Ivan McDouall has worked in education for the past 22 years, and has been writing about football for considerably less. Conversely though he enjoys the latter more than the former.

Ivan began writing for Aston Villa podcasts and blogs - everything from player ratings through to u21 match reports via historical reflections on Villa’s heritage. A regular contributor to Turnstiles Magazine and These Football Times, Ivan published his first book in March 2025 entitled ‘Only the Real Thing – Aston Villa & The Coca Cola Cup 1993-96’.

Ivan regularly features on various Aston Villa platforms and has dabbled in his own podcast, ‘The Villa Times’, which attempts to offer Villa fans a wider sense of the club’s history and heritage.