The Villa Times – 23/04/2007
Uno
Vital Villa asked ‘should Aaron Hughes be given a second chance at right-back and replace Phil Bardsley? 12% said yes. 10% said no. 2% were unsure. That left 76% saying Hughes is better than Bardsley BUT we need to replace both of them.
Spurs, Blackburn Rovers and Everton have all been linked to Aston Villa midfielder Gavin McCann. The former Sunderland player will be allowed to leave for around £2million according to some reports. McCann, although back from suspension, didn’t even make the bench yesterday.
Vital Villa is currently asking on its poll who was your man of the match for the Villa v Portsmouth game.
Match report by basiljunk: Click Here
Match stats: Click Here
MON match reaction: Click Here
Sunday paper gossip had us linked to Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc, Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy, Middlesbrough’s Jonathan Woodgate. And said we’d see Jlloyd going to West Ham and as above, Gavin McCann to make an exit. Full article: The Sunday Press Villa Gossip
Villa’s 20-year-old midfielder Craig Gardner is up for the challenge of new arrivals coming to Villa saying competition for places is good. The combatative player said: ‘Things are going really well for me at the moment and the games can’t come quickly enough. I know I’ve got to keep playing well to keep my place in the team – even in the squad – but that’s how it should be. The very best players enjoy that competition for places and it makes them even better players. I want to have to fight to get into the team. I’m a Villa fan and I want us to have the best squad possible.’ Craig Gardner Up For Villa Fight
Patrik Berger says Villa have a bright future with a handful of great players. Full article: Berger – Villa’s Future Is Bright
Martin Laursen says he has had ‘bad luck’ since moving from AC Milan but hopes to be able to put the injury problems to bed and get on with his Villa career. The Danish international, who when fit appears to be an automatic choice under Martin O’Neill, says he hasn’t been able to play enough for Villa but hopes to earn a new contract to show us what he can do.
‘My Villa career has been frustrating because for these three years I haven’t played enough. This season I have been pleased with the way I have played – but it’s not been enough. I think I’ve played only 23 games in nearly three years. It irritates me that I haven’t been able to give more back definitely in terms of value for money but there’s been nothing I’ve been able to do about that. It’s been bad luck. I don’t feel I can blame myself. I’ve done everything I can to get back as soon as possible.’ Full quotes: Laursen Wants To Earn Villa Future
Welsh international right-back Mark Delaney is reportedly getting closer to a return following treatment from Dr Richard Steadman in Colorado. The Villa defender, whose contract runs out at the end of this season, has suffered with a season long struggle with a knee injury. Having just returned from Dr Steadman this week he told the official site: ‘I’ve been with the doctor for three or four days and he’s over the moon with my knee. He said it looks absolutely fine and it feels great. He’s very positive and pleased with how it’s going and how well it will respond to running. But at the moment, the muscles are quite weak around the knee so I can’t run just yet.’ Full article: Villa Right-Back Near Comeback?
Vital Villa asked ‘will you miss Juan Pablo Angel‘. 73% said ‘yes, he’s a Holte End cult figure’. 3% said they’d miss him because he was good back up and a further 2% said he’d be missed and that he should have been starting. That left 16% saying they’ll not miss him as he wasn’t good enough and 6% saying he was average at best.
Villa left-back Jlloyd Samuel says he will be off in the summer after not getting a chance in the team since the arrival of Martin O’Neill. Jlloyd, an ever present only a few years back, hasn’t even made the bench for most of this season and the player has confirmed he will be moving to pastures new in the summer. ‘I just want a fresh start now, I see my future elsewhere.’ Adding ‘Martin O’Neill told me to wait for my chance after I returned from injury but it never came. I’m disappointed because I never really got an opportunity to win my place back in the team. I thought I would have been given more chances. Martin has this great reputation as great man-manager and manager but if anyone asks me ‘how good he is’ I won’t be able to answer because I haven’t been given a chance to work with him.’
Martin O’Neill says of the omission of Gavin McCann from the squad on Sunday: ‘Gavin McCann has been absolutely terrific for us this season, but we have picked up points when he has been suspended. It is actually encouraging for us in one aspect because in November and December we were searching around for players to put on the bench.’
Martin O’Neill praised Ashley Young’s substitute appearance against Portsmouth saying it was a ‘snapshot of what he can do’. I’m not sure if anyone is doubting we’ve a good young talent on our hands are they? Looks a great prospect to me, sure the money wasn’t cheap but it will be great to see how he develops and lets face it, the money wasn’t out of our pockets, so why worry! O’Neill said ‘He came on and gave us a bit of life, but I have got no problems with him. He is getting used to the surroundings – and I have got no problems with Shaun Maloney either. I have got no problems with some of the players who didn’t play yesterday. Ashley provided us with a snapshot of what he can do. Running with the ball and going in between players is a trademark of his ability.’ Full article: Ashley Young – A Snapshot.
Martin O’Neill has praised Gabriel Agbonlahor for playing whilst ill. ‘Gabby Agbonlahor shouldn’t really have been playing at all. He’s been ill all week with tonsillitis. He trained on Saturday morning, ran a little bit and had a bit of a relapse, but he wanted to play. So once we were assured he would not do any damage really, other than probably just being very, very tired, we ran the risk with him. He was excellent and just continued with the great form we’ve seen recently – it took a great save from David James to deny him.’
Martin O’Neill has spoken about Steven Davis. The papers say he could be offloaded, not sure MON would agree following these comments, if he is going to go, it looks like he’d have to ask as O’Neill says he can see the player roaring back next season: Steven Davis For Sale – NOT.
Thought for the day: Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
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