Martin O’Neill isn’t afraid to man up and face his critics
A slap-up meal is on the menu
I had an email from a reader this morning (nice one Simon Preston) with a link to a story in the Sun. No it wasn’t a picture of a juicy pair of Bristols (why not Simon Preston?!), it was the story of O’Neill’s latest gesture…
According to the Sun, Martin O’Neill is holding a private dinner for the Villa fans who travelled to Moscow to watch his weakened side lose to CSKA and end our European dream for the 08/09 season. The dinner is invite only for the 295 travelling fans and MON will be there, along with some players.
The gesture is typical of the fantastic structure we have at Villa. It’s great to support a club that cares so much about it’s fans and at the same time is successful. Can you imagine any other team in the top 5 ever doing a similar thing?
Enjoy your dinner Villa fans and if anyone invited can’t make it, let me know, I’m sure I can pull off a good impersonation of you 
Up the Villa.
Let’s get the buggers back on Sunday – Who’s got a prediction of the Stoke scoreline?
Last time we met was the second game of the season and it was supposed to be an easy win. But Stoke had different plans.
When we lost that game I began to fear for this season. But the boys bounced back. We have powered on, particularly since November, and put ourselves in contention for the Champions League qualifying spots.
Now things have changed very dramatically at the Villa. This week we have forfeited the UEFA Cup to concentrate on the league, making the Stoke game (and pretty much every league game left) a MUST WIN.
Our strongest side will start, that’s a cert.
Predictions
I reckon Villa will be on a mission. After losing 3 games in 2 weeks, we will go out with a point to prove and I can see us steamrollering Stoke.
I’m predicting a 4-0 scoreline and a total bombardment from Young, Milner and co. Stoke won’ t know whats hit them.
Predictions anyone?
CSKA Moscow 2-0 Aston Villa – Out but not down
We lost. That’s the short story.
We went to Moscow with a team that was likely to lose and they did. That’s the medium story.
But look a little deeper and you find a game with a number of youngsters who did themselves proud. I’m talking mainly about the three 19 year olds; Albrighton, Bannan and Delfouneso. These are young lads, still largely untested (the Fonz a little less so) and they suddenly found themselves thrown in at the deep end… and they swam, with competence.
Performances
Albrighton and Bannan played wide midfield roles, areas which are well secured in the first team for the time being, but they both made good impressions last night and will no doubt be pushing their way into contention more and more if they keep getting experience such as this.
Delfouneso found it hard up top on his Todd Terry, but he worked hard and showed once again that he has natural talent and just needs a little more experience to follow in Gabby’s path.
Salifou and Sidwell in the middle of the park were average. Not crap, but certainly not great.
Gardner, as ever, gave his all and had a good chance which he brought down superbly, but hit straight to the keeper.
The defence was as full strength as we had available and they put on a solid display.
Harewood and Isiah Osbourne both came on as subs but neither made a real impact on the game and this proved to be where MON needed to have Barry, Young and Gabby on the bench. At 1-down, those boys could well have swung the game in our favour (not having these available is my gripe with O’Neill controversial plan).
The ‘B-team’ played much better than in some of the previous games and in some ways I admire O’Neill’s balls to put out such a side. The short story has to kick back in there though; ballsy, experimental and superb experience it may have been for some, but we lost and are out of Europe. The dream we chased last season is over. Forfeited to chase a new, bigger dream, so now the pressure is on.
Many Villa fans are miffed about the way in which we ‘conceded’ exit, but what we all need to do is unite and back the team / manager and be delighted that we have raised our standards. We have gone from Intertoto-chasers to Champions-League-chasers. Lets put aside an feelings of anger and get loud and supportive for the run in.
A little look at Stoke…
D'ya reckon this year they have banners saying 'Championship Here We Come'? Oops... that's gonna cause some bitter comments from Stoke fans!
One of my mates supports Stoke and he bangs on at me about them all the time so I feel like I know them pretty (maybe even too) well. I’m sure no one needs reminding the Potters beat Villa last time out but I doubt they’ll do the same again.
