Jordan Veretout thanks Nantes fans...

"FC Nantes will remain in my heart. It is as if it were my second family. I thank everyone.

"I spent wonderful years there. I will remember the good times and I will follow  FC Nantes from afar. I will come back often.

"The public are extraordinary, I thank them. It is thanks to them if we lived through such good moments here. Always behind us."

Nathan Baker signs new four year deal despite being linked with Burnley

Aston Villa have dispelled rumours that Nathan Baker is off to Burnley and he has signed a new four-year contract with the club.

He said: "I am delighted to sign a new contract here at Villa.

"I have been with the club since I was just eight-years-old so I am very happy to continue my career here. It's my home. It's my club

"I feel I have progressed and I feel I can carry on getting better here in claret and blue.

"It only seems like yesterday that I was in the Academy with Tony McAndrew and the U21s with Kevin MacDonald. Now I am in the first team and it's been an exciting journey for me.

"I am determined to impress the gaffer and get in that side.

"The competition is going to be fierce here at centre-half but that's what the gaffer wants. There's a lot of choice for him. But you can't do well as a club without competition for places."

Rudy Gestede adds to Villa's firepower as he joins from Blackburn

Goal machine Rudy Gestede has joined Aston Villa from Blackburn on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

The 26-year-old Benin international, who sbagged 22 goals for Rovers in all competitions last term, in tandem with freescoring Jordan Rhodes.

Gestede joined Rovers from Cardiff City in January 2014 after a spell on loan and the Lancashire club have cashed in on his success.

Villa boss Sherwood will be chuffed to get a regular goalscorer in having lost the firepower of Big Chris Benteke.

He said on the official website: "I've known about Rudy since he was at Cardiff City and he is a player I've always admired.

"His goalscoring ratio last season was fantastic and he is someone who certainly knows how to find the back of the net.

"He's a big, physical striker but he can play and I'm pleased to welcome him to the football club."

Jordan Veretout is an Aston Villa player

Exciting midfield powerhouse Jordan Veretout had completed his much trailed transfer to Aston Villa for the customary "undisclosed" fee.

The 22-year-old arrives from Ligue 1 club Nantes, having been linked with a move to the Premier League throughout the close season with Spurs, Liverpool and Leicester City sniffing round the Frenchman.

Thanks to the persuasive nature of boss Timbo Sherwood,  Villa have seen off the competition to land the former youth international.

He is one of many new arrivals at Villa Park this summer, as Tim Sherwood regenerates a squad that finished just three points above the dreaded drop last season.

His is also the fourth to arrive from the French top flight and the third bloke called Jordan to be snapped up by the Villa this summer.

"I'm really pleased Jordan decided to choose Aston Villa over the other options he had and opt to continue his development with us," gushed Sherwood.

"He is only 22-years-old but he is vastly experienced for someone that age. He has played over 140 games in Ligue 1 and is a really exciting young player.

"I know he is very highly rated over in France so we are delighted to get this deal over the line."

Match Preview: Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa

Who are we playing?
Nottingham Forest, Saturday 1st August at 3.00pm

Where are we playing?
Nottingham Forest Football Club
The City Ground
Nottingham
NG2 5FJ

Can I go?
On general sale, £15 plus booking fee.



Easy to get to?

the local plod

Walking distance from Nottingham Railway Station (about a mile). The local plod are advising using the Meadow Club which is the Notts County Supporters Club if you fancy a beer or six.

Can I watch it on telly?
Live on AVTV HD if it's working (they seem to have sorted the glitches), but you'd rather be there, surely...

Big game?
The last chance for Timbo to test his players before it all gets serious at Bournemouth.

With so many leaving and the new faces starting to appear, it's been a tricky pre-season to judge so far and the real fear about these warm up games is that we pick up injuries.

There were heart stopping moments at Molineux with Micah Richards, Leandro Bacuna and Gabby Agbonlahor all going down heavily.

We'd imagine we'll see more of Gueye and Amavi as they continue to acclimatise to football in the UK.

