The one where Nick Robinson was turned away by security: A 2011 Birmingham Lib Dem Conference Review

I've been away for a week in Birmingham at the annual autumn Liberal Democrat party conference. Having not had a foreign holiday this year (for the first time since 2004), this was a welcome opportunity to stretch the legs even if the distance to the middle of the country didn't match that of my furthest trip away to Thailand back in 2008. Unlike last year, I decided to keep my laptop at home this time and to blog about it on my return. With it being my 35th party conference over the past 9 years (if my memory serves me correctly), I have much to be able to compare it too.

A Lib Dem conference perspective from Northern Ireland by Stephen Glenn can be read here and likewise another view from Sheffield boy Anders Hanson can be read here. For a Scotitish flavour, Caron had all angles covered. This meanwhile is my distinctively Welsh flavoured perspective on proceedings.

Another 5 days of amusing anecdotes came to a particularly surreal conclusion before my early departure on Wednesday morning. For personal reasons I changed my plans at the last minute and decided to leave for home early which meant missing Kirsty Williams' speech as Welsh Liberal Democrat leader and that of Nick Clegg who closed the conference. Instead, my last action of the week was a set of Radio Cymru and Radio Wales interviews in the ICC. I arrived a few minutes early at 7.55am, only to be told by the police that the security scanners would not be operational until 8am. This would prove tricky as I was expected on air after 8am and would have to walk right around the back of the ICC to the media entrance to gain entry entry in time. As it so happens, seconds later up came Nick Robinson the BBC's political editor seeking entry for a similar reason. I expected to see the police wave him through due to his 'importance' but I must admit to being rather pleased to see him being given the same treatment that I had just been subjected too. With an audible huff, he briskly made his way around the longer 5 minute alternative route around the building and I duly followed him. We both got to our destinations at 8am but it must be said that he did so quicker than I did - I've been known to walk quickly but Nick Robinson outpaced me at an impressive rate!

On arriving back at my hotel to pack for my departure, I was met at the entrance waiting for his taxi, by the immense presence of our Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael. I've only come to know Alistair well over recent months but in that time I've become a big fan and it was a nice way to end conference to see him greet me as I crossed the road towards him.

These events ended what had been another exhausting conference week.

The Policy
It must be said that the mood was one of a party in robust and quietly determined form. From the sheer bemusement of Liverpool 2010 when all walked around in a state of incredulity that the liberals were in government, here now was a party that was much more at ease and settled with itself and understood its role as a responsible party of Government.

No real dramas, no real nasty surprises, no real rebellions with which the media pack could get their teeth into. No, this was a week when the party exerted its controlled opinions on issues of importance such as the NHS reforms whilst acknowledging that we do so now from a position of strength in government and not a position of forlorn hopelessness on the opposition benches.

Things aren't going to be easy, but governing in the national interest is the right thing to do - the simple and unavoidable message from all at the Birmingham 2011 conference.

The Football
Away from the speeches and policy debates, it was a busy time to catch-up with old friends and to meet new ones. I also took the unique opportunity of a Lib Dem conference in Birmingham to make my first visit to the mecca that is Villa Park for some 7 or 8 years. Ironically, it was against the same Newcastle opposition that I saw at my first ever match at Villa Park with my father back some 16 years ago back in 1995 when Kevin Keegan's men were atop the Premiership table. With added irony, the 1-1 draw scoreline from that match was replicated last Saturday. It could've been better yet it could've been worse so on balance, I'll take a point.

The Fringes
The now traditional Roger Williams MP led RSPCA curry and beer night fringe was again well attended and quite bizzarely, our table which was headed up by both Roger and Mark Williams MP, won the quiz! That was followed by a very enjoyable 'Welsh Night' in which our hosts All Bar One had to put up with what I felt was a rousing rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau by Ollie Dunckley, Chris Took and I - it duly won us a deserved round of applause!

My favourite fringes of the week had to be at the Guardian when an irritable James Landale from the BBC rightly provoked the ire of Paddy Ashdown and Lynne Featherstone who responded with no mercy but with great applause from the assembled throng. Also the Lib Dem History Group's launch of its new history on British liberalism in the company of Shirely Williams and once more, our Paddy.

My Aberystwyth Student Lib Dem Children
It was great to catch up with so many friends from over the years and many of them hailed from earlier times as a student in Aberystwyth University. Indeed this autumn marks the 10th anniversary of the incarnation of the current Liberal Democrat student society in the University as started by Andrew Falconer and Stuart Garlick and which I tentatively got involved in at that time. Over the past decade I have seen students come and students go. Some have moved on to higher things in the party whilst others have remained close friends whilst making a career outside of politics.

