It's All About The Name On The Front Of The Shirt, Not The Back; Part 2

Aston Villa fielded the youngest ever Premier League team yesterday at Anfield, with an average age of just 23 years and 308 days.

 

Brad Guzan, Chris Herd, Nathan Baker, Ciaran Clark, Eric Lichaj, Matthew Lowton, Ashley Westwood, Barry Bannan, Brett Holman, Christian Benteke, Andreas Weimann; names that just six months ago wouldn't have been recognised by football fans produced a stunning 3-1 win over Liverpool.

 

Paul Lambert has brought together a group of young players to play the football that Villa Park has been missing for a long time.

Paul Lambert at the end of the thrashing of former club
Norwich City (Kevin Quigley)

At the start of the season, some of the Villa faithful asked for people to stop using the excuse of the club being in transition for a third consecutive season. However for the first ten or so games this season, we have been in a period of transition. The team that played yesterday had never played together before the start of the 2012-13 season. They needed the first half of the season to knit together, to see how each other play and to start playing the football that Lambert was asking of them.

 

In his interview last night, the Villa manager said of how he's been criticised by some over his team selection, of how they're so young. But he followed this comment by saying that he's seen them day in, day out.

 

To stick with what you believe is the right thing to do, dropping Darren Bent and Stephen Ireland, is a brave thing to do. So I'm taking this opportunity to commend Paul Lambert on this.

 

Finding themselves on the bench; Darren Bent and
Stephen Ireland

He brought in the unheard, like Ashley Westwood and Christian Benteke, and my word have they paid off.



Christian Benteke has firmly placed himself in Villa folklore with his brace against Liverpool and abilities in front of goal, but it is Ashley Westwood who is our unsung hero.



Ashley Westwood, the former Crewe midfielder, has made the step up from League Two into the Premier League with such ease that you wouldn't have thought he's only played 10 games in the top tier of English football.  It is no surprise, in my opinion, that our upward turn in form has coincided with Ashley Westwood getting into the first team. Brought from Crewe for a snip at £2 million, a price luckily that Swansea baulked at, he can often go unnoticed in a game, but he is vital to the team because he keeps play ticking over. Our midfield has never performed since Petrov was taken seriously ill, he very rarely gave the ball away and did not treat it like a hand grenade. But Westwood has got our midfield working again – he, like Petrov, always wants the ball and does the simple things well.

 

He is what football should be about, top tier clubs taking chances on lower league players instead of buying from abroad. I reckon Westwood will be a mainstay of our team for years to come; he’s only 22 but plays like a 30-year-old. The last great midfielder we bought from Crewe was David Platt, I just hope Westwood has the same impact but stays around a bit longer.

 

After a season of pulling our hair out watching Warnock and Hutton hack around on the pitch it is a joy to see Lowton bedding into the defence, he has played every game so far this season in the league, and is settling in nicely after playing in the Championship, hopefully Bennett will have the same impact too.

 

I'm also impressed by Brett Holman. An acquisition of Alex McLeish's. Despite that fact, the Scot unearthed a gem in the Australian. I like Holman and for me he optimises the direction in which Aston Villa are taking. He plays, just as the title of the post suggests; for the name on the front of the shirt, not the back. He never stops running and as said previously, he'll need a third lung at the end of the season, never mind at the end of the game. He's also a role model. Yesterday we saw him closing down players, right, left and centre. Yet we also saw Andi Weimann follow in his footsteps. Holman led by example and rightly so.

 

Let's not forget about the partnership between Benteke and Weimann. With six goal between them in two games, this is fast becoming a blossoming relationship. Andi's pass to find Benteke's movement into the box, and his returning back heel which led to the goal was almost Barcelona like as they found each other with perfect accuracy. It's hard to believe they're both only in their early twenties.

From the first game of the season away to West Ham United we lacked creativity and that trend has continued for the most part of the season; until things started to click. That was most certainly evident against Norwich City in the Capital One Cup. How things have changed is incredible, but I'm sure if we'd have seen things from the inside we wouldn't have been saying that there'd been a change.

 

All in all Lambert is doing what we all wanted him to do, transforming the squad and the way we play. Safety is pretty much a cert, and after a decent cup run with Wembley in sight, the future's bright.

Don't Cha Wish Your Striker Was Benteke (or Weimann)

Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann celebrating during Tuesday's
4-1 over Norwich City in the Capital One Cup

Let's rewind back to the 10th of November where we faced Manchester United at Villa Park; the Premier League leaders finding themselves 2-0 down after 50 minutes, with Andreas Weimann scoring either side of the half time whilstle.

Aston Villa 2-3 Manchester United
"We gave it absolutely everything, we were brilliant. I can't fault the team. We've got lots of young lads in the team and they were great. I can't ask for any more from them." Paul Lambert

Villa were two goals to the good by the time United woke from their slumber. Weimann scored both to shake United to their core.

First he found Benteke with a perfectly measured ball down the left and, when his strike partner pulled back a low cross, thumped a fizzing drive past David De Gea from 16 yards out.

The interval did little to steady United as Villa began where they had left off and doubled their lead within four minutes. Ireland swept the ball left for Agbonlahor and the Villa forward's low ball skidded across the six-yard line where Weimann escaped Rio Ferdinand's attention to sidefoot in.

Villa Park was rocking and yet somehow United turned the match on its head. Ferguson's decision to replace Ashley Young with Hernandez at half-time changed the game in seven second-half minutes as United struck twice to level the match from nowhere.

For the third, Van Persie curled a free-kick towards the far post where Hernandez headed the ball into the bottom-right corner with unerring accuracy. Ferguson's clenched fist at the final whistle said it all, United had done it again despite the efforts of Villa.

