Next Gen Semi Final: Villa v Sporting Lisbon as it was tweeted...

NextGen: New "Vintage" Footie Cards

In honour of Villa's Young Lions Easter adventure in Lake Como, the latest in our set of "vintage" footie card mocks:

Villa v Liverpool Easter Sunday

Holman saves Aussie Blushes with late strike

Australia 2 Oman 2


A late equaliser from forgotten Villa man Brett Holman rescued the Socceroos who were forced to come from two goals down to keep their quest to reach a third successive World Cup finals alive with a 2-2 draw against Oman in an Asian qualifier at Sydney's Olympic stadium on Tuesday.

Oman took the wind out of the sails of the 34,603 Aussie crowd, taking a 1-0 lead through Abdul Aziz Mubarak after six minutes and the agony was compounded by Mile Jedinak's own goal four minutes into the second half

Ex-Evertonian Tim Cahill pulled one back, heading home after 51 minutes and our very own Brett Holman secured a point with a stunning 25-metre effort five minutes from time.

Brett's strike is likely to prove vital to the Socceroos' qualifying hopes  They are now equal on six points with Oman as they battle for the second place slot which guarantees a place in Brazil.

Video: NextGen Series: Aston Villa v Olympiacos Pireus

New Olympic Park Logo revealed

Villa face Sporting Lisbon (AGAIN!) in NextGen Semi Final

Aston Villa's Young Lions will face Sporting Lisbon in the Next Gen semi finals

The Draw:

Villa earned the right to travel to Italy in a hard fought victory against a lively Olympiacos. Graham Burke's early goal settled it on a chilly night at Villa Park.  Supporters - including a loud and noisy clump of Greek fans - were seated in the North Stand, creating a boisterous atmosphere on a chilly night .

Chelsea qualified for the semi-finals with a crushing 4-1 win over Juventus while Sporting Lisbon cruised through in goal filled encounter with Spurs at Leyton Orient.

Sporting's youngsters were hugely impressive against the Villa in the group match at Villa Park, while Villa needed to reverse the result out in Portugal to progress.

The final quarter final takes place at the Emirates on Monday evening as Arsenal take on CSKA for the last place at Lake Como.

Both semi finals take place on Good Friday at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Lake Como, Italy while the final will be on Easter Monday.

just done recovery today! the draw for the semi finals at 3pm, we don't care who we get, we'll back ourselves against anyone #avfc
— Bradley Lewis (@BradleyLewis27) March 21, 2013

Who is Greg Dyke?

Rodent

Greg Dyke has been appointed as new Chairman of The FA.

Our potted history of Mister Dyke (we read his autobiography a while back) is below:

Beached

Dyke emerged into the public eye at London Weekend Television as a producer working with the likes of Danny Baker and Janet Street Porter but became famous as the saviour of TV-am, where he replaced serious current affairs content with Roland Rat, Chris Tarrant interviewing donkeys on seaside beaches and serious journalists like John Stapleton reading out the newspaper Bingo numbers.

Plod

He then moved onto TVS – the station that launched Bobby Davro – On the Box onto the world in the name of entertainment.

He was soon back at LWT as one of the head-honchos, where one of his decisions was to scrap popular entertainment shows like Jimmy Tarbuck's Live at Her Majesty's and plunge us all into two decades of bloody Heartbeat on Sunday nights. More controversially, he AXED World of Sport, ITV's answer to Grandstand, upsetting all the violent grannies who loved at bit of Wrestling before the football results. Bad news for grapple fans.

Axed

While at LWT, Dyke was effectively running ITV Sport and the embryo of the Premier League can be traced back to his dealings with First Division Chairmen and Chief Execs. Sadly for Greg, this this would blow up in his face when Sky Sports swooped for the telly rights.

When Granada swallowed up LWT as ITV homogenised, Dyke would make millions from his shares.

