Last time Stan saw Rat-Faced Stewey in opposite colors, Downing left on a stretcher
Source: Daily Mail
Last week's 2-1 win over Bolton was a story of two halves, with Villa taking the match to the Trotters before retreating back into a shell for the second half. Against Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool on Sunday, Villa will need to press the attack the entire time, which won't be easy without runaway player of the season Gabby Agbonlahor, who picked up a very dubious fifth yellow card of the season late in the second half.
Last year, Villa ended the season by hosting Liverpool. The hosts came out 1-0 winners to claim ninth in the league in what would turn out to be the last match in Claret and Blue for the Houllier-McAllister management team, Nigel Reo-Coker, Ashley Young, Brad Friedel, Mikey Bradley, and Stewart Downing, who ended up posing in a Carribean bar with a Liverpool scarf not long after, announcing his intentions to leave a month after telling everyone "I'm happy, so there's no reason to change."
Downing will figure to take HEAVY abuse from the Villa fans in attendance, as several fan sites have begun distributing songs to welcome our erstwhile winger. A home win over Liverpool would be as redemptive as it was last year, as doubt has once again set in, talks of protest against the manager have emerged, and a poor run of form in December could see Villa starting 2012 the way they started 2011.
Capital Villans will be taking in the match at the Queen Vic on 12th and H Streets NE. Though their owner is a Liverpool fan, we will try not to gloat too heavily in the wake of a Villa win. We'll see you there from 9:00 a.m. EST on Sunday!
Before we get into a very long post, know that Capital Villans will be catching the match on tape delay at the Queen Vic on 12th and H NE, at 5:00 p.m. EST. We do hope to see you there!
With a frantic festive period coming up for Villa, and rumblings of massive protests of the current gaffer's regime to occur at next week's home match against Liverpool, I felt it might be a good time to dust off our post from June regarding Alex McLeish's appointment, and what positives he might have brought to the club this Summer.
As it stands, Villa sit in 9th place on 16 points. The worry, for Villa fans, is that this is exactly where he had Birmingham at this point in the season last year, and that ended in relegation. The other worry is that performances like the visit to Tottenham, where McLeish doubled down on right backs to contain Gareth Bale rather than having a more positive approach, will be the rule and not the exception.
Let's look, though, at those positive points I mentioned in June:
The man knows goalkeeping talent.
Shay Given was the odds-on favorite to come to Aston Villa and fill the void left by Brad Friedel joining Tottenham. But he wasn't the only name floated. Ali al-Habsi, Paul Robinson and Kieran Westwood were among the other names mentioned as possibilities for the vacant position. While Given is currently on the trainer's table having done his hamstring last weekend, few could argue that he's been anything but sensational for Villa. Point to Eck for picking the right man for the job.
He's good at organizing a defense.
He's actually not bad on this one, though set piece marking has been atrocious, and the goals we've allowed have been down to comically bad player performance (Big Ginger James, we're looking at you). Aston Villa have allowed 18 goals in 14 games, which puts us in 10th in the league in goals allowed; this is, by the way, an improvement of 2 goals over last season to this point (by date, though, it's an improvement of 10 goals, so either bad things are indeed on the horizon, or things will be looking up after the Liverpool match).
He's a tactically flexible manager-
I'm about to get my tin hat on for this, because I think I'm about to get a lot of opposition. The vast majority of Villa's matches have been played as a 4-5-1 (a formation, by the by, people CLAMORED for Martin O'Neill to use during his term at Villa, but I digress). The exact shape of that, however, varies match to match, and even half to half. The intent, as McLeish recently told the Villa official site, is to play a Dutch-style 4-3-3, with wingers serving as pincers to meet crosses at the back post. Villa supporters will recognize this tactic from Graham Taylor's time at the club, with Ian Ormondroyd serving as the main back-post target. While it's great to have that intent, I don't know if he can take credit for that vision if he hasn't communicated that well enough for players not named Agbonlahor to execute it.
What I CAN give McLeish credit for is the ability to turn a hoofing team into a passing team over the course of a halftime interval, as he's now done for the last two matches. And even the right-wing lock tactic against Tottenham, while extremely negative, showed some sort of tactical flexibility, as it pushed Villa into a 4-4-2. The struggle, though, is why the team begins matches hoofing the ball. Especially when McLeish seems outwardly to be pleading for his team to cut all that out during matches. But credit to him, he does always seem to have a plan B.
He's actually pretty good in the transfer market overall.
