I had been off to the Andamans in the last week with no wi-fi, sadly when I checked back I saw I had lost to Hamburg with my rotation side and drawn to Bordeaux with the same side. Disappointing but hopefully my holiday will not have a great impact on our promotion hopes. On to the Villa story now on SM....
First though, we have a quick look at where our former players are in game. While most of the RL Villa players are at external, there are a few at managed clubs. Promising youth keeper Matija Sarkic has been at Old Trafford surprisingly. Mr. Pocket Posting Picture, Joleon Lescott is at divisional rivals Crystal Palace and has played a lot in this GW, however it is good that we do not have such a character at our club. Aly Cissokho, who was our first choice left-back last season was moved on earlier in the year and surprisingly stayed unmanaged for the good part of 2 months, but he is now at Hellas Verona which is good for him. He has already racked up 11 appearances and 2 goals in the league which in 1.5 months is a good tally. Jordan Amavi has been by far the journeyman in this GW which is a tad sad for him. After we sold him to Benfica in exchange for Djuricic, he then moved with the Benfica manager Gursimran to Bayern. He has just moved back to England, to City of all places. Including a loan to Chievo, this is his fifth club and with hardly any game time I hope he can play more in the coming months. He is a good talent. Next up we have the versatile Leandro Bacuna who moved two days ago to Chievo Verona. He could be a useful rotational option for his new side. Jordan Lyden is another youth who is managed in this GW, again by Palace and looks to have decent potential.
I did not believe it when I was notified of the transfers of Ashley Westwood and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy to rivals West Brom. It is a shame to see them there of all places. I hope they can move again soon from that place. We finally have the trio of Jordan Ayew, Carles Gil and Adama Traore, who find themselves at Stuttgart, Dynamo and Wolfsburg, all decent talents. Hope they do well there.
With that out of the way, it is time to talk about Villa's performances since the Youth Cup loss to Leverkusen.
After the close loss to Leverkusen, we welcomed Sampdoria home. Gav Harmer's side has struggled a fair bit this season but we were aware of the quality they had. Adrian Ramos gave them a lead mid-way through the first half and at half-time were looking confident to hold the lead. The hairdryer treatment worked for me though and Doucoure got his 2nd assist of the club by playing in Topal who got his maiden goal for the club early in the second half. Why Topal abandoned his defensive duties to go charging ahead I do not know and luckily for him he converted the shot. To be fair he was a rock for the entire game and got MOTM which was well-deserved. He also got his 3rd TOTW appearance of the season and his first for us. Samp had more possession but we had 12 shots with only 4 on target. Wasteful finishing meant we dropped 2 points at home which could be crucial at the end of the season. Let's hope not, but it was a disappointing game.
After the close loss to Leverkusen, we welcomed Sampdoria home. Gav Harmer's side has struggled a fair bit this season but we were aware of the quality they had. Adrian Ramos gave them a lead mid-way through the first half and at half-time were looking confident to hold the lead. The hairdryer treatment worked for me though and Doucoure got his 2nd assist of the club by playing in Topal who got his maiden goal for the club early in the second half. Why Topal abandoned his defensive duties to go charging ahead I do not know and luckily for him he converted the shot. To be fair he was a rock for the entire game and got MOTM which was well-deserved. He also got his 3rd TOTW appearance of the season and his first for us. Samp had more possession but we had 12 shots with only 4 on target. Wasteful finishing meant we dropped 2 points at home which could be crucial at the end of the season. Let's hope not, but it was a disappointing game.
We travelled to North London for the Churchill Cup game against Spurs that was looking tough for us from the start. Although we took the lead with Drogba setting up Emenike in the 7th minute, that was as good as it got for us as they equalised 9 minutes later with Chadli assisting Rodriguez, who paid back the favour 18 minutes later to give his side the lead going into the first half. They were not done there and in the 59th minute Ozil's floating free-kick was knocked home by Rodriguez to make it 3-1. 8 minutes later Townsend set up Dembele to make it 4-1 and that ended a very tough game for us against a quality side. Hamez Rodriguez got MOTM for that great performance. David the Fox Piero's side dominated with 62% possession and 24 shots. Well done to him.
