Weimann: "I've always been happy here"

Andi Weimann has taken to Twitter to deny reports that he has rejected a new contract.

The reports in the papers about rejecting the contract are not true ! I've always been happy here and talks are still ongoing !!

— Andreas Weimann (@andiweimann) February 26, 2013

Villa risk fan revolt as Weimann talks stall

Randy Lerner is risking a major revolt amongst Aston Villa fans after contract talks with Andreas Weimann broke down.

The emergence of Austrian international Andi has been one of the few bright spots in a miserable season at Villa Park and Holte Enders will be horrified at the prospect of losing him.

Weimann is rumoured to be on around £15,000 a week but sources close to the player say they are “disappointed” with the fresh terms so far on offer He has around 18 months left on his current deal, but Villa are unlikely to let this run down and lose the talented forward man on a Bosman, so if a deal can't be brokered, his summer exit seems assured, whether or not Villa secure their Premier League status.

Villa boss Paul Lambert remarked “We’re still talking at the minute and seeing how it’s gone on.”

U21: Villa v Fulham as it was tweeted...

Villa Ladies draw Liverpool in the FA Women's Cup

Aston Villa Ladies face a tough game against the FA-WSL's Liverpool as the FA Women's Cup reaches the fifth round stage.

The draw has thrown up two all-FA WSL ties as Doncaster Rovers Belles will host Bristol Academy and Chelsea will travel to Lincoln.

Holders Birmingham City go to Cardiff while Premier League Cup holders Sunderland will host Manchester City.

Nottingham Forest will entertain perennial Cup winners Arsenal and Southern Division Yeovil Town will be hoping to upset National Division Leeds United.

All eight ties will take place on Sunday 17 March.

Draw in full:

Aston Villa v Liverpool

Sunderland v Manchester City

Doncaster Rovers Belles v Bristol Academy

Cardiff City v Birmingham City

Nottingham Forest v Arsenal

Oxford United v Everton

Lincoln Ladies v Chelsea

Leeds United v Yeovil Town

BT snaps up ESPN's UK Channels

BT Group and ESPN announced today that they have agreed that BT will acquire ESPN’s UK and Ireland TV channels business. These primarily comprise the ESPN and ESPN America channels and their live sports rights portfolio, including the FA Cup, Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League, UEFA Europa League, and the German Bundesliga.

The deal is expected to complete on July 31, 2013 after which BT will continue to operate at least one ESPN-branded channel which is expected to form part of the BT Sport TV package that will be launched by BT this summer.

The deal allows BT Sport customers to see live coverage of the FA Cup for the 2013/14 season, the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League until the end of the 2016/17 season and the UEFA Europa League and German Bundesliga through to the end of the 2014/15 season.

BT had already snapped up two key packages of Premier League starting from next season along with Aviva  Rugby, leaving the Disney backed ESPN with little prime UK content.

BT's Marc Watson enthused "The FA Cup, Scottish Premier League and Europa League rights will allow us to offer customers of BT Sport even more quality live football, including our first games from the Scottish top flight and our first European competition rights. There will also be the best of US sports available courtesy of this deal, which will further broaden the appeal of BT Sport.” 

Villa legend Con Martin passes

Villa legend Con Martin has died at the age of 89.

Martin, born in Rush, Co Dublin, on March 20, 1923, is considered one of the great Irish players of the last century and is famed for scoring from the penalty spot in Ireland's 2-0 win over England at Goodison Park in September 1949 – England's first home defeat to a non-UK side.

He won 30 caps for the Republic of Ireland and six for Northern Ireland in the days when a player could line out for both associations.

Best known as a centre-half, he made his international debut for the Republic in goal and played close to a complete season in the green jersey for the Villa.

After tasting success with Drumcondra in the 1946 FAI Cup success, he played for Glentoran before moving on to Leeds United.

Con then secured a £10,000 move to Aston Villa in 1948, making in excess of 200 appearances – 27 of them between the sticks.

In 1956, he signed for Waterford United and would later manage Dundalk and Shelbourne.

He is survived by wife Vera, sons Mick, Con Jnr, Edward and Phillip and daughters Mary, Elizabeth and Susan, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Bobby Moore

Bobby Moore 1941- 1993

Arsenal v Villa as it was tweeted...

