Uno
ial Villa News…
James Milner (penalty) and Gabby Agbonlahor scored in England U21’s 2-0 win over Portugal at Wembley which sealed the teams place in the UEFA European under-21 Championship.
The Daily Mirror had an ‘exclusive’ by Darren Lewis yesterday. The report claims that Villa are wanting to take 26-year-old Joey Barton from Newcastle as a long term replacement for Gareth Barry They also say that Villa and an unnamed club expressed an interest in Barton on the close of play in the summers transfer window. Err, I don’t actually think we did. So maybe I should come out with a ‘Vital Villa understands that Villa boss is not lining up Barton and that Villa do not expect to sell Gareth Barry in the January transfer window. Vital Villa also understands that Villa weren’t one of the two clubs – if indeed there were any clubs at all – expressing an interest in the scummiest piece of work within football.’ Full article: Villa Do Not Need Scum Like Joey Barton
The ever wonderful weekly column, something for the weekend by Steve Wade: Something For The Weekend (204)
The Daily Mirror claim that Villa have been told they will have to pay £18million to buy Dean Ashton from West Ham in January.
Deanovilla running to raise money for Cancer Research: Click Here
Vital Villan: After summer fumbles over Liverpool, an agent who can’t keep his mouth shut in the press – well we all know the story. Gareth Barry is making amends. He told the Birmingham Mail: ‘Martin O`Neill deserves a lot of credit. My call-up under then England manager Steve McClaren coincided with O`Neill playing me in centre midfield which I always felt was my best position. If you put the two together, they are the two big factors in why maybe I`m being talked about as an international player now.’ The Barry We Know Is Back
Vital Villan: Steve Sidwell looks set to be fit for the Spurs away game on Sept 15. The midfielder has declared himself fit after a more down than up start to the season following a calf injury, and he’s now determined to get into the team and make a place his own. Speaking on the official site after completing 90 minutes for the reserves against Stoke, he said: ‘I feel good – my calf was fine throughout the game. I’ve not had a problem with it. The game was very helpful because it upped my fitness levels. It wasn’t the plan to play the whole 90 minutes. I was going to play the first half and then see how I felt.’ Full quotes: Sidwell Set To Earn His Spurs
Ian Taylor’s freefall skydive has been postponed due to bad weather. Tayls was supposed to be flying through the clouds at over 120mph to raise money for the club’s official charity partner, Acorns Children’s Hospice. But the event at the Skydiving Centre at Hinton Airfield will have to be rescheduled for a later date after the inclement weather caused the postponement. Previous article: Legend Taylor To Defy Gravity
The Week In Villa #2 (29/8/08 – 4/9/08) By Sheriff Kimbo: Click Here
Martin O’Neill has told the Birmingham Mail that he thinks the Premier League is will be interesting both ends of the table. ‘The league, I believe, is going to be really tight this year. I think it will be won with less points than has been needed before, and I also think the total to stay in the Premiership might be reasonably strong as well. An indication of things is that Manchester City were beaten by us and won their next two games. Tottenham – for all their comings and goings – have one point on the board after three games. I don`t think anyone is getting into any sort of panic. Portsmouth lost their first two games, which you`d have thought would be really hard anyway (against Chelsea and Manchester United), then went to Everton and won convincingly. That is the nature of the season.’
Villa’s new keeper Brad Guzan says he is happy the transfer has finally happened. The 23-year-old who moved from Chivas USA for an undisclosed fee said: ‘It’s still sinking in that I have finally joined Aston Villa. It’ll be great when all my travelling is over and I can get into the normal routine of training every day with the guys, having lunch and being part of the squad. I remember getting the phone call from the manager, telling me that my permit had been accepted, I was able to come over for a little bit, then I had to fly back out to America to prepare for the Olympics. Just being with the guys was fantastic. I can’t wait until I get into it full-time. I was so excited when I found out my permit had been granted. I couldn’t believe it for a while, probably because there had been a little doubt that it would be accepted. When it went through, I was so relieved and I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. To know that I can now make an impact for Villa tremendously exciting.’
James Milner says on the official site: ‘The attachment with the fans and the club was a factor in my decision to return. But if I am honest, if I hadn’t been here before, I would still have seen it as a fantastic opportunity. I would still have jumped at the chance. The fans really took to me, even though I was on loan. They were fantastic with me. But the major fact was the size of the club and seeing how far we can go together. The club seems to be improving every year – it’s moving in the right direction and that was a massive influence on my decision.’
Tickets for Villa’s home cup games against QPR and Litex Lovech are now on priority sale tomorrow. The Carling Cup match against Rangers takes place on Wednesday September 24 while the UEFA Cup first round second leg game is on Thursday October 2. Both games are now sale to season card holders who can purchase their seat by 2pm on Sunday September 14 – as well as up to six extra seats.
Thought for the day: ‘I’d rather be scared to death than bored to death’
