And then again.

And then remember that the Chelsea result is the worst in our history since 24th October 1964, when we lost 7-0 to Manchester United. Our record defeat is 8-1 v Blackburn. We’ve been beaten 7-0 five times; so this is our seventh biggest defeat in our entire history.

We’re a team supposedly pushing for the top 4. How can we be so outclassed by Chelsea? Before the game Martin O’Neill had said that previously, Villa used to go to Stamford Bridge hoping to keep the score down. We’d certainly been outplayed several times, but never so humiliated as today.

This is our first league defeat in 2010. Being “unbeaten” means absolutely nothing unless you’re winning plenty of your games; the statistic hides the important fact that we’ve only won 3 out of our last 13 games. Against Burnley, Wigan and Fulham.

This was no freak result. We’ve once again been playing poorly in March. You’ll be aware that Reading in the FA Cup was O’Neill’s first ever win in March whilst at the Villa. And who can forget the capitulation at 5-0 Liverpool in March 2009 or Man Utd 4 – 0 Villa in March 2008?

So once again, after sitting pretty at the mid-point of the season we screw monumentally. At the begging of March we had to be considered favourites for 4th. Games in hand and a relatively easy run in compared to our competition. Poor performances and draws against Stoke, Wolves and Sunderland put a stop to that. Now we’re 7 points off Spurs in fourth, and a massive 17 goals worse goal difference. Those 3 games in hand on Liverpool has gone and we’re still below them.

It’s worse than that. Everton, who had an extended summer holiday and showed up for pre-season training in November, are now only two points behind us. We won’t even mention Small Heath.

We’ve just suffered our worst defeat in 46 years. Imagine the motivational powers needed to pick the players up after that?

Well, having struggled past a succession of lower league sides we are only one game from an FA Cup Final. However we’re up against the same team who humiliated us today in the semi final. And this time, they might play Drogba.

Half our side are quite visibly dead on their feet and have been for weeks. If you don’t use your squad enough, you end up with half the squad knackered and the other half rusty having barely seen a match for months.

It is all very well giving Luke Young a run out now, but why against a team where we’re not going to be doing much attacking? I see Habib Beye came on, giving us three full backs on the pitch at one point.

Was Martin O’Neill trying to prove a point? I don’t know. It would certainly be a more palatable than simple tactical ineptitude.

Full backs, lack of strikers, favourite players, no substitutions. He’s never going to change. He’s just who he is. You either decide you’re happy with that, or you decide you’re not.

This is 4 years into Martin O’Neill’s reign. This is not a ramshackle team he’s inherited, this is his team. His £100 million team. There are £10m players that can’t get on the bench. Martin O’Neill has had the backing of a seemingly perfect chairman. The best conditions for any Villa manager in the last 50 years. So why is it once again going wrong?

Luke Moore scored the first goal against Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge in O’Leary’s last season. We lost 2-1. We played pretty well, committed and determined and were unlucky. That same season we went to Arsenal and lost 5-0. O’Neill is taking us into the same dark territory. Today’s result has that same finality about it, that sense that this manager can take us no further and his time is up and only an FA Cup win will reprieve Martin O’Neill’s reputation.

Villa’s swoop (are all transfers swoops?) for Newcastle’s Habib Beye means away grounds this year will rock to the Happy Days theme tune,

Sunday, Monday, Habib Beye
Tuesday, Wednesday, Habib Beye
Thursday, Friday, Habib Beye
Saturday, Habib Beye, rocking all week with you!

from bbc

Aston Villa have signed defender Habib Beye from Newcastle United on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

The Senegal international right-back, 31, follows Stewart Downing and Fabian Delph to Villa Park as boss Martin O’Neill’s third major summer signing.

He was Newcastle’s Player of the Year in 2008, and reached the Uefa Cup final with Marseille in 2004.

Beye had also been given permission by to speak to Hull City before opting to join Villa.

Discuss the transfer here

The €2m first prize certainly made this a meaningful and lucrative pre-season tournament.  Certainly much better than playing Nottingham Forest away.

from the Guardian

After neither side were able to make the breakthrough in either normal time or extra-time, Villa took the spoils in the 12-team pre-season tournament after winning 4-3 on penalties against the Italian side.