I caught up with many of them this past week and helped introduce many from our current intake to the weird but wonderful world of the Liberal Democrat conference. I must admit that as the 'Elder Statesman' of the group, I take a great paternalistic pride at seeing what at once were quiet but keen members grow to become positive, committed and enthusiastic members of the party but more importantly than that, to be good liberals. If my attempt at support and encouragement has helped them in their development as good human beings in any way over the past decade, then I am immensly proud to have played my part.

The Finale - Glee Club
It was particularly pleasing to be able to introduce at least 4 of our students to the almost indescribable event that is Glee Club (although Caron gives a good account of it here). Anyone who knows me within these circles will testify that I am not a Glee Club apologist. I adore it and its crazy, self-depracating ways and I will shout it loud and proud to anyone who will listen.

It really is like Marmite is Glee Club - you'll love it and come back for more each time or you'll never touch it with a 10 foot barge pole for as long as you live. I'm glad to report that my students unsurprisingly fell into the former category with myself. As Caron said in her piece, the comic singing interspersed with patriotic renditions (I led Glee Club in Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and Cwn Rhondda!) and comedy turns from prominent Members of Parliament makes it an uniquely surreal experience for any first-timer. I also took slightly less clear photos of Paddy Ashdown (it's that man again!) whilst doing his (in) famous joke and also Party President Tim Farron whilst leading his rousing version of the Ting Ting's That's Not My Name which though only in its 3rd year is already becoming a cult classic!

Paddy Ashdown, one more time...
But I was destined to bump into our Paddy just one more time before I left. Whilst waiting for my interview for Radio Cymru on Wednesday morning, Paddy came down beside me to do an interview with Radio Wales. His with Ollie Hides began and Betsan Powys the BBC Wales Political Editor did all she could to stall the Welsh interview with me until the one being broadcast live a foot away from us came to an end. But time run out and we had to begin our Welsh interview despite the live 'interference' from the English interview alongside us! It's the first and probably the last time that I'll find myself going up against Paddy Ashdown!

So, the curtain came down on another conference. It was sad to leave because as I now rarely visit the spring weekend Federal conferences, this is often the only time of the year when I get to catch up with my extended British Liberal Democrat family in full. But at the same time, it is exhausting and I was more than ready to go home knowing that I had yet more anecdotes and stories to tell to the next generation of Liberal Democrat activists.

I'm ready for the Lib Dem conference, but is the Lib Dem conference ready for me?

The shambolic preparations for the 2011 Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham continues.

With just 10 days to go, scores of members are still awaiting to be given their accreditation to attend. Many have already paid for their travel and accommodation but are currently in limbo. Others meanwhile have delayed the booking of such until they've got confirmation that they can attend which means they'll have to pay more for last minute accommodation and transport once the clearance has finally been given (if it is in fact given).

10 days to go and still not knowing what is happening? Taking away the issue of the principle at stake which is a seperate matter, the process that is currently dealing with delegates' registrations is proving cumbersome and unfit for purpose. It's madness. Pure and simple.

Proper Planning Prevents...
I had my accreditation e-mail last month and as a result have been able to confirm my arrangements.

I booked my hotel room at the Etap on a good recommendation from York's Nick Love a few months ago and I booked my train tickets last week. This for me is rather unheard of - even whilst everything else has fallen into place the weeks running up to a conference, I've never planned my transport so far in advance. But my very reasonably £29 priced return train tickets arrived in the post yesterday.

Ready for a trip to my Nirvana - Villa Park

I've also gone a step forward and taking the opportunity to buy myself two tickets for the Aston Villa Vs Newcastle match on the Saturday afternoon having not been to Villa Park for some 7 or 8 years. At a bargain £40 deal for both tickets, I'll be delighted to lap up the atmosphere of the Hotle End. The tickets likewise landed on my doormat this morning.

So I am ready for conference. But is conference ready for me? Clearly not. Because whilst I've been accredited (for which I suppose I should be thankful) and have received my first conference pack as I commented with some excitment at the time here, I am still waiting for my conference pass to arrive in the post along with the second conference pack. This is rather frustrating. Normally, both packs will have been posted out by the end of August but here I am with barely a week to go before my train leaves Aberystwyth and I'm still unable to plan the detail of my week because that second pack with information on conference fringe events and training opportunites is still lost somewhere in the ether.