Manchester City 5-0 Aston Villa

Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez both scored twice as Manchester City thumped Aston Villa to move top of the Premier League for the first time this season.

Villa frustrated City until David Silva broke the deadlock before half-time. But the hosts took charge when Andreas Weimann was adjudged to have handled and Sergio Aguero scored from the spot.

Carlos Tevez added another penalty after Barry Bannan's handball, Aguero made it 4-0 with a deflected shot and Tevez tapped in Samir Nasri's cross.

In the end, this win for the champions was every bit as convincing as the scoreline suggests but Villa boss Paul Lambert will argue his side were in the game until the 54th minute, when City scored their second goal from a debatable decision.

Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal
"It's a long project. It's never going to happen overnight. I thought today we were well worth something. They are a young side but they are growing every time they play." Paul Lambert

Aston Villa 1-0 Reading
The Belgian striker, Christian Benteke headed in the winner from a corner late on to leave the Royals one place off the bottom.

Villa, who left striker Darren Bent out of the team for the second match in succession, also went close through Andreas Weimann and Ciaran Clark.

QPR 1-1 Aston Villa
Brett Holman fired Villa into an early lead from 20 yards - but Jamie Mackie headed QPR level before the interval and they created the better opportunities to finally secure three points.

Aston Villa 0-0 Stoke City
Most of us thought it would be tight and probably goalless - and that's how it proved. All Villa's chances fell to Christian Benteke but great blocks by Stoke's defence kept him out. Darren Bent came on for the last 20 minutes but hardly had a sniff. As for Stoke, 90 minutes and not a single shot to test Brad Guzan. This is one best forgotten.

Norwich City 1-4 Aston Villa

Aston Villa reached their second League Cup semi-final in four years by beating Norwich City and in turn handed boss Paul Lambert victory on his first visit back to his former club.

Steve Morison gave Norwich the lead by clipping over Shay Given before Brett Holman's drive levelled matters. Both sides had a number of chances to take the lead in a frenetic tie. But substitute Andreas Weimann's late double and a tidy Christian Benteke strike saw Villa through.

Liverpool 1-3 Aston Villa

"I think the whole performance was fabulous, the goals were excellent as was the way we defended." Paul Lambert 

 

Liverpool were left stunned after their hopes of challenging for a top-four spot were hit by a loss to Aston Villa.

The home side went behind against the run of play when Christian Benteke arrowed a shot in off the post. Benteke's backheel set up Andreas Weimann for Villa's second, before the Reds were denied a penalty when Ciaran Clark pulled Daniel Agger's shirt. Benteke then made it three from close range for a resurgent Villa before Steven Gerrard netted a late consolation goal.

Anyone Wanna Jump Aboard The Aston Villa Rollercoaster?

The admission cost for the new attraction at Aston Villa Football Club is slight anxiety, short fingernails and possibly a few panic attacks. If your 'prepared' to take the long awaited ride, step to your right if not maybe your left.

When Paul Lambert walked through the door at Villa Park our fan base went into a state of hysteria. Perhaps because we'd just got rid of Alex McLeish or because of the new manager's arrival. But after ten games of the 2012/13 campaign there seems to be an air of questioning.

With just two wins under our belts and seventeenth in the table we are not in the positions we found ourselves hoping to be in.

For one minute forget the chairman, the CEO, the manager, the referees, linesmen and forth officials and focus on the players. We have top quality footballers at our club; yet we have to ask ourselves, are these players performing? You can't knock the effort, commitment, pride and passion of some of our players. But those big wage earning players, need to start pulling their socks up and making themselves count. No names mentioned, but just because they don't like the squad rotation doesn't mean you have to continue to be lazy on the pitch and complain when they're sat on the bench. We can stand around arguing about Darren Bent all day long but he needs to prove the doubters and the haters wrong and perhaps win round Paul Lambert.

Winning becomes a habit in football, a habit that we have forgotten in the year of 2012. With Villa failing to win in their last ten Premier League games last campaign, and winning only one of their first nine this season, losing was the only trick Villa had been practising.

Villa fans may now start to believe that this bad run is finally coming to an end. A last minute victory in the cup against Swindon, with a Christian Benteke brace, was followed by a battling display away to Martin O'Neill's Sunderland side, grabbing a deserved 1-0 victory through Gabby Agbonlahor's first goal in the league for almost a year. The back to back victories earned this week in all competitions were the first Villa had achieved since August 23rd 2011, when they beat Hereford in the cup 2-0 after having beaten Blackburn 3-1 in the league a few days previous.

After achieving these two results, you would imagine Villa fans to be full of optimism coming into their next fixture this Saturday. Unfortunately, the fixture list has dealt a cruel blow to Villa's optimism, as they face in form Manchester United this weekend followed by a trip to the Etihad to face Champions Manchester City. They then take on Arsenal at Villa Park on the 24th of November, three fixtures that will strike fear into the hearts of the Villa faithful. Are we right to be pessimistic, as last season Villa failed to gain a point from these three fixtures they face in the upcoming weeks?

Football has always been a story of underdogs, as Celtic heroically proved with their victory over Spanish giants Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Gabriel Agbonlahor has scored two goals in Villa's recent victories, and he believes Villa have what it takes to cause an upset in the upcoming weeks.

Villa's Shining Light, quite literally in that shirt.
Getty Images

Paul Lambert will share Agbonahor's view, as he must install the rest of his young team with that same belief if they are to get anything from these next three fixtures. It has been a very slow start for Lambert as manager of Villa, as even with the credible victory earned at the Stadium of Light last Saturday, his team still sit just one place above the relegation zone. A victory in any of his next three games may just be the catalyst he needs to kick start his, and Villa's Premier League campaign.

