A Week off from the Pub: Villa v. Hereford, 23 August 2011 and Villa v. Wolves, 27 August 2011

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!

The kickoff after the kickoff- Villa v. Blackburn, 20 August, 2011, 10 a.m. EDT

Brick.  Wall. (credit: football365.com)

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!

Flippin' Eck! So what can we expect from the new gaffer?

(Not Necessarily) Our New Gaffer
Credit: Esquire

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.

A change of venue to end the Season: Aston Villa v. Liverpool, 22 May 2011, 11 a.m. EDT

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!

The only team with less to play for than us: Arsenal v. Villa, 15 May 2011

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!

Three points till safety and a "new" look: Villa v. Wigan, 7 May 2011, 10 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!

Tesco Bags and Running: West Bromwich Albion v. Villa, 30 April 2011

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!