Actually, I’ve already read what feels like a thousand previews, you may have read a similar number yourself, there’s little I can add. All the tactics and stratagems go out the window for these ones. All bets are off.
As it happens, I’m going to be out all day Saturday anyway, so instead I’ll leave a couple of windows to the chatter happening on Twitter right now below. You never know, there might be a nugget or two.
I’ll
I’ve been waiting for this interview to be published all day! Ashley Young sat down with The Sun today as part of promotional activity for VMF and has assured fans that he is committed to Aston Villa, despite putting contract negotiations on ice.
Ashley Young
All I’m doing is concentrating on my football. I don’t want to be distracted by anything else. I’ve not said I’m leaving and I’m not taking my focus off football.
The fans have been brilliant
We really haven’t had chance to see that much of him, but Ciaran Clark has already won himself an army of fans among the Villa faithful and beyond. I’m sure all fans will be as delighted as I am to hear that Ciaran has just signed a new contract at Villa, extending his stay until 2014.
He was inside the last 12 months of his contact and was starting to gain the attention of other clubs besides also being snapped
I don’t know how long it will be up, but there’s 14 minutes of highlights from the Carling Cup 4th round victory over Burnley in the video at the foot of this post.
Downing’s extra time goal was a worthy winner (it certainly made up for his atrocious earlier effort), a stinging effort from the edge of the box, and Heskey’s opener was an example to Reo-Coker on how to put those square balls away, but question marks remain.
With
It took an extra time winner from Stewart Downing to settle this one after Clarke Carlisle cancelled out Emile Heskey’s late opener, but it was a costly game for Marc Albrighton who will be suspended for the Birmingham derby game after being sent off during extra time.
Not a game I saw or even heard, but clearly another game where we struggled to find the net. Maybe not surprising when you start without any recognised strikers, but Ashley Young, Stephen
Aston Villa
1
Brad Friedel
30
Eric Lichaj
24
Carlos Cuellar
21
Ciaran Clark
23
Habib Beye
4
Steve Sidwell
20
Nigel Reo-Coker
12
Marc Albrighton
25
Barry Bannan
7
Ashley Young
9
Stephen Ireland
Subs
6
Stewart Downing
35
Daniel Johnson
14
Nathan Delfouneso
18
Emile Heskey
22
Brad Guzan
29
James Collins
50
Jonathan Hogg
Burnley
1
Lee Grant
2
Graham Alexander
3
Daniel Fox
4
Michael Duff
5
Clarke Carlisle
18
Leon Cort
8
Dean Marney
10
Martin Paterson
14
Tyrone Mears
19
Jay Rodriguez
22
Ross Wallace
Subs
9
Chris Iwelumo
11
Wade Elliott
12
Brian Jensen
15
David Edgar
21
Andre Bikey
24
Brian Easton
30
Steven Thompson
In a late change, John Carew pulled out during the warm-up, Stephen Ireland replaced him in the starting XI and Daniel Johnson (academy player) will sit on the bench.
I’m getting a little irked with a lot of the reporting around Villa in recent times. Let me be clear; I couldn’t be happier that Nigel Reo-Coker is going to be wearing the armband and will also be negotiating a new contract at the club, regular readers will know I’m a fan. However, you’d think from the way it’s being portrayed that NRC had been exiled to Siberia and was literally coming in from the cold.
Obviously Reo-Coker isn’t
Burnley came up from the Championship last season via the play-offs and rightly didn’t go crazy bringing in new players before predictably heading back down to the Championship without too many heading for the exit. They were soundly beaten 4-0 at home by Reading last weekend, two of the starting line-up – Brian Jensen and Tyrone Mears – started every Premiership game the season before and five others had at least a dozen Premiership starts under their belts.
They may
Sky Sports were at Villa Park as part of another successful open training day, the third time the club have done this I think off the top of my head, and there’s a nice, relaxed interview with Gérard Houllier here. The gaffer confirms that Warnock will be suspended for Burnley, that Petrov will be out for at least a couple of months, Luke Young should be back in training in a week and Gabby is a week or two