Man Utd come to Villa Park on Saturday for the early kick off game. For all the talk of being a point off of 5th place, we’re a full eight points behind Utd and they’re a point worse off than they were after 12 games last season. At that same point, we were just four points behind with 21 to their 25 points.
The league record against Utd at Villa Park makes sobering reading, the 1-1 and 0-0 draws
I’m a little short on time right now, so I’m just going to dump the numbers and run. One thing I just want to draw your attention to is the possession. I had a conversation with someone on Twitter recently who felt that our share of possession under Houllier has been less than in the past. I’m not convinced that is the case, in fact, while it’s too early to say really, it look extremely similar to
It might not have quite been the Thrilla at the Villa I expected during the opening 45 minutes, but it sparked into life during a great 2nd half with no shortage of drama, James Collins heading in a last minute, emphatic winner when it looked like three points had once again been thrown away with minutes to go against a Blackpool that featured 10 changes.
In truth, there could have been considerably more goals if Marlon Harewood had finished several 1st
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
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
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
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
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.