Massive Win - A Star Is Born

I will admit I got it wrong! I didnt see this coming today but im absolutely thrilled it has. There is no greater feeling than a last minute winner and the fact Weimann got it made it all the better. I along with many others have been calling for him to get his chance and he has become an instant hero with a winner at the Holte End.

This result puts to bed any lingering doubt of relegation, it seems as though Wigan, Wolves and QPR are destined for that after todays results. Now we can look to the future and start to try a few things differently.

I think today will be the making of Andi Weimann, its what he has dreamt of for years and the celebrations were just a joy to watch and be a part of! He must start next game, although I doubt he will. We need to start giving the likes of Weimann and Gardner starts rather than cameos because they are the future of Aston Villa and the more they play, the better they will get.

Hopefully today is a turning point, but it definately highlighted one thing, the youngsters hold the key to our success.

Another Draw - More Chances Wasted

Our football was a breath of fresh air in the first half, but it was clear that it was only because Blackburn were afraid to go anywhere near us!  Ireland and N'Zogbia were given so much room and they took advantage with very good performances, a cracking goal by the latter and things were all looking very good indeed.

But the fact we were only 1-0 up at half time meant we all knew what the second half was going to be.  It was obvious we would go out there to hold on to the lead at any cost, but even I was stunned at just how much of a Blackburn precession it was!  We couldn't string 2 passes together for most of it and our goal was becoming increasingly more threatened.  Finally the inevitable goal came and surprise, surprise it came from a cross.

But then the most frustrating part is that as soon as they equalised we came back into it!  So why couldn't we have played like that at 1-0?  Whether it's the mindset of the players or the influence of Mcleish, it is quite simply not good enough.  We have been like it all season and has cost us a hatful of points.  We quite simply are not good enough to sit back for 45 minutes.

Weimann must have been pretty cheesed off at only getting a 2 minute run out, I mean what's the bloody point of that!?  Even it that 2 mins he won a corner with a deflected header, he simply has to play longer.  At least give him 20 mins at the end of the game because just giving him stoppage time every now and then is never going to aid his development.

Anyway, a point is a point.  I feel like I have said that a lot this season!  I'm fairly comfortable of staying up now as I can't see the teams below us earning much more than 10 points for the rest of the season so if we can pick up a point here and there we will be fine.  Mcleish has certainly done himself no favours today but it could have been worse so all we can do now is just continue to get behind the team (once again fantastic away support) and hope things take a turn for the better.

Time To Stand Up And Be Counted

As we approach the crunch game against Blackburn this weekend one thing is certain, DEFEAT IS NOT AN OPTION!  If we were to come away with nothing then there is absolutely no doubt we're in a relegation battle.  At the moment we still have an 8 point gap to the bottom three so victory would make me feel pretty confident that we won't get dragged into the mix.  Defeat would be a whole different story though and would leave in a very precarious position with a horrific run of games at the end of the season.

With Petrov back in training I expect Mcleish to go for an experienced side to try and get us out of trouble so I definately expect him to feature.  There is no doubt that we need our captain at a time like this.  With that in mind this is what I expect the team to be:

                            Given

Hutton      Collins      Cuellar      Warnock

                   Petrov        Gardner 
Albrighton                                   N'Zogbia

                            Ireland

                        Agbonlahor

As I mentioned in an earlier post I would love Weimann to get his chance but I can't see him starting such an important game.  I wouldn't however be surprised to see him get a substitute appearance from what Mcleish has been saying about him.  Also good to hear that he is planning to play Ireland as a second striker, in my opinion by far his most effective position and will hopefully be an opportunity that he capitalises on.

As for the scoreline my head is saying 2-1 Blackburn but my heart is going 2-1 Villa with Weimann coming off the bench to score the winner and become an instant hero!

Give Weimann A Chance!!!

I write this for a couple of very simple reasons.  The first one is obviously the fact that Bent is now out for the rest of the season.  The next reason is the fact that everyone who has ever worked or played with him has always given him rave reviews and can't stop banging on about how good a goalscorer he is.

So why not play him!!! As much as I like Gabby he will never be a goalscorer.  I know he has had seasons where he has been in double figures but in terms of goal scoring ability he will never be the best.  Then we have Heskey, need I go on?

But on our hands we have what Darren Bent described as one of the best natural finishers he has seen in a long, long time.  Surely he must be given his chance to prove himself now that the opportunity has arised.  However it wouldn't surprise me to see Big Eck play Heskey as a lone striker!

But lets just wait and see...

Weimann Preferred To Delfouneso

Assistant Manager Peter Grant has come out today and praised Andreas Weimann for his performances on the training field and stated that he believes that he has earnt his place in the squad ahead of Delfouneso. Grant has reassured Delfouneso that he will get his chance by giving him some words of encouragement, but for the meantime, Weimann is going to be getting the majority of the game time out of the two. This pleases me because Nathan has had many chances already and, while I think he has shown promise, I think it's time for Weimann to get his chance.

This is what Grant said:

“Andreas Weimann came on against Wigan because he deserved to,”

“One of the reasons we put him out on loan for a month was because in pre-season training we thought he was excellent.

“We brought him back with the proviso that he would be involved with us and he’s thoroughly deserved that.

“What we tell the players is every day they have to produce the goods and not just on a Saturday to get that bit extra out of them.

“They need to show it in training and train exceptionally well because that is what we are watching all of the time.

“You don’t switch the light on a Saturday and only become a professional on the Friday night before; you have to do it all the time and train well.

“That’s what we have tried to get into the players mind and they are buying into that. It is a great thing for the youngsters to show there is an opportunity for them.

“Nathan has been fantastic,” added Grant. “He finds it tough being out the team.

“In the game against Bolton the team didn’t play well which wasn’t down to Nathan.

“He has just found himself a bit unfortunate really that Andreas came on against QPR and did well so he deserved to retain his place.”