Arsenal 1 Aston Villa 6: Player's Tweets

Villa at Home: Next Gen Quarter Final Draw

Aston Villa's Under 19 Heroes will take on either Olympiacos or Anderlecht in the quarter finals of the NextGen series.

The home draw means a night of excitement at Villa Park as the one legged tie will be settled on the night, with extra time and penalties if required. 

Villa have to wait until Thursday 28th February to find out their opponents as Olympiacos take on Anderlecht at 7.00pm.

NextGen co-founder, Justin Andrews, said: “We’re excited to be progressing to the next stage of the tournament, and to continue to witness the growth and development of some of Europe’s finest youth players and coaches.”

All the quarter finals will be covered live by Eurosport and played between 18th and 21st March.

CHELSEA vs. JUVENTUS or ROSENBORG BK

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs. SPORTING CP

INTER MILAN or ARSENAL vs. CSKA MOSCOW or PSV EINDHOVEN

ASTON VILLA vs. OLYMPIACOS or RSC ANDERLECHT

If you leave early, don't phone a radio station...

listen to ‘Ever left a game early and missed the best bit? ’ on Audioboo

Oh Lord! Empty Seats!

Premier League clubs are losing millions of pounds on seat revenue each season  according to a new report and Villa top this league with empty seats estimated to be costing them nearly £7 million per year in lost revenue.

Analysis from BDRC Continental’s Sports and Sponsorship Insight team shows that Premier League football clubs are losing out on valuable home game revenue by failing to fill their grounds, and losing out on food, programme and merchandise sales

Mark Long, Director of Sports & Sponsorship at BDRC Continental, said: “Since the Premier League announced its new financial controls, top-flight teams need to address how they can turn this lost opportunity into valuable income. Under the new regime kicking off with the 2013/2014 season, any increase in match day revenue can help fund players so empty seats in the ground will have a direct impact on the quality of a club’s squad on the pitch.

“But it’s not just about slashing ticket prices to get supporters into the stadium; there is a balance to be achieved between attracting new fans and keeping loyal season ticket holders happy. And don’t forget the need to maximise on-site sales in the various retail outlets once fans are through the turnstiles. No two clubs are the same, however, so it’s never a ‘one size fits all’ solution. But through careful research and data analysis clubs can still move forward and optimise their fanbase to fill seats and impact the bottom line.”

Could UEFA's NextGen hijack leave Villa out in the cold?

The future of popular pan-European Under 19 tournament The NextGen Series could be under threat, as UEFA plans to launch it's own version next season, a version which would exclude Aston Villa.

UEFA have been stung into action by the growing popularity of NextGen, now into a second season and are thought to be keen on wresting back control of youth football. However, the plan for the UEFA Youth League is to allow participation only to clubs whose first teams have qualified for the last 32 in UEFA's Champions League. Such a move would seem to exclude teams who have shone in the NextGen, such as Sporting Lisbon and of course the Villa.

As it seems fairly unlikely that the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona would enter teams in two European tournaments, the NextGen series would face the danger of losing some of it's biggest names and hence it's appeal as it seeks to grow.

Meanwhile, many would call into question the validity of UEFA's new youth tournament if criteria for entry is to be based solely on first team performance rather than on the standards and achievements of the competing academies. Just 10 of the 24 sides in this year's Next Gen had first teams in this season's Champions League

Villa qualified for the quarter finals of this year's tournament on Tuesday, coming through a tricky away tie at Ajax while Mikey Drennan has been the tournament's goal machine, netting six goals.

A Foot in Both Camps: Arsenal v Villa

Villa's Next Gen Heroes march on in Europe

Goals from tournament top-scorer Mikey Drennan and Brad Lewis allowed Villa's young lions to wipe the floor with Ajax and power on through to the quarter finals of the NextGen tournament.

The Dutch side took the initiative early in the first half through Djavan Anderson, but goals from Michael Drennan and Bradley Lewis secured victory.

The visitors made the better start to proceedings, but it was Ajax who edged ahead within 15 minutes as Lesley de Sa pulled the ball back for Anderson to slot the ball home.

It was an advantage that lasted just over 20 minutes as Drennan levelled the tie with his sixth goal of the competition just minutes after seeing a curling effort travel just wide of the post.

