We know you've read the Albrighton story already, but we're doing it anyway...

Marc Albrighton has buggered off to Owen Coyle’s Wigan Athletic on a 28-day loan.

The 23-year-old wide man has failed to live up to his initial promise and will be hoping that his stay at the DW Stadium can help get his faltering career back on track.

Marc said: “It’s really nice to come to a club and be wanted. Hopefully over the next month I can pick up some good form, confidence and do well for Wigan Athletic.

“I’ve had a couple of tough years with injuries so I need to show that I can still do it and at the same time help the club put some points on the board to move further up the table where they should be.

“I’m 23 years of age, so it’s an important stage in my career and that’s why I was so desperate to get out on loan and compete for first team football. Paul Lambert agreed that this would be an ideal move for me, and as soon as I found out Wigan Athletic were interested in bringing me in I jumped at the chance to come to the DW Stadium.

“I know a couple of the lads already; Scott Carson and Shaun Maloney were Aston Villa team mates of mine once upon a time so it’ll be good to see them again, although they’re both injured at the moment. To be honest though the manager has told me so many good things about the group and I can’t wait to start work with the whole squad.

Ironically, it was against Latics at Villa Park in August 2009 that Marc took his first Premier League bow for Villa in a 2-0 defeat for Martin O’Neill’s side:

“It was the first day of the 2009/10 season,” he recalled, “I remember it well. I came off the bench and still have the shirt framed at home with a plaque underneath reading: Premier League debut vs Wigan Athletic. The scoreline escapes me at the moment though, I’ve tried to forget about that!

“I’ve grown up supporting Villa, they’re always going to be my club and to play for them in the Premier League is a fantastic achievement."

Owen Coyle added: "He's at a young age with the potential and scope to get even better; he's quick, dangerous and pleasing on the eye and I feel he's going to really enhance the attacking options we have at Wigan Athletic, particularly in light of Shaun Maloney's absence." 

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan chipped in: "I saw my leg bend in mid-air. I managed to grab it before I fell to the ground, because otherwise it could have been a compound fracture, the bone straight out of my leg."

Match Preview West Ham v Villa

Who are we playing?
West Ham United

Where are we playing?
Upton Park, Saturday 3pm

Can I go?
Unless you've bagged a ticket already, no chance. The away end has been sold out for ages.

Can I watch it live on the telly?
If you are in the UK then not legally, no. Plenty of pubs will showing on their dodgy dishes though.

Still the Daddy? We don't think so.

Do West Ham have any famous fans?

Well, there's Ray Winstone, which, once upon a time, we would have thought was pretty cool, but those god-awful Bet 365 ads and a truly terrible movie version of The Sweeney have somewhat tarnished "the Daddy's" reputation. Any road up, we've got David Bradley - about to star as the original Doctor Who - so we win the battle of the celebs.

Even Doctor Who supports the Villa

Who's playing for us?
You know how Lambo likes to play his cards close to his chest, so it's always hard to say, but Gabby appears to a major doubt with his ankle, while Tony Moon and his understudy Joe Bennett are ruled out, leaving us with a massive issue at left back


If Gabby can't play, Helenius and Kozak are both possibles or we may even push Tonev up and bring in Sylla or El Ahmadi. Left back options would include playing Nathan Baker on that side, recalling Matt Lowton and switching Bacuna to the left or even a shock recall for bomb squad member Dame Edna Stevens - a player who couldn't hold down a place in a struggling Notts County side.

The fact is, Lambert is rapidly running out of defenders.

Who's playing for them?
They are quite likely to pack the midfield, not being over-endowed with natural strikers and missing the mercurial talents of Andy Carroll. Ravel Morrison has been something of a revelation this season, while Vaz Te's dislocated shoulder means that Carlton Cole might be the striker that comes in to haunt us. Matt Taylor and James Tomkins picked up injuries against Burnley in the cup and are unlikely to feature.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• We won 2-1 in our last meeting with the Hammers back in February at Villa Park, though an Ashley Westwood own goal just minutes from full time had us biting our nails at the end.