The result isn't important, but we don't fancy the twenty minute trudge back to the train station if we've lost.

Typical Forest Fan

Do Forest have any famous fans?
Well there's Su Pollard off of Hi-di-Hi and Christopher Dean off of the skating.

We've got fiddle playing scruffbox Nigel Kennedy off of Radio 3.

So we win.



Who's playing for us?

Libby was on fire at Wolves

Gawd knows. The normally media friendly Tim Sherwood isn't indulging the media with post match pressers, so little info is leaking out.

We reckon Tim will go with a pretty similar team to the Walsall and wolves ones, injuries not withstanding. Gabby's injury may well mean that he gives Jordan Ayew a start, or he may choose to plump for Callum Robinson who hasn't looked at all out of place in a first team line up.

Who's playing for them?
Expect to see the likes of Daniel Pinillos.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• There have been 122 competitive meetings between the clubs. We've won 57, drawn 28 and lost 37.

Howard Vaughton

• We've not played a competitive match against Forest this century. The last meeting was at Villa park in April 1999. We won 2-0 thanks to goals from Mark Draper and young Gareth Barry

• We played a pre-season friendly at their place three years ago. We lost 3-1 with Barry Bannan scoring ours. Lewis McGugan got two of theirs.

• Villa's first meeting with Forest was a FA Cup tie in 1980, Villa winning the  2-0 thanks to goals from Howard Vaughton and Archie Hunter.

Prediction
Forest should be up for this but we should emerge victorious. Going for a 3-1 Villa win.

Report: Wolves 2-2 Aston Villa

A late strike from Wolves's Benik Afobe cruelly snatched victory from Villa with at Molineux.

Kick off was delayed for ten minutes as fans flocked to the midweek friendly.

Villa went ahead after just six minutes as Libor Kozak  continued his rehabilitation by collecting the ball on the edge of the area before clinically drilling a superb strike past Carl Ikeme.

The Czech striker - facing fresh competition for a first team berth - almost bagged a second goal before the quarter-hour mark, but his close-range effort tantalisingly cannoned off the crossbar and went clear.

Leandro Bacuna, normally so dangerous from set-pieces sent a free kick straight into the hands of Ikeme.

Gabriel Agbonlahor had an effort easily dealt with by Ikeme but he was clattered by Stearman and this eventually led to hi withdrawal through injury.

On 72 minutes, Wolves levelled it through David Edwards, who flicked a cross from Iorfa into the net from close range.

However, five minutes later, Villa retook the lead through Kozak after he slid in at the back post to convert an assist from Callum Robinson.

It looked as though that would be enough to steal the victory, but in the dying moments, Afobe collected a pass from Conor Coady before coolly slotting past Bunn.

Villa fans got a brief glimpse of Jordan Ayew, but there were no real opportunities for him to show his class.

Crespo the latest of Timbo's New Villa Order

Aston Villa have completed the signing of the Cordoba defender José Ángel Crespo.

The 28-year-old has signed a three-year deal at Villa Park and joins for the typical Villa undisclosed fee.

Crespo is Tim Sherwood’s third defensive signing of the summer – joining Micah Richards and Jordan Amavi in a new look back line – after completing a medical.

“José is a player who has been on our radar for some time and we’re really pleased to secure his signature." gushed Timbo

“He is an experienced player who has played in La Liga and Serie A, two of the strongest leagues in Europe, and from speaking to him I know he can’t wait to play for Aston Villa.”

A former Spain Under-21 international, José has played for Sevilla and Racing Santander and played in Italy with Padova, Bologna and Verona.

José Ángel Crespo arrival imminent

Córdoba CF and Aston Villa FC have reached an agreement to transfer to José Ángel Crespo.

The player was expected to be in  Birmingham for a medical today.

Speculation is rife that the defender, who can play anywhere across a back four, is a replacement in the squad for the injury prone Nathan Baker, who has been linked with Burnley.

