Benteke scores in comeback for under 21s

Match Report: Chelsea 3 - 0 Villa as it was tweeted

Helenius at Villa: Depression, pill popping and fear of death.

Several months of struggle against depression, fear of death and pill addiction have been revealed as the reason why Nicklas Helenius struggled at Villa.

The former national player, now on loan AaB, started off well in England, but the downturn started when he became ill with Campylobacter-like bacterium.

"I did not know my body as well, and I did not know what after-effects such bacteria can bring. I had no idea what it was", Helenius said in an interview with tv3sport.dk, "I thought I was hit by a terrible neurological disease or serious cancer. It was fucking hard and it knocked me backwards.

"It all got worse. In January, I was stressed, and the depression hit me. I could not calm the nerves, and physically it hurt so much when I moved on a football field. It felt like I had torn a lot of ligaments."

In order to get some sleep at night Helenius began taking sleeping pills, which he eventually became addicted.

"I was just like a drug addict, and for a time I took them every night for six weeks. It was bullshit, because such pills are filled with filth and dirt, and they only made my physical pain worse"

A brain scan in February revealed that there was something seriously wrong, and with the help of a psychologist he managed to drop sleeping pills and recover.

Now Nicklas Helenius is trying to resurrect his career in Aalborg. The experience in England has not discouraged him, and should the opportunity arise, he is ready for a new trip abroad.

"I have learned from what I have been through. I will have the courage to take off again. Let me stress that the only plan right now is that I have to get back to top form. What happens later on, we have to wait and see."

Match Report: Derby County U21 3-2 Aston Villa U21

Match Report: Derby County U21 3-2 Aston Villa U21

CONFIRMED:Chris Herd to bugger off to Bolton

Chris Herd in action

Bolton are to sign troubled Aston Villa utility man Chris Herd, initially on a one-month loan.

The Championship outfit are racing to register the Socceroo, who can play across the back four or in midfield, in time to face Chelsea in Wednesday night’s Capital One third round clash at Stamford Bridge.

Herd broke into the professional ranks with Villa in 2008, making his senior debut in a UEFA Cup game against Hamburg.

He had spells at Port Vale, Wycombe and Lincoln City before returning to make his Premier League debut against Manchester United in 2010.

The 25-year-old has 42 Villa appearances to his name but played just twice last term and missed the back end of the season and the World Cup due to personal issues

Alan Hutton revived his career under Dougie Freedman with an impressive loan spell at the end of last season.

The deal will initially be for 28-days but both parties may wish  to extend it towards Christmas.

UPDATE: Aston Villa has confirmed that Herd is moving to Bolton Wanderers on loan until November 8th

Match Report: Derby U21s 3-2 Villa U21s as it was tweeted..

Match Preview: Chelsea v Villa

Who are we playing?
Chelsea on Saturday 27th September at 3pm. That's two Saturday 3 o'clockers in a row!

Where are we playing?
Stamford Bridge

Can I go?
Not unless you've already bagged a ticket. The subsidised, yet still ridiculously expensive away section has sold out.

Easy to get to?
Nearest tube is Fulham Broadway which is on the District Line. London prices on your beers so take plenty of cash.

Can I watch it on telly?
A Saturday 3 o'clocker so it won't be on proper UK telly. Plenty of dodgy web streams and pubs with foreign dishes are available if you wanna watch on the box.

A typical Chelsea celeb fan

Big game?

Huge.

It might even have been a battle for first if our first team hadn't gone down with the lurgy against Arsenal

We felt really hard done by not to get anything out of this fixture last year, but both sides have changed significantly since then.

Mourinho will be hugely aware that we nicked three points off them at Villa Park but if he decides to go toe-to-toe with Paul Lambert this time, he'll have to take on Roy Keane.

Goal poaching Diego Costa is the obvious threat but they've got talent all over the shop so this will be a proper test.

Let's just hope our lads have recovered enough to give it a go.

Damon All Bran

Do Chelsea have any famous fans?

Loads. There's ex-PM john Major (who rocked up at our game against Arsenal), Damon All Bran out of Blur and of course Charlize Theron.

We've got fiddle playing scruffbox Nigel Kennedy.

So we win

Who's playing for us?

We'd love to see Big Chris at least on the bench but it's probably wise not to rush it. Hopefully the tummy bug guys will be back to push for a place and we'd certainly expect Westside to walk straight back in after Carlos Sanchez seemed to struggle against Arsenal.

It was cruel on Nathan Baker to be struck down with illness after he'd managed to impress against Liverpool and he deserves another chance if Vlaar's calf isn't 100%

Who's playing for them?