• Our last victory at the Boleyn came in April 2011, beating them 2-1 thanks to a last gasp winner from substitute Gabby Agbonlahor

• The Hammers knocked Villa out of the FA Cup at the quarter final stage in 1980 en route to winning the final. We were robbed by the ref!  David Cross knocked Ken McNaught's arm onto the ball and hapless referee David Richardson gave the cocky cockneys an undeserved penalty which some of us are still fuming about thirty three years later...

• Villa's first competitive meeting with West Ham came in the FA Cup second round in 1913. We "hammered" them 5-0 and two of the goals came from Harold Halse.

He said, She said...

Lambo on Weimann: "He is a really fit lad".

Lambo on the left back situation: "Antonio is struggling with his hamstring at the minute. He'll be a few weeks out. Joe Bennett has a sore back at the minute so we'll see how he is.

"You have to take the chance and whoever comes in, I'm pretty sure they won't let anybody down."

Big Sam: "We've got the worst conversion rate in the Premier League at the moment according to our statisticians so we've got to make that better."

More Big Sam: "I think Paul [Lambert] will probably be a bit disappointed recently with the points that he's gained from the teams they've played and he has our problem of failing to secure enough points at home"

Prediction:
You never know what you're gonna get with Big Sam's West Ham, but we think that - if we have our shooting boots on - we'll have enough to get a win in the big smoke. It's not like we'll have Villaparkophobia to worry about.

Villa v Everton as it was tweeted...

Big Willy pledges Prince George's allegiance to Aston Villa....

All babies look like Churchill

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge has vowed that his son, Baby Prince George will be at Villa Park when "Villa thrash United".

The future king made the pledge at the back end of a video message on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of The Football Association.

Prince George joins a plethora of famous people who have pledged allegiance to the Villa, a list which includes Katherine Merry off the athletics and the bird that nicked Davina's job on Big Brother.

While it's unlikely that'll we'll see Georgy-Porgy standing on a milk crate next to his dad in Holte's safe standing area, it is comforting to know there'll be a Villa fan on the throne for generations and that one day, the Royal Standard may fly above Villa Park....unless of course, the revolution happens...

Match Preview: Aston Villa v Everton

Who are we playing?
Everton

Where are we playing?
Villa Park, Saturday 3pm

Can I go?
You can. Plenty of tickets available

Can I watch it on the telly?
If you are in the UK then not legally, no. Globally, you can.

Kenwright in Corrie

Do Everton have any famous fans?

Everton head honcho Bill Kenwright used to be in Coronation Street, which is quite impressive. He played Betty Turpin's secret son and was almost as dear to the formidable Rovers barmaid as a plate of hot pot. Our chief exec starred in the Child's Play films, so we win the battle of the celebrity guv'nors.

Paul Faulkner

Who's playing for us?
Really hoping that Big Chris will be fit enough to start after his run out against Spurs. Much as we love Andi Weimann, we reckon a game off might do him the world of good. Clark was replaced at the last minute on Sunday and we'd hope to see him back. Both Delph and Westside are teetering on the brink of a ban.


Who's playing for them?
Remember Gareth Barry? Well, him. Then there's that Leighton Baines bloke, while Ross Barkley has burst through and impressed. They'll give us a game, that's for sure...and we haven't even mentioned Lukaku. This could turn out to be a shoot out between the big Belgian strikers

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• We haven't beaten Everton since August 2010. We won 1-0 on that occasion with Luke Young getting the winner early doors. 

• We were ahead in our last meeting, leading 3-1 at Goodison but two Fellaini goals saw the home team rescue a point.
• 
  
• Ciaran Clark was sent off last time the game was played at Villa and we lost 3-1. Shay Given lost his place in the team after this game.

