Here in Aston Villa, we have the curious case of a team whose home ground we played at long before we ever actually played them. Well, we should point out that we mean competitive games. The reason? Our 2001-2 FA Trophy run took Boro’ all the way to the final. At the time, however, Wembley Stadium was being de-towered and the FA needed short-term stand-ins. For the FA Trophy, that ended up being Villa Park. More than 20 years later, we would make our return. Not to play Yeovil Town, but the ground’s owners itself; the FA Cup Round Three draw pairing us with the Villains.
Up until that point, our only dealings with the Midlands club came in friendly matches. We can definitely remember the arrival of John Gregory’s side in 1999; the Villa team that day including the likes of Paul Merson and Lee Hendrie. They were very different times, of course. We can’t quite recall if we’d turned fully pro by then. We suspect not. Villa, on the other hand, were starting to wane as a Premier League presence. By the time we met them competitively for the first time, they’d bounced back from the second tier. Us, meanwhile, reached the third – but then settled into the fourth.
Who are they? Well, who aren’t they – arewerite guys? Aston Villa are a team with a legitimate claim to the title of “Best Team in the West Midlands”. If not that large an area, then certainly Birmingham. And we’re sure their fans will put their claim in for the entire Midlands region. Either way, we’re trying to do ’em the deserved honour of recognising their long and rich history in English football. Even if the most recent years have been more a time of consolidation and rebuilding after losing top-flight status for three seasons between 2016 and 2019.
Founded in 1874, the Villains have been around for a fair while. And, for all but 23 years of that stretch, their home efforts have been played out at Villa Park. The club boasts a few notable headlines too. First, only four other clubs from England can claim to be European champions; winning the old European Cup in 1982. It was followed up with European Super Cup success that same year. That said, the only major honours to their name since have come in the League Cup (1994 and 1996). The club’s seven First Division titles and seven FA Cups came before 1982.
In the all-time top flight table, Aston Villa sat in fifth position when we wrote this; holding off the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City – both of whom had a fair amount of ground still to make up on the top five, despite being seventh and sixth respectively. The pair’s cause is not helped by Villa’s return to the Premier Division after a three-year absence in 2019. Under new ownership with a bold ambition to re-establish the club as one of the best around, it would take a significant catastrophe for the Villains to surrender their top flight status again so soon.
Aston Villa: Record vs Boro'
Pl
W
D
L
F
A
GD
Pts*
WR%
Overall
1
1
0
0
2
1
1
0
100%
Home
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0%
Away
1
1
0
0
2
1
1
0
100%
League
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0%
Cup
1
1
0
0
2
1
1
n/a
100%
* league points only
Aston Villa: Result-by-Result (Boro' Scoring First)
How to get to Aston Villa – Travel Information – Distance: 96 miles
By Road
Your fastest route, we say guardedly, is going to be the M1/M6 combination that serves us so well on frequent away days to the Midlands and North West. How you get to the M1, however, is a matter for you and your conscience.
As you approach Birmingham on the M6, you do not want to take the Toll option. Stick with the old route, which will take you into the inner rumblings of what some perceive to be England’s second city. Continue along the M6 ’til you reach the world famous Gravelly Hill Interchange. Yes – we do mean Spaghetti Junction.
Exit the M6 here and follow signs for the A38 (Birmingham); merging you onto the A38(M). Barely one mile later, it’s off the motorway at the Aston and Perry Barr exit. Take the first option at the roundabout (left, B4132) – and then do the same at the next roundabout (left, A5127). Just 0.2 miles later, it’s left again onto Church Lane.
So, you’ve pretty much set yourself on a loop that will take you back under the A38(M) at this point. Church Lane is going to bend round slightly to your right and bring you to a junction. Turn left here into Queens Road (B4137). After half-a-mile along here, you’ll no doubt have noticed the imposing structure that is Villa Park on your left.
It’s highly unlikely you’ll get this far by car. On matchdays, there is an exclusion zone around the ground. You can find out more about that here.
The Aston Villa website isn’t all that prescriptive when it comes to parking options. Local streets are covered by a residents’ permit scheme, so don’t risk the hefty fine there. Instead, your two prominent options are Powerleague
or Aston Social Club.
Powerleague seems to be a 20-minute walk, while Aston Social Club is a little nearer the stadium at 11 minutes. In truth, both options look convenient enough and won’t be a major diversion from the road directions above. Where you turn left at the end of Church Lane, for example, take a right shortly after passing under the A38(M).
By Rail
Station: ASTON or WITTON
Services to: BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET (for LONDON EUSTON)
It’s going to take a couple of connections for you to reach Villa Park by rail. But you’ll have taken more and longer to get to an away day, so a travel time of around three hours doesn’t sound so shabby.
It’s a 16-minute walk from Aston railway station to the stadium. Come out of the station and turn right onto Lichfield Road (A5127). Take the first right hand turn into Grosvenor Road and then swing round to the left onto Queens Road outside the commercial units on the right hand side of the road.
You only then need to follow this road for the remaining distance to the ground.
Witton station is even closer if the rail connections suit. When you emerge from the ground, it’s a five-minute walk and you can’t fail to spot the stadium. Turn left out of the station and follow the road around to the left.
