Calder bound for Dundee on loan

Calder

UPDATE: Calder's move to Dundee now confirmed. Loan deal until at least January. 

Dundee are set to complete a loan swoop for exciting Aston Villa prospect Riccardo Calder.

The Dark Blues have struck an agreement which should see the 19-year-old arrive at Dens Park on loan.

Calder, part of Villa’s NextGen Series Final win over Chelsea in 2013, has been earmarked by Tim Sherwood as a player of some potential and hopes to have him involved more at first-team level next season.

Sherwood is keen to see Calder, who has been on the bench in the top flight, play games at a decent level, or failing that, in Scotland.

Dundee Cake

A deal is imminent with just the paperwork and formalities of the contract be completed.

When asked about incomings, Dundee boss Paul Hartley said: “We have to try to strengthen the squad.

“Pace is something we are looking to add.

“If we can get one or two in the wider areas, we will have the option to use something different out there.”

Poll: Player of the Month: August

Man of the Match?

Match Report

Report: Villa 2-2 Sunderland

A Jeremain Lens goal snatched Sunderland a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa this afternoon, after two Scott Sinclair goals had given the home team a first-half lead.

Sunderland were in the mood to find their first league win of the season from the start, and the Black Cats' early dominance paid off as M'Vila gave the Mackems the lead on 9 minutes with a 25-yard free kick which sneaked past Brad Guzan.

Villa came storming back, Sinclair felled by Lee Cattermole in the Sunderland box. The winger dragged himself to his feet to slot past Costel Pantilimon.

Sunderland struggled to recover from Sinclair's quick response, and the home team twice came close to nicking a lead as Ashley Westside and Gana fired wide.

Villa eventually took the lead on 41 minutes, when Jordan Amavi found Sinclair with an inch perfect cross for the winger's second goal.

Sunderland started the second half well - substitute Steven Fletcher woke Guzan up with a header, before elder statesman  Jermaine Defoe fired a long-range effort well wide.

Jeremain Lens broke Villa hearts on 52 minutes, dribbling past Ciaran Clark to fire past the hapless Guzan.

Villa livened up then - Gana and Bacuna squandering chances to restore the lead, before Rudy Gestede - static and ineffective for most of the game - glanced a header wide from an Amavi cross.

Pantilimon produced a good save to keep out Ashley Westside on 81 minutes, before Gestede pulled a chance wide.

Micah Richards could have gifted Villa the three points before the end, but his header from a Westwood corner went over the bar.

Lescott Poll

Tonev finally shipped out to Frosinone

Bulgaria international Aleksandar Tonev has officially joined Frosinone from Aston Villa in a permanent deal.

Themisfit, who spent last season getting into all sorts of bother on loan at Scottish champions Celtic, becomes the Serie A newbies’s ninth signing of the summer.

He joins new intake Modibo Diakite, Aleandro Rosi, Samuele Longo, Daniele Verde and Nicola Leali at the club.

Dall'@AVFCOfficial arriva a titolo definitivo l'esterno bulgaro classe '90 Aleksandar Tonev pic.twitter.com/a8GVGBvTWO

— Frosinone Calcio (@Frosinone1928) August 27, 2015

“The 25-year-old Bulgarian winger Aleksandar Tonev has arrived from Aston Villa in an outright transfer,” the club tweeted today.

Tonev’s spell in the Premier League was a utter disaster, with the player keen on putting potshots into Row Z and beyond.

However, the winger plays forBulgaria, and has scored three times in his 17 caps for the national team.

Report: Villa 5-3 Notts County

Scott Sinclair bagged a hat-trick as Aston Villa eeked out an extra time 5-3 victory over little Notts County in a nerve shredding League Cup second round tie at Villa Park.

Villa made nine changes to their team, sacrificing solid midfielders for flair players and County took advantage, winger Genaro Snijders's curling effort from 25 yards beating Mark Bunn to wobble the sparse crowd.

The Magpies came close to doubling their advantage just minutes later when new boy Izale McLeod shot just wide after hooking up up with Jon Stead.

Villa found an equaliser when Jack Grealish put Adama in and the ex-Barcelona man marked his first Villa Park debut with a tap in.

Roy Carroll denied Jordan Ayew's low drive while ex Villa man Graham Burke tested Bunn, but it was the League Two side went back ahead on the stroke of half-time when Bunn felled McLeod and Stead made no mistake from the spot.

Grealish looked far sparkier after the break and soon squared for Scott Sinclair to put Villa back on terms but the away side  took the lead again just six minutes later.

