Aston Villa Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

invincibleirish

*crosses fingers Knight isn't starting against RVP*

One Cold Hand

invincibleirish wrote: »

*crosses fingers Knight isn't starting against RVP*

*shivers*

One Cold Hand

Interesting:
Last year we won 6 away games out of 19.
This year we've already won 6 out of 9.

Not bad!

Time Magazine

Gentlemen,

Today I met Mr Helix as he had organised me and my best fridn tickets to the WBA match. A fine gentleman. However let it be knon that htat the Economics mod could not ocuntm, and had to rush back to give Mr Helix a further €15 because, as I saidm, I could not cont.


nOw regarldess of Mr Heli'xs famous silly comment, he's ac gnetleman. Tht, however, did not stop me getting fupping pissed tonight on a piny ot ywo ot seven. So feckin pissed I dId get that I know not to venutre anywhere near hte repsected fora I mod. I may, or may not, have also done stupid stuff with an ex and may, or mayu not, have drank oto much while she hadn one at all . Damn wimmen. If only all wimmen who live in BRrum were fans of the Villa, we could tust them, But no.

aT least I am home now. Whether we win lose or win against the Arse its okay, we wil still be in a top5 place and not many teams can say that. In fact I think only 5 teams can say that. I would also like to say that I like stew and it amekes for a really good drunken sandwich.

Up the Villa,

Th e lAD who can;t count

One Cold Hand

Had a drink or two, have you?!?!?

Samurai

Villain wrote: »

2 more points dropped by Chelsea and Everton.

ah balls! Up until now I had been watching the everton chelsea game on repeat on setanta after managing to avoid the result, should've known not to read the villa thread :-(

Time Magazine

Comptuer says.... uh huh

Bounty Hunter

gotta love how the Economist of all people is the guy who describes himself as the lad who cant count

invincibleirish

LOL at the drunken Economist, i forecast some editing of embarrassing info in that post in the near future:D.

Come Friday evening i shall be out in my home town, and if Villa get any kind of good result against Wengers team i intend to go on the mother of all piss ups in celebration, lots of Arse & MU fans form my school days shall be reminded of the new world order!!:p

spiderdan

That's very worrying news on Laurson, at least we have cover if he's out for a small bit- if its any longer MON will have to buy another CB. I'm a little surprised about the resentment towards Milner on Villa Talk! Villa fans really haven't taken to him, I was actually pretty happy with his performances of late! I would like to see L Young behind him giving him more freedom to attack freely. One concern is the lack of decent strikers we're being linked with- Its such a massive opportunity for us and we need to buy very well and substantially to take this chance- 30odd million

Santa Cruz- 16/17m- Word is its between us and City

Mc Geedy- 8/9m- Obvious MON link- competition in Midfield- could be AM

Wayne Bridge- 6m- Badly need cover here, Shorey should be sold, and Bouma might take a good while to get back to form

A shade over 30m
Id be very happy with that for Christmas

Villain

The Economist wrote: »

Gentlemen,

Today I met Mr Helix as he had organised me and my best fridn tickets to the WBA match. A fine gentleman. However let it be knon that htat the Economics mod could not ocuntm, and had to rush back to give Mr Helix a further €15 because, as I saidm, I could not cont.


nOw regarldess of Mr Heli'xs famous silly comment, he's ac gnetleman. Tht, however, did not stop me getting fupping pissed tonight on a piny ot ywo ot seven. So feckin pissed I dId get that I know not to venutre anywhere near hte repsected fora I mod. I may, or may not, have also done stupid stuff with an ex and may, or mayu not, have drank oto much while she hadn one at all . Damn wimmen. If only all wimmen who live in BRrum were fans of the Villa, we could tust them, But no.

aT least I am home now. Whether we win lose or win against the Arse its okay, we wil still be in a top5 place and not many teams can say that. In fact I think only 5 teams can say that. I would also like to say that I like stew and it amekes for a really good drunken sandwich.

Up the Villa,

Th e lAD who can;t count

I hope there isn't a present GF!