Dyke would go on to be a popular Director General of the BBC, at which point his Labour supporting past would be brought to the fore. Ironically, his collision course with Labour's Tony Blair and Alistair Campbell over the Kelly affair and the Hutton Inquiry would signal the end of tenure at the corporation.

Do you come from Manchester?

Despite being a southerner, Dyke is a keen Manchester United supporter and used to be a shareholder and director, at one point opposing a planned takeover by BSkyB. He only sold his shares when holding conflicted with his TV interests.

He is currently chairman of Brentford FC, a role he will relinquish before taking up the FA reins in July.

NextGen: Villa v Olympiacos

NextGen Series: Moving forward

#ShineBrightLikeAWeimann

We loved this hashtag. Just had to get in on the act...

Audio - U21s 2-2 Everton full time report

listen to ‘Audio - U21s 2-2 Everton full time report’ on Audioboo

Everton U21s v Villa U21s as it was tweeted...

Villa v QPR as it was tweeted..

Cheltenham Day 4: Tips

Very open racing as the meeting draws to a close. Frankly, our advice is to either keep your money in your pocket or stick a pin in.   However, our selections are as follows:

1.30   Diahali
2.05   Tanerko Emery
2.40   Our Vinnie
3.15   Long Run
4.00   Backstage
4.40   Village Vic
5.15   Alderwood  

All our thoughts are with JT McNamara.

Champions League & Europa League Quarter Final Draw

Our Dennis holds the trophy aloft
in the days when it REALLY meant something

Champions League Quarter Finals 

Malaga v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Galatasary
PSG v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Juventus

Europa League Quarter Finals

Chelsea v Rubin Kazan
Spurs v FC Basel
Fenerbahce v Lazio
Benfica v Newcastle

The Fonz makes England U21 Squad

Stuart Pearce's England U21 Squad for  Romania at Wycombe on 21 March and Austria at Brighton on 25 March

Goalkeepers: Ben Amos, Jack Butland, Declan Rudd, Jason Steele

Defenders:
Ryan Bennett
Steven Caulker
Nathaniel Clyne
Craig Dawson
Tom Lees
Jack Robinson
Danny Rose
Luke Shaw
Adam Smith
Andre Wisdom

Midfielders:
Tom Carroll
Nat Chalobah
Jordan Henderson
Henri Lansbury
Jason Lowe
Josh McEachran
Jonjo Shelvey
Raheem Sterling
Andros Townsend

Forwards
Nathan Delfouneso 
Tom Ince
Marvin Sordell
Connor Wickham
Wilfried Zaha 

Rio back in England Squad

England Squad for San Marino and Montenegro

Goalkeepers: Ben Foster , Joe Hart, Fraser Forster.

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker.

Midfielders: Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Leon Osman, Scott Parker , Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.

Forwards: Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Daniel Welbeck.

'Rio is in the squad to play. He's selected because he's capable of doing the job we want him to do.'
— The FA (@FA) March 14, 2013

'I haven't spoken to any of the players personally, so I'm hoping he will be happy to be selected and looking forward to it.'
— The FA (@FA) March 14, 2013

The Enemy Below...

Cheltenham Day 3: Tips

1.30   Dynaste
2.05   Jetson
2.40   Riverside Theatre
3.20   Bog Warrior
4.00   Hunt Ball
4.40   Prince of Pirates
5.10   Saddlers Storm

Cheltenham Day 2: Tips

1.30   Torfino Bay
2.05   The New One
2.40   Houblon Des Obeaux
3.20   Sprinter Sacre (though we've got a massive soft spot for Somersby)
4.00   Meister Eckhart
4.40   Megalypos
5.15   Le Vent Dantan

Three winners and a second yesterday, so fingers crossed for today...

Chris Herd's season is kaput

Versatile Aussie Chris Herd has aggravated a fracture in his right foot and won't play for Villa again this season.

