Aston Villa
1
Brad Friedel
2
Luke Young
3
Stephen Warnock
29
James Collins
5
Richard Dunne (Cptn)
21
Ciaran Clark
25
Barry Bannan
6
Stewart Downing
12
Marc Albrighton
7
Ashley Young
14
Nathan Delfouneso
Subs
22
Brad Guzan
9
Stephen Ireland
11
Gabriel Agbonlahor
45
Shane Lowry
30
Eric Lichaj
35
Daniel Johnson
50
Jonathan Hogg
Blackpool
28
Richard Kingson
24
Rob Edwards
31
Dekel Keinan
29
David Carney
23
Matthew Phillips
19
Ludovic Sylvestre
4
Keith Southern
18
Jason Euell
17
Chris Basham
10
Brett Ormerod
9
Marlon Harewood
Subs
21
Matthew Gilks
5
Neil Eardley
6
Ian Evatt
14
Eliot Grandin
16
Luke Varney
26
Charlie Adam
39
DJ Campbell
10 changes in the Blackpool line up I believe. Habib Beye dropped out during the warm up and was replaced on the bench by Shane Lowry.
It seems a bit redundant to call this next game against Blackpool at Villa Park a ‘must win’, they’re all must wins really, aren’t they? Unfortunately, it really is; big trouble looms if we fail to get three points tonight.
I’m generally an optimist, as regular readers can attest, but I’m not naive, or least I like to think I’m not. (Who does?) I’ve seen a lot of folk taking consolation from the fact that, despite occupying 14th place
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I’ve been mulling over writing a post exploring how player registrations, contracts and amortization of transfer fees work for a little while and planned on using John Carew as an example since there seemed to be a growing opinion that he should simply be sold in January. As if it’s really that simple.
That was before the spat that emerged via the media this weekend between player and manager, something that’s impossible to ignore, so I’ll save what I had in
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Fulham weren’t anything close to spectacular, yet the stats show that their point wasn’t undeserved, contrary to what a lot of Villa fans felt at the final whistle, which begs the question of why we should find much to be encouraged by.
Well, four academy graduates in the side and all did well, Bannan’s superb pass and Albrighton’s take down and shot set those two apart. The chalkboards will reveal exactly why Houllier didn’t want the ball in the air
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Brede Hangeland grabbed a point for Fulham at Craven Cottage with what was literally the last touch of what has been christened the “FxPro Derby”, nodding in a free kick at the far post in the 4th minute of injury time. That threatens to overshadow an awful lot of positives from a Villa side featuring two youngsters making their first starts in the Premier League.
Let’s address those positives first. Nathan Delfouneso, getting his first start thanks to being
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Fulham
1
Mark Schwarzer
3
Carlos Salcido
18
Aaron Hughes
6
Chris Baird
5
Brede Hangeland
13
Danny Murphy
23
Clint Dempsey
27
Jonathan Greening
29
Simon Davies
30
Moussa Dembele
11
Zoltan Gera
Subs
12
David Stockdale
2
Stephen Kelly
4
John Pantsil
8
Andrew Johnson
16
Damien Duff
20
Dickson Etuhu
21
Eddie Johnson
Aston Villa
1
Brad Friedel
2
Luke Young
3
Stephen Warnock
29
James Collins
5
Richard Dunne
6
Stewart Downing
12
Marc Albrighton
20
Nigel Reo-Coker
25
Barry Bannan
7
Ashley Young
14
Nathan Delfouneso
Subs
22
Brad Guzan
4
Steve Sidwell
9
Stephen Ireland
21
Ciaran Clark
24
Carlos Cuellar
30
Eric Lichaj
50
Jonathan Hogg
Great to see both Nathan Delfouneso and Barry Bannan getting starts.
I don’t know whether it’s appropriate to keep referring to them as “kids”, I know I wouldn’t have appreciated it when I was their age, but regardless of the moniker, there’s a good deal to be optimistic when we see the batch of academy graduates long tipped for greatness finally becoming first team fixtures and also gaining recognition further afield.
Barry Bannan is reportedly about to be called up to the senior Scottish side and is receiving rave reviews from just
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And the hits just keep on coming. The breaking news is that John Carew is the latest name on the casualty list with a torn calf that will keep him out for three weeks.
Curiously, the Birmingham Mail, in an exclusive, say that the injury occurred “during a challenge with Brad Friedel during a training ground practice match yesterday afternoon”. What’s odd about that is the official site published an article this morning entitled “Houllier looking for Carew to
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You’ve probably already seen that Emile Heskey tore the medial meniscus in his right knee in training and will require an operation, keeping him out for three to four weeks.
With Gabby still on the come back trail after his own operation, John Carew always susceptible to a sudden injury, if this is not Nathan Delfouneso’s chance to get some time on the pitch, I don’t know when is.
With so many of the youngsters getting a look in so
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