Lets get through the cliches first. They’re a strong physical side and I imagine you know when you’ve played Stoke. Abdoulaye Faye has been knocking around the Premier League for a couple of years now and I think he’s a decent player. He works hard and gets involved in the attack as well as the defence, probably Stoke’s star man for me.
I was surprised when James Beattie moved to the Championship to play for Sheffield United because I always thought he was Premiership class. He has been in fine form lately to be fair but I doubt he’ll get many chances at Villa Park. Bizarrely he has a decent free-kick on him and will always be a danger in dead ball situations. Ricardo Fuller got arrested on Wednesday, I don’t know if he’ll be able to play at the weekend but if he is out Stoke’s chances of getting a goal will be pretty slim.
The main danger for Villa could be that Stoke would be happy with a 0-0 and just play with 10 men behind the ball. No one likes to watch that but to be fair if they turned up and tried to play football or take the game to Villa they’d get smashed off the park. An early goal could be the key to this one and in Heskey Villa have a forward who won’t be too put off by players trying to push him around. One thing is for certain, it won’t be a classic but it should be a pretty easy three points.
Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer who writes about betting for betfair.
Stream link as promised
Here ya go fellow Villans:
http://www.atdhe.net/live-tv-4031.html
English commentary too (if you can hear it above the crowd)
Yesterday’s big debate: My opinion on MON’s squad
Hmmmm, now let me think about this one
The big debate here on Aston Villa Blog yesterday, saw the opinions of Villans well and truly split down the middle. Some of you are happy to forego the UEFA Cup in order to concentrate on chasing the new, higher goal of Champions League football. Some of you think that MON is making a big mistake and wasting a golden opportunity of winning a very prestigious competition, especially as this is the last ever time it will be held (it turns into the Europa League next season).
In my opinion, the biggest mistake O’Neill made was to name the squad he did. He knew full well that it was going to cause controversy amongst Villa fans and in the press. What he should’ve done was name a squad that included a few more first teamers and then put them on the bench. That way they get the rest they supposedly need and you keep the fans happy and united.
Plus, I’d like to have a few options like Barry, Young and Gabby available to bring on if the chips are down.
I suppose it is possible that he’s playing mindgames with the Russians and plans to lull them into a false sense of security, but if this is the case he needs to have been working very hard in training with these boys, because we’ve already seen most of them try and fail.
If we come back with a convincing victory, MON will be hailed as a mastermind but, until we see something that we’re not really expecting tonight, the jury will remain out.
In tonight’s Russian test; Is it all down to Delfouneso now?
The hopes of many Villans rest on this young lad's shoulders
Villa’s squad for this game has been a hotly debated topic this week, with many Villa fans disappointed and disgruntled and even some of my Villan blogging allies voicing their understandable frustrations; AVFC Blog and Aston Villa Mad, to name just 2.
For those who are traveling to Russia to watch the game, the emotions are running even higher, as they have invested a lot of money in it. But even right through to the armchair fans and the fair-weather fans, the opinions on this squad selection are impassioned. Every Villa fan has, and deserves, a voice and on this ‘apparent lack of ambition in the UEFA Cup’ those voices are loud and clear.
On the plus side
The team that starts will have the strongest defence we have fit, so hopefully they can do a solid job and allow us to see some of the fringe players and youngsters stake a claim for more regular action.
“They’ve tried before and failed” I hear you say, so many will be putting all their eggs in one basket and hoping the Fonz man can pull out some of his magic and continue his European scoring campaign.
Delfouneso didn’t even begin his European journey until the Slavia Prague game, when he came on for all of a few seconds, but then in the next game (the embarrassing loss to MSK Zilina) he started and scored a terrific goal. The Hamburg loss saw another start and another goal, this time that superb ’strikers instinct’ goal that I was so enamoured by.
The next game in the UEFA Cup saw the Fonz back on the bench to watch us draw to Moscow, but tonight the majority of Villa fans will be hoping to see him get the nod ahead of Marlon Harewood and start alongside John Carew.