McLeish has made five signings during his first window at Aston Villa. Shay Given, Alan Hutton and Charles N'Zogbia joined permanently for a combined cost of 18 million pounds; Jermaine Jenas came in on loan, and has now gone back to Tottenham after injuring his Achilles on Sautrday; and Enda Stevens will be joining the club in January. We've already covered Given's excellence. N'Zogbia has struggled to find form to the point where he isn't even a regular selection, but many saw a move to Villa as the next logical step for a player of N'Zogbia's caliber. Remember that Stiliyan Petrov, Stewart Downing, and James Milner all struggled to find form in their first seasons at Villa, and all three eventually won Player of the Season honors for the club. Hutton has been, in a word, poor. While at times he's shown a real zeal to join the attacking play, his passing is also at times atrocious. His marking is inconsistent, though he did make Ashley Young a non-factor when Manchester United came calling. Jenas was a tough call. He was injured for most of his term at Villa, but when he did make the pitch, showed an incredible amount of industry and application for a player who basically missed all of last season at Spurs. Stephen Ireland might have done well to watch Jenas's performances in a Villa shirt. That said, 1 for 4 isn't a wonderful record, though N'Zogbia has shown bright flashes, as did Jenas before getting crocked.
He has won a trophy in England
And the team dropped out of the very same competition McLeish won away to our next opponents. But Villa do remain in the FA Cup- this one is to be determined
So that's a yes on identifying goalkeeping talent, tactical flexibility (though nous the jury is still out on), a no on the transfer market, and a maybe on trophies and the transfer market.
Now, to look at how McLeish has performed against the worry-points I mentioned in June:
Two relegations in three seasons is not a "proven record."
As mentioned before, the similarity in record between us now and Birmingham then is eerie; I have faith that our players are better than that, however.
His "big-name" buys (Arteta at Rangers; Zigic, Hleb and Beausejour) have all been flops.
I'd consider Given a big name buy, so he's hitting .500 on that at Villa until N'Zogbia improves
Again, while McLeish's formations may be flexible, his play is not, and there's a worry that his particular brand of kick-kick-kick-and-rush football will have attacking players like Darren Bent and Stewart Downing looking for the exits
Downing left in the Summer, so at least McLeish's tactics had nothing to do with that! But Bent does look worryingly unhappy on the pitch, and as mentioned above, there has been way too much hoofball thus far, though
He's brought Barry Ferguson everywhere he's been- and that's a player that's nowhere near good enough for Villa.
Well, McLeish has been asking for some January cash, but I don't think I've seen mention of Ferguson save for the opinion part of a James Nursey column. Please, feel free to correct me in the comments if you have (and in a real source- use the villatalk.com source blacklist for reference)
Of those worry-points, the only one that's looking realized is the level of the football.
In all, while the performances have been at times dire, I don't think they've been as bad as the O'Leary days or an O'Neill March. I do think the second half against Swansea and the last 20 minutes of the match against Manchester United light a way forward for Villa under McLeish, and I think he's smart enough to follow that light.
So while I don't think sunshine comes out of McLeish's back door, I'm not willing to join the protesting hordes of Villa fans, though poor performances against Bolton and Liverpool could rapidly change that. For at least the next two weeks, I'd urge the following:
After two straight losses to Man City and West Brom, with the latter including a dubious Phil Dowd red card (is there any other type of Phil Dowd red card?), Villa head to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland. Villa will be without midfield maestro Barry Bannan, who stupidly got into his car after a night on the lash and crashed the damned thing. Chris Herd, the object of Dowd's affection last Saturday, will be available as the FA overturned his red card ban. Alan Hutton may miss after donning the crimson mask during Saturday's festivities, and loanee Jermaine Jenas is unlikely.
Capital Villans will be at the Queen Vic, on 12th and H NE, at 10 a.m. EDT tomorrow. See you there!
Before the international break, Villa executed on their "must-win" match against Wigan, with Gabby Agbonlahor the star of the show. Gabby popped in a screamer from just inside the box after a lofted pass from Barry Bannan, then rampaged down the left flank before chipping an inch-perfect cross to Darren Bent for goal number two. A wonderful professional performance left Villa in 7th on 11 points with an extra week to prepare for Manchester City.
City come into the match second only on goal difference to their cross-city rivals. All hasn't been roses, however, as Roberto Mancini has squabbled at varying points with three of his main forwards (Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli), and injuries have also decimated the forward line; superstar Sergio "El Kun" Aguero will likely miss this weekend's match.
Villa should have a mostly full squad to choose from, as Carlos Cuellar had his first full-match run out with the reserves this week, but loan signing Jermaine Jenas and reserve striker Nathan Delfouneso will both miss due to injury.