Bags of talent all over the shop. Quite scared of Schürrle, though Jose seems reluctant to give him a start. Eden Hazard is always a danger, Cesc Fabregas has breathed new life into Chelsea's midfield and then there's Diego Costa. We'll have to get past our old mate Gary Cahill if we want to get on the scoresheet but John Terry is not the man he used to be.

Any useless stats?

Of course, here you go:

Ray

• Chelsea have beaten us 57 times while we also have 57 wins. There have been 34 draws.

• Our last win at Stamford Bridge was on New years Eve 2011. Goals from Stephen Ireland, Stiliyan Petrov and Darren Bent gave us a 3-1 victory after a Drogba penalty had given them an early lead.

• We have to go all the way back to May 2002 for the previous Stamford Bridge success. Peter Crouch, Darius Vassell and Dion Dublin finding the net as we ran out 3-1 winners.

• Our last clean sheet at their place was way back in February 1993. Roy Houghton scored the only goal.

Prediction

Praying that everyone is 100% free of the bug and going for a shock 2-1 win.

Match Report: Villa 0-3 Arsenal as it was tweeted

Match Preview: Arsenal v Villa

Who are we playing?
Arsenal  on Saturday 20th September at 3pm

Where are we playing?
Villa Park

Can I go?
It's amazing how being second in the league can sell tickets. Many areas have sold out, so you can go (buy now) but possibly not where you prefer to sit.

Easy to get to?
Amazingly, with a huge crowd expected at Villa Park there will be NO FOOTBALL SPECIALS on the trains, so expect an irritatingly long wait and LOTS of queuing at Aston and Witton stations after the match.

Can I watch it on telly?
Amazingly, we have a Saturday 3 o'clocker so it won't be on proper UK telly. Plenty of dodgy web streams and pubs with foreign dishes are available if you wanna watch on the box.

Big game?
Huge.

It would be brilliant to keep the momentum going from our surprising points laden start to the season.

Tom Fox and Paul Lambert were in the crowd at Dortmund

Arsenal looked positively ropey at the back against Borussia Dortmund, but then the German side committed men forwards in great numbers. We're more likely to try to catch them on the break.

This could turn out to be quite a dour tactical encounter but both sides are more than capable of giving the ball away in dangerous positions so we could see periods of dull play peppered with moments of heart in the mouth excitement.

Paul Lambert and Tom Fox, the Villa chief executive, were in the crowd at the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday, so we've done our homework.

Nothing to see here

Do Arsenal have any famous fans?
Well there's Dara O'Briain off of Mock the Week, the man who sits on Stephen Fry's right hand on QI, Alan Davies and of course provider of background music for middle class dinner parties, Dido.

We've got fiddle playing scruffbox Nigel Kennedy.

So we win



Who's playing for us?

Vlaar unlikely to play on Saturday. Still nursing his calf.... pic.twitter.com/mmvE2yAyTz
— villamad.co.uk (@villamadtweets) September 18, 2014

Nathan Baker surprised a few with a solid, largely competent performance in the absence of Ron Vlaar. Former outcast Alan Hutton will be hoping to celebrate his new contract with another solid display while Tom Cleverley will be hoping for a home debut after fitting in remarkably quickly up at Anfield.

Big Chris is training again but we'd expect this one to be a bit quick for him and he's more likely to feature against Chelsea.

Fragile

Who's playing for them?
It had looked as though Jack Wilshere might be missing after a knock to his ankle in Dortmund but he may well play now. Mathieu Debuchy is defo missing having buggered up his ankle ligaments. Danny Welbeck will be keen to get a goal to kickstart his Arsenal account.



He said, She said
tbc

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Arsenal have beaten us 77 times while we have 66 wins. There have been 45 draws.

• Last time we beat Arsenal at Villa Park, Dion Dublin was playing and we nearly killed Father Christmas

• If we win against Arsenal on Saturday it'll be our first Villa Park win over them this century.

• Our last win over Arsenal was at the Emirates, two goals from Big Chris and one from Tony Moon giving us a 3-1 success.

Prediction
Going for a 1-1 draw.

Massive U-Turn as outcast Alan Hutton signs a new three year Villa deal

Hutton

In a staggering turnaround, outcast right back Alan Hutton has secured a new three year deal at Aston Villa.

Paul Lambert ostracised the player for two whole seasons, he was training with the kids last term and went off on loan to Bolton. This after a first season under Alex McLeish in which he failed to convince the Villa faithful.

This season however, he has formed part of Villa's new look back line, the success of which has propelled the club into second place in the Premier League.

