The Villa Times - 28/11/2008

Unoial Villa News...

Brad Friedel will beat David James record for the number of consecutive appearances in the Premier League. Assuming Martin O'Neill doesn't bench him (!!!!) Friedel will have played 167 PL games in a row. Full article: Friedel About To Break PL Record

Sometimes you just have to laugh at the stupidity of others. This is one of those times. All football fans, have a laugh at city council leader Mike Whitby. Why? He has suggested the mighty and proud club of Aston Villa should change their name (a name unique in the world of football by the way) to incorporate the name of the city. Hmmm, Aston Villa Birmingham! Full article: Aston Villa Birmingham Name Change LOL

Don't forget you can give your car a rest (and have a beer!) by using the Villa Special Bus services for the game this weekend v Fulham. The club will be operating their Villa Special Bus Service, including six routes, for the important Barclays Premier League match. The Villa Special Bus Service For Saturday

USA international goalkeeper Brad Guzan says he has been surprised at the quality of players at Villa since his arrival last summer. 'Is the Villa team better than I thought? Definitely - and we`re able to get better and better which is important because you want to keep moving up the ladder. You want to keep moving forward and making progress as a club and as a team. It`s been a nice thing to see, us getting results and working our way towards the top. It`s still early in the season, but it`s a good feeling to have that under our belt and to know we`re capable of getting good results.'

According to a couple of the gossip sites Villa are after Ajax striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. The striker, who has been tracked by many teams across Europe, is apparently rated at around £18million. Must admit I can see no substance, no quotes or sources to these articles so hmmmm!

Mark Lawrenson is back on the Aston Villa train having tipped us to lose against Arsenal (wrong) and Manchester United (wrong) he says Villa will be too strong for Fulham this weekend and tips us to win 2-1. Full quotes, latest odds and injury news for the match: Odds On For Villa Win & Lawro Agrees

Ajax will join Villa in the next round of the UEFA Cup after they beat Hamburg. With two wins under our belt we are already fine and dandy with the two remaining games hopefully an exercise in remaining unbeaten and topping the group. Ajax are currently in second place in the table with 6 points from 3 games.

In many ways this is a bit of a non story because Gareth Barry has already said it, but Villa boss Martin O'Neill has confirmed that Bazza will be staying for the rest of the season. Full quotes: O'Neill Confirms That Star Midfielder Is Staying

Gareth Barry quotes from November 21 confirming he is staying: Click Here

Because I am too lazy and Murph has gone globe trotting, here is the Vital Fulham preview... Click Here

Thought for the day: I intend to live forever. So far, so good

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