"Football is fickle." Butch Wilkins

"Football is fickle." Wilkins concedes @AVFCOfficial's sacking of Tim Sherwood and himself was "inevitable". #avfc https://t.co/sP8CHGx8Zd

— Fletch And Sav (@FletchAndSav) October 31, 2015

Match Preview: Spurs v Villa

by Dek Hogan

Who are we playing?
Tottenham Hotspur on Monday 2nd November at 3pm

Where are we playing?
Bill Nicholson Way
748 High Road
Tottenham
London N17 0AP

Can I go? £36 a pop, but they didn't give us many.
Easy to get to?
London? On a Monday night? Not especially.

Can I watch it on telly
Sky Sports MNF so we'll get loads of pontificating from the likes of Gary Neville.
Big game?
Huge. They are ALL HUGE from here on in.

KMac didn't win friends and influence people with his first team selection down at Southampton. However the team he picked dominated an admittedly weakened Southampton side, certainly for the majority of the first 45 minutes.

However, we still managed to lose and never used our spells of possession to create that much in the way of viable chances.

No point wringing our hands over KMac's selections, he'll be out of the hot seat before you know it. However, a defeat against Spurs on Monday night will leave us THIRTEEN POINTS adrift from our pitiful haul of points last year (if you compare like for like matches).

We can't wait for the new bloke to be installed. The rot HAS to stop. Right now!

Typical Spurs fan

Do Spurs boast any famous fans?
Well there's Marina Sirtis out of Star Trek and Lord Sugar off of The Apprentice

We've got Tom Hanks

So we win.

Who's playing for us?

Gawd knows but we'd hope the improving Ayew gets the chance to flourish. Kieran Bloody Richardson will probably start again. Pity.

Who's playing for them
Harry Kane is creeping back to form while our old mate Kyle Walker has also refound his mojo.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• We've beaten Spurs on 56 occasions while they have 69 wins over us. There have been 35 draws.

• Our - as it turned out vital - victory at White Hart Lane last season ended a run of six straight defeats against the London club, including a 4-0 drubbing in the League Cup.

• Chris Benteke scored the solitary goal in last season's victory, while Carlos Sanchez picked up his second yellow card in the fourth minute of injury time in the second half and was sent off.

Prediction
3-1 to Spurs

Micah puts his hands up to FA misconduct charge

Aston Villa defender Micah Richards admits to FA charge of misconduct after incident in tunnel after Swansea game....

Villa skipper Richards had until 6pm on Thursday to reply to the charge and opted against an appeal (or was too busy watching Pointless).

Micah Richards has been charged with improper conduct

Aston Villa’s Micah Richards has been charged with improper conduct after it all kicked off in the tunnel at the end of the game against Swansea City on Saturday .

He has until 6pm on Thursday to reply.


The FA also looked at a coming together involving Richards and Swansea’s Federico Fernandez in the 30th minute which was not seen by the ref and his cohorts but was caught on video.

On this occasion, the panel did not find that either player had committed an act of violent conduct, therefore, no further action will be taken.

Tim Sherwood Statement

“I am very disappointed that I will not be able to carry on in my role as manager of Aston Villa.

"I knew when I took on the role that it would be a big challenge, but it proved to be one I greatly enjoyed and I know I have learned a lot from this experience.

"Obviously, the initial priority was to stay in the Premier League, but beating Liverpool in the FA Cup semi at Wembley and then leading the team out for the Final was an achievement and experience that I will treasure for the rest of my career.

“I’d like to thank my coaching staff and the staff throughout the club for their dedication, the Villa fans for their passionate support and the players, who gave everything during my time at the club.

"I wish the club all the best for the rest of the season and indeed for the future.”

Tim Sherwood

Remi Garde? Oui or Non?

Remi Garde in the frame for Villa job

Ex Lyon manager Remi Garde is in the frame for the hot seat at Aston Villa following Tim Sherwood’s axing  this morning, according to Canal +.

Remi Garde has been out of work since his time at OL, which ended at the end of the 2013/2014 campaign.