"I kept my head down worked hard came in every day & its paid off. I want to take this opportunity given me by the manager." - Alan Hutton

"You know exactly what you will get from Alan, he's an excellent professional and he's made an excellent start to the season for us, helping to drive the defence and adding his experience to the mix," - Paul Lambert

Tonev embroiled in racist allegations

Aberdeen have reported Aston Villa's Aleksander Tonev for allegedly racially abusing Shay Logan.

The club reported the Bulgarian internationalist to referee Bobby Madden at the end of their 2-1 defeat at Parkhead yesterday. Tonev is currently on loan to Celtic

Logan claims the winger racially abused him on two separate occasions during the first-half of yesterday’s early doors kick-off. Logan informed the Aberdeen coaching staff as soon as he reached the away dressing-room at the break, and was said to be extremely upset.

Dons gaffer Derek McInnes informed  Ronny Deila, of the situation just before the beginning of the second-half.

Tonev started the second half before being withdrawn with 70 minutes of the match gone

Tonev apparently denies the allegations, and insists he never abused his opponent. 

The Bulgarian arrived at Parkhead this summer on a one-year loan deal from Aston Villa with a view to a permanent deal. He made his debut yesterday after arriving with a groin injury, and dreams of reestablishing himself in the Bulgarian national team.

Match Report: Liverpool 0 Villa 1 as it was tweeted

Tom Cleverley Sings! (Mercifully short)

Lambert's pre-Liverpool press conference

Match Preview: Liverpool v Villa

Who are we playing?
Liverpool on Saturday 13th August at 5.30 pm in the Premier League.

Where are we playing?
Anfield

Can I go?
Not a chance unless you've bagged a ticket already

Easy to get to?
In theory, it is. Had a few wild adventures attempting to get home by train on occasion.

Can I watch it on telly?
We're on Sky Sports with lashings of Jamie Redknapp probably, which is a good reason to watch in the pub where he'll be drowned out by the background noise.

Big game?

Gabby

Still a wee bit of bedding in going on at Liverpool ad they brought in quite a few over the summer. They'd expect to beat us at their place (though it's been a while since they actually have) and we won't cry too much if they do as we long as we give a decent account of ourselves.

The key here for us is to maintain a decent level of performance, keep it tight at the back and try and stuff them on the counter. Good as they were last term, they were prone to the odd rickett at the back and if Gabby can stay wide awake, we might nick one or even two.





What has Liverpool ever done for us?
They gave the world Brookside.
There's The Beatles.
There's Cilla Black.
There's John Bishop.



Who's playing for us?
We wait to see how Lambert shuffles his pack with Carlos Sanchez and Tom Cleverley hope to squeeze into the starting line-up. Ron Vlaar will be the big worry, missing two Holland games with a calf injury, while Jores Okore made a return to competitive action playing for Denmark U21s and making a sub appearance for Denmark proper during the international break.

Who's playing for them?
Daniel Sturridge may be injured but they've still got the likes of Balotelli and Rickie Lambert to do the bizzo.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Liverpool have beaten us 91 times while we have 55 victories. There have been 40 draws.

• Our last win at Anfield was in December 2012. We ran out 3-1 winners thanks to two goals from Christian Benteke and one from Andi Weimann.

• Liverpool's last win over us at Anfield was way back in December 2010 when they won 3-0.

• Our first win against Liverpool at Anfield was in 1894. We won 2-1 thanks to goals from Stephen Smith and Bob Chatt.

Prediction
2-0 to Liverpool, but hope we're wrong about that.

Stiliyan Petrov Ice Bucket Challenge

Happy 35th Birthday John Carew

Enda misses out as Villa confirm EPL squad

Enda Stevens is the stand-out omission as Villa's 25 man squad is confirmed. it leaves the Irish left back in a similar position to the one Alan Hutton was in last year when he was excluded. Hutton eventually went off on loan to Bolton and presumably Stevens will available when the The Football League's loan window swings open in a few days time

Edna

Forgotten Socceroo Chris Herd does make the squad.


Late loan signing Tom Cleverley was the last addition to the squad.

Promising youngsters like Jack Grealish and Callum Robinson don't need to be named in the squad on age grounds and are registered in the under 21 section.

There appears to be no room for any Bosman signings, pouring cold water on stories surrounding Italian international playmaker Gaetano D'Agostino.