Jordan Ayew signs at last

Jordan

Aston Villa have signed Ghana striker Jordan Ayew on a five-year deal for an "undisclosed fee" after drama over the move at the weekend.

The 23-year-old, joins from Lorient after stormy words between the player and his former club over his value had threatened the deal.

"I'm really pleased to bring Jordan to the football club," manager Tim Sherwood said.

"He is a fantastic young player who is perfectly suited to the Premier League."

The forward scored 12 league goals last season and is the third player to join the club from Ligue 1 during the summer transfer window after the arrivals of Jordan Amavi and Idrissa Gueye.

A Yew

"I am the happiest man in the world. It's one of my greatest days in football." Ayew enthused.

"My dream was to play for a big team in England - and Aston Villa is undoubtedly one of the greats in English football.

"I am obviously the third player to come here from France this pre-season.  Jordan and Idrissa are very good players and they will do well for us. We are all pleased to have been given an opportunity to play for this great club

"I can't wait to begin. I want to bond with the fans - and make them very happy. I want to be a big player for this team. I am looking forward to meeting the fans and having a great season"

IN PICTURES: Jordan Ayew’s first day as a Villan. Image gallery here: http://t.co/Q77mKSizil #AVFC #WelcomeJordan pic.twitter.com/adEI22R82s

— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) July 27, 2015

Match Preview: Wolves v Villa

Who are we playing?

Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tuesday July 28th- 7.45pm

Where are we playing?
Molineux Stadium,
Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton,
West Midlands
WV1 4QR

Can I go?
On general sale, £15 plus booking fee.

Easy to get to?
Walking distance from Wolverhampton Railway Station.

Can I watch it on telly?
Live on AVTV HD if it's working, but you'd rather be there, surely...

Big game?

Gueye

Can't see either set of fans settling for this just being a gentle pre-season kickabout.

Friendly?

Bugger that! There's pride at stake here.

There's normally a good atmosphere at Molineux when the Villa are in town, so let's hope this isn't diminished by Wolves decision to only open the lower tiers.

Injury niggles and the need for game time for some squad players may well prevent Timbo putting his strongest line-up out here, but we may get a few more clues about at least the shape he's looking at playing.

Gueye looked decent in the first half at Bescot but soon ran out of steam. I t looks like he's a couple of weeks vehind the others in terms of pre-season conditioning.

Typical Wolves fan

Do Wolves have any famous fans?
Well there's Robert Plant off of Led Zeppelin. There's also Suzi Perry off of the the Formula One.

We've got fiddle playing scruffbox Nigel Kennedy off of Radio 3.

So we win.


Who's playing for us?
Gawd knows. The normally media friendly Tim Sherwood isn't indulging the media with post match pressers, so little info is leaking out.

Gary Gardner and Carles Gil got crocked at Swindon, so not them. We'd expect more game time for new boys Gueye and Amavi. We'd also expect a run out for Baker and Senderos at some stage.

Who's playing for them?
Expect to see the likes of Nouha Dicko and Benik Afobe



Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• There have been 121 competitive meetings between the clubs. We've won 53, drawn 31 and lost 37.
  

• Our last meeting with Wolves was back in January 2012 at their place. Two Robbie Keane goals saw us claim a 3-2 victory

• So good is our record at Molineux that you have to go back 1978 for the last time we lost there. Frank Carrodus got our consolation goals as we went down 3-1.

• Villa's first meeting with Wolves was a FA Cup tie that took four matches to settle, Villa winning the 3rd replay 2-0 thanks to goals from Frederick Dawson and Archie Hunter.

Prediction
Wolves should be up for this but we should emerge victorious. Going for a 3-1 Villa win.

Report: Walsall 1-1 Aston Villa

Aston Villa have been held to a 1-1 draw by Walsall at Bescot.

After a lively opening (for a pre-season kickabout), Villa took the lead on 21 minutes through the busy Callum Robinson, who controlled Libor Kozak's cross before slotting home confidently.

Three minutes later, Scott Sinclair could have doubled the lead, but after rounding the goalkeeper, but swiped at it and  saw his "shot" cleared off the line by James Demetriou.