Both sides missed twice in the initial five efforts of the shoot out, with the Juve duo Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alessandro Del Piero – who would have won the trophy for his side with a successful penalty – having poor shots saved by Brad Guzan, and Steve Sidwell blazing over for Villa and Chris Herd being denied by Gianluigi Buffon.

But it was to be Villa’s night as, after Carlos Cuellar had confidently stroked home his side’s sixth kick, Nicola Legrottaglie smashed his effort over the crossbar to give Martin O’Neill’s side another impressive scalp having also beaten Atlante and Porto after losing their opening match of the tournament to Malaga.

There was little to separate the two sides in an evenly-fought opening period of the final, in which the Juve striker Iaquinta misssed one of the best chances when he headed wide from close range after Mauro Camoranesi had nodded Felipe Melo’s deep pass back into the danger area.

Melo also went close with an early 25-yard shot for Juve, while for Villa Ashley Young and John Carew both tested Buffon with efforts from outside the box as the first half finished goalless.

Juventus, who had beaten Real Madrid in their semi-final, turned up the heat after the break and David Trezeguet missed a gilt-edged chance in the 57th minute when he blazed well over from six yards out after Jonathan Zebina had pulled the ball back from the byeline.

Iaquinta, who was proving a real menace to the Villa defence, then headed over from a Zdenek Grygera cross before Guzan made a superb double save to keep Juventus at bay.

The impressive Guzan then did well to deflect away Zebina’s half-blocked shot after the Frenchman had latched onto Camoranesi’s clever pass and burst into the Villa area.

Juve kept pushing and Iaquinta, having also been denied by a crucial last-ditch tackle by Curtis Davies, put another chance over the bar as Guzan raced out to meet the tall striker near the top corner of the box.

It was pretty much one-way traffic in the closing stages in favour of Juve, but Ciro Ferrara’s side could find no way through as the match went to extra-time.

The additional periods could not find a winner either, so the final went to penalties where Villa’s youngsters came out on top against their more illustrious opponents to claim the fourth edition of the Peace Cup

Curtis Davis scored a 20th-minute own goal, with Petrov hurt a minute later.

But Villa hit back through Marc Albrighton, John Carew and Ashley Young to clinch a semi-final against either Porto or Besiktas.

We went into the match needing to beat Atlante, the Concacaf Champions League winners, by two clear goals if they were to reach the last four after suffering a 1-0 defeat by Malaga in their opening match of the tournament.

In Friday’s other semi-final, big-spending Real Madrid face Italian giants Juventus.

Discuss it here

from the bbc

It’s the end of July and so far the player(s) “in” are a solitary crocked Stuart Downing.  I can’t say I’m overwhelmed.  Still, there’s almost 3 weeks to go until the start of the season so we shouldn’t be worried should we?

15:01 – David Farrelly (Moderator)
Martin O’Neill will be in the chat room soon. Please keep those questions rolling in…

15:22 – Martin O’Neill
Hi there, sorry to keep you waiting. I am delighted to be here in the chat room in between my time with the BBC, and to take some time to answer your questions.

15:22 – chopperward
Hi Martin. Like your managament style. Who has impressed you the most and who realistically could you see coming to Villa to fit your team? I know jop was mentioned on beeb and also gomez. I reckon you would take gomez for sure! good luck

15:26 – Martin O’Neill
As we stand the Dutch have been very impressive, I don’t think it is any surprise that Portugal have come through from Group A. They have the best player in the world in Ronaldo. It is interesting to see Italy and France trying to qualify as only runners-up considering they contested the World Cup final. As for players coming, we were having some fun in the studio and we mentioned them in a joking way, as they weren’t playing so well. So I don’t think we were being serious.

15:26 – danjodanjo
Hi Martin,
I like your management style. Who will be the player of the tournament?

15:29 – Martin O’Neill
I think that there is little question that even if his tournament ends against Germany that Ronaldo is the best player in the world and he doesnt necessarily need this tournament to prove it. David Villa of Spain is a player I have admired for quite some time and it is no surprise that he is coveted by the very best clubs in Europe at the moment. Like Zagorakis last time, there might be a surprise, but that will probably depend on how far his country goes in the tournament.

15:29 – seb_gva
Do you watch all the games and have you spotted any new tactical trends?