Oops and I just quoted you so it doesn't matter if you edit lol

invincibleirish

spiderdan wrote: »

That's very worrying news on Laurson, at least we have cover if he's out for a small bit- if its any longer MON will have to buy another CB. I'm a little surprised about the resentment towards Milner on Villa Talk! Villa fans really haven't taken to him, I was actually pretty happy with his performances of late! I would like to see L Young behind him giving him more freedom to attack freely. One concern is the lack of decent strikers we're being linked with- Its such a massive opportunity for us and we need to buy very well and substantially to take this chance- 30odd million

Santa Cruz- 16/17m- Word is its between us and City

Mc Geedy- 8/9m- Obvious MON link- competition in Midfield- could be AM

Wayne Bridge- 6m- Badly need cover here, Shorey should be sold, and Bouma might take a good while to get back to form

A shade over 30m
Id be very happy with that for Christmas

I dunno. its hard to call what exactly MON will do this window, as i said previously i think the Squad needs fine tuning for the second half of the season,but i cant see any big names arriving, just a few choice signings.

Cant see MON getting rid of Shorey so quickly either, or going for Mcgeady & Bridge, they both i guess would require 1st team football, which i doubt MON would be willing to guarantee, particularly with form of Milner & return of Bouma.

McGeady is a one trick pony anyway:).


I say all that, but perhaps Lerner & MON might sense the opportunity for CL football this season is stronger then perhaps anticipated last summer, i think we all expected Villa to cruise along just outside the top 4, or at least keep pace with them for until the run in. But their, and specifically Arsenals, failings mean that the opportunity has presented itself. Listening yesterday to the Guardian podcast discussing Villas title credentials, no matter how unlikely, has certainly made me at least feel all light headed.

All i want for Xmas is 3 pts on the 26th. Come on Santa!

Doodee

I think Santa or Suazo for christmas and we should be in with a chance.

wouldn't mind seeing some versitile LB come into the fray too. Maybe one who can play both sides and in the mid field.

Tighten up the back and strengthen the attack and you'll bet we will have a fighting chance.

Helix

we wont buy a left back with freddie back next month

spiderdan

Helix wrote: »

we wont buy a left back with freddie back next month

It seems that way- but I'd be very happy if we did, Freddie could take the rest of the season to get back to playing any way decent, Shorey is a liability, Young should defo play RB therefore Milner will play much better. CC is a CB not a RB- I think Bridge is better the Freddie too. Its time to make a really strong push for it and invest, I cant see Arsenal being this poor next season

JPA

spiderdan wrote: »

It seems that way- but I'd be very happy if we did, Freddie could take the rest of the season to get back to playing any way decent, Shorey is a liability, Young should defo play RB therefore Milner will play much better. CC is a CB not a RB- I think Bridge is better the Freddie too. Its time to make a really strong push for it and invest, I cant see Arsenal being this poor next season

If we sign Bridge, Bouma would never get back in the side.
If we were to do anything at LB, I'd suggest selling Shorey and buying a younger, promising LB to compete with Bouma.

Time Magazine

Jaysis.

JPA

The Economist wrote: »

Jaysis.

Many :o:o

Villain

Fabregas is out for 4 months, thats a huge loss to Arsenal, wish the lad well, hoep we don't suffer an injury like that, wonder would Wenger tempt Barry with a bid in January? Hope not

rgiller

Villain wrote: »

Fabregas is out for 4 months, thats a huge loss to Arsenal, wish the lad well, hoep we don't suffer an injury like that, wonder would Wenger tempt Barry with a bid in January? Hope not

Good news for us on Stephen's Day though right? Him and Adebayor both out. it's probably the biggest favour Liverpool have ever done us

JPA

Arsenals midfield is very very weak without Fabregas.

It helps us for the next game but also if they don't sign a very good replacement they will be in trouble for the rest of the season. BIG trouble IMO.

invincibleirish

Villain wrote: »

Fabregas is out for 4 months

Great news for Villas season,obviously i hope of course he fully recovers. But not until Villa are about 10-15pts clear of Arsenal.

Bounty Hunter

Makes for good reading, we are 13 points better off from the exact same fixtures from last season thus far

Savman

My tickets arrived for Arsenal on Friday....yes yes yes :D:D

Highlight of my Sh*tmas.

Bounty Hunter

lucky bollix savman.

actually just thinking about that table I posted above, if Villa equal last years haul in our remaining matches we would finish up with around 70 points this season

JPA

Savman wrote: »

My tickets arrived for Arsenal on Friday....yes yes yes :D:D

Highlight of my Sh*tmas.