With morale pretty low Leicester came home the next day for an important Division 3 game. It was balanced for the entirety of the game and despite N'Golo Kanté running all over the place they were unable to break through. However, our RB Alberto Lora had different plans and instead of passing back to Hitz he smashed it straight into our own net to score an own goal and give them the lead in the 70th minute and the win. We also had a goal by Drogba ruled out for off-side. Luck is not on our side, yet again. Congrats Johann du Plessis, though.
The majestic Villa Park played home to the last game of our Youth Cup campaign where we played heavy-weights Real Madrid. Expecting a tough game against the likes of Alli and Donnarumma, Keano however had other plans and instead sent his main team to face us. Probably thought it would be better to thrash us and get his team in good shape rather than send his youth team when he had already qualified. Typical big-team behaviour. The result was irrelevant as we got the 3 points for RM playing an ineligible team. Although we did lose 4-1. Lewandowski assisted Ramos for the first goal and then Bale assisted the Pole twice to make it 3-0 by HT. Derlis did make it 3-1 but then Gaitan played in Fabregas to make it 4-1 and the end of the game, but we had the last laugh in the end, not that it mattered though as both Leverkusen and Madrid were through to the next round of the Youth Cup. This was expected as they were heavy favourites so no surprise there.
With morale pretty low Leicester came home the next day for an important Division 3 game. It was balanced for the entirety of the game and despite N'Golo Kanté running all over the place they were unable to break through. However, our RB Alberto Lora had different plans and instead of passing back to Hitz he smashed it straight into our own net to score an own goal and give them the lead in the 70th minute and the win. We also had a goal by Drogba ruled out for off-side. Luck is not on our side, yet again. Congrats Johann du Plessis, though.
The majestic Villa Park played home to the last game of our Youth Cup campaign where we played heavy-weights Real Madrid. Expecting a tough game against the likes of Alli and Donnarumma, Keano however had other plans and instead sent his main team to face us. Probably thought it would be better to thrash us and get his team in good shape rather than send his youth team when he had already qualified. Typical big-team behaviour. The result was irrelevant as we got the 3 points for RM playing an ineligible team. Although we did lose 4-1. Lewandowski assisted Ramos for the first goal and then Bale assisted the Pole twice to make it 3-0 by HT. Derlis did make it 3-1 but then Gaitan played in Fabregas to make it 4-1 and the end of the game, but we had the last laugh in the end, not that it mattered though as both Leverkusen and Madrid were through to the next round of the Youth Cup. This was expected as they were heavy favourites so no surprise there.
Division 3 football was back again and this time we had to make the trip to Wales to face Swansea who are a quality side with players such as Shelvey, Adriano and Ayew and were challenging for the play-off spots. We got off to a great start with Drogba scoring a penalty to put us 1-0 up in 4 minutes, getting his maiden goal for us. They did have a goal ruled out for offside but then Drogba assisted Markel Bergara for his maiden goal to give us a 2-0 lead in 28 minutes. Swansea's RB Parshivlyuk got sent off 3 minutes later to give us a great advantage which we did not let go. Though the Welsh side had more possession we were more dominant with Hitz getting a 9 rating for his show. Drogba got MOTM and his first TOTW appearance of the season, the veteran is still going strong. Good 3 points for us and tough luck Tony Lennox, good luck for the rest of the season.
We had an important game next up. One not for trophies, but for pride, for honour. The West Midlands Derby, part 1. Only a friendly, but pride was at stake here. I was looking forward to playing Norman Little's West Brom. On paper we were the better side but then we just did not turn up on the day. Said Berahino, the talented English striker, bagged 2 to give West Brom bragging rights. We did not have most possession, we did not have a single shot on goal (8 off target) while they had 6 on target out of 11. Hitz got MOTM again but a disappointing game. Revenge will come soon, Norman, be warned.
