Life-Long Blind Supporter, John Flanner MBE, Meets Aston Villa CEO
Life-Long Blind Supporter Meets Aston Villa CEOLife-long Aston Villa supporter from Solihull, John Flanner MBE, had the opportunity to share his ambition for the club with CEO Tom Fox, in the run-up to the Cup Final. John Flanner’s passion for Aston Villa started when he attended his first match with his Dad in 1956 and he has continued to attend over 1000 matches since then, even after becoming permanently blind at the age of nineteen. At the meeting with John Flanner, Tom Fox, Aston Villa CEO, said: “No-one better represents the loyal Aston Villa support than John Flanner. He helps us all realize that the highs and the lows are all part of the journey, in football and in life, and he serves as a constant reminder to everyone at the Villa of why we do what we do for this great Club. Every football club has supporters but few, if any, have people like John to inspire them to reach higher and achieve more.” Explaining his passion for Villa, John Flanner said: “My first hero was Peter McParland who I actually watched score the two goals that won us the Final in 1957 on my parents’ nine inch black and white television. The next day I was with my family in Steelhouse Lane, along with 250,000 others, welcoming the team back on their victory procession from Villa Park to the Council House. “Nowadays of course teams come on to the field side by side in all league matches around Europe but it was the Aston Villa support group that I initiated, which I am convinced persuaded Doug Ellis and the then Manager, Graham Turner, to get Villa players to come out alongside Liverpool players at the start of the new season. The aim was to create a positive atmosphere in the stadium as the two teams walked out side by side. The move went well and I had no idea that it had become the norm; for years I just thought it was at Villa Park.
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