I live in Dudley, lived in Birmingham before that and worked in Wolverhampton for many years. The reason Villa are the most hated is simple: a combination of firstly, jealousy as they have won the League and the European cup in living memory ... And secondly, their fans have always thought they are a massive club who should be up in the Manchester, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea bracket. Yes, they all do. The other West Midlands teams' fans have no such arrogance ... They are much more like our fans, accepting we're a bit crap. I have some very good friends who are Villa fans but I absolutely LOVE IT when they lose and relish every second of their decline. Football fans are very petty!