Our luck did not improve in the next game either. Lille were the next team to come to Villa Park and from past experience we know they are a strong and tough team to play. And they took the lead in the 31st minute. Peter Crouch converted a penalty to put his team 1-0 up. Poor play and we concede, what's new. There was more to come though. Micah Richards followed up from Lora and scored an own goal of his own to gift a 2-0 lead to Lille. By this time I was fuming, but we then gave them another penalty in the 80th minute which Crouch converted to give the French side a thoroughly undeserved 3-0 win. The stats were fairly balanced but we had no luck. Hitz had a bad day, Scocco got injured mid-game, we conceded two soft penalties, Richards scored an own goal, and then Enyeama had a blinder for them and got MOTM to boot. But Dave T's side took their chances and we played badly. If we miss promotion by 3 points I will look at this result with regret.
We finally had a game out of Europe, this time we made the trip to Valencia to face Levante in a dead rubber in the last game of the Youth Cup. Tom Parfitt has some quality youngsters in his side like Miazga and Success so it was a closer matchup than it would seem like. Romera gave the Spanish outfit a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute but then a minute later it was 1-1 with Forster-Caskey getting his maiden goal for the club (I think). Derlis assisted him for this. Romera made it 2-1 at the stroke of HT to give his side a decent shot at 3 points but we had other ideas and in the 69th minute CB Hodorogea assisted his defensive partner Turnbull who got his maiden goal too and equalised to make it 2-2. That wrapped up the Youth Cup for us. From the table below we can see though that we were only able to win twice (one against Flamengo in the first game and one the gifted win v Madrid in the 7th) and draw once against Levante in the 8th game. We did lose one each to Flamengo and Levante which is disappointing for the club. We could have come at least 3rd. Never mind, it was a good learning curve for the boys but whether Villa will participate in the next Youth Cup is a big question, if Rahul W is still at the club, that is. Good luck to Leverkusen and Real Madrid in the next round.
As I said our participation in next year's Youth Cup is in doubt as I do not want us to be making up the numbers and with Derlis (who also increased his rating to 88 earlier, making him a first-team player next season) turning 22 earlier he will not be available for the Cup which significantly weakens the team. Jake Forster-Caskey also turns 22 in 2 weeks after which I do not see much use for him in the main team which is why he has also been sold to AC Milan, of all teams, where he will be managed by Stephen Beddows. Beddows has shown an interest in youth so Jake may have a chance at Milan but I am not sure about this. Good luck to Jake though and we are happy to pocket 3 mil for future re-investment. I am not going to look for a replacement for Jake and Derlis till the end of the season though.
Back to D3 football where we flew to relegation-threatened Hamburg who still looked a decent side to play against. Surprisingly thought they got the early lead in the 13th minute courtesy Mpoku who was the MOTM and they continued to dominate possession and shots, eventually getting 3 points which could be crucial for their campaign. Well played David Marsden, another disappointing result for us.
We then had the last game of the Churchill Cup, an inconsequential game against Nicky Thompson's West Ham. Didn't have much to look forward here other than facing a quality player in Payet but it was Enner Valencia who gave them the lead in the 40th minute. In the next half though Veretout played in Eder who equalised in the 58th minute to finish off the game as a draw. They did have more possession and shots so I consider it a good result against a better team. The Churchill Cup went off badly for us as expected with a 0-5 drubbing to Chelsea, a close 1-2 loss to Arsenal, 1-4 thrashing to Spurs and a 1-1 stalemate to West Ham. Didn't expect any better to be honest. It is good these tournaments are done so we can now focus on promotion. Good luck to Spurs and Chelsea in the next round.
