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.

Ireland And N'Zogbia Hold The Key

With 11 games left to go, as I posted yesterday, we are pretty much safe.  Despite this, I still can't see us picking up many more points looking at the teams we still have to face.  I think the key to our success in these games is the performances of Ireland and N'Zogbia.

In the first half at Blackburn they were terrific.  I know many of you will say it was because Blackburn were so poor but at the end of the day they capitalised on that and showed the quality they possess.  Obviously it is going to be tougher for them to produce that kind of performance against the better sides but I believe they have turned a corner recently and will continue to get better and better.

If they do get better and better then we can definately expect to score a few goals along the way to the end of a dismal season, and possibly win a game!  However if they don't then we can expect to see the same old dross such as the Wigan game where we will settle for a point under any circumstances.

8 Point Gap - No Chance Of Relegation

After watching Fulham's 5-0 drubbing of Wolves I thought to myself that with not long to go in the season, 8 points is surely a big enough gap to keep us from the relegation dogfight.

Wolves look so so poor with a manager still learning the ropes, surely they are doomed.  Wigan looked dreadful at home to Swansea and surely they have used up their 9 lives by now.  Blackburn can't even keep a clean sheet at home to Villa which tells it's own story!  QPR still haven't found their feet under Mark Hughes which I must say has surprised me.  Then there is Bolton who have been poor all season and have never really looked like going on a winning run.

So with just 11 games to go can you really see at least 3 of the teams below us overhauling an effective 9 point gap if you look at goal difference?  I certainly can't!  I would be surprised if we needed anything more than just 2 or 3 more points if that due to the garbage that is sitting below us.  I know we have a tough run to the end of the season but even we're not that bad that we will not be able to pick up 3 points in 11 games are we?  I bloody well hope not!

One thing is for sure though, if Mcleish is still here next season then I really don't fancy our chances of survival.  But for now, I'm pretty confident of securing Premier League status next year.  We certainly can't afford to relax, but if we can just scrape a few more points we have absolutely nothing to worry about this season.

Man City: PREVIEW

Possibly the toughest game we will play all season. We rolled over twice last season at Eastlands and Man City have strengthened a lot since then. However, despite the departures of key players in our squad I believe we will put up much more of a fight this time around. A new found solidity at the back means we should hopefully not concede any cheap goals and force them to use the undoubted quality at their disposal to break us down. Last season it was all too easy for them, but I think we could be a much tougher task than they are anticipating.

Now we get on to the injuries. Man City are thankfully without Sergio Aguero for the match tomorrow so it will most likely be Balotelli to replace him. For us we are without Jenas still as he looks to overcome an achilles injury and Nathan Delfouneso is out with a minor hamstring tear. Ireland, Bannan and Agbonlahor have all overcome injuries to be fit for the trip to the Etihad Stadium so at least we can put out a strong team to have a realistic chance of perhaps taking something back to Villa Park.

My team prediction:

                    Given

Hutton  Collins  Dunne  Warnock

              Petrov  Delph

     Bannan  Ireland  Agbonlahor

                     Bent

From what Mcleish said in an interview after the Wigan game he made it seem quite clear that he wouldn't stick with the diamond for this match. I think he will play a much more solid base and try and hit them on the break with the pace of Gabby, and I think this is the only way we can be competitive against a side better than us in all parts of the pitch. I honestly believe we could win a hard earned point if we put in a real gutsy performance. A win would be unbelievable and I don't think anyone is predicting a Villa win, but it's not an impossibilty. Keep believing and it might just happen!

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.”

Player Profile - 10. Charles N'Zogbia

Bought in the summer for £9.5 million, Charles N'Zogbia was supposed to be our saviour after the loss of Young and Downing. Unfortunately he hasn't lived up to expectations so far and was even dropped for the 2-0 victory against his former club Wigan last week. Since joining he hasn't looked half as good as what he did last year for Wigan as he almost single handedly kept them in the league. Instead what we have seen is a player who can barely control a ball, misplaces passes and can't beat a defender to save his life.

There is undoubtedly a very good player in there somewhere though, as he showed at the end of last season. It's all a case of will Mcleish be able to get that out of him. Perhaps he is struggling with the pressure of trying to fill the boots of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, or maybe he is just taking some time to settle in Claret and Blue. Earlier this season, N'Zogbia claimed that he can "murder any left back" and I think it's time for him to start showing these qualities that we payed just shy of £10 mil for.

