http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/ en Copyright 2012 Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:07:49 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Beware of false dawns? No need to remind Villa fans of the need for caution and patience as the new Premier League season approaches. Expectations have been firmly grounded after two bitterly disappointing campaigns – the last of which was just about the most dismal nine months of football many a Villain can remember – and yet there is no denying the welcome feeling of genuine optimism around the club. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/08/the_lambert_project.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/08/the_lambert_project.php Premier League Aston Villa Paul Lambert Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:07:49 +0000 I've kept a low profile for the past couple of weeks. I haven't been on holiday, I haven't been totally obsessed and engrossed with Euro 2012 - although I am enjoying it - and I haven't forgotten about the Villa. But here's the thing: I haven't forgotten about Villa, but I have stopped worrying about them. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/06/in_lambert_i_trust.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/06/in_lambert_i_trust.php Premier League Aston Villa Norwich City Paul Lambert Fri, 22 Jun 2012 14:53:14 +0000 So much for Solskjaer, and a swift conclusion to Villa's latest managerial search. Following the Norwegian's decision to withdraw himself from the running for the position as coach, seemingly before he had even been offered the position, concluded a series of rather bizarre days for Villa. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/05/solksjaer_says_no_the_search_c.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/05/solksjaer_says_no_the_search_c.php Premier League Aston Villa Ole Gunnar Solksjaer Fri, 25 May 2012 14:38:05 +0000 Direct, decisive and damning. Less than 12 hours after watching the 'highlights' of Villa's final match of the 2011-12 season, scowling at yet more defensive irresponsibility, player indifference and managerial culpability, before skulking off to bed to lie awake and inwardly fume at the sheer incompetence that had rendered the previous nine and a half months the most shambolic and miserable I've ever endured as a fan, news. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/05/mcleish_out_villa_act_quickly.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/05/mcleish_out_villa_act_quickly.php Premier League Alex McLeish Aston Villa Mon, 14 May 2012 20:33:35 +0000 I don't personally know any Wigan fans, so I can only guess at how they were feeling over the past weekend. Triumphant? Jubilant? Proud? I'd guess at all three, and I can understand why. Their team looked doomed just a few short weeks ago, but instead of staring down the abyss and panicking, they galvanised themselves as a unit and propelled their way up the table with a series of impressive results. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/05/safe_but_no_satisfaction.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/05/safe_but_no_satisfaction.php Alex McLeish Aston Villa Fri, 11 May 2012 12:44:43 +0000 Maybe now it's beginning to feel real. Villa could get relegated. I've been poor wind-up value over the last couple of months. Friends and colleagues - smug grins on their faces - have been falling over themselves to get the Villa jibes in; things aren't looking good, eh? Starting to struggle, aren't you? Reckon you'll get sucked into the battle at the bottom? http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/04/villas_relegation_threat_is_re.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/04/villas_relegation_threat_is_re.php Premier League Alex McLeish Aston Villa Bolton Randy Lerner relegation Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:09:09 +0000 So, welcome back, Martin. We knew you'd return one day, although, if we're honest, it was something of a mild surprise that you're back with Sunderland; thought you'd have kept on eye on events at Chelsea and Spurs, maybe even the England national team, played the waiting game, stalling for a bigger prize. Still, we're hardly in a position to judge, so forgive us if we've come across as a bit sour. We still are, you see: sour, sore and slightly jealous. You might feel some of those emotions coming from us on Saturday. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/04/welcome_back_martin_oneill.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/04/welcome_back_martin_oneill.php Premier League Alex McLeish Aston Villa Martin O'Neill Sunderland Fri, 20 Apr 2012 08:23:28 +0000 There's no substitute for winning matches. That's the lesson Villa need to learn after the threat of relegation was put firmly back on the agenda. It can still happen, if we don't wake up to the danger and actually approach a match with the intention of winning it. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/04/relief_is_short_lived_for_vill.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/04/relief_is_short_lived_for_vill.php Premier League Aston Villa Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:06:20 +0000 I was exactly 232 words into this week's Villa column when I heard the news. Stiliyan Petrov, Villa's captain, has been diagnosed with acute leukemia. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/03/stiliyan_petrov.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/03/stiliyan_petrov.php Premier League Aston Villa Stiliyan Petrov Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:52:35 +0000 ... and everything feels much better. It's been almost pleasant being a Villa fan for the past couple of weeks; with this Tuesday's scheduled match against Bolton being postponed, the glow that comes with winning has lasted that little bit longer. There's nothing like a victory to put an extra spring in the step and Villa's 1-0 win over Fulham was perfectly timed; without a home win since the beginning of winter 2011 (November 5, to be precise), this was a first Villa Park three-pointer for four months. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/03/three_points_and_a_new_signing.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/03/three_points_and_a_new_signing.php Premier League Aston Villa; Andreas Weimann; Brett Holman Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:09:09 +0000 There are some not-so-subtle diversionary tactics being deployed around Villa Park; we've only just entered March, but it seems the club has its focus firmly on the 2012-13 season already. Whether this is excellent forward planning, or a way of trying to ignore the stagnant nature of our current situation, I haven't yet decided. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/03/villa_focus_on_the_future.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/03/villa_focus_on_the_future.php Premier League Aston Villa Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:53:47 +0000 There was a certain atmosphere of sadness in the air as Villa took the field against Wigan last Saturday - sadness because, in 90 minutes time, Villa would be saying farewell to a top-class striker for the remainder of the season. What wasn't known, as the teams lined up at the DW Stadium, was that, come 5pm or thereabouts, Villa would be facing the reality of losing a second forward player of undoubted quality. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/02/villa_bent_out_of_shape.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/02/villa_bent_out_of_shape.php Premier League Aston Villa Darren Bent Wigan Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:55:37 +0000 I’m not endorsing the sole use of video highlights to judge a footballer’s ability, but, as news broke this week of yet another injury setback for Fabian Delph, I couldn’t resist a viewing reminder of how good the player can be. Villa fans have never seen Delph anywhere like his best in a claret and blue shirt and the creeping concern now is that we never will. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/02/another_false_start_for_fabian.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/02/another_false_start_for_fabian.php Premier League Aston Villa Fabian Delph Leeds United Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:29:15 +0000 I have to hand it to Alex McLeish - the man is fast becoming a tactical visionary. How else to explain the gift he has, the extraordinary ability to see the potential in the team formations he selects, the tactics he chooses to implement, and the players he picks to follow his instructions? Against Manchester City on Sunday, not the first time this season, McLeish completely bamboozled me with his starting XI; I felt as if I was on the receiving end of the original Cruyff turn, expecting one thing and then falling victim to something totally different, something leftfield. And this was leftfield, alright. McLeish pulled something pretty special from his locker of strange, dark coaching methodology. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/02/what_mcleish_should_have_done.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/02/what_mcleish_should_have_done.php Premier League Alex McLeish Aston Villa Man City Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:15:47 +0000 It's strange how situations are interpreted. Personally, I've got Villa down as one of the more predictable teams in the Premier League, so it was surprising that certain television highlights coverage of last Sunday's match at Newcastle portrayed us as the complete opposite. Unpredictable, because of our recent sequence of results? I think not. Inconsistent would be more accurate; occasionally, Villa win a game. More often than not, we don't. Sometimes we draw. All too often, such as at Newcastle, Villa lose. There's a kind of predictability about the team these days: you certainly know what's usually coming. http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/02/protests_points_dropped_and_po.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/astonvilla/archives/2012/02/protests_points_dropped_and_po.php Premier League Alex McLeish Aston Villa Man City Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:37:40 +0000