Villa playing two matches, in different countries, just 26 hours apart has posed a unique challenge for the man who is the dictionary definition of “home and away” having followed the club all around the world for the past half century.
Australia or America, Hong Kong or Russia, you name the game and the place and you can almost guarantee “Bridge” - as he is affectionately known - has been there, almost always accompanied by wife Pam.
From 1973 to the outbreak of the pandemic, when football was forced behind closed doors, he didn’t miss a single Villa first-team match, competitive or friendly. The only reason he would ever be absent for the under-21s or the women’s team was due to fixture clashes.
So it comes as absolutely no surprise to learn with Villa playing in Marseille on Saturday night and then Villarreal on Sunday, that Bridge and Pam - still tanned from following Unai Emery’s team on their recent tour of the USA - have come up with a plan which involves three flights, two hotels and a 100-mile car ride through Spain.