Author: Matthew McMahon

When Nicklas Helenius signed for Aston Villa from Danish side Aab last summer, Villa fans were rubbing their hands gleefully at what was meant to be another one of Lambert’s bargain buys. Helenius joined Villa for a fee reported to be around £1.2 million, which is fairly cheap considering he was one of the Denmark’s best young players last season. The number nine started his career at Villa brightly and had a good pre-season, especially on the German tour, scoring two goals against Bochum and Rodinghausen. Since scoring those goals, Helenius has failed to make much of an impact as…

Following the 0-0 draw with West Ham at the Boleyn Ground yesterday, Lambert’s Lions have failed to find the back of the net in four consecutive games. Where our goals will come from, besides Benteke, is now becoming a real worry. Although we came close to scoring in our last two games, with Benteke having a penalty saved at home to Everton and powering a header against the bar against West Ham, chances have been few and far between. In the last three or four games in the league, we have failed to create many goal-scoring opportunities and we need…

When I hear Villa fans moaning about how bad our home form has been over the last two or three seasons, I have to question the support that the fans are offering and whether or not this is helping the Villa team when playing at Villa Park. On Saturday against Everton, I felt ashamed that the stadium had not sold out in one of the most played fixtures in English football and was let down by the atmosphere generated by the home fans. In my opinion, we are too busy getting on our players’ backs and berating the manager to…

So far this season, we have proven that we are a team more than capable of pulling off an upset and beating the bigger teams, both at home and away. Having beaten Manchester City at home and Arsenal away, as well as performing solidly against teams such as Chelsea and Liverpool, we are a team that the big boys should now fear. Villa’s players have proven that they can put in a performance worthy of merit against the top sides but if we want to finish in the top half come the end of this season, we will have to…

Over the last few weeks, following Paul Lambert’s decision to start Leandro Bacuna ahead of Matt Lowton at right back, many fans have questioned who is the better player and are wondering who Lambert should play on a regular basis. Bacuna has raised a few eyebrows following his brilliant performance in the 3-2 win against City and having lent a helping hand in Villa’s scoreless draw away to Hull last weekend – but is this enough to keep him in the side? For me, it is a tough decision. Defensively, I would have to say that Lowton is better but,…

Another game at Villa Park has passed, which meant another loss for Aston Villa on home soil. I seem to be urging people to make the historic ground Villa call home a fortress far too often, as we have rarely performed well at Villa Park in recent years. This has to change if we want to finish strongly in the league this season. Even the most loyal fan needs something to cheer about. I cannot falter our performances away from home, as Lambert seems to have conjured up a well thought out system that allows us to hit teams on…

Five days have passed since Paul Lambert was unfairly fined £8,000 by the Football Association following comments he made in a post-match interview after the Chelsea game at Stamford Bridge. My first thought on Paul Lambert’s fine was that managers of teams inside the top six criticise the referees frequently when decisions don’t go their way and they don’t win games. These managers do not get hit with fines.  So why was Lambert fined? Why did the FA decide to pick on him and, by extension, Aston Villa? A statement was released by the FA regarding Lambert’s fine. Here is…

When I take a look at the squad that Hodgson has chosen ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and the Ukraine, I have to wonder why Gabby Agbonlahor was not chosen. Players such as Jermain Defoe, a player who has really not featured once in the Premier League this season, has managed to get the nod ahead of Gabby. Danny Welbeck, a player who managed just a single goal along with a string of mediocre performances during the whole of last season, has also been selected. It just doesn’t make sense to me but I have come to…

If you were to travel back five or six months in time and mention the name Karim El Ahmadi around B6, most Aston Villa fans would speak of how useless the Moroccan-born central midfielder had been since his move from Feyenoord in July 2012. Karim failed to impress last season, looking lacklustre on the ball and failing to show any real desire when on the field, leading to the 28-year-old spending most of his time on the Villa bench. Nobody of a claret and blue persuasion seemed to have any more faith in El Ahmadi bar one man; that man…

Think all the way back to that horrible day, which ruined Christmas for many Villa fans and tore the heart out of already deflated fans last season. It was not the best Christmas present that we received on the 23rd of December 2012, but it sure was a wake-up call for Paul Lambert and Aston Villa. When Torres scored Chelsea’s first goal in the third minute, you knew you were in for a tough day – and what a day it proved to be. In my opinion, it was one of our lowest points last season and I couldn’t bear…