http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/ en Copyright 2009 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:26:05 +0530 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss You're only as good as your best players. It's a saying that coaches come back to time and again, no matter the sport. And it's a mantra that will be giving Martin O'Neill much joy as his top men depart for the international break. The opening third of the Premier League campaign could not have ended on a finer note for the Aston Villa manager. A convincing win over Bolton Wanderers to remain in fifth place; a comprehensive performance with goals spaced 70 minutes apart. And most encouragingly, another fine performance turned in by James Milner, who scored once and set up a pair of goals en route to the 5-1 victory. The display was enough to earn the 23-year-old another call-up to the England squad. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/11/villa_england_getting_a_lot_ou.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/11/villa_england_getting_a_lot_ou.php Premier League Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:26:05 +0530 I happen to know a guy whose nephew’s babysitter’s younger brother was hiding under the table at the Dnipropetrovsk restaurant when Emile Heskey caught the ire of England manager Fabio Capello for sending text messages during dinner. Here’s what the little guy saw. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/10/will_heskey_go_one_can_only_ho.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/10/will_heskey_go_one_can_only_ho.php Transfer Talk Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:24:19 +0530 Gareth Barry returned to Villa Park on Monday, but the match between Aston Villa and Manchester City was much more than merely a chance for the locals to spew their vitriol at their former skipper. And not just because he was anonymous for the larger part of 90 minutes. Gareth Barry returned to Villa Park on Monday, but the match between Aston Villa and Manchester City was much more than merely a chance for the locals to spew their vitriol at their former skipper. And not just because he was anonymous for the larger part of 90 minutes. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/10/villa_measures_up.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/10/villa_measures_up.php Premier League Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:02:48 +0530 I met a friend at a local pub on Sunday afternoon to chat about the previous day's football matches. He's a Fulham supporter and thought his side were worth at least a point against Arsenal. I agreed. He also mentioned that Aston Villa were the most difficult side in the Premier League to get a sense of. I agreed with that as well. Villa didn't turn in a stinker at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, where they lost 2-1 to a late David Dunn penalty. By and large, the match was watchable, with good attempts being made at either end. And as the visiting team, Villa played a mostly decent away game, and might have deserved a share of the points from their efforts. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/09/just_trying_to_get_a_sense.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/09/just_trying_to_get_a_sense.php Premier League Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:06:05 +0530 It wasn’t pretty. You could even make the case that Aston Villa didn’t deserve to win the Birmingham derby. Still, they managed to escape a hostile ground with three points, and that counts for something. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/09/derby_win_showed_character_imp.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/09/derby_win_showed_character_imp.php Premier League Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:35:46 +0530 Martin O’Neill is on to something. Sort of. It’s actually a replication of the template that vaulted Aston Villa to second-place in the Premier League for a brief spell last season. It’s the 4-5-1 formation (or 4-3-2-1, depending on how you see it). http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/08/old_tactics_pay_off_for_oneill.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/08/old_tactics_pay_off_for_oneill.php Premier League Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:13:47 +0530 Aston Villa’s season-opening loss to Wigan at Villa Park undid a lot of the good feeling that had built up around the club in pre-season. It was also agonizingly familiar. The 2-0 defeat would have fit right in with Villa’s woeful stretch drive last season. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/08/that_was_painful.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/08/that_was_painful.php Premier League Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:19:11 +0530 Peace Cup, transfers and rumors of transfers. August promises to be a much more productive month than July at Villa Park. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/08/a_trophy_a_player_and_a_good_s.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/08/a_trophy_a_player_and_a_good_s.php Transfer Talk Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:48:47 +0530 Martin O’Neill didn’t need very long to convince Stewart Downing to commit his future to Aston Villa. But he may have his work cut out for him if he hopes to reposition the left-winger to the centre of the park. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/07/can_stewart_downing_play_in_th.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/07/can_stewart_downing_play_in_th.php Transfer Talk Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:38:38 +0530 After David O’Leary left Villa Park in 2006, Martin O’Neill rode into town like a knight on a stallion, ready to lead the beleaguered Premier League side out of the darkness and into the light. Three years on, it’s O’Neill that’s beleaguered, and the club’s frustrated supporters aren’t doing much better. With Aston Villa’s first preseason game barely a week away, the manager has done nothing to convince supporters that the side which finished in sixth place last season will finish in the top half this time around, nevermind improve on the 62 points. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/07/oneill_leaving_little_time_to.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/07/oneill_leaving_little_time_to.php Transfer Talk Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:36:12 +0530 betrayal and abandonment. Sure, he’s guilty of both. But so what? What, exactly, did he do this season to provoke such a furious reaction?]]> http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/06/barry_wont_be_missed.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/06/barry_wont_be_missed.php Transfer Talk Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:47:11 +0530 So what’s changed in the last 12 months? Try one win and two points. Improvement? Yes. Measurable improvement? No. Sure, Aston Villa flirted with Champions’ League football for a few months this season. Maybe even a month longer than last year. And while that might count as progress in some minds, don’t be fooled. Villa could just as easily be scrapping to finish in the top half of the table next semester. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/05/no_improvement_in_villas_seaso.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/05/no_improvement_in_villas_seaso.php Premier League Wed, 27 May 2009 02:38:09 +0530 Martin O’Neill and his scouts were “up and down the country” this week, searching high and low for players to bolster Aston Villa’s squad. With the club in the midst of a 12-match tailspin and midfielder Gareth Barry likely to leave Villa Park in the summer, the manager has tagged squad depth as his top priority as he prepares for the reopening of the transfer window. Here’s hoping he has eyes and ears in Spain, Belgium and Russia as well. For while his domestic search will surely turn up one or two decent prospects, O’Neill’s best options are currently plying their trades on distant shores. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/04/five_players_to_follow_this_su.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/04/five_players_to_follow_this_su.php Transfer Talk Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:49:02 +0530 It’s taken eight months, but I’ve finally soured on Curtis Davies. In that, I suppose I’m no different than the manager. Had both of us—particularly him—lost faith in him four months sooner, Aston Villa might have bolstered their defense in January and avoided the swoon they now find themselves in. Hindsight is wonderful, isn’t it? http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/04/davies_and_knight_a_woeful_com.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/04/davies_and_knight_a_woeful_com.php Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:16:19 +0530 It’s about to get very, very dicey. Currently nursing a one-point lead over Everton for fifth-place in the Premier League table, Aston Villa’s winter swoon has become a spring slide that now threatens their place in next season’s Europa League. Whatever their fate, it will probably be decided when the Toffees visit Villa Park on Easter Sunday. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/04/everton_pose_ultimate_test.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2009/04/everton_pose_ultimate_test.php Premier League Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:43:03 +0530