Yes, I'm aware that this information is on-line but I'm a conference traditionalist. Just like with the Xmas edition of the Radio Times, I want the hard copy on my lap so I can circle all of those fringes and policy debates that I want to attend. I want to see the fringe clashes in black and white and have to work through which ones I'll attend and which ones I'll have to miss.

But I can't do that yet and that's frustrating.

For once, I'm completely ready for conference except, that conference isn't ready for me.

David Cameron: An Aston Villa fan?! Oh me of dear oh my.

Well apparently it was a relatively well known fact but not until today did I realise that Prime Minister David Cameron is, like me, an Aston Villa fan.

I must admit, it doesn't really fill me with pride!

This Birmingham Mail article shows this photo of the PM jogging through Hyde Park wearing an Aston Villa shirt.

I was not aware, but his Villa credentials are actually quite pukka. His Uncle was a former Chairman of the club and he first attended a match aged 13. My first Villa Park appearance in the autumn of 1995 was also at age 13 which is greatly disconcerting!

Famous Villains
He is one of a number of well known famous fans. I knew that Prince William was a fan and also world-known violinist Nigel Kennedy. Also, Pike from Dad's Army , played by Ian Lavender, was a fan and wore the Claret and Blue scarf in the series. I was stunned recently when Tom Hanks admitted in an interview to being a fan as well. As he put it:

"Years ago I was in London and I was watching a football match and it happened to be Aston Villa.

"I thought: 'I like their colours and I like the name so I'm gonna be an Aston Villa man from now on'".

Being a big Tom Hanks fan, I thought this was brilliant! Suddenly, I felt I was in good company!

But like with Cameron, I wasn't aware that the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King is also a fan as is Grammy-Award winning singer Amy Winehouse.

So maybe I'm not in such good company after all?!

17 Days in June - A Villa Park Farce

It has been an absolute shambles.

Ever since the men in command at Villa Park made the not unreasonable decision to relinquish Houllier of his position due to his ill health, they have presided over a comedy of errors which has resulted in probably the most extraordinary managerial appointment in the club's history.

When Houllier was let go with a severance pay on June 1st, little could anyone have guessed that his replacement, some 17 days later would be the manager of second city rivals Birmingham City, Alex McLeish.

The Candidates

There was talk of former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti being linked to the post but his severance conditions with Chelsea ruled him out from managing a Premier League club for 12 months.

There was talk of David Moyes and he was my favourite as I blogged here at the time. But nothing came of that.



Who'd have guessed it?
Alex McLeish - Manager of Aston Villa



The early money was certainly on Mark Hughes who resigned his post as manager of Fulham very suddenly although apparently as far as he was concerned, the timing was merely coincidental. Had the Villa Park suits been talking to him before hand and tempted him away from Craven Cottage with the nugget of the hot seat with the Villains? It's quite possible but after the bad press that he got after he resigned at Fulham, they seemingly went cold on him. As I said in my blog post then, though he was no David Moyes, he wouldn't have been a bad choice. He is however still available but has been passed over and it would not be wholly inconceivable to find him in the hot seat in St Andrews next season.

Then there was Steve McLaren - apparently the least wanted manager in the running amongst the Claret and Blue faithful. Indeed, having booked an appointment to meet with him to discuss the vacancy, the Villa Park suits then cancelled the appointment when it became clear on-line and in the footballing chat rooms that he was not a welcome choice amongst the fans.

So then we had Roberto Martinez in the frame which I must admit really surprised me. But he then amazed everyone by turning down the role to stay at Wigan Athletic. He's been called principled and a man of integrity as a result of his decision to stay up north but just ask any Swansea City fan whether they feel that Martinez is a man of principle and integrity and they'll give you a different answer...but that's a different story.

With Rafa Benitez another name out of the frame, the whole situation began to turn Villa into a laughing stock and then, suddenly, Alex McLeish walked out on a shell shocked Birmingham City and the comedy of errors began to turn into a farce. Despite apparently listening to the fans furore against Steve McLaren, club owner Randy Lerner and Chief Executive Paul Faulkner clearly decided to ignore the even greater agitation, days later from the faithful, at the possibility of McLeish at the helm.

Alex McLeish - Sinner or Saviour?

No Villa fan, and certainly not this one, could have envisaged barely a fortnight ago when all of the names above were being bandied about that the man who would be given the top job at Villa Park would be Alex McLeish.