Burke cracked a electric strike in off the post from distance to put County ahead for the third time on the night, then Stead's effort was tipped over wonderfully by Bunn.

Thankfully, Villa were soon level again, Sinclair scoring second of the night from the penalty spot with 12 minutes to take the game to extra time

With County visibly tiring Villa took advantage to go in front for the first time after 99 minutes when Sinclair found space to complete his hat-trick.

Joe Bennett (remember him?) hit a 20-yarder home late on as Villa progressed into the third round.

Match Preview: Aston Villa v Sunderland

by Dek Hogan 

Who are we playing?
Sunderland on Saturday 29th August 2015.

First home Saturday 3 o'clocker of the season

Where are we playing?
Villa Park, you know where it is.

Advocaat

Can I go?
Yep, tickets still on sale but don't leave it too long if you want to bag your favourite spot.

Easy to get to?
Doddle. Unless they shut the M6 again.  United was a nightmare...

Can I watch it on telly?
UK telly can't showing live games (from anywhere) until 5.15pm on a Saturday. You'll have to find a dodgy dish pub or get a stream. If you can though, come to the game. The bigger the crowd, the more influence we can have. Don't spectate, participate.

Big game?
Huge.

Sunderland's start to the season was looking pretty much disastrous. Last week they managed a much improved performance grabbing a point at home against Swansea but they were still pretty woeful.

Anything less than a comfortable Villa win here and questions will inevitably be asked of Sherwood's charges, even if it is still early doors.

The team needs time to gel of course, but time is a luxury you just don't get at this level. Every fucking game counts.

We only kept our Premier League status by the skin of our teeth last season and we HAVE to do better at Villa Park if we are to survive again.

The stark fact is that in comparable games we are FOUR POINTS WORSE OFF than we were last term.

Now you can say that we were worth a point against United and we threw one away at Selhurst Park, but they don't let you stay up based on feeble excuses. You need points.

Gabby's continued presence in the starting line-up remains a mystery, but more shocking still was Carlos Sanchez withdrawal when he was having probably his best game yet in a Villa top at Palace.

Scott Sinclair or Jordan Ayew deserve a place far more than Gabby and in Ayew's case, it only help his form to get more game time. Those who think Ayew doesn't do enough should watch him off the ball. His movement creates space allowing others to shine.

Young Adama is a big unit which makes his blistering pace even more surprising and more difficult to deal with. The temptation at the moment must be to use him as an impact sub. Despite the immediate impression he made in South London, it took him a while to get his second wind. It make take him time to get to grips with the physical demands of the Premier League and it may be a while before he's ready for a full ninety.

We need to be patient (we won't be).

Typical Sunderland fan

Do Sunderland have any famous fans?

Well there's Lauren Laverne off of Radio 4 Late Night Woman's Hour. that's exactly the same as ordinary Woman's Hour except that they discuss things like self-lubricating anuses. They are dead cultural on Radio 4

There's also Steve Cram who could run quite fast thirty odd years ago and Heather Mills who is famous mostly for being Heather Mills.

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

So we win.

Who's playing for us?
There could well be an audible groan when the teams are announced if Timbo sticks with a hapless Gabby who had something of a Savo in the first half against Palace before seeming to vanish almost completely.

Amavi took a lot of flak for his ricket but some blame must also be apportioned to Brad for putting him in that position in the first place. Certainly the goalkeeping position is not unassailable.

The whack that took Adama out on the hour mark v Notts County probably means we won't see him.

Who's playing for them?

Jermain Defoe proved that he can still do a job and must be watched. We still think John O'Shea is a weak link that we should be looking to exploit.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Sunderland have beaten us 54 times while we have 81 wins. There have been 45 draws.

• Our last competitive encounter with Sunderland last season saw us batter them 4-0 at their place, ending a long running away goal drought in the process. Gabby and Big Chris got two a piece.

• Our last Villa Park victory was the famous 6-1 trouncing of DiCanio's side in April 2013. Vlaar and Weiman goals saw us 2-1 up at half time and a Big Chris hat-trick and one from Gabby broke Mackem hearts.

Prediction
Going for an all action 4-1 Villa win.

Jermaine Jenas woken by Nobby's trumpet

Former Villa player Jermaine Jenas has revealed that he was once woken in the dead of the night...by Nobby Solano's trumpet.

Appearing on comedy panel show Would I Lie to You on the BBC, Jenas recounted the tale which happened prior to a local derby clash with Sunderland while the pair were at Newcastle together.

