Author: Ardan Beveridge

Villa fan despite a childhood spent five minutes from Stamford Bridge. 17 years into my lifetime and I've already seen Villa reach four finals at Wembley, win ten games on the bounce, and a Scottish full-back turn into Cafu. Writing about the highs and the lows, thanks for reading my articles - I'll try to reply to any comments left. UTV

In the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, Aston Villa conceded 67 goals – the second-worst record in the league. Mix-and-match centre-back’s were often labelled as the main contributor to the defensive mess. The injury crisis that ripped through Neil Cutler’s goalkeeping unit did little to help this matter too. Overall, Villa shipped 1.8 goals (on average) per game throughout the season. However, this figure was even higher pre-lockdown, at 2 goals a game. After the enforced break, Villa altered their style. Although still susceptible to conceding, the average goals against (GA) plummeted during those summer months. At 1.1 GA during project…

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Aston Villa began their Intertoto Cup defence in the summer of 2002. Entering the competition in the third round, Villa faced FC Zurich. In his second spell in charge, this was Graham Taylor’s first European outing with the Villans. Third Round, First Leg FC Zurich 2-0 Aston Villa 21st July 2002, Hardturm, 4,500 Having compromised home advantage due to a Jehovah’s witness convention taking place at their own ground, Zurich moved across the city as Grasshopper’s stadium played host. The move failed to taint the performance of the Zurich players as Villa made hard work of a kind matchup.…

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On Sunday night, it was revealed that 12 clubs from across Europe (six in England) had signed up to a newly formed European Super League. The announcement was met with tumultuous uproar across the continent with governing bodies including the FA, UEFA, and the Premier League reacting swiftly in releasing robust statements condemning the plan. As this is an ever-evolving, updating story, I’ll try to refrain from the finer details of the proposals and focus solely on the implications they may have at Villa Park. The word around B6 On Monday morning, Christian Purslow was amongst the first senior club…

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After defeating NK Slaven Belupo (Croatia), Stade Rennais (France), and finally FC Basel (Switzerland), Villa won their third European trophy – The Intertoto Cup! This competition (which was merged into the new Europa League in 2008) provided a gateway to the UEFA Cup. However, the scale of success by winning such a trophy is regularly debated amongst the Villa faithful. Is silverware for qualifying to play in Europe’s second-string competition really worth shouting about? In the resulting UEFA Cup campaign, fans were left underwhelmed by the trophy winners performances when it really mattered.  Worth the hassle? After taking the long…

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Aston Villa began their 1998/99 UEFA Cup campaign by welcoming Norwegian side Stromsgodset to Villa Park. First Round, First Leg Aston Villa 3-2 Stromsgodset 15th September 1998, Villa Park, 28,893 In what should’ve been a routine victory over the then semi-professional team of Southern Norway, Villa struggled to find a breakthrough early on. In fact, by the 20’ minute, Stromsgodset had opened the scoring! A shot rebounding off the helpless Mark Bosnich fell straight into the path of the onrushing Anders Michelsen, who scored for the underdogs. The visitors leading by a goal as B6 held its breath. Stromsgodset…

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After defeat in the FA Cup final – the last to be played at the old Wembley – Villa were handed an obscure route to Europe in the form of the Intertoto Cup. The competition aimed to grant passage into the UEFA Cup by way of winning the tournament. Despite its abolition in 2008, when Villa entered the competition at the third-round stage in 2000, the competition was the talk of the midlands. In particular, at the home of West Bromwich Albion… Third Round, First Leg Marila Pribram 0-0 Aston Villa 16th July 2000, Na Litavce, 7,000 Making their…

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Aston Villa are on a projection to Europe. After surviving relegation by just a point last season, a new era was heralded. Jostling up the table, results such as the 7-2 demolition of reigning champions Liverpool have bolstered the club’s fight to be back amongst Europe’s elite. In football, times of change often see shifts in personnel. However few players have been disregarded the way that Bjorn Engels has been this season. Promising beginnings After the COVID outbreak halted last season, football was grounded for the best part of three months. Heading into the enforced break, Villa had just lost…

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In October 2018, Aston Villa sat 14th in the Championship table. After a summer that had brought the club to its knees, returning to the promised land looked a long shot at the third time of asking. Dean Smith was appointed manager of the team he had supported all his life and immediately delivered on his assignment – promotion. Back in the Premier League for the first time since the worst year in the club’s history, Smith’s Villans survived on the final day. Beating the odds, he retained the club’s place at the Premier League table. This season, Villa’s pride…

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With rumours of a possible B6 return for Tammy Abraham, how and where would the former loanee fit into Dean Smith’s side? Back in the summer of 2018, Aston Villa needed a target man – someone to rely on, a striker to help return the club to the Premier League. Tammy Abraham was an emerging talent from the Chelsea FC academy. Having registered 23 league goals for Bristol City in 2016/17, Abraham had been loaned out again for the 2017/18 campaign: this time to a Premier League institution in the form of Swansea City. In a dismal year for the…

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Aston Villa are on course for their best league finish since the 2009/10 Premier League season. The likes of Jack Grealish, Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins have been praised repeatedly by fans and pundits alike, though some players seem to have slipped the gaze of those watching on. In his ever-diversifying position as a modern-day full-back, Matt Targett is flourishing in his second year at Aston Villa. The left-back is yet to miss a league game for the Villans this season and is proving invaluable in the club’s quest for European football. Be it Dean Smith’s guidance, enough time to…

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