Were you worried they wouldn't?

Enjoy, don't Jinx us!

Savman

JPA wrote: »

Were you worried they wouldn't?

Enjoy, don't Jinx us!

Aye, feckin thing is pretty much a sell out and only singles left so had to use the official AVFC Seat Exchange. Got 2 in the Trinity for me and the woman.

Woulda preferred the Holte but beggars cant be choosers especially at Chrimbo and especially against the Arse. Ho ho ho :D

invincibleirish

Great stuff Savman im jealous:)! VP will be rocking

Helix

Savman wrote: »

My tickets arrived for Arsenal on Friday....yes yes yes :D:D

Highlight of my Sh*tmas.

brave man

i sold my seat for that game on ticket exchange

the west midlands is prone to absolutely shocking winter weather so theres no way i was risking being grounded for a day or 2

that said its pretty mild so far this month so it should be ok

be aware, there are no trains on stephens day in england so you'll need to get the bus from the airport to the city, and from the city to the ground. and if youre flying home on friday night, youll need to prebook a taxi for around 5 minutes before the end of the game to pick you up from near the aston train station or you'll be cutting it VERY tight for the flight with the post match traffic

Helix

oh, and the taxi journey should be no more than £25, and whatever you do, do NOT pay over £30

im allowing an extra fiver there coz its a bank hollier

when the driver hears your accent he'll tag on a few quid and take you the scenic route. tell him you live in wolverhampton or something and youre going home for the new year, he'll be less likely to gouge you

Savman

Not too worried, have been to VP enough times (even on Boxing Day) and never any issues, nothing anyone can do if it snows. Know my way round Brum anyways so I shan't be stopped

Bounty Hunter

Cuellar will be fit to face le Arse in Laursen's place, Carew oyut for a month now it seems and suggestions of NRC at RB again vs Arsenal(he did keep Ronaldo quiet but Shorey and L.Young wouldent like that). Wouldent be shocked to see NRC if only so that he can captain the side in Laursens place... wonder would Barry get the nod otherwise?

O'Neill has no truck with critics of 'inconsistent' Arsenal

Dec 24 2008 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

ARSENAL’S inconsistent season cuts little mustard with Martin O’Neill, who believes they are paying the price for their exceptional form in the first half of last season.

The Gunners have experienced a roller-coaster of Alton Towers proportions having beaten Chelsea and Manchester United and drawn with Liverpool despite having 10 men.

But at the other end of the scale they have been beaten by five teams already this season: Villa, Hull City, Fulham, Stoke and Manchester City.

That compares to their record at the same stage last season when they had been beaten just once in their opening 18 matches to sit top of the tree with 43 points, one clear of Manchester United, and 12 points more than they have today.

“They are in the last 16 of the Champions League and got there without a great deal of fuss,” said O’Neill.

“You won’t get me knocking them. I think they are a quality side.

“People are looking at it because they were top having perhaps lost only one game last season but things like that can happen. Because of their recent history that is not unusual.”

Villa are chasing a first league double over the Gunners since the inaugural season of the Premier League when Ron Atkinson’s side put George Graham’s men to the sword.

Carlos Cuellar will be fit to partner Curtis Davies in defence with Martin Laursen’s knee injury leading to his trip to a London specialist yesterday.
John Carew (back) faces at least another month out having seen a specialist on Monday evening.
O’Neill added: “It’s a slow process, slower than we thought. It’s just part of the game, you just have to get on with it.
“If you had said to me six or seven weeks ago that we would be without John for this amount of time then I would have thought that we were looking at a much poorer picture.”

Nigel Reo-Coker is set to start at right-back. O’Neill added: “At West Ham the crowd were baying for him, as he expected, but he did really well.”

Arsenal will be without Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor but O’Neill is expecting a tough afternoon.

“They were terrific against Liverpool with 10 men. They took the game to them,” he said.

“I have got loads of respect for Arsenal anyway because they have been doing it for some time.

“We played particularly well at the Emirates but the last time they came here in the first half they said themselves it was the best they had played all season.”

invincibleirish

I am officially no longer jealous of Savman, guess who got a half season ticket for Xmas:) yeesush!!!! cant make Arse game unfortunately but West Brom us where its at!