Ajax held out until the break, but Villa pressure paid off midway through the second half as Lewis netted to put Villa within touching distance of the last eight.

The Ajax boys were unable to find an equaliser and Villa held firm to become the first team to reach the quarters.

NextGen: Ajax v Aston Villa as it was tweeted...

Get Well Soon Giddy

We'd like to wish Aston Villa legend John Gidman a speedy recovery after a heart operation.

An exciting right back, John clocked up well over 200 appearances in Villa shirt winning the 1977 League Cup in the process before moving on to Everton in 1979.

In 1981 he became the first player signed by Big Ron Atkinson at Manchester United  where he played in the 1985 FA Cup triumph.

John had been scheduled to take part in ‘Three Amigos’at the Sacred Heart Club, in Grange Road, Aston, on Thursday,  reminiscing about the past and talk about the present alongside former Villa favourites Peter Withe and Brian Little. Tony Morley will be stepping in to take his place.

Get well soon Giddy.

Happy Birthday to Nicky Shorey and Hassan Kachloul

Many happy returns to former Villa players Nicky Shorey and Hassan Kachloul.

 

Larry goes up the North End

It's confirmed that former Villa midfielder Simon "Larry" Grayson isn't set to "shut that door" on his managerial career just yet and has been confirmed as the new Preston manager.

The former Blackpool boss replaces Graham Westley, who parted company with the League One side this month.

Preston

Westley left the club following their 3-1 defeat at Yeovil before caretaker boss John Dreyer led them to a 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday, catapulting them up to 17th in the league.

Former Leeds boss Grayson was sacked from his managerial position at Championship side Huddersfield last month and had been linked with the vacancies at Oldham and Notts County.

Villa fans hope for United win...

Reading take on Manchester United tonight at Old Trafford and while most "neutrals" would be hoping for a shock exit for the runaway Premier League leaders, many Villa fans are hoping that our relegations rivals crash out of the competition.

The reason?

Well, should The Royals stun the football world tonight and qualify for the quarter finals, those games will be played on the weekend of 9th/10th March and the Premier League clash with Aston Villa will need to be rescheduled.

This could be particularly bad news for the travelling claret & blue faithful.  Villa fans quickly snapped up all 2,300 tickets available and many will have taken advantage of cheap advance (but none-refundable) train tickets.
Any rearranged game is likely to be a midweek night game.

However, if the bookies are correct, then our Saturday date at the Majedski looks safe with a Reading win available at odds of 11/1.

Meanwhile the initial allocation for the away clash at Stoke is a paltry 1,240.

Happy Birthday Concrete Ron

Many happy returns to Ron Vlaar on the occasion of his 28th Birthday.

Happy Birthday Sasa Curcic

We may not have the fondest of memories of Saša Ćurčić's spell at Villa Park (his consolation goal in the FA Cup exit against Derby County at the Baseball Ground received the least enthusiastic crowd reaction to a Villa goal I can ever remember) but nevertheless we wish him many happy returns on the occasion of his 41st birthday.

Saša played for the Villa between 1996 and 1998, but never really endeared himself to the Villa faithful and on leaving the club, he had some terse words to say about the manager who had brought him to the club:

"The way Brian Little played me was very strange. I could never understand it. He knew I was better in a free role. He should have played me like a McManaman or a Cantona. I was never given a chance to show what I could do - and that will always baffle me"

Man U match moved as Sky bugger up another Saturday 3 o'clocker

Rupert Murdoch

Those lovely people at Sky Sports have selected Villa's away clash with Manchester United for TV coverage.

The decision means that game, initially scheduled for Saturday 20th April will now take place on the much less sociable Monday 22nd April at 8pm.

However, don't cancel those advance train tickets and hotel bookings just yet. In the event that United squeak into the Champions League Semi-Finals, the game will be bounced back to the Saturday with an early doors 12.45pm start time.

Jordan Graham out for the season

In a blow to Villa's Under 21 and Next Gen ambitions, promising wide man Jordan Graham has revealed on Twitter that he is OUT for the rest of the season. The news comes just a day after he featured in the latter stages of the Under 21s 4-0 triumph away at Sunderland.

It seems he's been diagnosed with severe tendinopathy.

On the train to London to see the knee specialist! Hopefully all goes well ✌ #ChilledDay

— Jordan Graham (@jordandakid) February 12, 2013

Wow. Im out till the end of the season. Im actually so gutted right now.

