Villa's kids stop United's winning streak

Barclays Under-18 Premier League
Bodymoor Heath

ASTON VILLA 3
(R.Strain 26, T.Strain 52,72)
MANCHESTER UNITED 1
(Redmond 46)

Villa's youngsters brought a United streak of six consecutive wins to an end  on Saturday, easing to a 3-1 victory at at Bodymoor Heath.

The game was an end to end affair - for United, Ashley Fletcher came close to grabbing his eighth goal of the season when Ben Barber’s low cross narrowly evaded the big striker. Villa then took the lead, shortly after the half hour mark, when keeper Aiden Grant gathered a United corner  and launched a speedy Villa counter attack. The move ended with Ryan Strain burying Jerrell Sellars' low cross.

With them having been on such a good run, it was no surprise to see United hit back abd this they did just seconds into the second half with Devonte Redmond’s left-footed shot finding the corner of the net. Villa weren't finished though. Thomas Strain, not to be outdone by his little brother, restored the home side's lead from another neat pull-back from the impressive Sellars.

Thomas Strain completed the scoring  with just under 20 minutes to go, finding the corner of Dean Henderson’s net with a low right-footed drive.

The team face Arsenal at Bodymoor Heath on Saturday morning.

VILLA: Grant, Wildin, Lyons-Foster, Calder, Zazrivec, Cowans, R Strain, O'Brien, Abdo, Sellars, T Strain. Subs: Lewis [for T Strain, 89], Taylor [for R Strain, 87], McKirdy [for Sellars, 79].

United: Henderson; Barber, McConnell, Borthwick-Jackson, Thompson (Reid 76); Harrop, Goss, Willock, Redmond (McTominay 85); Mitchell (Croskery 76), Fletcher. Subs not used: Rashford, O.Byrne.

Goals, goals, goals

GIFs from Faint Zebra

Villa 3 Man City 2 as it was tweeted...

Match Preview: Man City are coming...

Who are we playing?
Manchester City

Where are we playing?
Villa Park

Can I go?
You can but don't hang about. Most areas have "amber" availability, so get in quick if you want to pick where you sit. Some sections, such as North Stand Lower have sold out.

How many are they bringing?
They've sold all of their 2,900 allocation. We charged them £41 for an adult ticket.

Bingo caller at TV-am

Can I watch it on the telly?
Of course not! It's a Saturday three o'clocker! Extended highlights will be on Sky Sports on Saturday night and you can catch a flavour of the game on Match of the Day. As we're playing Man City, we might not even be last this week.

Do Manchester City have any famous fans?
Well there's that John Stapleton bloke off of breakfast telly and of course Noel out of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. And Bernard Manning. Except he's dead. Anyway, we've got Tom Hanks out of The Polar Express. And Noele Gordon off Crossroads. Except she's dead. We win anyway.

Who's playing for us?
With Big Chris Benteke likely on the missing list for six weeks, Libor Kozak should get a Premier League start. Lambo reckons most of the other walking wounded that missed out on Spurs are fit so Gabby and Weimann should return. Ashley Westwood won't recover in time though. Mister Lambert will have to decide on his full backs, having dropped Lowton from Premier League action last week, while Joe Bennett will be anxious to see if he's done enough in the cup game to keep Tony Moon out. Fabian Delph should be back. We gave Bacuna our Player of the Week so we'll be annoyed if he doesn't feature.

Who's playing for them?
Aguero doesn't play, which is one less thing to worry about. David Silva will also miss the trip. Whoever they pick, they'll be scary. Despite their fringe players having a decent run out in the cup, it's hard to see the starting line up differing greatly from the one which ran riot against United. Clichy's fit though and might squeak in at Kolarov's expense.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

Manchester City have won six of the last seven Barclays Premier League encounters between the teams.

Apart from us, only Sunderland haven't managed a single point at home. Sunderland sacked their manager.

Despite Joe Hart getting pilloried for his form. Man City have kept three clean sheets in their last four Premier League away games.

We haven't kept a clean sheet in the league at Villa Park in 2013.

