holte_k1 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 God Ridgewell looks weak for a centre half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 God Ridgewell looks weak for a centre half. Yes he does and I wonder the reaction that would have greeted us signing a player for centre half with similar stature! The thing about Ridgewell is that for me it was never his stature which concerned me, more his lack of any great ability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 He looks weak but Barry is a hulk of a man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenz Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Anyone seen the picture on the OS of Barry and Ridgewell, Ridgewell looks weak and skinny stood next to Barry, maybe it is worth sticking Big John with him? Captions? Barry to Ridge "Here you go Have a flower Petal" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Barry saying to camera "Thats the first time I have had my hand in shit today" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Ridgewell: "it's almost like I've played for England, my hero" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocafella Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Ridge should go visit a tan studio before his skin dies. And for the record, looks like Barry has been there already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 ridge: your my hero baz i wanna be just liek you. i wish i could come back i ahte teh sty it stinks down there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Didiersix Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 "Goodbye Agent Ridgewell. Let's make this a successful mission." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 Clemence warns Birmingham of Villa's pace Nov 8 2007 By Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail STEPHEN Clemence believes Birmingham City face a tough but not impossible task in Sunday's derby. Last season's Blues player-of-the-year, Clemence says that Martin O'Neill has made improvements to the Villa side. But Clemence has tasted victory over them, in September for his new club Leicester City in the League Cup. A veteran of six Blues-Villa clashes (three wins, two draws), Clemence says: "I'm really looking forward to this game, I'm sure St Andrew's will be buzzing. "Villa have started the season well and under Martin O'Neill there's definitely an improvement there to over the last couple of years. "The players he got in when he first arrived have settled now and he's had the money to add some more like Reo-Coker and Young, who's been very good for them. "When we beat Villa, we played decent football on the night. They couldn't really get in behind us because defended deep, tried to contain them, and nick it - which is what we did. "But I remember coming off the pitch at Villa Park and saying to one of the lads 'they're a quick side'. That's what he's got there, loads of pace. "He likes big, strong, powerful lads as well and, as the home side, Birmingham will have to come out and have a bit more of a go at them but must be wary of Villa on the break." However, Clemence - moved on after promotion in a £1million deal as boss Steve Bruce revamped his team for the Premier League - says Blues cannot be too open in their approach. "You're not going to see the ball knocked around in this game," he said. "It's all about being solid, not conceding and hoping maybe there's an error somewhere along the way you can take advantage of. "Players are under a lot of pressure in a Blues-Villa game, but it's the sort of game you want to be involved in. That's how we used to look at it when I was at Birmingham." Blues always seemed more wound-up for the clash in the early Premier League meetings. Clemence added: "In the first couple of seasons we were the underdog. Then, as we kept getting the better of them, it kind of changed round. "The last season in the Premier League they did us twice, so maybe it helps not going into it as favourites, or even." Clemence has no hard feelings towards Bruce or Blues, and he is sure they will not go down again. "I watch Birmingham when I can and I'm always flicking on to their games on Sky's Football First on a Saturday," he said. "From what I've seen, there are worse sides in the Premier League than them. "The main thing is to stay up first and then try and progress, and I think they will do that. "I know there's been a lot of talk at the moment of them having to perhaps be a bit more adventurous. But it is so important in that league to keep solid at the back and not give away too many chances. "They've got players who can come off the bench and make an impact and open teams up as they tire, and that's how they've got to go about it." Clicky Villa local lads key to derby success - O'Neill Nov 8 2007 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail MARTIN O'Neill believes Villa's clutch of local lads could make all the difference at St Andrew's. While Blues are unlikely to field a Brummie in their line-up on Sunday, Villa can boast Gabby Agbonlahor, Zat Knight, Luke Moore and Craig Gardner - all born within shooting distance of Villa Park. On top of that, skipper Gareth Barry has spent close to 10 years at the club. "I think they would have a better feel for it than perhaps some of the players who have been on foreign fields," said O'Neill. Villa's locals may not all be in the starting line-up but will be in the 16, having all played key roles throughout the season at some point or other. O'Neill says they will have a better understanding of what this derby is all about but he knows that does not guarantee a good performance from any of them. "It doesn't mean you are going to play any better in the game, but during the course of it if you understand what it is all about," he said. "And yet, interestingly, somebody can step in who doesn't know what all of this is about. "For instance, in recent years at Celtic, in the last 10 or 12 years or so, there were more foreign players coming in to play in the Old Firm derby. "Where it used to be packed with Scotsmen, suddenly there are lots of players who initially would want to know what all of the fuss is about but then soon got to know what all of the fuss is about. "They will all get to know what the fuss is about on Sunday." O'Neill does not believe the past experiences of Stiliyan Petrov, for instance, in having