We all know that Alex McLeish has a tough task ahead of him. We all know that he’s arrived with about as little goodwill as a new manager could possibly arrive with. We all know that he must win over large swathes of the Villa fanbase, and that there are significant numbers who will never accept him. We all know that a good start is vitally important. Vultures circle.
We’re probably all aware – or we should be – that the
Continue Reading
Jean II Makoun has been a hit on and off the pitch from the moment he arrived and he may be about to become something of a cult hero. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here, but Makoun is the star of this music video which appears to be entirely dedicated to him. Better still, he and his friends are rocking out in his Villa shirt, amongst others.
My French isn’t up to much, but I can’t imagine there are
Continue Reading
Charles N’Zogbia matched Darren Bent’s achievement of scoring on his debut in tonight’s final pre-season game in Braga; a 1-1 draw that would probably be given to the home side on points by the judges. If we did such a thing.
Vagner Love’s stunt double, Alan, opened the scoring for the home side with a wicked effort from 25 yards that nestled the top corner and left Shay Given no chance. Questions will be asked about the space he was allowed
Continue Reading
Nathan Baker’s Under-20 World Cup adventure will last for at least one more match after England qualified for the knockout stages in Colombia, but Andreas Weimann will be heading back to Europe as Austria finished bottom of their group.
England might consider themselves a little fortunate after squeezing into the knockout phase as one of the best third place finishers thanks to three goalless draws. It’s true, it’s hardly a scintillating record; played three, drew three, scored none, conceded none, but
Continue Reading
I like pre-season. A lot. It frequently gives us a chance to see promising youngsters mixed in with the established senior players and can provide clues to what lies ahead. Notice the emphasis on the words ‘can’ and ‘clues’.
The truism I keep returning to is that more can be learnt from a failure than a success. Doing too well during pre-season can mask real problems that are subsequently exposed by the harsh competition in the Premier League.
Take summer 2009 as
Continue Reading
Two second half goals gave Derby the win in a game missing a lot of our big names, including new boy Charles N’Zogbia, but provided a useful, if uninspiring, run out for a lot of young squad players.
This post is more a stake in the ground to record the result, I managed to pick up very little during what was very much a low key, perhaps even dull, affair. From pictures at the ground, and descriptions floating around the web,
Continue Reading
For all the questions regarding the strength in depth of the current Aston Villa squad, there hasn’t been a great deal of discussion, so far as I’ve seen, about the captaincy. In truth, the role of the captain is often overblown, and it has to be said that the other highly paid professional athletes on the pitch shouldn’t need any motivation or encouragement from a colleague, but a great leader can still be worth his weight in gold.
Or points. I
Continue Reading
The game was only 32 second old when Josh McEachran thumped the ball into the roof of the net from two yards out. Shay Given stretched out a desperate arm, but wasn’t able to prevent Chelsea taking the lead inside the first minute. Not the ideal start to the Asia Cup final on a pitch that would provide almost as big a challenge as the oppressive heat.
The move had started in simple fashion; Jose Bosingwa sent a perfectly weighted long
Continue Reading
It’s the final of the Asia Trophy and we’re taking on Chelsea for a chance to grab some pre-season silverware in Hong Kong. Like all pre-season games, it would be a mistake to read to much into performances, and the result doesn’t really matter, but doing well in this one wouldn’t hurt confidence.
Team news and full commentary coming up in the live blog below (hopefully it will go a little smoother than the last one!):
Aston Villa vs Chelsea – Asia
Continue Reading