The last time we met in this tournament was in the 5th Round of the League Cup in January 1994 with Villa winning 2-1

Prediction:
Call us wildly optimistic, but if the Villa that played against Arsenal and Chelsea turn up, we've got half a chance here. What's important here is the quality of the performance as much as the result. If we press the opposition on the ball and if we take our chances when they come, then a high scoring draw could be on the cards. Bear in mind that we predicted loads of goals in the Norwich game before you put your beer money on it though.

League Cup: Villa v Spurs as it was tweeted...

Villa in the Wars: The Instagram pics

Villa stars have been taking to Instagram to share their injuries with the world after a weekend which left Paul Lambert's squad and one of his loaned-out stars in a fragile state.

Most worrying for Villa fans was the hip flexor injury picked up by goal-machine Christian Benteke.  We await the official prognosis for Big Chris's problem but anything between a week and three months is possible depending on how bad the injury is.

#avfc Paul Lambert played all questions on Benteke in his radio interviews just now with a dead bat. No clues at all about extent of injury.

— Mike Taylor (@miketaylorwm) September 23, 2013

Meanwhile, Samir Carruthers has ended up in a surgical collar after a nasty tumble in MK Dons match with Peterborough. Samir took the tumble just after kick off but struggled on gamely for thirty-odd minutes before being replaced.

With injuries to Antonio Luna, Gabby Agbonlahor and Fabian Delph to add to those of Ashley Westwood, Gary Gardner and long term abentees Charles N'Zogbia and Jores Okore, it'll be a test of the depth of Lambert's improved squad to get through two matches this week, with Under 21 players likely to be drafted in to make up the numbers for the Spurs game. 

Match Preview: Spurs in the Cup

Who are we playing?
Tottenham Hotspur

Where are we playing?
Villa Park

Can I go?
You certainly can. Loads and loads of tickets left and at the discount price of £20 (still a few £15 tickets in North Stand lower available at time of writing)

How many are they bringing?
The word is, about 2,800 which sounds OK until you hear that Arsenal are taking 5,000 to Albion

Can I watch it on the telly?
The game has not been selected for live TV coverage in the UK. However it has been selected for screening live overseas, so if you are outside the UK, you should be able to find the game live. For UK viewers, you have to make do with blink and you'll miss it highlights on the BBC's League Cup Show on Wednesday, unless you go on one of those dodgy websites.

Her off of Star Trek

Do Spurs have any famous fans?
If you were famous, would you admit to supporting Spurs? Of course not. Having said that, Simon Mayo never stopped banging on about his support for the club back in his Radio One days. Slightly more impressive is Counselor Troi out of Star Trek (the version with the baldy captain), but then we've got Nigel the fiddle player off the Proms, so we win easily in the celebrity stakes.

Who's playing for us?
Probably whoever Paul Lambert can find that is fighting fit. Gabby, Tony Moon, Ciaran Clark and Fabian Delph all emerged from Carrow Road with knocks, Benteke was on crutches last we heard while it might be a bit quick for Westwood to come back having missed Norwich. Sylla must have a fighting chance of getting a start and who knows what is going on between the boss and Matt Lowton...

Who's playing for them?
This will be Spurs third game in six days, so it's difficult to hazard a guess, but whoever Spurs put out, they'll be competitive.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

Spurs beat us 2-0 in the 1971 League Cup Final, but we were in the third tier of English football in those days while they were lauding it in the top flight.

We played Spurs again at Wembley in the 1981 Charity Shield, drawing 2-2. Mark Falco scored both Spurs goals and Peter Withe got ours.

Tottenham Hotspur first played Aston Villa on 11th April 1896 when Spurs were still in the Southern League. The friendly match played at Tottenham Marshes ended with a 3-1 win for Aston Villa. Three more friendlies were played until the clubs met in competitive action for the first time in the Third Round of the FA Cup in March 1903 with Villa running out 3-2 victors.

The last time we met in this tournament was in the 5th Round of the League Cup in January 1994 with Villa winning 2-1

Prediction:
Villa Park has hardly been a happy hunting ground, and with Spurs fans snapping up tickets with gusto and Villa sales sluggish, we're quite likely to get outsung. With our injury issues and fear of playing at home, it's hard to see past a Spurs victory. Hope we're wrong though.