This isn't to take away from what is a decent record. Having played in over 500 matches for Aberdeen and won 77 Scottish caps, he began his managerial career with Motherwell and Hibernian before he led Rangers to the domestic treble in 2003 and a total of 2 league championships and 5 cup victories in 5 years. He then became manager of the Scottish national side and in a group comprising of France and Italy, only narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2008 European Championships.

He then moved to Birmingham in late 2007 and in the past 4 years has seen them relegated, promoted, win their first major trophy in 47 years and relegated again. He did well at Birmingham and yet, he still has those 2 relegations on his footballing CV and whilst he did well with Rangers, it isn't exactly the most competitive of footballing leagues is it?

Words to the Wise
It's the the former Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor, who led the team on two seperate occasions who for me has summed it all up. He said:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"It just doesn't appear to have been thought through and for the first time the ownership of the club is coming under severe criticism.

"When Gerard became ill it must have occurred to them that he may not come back, even if the signs were that he may have returned.

"This is not being disrespectful to Gerard in any way, but once he became unwell then you have to immediately start exploring what you might do if he does not come back.

"It doesn't appear to me and many others that this has been done. They seem to be going from name to name.

"Villa don't seem to have grasped that nettle at all. It is disappointing. I still live in the area and have a special feeling for them as you always do about clubs you have managed, but I have been surprised and disappointed at their handling of this."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Club owner Randy Lerner has been seen to be one of the more astute and learned of the foreign Premier League owners brigade and has not put many a foot out of place since he took over from 'Deadly' Doug Ellis. However, both he and the Chief Executive Paul Faulkner must be found to be culpable for what has been a woeful passge of time in the club's history.
 
Time will tell if this is the big mistake that many believe it to be.
 
Where for art thou Martin O'Neill?
It's not that I question McLeish's managerial credentials for he has many. But is he of the calibre and stature in the game to take Villa up the league table? I very much doubt it.
 
I worry because we are losing senior, top quality players from the team and we need a big name manager to bring in the replacements necessary.
 
The moment that Villa gave up any pretence of being a top 6 club fighting to break into the top 4 for mewas when Martin O'Neill walked out of Villa Park last August. I can remember the shock and delight that I felt when I heard on my Orange Mobile internet whilst on the bus going through Aberporth that he'd taken the job at Villa Park. One of the best managers in the country was coming to the Villa! He took us to new levels of performance and we were on the edges of the top 4 with class youngsters being brought up through the ranks. With a Wembley Cup Final to his credit as well, it was an exciting time to be a Villain again.
 
But suddenly, whilst on holiday in Prague last summer, my footballing world fell apart as I read the news on our hotel computer, that because of differences with the Board, O'Neill had left the club. I knew then that it would be a tough season ahead and indeed for a period, we were even in the relegation zone.
 
With top players leaving for what they feel are bigger clubs with greater potential, it is an ominous marker for the season ahead.
 
It's going to be a very bumpy year ahead I feel and with McLeish at the helm, anything's possible.

But am I hopeful? Absolutely not.

Sparky for Villa? No - give me David Moyes

So, with Gerard Houllier only days out of a job at Villa Park, it looks as if his replacement may already be assured.

Houllier was relived of his position on Wednesday due to his poor health and whilst I have blogged in the past of my lack of enthusiasm for his selection as manager last autumn, I wish him the best for his future. He is a good man and has proved himself in his career to be a fine manager but I never felt that he was the right man for the moment in the Villa Park hotseat.

But barely 24 hours after the announcement was made, we heard yesterday that Mark Hughes has resigned as manager of Fulham after only a (successful) season in charge.

Hughes for Villa?
Now there are many names being linked to the Villa job and one that I would like to be seriously considered would be Everton's David Moyes. He for me is my number one at present.

But what of Mark Hughes' sudden decision to leave Craven Cottage? It may not be linked to the Villa vacancy but if not, then it's one hell of a coincidence. I personally have much time for Mark Hughes as a manager. Despite the poor tactical nouse that he showed in Wales' European Championship qualifying play-off second-leg against Russia in 2003, the fact that he got Wales there in the first place had to be to his credit. He was a good manager with Blackburn Rovers and I also felt that he was incredibly hard done by at Manchester City and having stepped into Roy Hodgson's huge shoes at Craven Cottage, he did well this season.

But is this action going to work against him? Many in the know think that it might. Only time will tell.

Personally, as much as I like Mark Hughes and whilst I think he would make a decent manager at the Villa, I want the man that despite having had short pickings, has worked little miracles at Goodison Park over the past decade.

