The Week In Villa #10 (24/10/08 - 30/10/08)

Friday, 24th October

Martin O`Neill praises up Heskey as the build-up to Wigan continues. No rest for the wicked, eh! On what should be a day of celebration after the Ajax game, it`s all about business. Damn right, too.

The only downside to the previous night is that Gabriel Agbonlahor is potentially injured for Sunday.

Saturday, 25th October

So apparently John Carew has been a naughty boy… Well, my philosophy on things like that is that they are probably not as bad as they are reported, and we`re all allowed to make mistakes; Paul McGrath, anyone?

Sunday, 26th October

Your writer went to Wigan, and thoroughly enjoyed the day out. I had been enjoying myself anyway but a 4-0 win away is a damn good time in anyone`s book!

I guess the score-line flattered us but we were definitely good for the win. Sure they had a few chances from set-pieces but the fact of the matter is we were the better side overall. Titus Bramble helped us out by going to ground when he didn`t need to and Gabby got a bit lucky (although some may argue about a striker being in the right place at the right time) for the second. The third and the fourth were crackers though, and I was delighted for Steve Sidwell in particular.

The Wigan fans, by the way, are the worst I have ever seen. No banter, no nothing. Understandable at 3 & 4-0, but even at 0-0 they were horrendously quiet and even had absolutely no response to our standard digs. On the flip side of that… they do a bloody good pie ;-)

Monday, 27th October

John Carew is in the headlines, what with him scoring and the lap-dancing incident that was reported only 48 hours previous. Martin O`Neill says the incident is dealt with, so may that be the end of it.

Oh, and Wayne Routledge is linked to Wolves. Again.

Tuesday, 28th October

Such is the way with us at the moment; attention turns to the next game, which is Blackburn tomorrow. Preparations are held at Villa Park. Sadly I could not attend. Did anyone go? Was it good?

Gareth Barry is an injury worry for the game. Which brings up the question, if he is out, do we go with Carew or Sidwell?

Wednesday, 29th October

It doesn`t matter, as Barry was fit to play and scored. Luke Young got his first Villa goal, and Gabby Agbonlahor got the winner with a top-class finish. Blackburn were the better side for a while, and took the lead through a nice goal from Steven Warnock. But once we went 2-1 up and they had to come at us, we started playing on the counter and the game suited us much more. Brett Emerton scored a corking consolation goal from a free-kick in injury time.

Martin O`Neill suggests it was our best win of the season. In some ways, I agree. Winning when we`re not playing well is a trait that will stand us in good stead, and will hopefully see us pip Arsenal into 4th. We probably wont, but this season seems as good a chance as we may ever well get, and if we can get our foot in that Champions League door, well, who knows what we can achieve…

Thursday, 30th October

On a quiet news day, Sir Alex Ferguson echoes my sentiments that we do have the potential to break the top four.

A Monday night test at the improving Newcastle United may well go some way to proving me right or wrong…

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