Aston Villa News 24/7Writer: AstonVillaFC 
Date:Wednesday February 25 2009
Time: 9:55AM
UK time is: 15:50:02
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
Squad v CSKA Moscow
Squad v CSKA Moscow
I am once again baffled. Last time it was Ashley Young's absence from the England starting 11, and now it is our squad for the game on Thursday.
Lets not forget that this is a tournament that we toiled for entry into all season long last year. And then after narrowly missing out, began our season a month early to gain entry via the Intertoto cup. Now we are
risking elimination from it by fielding a weakened side. Why oh why have we been subjected to such a hoorah about finally regaining a place in Europe, where we belong if we are prepared to, possibly, give it up so easily!? Why did the club give out thousands of flags to create a European atmosphere for a trophy which it clearly doesn't value!?
I am not blind, I too can see that we have appeared jaded in recent games, but as I am constantly told by my mates at uni 'There is plenty of time to rest when your dead!!'. If we don't seize opportunities to try and gain silverware because the players are tired then I think something is wrong. These are young blokes at the peak of physical fitness, and in my opinion fatigue should be no excuse. We may not have the biggest squad, but thanks to MON we do have some quality replacements, and there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to play another 20 games tops, which would take us to glory in the UEFA and to the pot at the end of the rainbow, I mean the Champions League!
Now to get away from all this pessimism (I know it is hard. We are, after all ,Villa fans!). We have given ourselves a reasonable chance of proceeding, even with a weakened side. The young lads have a chance to step up and I for one have seen enough quality there to think that maybe, just maybe, we can still do it!
Now all that's left to say is COME ON THE VILLA, we can still do it, and if we fail we lets not go quietly! :o)
AstonVillaFC
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Monaco
For the very latest Premier League odds
Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.
Your Comments
If the excuse is that they are tired then they are not fit enough in the first place!! They play 90 minutes a week and train 4 or 5 times a week for a couple of hours in the morning ffs!
nottinghamvillain
so we can get in the top 4 for crying out loud. its pretty obvious
ric112
Everyone is banging on about our squad not being big enough yet we are still sending out enough players to Moscow! Yes it's not the same quality as the likes of Man U but what do people expect in only a few years under MON. Personally I like the way we have bought in a few players at a time to bed them in and slowly improve. It's a squad game these days and MON is simply using the squad he has
Roll on Champions League next season
2fishinatank
Anyone read the Mellberg article on BBC Sport - he says how he got loads of free time when at Villa. I thought this was due to rarely being in Europe with Villa but no - he says he still talks to Laursen weekly and they compare their days off and he is still not getting enough. Olof says he has had two days off since Christmas. Players tired my arse. Suck it up lads and earn your money. Take a break now but any less than 100% v Stoke on Sunday and a CONVINCING win will do.
deano.avfc
Some quotes from Olly: "When we travel to away games, he'll (Ranieri) be very clear on how he wants the defence to work. I wouldn't call it homework but we'll work on the opposition. We work more on tactics than we did at Aston Villa."
deano.avfc
This is the one that worries me ________________________________________________________
"I think I've had two days off since Christmas so I just tend to relax with my family when I have spare time," he says.
"We train a lot here. We have a lot more sessions than I did at Villa. I can only compare with Aston Villa, but I got more days off in the Premier League.
"I speak to Villa captain Martin Laursen almost every week, he's my best friend, and it's good to compare with him the days we're in and the days we are off.
"I guess it's part of being at a big club and I knew that before I came here. If we're not playing a game then we're preparing for the next one.
"We don't necessarily train harder than I did at Villa but we're at the club more often. We come in and recover. I didn't have as many games at Villa so I had more time off."
deano.avfc
Doesn't particularly concern me, the coaches clearly know what they are doing. Is it just me who thinks that the club is sending out major mixed signals about how highly they value this competition? I mean the flags and the fuss about been back in Europe one week and then the next we have half the junior team flying out to Moscow. Very confusing!
AstonVillaFC
We have about as much chance as another English team did in the Crimean War.... This is a re-run of the charge of the light brigade!
villa_de
Nice analogy! ha If this is the case then who is volunteering to write a very nice poem about the game!? :D
AstonVillaFC
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
The Vital Villa Player Of The Season Is... (Thursday May 23 2013)
Bumper Transfer News - SOME Inward! (Thursday May 23 2013)
New Contracts? Better Deals? It's Only Money!! (Thursday May 23 2013)
Petrov Delighted With Assistant Coach Role (Wednesday May 22 2013)
Broadcasting Revenue For AVFC For 2012/13 Season (Wednesday May 22 2013)
N'Zogbia Exit And £5m Given To Keeper? (Wednesday May 22 2013)
Villa's Pre Season Schedule (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Vlaar Pleased With First Good Touch Of The Game (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Villa Season Ticket Help Sessions (Tuesday May 21 2013)
They Think It's All Over - Not Yet - Soccer Sevens (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | Pride of Lions | 997 |
| 2. | The Fear | 766 |
| 3. | BodyButter | 502 |
| 4. | kefkat | 409 |
| 5. | CDX_EIRE | 328 |
| 6. | ClivetheVillan | 304 |
| 7. | Villan57 | 244 |
| 8. | thefacehead | 241 |
| 9. | DeanoVilla | 230 |
| 10. | James06 | 198 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Wigan | 2 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 2 | Chelsea |
| Norwich | 1 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 6 | - | 1 | Sunderland |
| Man Utd | 3 | - | 0 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 1 | Fulham |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 12. Fulham | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | -10 | 43 |
| 13. Stoke | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | -11 | 42 |
| 14. Southampton | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | -11 | 41 |
| 15. Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | -22 | 41 |
| 16. Newcastle | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | -23 | 41 |
| 17. Sunderland | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | -13 | 39 |
| 18. Wigan | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | -26 | 36 |
Breaking League News
| Transfer Targets: Potential summer signings - P1
» Reading : 23/05/2013 13:35:00
|
| Liverpool: May's Player Of The Month
» Liverpool : 23/05/2013 13:28:00
|
| Martinez back in as favourite
» Everton : 23/05/2013 13:25:00
|
| Turkish Striker Interest Registered!
» Chelsea : 23/05/2013 13:07:00
|
| Match Day Moments - Man City (USA)
» Chelsea : 23/05/2013 13:06:00
|
| Mourinho Arrives at Chelsea in £50 Million Deal
» Chelsea : 23/05/2013 13:04:00
|
| Chelsea - Rooney Is Leaving United!
» Chelsea : 23/05/2013 13:03:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|
1 © - All content copyright Vital Network Ltd, not to be reproduced without explicit permission Copyright Issues
Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.