David Moyes needs a bigger club to play with which has more resources (just). That club David, is Aston Villa.

Wishing Gerard Houllier a Good Friday

I was shocked to to hear that Gerard Houllier, Aston Villa's manager has been taken to hospital.

Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier

Houllier of course it is well remembered, underwent an operation on his heart whilst manager of Liverpool a decade or so ago but on being offered the hot seat at Villa Park earlier this season, was given the all-clear to take on this demanding and pressuried role.

He's had a tough baptism in the Midlands as the Villa have struggled to gain any level of consitency and have been floating around the relegation zone for most of that period. Indeed, I mentioned my grave concerns on the situation as a long-suffering Villain in a blog post here some months back. But two wins on the bounce has propelled us into mid-table and a hat-trick of wins at home to Stoke tomorrow should absolutely secure safety.

His fellow managers have wished him a speedy recovery.

Kenny Dalglish, manager of Houllier's former club Liverpool, said: "Your health is more important than anything, so we wish him well and I'm sure he is in the best possible hands."

"Doctor [Mark] Waller is there, who was the club doctor here when Gerard fell ill in 2001, so he's got a good guy beside him and I'm sure the people there will do everything they can to help.

"We won't be morose about it because we don't understand [the nature of Houllier's problem], but we send him our best wishes."

Stoke's Tony Pulis said: "Everyone in football will wish Gerard a swift recovery, we hope he is well and I am sure they will be looking after him.

"We have some fantastic medical people in this country and I am sure he will get well looked after.

"Irrespective of what medical care you get, nothing stops you from getting excited on the touchline or carrying the pressure on your shoulders if things aren't going too well. Pressure is part of the job, you get used to it."

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini also had kind words for Houllier.

"It is not easy because, when you are under pressure, you can have some problems. But I hope Gerard comes out of hospital very quickly because he is a big person, a big manager.

"He is my friend and I hope he can be on the bench in the next game."

Fulham boss Mark Hughes added: "Our thoughts are with Gerard and his family. It's a worrying time for them and his club because he's the figurehead.

"We hope its nothing too serious."

Houllier's assistant Gary McAllister took Thursday's training session and will take charge of the squad for Saturday's game at Villa Park.

But today my thoughts are with Houllier. Whilst he may not have been my first choice as Villa's manager, the truth of the matter is that Martin O'Neill was always going to be a tough act to follow, no matter who it was that stepped into his shoes.

He is said to be in a stable condition and will remain in hospital for some days.

On this Good Friday, I wish Gerard well in his recovery and hope to see him back in the dugout before the end of the season.

Aston Villa - Relegation Contenders?

Back in September I wrote here about my love of Aston Villa and how I will always be a Villain. I was doing so on the appointment of Gerard Houllier as the new manager at Villa Park.

Now, at the end of that blog post, I happened to mention my pessimism for the season ahead with the loss of Martin O'Neill at the helm. I happened to conclude by saying that whatever happens, be it Champions League qualification, mid-season obscurity or relegation, I would still be a Claret & Blue come what may.

Relegation Zone
Well, I could surely not have truly realised on writing that final throw away remark at the time that in just 4 months time, I would find myself looking at the league table with my beloved Villa in the bottom 3.

But waking up this morning, I'm afraid that's exactly what I've seen. For the first time since 2002, for 9 whole years, Villa are in the relegation zone. The 1-0 defeat to Sunderland last night coupled with other results going against us has seen us slump to this new low.

It really has been a horrid season to date. Despite the batttling 3-3 draw against champions Chelsea last weekend, it can't hide what has been a woeful run of just 5 points scored from the last 27. Besides, it isn't as if Chelsea have been playing championship winning football of late themselves!

What greatly concerns me though isn't just the lack of points in the bag, but also the goal difference. At -15 it is the joint second worst in the league alongside Wigan who are level with us on 21 points and just ahead of West Ham's goal difference of -16 who happen to be bottom on 20 points.

So, in all honesty, Villa deserve to be exactly where they are.

It goes without saying that this petrifies me! Whether they're burned out or not from an exhausting winter schedule, it's been no less demanding for the majority of the other teams in the Premiership (apart from Blackpool who haven't played since 1994 because of their frozen pitch).

Houllier has not galvanised the team in the way that his predecessor did but he will really need to now for the games ahead. Our next match is the big derby away to Birmingham - they're going to love that! That will be followed by games against both Manchester City and United with a 'relegation six-pointer' against Wigan thrown in between.