The midfield is where my main concerns lie, after having seen how well Moscow could hold onto the ball, I fear that we will struggle to get the game by the scruff of the neck unless Salifou and Sidwell suddenly pull out the kind of performance we hoped they were capable of when we signed them.
All in all, it’s mainly going to be wishful thinking for us till 5 0′clock and then it will be fingers crossed time.
Good luck to the lads who are out there, do us proud.
Up the Villa.
TODAY’S BIG DEBATE: Is MON wrong to leave half the first team at home for UEFA Cup clash?
What's your opinion?
The squad for tomorrow’s clash with CSKA Moscow has been released and it isn’t likely to go down too well. A large number of first team players have beeen left out, including the entire midfield!
Barry, Milner, Petrov and Young will all stay home and listen on the radio, along with Gabby, Friedel and Heskey.
Cuellar, Reo-Coker, Laursen and Bouma also miss out through injury, leaving very few experienced players to fill out the squad. There is a (weak) team in there and then the rest is youngsters or out of favour players, such as Taylor, Osbourne and the Hare.
Here’s the squad:
Goalkeepers
Brad Guzan
Stuart Taylor
Elliott Parish
Defenders
Luke Young
Curtis Davies
Zat Knight
Nicky Shorey
Eric Lichaj
Ciaran Clark
Shane Lowry
Midfielders
Steve Sidwell
Moustapha Salifou
Craig Gardner
Isaiah Osbourne
Barry Bannan
Marc Albrighton
Forwards
Marlon Harewood
John Carew
Nathan Delfouneso
How do we feel about it?
Are Villa fans pleased to see the league and Champions League push being made a priority? Or do you feel robbed of an opportunity for European glory?
The squad almost looks like accepting defeat, with the plastic pitch already being a cause for concern, we now add to that the problems of a team not experienced or acccustomed to playing together. We have worked so hard to get this far in Europe and we have heard umpteen tales of woe from the gaffer about how we have been playing since July, but this almost makes all that look like a waste of time.
What about the fans who have spent small fortunes traveling to support the team in all the games that have got us to this point? To go out the competition to a team like AC Milan is one thing, but how will it feel to go out in a game we didn’t even seem to want to win?
Or is this a bold move and one that will be applauded if we come home with a victory?
Let’s debate how you feel about the squad. Fire away.
Boing boing bouncy bouncy!
Will bounce fox Friedel?
For those who aren’t already aware, Villa’s second leg UEFA Cup game in Moscow is to be played on a plastic pitch. The temperature in Moscow is often very bloody cold (to put it technically) and, as there was nothing they could do about that, CSKA installed an artificial playing surface.
The pitch is FIFA approved, so it’s all above board, but it definitely sets Villa at a disadvantage as the Moscownians are more accustomed to the way the pitch plays. The bounce of the ball is going to be different and the roll may differ too.
Gareth Barry has been quoted in many newspapers today, some putting a positive spin on it, some a negative one. I’ll let you decide, here’s what he said:
“It is quite a difficult surface because you’re just not used to playing on it.
“You’re playing in moulded boots rather than your studs which the majority of players wear.
“It is different but we’ll have a day’s training beforehand and we’ll get used to it. It can’t be used as an excuse.
“The ball does bounce slightly differently but not enough to be used as an excuse.
“It rolls pretty straight. It doesn’t move and you get used to it pretty quickly to be honest.
“You’ve got to try and be experienced and not worry about it at all. You’ve just got to play your normal game.”
Second leg not to be televised as Five and Russian network fail to reach agreement
English broadcasters, Channel Five, and Russian broadcasters, TV1, have failed to reach an agreement and the upshot of this is that Villa’s return leg against CSKA Moscow won’t be televised in England.
Villa fans in America, Canada and Ireland will be able to watch the game on Setanta Sports, but viewers here in England will not be able to watch it on the box.
Tickets are sold out for the game, so unless you have a golden ticket and a plane booked, it’s time to start searching for a stream.
I will post a link for a good stream closer to kick off time, for the Aston Villa Blog readers.
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