Not The Dream Start We All Wanted

I suppose after two games we were expecting to be top of the league, turns out if we turn the table upside down we are. Not the story I wanted to be telling my boyfriend; who may I add supports Manchester United *cough* glory hunter *cough*; after his week away in Egypt. I would have preferred to have bragged about Villa's amazing start to the season, and United's loss to Everton. Unfortunately he'll probably enjoy tormenting me on the recent poor results of my beloved Aston Villa.

I say poor results, they have only been poor results. We've had decent displays, in patches in both matches. More so in the first game of the season, rather than the latter against a high flying Everton side who could be a force once again in the Premier League - maybe even this season's Newcastle. If that makes sense.

West Ham 1-0 Aston Villa
"We didn't have the cutting edge"

The start of the new Paul Lambert era and certainly a wave goodbye to Alex McLeish's saw the beginning of the 2012/13 Premier League season for Aston Villa. They begun at Upton Park, where facing them was Sam Alladyce's claret and blue men; the returning West Ham United that had just battled their way back into the top flight.

Memories of Gabby Agbonlahor's winner two seasons ago still lingered in the air, as well as a new found optimism from the travelling Villa faithful.

Getty Images

The game started in the visitors favour, summer signing Brett Holman spurned the first chance of the afternoon to test Jussi Jaskelainen after he found a pocket of space outside West Ham's area however the Australian blazed his right-footed effort wide of the goal.
Villa continued their dominance in possession and looked transformed from the languid unit which limped to an uninspiring 16th-placed finish in the league last year under McLeish. The approach work was well-intentioned as they passed the ball, just as if it was a new born, for long periods, enjoying the majority of possession.

Karim El Ahmadi was tidy in possession in central midfield alongside Fabian Delph, who mirrored the Morocco international superbly, while Stephen Ireland showed a neatness and vision on the ball which has seemed to desert him since his days at Manchester City.

The only problem was that despite the whole pretty possessional play business, we got no where with it. There was a lack of service for the big man Darren Bent, who was making his first league appearance since being injured in February. To be quite honest, he might as well have remained on the treatment table. It's not all his fault seeing as with no service, he won't score. He's that type of striker, let's face it, and the sooner we can get a forward that isn't afraid to get involved with play in the better. The memories of the ammunition Bent used to get from Ashley Young and Stewart Downing seemed as remote as ever.

West Ham did score in the 40th minute through a Kevin Nolan tap in, after a neatly taken free kick floated over the top of former Villa man James Collin's head, to the feet of Vaz Te who, oblivious to the linesman's flag slotted it to Nolan who passed it into the net. The offside flag had been raised however the referee over ruled the decision, leading to a questionable goal which was later resolved after seeing Match of the Day.

******

Aston Villa 1-3 Everton
"The early goal really knocked Villa"

It took exactly two minutes and thirty-five seconds to rock the home side on their heels, as Steven Pienaar’s beautiful early strike took the sting out of anything Villa might have had to offer.

With the roll of thunder rumbling before kick off, the added electrical change did nothing to ease the nerves of the fans, players or manager.

The Scot made three changes from the team that started the season off. Stephen Ireland, Fabian Delph and Brett Holman were replaced by Chris Herd, Barry Bannan and Nathan Delfouneso. Yet the changes seemed to make no difference as Steven Pienaar found plenty of space in a mix-matched midfield, where he let fire. His swirling shot flung into the back of the net, leaving Shay Given and the rest of Aston Villa Football Club stunned, gobsmacked in fact.

However, Everton weren't done yet. They came in waves. Wave after wave, attack after attack. One led to a second. Fellani's thumping (over exaggeration, just makes Given's mistake sound a little more comforting) header fumbled past the Irishman. Then two became three when Jelavic slotted neatly into the bottom left hand corner of the host's net after smart interplay between David Moyes' men.

Let me add this was all before half time. And once half time arrived the players were 'serenaned' to a chorus of boos from the crowd.

Some habits never die hard.

The introduction of Brett Holman after half time seemed ineffective for the first part of the second half as Everton carried on their vibrant display at Villa Park.

Matters turned even more sour when Jelavic strode free, with Ciaran Clark not far behind. With a clip of the heels, the big man fell to the ground. A red card was shown, and that was that. Villa were down to ten men, three nil down.

Comeback was quite surely off.

However, Karim El Ahmadi perhaps ignited a little fire that burned inside when he found a small bit of space in a compacted Everton setup. Encouraged by the fans to let rip, he well and truly did. His shot, taking a slight deflection on the way, dipped and twisted before spiralling past the fingertips of Tim Howard.

(mirror.co.uk)

Despite getting a goal back, and showing character in the closing twenty minutes. Not even the clever work of Holman, who released a ball straight into the path of substitute Andreas Weimann whose shot came back of the post, could get just one more goal back in a match that had been dead and buried in the first half.

******

Ireland; In More Ways Than One

"Our Bodymoor Heath training ground has started to resemble a small corner of Ireland during the past few weeks. If you include our reserve and youth players, we now have enough to form an Irish international XI - even if a couple of them, Ciaran Clark and Samir Carruthers, were not actually born across the Irish Sea!" | Stiliyan Petrov (Programme Notes.)

Robbie Keane and Stephen Ireland train before
the Everton clash.
(Neville Williams/Aston Villa/Getty Images)

Aston Villa 1-1 Everton
"One Stephen Ireland."


Stephen Ireland is Superman.
(Neville Williams/Aston Villa/
Getty Images)
Stats on the right courtesy of Opta.



Even though he wasn't able to get on the score sheet yet again Ireland produced a man of the match performance.

Over all he created four chances, three of which came from open play. One of these opportunities was converted into an assist as he squared for Darren Bent to score after fifty-five minutes.

