Villa on Tour – Away Day Shenanigans at Ipswich Town

Villa on Tour

Football Fan channels on YouTube are two a penny nowadays, but MOMS has recently been enjoying the offerings of the Villa on Tour channel this season.

Hosted by Max Stokes and his trusty right-hand man Owen Thompson, the Villa duo travel the country giving you a fly on the wall look at Villa away days, throwing in acute observations and humorous flourishes as they go along with their mates. They’re normally in the thick of the singing and atmosphere, so their videos give you the feeling of being there.

After they popped up in a mini cameo at the beginning of the last podcast episode, MOMS has invited the lads to give their review of each Villa away day this season, so you can get their thoughts on the away day, as well as watch their latest video.

If you’re on Youtube, make sure you subscribe to their channel, so you’ll know when a new video drops.

Enjoy!

Ipswich Town Away Day

Date: 18th August 2018

Score: Ipswich Town 1 Aston Villa 1 (Kodjia)

Ground: Portman Road

Attendance: 17,824

Watch the Villa on Tour Ipswich Video

Away Fan Review of Ipswich

By Max Stokes (Villa on Tour)

Away Atmosphere – 7/10

 Overall the atmosphere from the Villa faithful was very good at Portman Road and especially in the concourse pre-game. The usual chants were in full force as well as the new Tuanzebe song which is extremely catchy to the tune of ‘Lip up Fatty’ by Bad Manners. As the game progressed however, the atmosphere became one of mild frustration but as a whole, a very decent atmosphere created by the travelling support.

Away End Facilities – 7/10

For such a traditional stadium, the concourse at Ipswich was fairly unusual. It was a small box-shaped room which I had never seen before at any stadium I had been to previously. However, this made for a fantastic atmosphere pre-match. In terms of when you got to your seats, the leg-room was shocking! Thankfully the whole away end were on their feet during the game so that wasn’t an issue.

(If you went to Portman Road fill in the FSF survey about your own experience)

Home Fans Atmosphere – 6/10

The Ipswich supporters who were making the majority of the noise were stood at the opposite end of the ground to the Villa fans, so it was quite hard to hear them! Chanting from Ipswich fans was a rarity throughout the game, but you can’t really blame them for being a bit down beat due to their recent history and tough start to the season.

Empty Seats My Lord?

Yes, a fair few. For a stadium with a 30,000 plus capacity, the number of empty seats was very evident and quite worrying from an Ipswich point of view. It was almost as bad as Hull City.

Best Thing about the Ground?

For me, it had to be the concourse. It’s size made for a great atmosphere and created a party mood prior to the game and really got the fans ready for the match.

Classic Moment of the Away Day

The birth of the new Axel Tuanzebe song. It took a few attempts to get going but when it did, it really got going and the reaction on social media suggests it could be a future fan favourite.

That new Tuanzebe song is class ???? #avfc pic.twitter.com/6Pzn8e9pHi

— Max Stokes (@mjestokes) August 19, 2018

Anything Funny Happen?

Apart from the atmosphere and getting drenched in beer in the concourse prior to the game, entertainment was quite hard to come by. Especially on the pitch.

Any Other Business?

There was a decent pub close to the ground and a variety of places to eat, so Portman Road is well situated for visiting fans. However, the away day itself was slightly let down by the frustrating game we watched. A lack of creativity and cutting edge let us down in the end. As a whole, the day was good until the second half begun to be honest. The three-hour journey home didn’t help, after watching us fail to break down 10-men in the second half!

UTV

Follow Max on Twitter here – @mjestokes

Follow Owen on Twitter here –  otvillayouth

Subscribe to the Villa on Tour Youtube Channel