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.

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 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.