Author: AnneMc

The relegation drama at Aston Villa Football Club has taken another turn after Mervyn King and David Bernstein both resigned from the club’s board yesterday. Mervyn King, the former Bank of England governor, has been an Aston Villa fan for fifty-five years. He joined the club earlier this year, when he promised to do his best to ensure that he rebuilt the club. He also promised that he would help make Aston Villa one of the world’s top clubs, something that moved the online sportsbook soccer odds at that moment. David Bernstein is a former Football Association man as well as having…

With the home fans expecting relegation to be confirmed and confused by caretaker manager Eric Black’s team selection, they had little to cheer as they faithfully filed in to Villa Park. Many resorted to booing at the mere mention of the men who have let them, and the club, down this season. As the game got under way, the visitors, as they so often do, got off to the better start. A combination of poor defending and a back heel from Gradel allowed Grabban to rush towards goal after five minutes but the diving Guzan saved his low shot. Looking…

Yesterday, a meeting initiated by Aston Villa’s Supporter Liaison Officer, Lee Preece, and the Head of Communications, Tommy Jordan, was held. In attendance were representatives of Avillafan.com, AVST, MOMS, Heroes & Villans, AVISC, Vital Villa and the Lions Clubs to consider creating a Fan Consultation Group in which fans’ feelings, concerns and questions will be addressed. Yesterday’s initial meeting was largely about how this would happen. The meeting was productive and all parties agreed that the group could be a positive move forward, building better relations between all groups and the club. This project has been guided by Aston Villa Chairman…

The teams were greeted by row after row of empty seats, with many of a claret and blue persuasion having endured enough of this sorry excuse for a season. There was little of note in the early stages of the game. After nine minutes, a Villa free kick was wound into the penalty area but it proved a shade too high for Richards to reach. A minute later, Pedro curled a decent effort wide of the right upright. Ayew’s cross then found Gestede’s head and Courtois was forced off his line to deal with the header. An inswinging Villa corner…

SwanseaCity  take on Aston Villa in the Premier League this evening and the Welsh outfit will look to continue their journey away from the relegation zone. After a disappointing start to the season, the Swans have now steered clear of the bottom three and are heading towards a mid-table finish. A win this evening would take the team to thirty-six points and put relegation fears to bed. According to Sportytrader’s odds comparison, the three points are likely to be taken by Swansea City, who will exploit home advantage. After a loss against Bournemouth, the Swansea players are determined to deliver…

Yesterday’s trip to the Etihad Stadium only added to the Villans’ woes, as four second-half goals from the hosts kept their title charge alive and kept the Villans rooted to the bottom of the table, with increasingly little hope of defying the odds and beating the drop. The hosts showed their dominance from the outset, enjoying 98% of possession in the opening five minutes. However, the Villa defenders’ efforts meant the home side struggled to get the ball to the Villa area. Aguero should have put his side ahead after eleven minutes, when he brought down a high ball and…

All talk of survival stopped yesterday, as the footballing equivalent of the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre unfolded at Villa Park, where the Reds ran riot and condemned the Villans to their worst home defeat for eighty-one years. Before the game, Garde had spoken of the need for improvements but he was to be utterly humiliated before the game ended. The tempo was high early on, with both sides passing neatly around the halfway line. When the advancing Richards was needlessly shoved over by Moreno after four minutes, the hosts had a good opportunity to get the ball into the box.…

Having lost Ayew for his moment of madness at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday night and with his other obvious forwards missing through injury, Garde chose to recall Westwood to the starting XI. The relegation rivals took to the rain-soaked Villa Park pitch and the hosts had their first sight of goal after ten minutes, when Bacuna, finding space on the right, fired in a low cross for Agbonlahor, who shot wide. Nine minutes later, Mbokani tested Bunn with a fierce shot from twenty yards out. Bunn parried and the danger was averted. With the Canaries becoming increasingly dominant and…

Garde made one change to the team that secured a 1-1 draw with Leicester City last weekend. Captain Richards returned to the side at right-back following an injury, which left Bacuna to move into midfield to replace Veretout, who was named among the substitutes. It was clear from the start that the Villa defenders would have to be on their toes, as Pulis’ plan seemed to be to get his forwards involved at every opportunity. With the hosts whipping balls in to Rondón, Lescott and Cissokho were called upon to make important clearances in the opening ten minutes. The first…

Unsurprisingly, Garde named an unchanged side and the players took to the pitch aiming to build on their second win of the season, which came on Tuesday night against Crystal Palace. The opening stages of the match proved drab. A free-kick by former Villa player Albrighton presented Vardy, whose pace posed problems, with the chance to end his goal drought after thirteen minutes but the England striker’s header bounced wide. A minute later, Bunn was booked for charging out of his area and stopping the goal-bound Vardy. After twenty minutes, Kozák missed a glorious chance to open the scoring when…