Bordeaux were the next team to arrive at Villa Park and they are also near the play-off spots so it is a tricky game. Khazri gave them a lead in the 17th minute but as usual Veretout was there to assist Eder who equalised 7 minutes later. Maurice-Belay however gave them a 2-1 lead going into HT, scoring in the 40th minute. It looked like they would take all 3 points but Sinclair, who started the season well but found himself on the bench too often than not, latched onto a Park assist to equalised late in the 85th minute and give us a well-fought point. We had more possession and there were a lot of shots in that game for both sides which means a point is probably the fairer result. Good game Anders Dahlby. Nice to note Park got a second TOTW appearance of the season for his assist.
Yet another friendly, this time I invited Stuttgart to come over but this will be the last friendly during the season. Rodriguez and Fred made it 2-0 by HT before Jordan Ayew scored on his return to his former club to make it 3-0 and nearly end the game. Derlis's goal a few minutes later made it 3-1 but that's how it ended. Well played Feargal but I don't look deeply into this result.
The next D3 game saw us fly over to Germany to face Hoffenheim. They did play a weak side but that did not stop them from taking the lead (again!). Rudy scored to make it 1-0, but 8 minutes later Okore scored only his second for the club to equalise. It looked like it would stay this way but Sanchez scored again late in the 80th minute to give us the lead and the win. Emenike had an impact with two assists. Okore also got his first TOTW appearance of the season for that. The win took us to 6th with 43 points, 4 points behind first-placed Basel. Tough luck Miguel Salgado. With 11 games left anything could happen and it is up to us to keep the division-winning consistency.
That starts with the home game v 20th-placed Sassuolo and if we do not get a win today I shall be disappointed. Hope we can get the win today and put pressure on our rivals.
Sorry for the very-long post but that is the round-up of the last 3 weeks. Too many games and now we shall be back to the nice two games a week schedule which suits me well. Good luck all!
Come on you Villans!
We had an important game next up. One not for trophies, but for pride, for honour. The West Midlands Derby, part 1. Only a friendly, but pride was at stake here. I was looking forward to playing Norman Little's West Brom. On paper we were the better side but then we just did not turn up on the day. Said Berahino, the talented English striker, bagged 2 to give West Brom bragging rights. We did not have most possession, we did not have a single shot on goal (8 off target) while they had 6 on target out of 11. Hitz got MOTM again but a disappointing game. Revenge will come soon, Norman, be warned.
Our luck did not improve in the next game either. Lille were the next team to come to Villa Park and from past experience we know they are a strong and tough team to play. And they took the lead in the 31st minute. Peter Crouch converted a penalty to put his team 1-0 up. Poor play and we concede, what's new. There was more to come though. Micah Richards followed up from Lora and scored an own goal of his own to gift a 2-0 lead to Lille. By this time I was fuming, but we then gave them another penalty in the 80th minute which Crouch converted to give the French side a thoroughly undeserved 3-0 win. The stats were fairly balanced but we had no luck. Hitz had a bad day, Scocco got injured mid-game, we conceded two soft penalties, Richards scored an own goal, and then Enyeama had a blinder for them and got MOTM to boot. But Dave T's side took their chances and we played badly. If we miss promotion by 3 points I will look at this result with regret.
We finally had a game out of Europe, this time we made the trip to Valencia to face Levante in a dead rubber in the last game of the Youth Cup. Tom Parfitt has some quality youngsters in his side like Miazga and Success so it was a closer matchup than it would seem like. Romera gave the Spanish outfit a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute but then a minute later it was 1-1 with Forster-Caskey getting his maiden goal for the club (I think). Derlis assisted him for this. Romera made it 2-1 at the stroke of HT to give his side a decent shot at 3 points but we had other ideas and in the 69th minute CB Hodorogea assisted his defensive partner Turnbull who got his maiden goal too and equalised to make it 2-2. That wrapped up the Youth Cup for us. From the table below we can see though that we were only able to win twice (one against Flamengo in the first game and one the gifted win v Madrid in the 7th) and draw once against Levante in the 8th game. We did lose one each to Flamengo and Levante which is disappointing for the club. We could have come at least 3rd. Never mind, it was a good learning curve for the boys but whether Villa will participate in the next Youth Cup is a big question, if Rahul W is still at the club, that is. Good luck to Leverkusen and Real Madrid in the next round.
