Milner for England...

Off the back of a stunning 4-2 win against Bolton, the press are once again talking about Villa's ability to break the top four.

They are also discussing the number of young English players currently playing at Villa Park. Fabio Capello has already made it clear that Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor have huge parts to play in his future plans and now he has set his sights on James Milner.

Speaking very highly of Milner, Capello stated that he was to look at the Villa winger as a posible inclusion for the friendlies coming up in 2009.

I like that Milner is getting some recognition having been in the under 21 side for a record amount of time. It is hard to shine in a young Villa team full of so many bright stars, but the Work Milner puts in deserves to be rewarded.

People questioned his £12m price-tag, and still do, but I don't think it will be too long before he lives up to the faith Martin O'Neill has quite literally invested in him. As far as England goes, again,it can only be a matter of time before he is following in the footsteps of Gabby, Young and Gareth Barry as a familiar face in the senior international set-up.

Ashley Young 1 - 0 Everton

For the first time since the final whistle last night, I believe I am now able to write a proper post about the stunning 3-2 victory against Everton without it looking like this...

'Ohhhhhhhhhhh mmmyyyyyyyy liiiffeee what a goooaaallll Ashleyyy Young! Ashleyyy Younnngggggg!!!!!'.

I use the word 'stunning' not because it was a brilliant performance, but because of the nature of the way in which we won it. Some say we didn't deserve the win, others say 2-2 would have been a fair result, I say an Everton victory would have been most fair. However, as much as they pressured, they still made huge errors which we managed to capitalise on.

The title of this post is a dedication the one man in the team that keeps on proving exactly why he is regarded as one of the most exiting young talents this country has to offer. His first goal was an excellent finish and the second was nothing short of incredible. To take the ball around a player like Lescott and finish the ball so beautifully, less than a minute after your team has snatched one point from the jaws of three just goes to show why we love Ashley Young so much.

As far as performances go, we'll need to improve before next week's trip to Bolton, but I'm sure Martin O'Neill knows this and I still have faith that we'll come good.

Aston Villa 1 - 2 MSK Zilina

I was aware Martin O'Neill was going to play a weakened side for the game. I was aware that players such as Gabby Agbonlahor needed a well earned break. But I was not prepared for such a poor performance, leaving most Villa fans embarrassed to be a part of the claret and blue army.

The team had been criticised for being too inexperienced, but let's not overlook the fact that Ashley and Luke Young both started, two players from the usual starting line-up, as did Nigel Reo-Coker who may not be playing well but is officially vice-captain. Carlos Cuellar; our multi-million pound summer signing. Zat Knight and Craig Gardener too, who may not be regulars but are both expected to be able to perform on any stage.

It is all well and good having a larger squad than we ever have done but what we need is the ability to play a weakened side that can still get results. I was very impressed with Zilina, who had been described as a 'Slovakian power-house' in the Evening Mail, but they were still bottom of the group without a win. They broke us down easily and looked dangerous on every attack.

I am not one to instantly start criticising his team; there were fans around me that were not as forgiving, but I cannot help but feel that Martin O'Neill underestimated our opponents. It was clear with the introductions of Gareth Barry, Agbonlahor and James Milner that he also started panicking late-on. I was confident we could come-back and earn a point but as time went on it was obviously becoming more and more of a challenge.

The chance was there to qualify, even to qualify as group winners. But instead we must go to Hamburg and grind-out a result. Something which, if they were watching last night, shouldn't worry them too much.

Delfouneso's lively performance was a silver-lining on a terrible night for other fringe players such as Salifou and Isiah Osbourne. But he still didn't do enough to convine me that he can compete for a place with Gabby or big John Carew.

Everton next, in a huge game, and then Bolton. I only hope that we can find the form that brought us that stunning 2-0 victory at the Emirates only a few weeks ago and resume our assault on the Premiership's 'big four'.

Villa in Europe

Villa Park plays host to another night of European football tomorrow night and I am hoping that the Villa can maintain their 100% record.

It has been incredible to watch the claret and blue army showcase their talents on the European stage for the first time in seven years, and a win against Zilina on Thursday would make it three victories in three.

This is something I am confident of and having watched AC Milan's visit to Portsmouth last week, I am not under the firm belief that there really should be no fear going into any game in these group stages or beyond.

O'Neill has said we can win in, Barry too, Curtis Davies, Ashley young; the list goes on. I am going to the game and can't wait to experience the electric, European atmosphere live at Villa Park for the first time since the game against Hafnarfjordu.

Up the Villa.

Super Gab!

England's young side managed to see off Germany 2-1 in Berlin last night, with the highlight of my evening being Gabriel Agbonlahor's impressive display on his debut.