Stephen Ireland made his touches count with a total of sixty-five and only failed on three occasions and was dispossessed on just two occasions.  Passing was another attribute that Ireland managed to keep at an impressive 87% accuracy rate throughout the ninety minutes with 40% of them being forward passes.

The midfielder had to work hard and he was not afraid of getting stuck in, shirking his attacking attributes and defended well. Stephen Ireland earnt himself a 100% success rate in his tackling, completing three tackles and winning them all.

When the Villa Park crowd started singing "There's only one Stephen Ireland." it must have seemed like all last season was worth it. To have his name in lights again must feel like he's on top of the world at the moment and rightly so.

*****

There was no Henry return for Robbie Keane however Everton's super sub Victor Anichebe came off the bench to score the equaliser.

In a game where both sides cancelled each other out it was no surprise that yet again the most played top flight game ended in a draw.

Darren Bent opened the scoring for the hosts when Stephen Ireland's cross found the England's striker.

However, Anichebe's slotted pass floated past the returning Shay Given after David Moyes had reacted to Villa's goal.

With Everton dominating the early periods, Shay Given had to be on top form. Yet only the heroics of Aston Villa's number one, who was returning to the starting line-up after six weeks out with a hamstring injury, kept us in the game, as he made a stunning save to deny Louis Saha after the striker rose well to head Leighton Baines' header on target.

Given was called upon again soon after, this time to spare the blushes of his own team-mate. Saha failed to get up to reach a Baines cross and Stephen Warnock was caught unaware as the ball came off his head but Given proved that Villa boss Alex McLeish was right to slot him straight back into the starting line-up.

Villa had to find their tempo quickly to be back in the game and so they did. When Tim Howard's launched ball fell perfectly for Gabby Agbonlahor to control, he skinned three Everton players in the build up before unleashing a shot which left Howard scrambling.

Soon after, James Collins had two clear cut chances to put the hosts ahead from set plays however no final product could be made.

After the break Everton went close again when Marouane Fellaini met Baines' free-kick at the back post, but Given was on hand to save with his shoulder.



Albrighton, Ireland and goalscorer Bent.
(Neville Williams/Aston Villa/Getty Images)

The Irishman must have breathed a sigh of relief when Darren Bent scored. Marc Albrighton's cross eventually found Stephen Ireland who thread a fizzing ball into the path of Bent for the ball to end up in the back of the net. However scruffy it was, it was a lead.
Moyes hauled off Drenthe soon after to bring on Anichebe and the substitute made an almost instant impact.

A perfectly-timed pass from Donovan, whose return to Everton and the Premier League has lifted spirits in the Toffee's camp, cut open the Villa's defence and Anichebe managed to stay onside before calmly slotting past Given.

Desperate for the win, Robbie Keane was introduced to the pitch for his Aston Villa debut.

Roars filled the stadium as Stephen Warnock made way for the new signing. You would have thought the noise was for Keane but I'm sure most was just at the fact Warnock, who has looked poor, walked over to the bench.

The on-loan LA Galaxy striker could not muster up a Hollywood-style finish even with Villa throwing men into the box at every opportunity. Except for a couple of scrambles in the area, they never came close to the winner.

Superman

"He was fantastic today," Bent said. "To be fair, what people saw in the game was what we see everyday in training. I mean he's always the best player on the park in training. He keeps the ball and sees a pass that others just don't see and today he deserved all the credit because he was fantastic."



The goalscorers share a special moment.
Source: avfc.com

Chelsea 1-3 Aston Villa
"Counter Attack"



Super Stevie Ireland
Source: avfc.com

When Stephen Ireland produced dynamite displays week in week out for Manchester City and turned up at Villa Park last season, we all expected him to be an instant hit, yet his first performance ended in tears; a crushing 6-0 defeat against Newcastle.

Named in yesterday's squad, Stephen Ireland's smile never diminished. He filled the void that our midfield has been missing and that we've been shouting out for, showing that creativeness that's been lacking. Being able to read the game with ease - enabling the third goal to be scored - and pick out that crucial, clinical pass to dissect the Chelsea defence.

Labelled 'Superman' he deserves his chance to shine and he took it with two hands. Now leading the way into first team contention, he should deliver the goods.

*****

Ending Chelsea's title bid hopes Aston Villa snook away from Stamford Bridge with all three points and a boost of confidence going into the new year.

Chelsea took the lead through a Dider Drogba penalty before Stephen Ireland levelled the scoreline. Stiliyan Petrov then put Villa ahead, with Darren Bent finishing off the fine display with the third.

On the twenty-third minute, the hosts opened the scoring after Richard Dunne gifted them a penalty. After James Collins had already fouled the opposition outside of the box, it seemed advantage had been played only for Dunne to then lung into Drogba. Falling to the floor, the referee pointed to the spot.

However, just five minutes after the goal, Villa stunned Stamford Bridge by restoring parity much to the delight of the away support.

Dunne made up for his earlier mistake when his lofted ball found Stephen Ireland perfectly for him to then exchange a one-two with Charles N'Zogbia. N'Zogbia weaved his magic down to the byline before giving the ball back to Ireland for him to shot first time. When John Terry's hand deflected the ball away, Ireland was there for a second bite only for him to bury the ball into the back of the net.

His first goal for the club since joining last summer as part of a package deal including Milner, provided that little bit of magic needed.

After a clean breakaway and a bright counter attack, Charles N'Zogbia picked up the loose ball from defending a Chelsea corner on the edge of the eighteen yard box. Dribbling up to the half way line he then spread the ball to wing wizard Marc Albrighton. Then releasing a fizzling ball to set Gabby Agbonlahor free, the striker was faced with a one-on-one situation with Petr Cech. Unfortunately for Aston Villa, there was no final product produced by Gabby to put Villa in front.