Jenas

Apparently, the young Jermaine was woken from his slumber to find the Peruvian international perched at the end of the bed playing his instrument.

Jermaine's statement "The night before the biggest game of my career, a team mate woke me up by practising his trumpet" was greeted by the comment "I'm assuming that's not a euphemism" by team captain David Mitchell.

"Why were you cohabiting with a trumpter?" pressed Mitchell as he attempted the ascertain the voracity of Jenas's tale.

"He was like sat at the end of his bed with a stand." explained Jenas to the incredulity of his fellow panellists.

"If this is a lie, don't push it son!" chipped in show regular Lee Mack.

"What was his excuse?" pressed Mitchell.

"That he was practising," replied Jermaine.

"Did the conversation go further?" Mitchell probed.

"Well I just said 'put it away'"

"And also stop playing the trumpet..." Mitchell responded.

Mitchell claimed to be an expert in nocturnal trumpeting and his team decided to say that the anecdote was true, which turned out to be the case.

Earlier in the show, Germaine Greer stated that Jenas would be the panellist she'd eat first...
 

Match Preview: Aston Villa v Notts County

by Dek Hogan 

Who are we playing?
Notts County on Tuesday 25th August 2015.

The rest of the West Midlands are also playing at home on the same night. Plod are happy for this to happen but shunted our first home of the season to a Friday to accommodate 150 people protesting at Walsall.

Go figure.

Where are we playing?
Villa Park, you know where it is.

Can I go?
Yep, LOADS of tickets still on sale (at time of writing). If you can't be arsed to turn up, don't you dare whinge if you are struggling for Wembley tickets for the final.


Easy to get to?
Doddle. Assuming you are on the right shift or aren't on holiday with your anklebiters.

Can I watch it on telly?
Possibly not. Sky are showing Luton v Stoke and if the game isn't one of the few covered live by foreign broadcasters, you won't get a stream.

Big game?
Huge.

We crashed out at this stage last year

We are not gonna win the league are we? So if there is any chance of bringing silverware back to Villa Park in the current climate, we have to take the cups seriously. No two ways about it.

The trouble is, at this stage of the competition, none of the teams competing take these games seriously, with even teams far lower down the pecking order making multiple changes to the line-ups they'd put out in the league.

As a consequence, the cups are becoming de-valued and even budget priced ticketing fails to bring in decent sized attendances for these games.

That doesn't mean these games will any sort of walkover. Leyton Orient made more changes to their line-up in last season's clash than we did but still managed to see us off.

From a fan perspective, as well as wanting to have been at every game on the journey to Wembley, games like this afford an opportunity to see those squad players that haven't had a run out as yet and a chance to ease back players who've been missing through lack of fitness.

Do Notts County have any famous fans?

Typical County Fan

Well there's Bob Dylan impressionist Jake Bugg and This Is England/Broadchurch/Line of Duty actress Vicky McClure, which is pretty cool.

There's also Harold Shipman.

Not so cool.

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

So we win.

Carlos

Who's playing for us?
If Timbo rotates as expected, then we may see run outs for the likes of Alan Hutton, Nathan Baker and possibly Libor Kozak, though he didn't make the bench Saturday.

We'd also expect some sort of involvement from Carles Gil and despite breaking back into the first choice XI, Jack Grealish would obviously love to be involved after a successful loan spell at County.

Could boost the gate if they announce in advance that Adama is getting a run out.

Who's playing for them?

Really dunno but we'd expect them to make changes from their bog-standard league line-up. Everyone else is.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Notts County have beaten us 21 times while we have 42 wins. There have been 20 draws.

• Our last competitive encounter with County was an FA Cup 3rd Round replay in January 1997. We won 3-0 thanks to a brace from Dwight Yorke and one from Ugo Ehiogu .

• Villa's only previous encounter with Notts County in this tournament, then known as The Milk Cup, was in 1982. Shockingly, the European Champions went down 2-1 at home, with Peter Withe getting our goal. John Chiedozie and 17 year old sub David Clarke scored for them. County ran out 1-0 winners in the second leg to send us spiralling out of the competition.

• Our first ever league meeting was in September 1888. We hammered the oldest team in the league 9-1. Dennis Hodgetts got one, Archie Hunter and Tommy Green got two each and Albert Aleen scored a hat-trick.

Villa hammered County 6-0 at their place, January 1982

Prediction
Going for an all action 4-1 Villa win.