• The 1977 League Cup Final between the teams turned into an epic with two replays required to separate the teams, Villa running out 3-2 winners at Old Trafford thanks to a brace from Brian Little and a cracker from Chris Nicholl.

He said, She said...

Prediction:
Oddly, we'd be more confident of a result if we were at Goodision Park. Certainly, Toffees' boss Roberto Martinez has never been scared of bringing a side to Villa Park. We're hoping for a win but predicting a 2-2 draw.

Villa v Spurs as it was tweeted...

Match Preview: Spurs on Sunday

Who are we playing?
Tottenham Hotspur

Where are we playing?
Villa Park

Can I go?
You can. Plenty of tickets available

Can I watch it on the telly?
If you must, it's the big Sky game of the week at 4pm.

Do Spurs have any famous fans?

Well there's Chas n Dave but we've got Tom Hanks, so we win.

Who's playing for us?
Tough to say till we see who comes back from international duty unscathed, but Big Chris has recovered enough to train with Belgium. Of more concern is Kozak and Helenius, neither were fit enough to even make the bench for Friday's internationals, though better news on Tuesday as Nicklas returned to the bench while Libor played the full ninety.

Who's playing for them?
A multitude of stars are available to AVB, but he's still to find a convincing combination as new players bed in. As with us, his hand may be forced by who comes back from international duty unhurt.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• In March 1966, the two teams took part in an epic ten goal thriller.

• Spurs have won the last two Villa Park encounters, both by four goals to nil.

• 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

He said, She said...
Coming soon...

Prediction:
We'd be amazed if another 4-0 thumping was on the cards but this will a difficult match and no mistake. We're expecting Spurs to come at us and it might well play into our hands, especially if Benteke returns. We're hoping for a win but predicting a 2-2 draw.

Match Preview: England v Poland

The Poles have rained on our parade before

Who are we playing?
Poland

Big game?
Oh yes, Win and we are going to Brazil for the World Cup. Draw or lose and the nightmare of the play-offs beckons. Ukraine play San Marino, who've lost every game in the group, so any slip up by Woy's Boys and we're right in the sweet and sticky.The Montenegro win means we can't finish lower than second. The Poles are playing for pride.

Where are we playing?
Wembley Stadium, in Wembley, in London. Wembley is not the loveliest part of the UK, but they still decided to build the national stadium there, giving foreign visitors a less than sparkling impression of our fair nation.

Can I go?
Probably not unless you've already got a ticket. It's looking sold out. If you're desperate to go, some firms running coaches down to the match might have a match ticket or two going.

How many are they bringing?
Controversially, the FA has given them a massive 18,000, but given the size of the Polish community in the UK, there could well be even more than that.

Easy to get to?

Driving and parking can be a pain and you know what those motorways can get like of a Tuesday. If you are travelling from Birmingham, the train is probably your best bet, with direct trains from Moor Street to the Stadium, and trains back at 22:18, 22:50 or the last one at 23:17 if you fancy a cheeky couple of post match pints.

Can I watch it on the telly?
You can, for free on itv, but you have to put up with Adrian Chiles and Weirdy Beardy Roy Keane, Clive Tyldesley will try and make it sound exciting, Andy Townsend will drone on incessantly. We'll be amazed if Chiles can get through the whole show without mentioning his Polish builders.

Who's playing for us?
It'll be interesting to see what Woy does with his formation because, certainly in the first half against Montenegro, it didn't quite click. Andros Townsend did more than enough to stake his claim but faces a fitness test after taking a knock on Friday. Stupid boy Kyle Walker managed to get himself suspended so we'll need a makeshift right back, with Prince of Gurners Phil Jones the most likely. This enforced change may tempt Woy to sacrifice one of his three strikers for more width.