High Spirits.
Source: avfc.com



Chelsea decided to shake things up a bit in the second half, introducing both Fernado Torres and Frank Lampard onto the field of play. Torres making an instant impact, rattled the bar and assisted Drogba's shot, which floated just wide of the target.

Yet still Villa were there to steal it right at the end. Chelsea's defence; who had looked vulnerable all match; started to crumble and gaps appeared in the middle. Ciaran Clark took full advantage of that, threading a neat through ball into the path of Stiliyan Petrov, only for the Bulgarian to score his forth goal of the campaign.

Things went from bad to worse for Andres Villas-Boas' men when Lampard's pass was intercepted by Ireland who looked clear through on goal. Unselfishly squaring the ball to Darren Bent, the hit man finished off the move with a well hit finish.

"That was a fantastic result. Going into the New Year, the players were outstanding, they never gave up, went to the final whistle, defended well." McLeish told media.

Even though Villa weren't all over Chelsea, in my opinion, we were smart on the counter attck and gave as good as we got.

Aston Villa made sure to end 2011 with a bang thanks to attacking tactics, determination and a will to fight it out to the end.

Defensive Dunney's

Stoke City 0-0 Aston Villa
"Get Ugly"

"People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defences, or the problems of modern society." -Vince Lombardi

Even if we didn't win last night that quote says it all. When you pull together, work together and play together you'll get the rewards.

Aston Villa proved to themselves, their fans and press that their defensive frailties had been sorted as they faced their biggest set piece test in the Premier League. A Villa fans' Boxing Day horror movie marathon could have been played in high definition at many different angles on Sky if the gaffer hadn't have done something about it.

Yet when Marc Wilson, of Stoke, crashed a thundering header against the underside of the crossbar it was a heart and fist in mouth moment. Luckily, speed demon Gabby Agbonlahor was well placed on the post to save Aston Villa from another set piece disaster.

"The players have been much maligned recently but they were up for all their individual battles. Agbonlahor cleared the ball with great composure but to be fair it would have been a travesty if we had lost." McLeish exclaimed.



Stepping up to the Mark.
Source: Zimbio.

 The team defended and attacked as a unit however once again movement in front of the ball was lacking and no classy final product could be delivered. There were chances in the match to put the game to bed, put in the end you have to say that a draw was a fair result. Both teams pressed the ball with great intent and had their fair share of chances on goal. Neither keeper was worked as hard as they should have but when asked both stepped up to the mark. Brad Guzan, growing in confidence, produced a good commanding display; one that I've been begging for him to produce. When Rory Delap replaced Wilson Palacios, Guzan was called into action as this was the time when he needed to come and control his six yard area and he did that to a magnificent quality. At the other end, former Villa man Thomas Sorenson received a warm welcome from the travelling away fans and pulled out of the bag one fine save to deny sub Nathan Delfouneso. When Gabby Agbonlahor broke quickly down the right hand side, Villa looked threatening. Agbonlahor thread an inviting ball into the box for Delfouneso to pounce on. Fortunately for Stoke, Sorenson's right foot saved the day.

With a mixed bag of individual performances, Aston Villa pulled through with very little scares. The problem of keeping goals out may have been solved yet down the other end, goals being scored are scarce. With the big man Darren Bent sidelined for the third consecutive match, we once against missed that one guy to get some part of his body on the end of crosses. With Charles N'Zogbia showing good form and looking settled on the wing, crosses have been coming into box just waiting for someone to strike. His skill on the ball is perfect on the eye but when there is no final product it all goes to waste.

Too many diagonal heavy balls are being played, especially from James Collins, and when up against a tall set of Stoke players it wasn't a very good tactic. When Delfouneso came on for an injured Emile Heskey, we should have put the ball down and played some pretty football. With our pace thanks to the likes of Gabby, Charles, Marc and Nathan we should have taken full advantage.



Tash-tastic.
Source: avfc.com



On the subject of Gabby, compared to his performance last week he looked a revived man. Helping out the team defensively and attacking with a great amount of pace and intent he looked dangerous in front of goal. All he needs is that quality through ball to set him free, one on one with the keeper. That's his best position and sooner or later this will come in handy.

Up top with Agbonlahor performing well thankfully Richard Dunne down the other end is fast becoming a player that is very hard to get past. Standing tall like a brick wall, many thought at start of the season he would be a liability, but now he is proving his critics wrong.

Fight For What You Believe In.

 

He's a Villa man through and through.



"Football League founded by Aston Villa, won by Villa! 1874 a very good year for football!"

On Tuesday, the founder of the Football League, William McGregor was rededicated. 100 years that day, it was then that he died and the Second City lost a special man. Special to the club, special to the city and special to football.

So what more could have been rather coincidental yet very fitting than the 20,000th goal in the Premier League was scored by Aston Villa just the day after McGregor's anniversary. It was not just by an Aston Villa player but a player born in Birmingham, playing for the club he's watched grow into the team he's now part of.



"It was great to score the goal," Albrighton said. "It’s one of those things you will remember for the rest of your life, and people will remind me of it in years to come."

"It was great to score in front of the Holte End but it’s been soured a bit by the fact that we lost the game."

--



Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal "Delight Despite Defeat."


Villa lined up ready to fight. They fought with their heart
and soul but it wasn't good enough as they lost the battle.