He said, she said:
"This team has not experienced having to play again after just two days and we have not been given the same chance as the other teams. So we will have to rotate our squad as the players who played in Cardiff will not be involved.We are struggling a little bit with injuries but we have great strength in depth, although it is not going to be easy."- AVB
"Obviously we’ve got a game on Tuesday but the most important one is the following one on Saturday" - Paul Lambert.

Villa's Under 21s crash 3-1 at St Mary's

Sid Cowans' young lions went down to a disappointing 3-1 defeat away at Southampton.

Omar Rowe drilled home from 12 yards out to give Saints a 1-0 advantage seven minutes before the interval.

A Kevin Toner own goal doubled Southmapton's  lead, before Daniel Johnson brought Villa back into the game.

Defender Jordan Turnbull headed in Saints third towards the end, ensuring Villa left Hampshire empty-handed/

The game began at a frentic pace, and Villa 'keeper Benjamin Siegrist was  lucky to stay on the field after charging out of his area to close down Tadanari Lee's shot, which hit Benji's outstretched hand. The referee awarded Saints a free-kick but Benji escaped with a yellow.

The free-kick saw Lee’s effort parried as far as defender Jason McCarthy, who could only strike the ball back at Siegrist, who made a spectacular save.

Rowe was next to test our busy keeper, as his left-footed shot was turned around the post.

Villa grew into the game after that tough opening, with Andreas Steiber’s taking a punt from long-range.

Southampton though they'd got ahead after 21 minutes, when Omar Rowe’s free-kick was konocked in Jordan Turnbull – but the referee blew of an off the ball incident

On 38 minutes, Southampton took what was probably a deserved lead. Sinclair’s cross found Omar Row, who chested the ball down and slotted past Siegrist for 1-0.

Southampton doubked their advantage just seven minutes into the second half. Sinclair drove towards the byline and provided a low centre which bounced off the unfortunate Kevin Toner and into the net.

Daniel Johnson was caused Southampton all sorts of problems. He twice struck from outside the penalty area, only to be denied by Chris Johns in the Saints' goal. However, Johnson finally got the better of Johns after confusion  in the Southampton defence, running through to fire left-footed past the keeper for 2-1.

Stieber then piled on the pressure, shooting just over, before Southampton put the game beyond doubt

Harrison Reed whipped a dangerous corner into the six-yard box, and Jordan Turnbull headed home to secure a 3-1 vicyory fo the home team .

Southampton U21s: Johns, McCarthy, Stephens, Turnbull, Targett, Reed, Flannigan, Lee (Moore), Sinclair, Barnard, Rowe (Seager). Unused substitutes: Britt (GK), Colmer, Mugabi.

Aston Villa U21s: Siegrist, Webb, Donacien, Toner, Kinsella, Cowans, Lyden, Calder, Stieber, Robinson, Johnson. Unused substitutes: Wilden, Watkins, Sellars, O'Brien, Strain.

Gutted we lost 3-1 today!! Happy to get 90 mins after being out!! Needed that massively ! Thanks to who ever come to support⚽

— Callum Robinson (@CallumRobinson7) September 21, 2013

Fuming we lost 3-1 after a good run last week !! Guess we're learn from our mistakes & on to the next one !!

— C baller ... (@Riccardocalder1) September 21, 2013

Norwich v Villa as it was tweeted...

Match Preview: Canaries versus Lions

Who are we playing?
Norwich City

Where are we playing?
Carrow Road, Norwich

Can I go?
Been sold out for a while so unless you've bagged a ticket, you can't go.

How many are we taking?
Our allocation is a stingy 1,400

Is the ground hard to find?
Nope, dead easy. Well signposted on the road into Norwich and if you manage to find a train that'll get you there early enough, it's a ten minute stroll from the station.

Can I watch it on the telly?
You can. We are live on BT Sport 1 with a 12:45pm kick off. BT's football presenter is a staunch Norwich City supporter so don't expect completely unbiased coverage. If you can't get to telly, BBC Five Live are doing a commentary, as are Free Radio on AM and DAB.