| Aston Villa | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 7 |
As I said our participation in next year's Youth Cup is in doubt as I do not want us to be making up the numbers and with Derlis (who also increased his rating to 88 earlier, making him a first-team player next season) turning 22 earlier he will not be available for the Cup which significantly weakens the team. Jake Forster-Caskey also turns 22 in 2 weeks after which I do not see much use for him in the main team which is why he has also been sold to AC Milan, of all teams, where he will be managed by Stephen Beddows. Beddows has shown an interest in youth so Jake may have a chance at Milan but I am not sure about this. Good luck to Jake though and we are happy to pocket 3 mil for future re-investment. I am not going to look for a replacement for Jake and Derlis till the end of the season though.
Back to D3 football where we flew to relegation-threatened Hamburg who still looked a decent side to play against. Surprisingly thought they got the early lead in the 13th minute courtesy Mpoku who was the MOTM and they continued to dominate possession and shots, eventually getting 3 points which could be crucial for their campaign. Well played David Marsden, another disappointing result for us.
We then had the last game of the Churchill Cup, an inconsequential game against Nicky Thompson's West Ham. Didn't have much to look forward here other than facing a quality player in Payet but it was Enner Valencia who gave them the lead in the 40th minute. In the next half though Veretout played in Eder who equalised in the 58th minute to finish off the game as a draw. They did have more possession and shots so I consider it a good result against a better team. The Churchill Cup went off badly for us as expected with a 0-5 drubbing to Chelsea, a close 1-2 loss to Arsenal, 1-4 thrashing to Spurs and a 1-1 stalemate to West Ham. Didn't expect any better to be honest. It is good these tournaments are done so we can now focus on promotion. Good luck to Spurs and Chelsea in the next round.
Bordeaux were the next team to arrive at Villa Park and they are also near the play-off spots so it is a tricky game. Khazri gave them a lead in the 17th minute but as usual Veretout was there to assist Eder who equalised 7 minutes later. Maurice-Belay however gave them a 2-1 lead going into HT, scoring in the 40th minute. It looked like they would take all 3 points but Sinclair, who started the season well but found himself on the bench too often than not, latched onto a Park assist to equalised late in the 85th minute and give us a well-fought point. We had more possession and there were a lot of shots in that game for both sides which means a point is probably the fairer result. Good game Anders Dahlby. Nice to note Park got a second TOTW appearance of the season for his assist.
Yet another friendly, this time I invited Stuttgart to come over but this will be the last friendly during the season. Rodriguez and Fred made it 2-0 by HT before Jordan Ayew scored on his return to his former club to make it 3-0 and nearly end the game. Derlis's goal a few minutes later made it 3-1 but that's how it ended. Well played Feargal but I don't look deeply into this result.
The next D3 game saw us fly over to Germany to face Hoffenheim. They did play a weak side but that did not stop them from taking the lead (again!). Rudy scored to make it 1-0, but 8 minutes later Okore scored only his second for the club to equalise. It looked like it would stay this way but Sanchez scored again late in the 80th minute to give us the lead and the win. Emenike had an impact with two assists. Okore also got his first TOTW appearance of the season for that. The win took us to 6th with 43 points, 4 points behind first-placed Basel. Tough luck Miguel Salgado. With 11 games left anything could happen and it is up to us to keep the division-winning consistency.
That starts with the home game v 20th-placed Sassuolo and if we do not get a win today I shall be disappointed. Hope we can get the win today and put pressure on our rivals.
Sorry for the very-long post but that is the round-up of the last 3 weeks. Too many games and now we shall be back to the nice two games a week schedule which suits me well. Good luck all!
Come on you Villans!
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