'Any fan who threw chairs at Villa v Albion clash should be banned for life'

Alan Cleverley found himself caught up in trouble before the game at the Witton Arms pub, a stone's throw from the ground. And he also questioned the positioning of rival fans during the match itself and the time of kick off.

"The club could have done a lot more to alter this," he said. "The whole of Witton Lane should have gone to the Albion fans. Then you could have closed it off completely and properly policed it. For several years it has been the flash point for trouble.

"This has been foreseen by certain people. I had told the police weeks before it needed to be played earlier on in the day.

"But ultimately money rules the roost and the TV companies dictate when games are played regardless of other factors."

He added if reports of chairs being thrown by Albion fans were true those involved should be banned for life.

He said: "Again though that was bad planning. If Villa fans hadn't of been on the lower tier chairs wouldn't have been thrown down. That is just common sense."