Capital Villans will be taking in the match live at the Queen Vic, at 10 a.m. EDT. Come on out and join us!
Villa saw out a gritty 2-2 draw at Goodison last Saturday, in which the team did not play its best football- in fact, Big Eck himself called the team's first half "insipid"- but excellent goalkeeping from Shay Given and last-ditch defending from Richard Dunne, James Collins and even Darren Bent kept the Villans in the game enough to equalize twice. The first Villa goal was an absolute beauty from skipper Stiliyan Petrov, the second a powerful header from Gabby Agbonlahor, who turned in an inch-perfect cross from substitute Marc Albrighton. And so Villa head into this weekend still undefeated and sitting in 8th place on six points.
Villa face Newcastle, who had their flying start cooled by a nil-nil draw with Queens Park Rangers yesterday, but are currently sitting fourth in the table. Villa will be without loan signing Jermaine Jenas, who has a "kicking strain" whatever that is, and man-mountain Emile Heskey, who came off at 18 minutes with a hamstring strain at Goodison and will be out for the next few weeks. Newcastle, meanwhile, should see a fully fit squad make the trip to the Midlands.
Capital Villans will be taking in the match at The Queen Vic, on 12th and H NE. It's also the day of the H Street Festival, so come out at 10 a.m. EDT for the match and make a day of it!
A 2-0 win over Hereford followed by a nil-nil at home to Wolves sees Villa fixing to play Bolton in the League Cup and seventh in the table heading into the weekend clash with Everton after Euro 2012 qualifier/International friendly weekend. Villa had a few stars in action- Richard Dunne and Shay Given helped power Ireland to a nil-nil draw with Russia despite Dunne wearing a kit that required a Sharpied-on number; Scottish midfield whiz Barry Bannan had an assist in the Tartan Army's 1-0 triumph over Lithuania, while newboy Alan Hutton played in the 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic; Darren Bent missed both England matches against Bulgaria (during which Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov was kinda overrun as the Three Lions won 3-0) and Wales.
Bent's a doubt for the trip to Goodison Park; his missing would key an opportunity for either Bannan, Stephen Ireland, or new signing Jermaine Jenas to pull the strings, as Alex McLeish has suggested he would slide Emile Heskey up in the formation in Bent's absence. Expect new fullback Alan Hutton to make his debut, barring McLeish sticking with Australian(but maybe Scottish!) midfielder Chris Herd in the role, as Herd won man of the match for erasing Wolves' Wing Wunderkind Matt Jarvis from the match.
The match will be shown on a delay on Fox Soccer Plus- plan to convene at 4:30 at the Queen Vic. Your humble auhtor will, however, be heading to the woods of Harpers' Ferry during that time. So enjoy in my absence!
GOOOOOOOLAZO! Gabby Celebrates his Wonderstrike v. Blackburn
Credit: Football 365.com
What a difference a week makes. After failing to get off the mark against Fulham, all three of Villa's nominal senior strikers got into the record books for the 2011-2012 campaign at Villa Park. Gabby Agbonlahor, who had a scintillating first half before leaving to a hamstring bruise at the interval, opened the scoring with a wonderful curling strike from the left edge of the area after turning Michel Salgado inside out. Gabby then laid off an incisive pass from Man of the Match Fabian Delph to Emile Heskey, who poked it past Rovers keeper Paul Robinson from the right side of the D. In the second half, Blackburn clawed one back after Villa bete noir Morten Gamst Pedersen headed home a nice cross from Junior Hoillet, but Villa put the game out of reach through Darren Bent, who picked up a pass-cum-shot from Stiliyan Petrov that deflected off of a Blackburn defender and knocked a left-footed strike over Robinson. Credit to Alex McLeish, who was received well, for making positive, attacking substitutions. The introduction of Barry Bannan at 65 minutes, in particular, helped Villa to clamp down on the resurgent Rovers, and his interplay in the attacking third led to Petrov's assist and many more chances for the Villa. Not a bad home start at all for the controversial appointment.
Villa will next play Hereford in the second round of the League Cup, tomorrow at 3 Eastern. Nowhere is showing the match, but Villa should win comfortably. Gabby Agbonlahor is doubtful after taking a kick on the hamstring from Paul Robinson late in the first half.
At the weekend, Villa stay at B6 and play host to second place (!) Wolves. Mick McCarthy's upstarts have been flying early, snatching a 2-1 come from behind win at Ewood Park and spanking Fulham at home 2-0. The match will be on ESPN3; since it's the early game (7:05 a.m. EDT kickoff), not a pub in the district will be open. Take the weekend to recover, watch the stream from your homes, and we'll be back next week!
