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!

TalkSport Reaction

I know that many Villa fans will have been listening to TalkSport.  The debate on the Villa has got on many people's nerves, including mine.

Darren Gough constantly banging on about how Villa fans want to make every important decision involving managerial positions despite being told more than once that we don't, we just want someone that won't send us spiralling downwards in a sea of dire football.  Lerner seemed to set out a plan when he appointed Houllier to start playing a continental style of football at Villa Park and improvements were visible towards the end of the season.  He has now gone completely the other way by appointing someone famous for his hoof tactics.  It makes no sense!

I have to point out that I'm not a fan of protesting at games as I think the players need 100% support from the fans during games and that protests will just distract them from the job in hand.  However I will not have a go at anyone who is trying to be productive in getting our great club back on the road to success.

Finally I will thank Adrian Durham for actually defending Villa fans and understanding the points that we were actually putting across, unlike Goughie who tore into our fan base and twisted everything we said.

The message is clear and simple

Villa's Qatari Takeover

Now I have heard quite a lot recently about this supposed QIA takeover at the Villa so I thought I would comment on it.  Personally I would love it if we got taken over by some insanely rich sugar daddy's.  In the past I have had my doubts because it 'wouldn't be the right way' to go and win things but now I say STUFF THAT!  I'm fed up of watching our club spiral into oblivion whilst Man City look odds on for the title despite the fact that about 3 years ago we were in a far greater position.

Our club has been destroyed by the wealth of other teams so in my eyes it's about time we did the same back.  I wish it wasn't like this but football has been ruined so if we are going to compete then this is the only realistic way of going about things.

Before I finish I would just like to point out that this is nothing more than a rumour.  So just remember that before you start getting overly excited!  Still, we can always dream...

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...

Mcleish To Keep Herd Grounded

After a great few games in the holding role, Herd has been the main positive for fans to focus on recently.  However Alex Mcleish doesn't want to heap too much pressure on him so early in his career.  I've been so impressed with him this season, ever since I saw him play right back against Wolves.  He should definately play whenever fit in the holding role and then we can play a couple of attack minded midfielders ahead of him, hopefully Gardner soon!

Here is what Mcleish said:

"What the boys have normally done after a defeat is give me a good reaction.
"We have a tough one at the weekend but I will be looking at possibly freshening things up in any way that I can.

"Guys like Chris Herd are getting a crash-course in the Premier League.
"He was all over the place. He made tackles, got booked, he's an athletic kid but his legs gave away towards the end. If we expose him too much we risk injury.
"To rely on these kids for the whole season is putting a lot of pressure on them.
"He's certainly shown the mental toughness to handle it. He's developing but let's not put too much pressure on him."

The Youngsters Showing Us How It's Done

I've just watched the highlights from Villa's NextGen Series 3-0 victory over Ajax and all I could think throughout was, why can't the first team do that?

Obviously there were a few sloppy errors but you will always find them at youth level, they soon learn to cut them out once they are on the big stage and realise just how costly a mistake can be.  The midfield duo of Gary Gardner and Daniel Johnson looked very comfortable on the ball and very dangerous coming forward.  We've all heard a lot about Gardner and saying that he should be given a chance in the first team, and why not? The current lot clearly aren't cutting the mustard at the moment so things can't get worse by putting Gardner in there.  He's 19 years old, that's about the age that top youth players start making an impact on their respective clubs first team and I feel that the time he is spending in the youth and reserve teams is a bit of a waste of time.  The NextGen Series will do a lot of good for him to experience european competition but it's clear that he is way too good to be playing at that level.

His partner in midfield, Johnson, also looks like a very decent prospect.  I noticed he made a couple of cup squads early last season without getting on the pitch.  I can clearly see why Houllier liked him.  He reminds me a bit of Barry Bannan.  Quite slight but very comfortable on the ball, close control and a lovely left foot.  I can't see where he would really fit in with the first team squad at this moment in time but I would like to see him maybe go out on loan and get some time playing championship football because I can see him having a good future.

Finally I would like to mention a couple of wingers, Jack Grealish and Jordan Graham.  I've heard in the past about Chelsea showing an interest in Jordan Graham and I can see why.  Still at a very young age he made the Ajax defence look stupid (those of you that have seen the highlights will know which bit I'm on about).  That was quality wing play and the more he plays, the better he will get and I think he could be really special.  The same applies to Grealish.  I first saw him play in the 4-1 win against Rosenborg earlier in the competition.  He looks like another very skillful player who, like Graham will just get better with time and could become really special.

I heard Alex Mcleish was at that match, so hopefully he will have picked up a few tips on how to set his teams up (TO WIN!).  He simply has to start including Gardner in the squads over the next few weeks and we can all finally see what he can do in the Premier League.

Other than that I would like to leave you with my ones to watch:

Jack Grealish
Jordan Graham

Ian Taylor - Next Villa Manager?