Do they have any other famous supporters apart from that lanky bloke that used to do the Grand Prix?

Her off of Big Brother

Well, they've got Delia, but who cares about her now Mary Berry has nicked her place on the telly? Oh yeah, and Stephen Fry. However, we've got the Prime Minister, the Future King and her off of Big Brother on Channel 5 so we probably win the battle of the celebrities.



Who's playing for us?
Well not Jores Okore and Charles N'Zogbia, who are on the long term injury list and probably not Gary Gardner who is coming back from a back problem. Alan Hutton can't play because he's not in our Premier League squad and Shay Given's absence from the team photo makes him highly unlikely to feature. Other than that, after the Newcastle debacle, places are up for grabs, though it would be very un-Lambert like to make wholesale changes and he might fancy keeping some of the newbies back for the Spurs game on Tuesday.

Who's playing for them?
Their only long term casualty is Elliott Bennett who has a cruciate ligament injury. These days Norwich have the likes of Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Johan Elmander and Nathan Redmond to call upon, so our beleaguered back line will need to be on top form to deal with them, Redmond in particular catching the eye after his move from Birmingham City.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Norwich City don't like playing us, managing just the one win in our last 11 meetings in all competitions (Villa wins 5 Draws 5 Norwich wins 1).
• We have gone a heartbreaking 26 Barclays Premier League games without a clean sheet; a longer run than any other side currently in the division.
• Don't expect a clean game. We've picked up 13 yellow cards in the Premier League this season, while 12 have been dished out to teams while we've been playing them.
• Norwich have only lost one of their last 11 Premier League home games (W4 D6) and that was to us. The point is, they are hard to beat at their place, while we are better away from Villa Park.
• We are the only side to have conceded an own goal this season in the Premier League.

Prediction:

There will be goals in this one and plenty of them. Could go either way.

He said, she said:
"...a game against Aston Villa has nothing to do with a game against Paul Lambert. It's 11 players who will try to compete against each other to get three points on Saturday. It just so happens that their manager is a previous club manager here."  - Chris Hughton  

"I don't have anything to prove. The Norwich thing is finished. It's gone. The two times I've been back the majority of the crowd have been really good with me." - Paul Lambert.

U21s Villa v Spurs as it was tweeted...

Okore out for the season with anterior cruciate ligament injury

Aston Villa has confirmed that Jores Okore is out for nine months and faces surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

"Following clinical examination and the results of an MRI scan, the Club can confirm that Jores Okore sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in the game against Newcastle on Saturday"

The player was left in a crumpled heap after a clash with Loic Remy and his attempt to run the problem off was short lived. He has undergone scans to determine the extent of the injury and it appears that the Villa faithful's worse fears have been realised

It was an anterior cruciate ligament injury that robbed Villa of the talents of Gary Gardner last season and Paul Lambert will be devastated that lightning has struck twice.

The player was at Bodymoor Heath for the official team photo session today.

Okore has quickly established himself at Villa Park and was chosen ahead of both Ciaran Clark and the fit-again Nathan Baker to start in Saturday's clash with Newcastle, so losing the player for any length of time is a massive blow with major league and cup games looming.

The injury also places Okore's place in Denmark's 2014 World Cup squad - should they qualify - in great jeopardy.

Thanks everybody for the massages. The injury is a blow!! Looking forward to come back stronger, faster and better for the villa #avfc

— Jores Okore (@JoresOkore) September 17, 2013

Villa v Newcastle as it was tweeted...

Jack off to Notts County

Teenage prospect Jack Grealish is off to struggling Notts County on a loan deal which will see him garner some vital first team experience. He'll join fellow Villa player Enda Stevens at the beleaguered club.

Grealish, who has just turned 18, could take his bow for the Magpies as early as tomorrow at the MK Dons.

The player has impressed in the last couple of seasons, being an integral part of Villa's Next Gen success and linking up well with the like of Daniel Johnson and Samir Carruthers in the Under 21s.

Grealish impressed a wider Villa audience during pre-season, relishing the chance to pull on a first team jersey and capping some quality displays by netting in Villa's five goal demolition of Walsall at Bescot.

