The Week In Villa (9... and 10)

Okay, so last week this was missing. We`re just going to do a fortnight this week, it`ll be fine, no-one will notice. Don`t tell Fear though. Ah man, everyone shush, he`s round the corner, I can hear the Darth Vader music…

Wednesday, 26th September

The aftermath of the Man City victory means there is a good feeling sweeping through the majority of the fans and the club. The fact that we lost 4-1 to Southampton just a few days before has escaped the opti`s but not the negi`s. Of course as I constantly keep saying, the truth of situations are usually in the grey areas but hey, if we were all level-headed, how would we know who the idiots are?

We draw Swindon in the next round. James Collins (no, not that bloke. Why would you even ask, you KNOW he plays for West Ham. Jeez) plays for them and knows where the goal is. Obviously let`s hope that if he gets his goal, it`s nothing but a consolation!

Thursday, 27th September

Attentions start to turn to the Albion game. Paul Lambert talks about Gabby needing consistency, we make noise about keeping the good feeling going after our surprise away win against a still-strong-despite-not-being-their-best-side Man City, and Albion make noises about their surprise home defeat to a youthful Liverpool side.

Friday, 28th September

See yesterday. Except less Gabby talk.

Saturday, 29th September

I`ve said this before, but Saturday`s without the Villa suck.

Sunday, 30th September

We battle to a draw against the Baggies. Villa fans (including me) think we should have won, Baggies fans think they should have won. I suppose that probably means it should have been a draw.

Darren Bent was dropped but given the Man City result, that can`t be surprising. He came on and scored, that`s not really surprising either.

Oh and clearly his clause that he must start every game isn`t just for league games either. It doesn`t exist. Nonsense forgotten, thank god for that!

Monday, 1st October

So Darren Bent is upset that Paul Lambert didn`t tell him he was in the team until he was announcing it to everyone.

Here is what I think:

People are going on about Bent and his ego, but modern day footballers have egos and need to be managed, get over it. So yeah, Lambert should have had a quick word beforehand. Something like, "Look mate, you`re a top talent but we had a great result in the week, and these players deserve another chance. Keep working hard, you`ll be back in before you know it". But he didn`t, and to me that`s a mistake.

On the flip side, the hypocrisy of Bent using the media to complain about someone not speaking to him in public is just ridiculous.
Six of one and all that, punch each other on the arm and move on fellas!

On to the younger folk and the U-21`s drew 3-3 with Spurs. Jordan Bowery apparently played well, scoring one and setting up Graham Burke for another. The Spurs goalkeeper apparently gifted Samir Carruthers for our other goal. Wouldn`t it be nice if that happened with the first team on Sunday?!

Tuesday, 2nd October

Andreas Weimann gets his first senior call-up for Austria. Well done him!

Wednesday, 3rd October

Next in the cult heroes series is Kent Nielsen. He signed with Paul McGrath and was part of a really good Villa side in 89-90, a particular favourite of mine as it was my first as a season ticket holder. The only issue with that season is that we were 27 points ahead with 18 games in hand before losing the title race to Liverpool. That *may* be an exaggeration, but good grief did we ever throw the league away that season!

(In one of my modern football is rubbish rants, I would like to add that was the last time Liverpool won the league, yet they have been in two CHAMPIONS League finals in recent years. What the hell, man?)

As a nice segue, a true star of that season, Gordon Cowans, talks up Jordan Bowery. Would be handy if he added even more competition up top - he is the same age as Benteke after all.

Thursday, 4th October

Brett Holman won the September player of the month. He is a frustrating one; wonderful work ethic, moments of great skill and then moments of plain daftness. Can`t help but like him though.

Friday, 5th October

Usual pre-match stuff before Spurs does the rounds. Nothing much of note is said.

In other news (and back to modern football is rubbish), our games against Chelsea and Spurs in December get moved for Sky. The Spurs one is on Boxing Day at 5.30. Does anyone really want to watch football at that time on Boxing Day? Plus it seems pretty harsh on the Spurs fans.

Saturday, 6th October

Copy and paste is a good thing:

I`ve said this before, but Saturday`s without the Villa suck.

Sunday, 7th October

Sunday`s when we play like that suck too. It`s strange, despite our unpredictable season so far, there was something strangely predictable about this. Of course, football is all about moments and had Benteke scored with that one chance, maybe the game is different, but there was an air of inevitability about it all. On to Gareth Bale and THAT dive, and that type of thing is THE biggest problem I have with football today. It would be great if just once, footballers were shown these clips and asked to explain their actions.

Monday, 8th October

The youngsters suffer their first defeat at the hands of Newcastle, Graham Burke scored in a 2-1 loss.

Joe Bennett`s injury is thought to not be as bad as first feared, but is probably still likely to be out for a short while.

Tuesday, 9th October

For some reason, we are linked with Charlie Austin, who plays for Burnley.

And finally, Ciaran Clark is called up for Ireland.

That`s about it. Enjoy that bumper edition - no football next week!

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