Palace - Pick your Man of the Match

Sherwood "disappointed"

Tim Sherwood is disappointed with his Aston Villa team after they gave away a soft late late goal to lose away at Crystal Palace.

Bakary Sako scored late on after Guzan and Amavi conspired to hand Palace a chance on a plate.

Earlier, great work from sub Adama Traore led to a Pape Souare's own goal putting Villa level.

"To lose it so late was disappointing. I thought we were very good in the first half. We scored the goal and came back into it. To lose it so late is disappointing.

"We saw a young player with no fear like Adama Traore. On the flip side you have young players that make mistakes and Jordan Amavi, hasn't made many but he did today and has to learn from it."

Villa's next Premier League fixture will be at home to Sunderland on Saturday but will face Notts County in a cup tie on Tuesday.

Match Report: Crystal Palace 2-1 Aston Villa

Aston Villa committed football suicide in the closing stages at Selhurst Park, Brad Guzan and Jordan Amavi conspiring to hand Palace the winning goal.

Villa started the game in lively fashion. Rudy Gestede's hustle and bustle put the hosts on the back foot, but the best early opportunity fell to Gabby Agbonlahor. The inept Villa striker picked up Ashley Westwood's ball for a one-on-one with Alex McCarthy, but the goalkeeper easily came out on top.

It was one of many fluffed opportunities for Villa's longest serving player.

Villa's best first half performer, Carlos Sanchez, fashioned an opportunity to give the visitors the lead on 24 minutes. The Colombian international took the ball from from Jason Puncheon and eased past Yohan Cabaye to shoot but the chance flew over the bar.

The best chance for Palace came on 38 minutes, as Bakary Sako took a shot from 25 yards, but his shot waseasilt dealt with by Brad Guzan.

Pardew shuffled his pack at half time; Jordan Mutch and Dwight Gayle coming on to replace Wilfried Zaha and Glen Murrayand Palace were immediately far more effective.

Mutch played a lovely first-time cross to Sako to tap home in, but Micah Richards saw off the danger with a fine tackle.

There was confusion when it appeared the ref had given a Palace goal only for it to be chalked off. Dwight Gayle's curling effort wasdeflected home by a clearly offside McArthur. It was only ruled our after about a minute after the celebrations, giving Villa fans kittens.

Villa fans were crying out for change and were surprised to see the influential Sanchez withdrawn while Gabby was having such a mare. Adama was brought on for his first experience of Premier League football.

Bacuna

Almost immediately, Villa were behind, Scott Dann outjumping Ciaran Clark to power the home team into a lead they certainly deserved based on their second half performance.

Adama soon burst onto the Premier League scene,  ghosting past two players on the right flank to see his low cross is deflected home by the luckless Souare.

Then disaster for Villa. Brad Guzan inexplicably played the ball to Amavi in a vulnerable position. To compound the error, Amavi tried to run the ball out of defence, was caught by Dann who played the ball to Sako who drilled a left-footed into the corner of the net.

Gary Gardner signs new Villa deal

Injury prone Gary Gardner has signed a new three year deal with Aston Villa.

Gardner, who has been Villa since he was seven years old, previously penned a two year deal in June 2014

The player's development has been hampered by two season long injury spells and he's currently recovering from a problem sustained in pre-season against Swindon Town.

Gardner will have to fight hard to break into the Villa team as a wealth of young hungry midfield talent has been signed this summer.

Gardner spent the back end of last season at Nottingham Forest and it is thought they'd like to take him on loan again.

However Gardner said: "I am delighted to sign this new deal and extend my time with this great club.

"I am looking forward to working with the gaffer going-forward and being someone he can turn to and do a job for the team.

"I enjoyed my time on loan but now I'm determined to make an impact this season with Villa and show everyone what I'm capable of."

Donacien off on loan once again

Janoi Donacien has joined Wycombe Wanderers for an initial one-month loan spell.

Donacien was a regular in the Tranmere Rovers defence last season.

Sadly Rovers were relegated.

Janoi, a hero of the successful NextGen campaign, heads off to play League Two soccer in High Wycombe

Micah Richards currently dominate the centre half slots at Villa, with Nathan Baker and currently injured Jores Okore other options at the back. 

Bacuna awarded new five year deal

Leandro Bacuna has committed his long term future to Aston Villa.

The Dutchman, who can play at right back but prefers midfield, has put his moniker on a five-year contract with the club.

Bacuna was snapped up by Villa in June 2013 from FC Groningen and has scored six usually spectacular goals in his 66 competitive appearances.

"I love it here and am really excited about my future," Bacuna told the club website.