Well, nil-nil means the other team didn't score. New 'keeper Shay Given put on a masterclass, almost Jedi-ing Fulham to shoot the ball at him. After a dominant first half, Villa looked a little leggy in seeing out the second half and posting their first away clean sheet since April of 2010.
Unfortunately, the match also saw the Great Wall of Ireland suffer a slight groin strain, leading to James Collins taking goal kicks for the last half hour of the match. The EPL website lists him as a doubt for Saturday's match, against Blackburn. Villa's last meeting was in Hong Kong during the preseason, a match which Villa won 1-0 through Darren Bent's smooth strike off of Stephen Warnock's knockdown of a cross from wee Barry Bannan. Rovers opened their campaign in earnest with a 2-1 loss to Wolves at Ewood Park.
Other than Given, Villa will likely be without Spanish Colossus Carlos Cuellar, still recovering from offseason knee surgery.
Capital Villans will be taking the match in at the Queen Vic, on 12th and H NE. Come join us starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday!
Unbelievably, Aston Villa have appointed the former manager of Birmingham City, Alex McLeish, to the manager's post vacated by Gerard Houllier. It's a move that was met with some protest, as roughly a thousand supporters gathered at Villa Park to voice their displeasure at the appointment, and one spineless jagoff vandalized the entry sign at Bodymoor Heath.
While two relegations in three and a half seasons in charge speak even less kindly for the Ginger Scot than his previous post, there are a few positives to look for from Big Eck.
The man knows goalkeeping talent. Between bringing in Waterreus at Rangers, appointing Craig Gordon Scotland's number one, loaning in Joe Hart and then purchasing Ben Foster, it's very clear that McLeish knows how to pick out and develop good goalkeepers, which Villa will need with Brad Friedel plying his trade at White Hart Lane next season
He's good at organizing a defense. Last year aside (with City facing several defensive injuries), McLeish has made his teams hard to beat. One has to think that with a deeper and better defensive squad at Villa (I'd even rate Young and Lichaj above Agent Liam and Stephen Carr), he'd be able to fix the most glaring problem we had last year- conceding goals.
He's a tactically flexible manager- Granted, that flexibility for Birmingham meant deciding whether to have two or three central midfielders kicking people in the shins. But, he deploys the 4-5-1 and 4-4-2 as opposition dictates, and unlike previous SPL-winning gaffers that we've had at Villa Park, is not afraid to make substitutions when he needs to chase goals
He's actually pretty good in the transfer market overall. Here's a list of his signings at Rangers. Look up and down it, and you'll see a bunch of good value buys that did very well for Rangers, and were instrumental in winning 7 trophies during his time there. Even at Birmingham, while he bought the odd Zigic, Beausejour and Davies (hey, we bought him, too!), he was able to come up with high-value signings like Scott Dann, Roger Johnson, Craig Gardner (who, for the money, performed quite well for the Noses), David Bentley, and the aforementioned Hart and Foster
He has won a trophy in England, which not even Saint Martin was able to do at Villa
But yes, there are many negatives which help bolster the cases of Villa supporters enraged by his appointment
Two relegations in three seasons is not a "proven record."
His "big-name" buys (Arteta at Rangers; Zigic, Hleb and Beausejour) have all been flops.
Again, while McLeish's formations may be flexible, his play is not, and there's a worry that his particular brand of kick-kick-kick-and-rush football will have attacking players like Darren Bent and Stewart Downing looking for the exits
He's brought Barry Ferguson everywhere he's been- and that's a player that's nowhere near good enough for Villa.
In the end, the man's Aston Villa's manager for now. Let's give him a preseason and a few games before we judge how well he can do the job, and let's look forward to August 13th, when Aston Villa open the season at Craven Cottage.
Villa closed out its traveling campaign with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Arsenal, with Darren Bent bagging a brace in the first 15 minutes, and Villa defending stoutly for the remaining 75, thus certifying next year's appearance in the Premier League. A win to close out our season could, depending on results, see us catapult into 9th, a dizzying position considering how this season has played out.
Villa will be without midfielder Jean Makoun, who has left early for Cameroon to tend to his wife and children, who were recently in a car crash. The family is not seriously injured, but is in a state of shock. Our best wishes go out to Jean. Manager Gerard Houllier also continues to mend from his heart scare, but the good news is that the gaffer was at Bodymoor Heath earlier this week. Mssr. Houllier could be in attendance for the final game of the season, but Gary Mac will remain in charge of the team for one last match.