I'm really really keen to see my beloved Villa play Swansea and Cardiff next year. But I want that to happen in the Premiership and not the Championship.

Are Villa too good a team to go down? We should be, but we're not. We are where we are because we've been playing like relegation contenders.

Sort it out Villa for crying out loud.

I will always be a Villain

So, Aston Villa have a new manager. To be precise, their 24th manager and only the second (we don't mention Jozef Venglos's name if we can avoid it) in the club's history to come from outside of the UK and Ireland.

I say 'their' when of course what I mean is 'our'.

For I have have been a long-suffering 'Villain' since September 1st 1992. Why so precise a date? Because (and I whisper this very quietely), until then, I was a *cough splutter* Liverpool fan.

It goes without saying that I knew nothing of football at the time. Indeed, I was merely a 9 year old when I recall Liverpool beating Sunderland 2-0 to win the FA Cup final that year. The reason I supported Liverpool? Well, not un-understandably it was because two of their top players, Ian Rush and Dean Saunders, were Welsh.

For some reason though, I made what could arguably be said was the best or worst decision of my life on that fateful September day when 'Deano' moved to Villa Park - I switched allegiances and moved with him.

Ron Atkinson & the Class of '92/'93

It was coincidental, but it was a significant moment in the history of Aston Villa and in the history of British football that I had just inadvertantly stepped into.

It was the start of a new enterprise. A new era. It was the dawning of the Premier League and as a school boy entering his final year in primary school, it was exciting times entering what was in both cases, unchartered territory.

What a year we had! My first as a proper football fan is still one of the best that I've been blessed to have witnessed these past 18 years. The Saunders/Dalian Atkinson strike partnership was insatiable. We had Daley, Teale, Staunton, Houghton, Bosnich and of course, Paul McGrath.

As the song went, "Who needs Cantona, when we've got Paul McGrath".

In the end we fell short and came second behind a team that would go on win another 10 Premiership titles to date.

Wembley Wins

We followed this up with League Cup wins in 1994 and 1996. The first was a particular delight as we beat Tranmere Rovers in an electric 2-legged semi-final on penalties after a 4-4 aggregate draw before stopping Manchester United in their tracks from becoming the first team to win the 'domestic' treble. No team still has. We beat them 3-1 with a Dean Saunders penalty late on the nail in their coffin.

We returned, with a new manager Brian Little to win again in 1996 against Leeds United 3-0. Savo
Milosevic was with us and scoring goals by then.

14 years and counting of waiting...

Since then, we've not won any major honours. We've had a 2000 FA Cup Final and a 2010 League Cup Final appearance to our name but that's it. We've shown signs of improvement but then have then invariably fallen back down.

I've been to Villa Park 3 times. I've seen us beat Charlton, draw against Newcastle and lose to Arsenal. I've also seen Villa play twice at Old Trafford (from within the ranks of home fans - that's an experience and a half I can tell you) - securing a league draw and falling to a last minute FA Cup 3rd Round defeat.

Houllier the Saviour?

So, we turn now to our new manager, Gerard Houllier. Good luck to him. He's a good, solid manager with a winning past at Liverpool and at Lyon. He's no slouch and I certainly prefer him to a Bob Bradley or a Gareth Southgate at the helm.

But he's no Martin O'Neill either and having been utterly amazed and delighted when he took the Villa job 3 years ago, I was equally gutted when I heard in Prague on my hoildays last month, that he had resigned.

Houllier has a very tought act to follow and of course a lot to live up too at a club that is one of the marque's of British Football.

A Pedigree of which to be Proud

Though the recent years have been relatively fallow ones for the Villa, the pedigree is there and the fans expect. This is a team with 7 Leagues titles and 7 FA Cups to its name. An original member of the Football League in 1888 and one of the few to have completed the 'Double', Villa went on in the year of my birth, 1982, to do what only Liverpool, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Celtic have done - to win the European Cup.

So Gerard, no pressure then!

The Eternal Pessimist

Since Martin O'Neill left I've cast any hopes of a successful season to the realms of fantasy. Fighting for the a Champions League place? Don't be silly! This way, if Villa do underachieve then I can just shrug my shoulders in the same way that I have down the years and say, 'never mind there's always next year'.

Perhaps Houllier can do better than that and of course I hope he will and he has my full backing.

But whatever happens, there's one thing that I can guarantee. Whether we win the title, qualify for the Champions League, finish in mid-table obscurity or get relegated, I will still be there this time next year, supporting by boys in Claret and Blue.

Once a Villain, always a Villain