You can't fault Aston Villa after last night's performance. The team played with pride, worked hard and showed a strong desire that's been lacking. However, yet again we only have ourselves to blame when we once more conceded from a set piece to surrender for no points. I say we can't fault the performance but then I went and said we can fault our own awful defending from corners. Hypocritical, right? My point being you could see the devastation in their eyes, how it hurt and hurt real bad to concede so late on after showing bundles of commitment to the cause. Alan Hutton shown red late on, which in my eyes - even though it really was a reckless challenge - shows how frustrated he was and that's a good sign. Even N'Zogbia tracking back made me smile; what does that show? Desire.

I'm not great with match reports at all, I prefer to be really biased and one sided so I'm glad that I can be for once as Aston Villa looked threatening and dominant, despite the odd five minutes of possession Arsenal had at times.

"We were totally unlucky. Arsenal had a lot of corners in the second half and unfortunately we lost out on one. But it was much more a performance of the team I'm trying to coach. We were very dynamic and played as team with outstanding individual performances. It was a tremendous display.

"I'm so pleased to see the players getting up in support of Gabby, it was such a positive performance by the players. We were tired at the end.

"But going into a really tough schedule you can do without players getting sent off. Alan should know better, he had a rush of blood to head. He's a vital player to the squad and we'll now miss him. Bent was close tonight and I certainly expect him to be ready for Monday."
- Alex McLeish.

There were some very good individual performances from our players, as McLeish said, which we haven't seen that often this season and when we have they haven't then be able to pull together and use it to win.

Brad Guzan had an overall good game, producing one great save to deny Per Mertesacker late on in the second half. Yet, in an open game the keeper had hardly anything to do but when relied upon he stepped up to the mark; most notably when faced with a one on one with England man Theo Walcott. Guzan was pretty helpless with both goals, however I still believe he needs to control his six yard box better at corners.

Alan Hutton possibly had his best game in a claret and blue shirt since he came from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, but then killed it when he recklessly went in for the challenge on Thomas Vermaelen.

Our rock at the back Richard Dunne produced a man of the match performance as he continued to shine in the heart of defence. Without his partner in crime, James Collins he looked more comfortable. Whether that be because he felt he needed to be at his best to keep his position in the squad we'll never know. Unlucky to be on the losing side after a supreme defensive performance for Aston Villa, he thoroughly deserved the award.

To the right of him Carlos Cuellar looked calm and composed. With Stephen Warnock bursting forward to support the attack and then also getting back to defend, just as he should. The defence played well over all, which relieved pressure off the midfield and allowed Aston Villa to attack Arsenal, with quick, fast tempo play at times.

Just in front of the defence stood Ciaran Clark and captain Stiliyan Petrov. Clark brought stability into the middle of the park, however his heavy touch and inaccurate passing let us down. This was his chance to show what McLeish has been missing out yet if you compare his performance to those of Chris Herd's, he was well under par. Stiliyan Petrov however had a very good game, both helping out the attack and defence. Making forward runs into the box to support Gabby and down the wing to offer options to both Marc Albrighton and Charles N'Zogbia.



Can these two be the way forward for Aston Villa?

 The wingers, N'Zogbia and Albrighton both shone last night. It actually looked like we had Downing and Young on the wings again as crosses came in left, right and centre. Taking defenders on everytime they received the ball, it created chances for striker Agbonlahor, but none could be converted. A special night for Albrighton as he got the goal and the landmark, but Charles produced one outstanding display. His skill to get past players worked and his pace in front of goal was immense. Just as Martinez said earlier this month, N'Zogbia pulled it out of the bag: "Charlie is a magician on the ball and it’s just a matter of time before he fits in and becomes a very, very important player for the future of Aston Villa." These two stole the show, in my opinion, and if they continue to play the way they did against Arsenal, Premier League defences will be shaking in their boots.

Finally the two front men, Gabby Agbonalahor and Stephen Ireland/Barry Bannan - the latter just playing off Agbonlahor - didn't play amazingly well but put a shift in for the team. Ireland was given his chance today and I thought he made a name for himself. He was great to watch as he ran and took the ball of players. Receiveing it from midfield and holding it up to then distribute it to whoever called for it. However, injury once again shattered his big night. Replaced by Barry Bannan, the wee Scotsman run his socks off. Agbonlahor, playing as a lone striker, saw what it was like to be Darren Bent for the day. The only difference being that he was not short of service. In fact, he was drowned with it.

"I can only congratulate Villa. They played well and gave everything. We got very late three points that are vital for us.

"We were a bit unlucky on Sunday at Manchester City and this time maybe we were a bit lucky. It was important to restart things with a win.

"But, if Villa continue to play like that, they will quickly climb up the table because they had an outstanding game."

- Arsene Wenger, Arsenal manager.

Desire?

Aston Villa boast one fine academy, a positive in all this negativity, which receives high and well deserved praise on many fronts. The likes of Gabby Agbonlahor, our speed demon, Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark, who's hasn't been given a chance yet however contributed to some classy goals last season and Barry Bannan; have all worked their way through to the first team.

Having been shining lights, except Gabby, in the gloom overshadowing Villa Park and deepening injury crisis's in a difficult Gérard Houllier reign, they now vow to be part of a ultra-defensive Villa XI.

Not only do they express an enormous amount of talent, yet they also come with bundles of desire. Desire to do well, desire to play for the team that most of them support and love and desire to make Villa a major force in the Premier League again.

In most Premier League teams, home grown players are of the minority and teams don't see the benefits of them. What it brings to the club are passionate youngsters that are willing to improve to become a player that will be recognised by little children for years to come. Even if they lack in experience, they definitely make up for it in emotion.



Ciaran Clark. Source: Sky Sports.



Take Ciaran Clark for instance; properly making his first team breakthrough under Gérard Houllier last season, he proved not only to be a proven stopper in front of goal, he also became a goalscorer down the other end of the pitch. The versatile star, brings character to the field of play - a natural born leader, captaining both the reserve team and the youth England side - and also a sense of calmness. Clark brings composure into the heart of defence, a broad intimidating stature and an aerial threat.