25 man Premier League Squad (*=Home grown)
*Agbonlahor, Gabriel
Bacuna, Leandro Jones Johan
*Baker, Nathan Luke
*Bent, Darren Ashley
Benteke, Christian
Cissokho, Aly
*Clark, Ciaran
*Cleverley, Thomas William
*Cole, Joseph John
*Delph, Fabian
*Given, Shay John James
Guzan, Bradley Edwin
*Herd, Christopher
Hutton, Alan
Kozak, Libor
*Lowton, Matthew John
*N’Zogbia, Charles
Okore, Tetchi Jores Charlemagne U
*Richardson, Kieran Edward
Sanchez Moreno, Carlos Alberto
*Senderos, Philippe
*Siegrist, Benjamin Kevin
Vlaar, Ron Peter
*Weimann, Andreas
*Westwood, Ashley Roy

Under-21 players (Contract and Scholars)
Abdo, Khalid
Bannister, Charlie Brendan Alec
Bateman, Liam Vere
Blackett-Taylor, Corey
Burke, Graham Dylan
Calder, Riccardo
Cowans, Henry Gordon Mander
Crooks, Alfie
Donacien, Janoi
Drennan, Michael Joseph
Forth, Dylan Carl
Graham, Jordan
Grealish, Jack
Green, Andre
Hailey, Liam
Hale, Rory Danny
Hepburn-Murphy, Rushian
Hill, Craig Dennis
Kinsella, Lewis
Leggett, Thomas Jacob
Lewis, Bradley
Lewis, Harry James
Lyden, Jordan
Lyons-Foster, Kodi
McKirdy, Harry
Nehemie, Isaac
O’Brien, Daniel William
O’Hare, Callum
Robinson, Callum Jack
Sellars, Jerell
Strain, Ryan
Strain, Thomas James
Suliman, Easah
Toner, Kevin Stephen
Watkins, Bradley
Webb, Joshua John
Wildin, Courtney James
Zazrivec, Tomas

Tom Cleverley joins Aston Villa in last gasp loan deal

Tom Cleverley's season long loan move to Aston Villa has been approved by The Premier League.

The eleventh hour deal was brokered last night after a move to Everton fell through.

It is believed that United have a recall option in January.

A deal was agreed before the transfer deadline on Monday night for the England international to move to the Midlanders, but was only confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.

The midfielder came through the ranks at Old Trafford and has made 79 appearances United, finding the net on five occasions. His last outing came in the 1-1 draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Cleverley has previously had loan spells with Leicester City, Watford and Wigan Athletic.

"The prospect of working under the manager and Roy, who were both fantastic midfielders in their playing careers, made the decision to come to Villa an easy one.

"I'm looking forward to working with them but also the other really good midfield players that the club have, like Fabian Delph, Ashley Westwood and other new lads like Kieran Richardson, Joe Cole and Carlos Sanchez.

"I've been watching Villa games this year and it's been a really good start and, with the upcoming fixtures all big games, hopefully I can bring a bit of big game experience and add to the squad and help us to win some games.

"It's a team that plays the style of football that I like. They play with high energy, they pass and move and there are a lot of good young players. The manager told me the way that he'd like me to play and it all sat perfectly for me. I'm very happy to be coming down to play for Villa.

"First and foremost I have got to get back playing and hopefully as a by-product of that I can get back in the England team. The thing I am concentrating on though is trying to come in and hit the ground running so I can help Aston Villa. Playing football is what matters most to me and I'm looking forward to getting back to what I know I can do. This is the kind of club where I can do that.

"Villa Park is one of those grounds that I always look forward to playing at. The pitch is always fantastic, the atmosphere is always good and it's one of those historic grounds that you always remember. It's had FA Cup semi-finals and even England games when Wembley was being renovated so it's a very historic ground and it's somewhere I'm really looking forward to playing my club football."

Cleverley deal back on?

Tom Cleverley could still join Aston Villa - even though the transfer window slammed shut last night.

Cleverley could yet complete a loan move to Aston Villa, with reports differing as to whether this is until January or a season long loan. Cleverley is out of contract at the end of the season and free to sign for his next club from January.

Paul Lambert, as well as a number of other clubs, had been linked with a move for Cleverley before Everton came in and became favourites for the much criticised 25-year-old England midfielder.

Everton and United couldn't get the deal over the line and Villa are said to have made a late move to take him on loan at Villa Park.

It is now up to the Premier League to decree whether the paperwork was completed in time for the deal to be completed, with Cleverley reported to still have been at Manchester United's Carrington training ground until 2am.

listen to ‘Rob Dorsett: "Cleverley could yet move to Villa"’ on Audioboo

Agbonlahor, Guzan, Vlaar & Benteke get involved in ice bucket challenge