Gabby has received much praise in all of the morning papers and deservedly so. He was a constant threat to the Germany defence and whilst he didn't score, he did enough to convince fans that he is capable of partnering Wayne Rooney in next years World Cup Qualifiers.

Ashley Young did make it onto the pitch late in the second half but failed to really make an impact with not long left. I must say I question Capello's decision to pick Downing ahead of him. But Downing did do well and as any Villa fan will tell you; Young will get his chance.

Finally, a quote from the Times on Gareth Barry's performance. Something that makes me so pleased to read having watched him at Villa Park for a decade...

'The mark of a decent midfield player? You hardly notice them when they are present and you miss them grievously when they are not - a category that Gareth Barry fits comfortably into.'

England's international future is looking bright. And it makes me proud as a Villa fan to know that part of this reason is due to the young, home-grown talent provided by the claret and blue army.

Villa stars make Germany squad...

Fabio Capello has named his squad for Wednesday's friendly with Germany, with England regular Gareth Barry being joined by three of his Aston Villa team mates.

Curtis Davies, Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbolahor have all been included in the squad after months of being overlooked.

Whilst I do worry that they may struggle to retain their places for competitive games, I can only congratulate them and hope they take advantage of this fantastic and thoroughly deserved opportunity.

Arsenal 0 - 2 Aston Villa

What an afternoon at the Emirates!

Arsenal seem to be one of those teams that the Villa seem to never be able to beat. Manchester United are the same, but at least we always put up a fight against them regardless of the score. However in the years that I have watched the claret and blue army play against the gunners, I am yet to see a performance worthy of even a point. Until now.

I feared that it may be one of those afternons and as Ashley Young missed his penalty, the score remained at 0-0 with less that 45 minutes to. I will admit that even though we were the better team, ther was an ever-present feeling of pesimism.

This is why walking away with a 2-0 victory isn't just a historic win for the Villa but one that proves we are still in the running for a top four finish. The past couple of games have been dissapointing but what a way to bounce back. Arsenal's form of late has been up and down but in my opinion, this was more a case of us making it physically impossible for them to play their football.

So we look forward to next week and a huge game against Manchester Unites that gives us the oppurtunity to prove we are serious contenders to break the top four and live up to the expectations of fans, players and pundits alike.

Two defeats in two for the mighty Villa...

Something I haven't mentioned on this blog yet is that I am a very, very sore loser at the best of times. I am an even worse loser when there is so much potential that isn't being fulfilled. I am an even worse loser still when there are not one, but two opportunities to break the top four and Aston Villa manage to waste both of them.

Okay, we are doing well in the Uefa Cup. And we still sit fifth in the Premiership even with the two defeats. But we are still supposed to be the favourite club to get into that top four and how are we ever going to do that if we can't deliver consistently?

That is the thing that Villa have always lacked. Consistency. And whilst I am going to remain optimistic, I hope this isn't a sign of things to come from Martin O'Neill's men. It's the Newcatles and the Middlesbroughs that we really need to be beating if we want the games against teams like Arsenal and Manchester United (our next two fixtures) to count for something.

Aston Villa v FC Hafnarfjordu slideshow

As you may know, this blog is part of my university course. We have been asked to create a slide show which I have done on this game.

Apologies that the game was a while back, but I found some pretty good photos. And as it was our first European game in seven years, this can be seen as a celebration of that...

Newcastle 2 - 0 Villa. Oh dear!

Given my last post was a very long rant about Newcastle United and the way the club is run, I do believe that I am now going to have to order myself a huge slice of humble pie.

I cannot believe that I have made myself look so foolish on my own blog, however can only praise Newcastle for their performance, say 'well done' and that they deserved it.

The first-half was Villa's. We bossed it and should have taken the lead through either Martin Laursen or Gabby Agbonlahor. Unfortunately both failed to break the deadlock but don't worry; there is always the second half...

Dominated by Newcastle, the Villa looked not even a shadow of the side that has started this season so brightly. The opportunity to go third was there and we blew it. This taking nothing away from Newcastle who made it hard to tell whether the Villa's game had dropped or their game had suddenly picked up. But they capitalised on every poor aspect of our game in order to take all three points courtesy of a brace from Obafemi Martins.

Perhaps I was being ignorant yesterday. Caught up in Newcastle's results but ignoring their performances. Perhaps I was being arrogant and got carried away with Villa's excellent start. Or perhaps once I had written a blog so devastating, it was always going to come back and haunt me.

I'm still unconvinced by Joe Kinnear because with a team like Newcastle's, the potential has always been there. And I would like to point out Joey Barton's needless touching up of Agbonlahor's face followed by a pretty awful tackle. However for the rest of the team that fought so hard and proved they're not down just yet, I congratulate you.