This season he has only made just three apps, being overlooked by Alex McLeish. The two centre-halves standing in his way, appear as James Collins and Richard Dunne; two defenders with 563 Premier League appearances between them. It seems with those two ahead of him, only injuries will allow him to creep into the side.

As much as I am an admirer of James Collins, some of his performances this season have been of a poor standard. So why has McLeish still kept him in the squad when you  have a player like Ciaran Clark waiting in the wings?

Chris Herd. Source: Sky Sports.

There's not only Ciaran Clark that has made his way into first team contention, there are other's that have excelled in the position of being able to play week in, week out. Chris Herd, the Australian born "utility player," was never one that many Villa fans knew about before this season. He played a few games last season, however particularly burst through the scenes when Luke Young left this summer. Needed at right back, Herd stepped into the position perfectly; gelling into the team as if he'd been playing with them for years. Throughout the season, he's been used at the centre of midfield, acting as an anchor to support with both the defence and attack, allowing skipper Stiliyan Petrov to play in his more natural position.

Another graduate of the Aston Villa academy, he shows a huge amount of passion in whatever position he plays. Showing it when going in to whatever challenge, tackle or pass he makes, Herd boasts the sort of attitude all players should admire. You don't often find players like Chris Herd, a player that doesn't moan, puts his head down and gets on with the job in hand. A credit to the club, in my opinion. Offering composure, the ability to tackle without fear, threat in the air and the desire to do everything he does well, he is a player that shouldn't be missed off the team sheet.



Gabby Agbonlahor. "Villa is the perfect club for me. It's home!"
Source: Sky Sports. 



One of the oldest, that still lasts from the academy, striker Gabby Agbonlahor has been one of the success stories that has peeped out from Bodymoor Heath. Now playing in what I would call the best form of his career, assisting and scoring goals left, right and centre; we have a demon on our hands. A speed demon.

He is currently the longest serving player at Villa Park, after joining the youth academy at 1994 and then playing professionally at 2005. In addition to this, he is also Aston Villa's second highest Premier League goalscorer, just behind Dwight Yorke who score 60 goals.

When he burst onto the Villa's first team radar in the 2006/07 season under Martin O'Neill, he started on the right wing in a new look Aston Villa side which faced Arsenal at the Emirates. Now, the rest is history.

Gabby Agbonlahor plays for the badge, not for the name on the back of his shirt. He doesn't go for glory and he plays with his heart on his sleeve. Bringing a natural winning instinct and an a massive amount of passion to the team, he shows them what Aston Villa is all about. Thanks to him being from Birmingham and knowing the club inside out, it reaps in the rewards. The fans love him and he knows what it takes to be a hero and not an enemy.



Marc Albrighton. Source: Sky Sports.



Just like Gabby, Marc Albrighton lives, breathes and bleeds claret and blue. Making appearances in the Premier League under Martin O'Neill, he made his proper breakthrough along with Ciaran Clark last season. You have to say this was all down to Kevin MacDonald who put his faith into Marc when needed.

You can never question Albrighton's work ethic as he always runs his little legs off, wherever, whenever. Neither can you question his desire to be part of the team and return it to it's former glory.

"I know things had not been great but I am a Villa boy and I can’t think of anything worse than leaving the club that’s given me all my games and all my happy moments."

It is Marc Albrighton's passion that for me has led to me to love him as a player. Even though he has had a tough season this year and hasn't performed well when asked to, he still has the courage and bravery to go out on the pitch when needed and give his all. Whether that just be to run and run and run and run, he will do it and he will do it with pride. He will do it for Aston Villa Football Club.

This amount of sheer hard work was explained by both captain and manager alike after the Bolton game two weeks ago. “I am delighted for Marc,” said Stiliyan Petrov. “He’s had a real tough time. Before the season started, all the expectations were really high for Marc. Everyone was looking to him to be a replacement for Stewart or Ashley when they left. It wasn’t the best start for him, but the one thing you saw was how hard he was working. He was upset. He’s that sort of player. He wants to learn. He wants to improve and if things don’t go his way on the pitch, he is not happy to just accept it, he wants to put it right."

There are many others; Barry Bannan and Gary Gardner spring to mind, yet I didn't want to bore you with my waffle. Is the academy graduates who will perhaps save us from McLeish's offensive tactics?

Aston Villa Football Club; Proud History, Bright Future.

Aston Villa Football Club; Prepared.

Were we ever prepared for the arrival of ex Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish? Were we prepared for our relegation fight last season under Gerard Houllier? Were we prepared when Martin O'Neill left us five days before the start of the 2010/11 Barclays Premier League?



Martin O'Neill, in his Aston Villa days and the 'Metro' headline.

It all started when Manchester City rumbled Aston Villa for one of their star players, for a second consecutive year. Once again, you could call it a very under hand operation by the new millionaires in the Premier League. Thanks to the blue half of Manchester, Villa were ducks under water, being drowned slowly but surely. As soon as the deal was done and hands shook - behind closed doors - Martin O'Neill; the manager that had shown us to sixth place in the table for three seasons, took us to Wembley twice for the first time in ten years and also given us chances in Europe; walked out. Disagreements with Randy Lerner and no money being out in the pot may have been the reasons for this shock news. Whatever explanation you can think of probably applied to Martin O'Neill's resignation.

Just five days before the start of a new season, one that many Villa fans were looking forward to; the possibilities of a cup, another last ditch attempt to jump for the worshipped fourth place finish and Champions League football to aim for; we had to start all over again. Right from the beginning, back to basics.

