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
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
I know most of the readers who stop by the blog regularly are cool cats and will get the headline reference straight away, but just in case you’re one of those awful squares, it’s a nod to the now infamous ‘Double Rainbow’ video made even more popular by the Auto-Tune the News folk.
It remains something of a meme in my household and I’ll never miss an opportunity to respond to two barks from my dog at the back door, for
Gérard Houllier has signed the contract he said he would. It’s a three year deal. Really pretty simple, not sure why it’s such huge news, but it seems to be lighting up the wires at the moment, so to speak.
Previously, Emile Heskey was dominating the headlines, for the right reasons for once, following the impact he made against Blackburn midweek. A welcome change, but not a sustainable one I suspect. Hopefully I’m way off the mark because
I haven’t had chance to pull together a proper preview for Bolton’s visit to Villa Park, but this game is definitely more about various intertwining story arcs off the pitch than tactics and strategy on the pitch.
It is, of course, Kevin MacDonald’s final game in charge and it goes without saying that he and the players will want to both finish on a high note and attempt to atone for the slip-ups in the past few weeks. MacDonald’s grace
If you didn’t watch last week’s press conference, you can be excused if this is new news. However, those of us who watched it and paid attention heard Gerard Houllier explain quite succinctly that he had prior commitments that prevented him being at Stoke. He went on to say that he might be in charge for Bolton, but it may well be afterward, he did promise to attend that match regardless, watching from the stands if necessary.
He also
Gerrard Houllier has just completed his scheduled press conference at Villa Park – well, so far as Sky Sports’ questions go – and said all the right things. He showed deference to our history and pedigree, while talking about his pride and passion in taking this job.
He briefly outlined his ambitions, which included Europe and silverware, while making it clear he intends to build on our existing squad and facilities, not attempt to start afresh with his own
If you’ve been on the Aston Villa website since Gérard Houllier was confirmed as Martin O’Neill’s replacement you may have noticed that the marketing team have wasted no time in leaping on this new opportunity. If not, you may have received an email. Take the image below which shows the two frames from a 300×250 ad block appearing all over the site.
A good offer, no doubt, click here if you want to get in on it, but am I
Phil Thompson has explained why he had to turn down Gerard Houllier’s offer to return to coaching in the Premier League and, despite what you might think about him, it’s difficult not to respect him, both for his rationale and his honesty.
Phil Thompson
Had circumstances been different, I would have been delighted to accept the chance to join Gérard Houllier and work with him and Patrice Bergues once again at Aston Villa.
But I had to weigh up the pros and cons