Next on our away journeys we travel the short distance to Villa Park home of Aston Villa. This is one of England's most famous football grounds and as such has seen many FA Cup Semi Finals played here. The ground was also used as a World Cup venue in 1966 and 20 years later hosted Euro 96.

This famous ground does have a lot of character. Over recent years there have been many changes to Villa Park due to modernisation. I can remember the wonderful old style Floodlight Pylons where the club decided to arrange the lamps in the towers in the shape of the letters A and V. Sadly they are now long gone but The Holt end which houses 13,500 supporters is one of the largest stands behind a goal at a Football stadium.

One unusual feature here is inside the stadium you can see the commentary from Brian Moore written across the front of the stands from when Villa won the European Cup in 1982 and Peter Withe scored the winning goal. A club with a proud record and tradition.

Any Stoke fan that travelled to this fixture last season will have fond memories of Villa Park. All looked doomed for us with Villa leading 2-0 and the home crowd were beginning to leave the stadium with the game in its final few minutes. The locals were even cheering the home sides every kick of the ball suggesting that they had won the game but then Ryan Shawcross headed a goal to get us back in the game, the Villa team and fans became nervous. They had every right to be nervous as well because we continued to pressure the Villa defence and sure enough they cracked when Glenn Whelan's shot form 20 yards hit the back of the net to give us a point that seemed almost impossible just a few minutes earlier.

This game for me was a massive turning point in our season and from thereon we seemed to have a newfound confidence in the side that helped us to go on and avoid relegation comfortably.

My only other visit to this stadium was in March 1988 when Philip Heath scored to give us a 1-0 win. Villa were then top of the Second Division and we as usual were not given any chance by anyone outside our club. That was a great day out for us Stoke fans.

Villa Park, so far, is a ground where I have not seen us lose a game and the way we have improved this season, we can go there believing that we can again come back with some reward. The support last season from the travelling Stokies when we got that 2-2 draw was as good as ever and I know the players and management do appreciate the way the Stoke fans get behind the team on opponents grounds. Together we are the pride of Stoke and the envy of many other Premier League teams and long may it continue.

The Stadium:

Villa Park has been home to Aston Villa since 1897, and now has a capacity of 42, 640.

It comprises four stands; the Holte End, one of Eurpoe's largest behind-the-goal stands, the North stand which is opposite, the Doug Ellis Stand, formerly known as the Witton Lane Stand, and the Trinity Road stand.

The stadium has hosted numerous international games, as well as holding the record for the most amount of FA Cup Semi Finals held at a football ground.

VisitingfansareseatedintheDoug Ellis stand, in the top and/or bottom tier depending on the amount of fans. They're situated on the side nearest the North Stand.

Road to Villa Park:

From the Britannia Stadium take the M6 Southbound and exit at Junction 6. As the slip road splits into two, take the right turning and join the Aston Expy (A5127).

Exit the Aston Expy at the first slip road, travelling up to an elevated roundabout. Take the second exit onto Victoria Road and then the first right into Upper Sutton Street.

Continue forward onto Bevington Road at the first junction and then forward again at the second junction. Take the third round into Trinity Road and the stadium will be in front of you.

Parking Information:

Aston Villa Football Club work with third parties in the local area to provide off-street car parking on match days.

The car parks are situated within walking distance around the area of the ground, but it is restricted. The City Centre provides many spaces, with the ground a very short distance away by train, (one stop).

Total Distance:

Villa Park is 43.5 miles away from the Britannia Stadium, with an approximate journey time of 53 minutes.

Train Journey:

The two nearest train stations to Villa Park are Witton and Aston. Both of these can be reached via Birmingham New Street.

Witton is approximately five minutes walk away from the stadium whilst Aston is a fifteen minute walk.

Local Media:

BBC WM (95.6 FM)  BRMB (96.4 FM)