15:33 – Martin O’Neill
I have watched all the games, except one, which I have to watch over again. In terms of tactical trends, I haven’t seen anything that I would call new, however I wasn’t expecting to either. France play two holding midfielders, but this is nothing new. When I was manager of Celtic, we came across this on many occasions in Europe. The same basic principles probably apply most often and I am just pleased that the art of dribbling and going past players, hasn’t died.

15:33 – kkrAllstar
Hi Martin, big Villa fan here, keep up the fantastic work!

Have you set any targets for the team next year and what would you consider our realistic ambitions to be?

15:37 – Martin O’Neill
First thing to do is build up the squad, as we were operating with the smallest squad in the league and we were relatively lucky with injuries. We may have had problems if the injury list had been bigger. Sixth last season was very satisfactory and in normal season would have got us into UEFA Cup. Our immediate plan is to get into that through the Intertoto Cup. But next season we will attempt not to stand still. The eventual aim hopefully sooner rather than later is to compete with the top four (easier said than done).

15:37 – adiman
Can you see Northern Ireland reaching a final tournament in the near future?

15:41 – Martin O’Neill
It is getting very difficult but not impossible for small nations to get into major tournament finals. Northern Ireland in the last few seasons have done exceptionally well, winning some major battles, but in football terms, losing the war. For a country like Northern Ireland it is a bit cyclical in the sense that that team had a great side in 1958 and had to wait until 1982 and 1986 to have another top quality group of players. Perhaps that might happen in the not too distant future, but at least there is great optimism because of what they have done recently. I hope it happens!!!

15:41 – kevashby
Martin, if you would have been appointed England coach do you think the team would be here now? For the record, I do.

15:44 – Martin O’Neill
That is extremely kind thing to say…you must be related!!!!

15:44 – KoolBavarianKing
@Martin
Same old question everybody asks:
Who do you think will reach the final and who amongst them will raise the trophy?

15:47 – Martin O’Neill
At the start of the tournament, Gary Lineker posed the question to myself, Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer. I possibly through sentimentality went for France. It looks as if on the eve of the game with Italy I need my head examined. However, I’ve seen it too often in the past that countries have the ability to come good in the course of the competition..stranger things have happened that the winners of ITA v FRA, should Romania not beat Holland could end up in the final. So, I’ll stick with my original choice and see the doctor tomorrow morning

16:02 – Martin O’Neill
Sorry guys, but I have to go…..I appreciate taking the time to chat with me when I am sure you have many other interesting things to be doing. I hope you are enjoying the tournament, it’s getting to the big deciding time now!!!!!

16:04 – David Farrelly (Moderator)
We’d like to thank Martin O’Neill for taking the time to answer your questions. Thanks to all who contributed. Back to the action. Have you taken the Fan Challenge?

As Gerry said, on the discussion forum, A couple of moments of interest interspersed with long empty pauses culminating in a disappointing and fruitless ending. A typical Martin O’Neill summer activity according to some.

We’re managed by someone who is widely acknowledged to be the best person-driven leader in football.

When O’Neill joined us we needed a goalie and a right back. Now, 5 transfer windows on we’re still searching for those apparently mythical creatures. We we’re expecting signings like Kaka and Eto’o and got Harewood and Routledge.

So the question is, what is holding us back?

a) Is Martin unable to persuade big names to come to us?

b) Is Martin unable to make up his mind on who to sign, or

c) Is the money that we thought would be there in spades simply not available?

Villa are clearly not strapped for cash. It’s not every club that can afford to give up a multi-million pound income from shirt sponsorship. Work on the training ground, “to attract top talent” was the reason and other measures around the ground suggest that we’re a club with money going places.

So, why can’t we hang on to Barry? Why does he want to move to Liverpool? It can’t simply be that he wants to go to work with Steven Gerrard each day does it?

Is it down to the fact that, from his perspective, he doesn’t see the Villa making the signings to propel us towards the Champions League? Perhaps he’s as frustrated as supporters at the lack of a right back? After 10 years at a club it must be a terrible wrench to move on when Villa appear to be on the cusp of great things. Perhaps we’re not, perhaps he’s fallen for a line that says, “Champions’ League as the be all and end all of football achievement.” Well that and their Bentleys. Barry might be the wrong example here. Whilst we can all question his reason for a move, it could be simply down to greed. If rumours that his agent has been hawking him around clubs since December, barely 2 months after establishing himself in the England set up, are correct it may well be.

However if the former is case, how can you attract quality internationals without offering them Champions’ League football?

