BOF Posted October 7, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 7, 2010 As we head into another international break, VillaTalk takes a look at the Aston Villa players that will be involved over the next week. By our reckoning there are 11 players involved, and they would be a pretty good starting 11 on their own. Of the seniors... First up we must congratulate Eric Lichaj on what must be a very rare kind of call up. Eric was called up by 2 teams who are playing in the same match. The United States play Poland on Saturday evening (that's early Sunday morning in Europe) and as he is eligible to play for either side, he was called up by both. He has decided to represent the USA for whom he played at youth level. The occasion is made all the more sweet by the fact that the game is being playing in Chicago, the city where he grew up and where Villa plucked the then-18 year old while on our pre-season tour in '07. You would think Lichaj will get some decent game time over the 2 friendly games given that Bob Bradley will likely want to get a good look at the player after calling him up. Brad Guzan will also be in the senior American squad for both games and, as one of only two keepers (Tim Howard being the other), you would also like to think baby Brad will feature at some point over the week. The senior English contingent of Ashley Young & Stephen Warnock face a home tie against Montenegro. Both sides have played 2 and won 2 and they sit atop group G. Neither Young nor Warnock are first choice for their national side and Warnock in particular will probably not feature much ahead of Ashley Cole. Young's recent revival 'in the hole' under Houllier however means that he might be fancied on the lefthand side which has been a problem for Capello. With Lampard out you would think Gerrard will play centrally, meaning that the left is up for grabs. Of the wingers that have been named in the squad, only Ashley Young can say he is 'by trade' a left sided winger. Lennon, SWP & Johnson being more associated with the righthand side. Elsewhere we have the intriguing situation of James Collins facing off against club captain Stiliyan Petrov in their Euro qualifier on Friday evening. As mentioned, both sides are in England's group and neither side has a point to their name. With Montenegro making the early running alongside England, both will see this as a must-win if they want to go about catching the pace-setters. You would expect both players to feature prominently for their respective teams. If I'm not mistaken, both are captains of their countries? Richard Dunne is struggling to be fit for Friday's crucial home tie against Russia and the equally important away tie against Slovakia the following Tuesday. Ireland are light at the back and rely on the influential Dunne to lead by example. He has been sitting out training with a dodgy knee in the hope that he can save himself for the match(es). Rep.Ireland will desperately hope Dunne can manage to play in both qualifiers against the two top seeds in the group. They are currently top and if they can come out the other side of these fixtures still on top then they must fancy their chances of reaching the finals. John Carew faces a trip to play the dangerous Cypriots. Cyprus are known to play above themselves every now and again; and Norway have tripped up against opposition that they would have fancied themselves to beat in the past. Norway have won hteir opening 2 fixtures and sit top of Group H and they will be hoping that Carew is fit and raring to go. They then face a friendly away to Croatia 4 days later. Of the youngsters... Marc Albrighton & Nathan Delfouneso are in England's U21 squad for the crucial 2-leg playoff against Romania where a place in next years finals tournament is up for grabs. The first leg is at home on Friday then they travel to Romania the following Tuesday. Both players are sure to feature and you would be surprised if Marc's meteoric rise this season meant he didn't play the entirety of both games. Last but not least we follow Barry Bannan to Scot... err Iceland, where the Scottish under 21's face a similarly crucial 2 legged tie against their hosts, also for a place in next year's finals tournament. The return leg is back in Scotland on the Monday. Good luck to one and all and let's just hope that they return to Bodymoor Heath without so much as a scratch!! Below is a summary of the matches. Guzan SEN USA v Poland Sunday 10th @ 01:00, USA v Colombia Wednesday 13th @ 01:00 Collins SEN Wales v Bulgaria Friday 8th @ 19:30 Dunne SEN ROI v Russia Friday 8th @ 19:45, Slovakia v ROI Tuesday 12th @ 19:30 Lichaj SEN USA v Poland Sunday 10th @ 01:00, USA v Colombia Wednesday 13th @ 01:00 Warnock SEN England v Montenegro Tuesday 12th @ 20:00 Albrighton u21 England v Romania Friday 8th @ 19:30, Romania v England Tuesday 12th @ 12:30 Bannan u21 Iceland v Scotland Thursday 7th @ 20:00, Scotland v Iceland Monday 11th @ 19:45 Petrov SEN Wales v Bulgaria Friday 8th @ 19:30 Ash Young SEN England v Montenegro Tuesday 12th @ 20:00 Carew SEN Cyprus v Norway Friday 8th @ 19:00, Croatia v Norway Tuesday 12th @ 19:15 Delfouneso u21 England v Romania Friday 8th @ 19:30, Romania v England Tuesday 12th @ 12:30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Nice writeup, espicially with the summary of the matches, look forward to tonights game (Bannan) and tommorow's U21 england game (The Fonz and Albrighton). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbojames Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 top stuff. Think I read somewhere that Williams will be captaining Wales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted October 8, 2010 Moderator Share Posted October 8, 2010 How on earth do Cleverly and Rose start ahead of Albrighton for the U21's. Stuart Pearce is thinking with his thighs again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdabush Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Is the u21 game on tv anywhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 ESPN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdabush Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Cheers, might have to find a stream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gompedyret Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Carew scored a wonderful goal for Norway, securing 2-0 (at the time) and ultimately another victory for Norway. Please do a couple like that for Villa, Big John! Lookie It's the clip right below the headline. Warning: might be choppy, because of many viewers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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