Merry Xmas to all the Boardsie Villans, it has been a good year.

therecklessone

JPA wrote: »

Arsenals midfield is very very weak without Fabregas.

It helps us for the next game but also if they don't sign a very good replacement they will be in trouble for the rest of the season. BIG trouble IMO.

Fellas if you don't snatch a top 4 finish by the end of the season it will be the biggest choke since Michael Carrick said to a waitress "I'll have the lasagne please". Fabregas is a huge loss for le Arse.

invincibleirish

therecklessone wrote: »

Fellas if you don't snatch a top 4 finish by the end of the season it will be the biggest choke since Michael Carrick said to a waitress "I'll have the lasagne please". Fabregas is a huge loss for le Arse.

True, very true, Arsenal are there for the taking for sure but Villa + high expectation = poor run of form. One game at a time and all that.

invincibleirish

Villa's gamble pays off as Agbonlahor adds grace to pace
• Academy chief recalls decision to stick with quick kid
• O'Neill credits his player for rapid improvement


There are schoolboys blessed with such talent that it is a matter of when, not if, they will become Premier League stars. And then there is someone like Gabriel Agbonlahor.

"The one thing that attracted us to him was his pace," said Bryan Jones, Aston *Villa's academy director. "He had absolutely nothing else. He ran in straight lines. His touch would probably take him to Newcastle. He couldn't really head a ball. But we saw the raw pace and thought, 'Let's go with it'."

It is probably the best decision Villa's academy staff have ever made. Eight years on from that brutally honest assessment, Agbonlahor's flowering from football's equivalent of Forrest Gump to the leading English goalscorer in the Premier League is complete. His performances have helped to lift Villa to third in the table and there is a widespread belief that he will be a key figure for Fabio Capello at the 2010 World Cup finals.

It is a remarkable turnaround and one that Jones reflects on with a mixture of relief and satisfaction when he *remembers how close Villa came to rejecting the 14-year-old Great Barr Falcons striker who ran like the wind but had local wildlife *diving for cover whenever he got close to the penalty area.

"Six or seven of the staff were sitting around the table and we were discussing players and whether they should be offered a schoolboy contract or not," said Jones. "Obviously Gabby's name came up *eventually and, I have to say, the *majority of the staff didn't think that there was much there that would make a player within the Premier League.

"I can always remember Steve Burns [Villa's assistant academy director] and myself saying, 'He's got this raw pace, let's just be patient, a two-year contract as a schoolboy is not going to cost you anything and let's see what happens.' The rest, really, is history."

So it is, although that makes Agbon*lahor's story sound straightforward. Anyone who has witnessed his development since he made his first-team debut under David O'Leary a little over three years ago knows that the reality is very *different. While speed remains his main asset, Agbonlahor has worked assiduously to polish other aspects of his game, including his hold-up play, his first touch, his *movement and his finishing.

With that in mind, Martin O'Neill claims that the player, rather than any of the Villa coaching staff, deserves praise for the results.

"I've known Gabby for two and a half years now and he's really been exceptional," said Villa's manager. "I still have the DVD of his first game, at the Emirates Stadium, when he played wide right. And if you see Gabby from that day to what he is now, I would say he should take the credit. He's done all the hard work."

From his first England cap, in Berlin last month, to the £180,000 white Lamborghini parked on his drive and a lucrative four-year contract signed at the start of the season, the personal rewards are there to see. Villa's benefits have also been considerable, with *Agbonlahor's *growing maturity meaning that John Carew's absence through injury has almost gone unnoticed in a run of three straight wins ahead of Arsenal's arrival on Boxing Day.

"The kid's full of confidence at the moment," said Steve Walford, Villa's first-team coach. "He's been playing regularly over the last three years and he can see his progress during that time and then he gets capped by England, so he believes he can be a player. There is much more to his game now. He gets hold of it and brings other players into the game. He works the channels really well and does his shift for the team. It's not just about pace."

Capello and his back-room team appear to have reached the same conclusion, even if statistics that recently revealed Agbonlahor as the quickest player in the Premier League cannot be ignored. That speed might have gone to waste at times when Agbonlahor was a youth player —"Gabby scored 42 and missed about 87 one season," joked Jones — but there is an assurance about his finishing now that means defences are generally punished if he scampers clear.