Garde was in the running for the Newcastle job upon the departure of Alan Pardew last season and was interested in taking the job from Carver in the summer, but the Geordie club opted for Steve McClaren instead.

Remi Garde has been offered the vacant Aston Villa head coach position #avfc

— Igor Mladenović (@Mladenovic_) October 25, 2015

Match Preview: Southampton v Aston Villa

by Dek Hogan

Who are we playing?
Southampton on Wednesday 28th October at 3pm

Where are we playing?
St Mary's Stadium
Britannia Road, Southampton,
Hampshire
SO14 5FP

Can I go?
Villa's allocation of tickets has now sold out.

Easy to get to?
Off the M3 take A33 into Southampton. Continue on the A33 until the junction with A3024 Northam Road and turn left onto this road towards Northam. Then turn right onto the B3038, Britannia Road for the stadium. Parking is a bitch though.

Can I watch it on telly
Not picked by Sky Sports so you'll need a stream, which is not always guaranteed for cup games.

Big game?
Huge.

We are absolutely useless in the league, so we might as well have some fun in the cup while we can. With no league match until the following Monday, we could probably afford to field our best side here, if we only had a manager that knew what that was. If only we had a manager...

On the other side of the coin, maybe we could field a few players that have been discarded to give them a chance to show what they can do. Veretout was starting to look the part before he was inexplicably dropped altogether, most of us would welcome Amavi back into the team with open arms and whatever ypu think of Scottie Sinclair, he knows where the goal is.

Jores Okore must be chomping at the bit for some first team action by now and this might be the ideal opportunity to give Gary Gardner some game time.

If we are going to cause an upset here though (how sad that we've fallen so far that beating Southampton would be an upset) our best opportunity would be to unleash the force of nature that is Adama.

Lucy

God knows who'll start though and at this stage who'll be picking the team. Kevin Mac looks to be the last man standing.

Do Southampton boast any famous fans?
Well there's the drummer out of Coldplay and Lucy Pinder who is famous for...

We've got Ian Bell.

So we win.

Who's playing for us?

Gawd knows but surely Bunn gets a start.

Who's playing for them
We assume Koeman will rotate.


Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• We faced Southampton in the League Cup just the once in 1999, winning 4-0 thanks to goals from Steve Watson and Julian Joachim and two from Dion Dublin.

• Sadio Mane battered us with a rapis hatitrick last season setting up the Saints for a crushing 6-1 win.

Prediction
3-1 to Southampton

Tim Sherwood SACKED

Aston Villa have sacked manager Tim Sherwood after a poor start to the Premier League season.

Ray Wilkins and Seamus Brady also get the boot.

The club are second from bottom in the league having picked up just four points in the opening ten games, losing 2-1 at home against Swansea on Saturday.

Sherwood only arrived at Villa Park in February, helping them to survival last season.

David Moyes and Brendan Rodgers are the favourites to replace Sherwood at Aston Villa.

Kevin MacDonald will take temporary charge of first-team affairs.

Club Statement: 

Aston Villa Football Club has parted company with manager Tim Sherwood today.

The Board has monitored the performances closely all season and believes the results on the pitch were simply not good enough and that a change is imperative.

However, the Club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Tim for all his efforts during a difficult period last season and for the many positive contributions he has made to the entire football setup during his time with the Club. We wish him well in the future.

Assistant manager Ray Wilkins, first-team coach Mark Robson and performance analyst Seamus Brady have also left with immediate effect and do so with our best wishes.

A search for a new manager has commenced and the squad will be managed in the interim by Kevin MacDonald.

There will be no further comment from the Club at this stage.

Match Preview: Aston Villa v Swansea City

by Dek Hogan 

Who are we playing?
Swansea City on Saturday 24th October 2015

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

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. We've got a shiny new station at New Street if you are getting the train in. With ticket barriers.

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.

"I'm gonna keep swinging until it works" Tim Sherwood

Big game?
Huge.

Losing has become a habit now. Last time we won a league match at Villa Park? May 9th. Far too bloody long.