The match could also be the farewell for several Villa players, with Nigel Reo-Coker and Brad Friedel still yet to sign new contracts (their current ones expire with this season). Speculation also swirls around Ashley Young, who will enter the final year of his Villa contract next season. Kyle Walker will also return to Tottenham, barring a successful permanent bid from Aston Villa.
Capital Villans will be changing venues to the Queen Vic on 12th and H Street NE, which I'm told is a Liverpool bar. At any rate, it's a right proper pub. Come on out, bid farewell to the season, and UP THE VILLA!
Last week's dire 1-1 home draw to Wigan was really only notable for Emile Heskey's sudden inclination to care how an official was calling the match. Heskey responded in extremis to a foul by Antolin Alcaraz (a foul which, it should be noted, referee Mike Jones had given, but for which was playing advantage to Villa) by charging into Jones, who did the lumpen striker a favor by only booking him for dissent, and not sending him off for abusive conduct toward an official. Ashley Young scored an equalizer from a free kick in the 18th, canceling out Charles N'Zogbia's 10th minute opener. Heskey was denied by Ali al-Habsi in the first half, while Darren Bent put a golden chance in the 84th right into Wigan's Omani keeper.
The draw leaves Villa with an outside chance of relegation, in 14th on 42 points, just six points clear of 18th placed Blackpool with two games remaining. And in this state, we head to Arsenal, who had their title hopes dashed by a 3-1 loss to Stoke last weekend. The Gunners are three points back of second-place Chelsea, but would want to stay ahead of Manchester City, whom they lead by two heading into the last two matches.
Villa follow this with a visit from a very in-form Liverpool, who are scoring goals for fun at the moment and fighting for a Europa League place with Tottenham, so best to get the point that guarantees safety at the Emirates. Capital Villans will be viewing and hoping for said minor miracle at Lucky Bar. Come join us for the match this coming Sunday at 11:00 a.m. EDT!
Check-check-check check it out: Villa's "prototype" home kit for next year
(credit: Footballshirtculture.com)
After crushing 2-1 loss to 10-man West Brom that saw the Baggies score all three goals, Villa will look for some home cooking as Wigan Athletic come to town. Villa are currently six points above the drop zone, and while they should be safe, Wigan currently occupy the final relegation spot, and will be hungry for a win.
The Villans will be without midfielder Jean II Makoun, who missed last week's clash with a thigh injury, although Richard Dunne returns fit after leaving the West Brom match early with "dead-arse" and Emile Heskey returns from a knee injury. Expect a similar team to the one that faced West Brom and Stoke.
In other news, a "prototype" for Aston Villa's home kit for the 2011/12 season has been making the rounds after an image posted to JJB Sports (incidentally, Wigan used to have them as a shirt and stadium sponsor). Football Shirt Culture has the story and specs, while the club have announced that the shirt will be available in July, but might not look EXACTLY like the picture above. Our bet is that the checks will be a little closer in shade, and that there will likely be some claret detailing on the sleeve tips. Our hope is that the proposed white socks that go with the kit are replaced with blue socks, as that's what an Aston Villa kit looks like. Save the white socks for the Spammers.
Capital Villans will be taking in the Wigan match at Lucky Bar, on the crossroads of 18th and Connecticut NW. See you bright and early at 10 a.m. EDT!
Darren Bent saved our asses. With Stoke grinding the game down to nubbins by clutching, grabbing and taking f o r e v e r to take any and all set pieces, Bent snatched a chance from nowhere and headed a Kyle Walker cross past Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic from between two Stoke defenders to level the match. Villa held out for the draw, and will go into the weekend against a team that actually wants to play football.
Since appointing Roy Hodgson to the manager's post in February, the Baggies went from certain relegation candidates to relative safety. They come into the match in 14th position, just a point and a place behind Villa. Last weekend, they snatched a last-minute draw from Tottenham on an absolute peach from young striker Simon Cox. Both teams should
In a bit of good news, Villa gaffer Gerard Houllier will be leaving the hospital to begin a spell of bed rest at home as he continues to recover from his health scare. The Capital Villans wish a continued speedy recovery to the manager.
Your humble Capital Villans leadership will be travelling to Philadelphia during the match to participate in Sunday's Broad Street Run. However, the match will be on live at Fado, on 7th NW between H and I, at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Enjoy and UTV!
