No Representations - How The Mighty Have Fallen

It wasn't too long ago that we had the likes of Young, Milner, Barry and Downing representing England whilst at the Villa.  However one by one they have each gone off to what would be percieved to be 'greater things' and I suppose you can't really argue with that.  They are all going to win trophies at their new clubs, 3 of them have already!  But you can't help but feel that they probably would have done anyway had they all stayed in claret and blue (that case has been made hundreds of times so I won't go into detail!).

So here we are on an international week with not a single Aston Villa representative in the England squad after Bent's withdrawal and that's really quite depressing!  To be honest I'm really not that bothered about England these days, Villa are my only love football wise.  Seeing how the Villa players are getting on is usually the only thing that gets me excited about watching an England game!

I will still be tuning in to the game but with little expectation or interest as I really don't have anything more productive to be getting on with!  I will be on Twitter discussing the game and anything Villa related so feel free to send me your thoughts on whatever and I will get back to you!

Agbonlahor Could Be A Superstar - Angel

Old Aston Villa favourite Juan Pablo Angel has come out and said how well he feels Agbonlahor is playing and says that he has all the attributes to make him a world class player.  I think this is replicating what most Villa fans are thinking after watching his performances so far this season, and hopefully Juan Pablo is correct in his belief that he will become a superstar.

He said:

“I do remember him from my time at Villa but he was only a young player who made his debut when I was there,”

“It was hard to tell whether he would make it.

 “He had everything to make him a superstar, most of all the one tool that is extremely important in the modern game, which is his speed.

 “But he was still young and at the end of the day it was up to him.

 “It was hard to tell whether he was going to be a world class player or not.

 “He started to become more involved with Martin O’Neill and he has now developed into a more mature player.

 “What I have seen in him this year is very encouraging.

 “I’m sure he would have been disappointed with having the season he had last year.

 “Now he has something to prove. He’ll want to be back in the England frame and he’ll want to give himself the chance to be the player he wants to be.”

 “His speed is always going to give him a good chance to start with,”

 “He has the tools but it’s up to him how much he wants to improve and how willing he is to do the things he has to do to become a world-class player.

 “He’s in an environment and a league that will give him all the opportunities.

 “He looks a lot stronger now. When I saw him at the beginning of last year, I noticed he had put on some weight in terms of muscles and strength.

 “I guess if he knew that speed wasn’t enough he wanted to become more powerful too.

 “He’s giving himself every opportunity and you can tell he is more confident using his body because he will not get out-muscled.”

Player Profile - 11. Gabriel Agbonlahor

The local lad Gabby Agbonlahor has become a fans favourite over the past few years. He is a Villa fan living the dream and he is one of only a few people in the squad who truly knows how much of a privelage it is to play for your club. I think that was the main reason for the sadness people felt for him last year when he just couldn't come up with the goods and it looked like he might be on his way out.

Thankfully for the fans and himself, he has made an amazing resurgence back to the top of his game, leaving defences quaking in their boots. He's even starting to look clinical in front of goal! 4 goals already this season tops what he made in the whole of last season, and his ability to create a goal out of nothing is something that nobody else in the squad possesses so to have him back at his best could easily gain us an extra 10 points this season.

I don't think that there is any doubt that if he can keep this form up and stay fit then he should be given a chance in the England squad, and possibly even get on the plane to the Euro's. Not only does he possess great pace and danger, but he has now also added versatility to his list of attributes which, for Capello, makes him a great addition to the squad if he is to go to the championships.

Rating - 9/10

That Matchday Feeling

So the weekend is here but I can't help but feel slightly underwhelmed at the prospect of two days off. The reason for this is that there is no Premier League football to get excited about, or more importantly, no Villa action. None of that anticipation of what might happen in the next 90 minutes, the excitement of scoring a goal, the pain of conceding a goal, the anger towards a dull match, the thrill at seeing an explosive game of football. All of these emotions are part of the match day feeling and I wouldn't trade a single one.

The England game yesterday should have been something that would get me excited, the prospect of my nation qualifying for the next major championships. Sadly however I couldn't have been more disinterested in it. I was so disinterested that I even forgot it was on until I was texted by a friend to tell us we had scored, to which my reaction was very care free. I try to get excited in International football but it simply doesn't come close to my love of Aston Villa and the Premier League.

The International break is, to me, just an annoying hinderance to the proper action that we are all looking forward to. That's why most of us watch the Internationals just praying that our players come away unscathed so they are fully fit for our club's next fixture. Perhaps I'm speaking for the minority but that is just my honest opinion, there is no feeling greater than that Villa match day feeling.

Bent In England Squad

So the England squad has been announced and it comes as no surprise that Darren Bent is our sole contributor to the squad. I'm sure that Gabby would have made the squad if it wasn't for his back injury mentioned in an earlier post. Lets just hope the Bent doesn't get himself injured, that's always my worry when I see our players on international duty!