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster, Joe Hart, John Ruddy

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Kieran Gibbs, Phil Jagielka, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling

Midfielders: Ross Barkley, Michael Carrick, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Andros Townsend, Jack Wilshere, Raheem Sterling

Forwards: Jermain Defoe, Rickie Lambert, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Daniel Welbeck

Who's playing for them?

Goalkeepers

1 Artur Boruc (FC SOUTHAMPTON)
2 Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal)
3 Lukasz Fabianski (Arsenal)
Defenders
4 Peter Celeban (FC Vaslui)
5 Kamil Glik (FC TORINO)
6 Arthur Jędrzejczyk (Krasnodar)
7 Bartosz Salamon (Sampdoria)
8 Luke was looking for (Steaua Bucuresti)
9 Marcin Wasilewski (Leicester City)
10 Grzegorz Wojtkowiak (TSV 1860 MUNICH)
Midfield
11 Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)
12 Mateusz Klich (PEC ZWOLLE)
13 Grzegorz Krychowiak (Reims)
14 Mariusz Lewandowski (PFC SEVASTOPOL)
15 Adrian Mierzejewski (Trabzonspor)
16 Slawomir Peszko (FC KOELN)
17 Eugen Polanski (HOFFENHEIM)
18 Waldemar Sobota (FC Brugge)
19 Paul Wszołek (Sampdoria)
20 Piotr Zielinski (Udinese)
Forwards
21 Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund)
22 Artur Sobiech (Hannover 96)

Any useless stats and info?

If we must:

• Poland has never won the Eurovision Song Contest and hasn't competed in it since 2011.

• They tended to vote for Ukraine when they were in Eurovision, so might be looking to do their "friends" a favour on Tuesday night..

• England hasn't lost to Poland since the match in Slaski June 1973.

• The subsequent 1-1 draw at Wembley in 1973 meant that Poland qualified for the World Cup in West Germany, and cost Sir Alf Ramsey his job.

• There have been 7 draws between the nations and while England has ten victories.

He said, she said:
"The job is half done and now we have to finish it off. We're accustomed to the pressure of big games for club or country so we will express ourselves." -Leighton Baines

"There is no pressure on Poland and England will be very stressed because they have to win, otherwise their supporters won't forgive them," -Jan Tomaszewski (the man Cloughie called a clown)

Prediction:

We predict a nervy England win and a rollercoaster of a match

Bradley Watkins off on loan to Tranmere Rovers

Goalkeeper Bradley Watkins has joined Tranmere Rovers on a one month youth loan deal from Aston Villa subject to Premier League clearance.

The 19-year old was an integral part of last season’s NextGen Series, a competition featuring 24 clubs from across Europe.

He also took part in many Under 21 games last term, but Benji Siegrist's return from injury has curtailed his chances at that level this season.

Watkins will be available for Sunday’s away Sky Bet League 1 fixture against Bradford City.

Manager Ronnie Moore said: “Jason Mooney and Sam Ramsbottom are both unavailable through injury so it was important we brought in cover for Owain Fon Williams.

“Bradley is highly thought of at Aston Villa and did well for their Under-20 side in Europe last season.

“I’d like to thank Paul Lambert for letting Bradley join us for a month.”

Villa matches moved for Sky Sports

The Premier League has announced a raft of fixture changes as the latest tranche of televised games are announced.

Two Villa fixtures have been shifted, both at the behest of Sky Sports.

The away clash down at Fulham shifts from Saturday 7th December at 3pm to the new time of Sunday 8th December at 1.30pm.  Darren Bent will ineligible for this fixture due to Premier League loan rules.

Villa snubbed by BT Sport

The following week, the home clash with David Moyes's Manchester United is plucked from 3pm on the 14th and will now take place at 1.30pm on Sunday 15th December, leaving thousands of Villa fans facing the bleak prospect of being dragged round the Christmas shops by the other half on the Saturday.

villamad advises any Villa supporter facing this fate to consider steering their beloved towards the Frankfurt Market.