A stoppage-time winner from Gabby Agbonlahor saw Villa see off the Hammers and shoot up to 10th in the Premier League, heading into this weekend's match with Stoke City. Darren Bent also scored (his sixth in 11 games since joining in January- what a bargain), cancelling out Robbie Keane's second-minute opener.
Stoke come into the weekend feeling the high of doling out a 5-0 thrashing to Bolton in the FA Cup semifinal. Former Holte End hero John Carew will be unavailable for the 13th-placed Potters, as he is on loan from Villa. Other than that rule-bound change, both teams will have their full squads from which to select.
UPDATE: Villa Manager Gerard Houllier was taken to the hospital last night with an undisclosed illness; Assistant Manager Gary "Short Pants" McAllister will take the reigns for Saturday's match. We at the Capital Villans HQ wish a speedy recovery to Gerard.
The Capital Villans will be viewing the match at Lucky Bar; come join us at 10 a.m. on Saturday for the live broadcast.
Villa looked the part of the home team last week against Newcastle United, with James Collins the hero of a one-nil win. This weekend, Villa travel to Upton Park, where color-stealers West Ham United await. The Hammers come into the match in a precarious 18th, but still just 5 points back of Villa, who sit in 14th position. A win for Villa would all but assure Premier League safety, and cast serious doubts on West Ham's survival (meaning Olympic Stadium would be a Championship Ground).
Last time Villa played West Ham was the season opener at Villa Park, with Kevin MacDonald in the manager's chair and James Milner in midfield (scoring his farewell goal in front of the Holte End). The match will also be Ashley Young's 250th career league appearance. Villa have everyone fit, and should name a similar side to the one that beat Newcastle, which will also make the match Gabby Agbonlahor's 200th start for the Villa.
The Capital Villans will be at Lucky Bar tomorrow for the live broadcast of the match, at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Come join us!
After a battling 2-2 draw at Everton that saw Villa fight back from one-nil down to take the lead, only for a dodgy penalty decision to take away the full three points. Darren Bent had the brace for Villa, who sit in 16th on 34 points with seven matches to go.
Enter Newcastle United, who visit Villa Park five points ahead in ninth, coming off of a 4-0 pasting of Wolves at St. James's Park. Last time Villa played Newcastle sealed the fate of Kevin MacDonald as interim manager, with Newcastle running rampant and hitting in 6. Last time we hosted Newcastle, then-captain Gareth Barry sealed the barcodes' relegation by thumping one in off the back of Damien Duff. Both teams should have their full squads to choose from.
In addition, the club is pulling out the stops to once again make Villa Park an intimidating place to be for visiting teams. The club shot the above video with 200 supporters earlier this week, in an effort to bring back the club's historical anthem "The Bells are Ringing," and to prove true the permanent banner on the facing of the Holte End, and give the Villans a "12th Man" to carry them through. We'll be doing our best from 3,600 some-odd miles away, with a chance to actually watch the game live! Come join us at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday- we'll be at Lucky Bar.
Not much of an update this week. It's been a while since we've convened- Villa travel to take on Everton at Goodison Park in a pretty-much must win match. Stewie Downing, Darren Bent and Ashley Young all performed well for England in the International Break- let's hope they keep it up.
Join the Capital Villans at Lucky Bar at 5:00 for the tape-delayed broadcast of the match.
This past weekend saw Villa dismantle Blackburn 4-1, with Ashley Young providing a brace, Stewart Downing finishing an excellent run, and Marc Albrighton dinking one in off a Blackburn defender. With that boost, Villa head to Eastlands today to take on Manchester City in the 5th round of the FA Cup. Win, and Villa host Reading, who upset Everton on Monday, in the quarterfinal round.
Villa will be without defensive trio James Collins (calf), Nathan Baker (bell rung), and Carlos Cuellar (hamstring), while newly fit fullback Luke Young misses today to welcome a third child into the world. All of which means that midfield starlet Fabian Delph will likely be drafted in at the left-back position he played quite well in on Saturday after the aforementioned Baker got his aforementioned bell rung by Rovers keeper Paul Robinson. Darren Bent will also miss, having played in the FA Cup for Sunderland in their 2-1 loss to Notts County. The game is live on Fox Soccer Channel from 2:30 p.m. if you're so inclined.
At the weekend, Villa travel to the Reebok Stadium to take on Bolton Wanderers. The Trotters, who feature American midfield prodigy Stuart Holden, currently sit seventh, four points above Villa. The match will be on tape delay here in the U.S., so avoid the score and come watch with us at Lucky Bar at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. See you then!