Rating - 6/10

Wigan MOTM - Gabby Agbonlahor

The poll for the MOTM against Wigan closed yesterday and the result is very much as you would expect. Gabby Agbonlahor cruised to top of the poll claiming the award with Barry Bannan the runner up, however he didn't even come close to Gabby.

Zogs Accepts Being Dropped

Alex Mcleish has come out today to explain his reasons for dropping N'Zogbia against Wigan. I don't think he really needed to explain why he was dropped, his performances have been shocking so far this season.

Here is what Mcleish said:

"He understood. There is big competition now.

"Charles has been very exciting in a lot of the games, it's just been his final ball.

"Maybe Roberto (Martinez) gave him more of a free rein and not checking back which made him a bit more dangerous at Wigan.

"But he is learning that side of the game as well which is important.

"I see Nani, Damien Duff and all the top wingers doing it."

The Scot says he wants N'Zogbia to work even harder and track back defensively, although he is mindful of wearing him out.

"Charles is explosive although we need to be mindful of not tiring him out having to run back all the time,"

"We've got to get the ball to him more and he is working on his delivery whether a shot at goal or a cross into the box or a one-two.

"These are the little things where he is not quite at his level yet."

Not too sure why he used Damien Duff as an example of a top winger but you get the idea...

Player Ratings vs Wigan

Shay Given - 7 - Had a very quiet first 70 minutes but made a couple of top saves late on to preserve the clean sheet.

Alan Hutton - 6.5 - Got away with a clumsy challenge in the box but overall did quite well against a tricky Moses. Got forward when possible but his crossing was poor throughout.

James Collins - 7 - Another typical Collins performance of blocks and headers and hoofing. Had one wobble in defence when Di Santo seemed to run straight through him just before the penalty appeal but otherwise solid.

Richard Dunne - 8 - Another fine display in a magnificent start to the season. A dominant display where nobody was able to find a way past him.

Stephen Warnock - 8 - I haven't been his biggest fan recently but I thought against Wigan he was fantastic. He made many key challenges and ran up and down the wing all day. Lets hope he can keep it up.

Stiliyan Petrov - 5.5 - Another game where he was off the pace. Whenever the ball came to him he seemed to take an age over assessing his options and then always picked the most negative one. Also he fannied about by wanting to take every corner short which just did not work.

Fabian Delph - 5 - Not a great performance once again. He gave the ball away in key positions too often and going forward his final pass was woeful.

Barry Bannan - 7.5 - Had a great first half where he created most of our chances. Almost bagged a goal from 25 yards early in the second half but began to fade after the second goal went in.

Stephen Ireland - 6 - Got more involved than I've seen recently which was pleasing but his final pass/shot still needs work. Game time needed but promising signs.

Gabby Agbonlahor - 9 - Ive already mentioned it in my previous post. His electrifying pace was terrorising the defence all day and took his goal brilliantly.

Darren Bent - 7 - Took his goal nicely and almost got one in the first half when he wrong footed the defence only to be denied by Al Habsi. Great to see him score at the Holte End finally.

Mcleish Wants Tougher Villa

After once again failing to close out victory yesterday against QPR, we are once again left thinking what might have been.  If they had gone on to take 6 points from the games against Newcastle and QPR we would be sitting pretty in 4th place with 12 points.  As it happens, we failed to kill off teams that we should have done and now only have 8 points from our opening 6 games, which isn't bad but considering the teams we have faced we should be looking at double figures.

In response to this, Mcleish has called on Villa to become mentally tougher in an attempt to finish opponents off in games when we strike the first blow. 

"I'm not happy. I still feel that we should have ground out another four points, that's the mark of a team with real mental toughness and we have got to put that into the guys."

"I am gutted that we threw it away in the dying embers of the game, after a second-half performance which is much more what I expected from these players."
I think we all agree with what he is saying.  We have seen all too often us throwing away leads over the past couple of seasons and it's up to him to get that habit out of them.  It was a much thrown around stat last season that we threw away more points from winning positions than anybody else in the league.  That's possibly the most frustrating stat to claim!

Now from what I have seen from Mcleish so far as Villa manager is someone that knows the right things to say.  He has said on numerous occasions that he wants to play attacking, expansive football and that he wants to give youth a chance to show what they can do.  However so far the football has been pretty dire and he has only used youngsters when injuries have forced him to do so.  Therefore it will be interesting to see how the players react to this challenge in our next game against Wigan.  There is no doubt that Wigan at home is a game that should be won, no excuses.  We have struggled in this fixture in the past but I fear that anything other than a convincing performance and scoreline will get the boo boys out in full force.