The fact that we have only taken points from newbies Bournemouth and the woeful Sunderland speaks volumes and the root of the problem is the erratic management of Mister Tim Sherwood.

Kieran

Chelsea was a case in point, dropping fan favourite Amavi, one of the plus points of this season, and replacing him with Kieran Richardson seems like a truly strange decision. He also persisted with the hapless Lescott and he keeps picking Rudy Gestede and then failing to pick the personnel or formation to provide him with crosses he needs to be effective.

It's quite simple, Tim has lost the fucking plot and it's difficult to see a way back from here.

Many media pundits will blame the quality of the squad but these are not bad players by any stretch of the imagination but it's vital that we get back to basics, at least while they are developing as a unit.

Battering ram

The irony at Stamford Bridge was that for the first half at least, we were the better side. Chelsea's overpaid primadonnas  looked as though they couldn't give a shit and, in marked contrast to the Liverpool match, we pressed the opposition on the ball. What we lacked was an end product.

Monk

Gestede is more of a battering ram than a cultured striker. We need someone who can hold the ball up so that we can frighten teams with Gil and Grealish bombing on. Someone like, say, the ostracised Libor Kozak could do it brilliantly, if he were to ever get a run in the side.

Perhaps he doesn't train well but Timbo should realise that some great players save their best for the stadiums rather than the training ground.

Swansea are never a push over and we've only beaten once in eight Premier League attempts. Garry Monk has a well organised team and it's difficult to see anything else but an away win here.

Games against Spurs and Manchester City loom.

Typical Swansea City fan

We really are right in the shit.

Do Stoke City have any famous fans?

Not really, unless we count Catherine Zeta Jones, who used to be famous.

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

So we win.

Tim's team selection secret

Who's playing for us?
No doubt Tim will get his bingo machine out to pick the team again. Brad Guzan has become a liability now and if Bunn isn't good enough to replace him then what the hell did we sign him for.

Quite how Ashley Westwood gets selected every week is a complete mystery. We can only assume he is in possession of incriminating photographs of his manager...

If Lescott starts, it'll be tempting to deaf out the match altogether and stay in the pub.

Who's playing for them?

Possibly Andre Ayew so brace yourself for loads of "we signed the wrong brother" tweets. Swansea are without a win since the end of August, so Gylfi Sigurdsson will be pushing for a first team start as Monk tries to recapture a winning formula.

Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

• Swansea City have beaten us 7 times while we have 15 wins. There have been 3 draws.

• We've lost the last three on the bounce to the visitors, last season at Villa Park a Bafetimbi Gomis goal did for us.

• Our only Premier League victory over The Swans came in September 2012, goals from Matt Lowton and Big Chris Benteke seeing us win 2-0.

• Prior to that you have to go all the way back to September 1982 for a Villa win, Allan Evans and Dennis Mortimer the scorers in a 2-0 triumph.

Prediction
Going for a dull 2-1 Swansea City win.

Columnist Collymore booted by Villa hierarchy

Stan Collymore will no longer be writing a column in the matchday programme:

He revealed this in a lengthy explanation via Twitlonger:


"After 6 years of doing an official Aston Villa programme column, today I've been notified by the club that they no longer wish me to continue due to my support of Tim Sherwood and fierce criticism of the ownership and club structure.

"The club felt is essence that it would be inappropriate for me to write positively in a column whilst being critical on air or in a newspaper.

"The column I have written for 6 years was at no charge to Aston Villa, but the club kindly gave me 4 or 5 tickets a season for games. I've asked for two which the club kindly have given for the Swansea game.

"I am firstly a broadcaster, and a broadcaster who treats every club in the country the same. So if ownership is letting fans down, as proven last night on perhaps the only football show in the country which actually addresses issues rather than ignore them or pretend they don't exist, we debate them and criticise or praise where necessary.

"This has and always must be my objective as a broadcaster, to treat Aston Villa the same as any club. I do and I will.