Shortly before the break, Walsall found an equaliser. Forde's free-kick from 25 yards took a horrible deflection off the wall, bamboozling the unfortunate Jed Steer and dribbling into the bottom right corner.

The second half proved to be less eventful with Kozak struggling to get the run of the ball and Sinclair having a bit of a mare.

As far as chances go Robinson miscued an effort for Villa while Walsall defender Adam Chambers kept Jed Steer's hands warm with a decent strike.

Kozak had a decent chance for a penalty turned down after being manhandled by Andy Taylor.

The home side created a late chance through Tom Bradshaw, but after his left-footed shot was saved by Steer, the match petered out to a draw.

Amavi again looked impressive, but he needs to make sure he can get back when he goes into attacking mode. Gueye looked decent enough but looked as though he was running out of steam towards the end of the first half and was subbed in the second. Obviously needed this run out.

Jim White puts cats amongst the pigeons with Ciaran Clark Baggies tweet

News this morning of a £5m bid from West Brom for Aston Villa's Ciaran Clark

— Jim White (@JimWhite) July 25, 2015

Jim White sparked the ire of Villa fans with an innocuous tweet about a West Brom bid for Ciaran Clark.

Clark emergence as a decent defender after years of under-performance was one of the few high-spots of last season's league campaign and Villa certainly struggled without him when he missed the arse end of the season through injury.

He'd previously spoken of his delight at the prospect of lining-up alongside Micah Richards and a move to the Albion seems an odd one (though it wouldn't have done a year ago).

Jordan Ayew blasts Lorient as transfer hangs in balance?

He's coming!

“I’m delighted to have arrived in the UK and to have the opportunity to join a club the size of Aston Villa,” Ayew told Sky Sports News.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the manager and I am very excited about the prospect of playing in the best league in the world.

“I’m sure with the new players that Aston Villa are bringing in that we can all work together to make it a great season for a great football club.”

Or is he?

The Gospel according to L'Equipe

“It is incomprehensible. I was told that I could leave for €12m, but now they are asking for 10 million, in pounds, with 2 million in bonuses, which makes up about €17m! What the hell! This meeting finished very badly. I am really very annoyed, but it is incredible what they are doing to me. They were telling me about how much Amavi was bought for by Aston Villa, but I am not Amavi. We are two different players who have two different situations. They are basically saying that English clubs can only pay more, because they have money.

“It is finished for me, they bought me for €5m and they are blocking me. Today, I am in Birmingham, I am on my way to Aston Villa. Nothing will change my decision. I told them: “But why do you want to keep me at this point?” I won’t forget that last season, I did not play a single pre-season match and that I was quite badly criticised at the beginning of the season, but nobody at the club defence me. Members of staff would apparently reply by saying: “It is the President who bought him…” Also, my whole family wants to go to England…

“It is the right moment, my wife speaks English. In any case, I am no longer going to training. It is finished for me. It is true that I have a contract, but I had a good year, they will make a good profit and you cannot change the rules of the game like that. I can leave for one sum, but if it is Aston Villa, I am worth more. In my head, in any case, I have left.”

Fabian "Sicknote" Delph lasts just 18 minutes for Man City...

Public Enemy Number One Fabian "Sicknote " Delph - a man who spent a large chunk of his time at Aston Villa on the injury list - lasted just 18 minutes for his new club Manchester City, before injury struck with a vengeance.

What a shame!

While one could question the wisdom of throwing in a player who has had very little pre-season (he missed Villa's Portugal trip) and flown halfway round the planet, Delph would have been keen to stake a claim for a starting spot.

Those dreams lay in tatters as Delph mouthed the word "hamstring"  as he stayed flat out on the turf until a stretcher was brought on.

The event also brought more pain to the Villa faithful, with many reporting that their sides hurt from laughing so much.

Villa issue apology for AVTV cock-up

Aston Villa have issued an apology after gremlins played havoc with its AVTVHD service, leaving angry fans without coverage of Tuesday's game against Swindon.

