The Villa Times - 02/06/2008

Unoial Villa News...

Maloney Baloney! According to the players agent, Shaun Maloney - rumoured in the press to be a target for Celtic, Rangers and Sunderland, is going nowhere. John Halliwell, the 25-year-old striker's agent, said in the Daily Record that Martin O'Neill rates him highly and the sooner the player gets settled and fights to get into the first team, the better. Full quotes: Ha! Maloney Baloney!

ASTON VILLA PLAYER Gareth Barry won his 20th cap last night in the 3-0 England win over Trinidad & Tobago and managed to score his first international goal. To add to the joy he took over in the second half as captain as David Beckham was brought off. Meanwhile BBC pundits Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer poured praise on the VILLA PLAYER (!) saying he looked at home in the team and seems to be there to stay. Just shows, with Ashley Young also making an appearance and Gabby Agbonlahor on the bench, you can be at Villa AND make the England team. Think on Gareth before you make a jump to a club in turmoil! Full quotes from Barry and Hansen: Gareth Barry - Captain Of Club & Country

18 year-old Bosnian starlet Miralem Pjanic says he rejected a move to Aston Villa when agreeing a transfer to Lyon. Pjanic told Le Figaro 'I had requests from abroad, including Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Aston Villa and Fiorentina, but I wanted to stay in France.'

Academy boss Bryan Jones says that Gabby Agbonlahor should be seen as a role model for the Villa youth to see that you can go from the Acadamy all the way into the first team and get international recognition. He told the official site: 'His progress just shows the worth of the staff at the club in many ways - the youth coaches and the part-time schoolboy coaches. They persevered with Gabby because he was nowhere near a finished product at 14 and 15. The work that both he and the coaches put in was immense and that's a real credit to the player and the set-up.' Adding, 'Gabby's desire to succeed is another lesson for younger players coming through. His commitment when he hasn't got the ball has improved 100 per cent and I think that shows how the desire is just as important as the ability.'

Curtis Davies believes that Villa are close to breaking into the top four of the Premiership. The player, who should soon be officially a permanent Villa player as it appears the loan was a done deal to make him ours for a pre-agreed fee with West Brom said: 'At one point we were very close last season. The turning point would have been if we had managed to hold on and beat Liverpool at their place when Peter Crouch scored late on and it finished 2-2.' Adding that although teams like Liverpool have far more depth 'There is a massive gulf between us in that respect but we gave it a good go with what we had and I feel that we are not too far away from snatching that fourth spot. I know a lot is made in the media that it is impossible to get into the top four but it is down to the team who aren't in it to work harder and get the better players in to work towards it.'

Thought for the day: My wife and I divorced on religious grounds. She thought she was Gods gift and I didn't.

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