"On the watch of Mr Lerner, and laterly Tom Fox as Chief Executive, and Paul Faulkner before him, the club I have supported since childhood have become the laughing stock of the Premier League. This, Englands 4th most successful football club.

"So do I pretend on sir everything is great? Or do I broadcast justifiable criticism alongside one of the best in the business, Mark Saggers, echoing the concerns of a huge fanbase, as they come to terms with a 6th year of complete and utter dross on the pitch, and ineptitude of the highest order off it?


"I met Tom Fox in the summer and said to his face that I wanted to do anything, anything to help my club moving forward. Get on a plane, train, in a car, watch players, report back, anything to help my club.

"A smile , a coffee and a patronising " we'll call you" came and went. At the same time Aston Villa were employing a marketing man, that's a marketing man as Director of Football. And we wonder why we are in the mess we are in. Industry professionals ignored when offering help, a man who can put a glossy Arsenal pitch together made Director of Football at my club.

"The line is drawn now for me. It took an embarrassed Rob Bishop, programme editor and friend for over 18 years to tell me over the phone that my column had ended "for now", but in reality for good.

"I believe this treatment is symptomatic of how Villa fans generally are treated by the current owner , with disdain.

"I will now join fan groups and individuals actively looking to other potential owners to come in swiftly and hasten change at Aston Villa Football Club.

"Mr Lerner, Tom a Fox, the current Director of Football and technical staff are not fit for purpose. They all should go, now.

"As for Tim Sherwood, he gets my unequivocal support and should get the same from every Villa fan. He really could have had no idea what mess he was coming into or some of the major decisions that he would have no hand in. An incredibly tough job.

"I'll walk into Villa Park soon with chest puffed out as a fan or broadcaster. It's my club and I was here before this current ownership, firstly in the Doug Ellis stand aged 6, then on the pitch aged 27, then in the broadcast booth aged 35. I'm going nowhere.

"Our great club will be back, but only with new ownership. So please Mr Lerner, instead of petty sackings of columnists who tell the truth about our club, please sell up and go. "

Joe Cole buggers off to Coventry on loan

Joke Hole

Coventry City have agreed a deal to sign Aston Villa midfielder Joe Cole on a 35-day emergency loan deal.

City manager Tony Mowbray said: "I'm delighted to welcome such a high-calibre player to the club.

"Joe has a great pedigree, both on the domestic and international stage, and I'm sure he'll have a fantastic impact during his time at the club.

"I've met with Joe and he has watched us play several times this season. He likes the way we play the game and because of that, he has shown a real enthusium to come and play for the club.

"He's a player who will give us another option in the forward areas and I'm sure the squad are looking forward to working with him.

"We've got plenty of games coming up which will be crucial to us maintaining our early-season form and I'm looking forward to seeing Joe in action for the Sky Blues."

Steer signs new Villa deal

Jed

Jed Steer has signed a new contract with Villa and extended his loan spell at Huddersfield.

Steer, joined Villa from Norwich in June 2013, and has signed a new deal keeping him with Villa until the summer of 2019. well, we say "with Villa", he spends most if his time off on loan.

He moved to Huddersfield on an emergency loan in September and has played five times for the Yorkshire club. His stay is extended until November 11.

''I am delighted to commit my future here at Villa.

"It's a fantastic place to be - but I am also enjoying getting regular football at Huddersfield Town too.

"It's been good for my football education. Today's been a good day and I'm focused on pushing forward now."

Match Preview: Chelsea v Aston Villa

by Dek Hogan

Who are we playing?
Chelsea on Saturday 17th October at 3pm

Where are we playing?
Chelsea Football Club,
Stamford Bridge,
Fulham Road,
London,
SW6 1HS

Can I go?
Not unless you've already got your sticky paws on a ticket. Sold Out our allocation: 1,446 Tickets, despite rip off prices (even after subsidy).

Easy to get to?
Not as easy as usual...

On London Underground, the District line is closed between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road, and between Earl's Court and Kensington Olympia. The Circle line is closed between Hammersmith and Tower Hill (via Edgware Road), while the Hammersmith & City line is shut between Edgware Road and Barking.