The goals kept coming with a hat-trick for the Under 18s against Bolton for which we made him villamad's Player of the Week.

Paul Lambert has made no secret of his opinion that young players can benefit from the experience of the lower leagues, with Graham Burke and Samir Carruthers also out on loan.

Straight into action: Both Jack and Marcus join their new team-mates this morning at training. http://t.co/eh76dOnNr9

— Notts County FC (@Official_NCFC) September 13, 2013

Premier League engages with Dyke initiative

The Premier League clubs today met and affirmed their commitment to engaging in a collaborative and cooperative manner with the debate and process outlined by The FA Chairman in his recent speech.

The Premier League clubs, Board and Executive will all contribute their expertise, knowledge and understanding of the issues and challenges in regard to producing England qualified talent who are of the
requisite quality to play both at Premier League and international level.

The structure of this engagement will be defined between the Premier League and The FA as more detail about the process envisaged by The FA Chairman is established.

Premier League Chairman, Anthony Fry, said: "It is evident from discussions with the clubs that there is a strong desire to see greater numbers of England qualified players coming through their Academy systems that are capable of performing at both Premier League and international standard.

"The investment that has already gone into the new Youth Development system through the structuring and implementation of the Elite Player Performance Plan demonstrates this. We are grateful to The FA for their support for this quality-based approach, as well as their undertaking to drive standards of coaching and coach education forward. In both areas a lot has been achieved and there remains plenty to be done.

"There is no doubt around the Premier League table as to the benefits of a national set-up that is thriving and performing well. That is why the Premier League clubs, Board and Executive all signed up to contributing to the process of debate initiated by Greg and helping to identify any appropriate outcomes that will serve to improve standards and delivery in respect of player development."

The FA Chairman, Greg Dyke, said: "The intention of my speech regarding the development and progression of English players was to discover why there are fewer and fewer English players at the top level, and the point of any debate is to find solutions.

"I am very keen that the Commission work with everyone in football and particularly the Premier League, both as an organisation and its individual member clubs. Clearly they have a lot to contribute to the process.

"We already know there is a lot of good work going on but I suspect there is more to be done. The FA’s investment in and commitment to coaching is exemplified by St George’s Park. The Premier League’s focus on Youth Development through the Elite Player Performance Plan promises much.

"I am pleased that the Premier League clubs, Board and Executive all want to contribute to the Commission I am setting up. There is a great deal of knowledge there and I am sure we will be able to find some very concrete ways of improving the pool of talent available to England managers."

VIDEO: Libor Kozak scores then proves he's got really sharp elbows

Villa's latest acquisition, Czech international Libor Kozak certainly made an impression in Italy last night, giving the Czechs a shock lead and then putting an Azzuri veteran in hospital.

The goal came from a Petr Jiracek sprint down the left. His tantalising cross found Kozak who athletically volleyed the ball home.

Later, Manuel Pasqual ended up in hospital for tests after he required anaesthesia and stitches in the Italy locker room.

The 31-year-old Fiorentina captain, in his first international appearance since 2006, was stretchered off with a nasty looking gash after Kozak managed to find him with his elbow.

“Pasqual has a very deep cut to his forehead,” Professor Enrico Castellacci told RAI Sport viewers.

“It opened up completely and hit an artery. We want to reassure his family members, the lad is fine now and we were able to anaesthetise him and add some stitches in the locker room. We basically had to stabilise his condition in the stadium to block off the artery.

"With such a violent collision, it was only right to send him off to hospital for tests, but he’s absolutely fine."

Italy bounced back from Libor's opener to win 2-1 with goals from Giorgio Chiellini and Mario Balotelli, booking their place at the 2014 World Cup in the process. 

Video: Gabby takes out One Direction's Louis Thingymabob

They'll be a minute's silence for Louis Tomlinson before Saturday's match with Newcastle #tragic

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

I didn't see it myself, but apparently Louis Tomlinson was even physically sick coming off the pitch after being crunched by Agbonlahor

— James Nursey (@JamesNursey) September 8, 2013

BREAKING NEWS: Gabby Agbonlahor knighted for services to music...