played a clutch of high-profile derbies in Glasgow, will have any bearing on this game. "I just think it is a different game, different city, different everything," he said. And he insists that, regardless of experience or age, it is impossible to pigeon-hole those players who will thrive on the pressure-cooker atmosphere. "I think it is a hard one to call because players in their own sort of way are hyped up," said O'Neill. "They wouldn't necessarily be running around and shouting it, but they would still feel it. "Players display it (emotion) in different ways. But I think we will be ready for the game and this is is a really big game for us." Clicky O'Neill praise for opposite number Nov 8 2007 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail MARTIN O'Neill has paid tribute to the work carried out by Steve Bruce in resurrecting Blues as a Premier League force just 13 months after he was believed to be fighting for his job. Defeats to Leeds, Luton and Norwich last October saw Bruce having to fend off fierce criticism from sections of his own supporters at a time when elements in the media were forecasting a swift end to his tenure. But Bruce and Blues had the last laugh. A victory at Derby was quickly followed by wins at Sheffield United in the Carling Cup and derby wins over Albion and Coventry which ushered in a period of dominance that led to promotion. It is an achievement not lost on O'Neill who, of course, had led Leicester to promotion via the play-offs in his first season at Filbert Street. "I thought it was a great achievement last year when there was a lot of doom and gloom around a football club - people criticising everything that you are doing, or trying to do," O'Neill said. "It seems as if it is a long way back. I felt that Steve Bruce did brilliantly, it was a really great achievement. "Last year, in the Championship, I thought Wolves did great under Mick McCarthy considering what they had at the start of the season - all that turmoil - and yet they nearly made it. "But for Bruce to get Blues up, really was a terrific performance." O'Neill has not had to endure anything like the criticism that came Bruce's way last season, but knows that it is now part-and-parcel of the game. He said: "What I have said is that anybody who pays money to go to a football game is entitled to do what they want, as long as they are not starting a fight or something like that. "They can give their vocal support, or they can go the other way. It's their prerogative. "I wouldn't want anyone to tell me what I could do with my boys if I had paid my hard-earned money. "I keep harking back to that phone-in about Sir Alex Ferguson losing the plot. That just about sums it up. "However, don't dismiss it because at the end of the day, this is what people feed off." Clicky Ellis: I think Yeung was behind Villa bid Nov 8 2007 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail DOUG Ellis believes that Blues' majority shareholder Carson Yeung was the mystery figure behind a consortium trying to take charge of Villa last summer. And he has also revealed he held talks with new Wolves owner Steve Morgan about selling Villa - but believes Morgan was simply interested in the club for its prime city centre land. Former chairman Ellis, aged 83, sold Villa to American billionaire Randy Lerner last August, a decision which he is more than happy with and one which has proven immensely popular with the over-whelming majority of supporters. Ellis has now chosen this moment to reveal the degree of competition faced by Lerner, which also included Liverpool's new joint-owner George Gillett. Ellis said: "I don't regret selling to Randy. I am very friendly with him. He found no debt, other than the usual bank facility. That's why he bought it. "Three of the 'predators', as I called them, were borrowing money. I wasn't sure if Gillett was at the time, but it transpires he was. "Then there was a Canadian, of Syrian-Armenian abstraction, Jack Kachkar, a nice enough chap. He was keen and has subsequently bought Marseille FC. "Another, an Indian gentleman, arrived with two brokers and two lawyers. We had two or three secret meetings away from the football ground at the Newhall Hotel. "He said he was going in 50/50 with a businessman from Hong Kong, it could have been Carson Yeung, I don't know as I never met him, but my feeling is that it probably was." Morgan, aged 54, spoke glowingly of his love for Wolves after taking over the club in August, but it appears they weren't the only Midland club he had his eyes on. "Steve is a big Liverpool man who has done exceptionally well with Redrow," said Ellis. "I know him socially very well. He has always had a crew around him at football matches. I hope he will be good for Wolves. "He was interested in Villa and came to see me with his accountants. He was not really a serious player. He wasn't one of the 'predators'. He didn't make an offer. "He spent time looking at the Siemens and Serpentine land plots and at our training ground. "He was interested in the land, as far as I could see it, at the time when he was fighting to buy out Moores at Liverpool." Ellis is still wrapped up in all things Villa. And he still delights at having beaten both Newcastle and Middlesbrough to the best signing of last summer, and for that matter most summers, when he enticed Martin O'Neill to the club. "We had three meetings at my house and I even cooked him a meal. It was bloody awful too," joked Ellis, who has been cheered by a shift in public perception about his chairmanship. "I've had a lot of sympathy from Villa supporters. I have received dozens and dozens of letters," he said. "So many of the deeper-thinking people recognise I chose to sell the club at £20million less than I could have got." Whatever supporters want to argue about his legacy, a sizeable portion of the credit for the club's state-of-the-art training ground should be laid at his door. "I built the training ground," he says matter-of-factly. "I entertained the councillors to get planning permission, I spent £3.5million and thought it would cost another £2million to fit it out. "I understand they spent £5million in the end, but I would have built it their way - with the exception of the swimming pool. "I'd been to Middlesbrough, Arsenal, Blackburn and Manchester United with an architect and they all said that it is fine at the start