Matilda won't be waltzing for a while

The plucky 23-year-old utility man has been out since the 2-2 draw with Swansea on New Year’s Day and will play no part in Villa's nine game quest for Premier League survival.

He said: “It’s pretty disappointing. I was looking forward to playing a part in trying to help us stay in the Premier League. It’s pretty gutting.

“These things happen in football and you have to just get on with it, stay positive and work on getting back to fitness.

“I was really hoping to be involved against Manchester City the other week but the foot just got sore again and it’s a blow which I will just have to deal with.

“I’d love to be out there trying to do my bit for the club. But the boys are showing great fight and have given themselves a huge chance of staying up.”

The injury also scuppers his chance of breaking into the Socceroos team.

He said: “I am totally committed to hopefully one day playing for Australia. Injuries haven’t helped me when I have been named in squads and I’ll be cheering the boys on against Oman in what is a very important game.

“Hopefully, I will get my chance at some stage because it’s a huge ambition of mine to play for my country. Luck has been against me a little bit and I have had to pull out of squads.”

Cheltenham Day 1: Tips

13:30   Champagne Fever
14:05   Simonsig
14:40   Our Mick
15:20   Zarkander
16:00   Saddlers Storm
16:40   Quevega
17:15   Shangani

NextGen match FREE to Season Ticket Holders

Villa's NextGen Quarter final clash with Olympiacos will be FREE to Season Ticket Holders.

There will be no need to collect a ticket for the event as Season Cards will be activated for the game at Villa Park on Wednesday 20th March with a 7.00pm kick off.

If you haven't got a season ticket, you can get tickets from Tuesday 12th March at £3 for Adults and £1 for nippers.

This will be the last chance to see the Young Lions in action at home in this tournament as the action moves to Lake Como for the semi-finals on the 29th March and the final on April Fools Day.

Mildly important match next Saturday...

Happy Birthday Shaun Teale

Best wishes to legendary defender Shaun Teale on the occasion of his 49th birthday.

Shaun was and remains a hugely popular figure amongst the Villa faithful. His spell at the club included a runners-up finish in the league and the 1994 League Cup triumph at Wembley as he formed a formidable partnership with one Mr. Paul McGrath.

Signed from Bournemouth by Big Ron Atkinson, Teale would prove to be a key member of Ron's squad, winning fans over with his no nonsense style and clearly wearing his heart on his sleeve.

After four seasons at Villa Park, Shaun moved on to a string of clubs including Tranmere, Motherwell and Southport.

Happy Birthday Mister Teale.

Reading v Aston Villa as it was tweeted

Happy Big Four-O to Froggy

Many Happy Returns to Villa legend Steve Froggatt on the occasion of his 40th birthday.

Froggy emerged from the youth set up at Villa and forced his way into first team reckoning in the early nineties clocking up over 30 appearances.

A successful spell at Wolves followed before a move to Coventry saw the winger on the verge of an international career, picked for several England squads under Kevin Keegan's regime.

Sadly, injury was to cut his career short, but he's now a familiar voice on the radio, often with much to say on all matters Villa.

NextGen date with Olympiacos at Villa Park fixed

Villa's NextGen Series quarter-final tie with Greek outfit Olympiacos will take place at Villa Park on Wednesday March 20 with a 7pm kick off.

The game should be broadcast live and in HD on British Eurosport for those who can't make it to see the game in person.

Mikey Drennan's goals have helped Villa bounce through the competition with wins over Celtic, PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon, followed by a win over Ajax in their own backyard in the last 16. However doubts surround Mikey's fitness for the game.

Olympiacos qualified by winning Group 6 ahead of Arsenal, Marseille and Athletic Bilbao before going on to conquer Anderlecht 2-1 in the first knockout round.

This will be the last chance this season to see the NextGen team in action at Villa Park as the semi-finals and final take place between March 29 and April 1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia in Lake Como.

English clubs take part in every quarter final. The other ties are: Arsenal v CSKA Moscow, Chelsea v Juventus and Tottenham v Sporting Lisbon.