Many fans had log-in issues or got a screen full of runtime error code instead of seeing their heroes in action.

Twitter erupted with fury.

While season ticket holders get the service as part of the deal, other fans have to shell out hard cash to receive it.

The apology:

"Aston Villa would like to apologise to the AVTV HD subscribers who experienced problems watching Tuesday's live stream at Swindon Town.



"While the stream improved during the second half of the game, we experienced technical gremlins throughout the first half.

"We are working very hard with our web agency to ensure the same issues don’t arise for the three remaining games we are showing live – Walsall, Wolves and Nottingham Forest.

"We have also informed them that these issues are unacceptable for our fanbase watching via AVTV HD.

"Many thanks for your on-going support,

"Aston Villa Football Club"

Report: Swindon Town 0-2 Aston Villa

Aston Villa have continued their preparations for the new season winning a typical pre season kick-about against Swindon Town 2-0 at the County Ground.

Swindon began strongly, but it was Tim Sherwood's band of brothers who created the first decent chance of the evening when Gabby Agbonlahor headed over from Leandro Bacuna's cross.

Despite loads of possession, Villa were frustrated by a workmanlike Swindon team  until the breakthrough arrived when Alan Hutton sparked events ending in Scott Sinclair slotting home from close range.

Villa could have added to their lead twice before the break with Carles Gil curling just wide of the target before Agbonlahor missed a golden opportunity after sprinting clear of the Swindon defence.

Our hearts sank in the second half when Gil limped off after falling awkwardly, let's hope it's not too bad.

Villa continued to look the more likely to score as the game dragged on, Micah Richards going close with a header against the post.

A rash of substitutions knackered the flow of the game in the closing stages but Villa managed to guarantee the win late on when young Jerell Sellars closed down a clearance from a rookie goalkeeper before tapping the ball into an empty net.

Idrissa Gueye drops a massive bollock with "big club" comment.

He hasn't kicked a ball in anger for the Villa yet but Idrissa Gueye has already angered Villa fans by more than hinting that he sees Villa as a stepping stone to a big club.

Speaking to L'Equipe he is reported to have said:

"I wanted a change of scenery," he said. "The most important thing was to come to England to improve and aim for a big club later.

"It's a league which suits me down to the ground. The box-to-box style is very much mine. I think I'll enjoy it."

Gueye knocked back the advances of Marseilles and claims Southampton didn't make him an offer.

"My choice was always oriented towards England. I never hid that when I spoke to them.

"The coach and I got on well straightaway. I saw the vision of how he wants us to play and where he counted on using me. He had watched a lot of my games.

"That gave me confidence. He told me some very nice things, and that pushed me to take this decision. I preferred to sign quickly so that I could do the preseason with my new club."

You could say that his honesty is refreshing but his words are hardly like to win friends and influence people, with Villa fans still smarting from the ludicrous manner in Fabian Delph left the club...

Of course, he may have been misquoted....

Match Preview: Walsall v Aston Villa

Who are we playing?
Walsall, Saturday July 25th- 3pm

Where are we playing?
Banks's Stadium,
Bescot Crescent,
Walsall,
West Midlands
WS1 4SA

Bescot is easy by train

Can I go?
On general sale, £12 plus booking fee.

Easy to get to?
Bang outside Bescot Station so dead easy from New Street.


Can I watch it on telly?
Live on AVTV which worked well for some of us for the games in Portugal, not others. For Swindon it was atrocious with log in issues, runtime errors and fans venting their spleen on Twitter.

If you can see it the coverage has improved massively, with multi-cameras and action replays. Still get Jack on commentary though...

Big game?

Gueye

For fans who don't like to venture too far from Brum, this will be the best opportunity to see Villa before the big kick off.

Still very much pre season training mode in this one, but we'd hope to glean at least some clues as to how we'll set up this season, even if it'll be still unclear personnel wise.