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

At Stiliyan Petrov's charity game One Direction gets clattered by Gabby Agbonlahor, subbed, vomits. pic.twitter.com/VTtmIzqkEa

— Kelly Cates (@KellyCates) September 8, 2013

Louis "I wasn't really being sick, it was a tribute to Tommy Johnson..."

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

Tommy "Der Hammer" Hitzlsperger quits with "chronic injuries"

Barry Bannan signs for Crystal Palace

Scotland international midfielder Barry Bannan has moved to Crystal Palace on a three year deal for an undisclosed fee.

The player  never managed to fully establish himself in Villa's first team, despite several appearances for several managers.

Things came to a head as the squad returned for pre-season training and he found himself training away from the first team squad with outcasts such as Stephen Ireland and Alan Hutton.

However, Gordon Strachan continued to show faith in him, continuing to pick him for the Scotland squad.

Early on, Villa fans were enthusiastic about the player but he became notorious for his over-ambitious "Hollywood" passes and his relationship with sections of the crowd deteriorated badly.

Barry told Palace's website “I was at Blackpool with the gaffer here when they got promotion that year and that was probably the highlight of my career so far.

“It is a big move for me to leave Villa and I would like to thank the fans there but it's a new chapter in my life now and I can't wait to get started.

“I want to get myself in the door and start training and hopefully get myself in the team. I haven't played this season and didn't much last year so I can't wait to get going.”

Czech bounces into Villa: Libor Kozák signs

Villa have pulled off a late deal to sign Lazio striker Libor Kozák – the leading scorer in last season’s Europa League on a four year deal.

"I'm really happy to be at Aston Villa and I'm ready for this new step in my career," said  Kozak.

"I hope it's a good step for me and also for Villa because everything is about the team. This is a big club, a very historic club with a fantastic fanbase and, for me, this is really important. From when I was a young boy, I have dreamt of playing in the Premier League and to do this with a club such as Villa is incredibly motivating. It's real now and I'm very happy about this."

Despite smashing them in all over Europe, the 24-year-old Czech Republic international failed to get on the score sheet in Serie A where he was very much in the shadow of Miroslav Klose.

At 6ft 3in he gives another lofty option to a Villa attacking squad which already boasts Christian Benteke, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Andreas Weismann, Jordan Bowery and Nicklas Helenius.

Kozak is Villa’s seventh signing this summer and we have also tied down several of our exciting young prospects to new contracts.

Paul Lambert said "Libor has an unbelievable scoring record in the Europa League, incredible really. He wasn't given much opportunity for Lazio in Serie A but he showed proper potential in leading the line there at a strong club with a great tradition and we need somebody like him as we only have Christian Benteke really as a main target man.

"He'll take that burden off Christian and he'll add greatly to what we've got, with the likes of Nicklas Helenius, who's a different type of player, Gabby Agonlahor, Aleks Tonev and Andi Weimann in that area of the pitch where we can hurt teams. Libor's powerful, too, and I'm looking forward to working with him. We needed to bring in someone like Libor to help the overall philosophy to work.

"It's a matter of him now integrating with the group, which he'll do. We've brought in seven players this summer and we're trying to build the squad. It's getting there, no doubt about that and we'll keep building it."

Sparky saves Stephen Ireland from the bomb squad

Stoke City have rescued mercurial midfielder Stephen Ireland from the Bodymoor Heath wilderness by signing him on a season long loan deal.

Villa are more than happy to let Ireland trot off to the Potteries with the 27-year-old being informed he does not figure in Paul Lambert's long-term plans.

The former Republic of Ireland international has been training with the nippers with his last appearance for Villa coming way back in January in the ill-fated Bradford City match.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes knows midfielder of old having got the best out of him during his time in charge of Manchester City and was keen on a reunion.

Stoke's Chief Executive Tony Scholes said: “Stephen is a player that Mark knows really well and when the opportunity arose he was keen to add him to his midfield and attacking options.

“Arguably the most successful period of Stephen’s career to date was when he played for Mark at Manchester City and we hope that he can rediscover that form.”

U18s: Bolton 2-3 Aston Villa Jack Grealish hat-trick