The Villa Times - 08/11/2007

Unoial Villa News...

On loan defender Curtis Davies has spoken of his frustrations since joining Villa and his experience of warming the bench. The England U21 defender, who is on loan from West Bromwich Albion with a permanent deal at the end of the season, said 'It has been frustrating - I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to pretend I'm delighted with the situation but it is one of those things you have to deal with in football.' Full article: Curtis Davies Having To Bide Time

Villa v Blues in pictures in the Express & Star: Click Here

More on the O'Neill v Ridsdale argument on Vital Celtic. I would paraphrase but to be honest, I've lost interest! Click Here

Vital Villa asked who is the best Aston Villa keeper of the last 25 years. Mark Bosnich won with 42%. Jimmy Rimmer 30% and Nigel Spink 17%. Full results: Click Here

Olof Mellberg says that despite an uninspiring performance against Derby County last weekend, the players know the importance of the local derby and that the team can step up a gear. He told Lisa Smith at the Birmingham Post: '...am I confident for the Birmingham game? Yes, definitely.' Full article: Mellberg Confident Of Villa Win

Martin O'Neill has said the local derby is 'special'. With Villa visiting St Andrews on Sunday in the first of the blood baths, I mean local derbies, he told the posh new official site: 'Treating it like any other game I suppose is easier said than done. It is a special game and I also think it deserves its place, so it probably isn't just 'any other game'. When the dust settles there are three points up for offer, so from that sense it is like any other, but obviously it isn't because it is very important to the people of both clubs. To go and win the game, whether it is home or away, I just think that having been involved in other city derbies, this is very much a special thing. So there is no point in playing it down.' Full article including quotes from Petrov + news that John Carew and Ashley Young should be fit: O'Neill On 'Special' Game

David Gold continues to make a mountain out of a pig stye or is that a mole hill, I forget! What an absolute delight he must be. No wonder half the Blues fans can't tolerate the people that run their club. Not content to let the matter lie after all his nonsense of reducing ticket prices only to rip off the Villa boys with a £45.00 ticket price for the local derby next Sunday, he now has once again blasted General Charles Krulak for his 'pig in mud' comments. Randy Lerner said earlier in the week that the General had apologised for the misunderstanding but Gold, showing the sort of bad grace we all expect from him, told the Birmingham Mail 'To be honest, what this General wrote to me was not an apology but a load of waffle,' Full article: David Gold Wallows In The Mud.

Martin Laursen soared into the top 10 of the Actim Index, the official player ratings system of the Barclays Premier League, following another dominant display against Derby. The Denmark defender, 30, scored his third goal of the season in the 2-0 victory over the Rams at Villa Park. His 33 point-haul - his best at home this term - saw him move 14 places to ninth in the Index with 186 points. He also won our man of the match vote for Villa v Derby with 53%. Stiliyan Petrov came second (yes, I know!) with 24%. Full results: Click Here

Vital Villa fantasy league standings: Click Here

Villa reserves beat the Spurs stiffs 3-1 with Moustapha Salifou once again impressing: Click Here

Thoughts for the day: 'Two peanuts were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-salted' and 'I used to be a tap dancer until I fell in the sink.'

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