That was never more evident than *during the recent home game against *Bolton, when Agbonlahor scored twice and set up another goal as he tormented Gary Megson's side.

"We persevered with him and he's turned out to be what he is now," said Jones. "I don't know what it is but *certainly in the last three or four months he seems to have come on another stage again. Who knows where he is going to end up?"

South Africa in 2010 would be a good bet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/dec/24/aston-villa-gabriel-agbonlahor

Villain

therecklessone wrote: »

Fellas if you don't snatch a top 4 finish by the end of the season it will be the biggest choke since Michael Carrick said to a waitress "I'll have the lasagne please". Fabregas is a huge loss for le Arse.

If we lose Laursen (hope not) or any other player gets injured we could well be under pressure.

This season is in some ways simalar to one we had under John Gregory where we right up there at xmas, at that time Deadly doug wouldn't open his cheque book and slowly slid down the table, hopefully Randy has already signed the cheque's and is just waiting for MON to say who he wants

Savman

invincibleirish wrote: »

I am officially no longer jealous of Savman, guess who got a half season ticket for Xmas:) yeesush!!!!

:eek:

Time Magazine

invincibleirish wrote: »

I am officially no longer jealous of Savman, guess who got a half season ticket for Xmas:) yeesush!!!! cant make Arse game unfortunately but West Brom us where its at!

Merry Xmas to all the Boardsie Villans, it has been a good year.

Lucky bastard! Happy Christmas, and see you in d'airport at 6am on the 10th.

shoutman

Nice one invincibleirish, although I would still be jealous of Savman lol.

I got a text message this morning from my aston villa subscription service thing saying that Cueller and Laursen are both doubts?!? Hopefully the Cueller stuff is just old news, Zat Knight would not be good for my health.

Time Magazine

VT says Betty is fit.

Also, lol.

Savman

shoutman wrote: »

Zat Knight

I'm not going.

invincibleirish

The Economist wrote: »

Lucky bastard! Happy Christmas, and see you in d'airport at 6am on the 10th.

Just booked flights out of Dublin, the crazy thing is Cork/Shannon & Waterford all fly to Brum but not on Saturdays! ffs. Ah well i've several places to crash in Dublin so its not all bad, see ya on the 10th!

invincibleirish

All hail Knight!

All i want to say is the future bodes well for Villa, the character & resilience this team shows in games like today, with 4 first teamers absent, is brilliant.

Up next Hull, of course a good result and hopefully 3 pts is needed, they were crap today.

once more all hail Knight!

Esse85

In previous years we would of lost games like this, there's fantastic spirit in the team, a never say die attitude. When we went 2 down i looked to the bench, and it wasnt encouraging.

When Sidwell gets his finishing boots on he should score 8-10 goals a season, the timing of his runs are brilliant.
Petrov did simple things well, the final ball from Barry and Young was poor today, apart from the mistake for the first goal i taught NRC was impressive.

Up the Villa:D

Doodee

I want Suazo!!

We're doing very well this season, but if we want to be top 4 quality we need to have the same cutting edge that arsenal had in the first 20mins of the second half. There were times when they look likely to put a 3rd in and take all points.

Frisbee

Congragulations lads, that feels like a loss to me but you's were fully deserving of it.

Helix

Frisbee wrote: »

Congragulations lads, that feels like a loss to me but you's were fully deserving of it.

dunno if congratulations are in order, we shouldve won it comfortably. we didnt, and we had to make a wonderful comeback, but it probably shouldnt have gotten to that stage

Frisbee

Helix wrote: »

dunno if congratulations are in order, we shouldve won it comfortably. we didnt, and we had to make a wonderful comeback, but it probably shouldnt have gotten to that stage

The fact that you managed to come from 2-0 down would lead me to believe congrats are in order, I thought you were the better side at the start and finish.
We had our chances and didn't finish you off and you kept battling.

shoutman

Was disgusting to be two nil down and see the attempts on goal stat where it was 9-2 in Villa's favour. How we didn't score in the first half is beyond me. Also though Petrov could of prevented the second goal by sliding in as the arsenal lad was going down the wing. Finally Sagna was phenomenal today.

Happy with the point, would have taken it before the game.