Aston Villa's trip to the Toon...

Aston Villa travel to St. James' Park tonight to take on a Newcastle team that suddenly seems to be being praised more than anything following their dismal start to the season.

I have always liked Newcastle, despite my second team being Sunderland courtesy of my father, but in recent years there can be no denying that the club has become a bit of a farce.

Such a proud area, with tremendous fans, an impressive stadium and legends connected with the club such as Sir Bobby Robson, Alan Shearer and.. Warren Barton. Yet they seem to be doing their best to ruin all that.

I am writing this blog after reading all of the praise that Martin O'Neill has been giving Joe Kinnear and Joey Barton. I am very sorry to any Newcastle United or football fan who may not like this, but I simply disagree with it all.

Sure, Newcastle have improved of late. Slightly. They have earned a couple of better results and are starting to play with a bit more confidence however correct me if I am wrong, do they not still sit bottom of the Premier League?

Joe Kinnear is an old school manager who apparently did well at Wimbledon. I remember Wimbledon from when I was younger and despite what state they were in when he took over, I never remember them being anything but a relegation-battling side year-in-year-out. Football has advanced so much over the past decade and in my opinion Joe Kinnear is guilty of not moving with the times. He proved this with that ridiculous press conference. It wasn't only his language that leads me to believe he has no idea what he is doing, but the fact that most of what he said was utter rubbish. He hadn't even read the stories about him properly and even if he had that was no way to go about responding to them.

Now on to Joey Barton.

Barton is a fantastically talented footballer. Since going professional he will have had it all handed on a plate to him; money, respect and admiration. But unfortunately Joey Barton is also an idiotic thug and nothing more. I am all for players earning second chances, but it just seems like no matter how many goals he scores or how well he plays at Newcastle, in my opinion he has had one 'fresh start' too many. Court case after court case, one contraversy after another and a disciplinary record that in my opinion loses him the right to an easy life as a professional footballer.

By writing this I am perhaps tempting fate. Barton will probably go and bury the Villa tonight; bag himself a hat-trick then get replaced by Joe Kinnear who rounds off the win with an emphatic finish, before revealing a celebratory shirt that reads 'F*ck you Shaun Staff'.

But I very much doubt it.

Villa earn victory over Blackburn - and the praise of Sir Alex...

Alex Ferguson is arguably the best manager the Premiership has ever seen. His record speaks for itself and over the past few decades he has cemented himself as one of the most dominating figures in football. Fergie has seen it all, and that is why it was particularly uplifting to hear him say that if any team are going to break the 'top four', it will be the Villa.

After last night's hard fought 3-2 win against Blackburn, in which Luke Young grabbed his first goal for the club, the Scot said that in his opinion the only team ever likely to finish higher than Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool is Aston Villa.

Since Martin O'Neill took over, and especially since last season, there have been high hopes and optimisn radiating from the Villa crowd at every home and away game. In the pubs, the Villa fans will try and convince their mates that this is the season we do something special. It is evident that every player and every fan goes in to every game with an incredible sense of confidence; something that Aston Villa has lacked for a good few years before now.

There will always be doubters, most of them from the blue half of the city, but I think you will agree with me in how fantastic it is to hear someone like Sir Alex Ferguson starting to see the real threat that the Villa pose on the Premiership.

Carson dreaming of England. And why not?

Former Villa keeper Scott Carson has spoken out about his hope of a recall to the england squad - and I for one wish him well.

Carson did well for us but was reprimanded for his performance against Croatia in England's final Euro 2008 qualifying game. I can not defend the error he made; it was terrible! However I am also under the impression that McClaren made the wrong call in putting him in there for such a crucial game.

He was right to drop Robinson. That is my opinion. But if he is going to drop Robinson for such an important game he should have gone for experience in David James (who has now proven himself of still being a more than capable national No.1).

After this, Carson's form dropped. There is no denying that but I still beieve that he kept us in a number of games, and want to be the first to wish him well if he eventually manages to force his way back in to the England set-up.

What a day to start a blog...

Well this is my first post on my new blog, and what a day to do it. Only days after beating Dutch giants, Ajax, and only hours after disposing of Wigan Athletic. It really is a good time to be a Villa fan and was nice to see European football back at Villa Park this week.

A comfortable victory against Ajax made it even sweeter and after just seeing Villa come away from the JJB Stadium with a 4-0 victory, it makes me wonder exactly how far we can go as a team. The pundits are convinced we will finish 5th, and no higher. Villa fans are full of hope but then again, so are the Tigers. And what about the Uefa cup? With a bigger squad and the ability to perform on the higest stage, perhaps we can surprise a few people; break that top four? Go all the way in europe? It's possible, unless we get AC Milan that is!