There were four, possibly five, Villans involved as England drew 2-2 with Switzerland and the United States were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by Spain yesterday. Darren Bent and Eric Lichaj started for their sides, Ashley Young and Michael Bradley entered their games at half time and Stewart Downing made a late appearance for England and almost won it with the final kick of the game.
England 2 Switzerland 2
England gifted Switzerland a two goal head start with some comedic set piece defending
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Gerard Houllier has reflected on his departure from Aston Villa and admitted that it was entirely necessary; it was just too risky for both the club and his own health. He also says that the club were “still traumatised” by the nature of Martin O’Neill’s exit five days before the season started.
He apparently spoke to France Football originally, but here are the translated quotes according to Sky Sports:
Gerard Houllier
I almost died. The doctors advised me to not resume before late
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We believe that Michael Bradley will be joining Aston Villa on permanent basis, but in this video from US Soccer he reflects, along with Jermaine Jones and Tim Howard, on the special challenges facing a player on loan.
There’s an interesting nugget towards the end as Bradley and Jones, who both came from the Bundesliga, confess to being off the pace of the game in England to begin with. In Bradley’s case, he’d have been extra rusty having not seen much
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Brad Friedel had a surprising number of options open to him as his Villa contract came to an end. Interest was reportedly shown by Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham, along with an offer of further 12 months at Villa Park.
However, it’s Spurs who have won the American’s signature and are due to announce this morning (Friday) that he will be moving to White Hart Lane from July 1st, presumably on a two year deal.
It’s sad to see Big Brad go, but
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With the headlines currently being dominated by Mark Hughes’ resignation from Fulham and the inevitable linkage to the Villa Park vacancy (I’m not convinced by the way), it’s easy to miss other news going on today.
Actually, this one is barely more than a footnote on German website RP Online, but it’s being reported that we will exercise our option to purchase Michael Bradley permanently from Borussia Mönchengladbach for a fee of €5m which includes the loan period.
The Google translation
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Darren Bent completed the trio of Villans on England duty taking their turns in front of the media ahead of the Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland. He talks about his ability and willingness to play in either a one or two striker system and how moving to Villa was the right move for him. I agree.
And if you’re after a little reading material, I’d recommend this Guardian interview with Bent where he reveals how out of place he felt during
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The official confirmation has just been published, Gerard Houllier’s tenure as manager of Aston Villa is over. Here’s the official statement:
AVFC Official Statement
The Club can confirm that, by mutual consent, Gerard Houllier has stepped down as manager of Aston Villa with immediate effect.
The 63-year-old took charge in September 2010 but suffered a dissection of the descending aorta in April 2011.
He was unable to take charge of team affairs for the final five games of the season and doctors have advised
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David Moyes has been a favourite among fans for the Aston Villa job from the moment Martin O’Neill quit. Long before that in many cases truth be told.
He’s also been a hot favourite with the bookies; they even had to close the book on him at one point last year. That was after Bob Bradley had been the favourite for a spell as I recall. You know, just sayin’.
That episode at least forced Moyes to address rumours and he was
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As you’ll be aware, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing – along with Darren Bent – are on international duty ahead of England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland on Saturday and both took part in the press conference.
Ashley Young
Stewart Downing
Training Footage