as I leapt up I gave myself a massive cut down the back of my calf but I didn’t notice until the end of the game. At 2-0 I thought it was ours but.. well we all know what happened.

Can you tell us about your favourite players?
First real hero was Dean Saunders, but Tommy Johnson was a favourite as he’d scored a hattrick by half time in the first game I ever went to. Since then… it’s been more ‘cult heroes’ that I’ve gone for. I was one of the few who loved Peter Crouch, or Crouchaldinho as he came to be known, still have his name on the back of my England shirt. Ulises De La Cruz is my other favourite, always tried so hard, came up with the odd bit of magic but ultimately… he was crap.

What are your favourite Villa-related moments?
Football-wise… Coming back from 2-0 down to beat Arsenal 3-2 was a highlight, the old Trinity Road stand was literally shaking as we chanted “we are top of the league”. As previously mentioned the 3-1 win over Blues was a bit special. But for me, far more important than that, and a moment that makes me incredibly proud to be a Villa fan, is what Villa did for me when I was diagnosed with a serious illness in October 2006. It meant that I couldn’t go to crowded places as my immune system was weak. General Krulak became aware of this, rang me up, and just like that, with plenty of help from the ticket office staff, ensured I saw every home game between then and the end of the season from either my own hospitality box, or when they were sold out, from the players’ box. Can you imagine any other club doing that? I’ve met many a person who’s amazed by that story and believe there’s no chance their club would do it.

What would be your best-ever eleven players (plus 5 subs) and why?
Bosnich Mellberg Southgate Laursen Barry Young Taylor Merson Yorke Saunders Dublin Subs: Carew Carbone Wright Agbonlahor Tommy Johnson

Why are you a Villa fan?
My Dad’s a Villa fan, had a Villa scarf on my cot as a baby, there was never a point where I ‘chose’ to be a Villa fan.

Can you tell us about some important moments in your Villa supporting life and where they were?
Important but depressing… I went to Doncaster on a wet Tuesday night to see us not try and lose 3-0. Losing is bad enough, but not to try. That was the low of my Villa supporting life.

The other major events are basically related to them helping me when I was ill. The most humbling was probably when, on my first time in a hospitality box, they presented me with a shirt signed by the players.

What incidents have you been present at (on/off field)?
Don’t really understand this question.

Can you tell us any interesting/little known fact about yourself in connection with Aston Villa?

What has been your worst ever Villa-related moment?
Weirdly it wasn’t losing 3-0 to Doncaster, it was the equaliser scored by Stern John in the 2-2, I was so gutted that day, it felt worse than a loss

Why do you continue to support the club?
It’s just part of me, it still excites me, it’s a major part of my life, I love Aston Villa Football Club, simple as that.

What changes would you make to any aspect of Aston Villa in order to improve the experience?
Be nice if we won some trophies every now and again!

Is there a defining moment in your life as a Villa fan?
Has to be when Russ Appleton showed me to my own private box and handed over a signed shirt from the team. For one of the few times in my life I was lost for words

What memorable moments can you tell us about?
Think I’ve covered them above.

Are there any family influences?
My Dad’s side of the family are all Villa fans.

Where did you grow up/do you live and has that influenced you?
I grew up in Birmingham, am now a student in Leeds. Living in Birmingham is obviously very useful when being a Villa fan.

What have been the influence of clubs/fans (if any) in those areas?
?

How and why did you come to support Aston Villa?
Surely covered above?

What is your first memory of the club?
Watching us beat Tranmere on TV in the semi final of the 94 League Cup.

What would you do to improve the overall Villa Park experience?
I think it's great as it is

Do you have a Villa-related claim to fame?
No

How do you see the club progressing?
I’d like to think we’ll be in the Champions League within 3 years.

How long have you supported Aston Villa?
About 14 years

Do you ‘follow’ any other clubs?
Cheltenham and Bromsgrove, but not closely

What teams in other sports do you support?
Canterbury Crusaders (Rugby Union), Leeds Rhinos (Rugby League), Yorkshire County Cricket Club

What hobbies and interests do you have outside of supporting Aston Villa?
Playing hockey. Music, play guitar and piano. Poker.

Do you go Home, Away, both or are you an armchair/pub supporter? Why?
When in Birmingham I go to home games, when in Leeds I go to whatever away games I can (usually Manchester), the rest have to be watched on tv.

Is there an established family history following the Villa and what does the future hold?
Yes and as the scarves say, Proud History, Bright Future.

What Villa-related pictures have meaning for you?
The celebrations after the 82 European Cup final still mean a lot to me even though I wasn’t born.

Have you ever been ‘inside’ the ground and if so, what impressed you the most?
I thought the tour was very impressive, always interesting to see behind the scenes. Not sure what impressed me the most really, was all generally impressive.

What are your views on the past, present and future of Aston Villa?
Very proud of our past, we’re one of the biggest football clubs in the world, I’m happy with where we are at the moment and feel we’re moving in the right direction towards an even brighter future.

Do you possess any memorabilia that is particularly special to you and could you explain its meaning?
A shirt signed by the majority of the squad in 2006, its significance is explained above.

Do you have any special emotional attachment to a part of the club?
No

What are the views of your friends and family to your supporting Aston Villa?
They think we’re a good club, the non-Villa fans are mostly quite jealous.

Has supporting Aston Villa affected your lifestyle? If so, how?
Makes me spend a fair amount of time on the internet discussing them I suppose.

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?
Fan

What changes have you seen that are for the better/worse (prices, atmosphere, obscenities, TV, fans etc)?
Not really been around long enough to see major changes.

If you use a pseudonym on the internet, what is the meaning/reason behind the name choice?
It’s just a shortened version of my name.

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