No other Villa fixtures appear in the latest tranche so it would appear that the club has been snubbed by the rival fledgling sports service BT Sport.

The list also reveals that Villa's Christmas fixtures will be unaffected by TV company shenanigans.

Villa U21s v Sunderland as it was tweeted...

Match Preview: England v Montenegro

Who are we playing?
Montenegro

Where are we playing?
Wembley Stadium, in Wembley, in London. Not the one with the lovely twin towers. They squished that and replaced it with a soulless arena with a daft looking arch.

Can I go?
Almost certainly if you don't hang about. Despite this being a vital World Cup qualifier, we keep getting e-mails from the FA begging us to buy tickets. There's not really a bad seat at Wembley so the cheaper seats tend to go quickly.

Easy to get to?

Driving and parking can be a pain and you know what those motorways can get like of a Friday. If you are travelling from Birmingham, the train is probably your best bet, with direct trains from Moor Street to the Stadium, and trains back at 22:18, 22:50 or the last one at 23:17 if you fancy a cheeky couple of post match pints.

Can I watch it on the telly?
You can, for free on itv, but you have to put up with Adrian Chiles and Roy Keane, and much as we loved Andy Townsend as a player, he's not the liveliest of pundits.

Who's playing for us?
Ashley Cole is ruled out after the weekend's matches andKieran Gibbs comes in to replace him.

Ashley Cole will miss #England's WCQ v Montenegro on Friday with injury. Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs comes in to squad http://t.co/as9xywV84s

— The FA (@FA) October 7, 2013

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster, Joe Hart, John Ruddy

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Kieran Gibbs, Phil Jagielka, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Ross Barkley, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Andros Townsend, Jack Wilshere

Forwards: Jermain Defoe, Rickie Lambert, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Daniel Welbeck

Who's playing for them?

Goalkeepers: Mladen Božović (Tom Tomsk), Vukašin Poleksić (Debrecen).

Defenders: Stefan Savić (Fiorentina), Savo Pavićević (Anorthosis), Marko Baša (Lille), Miodrag Džudović (Spartak Nalchik), Ivan Kecojević (Gaziantepspor), Marko Simić (Kaiserispor), Vladimir Volkov (Partizan), Milan Jovanović (Lokomotiv Sofija), Vladimir Božović (Mordovia Saransk).

Midfielders: Nikola Drinčić (No club), Elsad Zverotić (Fulham), Branko Bošković (Rapid Wien), Simon Vukčević (Vojvodina), Milos Krkotic (Dacia Chisinau), Mitar Novaković (Amkar Perm), Milorad Peković (Hansa Rostock).

Forwards: Stevan Jovetić (Manchester City), Mirko Vučinić (Juventus), Dejan Damjanović (FC Seul), Fatos Bećiraj (Dinamo Zagreb), Filip Kasalica (Red Star Belgrade), Andrija Delibašić (No club).

Any useless stats and info?

If we must:

• Montenegro was formally part of Yugoslavia and later Serbia & Montenegro so we've only actually played them three times in their own right.

• It is all about the threes. Played three, drawn three, scored three, conceded three.

• Expect a stormy match, the three previous meetings have yielded a massive twenty yellow cards plus a red card for England's Wayne Rooney.

• Villa's Darren Bent and ex-Villa wide man Ashley Young have both found the net against Montenegro.

• Key scenes in the James Bond adventure Casino Royale are set in Montenegro.

Prediction:

We predict either an England win, or Roy's head superimposed on to a vegetable on the back of Saturday's papers...

Hinckley United Wound Up by the High Court

Hinckley United has been officially wound up in the High Court in Birmingham this morning.

The club was put out of existence at the hearing, after months of speculation on its future.

A statement on the club's website said: "Further to the winding up petition issued by the Downes Executive Pension Fund against Hinckley United Football Club Limited, the directors attended the court hearing at Birmingham today where the winding up petition was granted.