Money won’t do it alone, because, you need the money from the Champions’ League to pay for international stars. Teams in the Champions’ League have the money to buy, not one, but two internationals for every position because of the Champions’ League money.

So it’s a catch 22. The rich clubs buy all the players to stop the also-rans stealing their place in the Champions’ League.

But I don’t want to concentrate on the Barry situation. Why haven’t we signed players that will qualify us for the Champions’ League? It simply that Martin O’Neill believes that the sum of the team should and can be stronger than a team of 11 individuals?

I get the impression that he is a dither in the transfer market. Ensuring that everything about the deal and player is right before putting pen to paper. That would obviously mean we weren’t even in the market for players that should have been snapped up when they were available to us.

I get a feeling that the new owner isn’t entirely impressed by Martin’s ability to not spend his money. It may be one of the reasons why he’s made himself CEO, to be closer to the dealing, ensuring things go through.

However, and as by way of balance, I also get the impression that the purse string are tighter than we have come to be expected. A transfer budget of £25M was rumoured several months ago. Something that I laughed at at the time, but hearing Martin O’Neill on the BBC last night, talking about getting a lot of money from the sale of Barry “to spend” made me sit up and take notice.

Which brings us back to Barry. Selling Barry to Liverpool makes them stronger and us weaker. We can’t buy an equivalent replacement because if there was one, they’d be on their way to a Champions’ League team.

So where do we go from here? Are we destined to always finish up outside of the top 4, or do we wait and see if Liverpool run into financial difficulties. Are can’t believe that they would for Gillette and Hicks could sell to the Dubai lot tomorrow and walk away with a profit. Who knows what untold riches lie there for Liverpool to spend?

Well I was going to do a picture of Barry for this story, but I don’t think he’ll be around much for us to use it again. Although he’s not actually put in a transfer request I understand that he’s told the club he wishes to link up with his mate Stevie at Redscouse.

Now it’s simply down to them to come up with the cash. Now that might be easier said than done. When Martin O’Neill said that Rescouse’s initial offer was a mish-mash of players, we all assumed the likes of Carson, Finnan, Riise and Pennant. Apparently not, if their offer to Newcastle for Milner is anything to go by. The players in that swap deal were players known only to their clubs and mums and dads.

Villa, clearly not strapped for cash, having given up multi-million pound income from shirt sponsorship, have set the price. So can Redscouse come up with the £20M? I somehow doubt it, and wonder if that’s going to leave us with a peeved captain all season. Either way, well done Redscouse, you tossers, for conducting all this through the press. I hope you’re stuck with your Yanks for ever.

Actually, and I’ve been meaning to post this thought somewhere else, this is one of the main things that’s wrong with football these days.

Like Barry, footballers see the Champions’ League as the be all and end all of football achievement (that and their Bentleys).  How can you attract quality internationals without offering them CL?

Money won’t do it alone, because, you need the money from the CL to pay for international stars.  Teams in the CL have the money to buy, not one, but two internationals for every position because of the CL money.  It’s a catch 22.  The rich clubs buy all the players to stop the also rans stealing their place in the CL.

Which brings us back to Barry.  Selling Barry to RedScouse makes them stronger and us weaker.  We can’t buy an equivalent replacement because if there was one, they’d be on their way to a CL team.

Atkinson completes Pounds 1m move to Aston Villa

RON Atkinson was installed as manager of Aston Villa yesterday on a four-year contract believed to be worth as much as £1 million. The appointment was confirmed less than 48 hours after Atkinson had resigned as manager of Sheffield Wednesday.
Only five days beore, Atkinson had declined an offer from Villa, saying he would be ”barmy” to leave Hillsborough after leading Wednesday to promotion to the first division and success in the Rumbelows Cup.

Yesterday, against a background of anger from supporters in Sheffield, and the threat of legal action from his former club, he blamed himself for not ‘’sticking to his guns” last Friday.

”It wasn’t a change of heart,” he said. ”I have to hold my hands up and admit I bottled it. It was a very emotive day for me when I went up to Sheffield to tell them I was leaving and I should have gone through with the decision there and then. If the news hadn’t leaked, I would have done.
”It’s been arguably the biggest decision I have ever had to make in football. I can understand that the Sheffield people may feel I have let them down, and in view of what happened last weekend, I have to admit I probably have.