"I feel I can really develop here and show my worth."

Bacuna becomes the latest Villa player to commit his future to the club after Ciaran Clark, Nathan Baker and Ashley Westwood also signed new deals.

VIDEO: Leandro Bacuna pops on RTE Rose of Tralee

Leandro Bacuna made a special appearance at Ireland's annual pageant the Rose of Tralee

The Dutchman recorded a video message for Roisin Ni Mathuna after it was revealed that her and her dad are Villa supporters.

Sadly, Rosin was left red-faced when she couldn't remember Leandro's name...

Villa and Blues at home on the same night...

Magpie

Aston Villa have confirmed the date for the Capital One Cup clash against Notts County.

The Magpies will travel to Villa Park for the cup clash on Tuesday, August 25, with a 7.45pm kick-off.

Birmingham are at home to Gillingham on the same night which had prompted concerns that one club would have to switch their fixture to a Wednesday.

Plod

However, West Midlands Plod have confirmed they have no reservations about both games being played.

Villa's only previous encounter with Notts County in this tournament, then known as The Milk Cup, was in 1982. Shockingly, the European Champions went down 2-1 at home, with Peter Withe getting our goal. John Chiedozie and 17 year old sub David Clarke scored for them.

County ran out 1-0 winners in the second leg to send us spiralling out of the competition.

The full Capital One Cup second round draw is:
Aston Villa v Notts County
Walsall v Brighton
Crystal Palace v Shrewsbury
Sheffield Wednesday v Oxford
Portsmouth v Reading
Hartlepool v Bournemouth
Fulham v Sheffield United
MK Dons v Cardiff
Hull v Rochdale
Sunderland v Exeter
Bury v Leicester
Doncaster v Ipswich
Rotherham v Norwich
Swansea v York City
QPR v Carlisle
Barnsley v Everton
Peterborough v Charlton
Blues v Gillingham
Newcastle v Northampton
West Brom v Port Vale
Wolves v Barnet
Burton Albion v Middlesbrough
Luton v Stoke
Preston v Watford

New Blog: Did Sky steal the soul?

by Adam Malone @ad_mal1

So Friday night football came to Villa Park. The M6 conspired to make it a journey full of difficulties for the fans who came more in hope than expectation to see us take on Man Utd.

To cover the game first – I came away pretty impressed despite the one goal defeat.

There’s definite promise in our team.

Amavi is one heck of a signing (as a fellow sufferer put it ‘too good for the Villa’). Gueye I wasn’t as impressed with as a lot of people and felt he gave the ball away a bit too much. Promising player though.

Veretout and Ayew really did disappoint me, as did Gabby (again).

In Richards we have a proper captain.

Man Utd were clearly a cut above us but we never looked like being on the end of an embarrassing result or the surrender we saw at the cup final.

Gil

If we can get Rudy match fit, get Gil, Grealish and Traore in the squad, we might just have a competitive team this year. This season will still be a scrap but at least we have some fight.

The game was also a good chance to catch up with the lads for a beer. Much changed from the last Villa and beer event – that trip to Wembley. Friday night football simply works for the social aspects and there is nothing like seeing that red sky over the stadium as the sun sets. I have always been a fan of floodlit football – it still adds to the experience for me.

One of my earliest Villa memories is dragging my dad out to a floodlit game after the 1994 cup final and hanging around for ages to get a glimpse of the cup after the game. I was hooked. My dad (a Baggies fan) was not impressed.

Jeff

There is a lot of criticism over Sky but put simply if you are a subscriber who sits at home watches Soccer AM, then Soccer Saturday, then the highlights plus any live matches that are on when you don’t get there in person you can’t criticise too much.

We want football to always be on our TV yet we complain about the death of Saturday 3pm kick offs.

I’m not a massive traditionalist – truth be told if the Villa announced they were building a new stadium in the city centre I’d welcome not trekking out to Aston. That said I agree that certain things should be sacred – club names, colours etc.

The game should have been put back to allow all of the fans into the ground – we queued at the turnstile and missed the first ten minutes.

But to blame sky for ruining football misses the fundamental point – we all pay for their product and lap it up. If you don’t want football on TV fine – but I do!

We haven’t seen the last of Friday night football and despite the negatives I’m all for it. If only we can win next time so the party can carry on longer.

Editor's note: A big welcome to our latest blogger, Adam Malone. All views are Adam's and I'll definitely be debating some of them with him down the pub.