Kevin MacDonald was appointed as caretaker manager, with only five days to rebuild a destroyed team, that was possibly shell shocked, like most, at the resignation of their manager of four seasons. He did a remarkably good job, especially in the time he had. Bringing in Marc Albrighton into the first team and introducing Andreas Wienman and Barry Bannan into the Premier League, it exploited what talent lies a little bit closer to home.

'Express and Star' report that even the manger admits we're in a relegation battle.

You could say that this is when the Dark Ages returned to Villa Park when Gerard Houlier walked through the door. (In my opinion, I'd say that that is a harsh set of words.) Even though he won his first two games as manager against Blackburn Rovers in the League Cup and Wolverhampton Wanderers in his return to Premier League action, there were still worst times to come. With loses over arch rivals Birmingham City in the Carling Cup quarter final and a deathly Christmas period, it pointed us towards the bottom of the table holding up the rest of the league cause we were just so strong (writes with hint of sarcasm.) Arguments with players lead to an unhappy team playing game after game with as much intent and heart as a dead dog. However, we still finished in the top half of the table, in a healthy ninth position, thanks to wins against Arsenal and Liverpool.

As much as I hated the fact at the time that we were face to face with relegation and playing at Coventry, I still backed the manager, supported the team and made sure I sung my heart out at all games. Comparing that to others, I was one of those branded 'positive.' Now those who screamed abuse at the manager, booed the team they love and hung banners asking for the head of Houllier have suddenly come to the realisation that maybe if they weren't so hurtful towards the manager he may still be managing a team that was fighting for a top sixth place finish again this year. Even though, the likes of Richard Dunne, Stephen Warnock, James Collins and even perhaps Gabby Agbonlahor may not have been at the club, we would have had a manager that had a set long term plan for the club. He set his team out to attack what ever was threw at them, he had a positive set of tactics and took his time in building the foundations of a team that would be able to pass the ball around neatly, press the opponents as if spying on their prey and use fast tempo play in the final third.



'BBC Sport' exclaim the breaking news story.

Unfortunately, as a result of the Frenchman's health, he was forced to set down from his managerial post, paving the way for Alex McLeish. I still admire his amount of bravery and courage to come across the city, yet it may have been a regretful decision. With possibly the easiest of first six fixtures, I'm sure we all had high expectation, hoping for a full eighteen points. Regardless of the unbeaten start we were only getting draws, even after leading most games and sitting back for the rest of the match only for the opposition to take advantage of the fact.

I agree that it takes time to settle into a club, yet with a negative, defencive set of tactics, McLeish has made it harder for himself. Against Bolton, two weeks ago, Alex dropped the negative tactics and preached an attacking formation which paid of. The old fashioned 4-4-2, worked wonders even if it was only against bottom of the table Bolton Wanderers.

Defending set pieces has also been a very big problem, just as it was under Gerard Houllier. The most basic of skills in football, that even at grass roots level is mastered, man marking is demonstrated poorly. Even zonal marking is poor. Yet, this is still a team with three defenders that under O'Neill were one of the tightest defences in the league.







Lerner, McLeish and the Players

I haven't posted anything for a while, the Spurs game was a game that I couldn't express anything positive about the game and couldn't see the daylight. The Swansea game was totally over shadowed by the death of Gary Speed; long may he be remembered in the game. To top it all off, yesterday's game has been haunted by McLeish & Co.

If we let the stats talk this is what McLeish brings:

Birmingham City 2010-11: P14 W3 D7 L4 F15 A17 Gd-2    Points 16 Position 14th
Aston Villa 2011-12:         P14 W3 D7 L4 F16 A18 Gd-2    Points 16 Position 9th

Compared to last season's 14 games under Kevin McDonald and Gerard Houllier:

P14 W4 D5 L5 F15 A20 Gd-5     Points 17 Position 13th

So who's fault is it?
I don't like passing the blame on but I asked the general question. This was how it stood;
1) McLeish's fault

2) Randy Lerner, McLeish and the players. - One saying Lerner shouldn't have employed McLeish in the first place, McLeish shouldn't play such negative football and actually motivate the players and some of the players don't show any drive.

=3) Randy Lerner and McLeish

=3) Lerner. - McLeish just took what was offered to him by the chairman.

In my opinion I agree that it is all three's faults.

How are we going to start to win games, climb up the table and challenge for a top place finish?
Scenario One (the scenario we seem to be in):

Randy Lerner declares to all Villa fans that he is fully behind Alex McLeish long term, that to buy players we have to ship one out and we have to keep control of the wage bill.

Who do we get rid off, to make way for attacking, solid, creative, versatile players?

• Andy Marshall?
• Habib Beye?
• Darren Bent? - I hate to say it.
• Emile Heskey?
• Stephen Ireland?
• Alan Hutton?

Who do we bring in? Without mentioned names.

• A solid right and left back.
• A quick pacey striker to play alongside Gabby.
• Possibly a tall CAM.
• GARY GARDNER!

Scenario Two:

McLeish gets sacked as Aston Villa lose 8-0 to Liverpool at Villa Park.

What manager would be appointed? Just to name a couple.

• Mark Hughes
• Steve Bruce

Scenario Three:

Alex McLeish realises that half of the first team couldn't care less and play with no drive or ambition to win so decides to name a team full of reserves and academy players with some exceptions. (Not counting injuries that we have at the moment.)

What would the team look like?

GK) Shay Given

LB) Ciaran Clark
CB) Richard Dunne
CB) James Collins
RB) Carlos Cuellar
CDM) Chris Herd
LW) Barry Bannan
CM) Samir Carruthers
RW) Marc Albrighton (maybe.)
CAM) Gary Gardner
ST) Gabby Agbonlahor

4-1-3-1

Comments please.