Villa Park, home of Aston Villa FC
I've never been there for a league game...just two FA Cup semi finals and a game that I have since regretted not going to, even though I never knew about it at the time....that just sounds plain daft doesn't it?
There are two stations close by to Villa Park, Aston and Witton stations. From Birmingham New Street station Aston station is about a 15 minute walk and Witton (also accessible from Birmingham New Street) is only a 5 minute walk away.
The regrettable game that I never went to at Villa Park was the FA Vase final of 1991 involving my current favourite little club Berkhamsted...they were known as Berkhamsted Town then and they had actually reached the final of a major club competition...and I didn't know enough about them at the time....otherwise I would have gone....ah well...I'll just have to wait for the next time Berko reach the FA Vase...but next time it'll be at Wembley.
Anyway, enough dreaming, back to reality....
The first time I went to Villa Park was in April 1984....Watford were playing Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup semi final. The draw was kind to Watford as Everton played Southampton in the other semi, Plymouth were struggling in the old third division in those days and had done brilliantly to reach the semi final.
So while Watford were actually the favourites the only people who wanted Watford to win were Watfordians...for once they were the big club and not the giant-killers!
I went with my friend Phil, he wasn't a Watford fan but I was glad of the company anyway!
There was traffic galore on the M6, so our coach didn't get to the ground until about 2.30, we didn't know at the time that the team coach didn't arrive until the same time as they were stuck in the same traffic!
There was no chance of us getting near the front so we had to just get where we could.
We were halfway up the Holte End stand and couldn't see a thing....in the whole of the match the only thing I vaguely saw was in the 13th minute, I didn't see the run by John Barnes but I saw George Reilly stooping down to head the ball and that was it.....pandemonium in the stand!!!
If you fell over in that crowd you would have been crushed...although me and my friend were laughing and celebrating we were also helping each other to stay on our feet!
Later on during the game we made our way down towards the front to try and get to see some of the match and get a better and less crushed view if possible. It was near the end of the game but still only 1-0....someone from outside the ground then threw a brick over the wall and it hit someone behind us.
Then the whistle blew....Watford had made it to the FA Cup final for the first time ever, I didn't see the actual match until I saw it on TV later that night!
I vowed that next time Watford got to the semi final that I would see all of it.
In a way I wished I didn't!!!
Three years later and Watford were back in the semi's of the FA Cup...and back at Villa Park to boot!
This time though the opponents were Tottenham Hotspur.
 
Tottenham were clearly the favourites due to their previous cup record...and I don't mean Chas n' Dave's "Spurs are on the way to Wembley" either.
But Spurs had always won the cup when there was a 1 in the year ('61, '81 etc..)...however this was 1987!!!
But then Watford had a goalkeeping crisis....Watford goalkeeper Tony Coton broke a finger two weeks before the game leaving manager Graham Taylor needing to find cover for Steve Sherwood after the transfer deadline.
In complete desperation, Taylor suggested to Eddie Plumley (A chief executive at the club at the time) that they sign his son Gary, who had by then retired from football after playing for Newport County and Happy Valley....a team in Hong Kong.
Plumley signed, thinking that if anything he would just be on the bench for the game but then Sherwood dislocated a finger, so Plumley played in the FA Cup semi final....his one and only game for the club.
I learnt my lesson from the last semi final Watford were involved in and decided that I would get on a specially arranged train that went from Watford to close to the ground....result!! I got to the ground with plenty of time spare and managed to get right up to the front at the Holte End, now I could see everything!!
And boy...did I see it all.....Tottenham put four past Gary Plumley as they cruised to a 4-1 win.
 
George Reilly ended up as a bricklayer after his football career and Gary Plumley is now an estate agent in Newport.