Match Preview: Crystal Palace v Aston Villa

by Dek Hogan

Who are we playing?
Crystal Palace on Saturday 22nd August at 3pm

Where are we playing?
Selhurst Park,
London,
SE25 6PU.

They love a mosaic at Palace

Can I go?
Not unless you've already got your sticky paws on a ticket. Sold Out.

Easy to get to?
The nearest railway stations are Selhurst or Thornton Heath. It's a ballache to drive to.

Can I watch it on telly?

Saturday 3 o'clocker so not legally no. You need a naughty stream or a pub with a dodgy dish.

Have a little patience

Big game?
Huge.

We need to start building a winning mentality and we won't do that until we sort the forward play out. This needs a lot of work and won't happen overnight but we need to make a start.

We have enough talented forward players now to become unpredictable and difficult to defend against, but some sacrifices may have to be made to achieve this. Can't see Gabby being first choice for long unless he can find a new facet to his game; he needs to, his pace will diminish as he enters his twilight years.

Typical Palace fan

Do Palace boast any famous fans?
Palace are popular with brekkie telly hosts, with both Suzanna Reid and Naga Munchetty being Eagles fans.

Neil Morrissey off of Boon is also a fans as is Kellie Shirley off of EastEnders.

We've got David Bradley off of films and the telly.

So we win.



Who's playing for us?

They grow up so fast these days

Players are still getting to know each other so Tim won't want to shuffle the pack too much as this stage, but he surely must see that the frontline he's started with in the first two games simply doesn't function effectively.

We'd chuck Gestede in and have Libor Kozak waiting in the wings should Rudy running out of steam. We'll have to wait and see whether he chucks Adama straight in but it would surely be worth putting him on the bench.

A few knobheads were suggesting that we'd bought the wrong Ayew. Wrong. He'll work his socks off for the team and things will click soon if he's kept in the side. The highly rated Veretout looks a bit lost at the minute but don't be writing him off just yet. He'll come good.

Who's playing for them?
Palace put together a more than decent squad who can give anyone a game on their day. Yohan Cabaye has been reunited with Alan Pardew and when he is in the right mood, he'll really make them tick.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Palace have beaten us on ten occasions while we have 17 wins. There have been 14 draws.

Brian Godfrey

• Last time we played Palace at their place last December, we won thanks to a Big Chris Benteke goal.

• Our first ever meeting was an FA Cup tie in 1913. We won the third round encounter 5-0 thanks a goal from Joe Bache and two a piece from Harold Halse and Clem Stephenson.

• Our first trip to Selhurst Park was in 1968. We ran out 1-0 winners courtesy of a Brian Godfrey strike.

Prediction
2-1 to us

Report: Villa 0-1 United

Spawny Manchester United took all the points at Villa Park thanks to a lucky deflection and a post.

Nice One @BruceRioch4

Almost forgotten Adnan Januzaj, recalled by Louis van Gaal at the expense of Ashley Young, scored the only goal for the dirty glory hunters, who find themselves at the top of the table until the rest of the weekend's fixtures play out.

Villa had looked lively early doors, backed by a packed Villa Park, despite the traffic nightmare which made travel to he ground a nightmare, but in spite of the best efforts of Ashley Westwood to put United under, the visitors stood resolute in the opening minutes.

Bugger

Juan Mata was always a danger and set up the first clear chance of the game with a lovely through ball for Memphis. However, the Dutchman stumbled and let us off the hook.

United should have gone ahead when a Memphis free kick found Morgan Schneiderlin unmarked, but his header lacked power.

The jammy gits took the lead on 29 minutes as Mata found Januzaj whose right-footed shot deflected off Ciaran Clark and went in off the far post.

As many of the Villa faithful were trooping down the steps in search of a half time pint, we had a massive shout for a penalty as Matteo Darmian got a bit WWE with Micah Richards, but Mike Fucking Dean waved away the howls of Villa protest.

Shout for a pen

There was a decent chance for Ayew after Mata displayed poor distribution  but his resulting effort flew well over the bar. 

Our best chance of an equaliser came early in the second half as Gabby was left with a free header in the United box, but Sergio Romero was able to tip his close-range effort away.

Memphis could have put the game beyond doubt as he was left with only Guzan to beat, but dragged his shot wide.

Tim Sherwood spoke after the game: “The goal was a little bit flukey.

“We left Juan Mata with too much space and Januzaj does very well but they get the deflection which goes for them and then you have an uphill task.

“I thought the boys gave everything for the cause but we didn’t carry enough of an attacking threat unfortunately.

