Well, let’s begin at the beginning, shall we? I’m Andy Evans – a 34-year-old Villa fan
currently living in Bletchley in Milton Keynes, but I was born with claret and blue blood. Growing up in Sutton Coldfield – Streetly, to be precise – there was going to be no other team for me; plus, my family had been Villa supporters since the turn of the century, so even if I’d wanted to support another team they wouldn’t have let me. Thankfully, I had better sense than that.

After falling in love with football following the 1986 Mexico World Cup, I quickly became obsessed with all things Villa related, and eagerly awaited the 1986/87 campaign where I could cheer on my newly discovered team. Little was I to know that the season would be one of the worst in Villa’s history. I should have suspected something when I went to my first game against Norwich on 20^th September and saw Villa capitulate to a 4-1 defeat. In less time than it took Simon Stainrod to grow his tremendous mullet (possibly), Villa had gone from European Champions to relegation fodder, and it was no surprise when they finished bottom at the end of the season.

Bizarrely, though, I look upon that season as a blessing. As a football fan, you need to learn as quickly as possible that things will rarely go your way – if ever – and that times will often be tough. The worst season that Villa have ever had during my time as a supporter was my first season, so it was a horrible but necessary baptism of fire – and surely things could only get better after that…

The answer to that of course is yes, but it came a bit close at times. In fact, being a Villa supporter in the ten years between 1986 and 1996 meant that you spent most of the time on the edge of your seat. I mean, just look at what happened to Villa during that time:
relegated in 1987, promoted in 1988, nearly relegated in 1989, nearly champions in 1990, nearly relegated in 1991, nearly champions in 1993, League Cup winners in 1994, nearly relegated in 1995 and League Cup winners in 1996. Throw in a few European campaigns (Inter Milan in 1990 springs to mind for some reason), one or two extraordinary results (6-2 against Everton in 1989 and 5-2 at White Hart Lane on the day of the 1992 Grand
National) and the fact that those years coincided with my childhood, and you have an eventful and evocative decade in which to have been a supporter.

Since then, I have been to University in Preston, lived briefly in Manchester (the least said about that, the better) and moved back to Streetly, before relocating to Bletchley in 2006 where I now work as a freelance writer and editor. But my love for the Villa has remained as strong as ever. I might not be able to go to as many games as I used to (geography and
finance tends to get in the way of such things) but I make sure I get to Villa Park at least once a season to cheer them on. After all, once a Villa fan, always a Villa fan.

But the memories of that decade between the mid 80s and 90s remain as strong as ever, so last year I decided to write a book about those halcyon days. The book is called Heart of a Lion, which seems to say it all really, and it looks at what it was like to be a football fan – and particularly a Villa fan – during that time, looking at 20 games which cover the period. So far I am 20,000 words into the book, so it is still ongoing. This monthly column will therefore be a progress report into how the book is going, as well as being a nostalgic trip into a time which is still remembered by many Villa fans. I hope you will enjoy it.