— Jordan Graham (@jordandakid) February 12, 2013

Thank you everyone for all your messages, I read them all, it means everything! Gotta keep strong and I'll come back better! Trust me

— Jordan Graham (@jordandakid) February 12, 2013

You know who's there for you when your at your lowest. Thank you everyone for your messages today. Have a lovely evening ❤

— Jordan Graham (@jordandakid) February 12, 2013

Jack Woodward Sunderland U21s 0-4 Villa full time report

listen to ‘Jack Woodward Sunderland U21s 0-4 Villa full time report’ on Audioboo

Ciggy Card Pic: Hat-trick Hero Mikey Drennan

We're celebrating Mikey's three goal haul at the Academy of Light with another of our "vintage" Ciggy Card pics.

Well done Mister Drennan, Keep 'em coming!

U21s - Sunderland v Villa tweets...

Villa v West Ham as it was tweeted...

Coming soon...The Guest Room

Fancy venting your spleen on all things Villa? 

The defending, the transfer policy, the saltiness of the Bovril? Then why not scrawl a guest blog for villamad.co.uk?

We'll slap the best ones up on our shiny new Guest Room section (when we've built it) and probably the worst ones too. If you fancy getting your Villa gripes off your chest or even be praiseful of events at Villa Park, with all haste send your Magnificent Octopus (that's a Blackadder reference whippersnappers) to editor@villamad.co.uk.

We're afraid we can't return your paintings and we don't give a prize for any that we show. (Vision On/Take Hart reference).

Maybe we're all worrying far too much...

Premier League announce new financial regs

The Premier League clubs on Thursday agreed in principle to a system of enhanced financial regulations, which are designed to further improve the sustainability of clubs.

Here's the detail:

Long-Term Sustainability Regulation

From the 2013/14 season Premier League clubs cannot make a loss in excess of £105m aggregated across seasons 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Any club that makes a loss up to that limit will be subject to a tighter regulatory regime that includes:

- Secure owner funding for three years ahead
- Increased future financial information over the next three seasons.

Short-Term Cost Control Measure

Premier League clubs are restricted in terms the amount of increased PL Central Funds that can be used to increase current player wage costs to the tune of:

2013/14: £4m
2014/14: £8m
2015/16: £12m

The Short Term Cost Control measure applies only to clubs with a player wage bill in excess of £52m in 2013/14, £56m in 2014/15 and £60m in 2015/16.

Fantasy Villa Team No. 7: Players with their own songs

We may be courting controversy here.

How can we possibly pick a fantasy team based on players with their own songs and not include Spinksy, Birchy and Alan McInally?

How can we pick ANY Villa team with Barry Bannan in it?

Well, it's our team, so we can. Nah, nah-nah-nah, nah! Pick your own if you don't like it.

In goal, we just had to plump for "The Aussie Bozzie". Who doesn't miss singing that?

We've cheated at full back by having two right backs. Including "he's got no hair but we don't care" Chrissy Chrissy Price was a must, while we consider "He's hard, he's game, we can't pronounce his name, Dariusz, Dariusz" to be a little known classic.

God is not even up for debate, while the much loved Cuellar had two songs that would have qualified, though some of the Holte Enders we've seen singing "I'd let you shag my wife" looked as if they'd never even had a girlfriend. Ho-hum.

It's a pity we can only sing "Who needs Barry when we've got Barry Bannan" ironically these days, because it's a cracker, Ashley Young "is fuckin' dynamite" is up there with the very best and for sheer simplicity, "Sid, Sid, Sid, Sid" earns it's place in our line up.

"Deano scores and he wants some more" was a must as was "he's bigger than me and you" but pride of place goes to "Six Foot Two, Eyes of Blue, Sammy Morgan's after you, la la la, la la la, la laaaaaaaa!!!!!!"

England v Brazil as it was tweeted...

Villa U21s v Blackburn U21s - tweets from AVFCOfficial

Villa v West Ham United: A foot in both camps

Lambert speaks after Everton game

listen to ‘Mark Regan talks to a dejected Paul Lambert after Villa pegged back at the death at Everton’ on Audioboo

Everton v Villa as it was tweeted...

Yacouba Sylla ball juggling at Aston Villa training ground.