“But many of our new signings are still acclimating to England, let alone the Premier League. It is going to take time but we knew that, they will improve.

“I think we will be OK and alright. I am not too disheartened.

“I don’t take winning on Saturday out of proportion and I don’t think losing tonight to United with a couple of World Cup winners is going to destroy my confidence either.

“When Rudy got on we were a bit obsessed about lumping the ball up to him.

“They took their backline back but there was also a lot of space in front of them and that is where we have to recognise we can pass the ball. There are a lot of things to improve on.”

Barca statement on Adama's move

"El FC Barcelona y el Aston Villa FC han llegado a un acuerdo por el traspaso del jugador Adama Traoré por 10 millones de euros más dos millones de euros en variables.

"El FC Barcelona se reserva un derecho de recompra durante los tres primeros años de contrato del jugador y un derecho de tanteo ante un posible futuro traspaso.

"El Club quiere expresar públicamente el agradecimiento a Adama Traoré por su profesionalidad y dedicación durante todas las temporadas que ha estado en el Club, así como trasladarle los mejores deseos de cara al futuro.

"Cuatro partidos con el primer equipo

"El delantero deja el Club tras 63 partidos oficiales con el Barça B. En la última temporada, firmó tres goles en 37 partidos en Segunda A. Tras pasar por todas las categorías del fútbol base desde el Benjamín A, llegó a jugar cuatro partidos con el primer equipo. Su actuación más destacada fue con el Huesca, contra quién marcó un gol."

and in English:
FC Barcelona and Aston Villa FC have reached an agreement for the transfer of Adama Traore for 10 million euros plus two million more if certain conditions are met.

FC Barcelona reserves the right to buy back the player during the first three years of the player’s contract and also has the right of first refusal for any possible future transfer.

The Club wishes to publicly express its gratitude to Adama Traoré for his professionalism and dedication while with the Club, as well as to wish him all the best in the future.
Four games with the first team

The striker leaves the Club after 63 games with Barça B. Last season he scored three goals in 37 games in the Spanish Second Divison. After coming up through the youth ranks at FC Barcelona, he made four appearances for the first team. His only goal came in the Copa del Rey in a tie against Huesca.

That's Traore! Adama is officially a Villa player.

Aston Villa has finally announced the much reported, much heralded signing of Adama Traore.

The Spanish Under-19 winger completed the move on Thursday with Villa waiting to announce the capture on the day of the Manchester United match.

Villa, who fought off the money bags of Stoke City for Traore's signature, and are reported to have paid £7.5million up front with a further £1million to come based on meeting bonus clauses.

Barcelona are reported to have insisted on first dibs to take him back because they rate him so highly.

Traore scored three goals in 29 starts and eight substitute appearances for Barcelona B in the Spanish second division last term

Tim Sherwood said: "He's someone I have been tracking for a long time.

"He's physically a man - and he has been for some time. He's a big powerful boy, very quick, dynamic and a maverick-type player. Those players are few and far between.

"We're delighted he has chosen Villa to continue his development."

Adama said:"It's an honour for me to come here. It's a club that showed interest in me from the first moment and made me feel important in terms of their project.

"I have spoken to the manager and have a very good impression of him and what he wants from me. All this have made this club my top attraction.

"I would also like to express my gratitude to everyone at FC Barcelona for helping me develop as a player and as a person."

Timmy Time - Timbo's presser: a few quotes

"It's a new era. It will take time to gel - but that's my job"

"They are right to be excited for the future of the club. They are a group of young men. It's up to me to make them excited for the immediate future."

" I expect a tough game as you always do against Man Utd. They have brought in a lot of new players again. We fancy ourselves against them. We fancy ourselves against any team. You have to have that mindset."

" It will be an exciting night for the fans. We have to give them a performance that they deserve. We will leave no stone unturned to do that."

" Carles is not fit. Jack is not fit. Jores is not fit."

On Lerner:

"He doesn't have to talk. He is showing it by his actions that he is willing to back this football club and take us in the correct direction.

"I think a football club is like a player, you're always for sale depending on what someone wants to pay. If someone wants to pay a huge amount of money and Randy decides he wants to sell then it's his decision.

"In the meantime he is not sitting on his hands, he is actively trying to do something to improve this club.

"It's good the club have backed me and it needed change. We have sold a lot of players and we brought in a lot of money. The owner has not put that back in to his pocket, he has reinvested it into the squad."

Westside the latest to pen a five year deal...