I spoke about this during and after the match last night on Twitter and it all seemed to make good sense.  Ian Taylor is Mr. Aston Villa, there is no 2 ways about it.  He is a hard core fan, lived the dream by playing for his club and is now the ambassador for the club.  Granted, he might not know much about management yet, but he would be able to learn the ins and outs of it through time.

There is no way that Alex Mcleish is the long term solution to our problems.  All he has done is create a few more.  Ian Taylor is still young in terms of management age so he has plenty of time to learn the ropes.  If he was to get the job, he would be respected by the players and be worshipped by the fans.  He is an Aston Villa legend, end of.  I know people have said in the past that they would love Martin Laursen to manage us one day, and I would like to see that happen aswell.  He would have a very similar effect to Tayls.  Basically what I want is someone who knows Villa and will get the players playing with passion and know what kind of football the fans want to see being played.

A Day To Reflect - Not Much Has Changed

So, I've had a day to reflect on the appauling surrender at Tottenham and my viewpoint remains the same.  We all saw the team sheet before the game and knew what the outcome would be.  Even with a team capable of holding out a team like Spurs for 90 minutes I don't agree with those tactics at all.  We are Aston Villa, we are a big enough and good enough team to go out and attack any team in the league.  If we get hammered then so be it, at least we gave it a go.  Playing the way we did we had absolutely no chance of getting a result, at least by throwing everything at Spurs might give them something to think about.

I often say things in the heat of the moment after a poor performance, and last night was the first time I have used the words "Mcleish Out".  Maybe it was a bit premature but that's how furious I was at how he set us up to play.  I knew when he came to Villa that he had been accused of being defensive in the past but he said that with the attacking options at his disposal at Villa he would play dynamic, expansive, attacking football.  But here we are talking about his overly negative tactics making a mockery of our club.

I'm not going to start a whole Mcleish Out campaign just yet, but what I will say is that if he doesn't alter his tactics considerably for the Swansea match then I will start to consider whether I want this man in charge of our club.  Obviously I'm not keen on him anyway but I'm still willing to give him another chance.  Another episode similar to this one will spell the end of my belief in him.  Randy will not sack him, not unless we are in SERIOUS trouble because he has it in his mind that he's the new Sir Alex, but that won't stop the fans in voicing their disgust at his tactics.  ENOUGH DEFENDING, JUST ATTACK!!!

Optimism Mixed With Fear

It seems so long since my last post.  In fact I think it was just after the 2-1 defeat to West Brom when I last wrote an article.  I must apologise for the lack of posts but it has been a hectic few weeks but I'm committed to making this blog a success so my attention is now fully focussed on giving you, the reader, a good read about all things Villa.  So, let's start with a look ahead to Monday's match with Spurs shall we...

I've just checked the table and noticed that if Spurs win thier 2 games in hand they will rise to 2nd in the table! And the way they are playing it is a real possibility.  I would love to go into this game with confidence but whenever I start feeling optimistic, my mind switches to our full backs.  Warnock against Lennon and Walker is bad enough but when you add Hutton against Bale to the equation, the outlook doesn't look good.  Then they have Van der Vaart, Modric and Parker against Petrov and Herd which just adds to the woes.

On a positive note I definately feel as though we can make chances against anyone now that Gabby and Bent have formed a potentially lethal partnership.  We need Gabby to be at his best to stand any chance of getting something out of the game.  It is a potentially very high scoring game.  Over recent years our games together have been very tight affairs and usually full of drama, but this time around I think we need to rely on Tottenham's midfield to have an off day to make it a close game.  Nevertheless that won't stop me believing we can take all 3 points in great style, no matter how impossible that may seem.  That's the feeling I get before every game and that will never change, so bring it on!

Positive Signs But Same Old Woes

Once again I have mixed emotions after a Villa game and it's really starting to get on my wick! We've got it in the locker to play good stuff and dominate teams, we showed that at times today. Why then do we go ultra defensive as soon as we take the lead? We did it under O'Neill aswell but not quite to this extent. Mcleish is the only man responsible, and only he can fix it.

There were clear positives to take from today, the obvious one being scoring twice away from home. Stan's one in a million's are turning into one in ten's, N'Zogbia started to look like justifying his price tag (not totally yet) and Chris Herd did everything I thought he could do. We had moments where we dominated possession and we created a few good chances. Much better away from home.

But once again we are talking about dropped points. I know that both Sunderland goals could potentially have been avoided if the ref had given decisions our way but that doesn't excuse poor defending. The first goal was decent but easily avoidable and the second was just unforgiveable. The smallest player on the pitch with a free header from close range when we are just a couple of minutes from 3 valuable points.

If we cut out the stupid defensive errors and get Heskey out the side I think we have the makings of a solid
mid-table side. Unfortunately I think that's the best we can hope for but I for one would be happy with that. There have been whispers of relegation recently so I would be very pleased to cement our place in the Premier League.