The Villa Times - 29/01/2007

Unoial Villa News...

The reserve game against Fulham (originally scheduled for Jan 9) will now be played at the Bescot Stadium on Tuesday February 6.

Luke Moore is pencilled in to make his return to action tonight for the reserves against Chelsea tonight at the Bescot Stadium. Moore has been out since September following shoulder surgery. Moore said recently: 'My shoulder feels good and I'm ahead of schedule. Hopefully I'll be back earlier than people thought.'

Martin Laursen might also feature tonight v Chelsea. Wish these reserve games were at Villa Park, Walsall is too congested at that time of night to make the trip worth it!

19-year-old Stephen O'Halloran has returned from a 3 month loan at Wycombe Wanderers and is now hoping to push for a first team chance. The player, who is set to return to reserve action tonight, said: 'I had a great time at Wycombe and the experience really gave me a taste of first-team football. It also made me appreciate the chance I've got here at Villa. Now I just want to get my head down and play well for the reserves. If I can do that, hopefully I'll catch the manager's eye and then we'll see what happens. Gary Cahill and Liam Ridgewell were in my position not so long ago and look at them now - both regulars in the first-team.'

Juan Pablo Angel isn't sure if he will be seen as surplus to requirements but wants to stay: 'I would like to be part of the new regime, but those things you cannot control. The manager is trying to do an assessment and he knows the players who are going to be here in the future.'

Crystal Palace goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly is rumoured to be a transfer target of Dennis Wise for Leeds United: Vital Leeds Click Here

The Express & Star have said that Alan Smith will frustrate Villa and stay at Old Trafford and fight for his place after being linked to a move this in this weekends press.

Great interview with North-East correspondent on the Magpies v Villa clash: Click Here

Ashley Young was once told he'd not make it as a professional footballer because he was too small. I was once told the same for my porn trade application, not the same thing though really is it? (I sometimes wonder if I have any shame at all!) Young said: 'I was told by Watford that they weren't going to give me the contract I was looking for....I think the reason they didn't want to keep me was that I was quite small at the time. I was a little over five feet tall and they said I wasn't influencing games as well as I could have been. My reaction was to get my head down and work. That was the club I wanted to be at, but I knew I had to turn things around to get my contract.'

John Carew has grown considerably since joining Aston Villa as he says Martin O'Neill makes players feel 10 feet tall: Full article: Click Here

Vital Villa asked how many more players do Villa need to compete for the Champions League. 66% said we needed at least 6 in and a good few exits! 14% said 5 more players would do it and another 14% said 4. 2% said just 3 more players. That left 4% thinking Villa were just two short of the Champions League.

Some reports are linking Lee Hendrie to Blackburn Rovers. Other say Jlloyd Samuel might be given a Premiership lifeline at Bolton Wanderers.

Thought for the day: Trying to raise teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.