”The fact is I was an apprentice at Villa, I watched all my early football here, I probably know the club as well as their most avid fan, and I have always had a gut feeling that one day I would be the manager here. That day has now arrived and I am delighted to be here.”

Atkinson has already offered Andy Gray, the former Scotland and Villa forward, the chance of returning to Villa Park as his right-hand man. But the club is parting company with Dennis Booth and Bobby Downs, two of the backroom staff recruited by Graham Taylor.

Doug Ellis, the Villa chairman, denied approaching Atkinson illegally. ”We have been advised by our lawyers not to comment on the threat of legal action from Sheffield Wednesday because the matter is sub judice,” he said.

”But the sequence of events unfolded after I had been approached by Ron Atkinson’s business adviser to say that he was interested in taking over from Jozef Venglos. I did speak to Ron because I had to ask him if that was the case.

”I told him that subject to the Wednesday chairman giving me permission to discuss the vacancy with him, I would take the matter from there. But I was refused permission and had no alternative but to accept the situation.

”In the meantime, I spoke to three other chairmen before, out of the blue, I heard that Ron had resigned at Sheffield. His business adviser contacted me again on Wednesday to see if Ron could still be considered.”

Asked about the future of David Platt, Villa’s England international, Atkinson left the door open for a transfer to Italy.

”I would certainly like to build a side around him. I see him as another Bryan Robson who works from box to box and scores goals. But I understand that sometimes it’s necessary to sell players to strengthen other positions.”

Speaking to radio listeners in Sheffield, he said that in an ”ideal world” there is a ”lorryload” of players he would have liked to have brought with him from Wednesday.

”But I will not be going back to plunder Hillsborough,” he said.

Discuss it here: http://www.heroesandvillains.info/discuss/viewtopic.php?t=25829

Enjoy the highs of being top of the table while still playing poorly. By the end of the season, those memories will be all you have left. Trust me, in twenty years you’ll look back on the early part of 1998/99 and only remember the good times.

Don’t worry about next season. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to persuade Doug Ellis that money needs to be spent on players. The real troubles in your life are likely to be things that never crossed your worried mind, such as the last programme being sold to the person in front of you in the queue.

Do one thing every season that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t look down on other people’s teams. Don’t put up with people who look down on yours.

Cheer.

Don’t waste your time on Manchester United. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The season is thirty-eight games long and, at the end of the day, it’s a game of two halves and you should always have given 110%. Remember 1981.

Remember the victories you have witnessed. Forget the defeats. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Shout.

Don’t feel guilty if you mistake one player for another. One of the most interesting supporters I know doesn’t know the difference between a bald defender and a bald midfielder. This most interesting fan shall remain nameless.

Drink plenty of beer. But be kind to your liver. You’ll miss it when it’s gone.

Maybe we’ll win the Premiership, maybe we won’t. Maybe we’ll win the FA Cup, maybe we won’t. Maybe we’ll “do a Wolves” and sink to the Third, maybe Gareth Southgate will lift the European Cup in two years. Whatever we do, lets not congratulate ourselves too much, or berate ourselves either. Our goals tend to be half chances. So do everybody else’s.

Support, even if you have nowhere to do it but on Teletext in your living room.

Read the match reports, even if you don’t agree with them.

Do not listen to Mark Lawrenson, Alan Green or David Mellor. They will only make you angry.

Enjoy Villa Park. Visit it as often as you can. Don’t be afraid of the Holte End or of the people on it. It’s the greatest catherdral to our team you’ll ever be in, you never know when it’ll be changed beyond recognition. Be nice to your fellow supporters. They’re your best link to glorious seasons past and the people most likely to stick with you in seasons of doom.

Live in Castle Vale once, but leave before you lose an eye. Live in Sutton Coldfield once, but leave before your second mortgage.

Travel (to away games).

Accept certain inalienable truths: Season ticket prices will rise, the club will rip us off, Blues will never get promoted. You, too, will get old. And when you do you’ll fantasise that when you were young, referees were reasonable, directors were noble, and Pat McMahon was the best player in the world. Pat McMahon was the best player in the world.

Visit the toilet before you leave the pub or there’s a good chance you’ll miss the best goal ever scored.

But trust me on supporting The Villa.

Colin Jennings
With apologies to the feller on the Hull City mailing list that I’ve unashamedly pinched large chunks of this from