Ashley Westwood, sole survivor of the FA Cup Final starting XI in the team that played that faced Bournemouth - has become the latest player to sign a lengthy five year deal.

The 25-year-old has played almost 100 times for Villa since rocking up from Crewe three years ago.

This time, photos showed him using a half decent pen to sign the deal, after Baker and Clark were seen using el cheapo biros.

Westwood trilled: "I am extremely pleased to sign a new contract and commit my future to Aston Villa.

"I was made to feel very welcome from the moment I first walked through the door and I'm very happy at the club.

"I believe I'm now entering what I hope will be the peak years of my career and I look forward to spending them here."

Delighted to have signed a new deal @AVFCOfficial #UTV pic.twitter.com/gNt5HZnPUr

— Ashley Westwood (@ARWesty15) August 12, 2015

An evening with God...

Match Preview: Villa v Manchester United

by Dek Hogan 

Who are we playing?
Manchester United on Friday 14th August 2015.

That's right! A bloody Friday! They are "saying" it's on Friday because of an EDL march. What tosh! The new TV contract from next season includes Friday night games and we are cynically suggesting that the EDL thing is a convenient excuse from them to road test the Friday fixtures.

Jet washed for the new season...

Where are we playing?
Villa Park, you know where it is.

Can I go?
Yep, tickets still on sale (at time of writing).




Easy to get to?
Doddle. Assuming you are not working on Friday night...

Can I watch it on telly?
Sky Sports. If you've not got it, you can get a day pass from NOWTV

French debutant who did well against United

Big game?
Huge.

We've got a terrible record at Villa Park against Manchester United in recent decades. It really is a disgrace, yet despite this sad fact, more Villa fans roll up for this game than any other fixture.

There have been both high and low profile departures and a host of new - mainly French speaking - arrivals and this will be the first chance for those fans who never venture beyond Villa Park to cast their eyes over the new boys.

Ashley Young

Van Gaal has been busy tweaking his squad  and we fully expect United to be much more the force we'd come to expect in the Fergie years as he blends his various talents together.

One player who has certainly re-emerged from the Old Trafford shadows is our old friend Ashley Young. Dogged by injuries since he left the Villa, last season was probably the first time since he left us that he has lived up to his potential.

Timbo has a lot of new faces and it may take some time for him to find the best blend of the talent he now has at his disposal, so let's keep behind the boys and keep positive at Villa Park, give the guys a chance to settle in before we get on their backs for every wayward shot or misplaced pass.

Typical United fan

Do Manchester United have any famous fans?
Well there's Fifty Shades actor Jamie Dornan, Sky News "personality" Eamonn Holmes and Sunita off of Corrie (though apparently she's not in it anymore after she got barbecued by the bloke out of Taggart).

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

So we win.

We've got Rudy, Rudy Gestede in the air, in the air

Who's playing for us?
Could be interesting. The new boys gave decent accounts of themselves but Timbo had to have a rethink after an ineffective first half showing on the south coast.

He had legitimate reasons for not starting Rudy Gestede, but it may prove irresistible to include him now. Who to leave out though? Ayew was withdrawn at Bournemouth but Gabby was so anonymous for large spells that his place must be under threat. Ayew's workrate impresses and we'll need players not scared to put a shift in against United

We may have come to terms with the fact that Scott Sinclair will be magic one week and pants the next...

Who's playing for them?

Memphis

A strangely flat performance from a United side we are tipping for the title but Van Gaal won't make too many changes. As mentioned, Ashley Young remains in the decent form he was in last term and Rooney will always be a threat.

It'll be interesting to run the rule over Memphis and it will be disappointing if Schweinstieger doesn't get on at some stage

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Manchester United have beaten us 96 times while we have 49 wins (just one in the current century though) There have been 40 draws

• You have to go back twenty years for Villa's last win over United at Villa Park. Goals from Ian Taylor, Mark Draper and a Dwight Yorke penalty helped us to a 3-1 win. A young David Beckham came off the bench to score United's consolation.

• Our last win against United was at their place on 12 December 2009. Gabby Agbonlahor got the vital goal. Gabby is the only player from the starting line up that day to remain at the club.

• Joseph Walters ran riot with a hat trick as  Villa demolished United 7-1 on 26th February 1910

• Christian Benteke gave us the lead in this fixture last season but Radamel Falcao broke Holte End hearts with an equaliser.  Gabby Agbonlahor was sent-off after 65 minutes for serious foul play. However, his subsequent claim for wrongful dismissal was upheld and the red card withdrawn.

Prediction
Going for an all action 2-2 draw