Wednesday's friendly between England and Denmark featured eight former or current Villa players, with current Villans Darren Bent and Ashley Young firing home England's two goals in a 2-1 win.
With the strikeforce feeling that much more confident, Villa travel to Bloomfield Road to take on Blackpool, a return of a match that cost Seasiders' gaffer Ian Holloway 25,000 GBP, who now feels like he's no longer a manager. Holloway played ten players not in his usual XI, and was thus judged to be fielding an "uncompetitive side" that Villa still struggled to put away.
Villa will be without Fabian Delph and Luke Young, both out with knee injuries. American fullback Eric Lichaj has left on a month's loan to Leeds to get some first team experience.
The Capital Villans will be taking in Saturday's match at 4:30, for the tape-delayed broadcast, at Lucky Bar on Connecticut and 18th. Join us!
One of Gerard Houllier's masterstrokes: The Ginger Ghost in a pale shirt
What a transfer window for Gerard Houllier. In his first opportunity to truly put a stamp on the Villa team, he added a goal-poaching striker (Bent, on 2 goals in 3 games since joining), a young attacking fullback prospect (Walker), a classy midfield general (Makoun, who put on a passing masterclass in Tuesday's defeat to Manchester United), and he closed out the window by adding the American midfield dynamo Michael Bradley, who progressed from MLS to the Eredivisie to the Bundesliga (and popping up with a vital goal (see the 3:40 mark in the linked video) over the Summer in the US's Group E win) before joining Aston Villa.
Bradley is available for his debut on Saturday as Villa Park plays host to Fulham. Fulham, in addition to helping us with our wage bill by purchasing ballboy extraordinaire Steve Sidwell, have been on a solid run of form of late. Villa come in on the back of a 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford in midweek, though the team passed and possessed the ball a little like Arsenal at times, led by Jean Makoun's 85 completed passes from midfield and Darren Bent's 10th goal of the league season (second with Villa). Defender Luke Young is a miss, having visited a London specialist over the week to sort his nagging knee injury, as is Fabian Delph, who is out after aggravating last year's season-ending knee injury in the win over West Brom in December. Fullbacks Stephen Warnock and Habib Beye are also unlikely starters, as Gerard Houllier has banished them to reserves training with Kevin MacDonald, telling them to "demonstrate their desire to play for Aston Villa."
The match will occur at 10 a.m.; however it is not showing until 5:00 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel. The Capital Villans will convene at Lucky Bar. Though it's not on their schedule, we could surely convince them to play the match there. Avoid the score, and see you in the afternoon!
He. Scores. Goals. New signing Darren Bent only needed one touch in the penalty area to get off the mark for the Villa on Saturday, striking in the 18th minute and allowing Aston Villa to sit on a lead for the remaining 70 minutes of time, giving Villa three points over Manchester City and some valuable breathing room in the push for Premier League safety.
Villa look to keep that momentum going in the league as they travel to the Wigan Rugby Ground to face fellow relegation strugglers Wigan Athletic, who sit three points back in 18th position. Jean Makoun will likely be handed his debut, and will have a lot to live up to, with Kyle Walker and the aforementioned Darren Bent scoring in their first matches in claret and blue. Villa should have a full squad to select from, with Emile Heskey returning from suspension, while Wigan will be without defender Gary Caldwell, who was sent off on two yellows in Wigan's 3-0 loss to Arsenal at the weekend. The game starts at 2:45 on Tuesday afternoon. Find a way to follow the score; know also that Fado will have the match on tape delay at 4:30 p.m.
At the weekend, Villa will hope to gain progress in the FA Cup, hosting Blackburn Rovers for the fourth round. Villa beat Blackburn at home to progress in the League Cup, but lost at Ewood in the first league meeting back in November. As of yet, plans are not finalized for the Capital Villans to take in the morning match; watch this space.
After a hard-fought derby draw, in which Villa rattled the Birmingham City crossbar four times, Gerard Houllier shocked the world by recruiting Darren Bent over Monday and Tuesday. The former Sunderland Striker becomes Villa's most expensive signing in history, as a fee of £18 million (rising to 24 million depending on appearances and performance) was necessary to prise Bent away. Bent scored 32 goals in 58 appearances for Sunderland, having joined them in the Summer of 2009.
The move comes just as Villa prepare to welcome Manchester City to Villa Park on Saturday. City sit second in the league, level on points with leaders Manchester United, while Villa are out of the drop zone in 17th. Bent is expected to be in the Villa team, while other new signing Jean Makoun awaits his work permit and is unlikely.