We'd certainly hope for a glimpse of Idrissa Gueye and Jordan Amavi in this one with the big kick off looming ever closer.

Pete admires Michaela's dangly ones..

Do Walsall have any famous fans?
Pete Waterman off The Hitman and Her (ask yer mom, kids).


Who's playing for us?
We'll still probably be making maximum use of subs but we certainly expect players neglected at the back end of last season to make a play for a place here, the likes of Carles Gil (if fit) and Scott Sinclair. Jores Okore is still recovering from knee surgery. Gary Gardner is crocked after a bad tackle in the Swindon game.

Who's playing for them?
Saddlers fans may be excited at the return of Milan Lalkovic.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• We have hardly ever played Walsall in proper competitive matches.

• There have been six such meetings. We've won 2, drawn 3 and lost 1.

• Our last competitive match was back in March 1972 at Villa Park and was a 0-0 draw.

• Walsall normally struggle against their richer neighbours in the friendly matches, but there was a big 5-0 thumping two years ago. Young Jack Grealish caught the eye as Villa ran riot

Prediction
Walsall should be up for this but we should emerge victorious. Going for a 3-1 Villa win.

Concrete Ron Crumbling: crocked for months

Clubless Ron Vlaar has announced in a lengthy article that he will be out for a number of months due to his dodgy knee.

A hero for Holland in the last World Cup, he is a free agent after leaving Villa Park this summer, having let his contract run down, presumably in pursuit of greener grass.

He'd been something of a liability in his infrequent Premier League appearances last term, provoking genuine anger from the Villa faithful for his performance in the Stoke City match at Villa Park.

He has revealed that, during a charity jaunt to India, he discovered that he had tore his medial Meniscus. He previously had surgery for a similar issuein the winter.

Vlaar reflected: "Here will now be a 4 to 6 weeks period.

"Instead of 4 weeks rehabilitation, it will now take 3 to 4 months.

"On hearing this news it was a defining moment, I was stunned and I struggled to keep my composure.

"Even now when I think about it, the news is very hard to swallow."

You can read Ron's emotive piece here

Big Chris fucking off to Scouseland

Villa's talismanic striker and the source of nearly all its goals is set to bugger off and join Liverpool after the clubs reached agreement on a deal, thought to be worth £32.5 millon, after protracted negotiations.

Assuming Liverpool aren't gazumped and the last minute and Big Chris passes a stringent medical - Liverpool doctor Andy Massey has left the club's pre-season tour, flying from Adelaide to England - we will wave goodbye to the big Belgian in next 48 hours.

Full details of the deal are likely to be kept under wraps - usual procedure for Villa transfers, in or out, these days - but we do know that the Merseyside club was keen to pay on the drip, rather than giving all the dosh up front.

A slice of the fee will have to go to Genk, so it may not be the massive windfall that many are pinning their hopes on and Villa have already splashed large wodges of cash on Idrissa Gueye and Jordan Amavi, proving that the years of austerity that have seen us turn into perpetual relegation candidates may be drawing to a close.

We at villamad.co.uk wish Christian Benteke every success in the future (except when he's facing us), but are slightly disappointed that he chose to leave us for Liverpool and not a club where he'd have a tilt at winning a big trophy.

Villa reject Keown backs Delph decision

Fabian Delph should be praised for his "brave" decision to join Manchester City, according to ex-Villa player Martin Keown who played in the last Villa team to be relegated from the top flight.

"People change their mind don't they? It is what happens - he wouldn't be the first person to turn down an opportunity, regretted it and then worked hard to change it and he has been brave enough to do that", said Keown, who was flogged to Everton in 1989 as Graham Taylor cleared out the dead wood. Villa went on to make a strong challenge for the league title once Keown was jettisoned.

"When Delph elected to stay at Villa a lot of people were surprised. He looked as if his contract was running out, but he put pen-to-paper on a new deal, and, from a Villa point of view, thank God he did otherwise he would have left on a free transfer.

"So, let us not be too hard on Delph. I suffered backlash from the Villa fans when I left there and he has agonised over that decision and it was a tough call - he already made the call once and had to change his mind.

