Author: Dave Beeston

What do football fans like best these days? Three points? A good seat at the game? A nice pie? Maybe it’s a great atmosphere game in, game out, regardless of the result. To be honest with you, atmosphere has been top of the list for me for a number of seasons now since that wonderful night when goals from Laursen and Barry earned Villa a victory over Ajax. That night brings so many good memories, especially as it was when the tradition of fans in the Lower North standing at all the home games began. I know Villa Park and…

If you asked Villa fans from around the world where they would like the club to be, many would say competing with the big boys once again. I accept the fact that Villa were in and around mid-table while Doug Ellis was in charge of the club. When Randy Lerner bought the club, I think every Villa fan’s Christmases all came at once. A rich chairman who was willing to spend big to get Villa back amongst the elite of the league was a dream come true. O’Neill gave me some very fond memories, including the League Cup final and…

Oh and Weimann is through, a slip of the defence, IT’S GOING TO BE 3-2 ASTON VILLA! YES, IT IS! John Motson, ‘Match Of The Day’, commentating on Villa against Manchester City at Villa Park. This will go down as one of the best Villa quotes in history. Watching the footage from BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ is still giving me goosebumps. There are still one or two haters amongst the Villa faithful but a large proportion of fans are now seeing what the youngest team in the Premier League can do, even against the so-called big boys. The match was…

Tonight’s Capital One Cup fixture is “an impossible game” according to Andre Villas-Boas and Paul Lambert is focused on Saturday’s Premier League match against Manchester City. The managers have different sets of challenging circumstances to contend with: Spurs, having played, and won, away to Cardiff on Sunday, are unhappy with the scheduling while the Villa squad was hit with a number of knocks and injuries before and during Saturday’s vital victory against Lambert’s former club Norwich City. Speaking to the press, Villas-Boas was quoted as saying that the fixture against Villa was “impossible”: “This is an impossible game for us…

Many would consider him a pantomime villain but, in my opinion, Paul Faulkner is winning Villa fans over every day. Paul Faulkner is the main man at Aston Villa while Randy Lerner is in the States. He’s pulled off a number of transfer deals with Paul Lambert and has made a number of significant cash deals which will benefit the club financially in years to come. Many wouldn’t have put money on him getting them deals over the line, even if you were lucky enough to get the William Hill promo here. But I am sure a few would have…

No Jessie J, it’s not all about the money. Aston Villa spent wisely this window, making a number of signings and releasing members of the infamous ‘bomb squad’. Many would say Luna, others would say Okore and many more would consider the extension of Christian Benteke’s contract as the signing of the summer. Signings Galore The story begins on the 7th June: news had broken that Villa were about to make their first signing of the summer window. Rumours of a winger coming to Villa were rife and Bulgarian winger Aleksandar Tonev moved from Lech Poznan, for a fee of around…

David Craig has reported both Villa and Everton have opened talks regarding a move for Blackpool midfielder Tom Ince. The Sky Sports News reporter states that both clubs are talking to Blackpool, trying to agree a fee for Ince’s signature. This information has come from Craig talking to people close to the player. Tom Ince is the son of former England captain Paul Ince, who is also his current manager. Link

72% of the players who graced the pitches in the first year of a new top-flight league called the FA Premier League back in the early 90s were English. Since then the number of English players playing in the competition has diminished to just over 30%. This has been overlooked by The FA, is now being overlooked by the media and the likes of Mike Parry. When questioning presenters of a sports based radio station, Porky raised the issue of where English talent is coming from within the league after Newcastle United only fielded one English player in Steven Taylor in…

News has broken with a late twist in the Darren Bent saga. Rumours were rife last night as talk of Darren Bent heading for a medical this morning had appeared during the England game. But, in a shocking late twist, Bent pulled out of having a medical with Palace and now seems set to undergo a medical at Fulham today ahead of a transfer for a rumoured loan spell. The loan move would include a £2m fee for his season loan spell, Fulham paying his wages & £3m to complete his move at the end of the season. Many football writers…

Ian Taylor will be remembered as the Stan Petrov or Ashley Westwood of his generation. Tayls commanded the Villa midfield after moving o his childhood club back in December 1994.  He will be remembered as one of the members of the 1996 League Cup winning squad. Since his playing days finished, Ian’s reputation and charm have opened up many doors to new ventures for the former Villa man. From commentating with AVTV to creating his own company in Stadia Sports with former Blues player Michael Johnson, he keeps going from strength to strength. iT7 Was Born Ian has also gone…