"The board would like to thank its supporters, sponsors and shareholders for their support in these sad and difficult times.

"There will be a further statement later today."

A later update on the club's website says that there won't be a further statement until tomorrow.

Hinckley United has hosted many of Aston Villa's home games involving the Reserves and Under 21s in recent seasons and had been due to host tonight's U21 clash with Sunderland, which will now take place at The Lamb in Tamworth

Hull City v Villa as it was tweeted...

We want your Villa memories

Is there a particular Villa match that means something special to you?

Maybe it was your first match. Perhaps it was the game that made you fall in love with Aston Villa. It may even be special to you for a sad reason.

Inspired by the positive reaction to the piece Dek Hogan wrote on the night George Best played for Villa, we're launching a new section.

All Our Yesterdays  is a place for people to share memories, not just of the matches themselves, but the reasons why they are special to you.

If you've got a story you'd like to share, send it to editor@villamad.co.uk and we'll put the best ones on the site.

Match Preview: Highway to Hull

They'rrrrre Grrrrrreat!

Who are we playing?
Hull City or Hull City Tigers though from next season just Hull Tigers. Confused? Ask Assem Allam to explain it.

Where are we playing?
The KC Stadium

Can I go?
If you've not got a ticket already, sadly not. The away end has been sold out for ages.

How many are we taking?
We have an allocation of 2,500 tickets. They cost £30, which is quite reasonable compared to other grounds.

Easy to get to?
The train can be a pain and hideously expensive. Villa have laid on free coach travel to this one. If you are driving be aware due to the Hull Fair that the massive Walton Street car park at the ground is CLOSED, which will have a knock on effect on other parking around the stadium. There's a park and ride option or you can park in the city centre and do the 15 minute walk to the ground.

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 not playing a London or Manchester club, we'll probably be close to last on.

Do Hull City have any famous fans?

Turns out she's a Tiger

Well there's Sinitta, though we're pretty sure that the Tigers are her second team. A bigger surprise is that property guru and unstoppable baby producing machine Sarah Beeny follows the team. Impressive as that pair might be, we've got Geezer Butler out of Black Sabbath. So we win.

Who's playing for us?
Paul Lambert loves playing his cards close to his chest, but his biggest decision will be whether to keep the formation he favoured against Man City, or if not, which defender loses his place. We'd expect Gabby to start if fit, while Westwood will be looking for a midfield birth, but with Delph looking untouchable, Sylla working his socks off and El Ahmadi getting on the scoresheet last week, he may struggle to get back in.

Who's playing for them?
They've got ex-Villa man Curtis Davies who has come on in leaps and bounds since he left us. Old Potatohead picked up a couple of gems from Spurs in Huddlestone and Livermore. However the team will greatly miss promising young players James Chester and Robbie Brady who definitely miss the match.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Villa have won half of their last six Premier League away games, though two of those were against Norwich City.

• In Hull's last spell in the top flight, they lost to Villa every time they met.

• Hull have yet to lose at home in the league this season.

• Hull City last beat Aston Villa at the old Boothferry Park ground on 29th August 1987 as Villa adjusted to life in the old Second Division under new manager Graham Taylor. The score was 2-1.

• Villa won the return game 5-0 on 1st January 1988, which while being great, was quite painful if you were nursing a New Year's hangover

He said, she said:

“We’re maybe fortunate that Benteke isn’t playing because at the moment he is as good as any striker out there." - Potatohead

"The belief here has never wavered, it's always been there. I've never had a problem picking players up after a loss, or keeping their feet on the ground after a win." - Lambo

Prediction:
In this section last week, we predicted a high scoring draw, though we were bolder on the day of the match on Twitter, going for a 3-1 victory. Even though standard Villa behaviour after a morale boosting win is to suffer a soul-crushing defeat, we think the esprit d'corps will shine through and we are going to boldly state that another away win is on the cards, but we'll have to graft for it.