On the Metropolitan line, there is no service between Baker Street and Aldgate.
On the DLR, there is no service between Canning Town and Stratford International.


Can I watch it on telly
Saturday 3 o'clocker so you'll need a pub with a dodgy dish or a decent internet feed.

Big game?
Huge.

Microscope

In comparable games we are already TEN points short of last season and right in the shite.

After the dire way Tim set his team up at Liverpool then the inexplicably bizarre team selection in the home game at Stoke, Mister Sherwood's managerial credentials are right under the microscope.

He seems to think that the players at his disposal are the problem. They are not. There is definitely quality there.

No, the issue is that you are NEVER going to get a new group of players to gel if constantly tinker with both your formation and your tactics, substitute players who are doing well in key roles and drop players after they have turned in a decent performance.

Tim is guilty of all these things. Where is the brash young firebrand that shook up Paul Lambert's losers and wrestled some decent results out of them? Can it all have just been new manager bounce?

It's true that the wheels were starting to come off towards the end of last season but things seem much worse now, much worse in fact since Ray Square Ball Wilkins arrived. No wonder Westwood keeps getting selected if old Square Ball has any say.

We face a Chelsea side in very unfamiliar circumstances and Jose Mourinho's halo has certainly become tarnished of late.

Just like Timbo, he is blaming everyone but himself. With tensions running so high for both managers, don't be at all surprised to see a massive technical area bust up. It's almost inevitable.

Typical Chelsea Fan

Why are Chelsea so terrible this season? We reckon Doctor Eva has put a curse on them.

Do Chelsea boast any famous fans?
Well there's Geri Halliwell out of the Spice Girls and spiky haired dude Billy Idol out of Generation X.

We've got Ian Bell.

So we win.

Who's playing for us?

Only Tactics Tim knows that. We've gotta hope that everyone has come through international duty unscathed. Lescott has now been binned off early on two occasions so his place must be under threat as Crespo and the recovering Okore add to defensive options.

Gestede seems to be a must due to Sherwood's refusal to allow Kozak any game time as he seeks to rehabilitate after a long term injury.

If he brings N'Zogbia back, we'll know he's panicking.

Who's playing for them
What will Jose do to turn this around? He has mounds of talent at his disposal. What he's probably lacking is workhorses. What he wouldn't give for a Frank Lampard type of player now...




Any useless stats?
Of course, here you go:

Albert Hall

• Chelsea have beaten us on 59 occasions while we have 57 wins.  There have been 34 draws.

• We got battered 3-0 in this one last season, goals from Oscar, Diego Costa and Willian doing the damage.

• Our first visit to Stamford Bridge was way back on 25th April 1908 and we ran out 3-1 winners thanks to a brace from Albert Hall (I kid you not) and one from Joe Bache.

• Our last win at Chelsea was on New Years Eve 2011. Chelsea had gone ahead thanks to a Drogba penalty but Stephen Ireland soon equalised and late goals from Stan Petrov and Darren Bent saw us take all the points.

Prediction
3-1 to Chelsea

Gary Gardner is back...

My goal yesterday #utv #22 #imback #avfc! pic.twitter.com/XebO4wf6wz

— Gary Gardner (@22Gards) October 9, 2015

Benji Siegrist on loan to Solihull Moors

Benji Siegrist is off on loan to Solihull Moors as he tries to kick start his career after injury.

Moors' first-choice keeper Danny Lewis was crocked last weekend and Siegrist will go straight into their squad for Saturday's FA Cup third round qualifier against Worcester City.

Moors manager Marcus Bignot was chuffed with the loan deal. It is unusual for a player at a top club to be loaned out so far down the food chain.

"Obviously the injury to Danny Lewis is not ideal however to be able to bring in such a well respected and talented replacement is fantastic for the club," said Bignot

"For the Moors this is a big step in the loan market, we have been in talks with clubs about some top end Academy goalkeepers and this shows where the club has come in being able to attract such a talented individual."