but the players soon get fed up with them." Ellis has high hopes for Villa this season. He said: "I thought Nigel Reo-Coker was a good buy as soon as we went for him, and I think Marlon Harewood will also prove to be a good signing - not least because he has always given us such a headache whenever we have played against him." But it is a local lad, Craig Gardner, who has given Ellis most to cheer so far this season. "I remember the day I signed him when his father and his agent came to see me," said Ellis. "We had a long meeting and he was going to be getting two-and-a-half times more than he was earning as an apprentice. "We did the contract and that was that, and later his father phoned back and said that as Craig would be continuing to live at home with his mother - could she therefore get an extra £50 a week!" Clicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 ellsi still lurking about then i love the way mon has again praised fistface but fistface hasnt said anything about mon. typical eh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gort Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 The Noses haven't even sold out, according to someone on one of their message boards he rang up and they told him there were 4000 tickets left. They sent us extra tickets this morning but they got snapped up very quickly. 'You couldn't sell all your tickets' 'Your grounds too big for you' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted November 8, 2007 Moderator Share Posted November 8, 2007 So Ellis signed Gardner did he? He never changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagbonlahor10 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 4-1 blues... what does SHA MEAN? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Birmingham derby double was so sweet - ClemenceNov 8 2007 By Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail STEPHEN Clemence will never forget Blues' '5-0' derby double that topped-off a successful first ever Premier League season. Blues stunned Villa with a 3-0 St Andrew's win in September and, with Villa convinced that revenge would be theirs, again out-played them in March. Dion Dublin and Joey Gud-johnsen lost their cool and were sent off as Peter Enckelman lost his nerve for a second time in the 2-0 victory. "That first one in the Premier League, when we hadn't met at that level for so many years, it was amazing," he recalls. "We played them off the pitch that night and the crowd was incredible. "It was hostile right from the kick-off and I don't think Villa knew what they had come into. "When we went there and Stan Lazaridis and Geoff Horsfield scored - and Enckelman dropped another clanger if you like - it was another great performance. "They didn't like it and after the game we were kept in the dressing room because it was going off outside and there was some trouble. "We didn't mind, we just sat there and enjoyed the result and the occasion." When the derby was moved to midday on Sunday, and manager David O'Leary set out his Villa team not to lose, a drab 0-0 draw ensued the next season at St Andrew's. The only highlight was a fine low save by Thomas Sorensen that stopped Clemence steering in a probable winner. "After those two Monday night games the police stepped in, probably to make sure people had less time for a drink or two," Clemence smiles. "The atmosphere before kick-off had been really hot but the earlier start on a Sunday does make a bit of a difference. "Saying that, Birmingham and Villa haven't played each other for a season now and once the game gets underway I'm sure it will be quite tasty," he said. wanks get over it losers such a sad petty club, if tahts tehir greatest achievement i feel sorry for the scum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulanddonya Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Not that anyone will be interested about this but just gotta say this..... 18 months ago I moved away from Brum to rural Herefordshire - since I moved there has not been 0.000001% of my body that regrets it - its bleeding wonderful. However, for the first time I am missing Brum this week, I am mising all the banter, all the slagging, all the Tony Butler phone ins, all the "Hello Tom, how you gooing mate", all the Evening Mail letters.... I come up for the games but I am really missing the pre-match build up !!!!! Think next year I'll be booking a weeks holiday in Brum, stay at some dodgy B&B on Trinity Road and buy all editions of the Mail and the Post !!!!. Mind you - can always watch Hereford v Leeds tomorrow !!! - wonder which game will have more arrests !!!!! Think Sunday has boring 0-0 draw all over it (and to be honest, I'd take it) , Ridgewell will make an almighty balls up sometime (as he always does) and it is just a question of if we take it, we could sneak it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulanddonya Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 So Ellis signed Gardner did he? He never changes. Didn't you know - he saw him on Weston Super Mare beach and decided there and then that he had to get him !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VlVA_LA_REVOLUTlON Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 ellis invented western super mare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahamaad Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 "I remember the day I signed him when his father and his agent came to see me," said Ellis. "We had a long meeting and he was going to be getting two-and-a-half times more than he was earning as an apprentice. He was like a son to me...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWARLEY2 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I hate to bring this up again but if we are to win at the sty we are going to have to break what is now a 6 1/2 year stretch without an away win on the tv in the premiership. Oh how I would like to break that particular duck. They always raise their game but if we can get the right players on the ball and have less hoof, more craft then we definately have the tools to do the job. Everyone is going to have to be on their game as you can be sure they will. Carew will be key and I just have sneaking suspicion that Petrov will come up with something on Sunday as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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