In outgoing news, Holte End Hero and strip club patron John Carew will be running down his contract at Stoke City. Carew was Villa's leading scorer for the past three seasons, and though he wasn't able to get off the mark this year, he calls time on his Villa career having provided some great memories to Villa fans.
Also out on loan is young striker Andreas Weimann. The Austrian hitman will be at Watford for the rest of the season. Weimann had a bright preseason before injuring knee ligaments in a horror tackle against Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, and was part of the reserves side smacking Arsenal's reserves 10-1 last week.
The Capital Villans will be taking in the match at Lucky Bar, on 18th and Connecticut. Join us at 12:30!
The last 10 days have been tumultuous for the Villa- a 1-0 loss to Sunderland, in which Emile Heskey popped an absolute sitter off the bar from three yards out before being sent off for palming the face of Jordy Henderson, saw Villa enter the relegation zone for the first time in eight years and manager Gerard Houllier leave Villa Park with security guards while being serenaded with chants of being "sacked in the morning."
Villa turned that around, into a 3-1 FA Cup win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. Loan signing Kyle Walker debuted at right back, scoring a brilliant goal 9 minutes in before Marc Albrighton thumped home an Ashley Young cross on 33 minutes. The Blades made it interesting, scoring an early second-half penalty and taking the attack to Villa, notably after Young's sending off with 15 minutes left. Club captain and late substitute Stiliyan Petrov scored in stoppage time, however, to end the Blades' threats and send Villa to a fourth round home matchup with Blackburn Rovers.
All this to set up the second leg of the Second City Derby in the league campaign. Villa travel to St. Andrew's ground for the second time this season, having lost heartbreakingly 2-1 to a Nikola Zigic stoppage time winner in the Carling Cup quarterfinal. The first league matchup this season was a nevry 0-0 draw at Villa Park. For the return, Villa will be without Emile Heskey, serving the second of a three-match ban for his "violent" red card at Sunderland, and Ashley Young, serving a one-match ban for the sending off last weekend. Missing through injury will be Luke Young and Fabian Delph, both with knee injuries. The Blues, meanwhile, might be without central defender Scott Dann, who was taken off for an injury in the Blues' 2-1 first-leg Carling Cup semifinal defeat to West Ham yesterday, but will have out-of-favor Tottenham winger David Bentley, who just joined the club on loan.
On the transfer front, Villa have already seen Steve Sidwell make a move to Fulham, after his initial move to West Ham collapsed. On the inbound front, the aforementioned Kyle Walker has come in on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, seeing his prospects for a starting place crowded out by Alan Hutton, Vedran Corluka and Kyle Naughton. Colorado Rapids striker Omar Cummings will be training with Villa until the MLS season kicks off in March, with his actual appearance in the squad dependent on a work permit for the Jamaican. And just today, Gerard Houllier jetted off to France with the aim of sealing the transfer of Cameroonian midfielder Jean Makoun from Olympique Lyonnais. L'Equipe reported that the transfer could be finalized in time for Makoun to be named to the Villa squad on Sunday; most recent reports have the transfer agreed between the clubs, but Makoun's personal terms will not be agreed in time for him to have a work permit by Sunday.
For the match on Sunday, the Capital Villans will be at Fado, on 7th NW between H and I, as they show the match on tape-delay beginning at 11 o'clock. See you there!
After punctuating an ultimately disappointing 2010 (losses in both our appearances at Wembley, fading out of the race for fourth, the James Milner transfer saga, MON walking, getting bounced out of the Carling Cup by the Clowns, 3-0 at Anfield, and the resultant slide down the table) with even more disappointing losses to Spurs and Manchester City, Villa started the New Year with a hard-fought 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge. Ciaran Clark had a stormer playing at left back in place of Stephen Warnock, setting up Nigel-Reo-Coker to draw an equalizing penalty in the first half before adding the stoppage-time equalizer, and Brad Friedel rolled back the years in turning away several dangerous Chelsea chances.
In hopes of making that draw a true dawn, Villa welcome Sunderland to B6. The previous fixture this season saw Sunderland win 1-0 through a Richard Dunne own goal. Villa will be without Luke Young, who is still battling a knee injury, and Fabian Delph, who also picked up a slight knee injury in the match with Tottenham.
Not a bar in the capital will have the Sunderland match, so you're on your own to catch it at 2:40 p.m. EST on espn3.com.
At the weekend, Villa travels to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United in the third round of the FA Cup. The Blades currently sit just above the relegation zone in the Championship, and has gone through its own change in management.
The Capital Villans will be at Fado for that match, which will be shown at 10:00 a.m.
