Author: Alex Othon

Welcome to the fourth part of our Maverick Series which takes a look back at some of the flair players that have turned out for Villa over the years. Sometimes, game-changing talent isn’t always enough to be successful in B6 however; this week looks at David Ginola’s troubled time at Villa Park. David Ginola’s transfer to Aston Villa back in July 2000 was a strange happening. The deal seemingly came out of nowhere and turned out to be pretty underwhelming for all involved. Bizarrely, it seemed that Doug Ellis was the driving force behind the deal, which completely went against…

Welcome to the third part in our Maverick Series which focuses on some of the flair players that have pulled on an Aston Villa shirt over the years. This time, we focus on the wing wizard that is Tony Daley. It’s 25 years since he last pulled on an Aston Villa shirt, but being immortalised in those famous lyrics ‘Tony Daley down the wing like a torpedo’ means that the iconic winger’s legacy is still as strong as ever. Daley is a player that fans under thirty years of age won’t have much if any, recollection of seeing. But this…

Aston Villa’s summer spending spree could be nearing an end with still well over two weeks of the window still remaining. A lot has been made of the number of players we have bought in but we shouldn’t overlook those already at the club. In particular, Mr Jonathan Kodjia. The defence has been bolstered all across the backline. With deals nearing completion for Manchester City’s Douglas Luiz and Egyptian Winger Trezeguet, that should be about it for the midfield now also. The goalkeeping situation will probably also see a resolution one way or another with either Tom Heaton or Jack…

Welcome to the second instalment in our Maverick Series which focuses on some of the flair players that have pulled on an Aston Villa shirt over the years. This week takes a look at Benito Carbone’s short, but highly memorable, time at the club. Aston Villa 3-2 Leeds A sunny Sunday afternoon at Villa Park in January 2000 saw a tricky looking 5th round F.A Cup tie for the hosts against Leeds United. A side who at the time was sitting pretty, level on points with Manchester United at the top of the Premier League. Villa’s task looked to be…

Aston Villa has been on the front foot since the summer transfer window opened and a flurry of new signings have helped to create a real buzz of excitement amongst supporters. When new signings arrive, existing players are often overlooked. Is it the right time to phase out James Chester? Lazy comparisons with Fulham’s ultimately doomed attempt at strengthening last year has become a by-product of our own spending spree. However, everyone connected with the club can see the major differences. After releasing so many players after our playoff final victory, we simply had to replace bodies. In particular, our…

Welcome to the first in a new series of player profiles which focuses on some of the flair players that have pulled on an Aston Villa shirt over the years. Some have fared better than others; in fact, some have soared whilst some have flopped. But they all had the same thing in common; they had the ability to change a game in an instant through their skill. This is the Maverick Series. It is the year 2000, and a dark and dreary November afternoon at Goodison Park is thankfully coming to a close for Aston Villa supporters housed away…

Ahmed Elmohamady is currently in scintillating form for Egypt in the African Cup of Nations as he captains the Pharaohs for the first time in a major competition. Elmo currently sits at the top of the scoring charts, albeit jointly with several others, by registering two goals in his three games so far. Obviously, its always great to see a Villa player doing well on the international scene, especially in a major tournament. But it also usually comes with a sense of dread that it will attract a cluster of suitors. Despite his strong showing recently, however, Elmo is unlikely to…

Aston Villa last week announced two new major sponsorship partners whose company logo’s will adorn the newly designed Kappa kits set to be unveiled next month. W88 is the club’s new principal partner and their brand will feature prominently in the middle of the shirt. BR88 also became the club’s first-ever sleeve sponsor. Both of these firms are online gambling businesses. They may not be as well-known as Betfair betting ads that you’ve seen across the online football space, but they are carving out a new niche in football and especially targeting the Asian markets via the Premier League. No…

Aston Villa has wasted little time in reshaping the squad that won promotion into the Premier League. Spanish playmaker Jota has been brought in from bitter rivals Birmingham City. A deal which sees Gary Gardner move in the other direction whilst Anwar El Ghazi has now joined us on a permanent deal. The club also confirmed that none of the players that are coming to the end of their contract at the end of this month will be offered fresh terms. In addition to this, Villa has made good use of their financial muscle to finally rid themselves of Ross…

It hasn’t taken long for the transfer rumour mill to accelerate into overdrive following Aston Villa’s promotion back to the Premier League. The club is currently being linked with all sorts of players in all sorts of positions. Last week I wrote about how we should look to avoid completely rebuilding the team and focus on strengthening were needed instead. One of the positions I felt didn’t urgently need addressing was our goalkeeping options. By all accounts, the club didn’t share the same sentiments! By now, it’s accepted that Villa is in the market for a new stopper. Even today,…