Daholteend

I agree with DDID "he's bloody good that kid....."

Does hurt pride count as an injury in the Premier League ? Another poster referred to Dunne leaving Citeh and fitting in and that is close to the crux of the matter, both players were forced out of the citeh but Dunne was able to make friends and become popular at Villa Park. Dunne and Collins fit the system like a glove and had us saying things like Dunne being the answer to the loss of Laursen. On the other hand SI came because Citeh wanted Milner and that caused MON to leave abruptly. He was forced out of a club he loved to come to B6 where everything was turned upside down and unlike Dunne he didn't seem to make friends as easily and certainly the fans didn't take an immediate liking to him because his form was indifferent. Had he managed to find form and had other players been playing better things may have looked very different. With that said however, Ireland still has the ability to play Premier League football but he has to get past the "injuries" and find the desire for success and that is going to be the key. If Villa's results keep improving and the recent signings gel and get on board with GH's style of play, Ireland could very easily fit into this program and be a part of the success, but it has to come from inside him. He has to make the changes to turn his career around. If NUFC were to offer us 9 - 10M for Stephen Ireland, we should take it. If not, then someone very skillful is going to have to help SI "find himself" as a football player. When all these issues get resolved and if they get resolved in a professional manner we will also have to look at GH in a new light. He came to B6 and all was not a bed of roses, far from it, and this Ireland situation is just one of the stories to unravel. In the meantime we are still paying a reputed 62k a week for a player who is currently sitting on the bench or in a pink car and not producing anything like the form that we had all hoped for. If you bother to read these threads Stephen, please sort it all out and start playing the football of your life for Aston Villa. We know you can do it if you decide to. We "the fickle fans" will love you if you do and you'll never have to read posts like this again!

Nathan gets praise from GH in this B'Ham Post Article

I was surprised to see Baker start at LB but when I put some thought to it , it was an astute move for several reasons. First off GH is not afraid to give the young players a chance to play and show their stuff. I thought that Nathan put in a solid shift and played well considering he wasn't playing in his favourite position. Second, with the Warnock's loss of form and with Clark racking up the yellow cards, it was good to give Clark a rest and get another player prepared to step in if Clark does get suspended at a critical point. Third, I have to admit I like the idea of playing four Centre Backs across the back. Whether it is by design or merely circumstantial, it really bolsters the defence on set plays and makes our defence quite solid. Teams, like citeh at the weekend are going to find it hard to unlock this defence. Fourth, Baker and Clark are our CB's for the future and getting them ready now makes a lot of sense. I think the presence of Baker and Clark will keep Dunne and Collins on their toes and the team as a whole is just stronger IMHO . Meanwhile back on topic, Baker did well tonight, it was an encouraging performance and he should be feeling proud of what he accomplished. Well done NB.

SO, there was something in that last sentence that made me think of Janice Nicholls and "Oi'll give it foive" . I wonder how you would explain that to GH or JM. So yes "Oid give it foive" also and by then we will know for certain how well GH spent RL's money.

Good first game and good passing on a dodgy pitch. Bearing in mind that JM was playing in a completely new set up with the addition of Baker on the left I thought that both of them did well. There were a couple of times where Baker was left exposed defensively and that may improve with training and more games for both of them. I am looking forward to seeing JM at Villa Park where his passing can be even more valuable because there aren't a million and one divots and bumps to deflect the direction and pace of the ball. When fully fit and with a few games under his belt I think we will see a lot more. I am well pleased with his game tonight. Welcome to Aston Villa !

Mr H has taken a fair bit of flak and has weathered some extenuating circumstances thus far. However after bringing off the transfer coup of the season bringing in Darren Bent and then watching his reaction as Bent scored what was to be the winner and the change of expression in the after the match interviews, I am convinced that GH is developing that claret and blue blood. Time will tell but if we have reached the turning point and Villa keeps putting in the effort like we did yesterday we will all be a lot more cheerful at B6 and that Proud Villan spirit will be back for good. What did Villa need ? Goals. What did GH do? He went out and bought us one of the Prem's top 3 goal scorers. How many Villa managers have done anything like that before? I'll leave you to count them but I can't think of any in my lifetime. Thank You M. Houllier, you have restored my faith in AVFC by your efforts in this window. Onwards and Upwards ! UTV

Bent brings bump Poll might need to be revised for the upper limits especially since we still have 11 days left to spend .

sha at home please.

I hope so, it's pointless having Pires on the bench. Pires may be making room on the bench if GH takes exception to the reports in the Daily Telegraph reputedly with Pires sharing problems besetting the club.

As far as Ireland is concerned, no news is good news. I know the player is quality. If we can just engage him and get him to work with the team perhaps hope on hope he will come good. Dunne has shown by example that differences can be put aside for the team. If that is the case then there is still hope for Ireland.

Having seen Sidders go for what was described as a nominal fee, I wonder if GH will now also let SI go to the highest bidder. I agree with SellyOakVilla, if SI leaves we will be missing out on a top player who as Mark Hughes is quoted as saying just needs to be handled correctly. From what we hear in the press GH's handling of Ireland is a subtle as David O'Leary's calling us charming Villa fans "Fickle" . The difference between us and Ireland is however that we have thicker skins and are not so taken with what we have achieved in the past, which basically is "feck all" since 1982 ! Bearing in mind that Ireland was born in 1986 we have more in common than we thought Ok OK I know I have overlooked a couple of League Cup wins in the 90's but that was when Ireland was 6 years old and prior to the Teletubby era.

John, there is no argument about that, when he's not injured that is .

Yeah, somthing MoN seemed almost determined to get wrong. At least willing to give the youth a proper chance - not 5-10 minutes here and there. Also the MoN 'favourites' club has disappeared - maybe why certain players are unhappy?? Everybody is on a level playing field now and thats good!! i dont think we really know this yet, the young players have had a chance when others were injured. Yesterdays team was one player off the same side MON stuck with all last season. By my count it was two players off, Albrighton and Clark. Of course I may be wrong and if I am I apologize in advance

If GH keeps the back four the same as the Chelsea game I believe we are in with a good chance. Similarly if NRC and Petrov recover from yesterday's game without injury we ought to be able to show some strength in the midfield. Albrighton despite his moments of brilliance can be a liability when tracking back in defence. He could use some extra coaching when it comes to making defensive tackles. Strangely Harewood had the same problems, but of course the Hare didn't possess the magical upside that Albrighton has. I would be tempted to use Ashley and Downing as the wingers and have Heskey and Gabby if he's fit or the Fonz up front. I was well pleased to see GH revert to using Cuellar the way that MON did. I was wondering how long that would take. Clark is proving too good a player to leave out and I would play him again instead of Warnock. If Luke Young is fit I would only play him at right back and leave Cuellar on the left. Sunderland is not the Sunderland we used to know. Under Bruce's management they are quite a useful team and with Gyan upfront are always going to be a threat. Collins and Dunne take note : NO penalties on Wednesday. Gyan will bury every one he takes.

Magroll, you're having a laugh aren't you ? If ever a poll was loaded this would be it. Did you design it to bring out all the negative stuff on VT? The issue is not worth worrying about until the summer. Villa cannot afford to let one of it's better players go during January and a lot can happen between January and June. All this poll does is set up an anti Young position with some of the fans and that doesn't help the fans, the club or the player.

Villa 3 points !!! Yes!!!! Spuds watch out!

4 minutes added for the keinan and Basham timewasting

Come on Lads!!

Come on Lads!!

That was a direct result of a clueless free kick

Nice try Ashley!

Ireland for Albrighton

Warnock beaten again

Albrighton should have passed that one off to the right