"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy"

"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy" #Tevez twitpic.com/c9lhdm

— villamad.co.uk (@villamadtweets) March 8, 2013

At least Dick Turpin wore a mask: FORTY FIVE QUID for Man U

Manchester United v Villa
Barclays Premier League
Monday April 22 - KO 8pm

Old Trafford
Ticket Allocation: 1,900
Prices: £45 [adults], £35.50 [U21s], £26 [over-65s], £26 [U17s], £17 [U16s]
Wheelchair tickets: £17 to £45 for disabled supporters. Available by calling the Consumer Sales Department on 0800 612 0970.
Friday March 8: On sale to season card holders who have attended at least three Premier League away fixtures in 2012-13*
Wednesday March 13: On sale to season card holders who have attended at least one Premier League away fixture in 2012-13*
Monday March 18: On sale to season card holders for 2012-13*
Tuesday April 2: On sale to supporters who have away booking history in 2012-13*
Wednesday April 10: On sale to supporters who have booking history *
Buy info: hotline 0800 612 0970, in person at Villa Village or New Street or from online box office.

You Stupid Boy

Given the average age of our first team squad, you'd think using Dad's Army analogies to comment on a match would be well off the agenda, and yet we've managed it.

Sometimes, a picture paints a thousand words...

Villa v Man City as it was tweeted

Appear on a villamad "ciggy card" for Comic Relief

Fancy your bonce on one our mock vintage football cards?

Yes?

You mad thing!

Simply email us at editor@villamad.co.uk with the name you want on the card, a jpeg of your head and which team you support (we'll accept requests from any team's supporters as it's for char-i-dee), then drop a donation to Comic Relief on our Red Nose page and we'll immortalise you.

We'll e-mail your ciggy card pic back to you, tweet it to the world (include your Twitter name in your email if you want a mention) and feature you on our Comic Relief rogues gallery at villamad.co.uk.

Monday Night Football

Big Ron in a Classic TV ad with Hi-Di-Hi's Paul Shane

Villa losing millions even though Randy waives interest

Aston Villa lost £18m last year; income £12m down, gates 3,500 down, £27m made selling players, and they cut costs - presume wages. Unhappy.
— David Conn (@david_conn) March 1, 2013

Aston Villa say Randy Lerner waived £20m interest on £107m loans to the club in 2011-12. He must be delighted with how it's all gone....
— David Conn (@david_conn) March 1, 2013

Aston Villa cut wage bill by £13.8m in 2011-12, also made £26m selling players. Cut losses from £54m to £18m, but it looks like downsizing.
— David Conn (@david_conn) March 1, 2013

Aston Villa announce loss of £17.7m for year to end May 2012. That's a big improvement on £53.9m loss the previous year.
— Nick Clitheroe (@NickClitheroe) March 1, 2013

Aston Villa: turnover down by £11.6m but operating expenses reduced and Randy Lerner waived interest on loans to the club too. #avfc
— Nick Clitheroe (@NickClitheroe) March 1, 2013

"These results represent a further step towards club's objective of long-term sustainability." Chief financial officer Robin Russell #avfc
— Nick Clitheroe (@NickClitheroe) March 1, 2013

Villa's chief financial officer, Robin Russell, said: "By managing costs effectively, the club managed to cut losses by more than half during a period which continued to be challenging economically both globally and especially in the West Midlands.

"In this respect, despite a disappointingly low performance level on the pitch in the 2011-12 season, these financial results represent a further step towards the club's objective of long-term sustainability.

"Having appointed Paul Lambert as manager in June 2012, he is building a youthful, progressive first-team squad and we continue to offer our season ticket holders and supporters in general some of the cheapest ticket prices in the Premier League.

"Our objectives remain to compete strongly on the pitch and to achieve sustainability as well as compliance with both UEFA's and the Premier League's Financial Fair Play requirements."