"It is a good signing for City - they want to buy British - he made his England debut last season and settled in well, he is a driving force from midfield, but it is a huge blow for Aston Villa."

TRANSFER NEWS: Jordan Amavi DEAL DONE

An agreement was reached on Saturday for the transfer of Jordan Amavi to Aston Villa  according to OGC Nice on their website.

From the age of seven until he was 16, Amavi played for local side Sporting Toulon, where one of his coaches identified him as a future France international, but, he says, “no one believed me.” Now, as an under-21 international and one of the best left-backs in Ligue 1, the 21-year-old is on the verge of proving his coach right.

In the season just gone, Amavi was thrust into the starting line-up, and didn’t look back. During the season the left-back only missed two games, playing over 3,200 minutes for Les Aiglons. His performances have seen him not only become a mainstay of Nice’s defence, but also quickly gain a reputation as one of the France’s best left-backs.

Aston Villa 0-0 SC Braga

Aston Villa played out a dull a goalless draw with Braga in Portugal in a game completely overshadowed by Delph's shock exit to Manchester City.

The first half was marginally better.

Gary Gardner got on the end of an Aly Cissokho but found the the arms of r Stanislav Kritsyuk early doors with Villa on the front foot.

Carles Gil found Gabriel Agbonlahor with a classy pass, but the shot was woeful.

Agbonlahor got closer with his next effort, slamming against the crossbar just before the half hour mark, but that was as close as we got.

Braga made better use of their possession after the break, and only a timely intervention from Kieran Richardson early in the second half kept Braga at bay.

Janoi Donacien  made some crucial challenges as the game wore slowly on, but enigmatic Charles N'Zogbia came closest to getting a winner..

He collected the ball on the edge of the area and hit a blistering shot against the post with 12 minutes left on the clock.

Villa could easily have lost it at the death. Libor Kozak nearly turned a Braga corner into his own net then Braga's William Pottker nearly won it with a long range strike that was heroically tipped away in the dying minutes by new signing Mark Bunn.

Delph speaks

Turncoat cunt, traitorous Fabian Delph has spoken on joining Manchester Fucking City.

"Leaving Aston Villa is the hardest decision I've had to make.

"My decision to stay was based on emotions and feelings for the club, rather than looking at the football opportunity placed in front of me.

"I have been immensely proud to captain such a great club and want to thank everyone at Aston Villa, most importantly the fans, for the amazing support they have shown me during my time there. I am now excited for the future with Manchester City and helping the club to succeed in the coming season and beyond.

"This is a chance to challenge for titles, play Champions League football and
win trophies and it’s also a platform for me to push on to the next level – it’s
an opportunity I want to take with both hands.

“Every time I’ve played against City I’ve been chasing shadows so it’s going to be fantastic to have players such as David Silva, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero on my side now.

“I want to watch them closely in training and during matches, pick things up from them and adapt parts of their game into mine.

“I spoke with Joe Hart when I was with him for England and he was always been telling me how the Club has come on and what City are trying to achieve - and Micah Richards told me that as far as he is concerned, this is the best club in the world and he had the time of his life here.

“I’m looking forward to joining up with the lads in Australia and I can’t wait to get started. One thing I can promise is I’ll never stop working hard for the team and I’m really looking forward to playing in front of the City fans.”

Fabian Delph makes a complete C*@T of himself

BELLEND Fabian Delph has fucked off to Manchester City, less than a week after he pledged his loyalty to Aston Villa.

Manchester City confirmed the signing tonight.

Last Saturday Delph stated "I'm not leaving. I'm staying at the football club and I can't wait for the start of the season and captaining this great football club."

What a cunt!

Hendrik Almstadt comes on board as Sporting Director

Hendrik

Months after Tom Fox announced he was seeking a Director of Football, he has raided his old club Arsenal to appoint Hendrik Almstadt as "Sporting Director"

It could be an interesting few months ahead as we see if the new bloke works well in concert with Tim Sherwood or ends up treading on his toes.

Tom Fox said: "I'm really pleased to welcome Hendrik to Aston Villa.

"I was able to see first hand the excellent work he did at Arsenal and he will add tremendous value across our entire football set-up."

Almstadt added: "I can't wait to start my new role at Aston Villa.

Tom Fox

"It is a club with huge potential, a rich history and deep roots in Birmingham, the Midlands, and within English and European football.

"I look forward to working again with Tom Fox and to establish a close relationship with the manager, Tim Sherwood."

Timbo toed the party line: "I'm really excited Hendrik is joining.

"We have a lot of work to do at the football club and Hendrik will make the job I have here easier."

Takeover "dead" says Timbo

Takeover talks lie a-moldering in the grave

According to Villa boss Tim Sherwood, the takeover bid isn't pining for the fjords, it's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If we hadn't nailed it to the perch it'd be pushing up the daisies! It's kicked the bucket, shuffled off this mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!!


Sherwood said: “I think it’s dead now to be honest. It was fairly live but I think the people who were talking are now not there.

“The chairman is picking it up and running with it now. I’m not sure if anyone is too close now - until it’s done it’s never there.

“Randy is the one who is making the decisions regarding the players. He is willing to back us to the hilt.

Mystery Consortium

"But he can only back us to the tune of financial fair play. That means there might have to be some exits from the club before we can get in some more.”

Lerner hasn't managed to strike a deal with the "mystery consortium", thought by some to originate from the United States and others to be a Chinese mob.

The party were said to have been granted an exclusivity period last month but negotiations have apparently gone tits up

Match Preview: Swindon Town v Aston Villa

Compact and bijou Mostin

Who are we playing?
Swindon Town, Tuesday July 21st - 7.45pm

Where are we playing?
Swindon Town FC
The County Ground
County Road
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN1 2ED

Can I go?
On general sale, fifteen quid.

No sign of Zeberdee

Easy to get to?
Takes a while on the choo-choo, you have to change at Bristol Temple Meads. Bit of a schlep by car and coach too.



Can I watch it on telly?
Live on AVTV which worked well for some of us for the Fulham game, not others.

Villa attempted to screen the 2013 and 2014 pre season friendlies that took place on British soil (and the one in Ireland) live on AVTV with mixed results.

Big game?

Pre season form unreliable

Always a bit misleading these pre-season games. Remember El Dave and Brett Holman looking like world beaters at Burton a few years back?

Hopefully there will be a few new faces to run the rule over and a few youngsters might get a game with the big boys but these games really are just training exercises.

Likes to put a foot in

As pre-season days out go, this one is a bugger to get to midweek, so the delights of Wolves or Forest might prove more to your taste.

We'd hope for a glimpse of Idrissa Gueye and maybe Bunn the Goalkeeper.


Do Swindon Town have any famous fans?

Typical Swindon Town fan

We believe that Wee Willie Carson may be a Swindon fan as is Melinda Messenger.

Who's playing for us?
Could well be everyone as early pre-season games tend to give everyone a shot. Game of two halves and all that. So it could be a rare chance to see the likes of Sendros and Tonev in action. Joe Cole played some lovely stuff v Fulham, while young Niall Mason looked particularly impressive.

Who's playing for them?
Look out for the likes of Jordan Williams, Raphael Branco, Nathan Byrne,  Drissa Traore and Yaser Kasim.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• We have beaten Swindon Town on 7 occasions and lost to them twice, there have been three draws.

• Our last meeting at their place in 2012 saw us win 3-2. We were coasting at 2-0 for ages until two late Swindon goals had us sweating but Big Chris Benteke's second of the match saw us safely through.

• Our last defeat to the Wiltshire club was a 1-0 loss in November 1973

• Our 0-0 draw with Swindon in May 1988 was MASSIVE, securing our promotion back to Division One.

Prediction
Swindon should be up for this but we should emerge victorious. Going for a 3-1 Villa win.