Author: Max Hölzerkopf

A new year is upon us and we had time to reflect on what happened the last twelve months. Overall, the consensus seems to be that there is a lot of room for improvement and this improvement will be needed not only to ensure we keep our Premier League status but also to be able to climb a bit further up the table. There have been plenty of indications that we are in fact able to reach those heights but a lack of consistency in different areas at different times has on multiple occasions prevented major progress. Yet I am…

Anyone who has ever played a game of Football Manager will know about the advantages of a swap deal. Every transfer period, fans and the media alike suggest lots of them, confident such a deal could see teams improve massively. However, it is well known that in real life these player swaps between clubs are far less common than in the virtual football world. Nevertheless, we were able to witness an interesting swap deal taking place this week and even though circumstances have been a bit different, with both of the players actually being our own, the effect could still…

It has often been stated that if things aren’t working on the pitch you have to dare to experiment and change your set-up in order to see if this helps to surprise the opposition and to get back to winning ways. This approach is practically the complete opposite to the “never-change-a-winning-team”-philosophy and something I more often than not agree with ,especially if results are anything like ours during recent weeks. The first “suggestion” of change in most cases involves the manager, who in that case would then be the ex-manager. When one does not think that the sacking of the manager…

For the third reason in a row, injuries are negatively affecting our performances far more than they should and while this surely can’t be seen as the only excuse for an under-performing team, our bad luck with injuries has without a doubt played a major role. I would even go so far as to say that I can’t put any blame on the management because, even though we have been signing some players known to be “injury-prone”, it seems to have reached a level that you simply can not expect to last for three years and for which you can only prepare yourself to a…

It is no secret that our last six games have been far from great and even though our performance last Sunday should have seen us rewarded with at least one point, we still remain on ten points, which we accumulated during the first four games of the season. Winning seems almost like a distant memory. Our opponents during this losing streak and their squads’ quality, together with injuries sustained by some of our key players, surely played a big part in this run that we all hope will end very soon. However, when it becomes apparent that ideas, plans and tactics…

With the team going through a tough spell once more, questions are being asked about which things are going wrong and how they could improve in the not too distant future. It is not the first time the team has struggled under Lambert and many are seeing the manager as the source of most problems. Others argue it is the squad and a lack of spending that has seen us sliding down the table and that we should spend big as soon as possible. I don’t want to blame anyone in particular for the situation we find ourselves in. However, I would like to…

Ten points from a possible twelve and multiple contract extensions dominate the current discussions about our great start to the season. Positivity and optimism are noticeable in everything Villa and the team spirit makes all the difference on the pitch, where we are still unbeaten in the Premier League this season and sitting second in the table. The summer has offered a fresh start to many and seen a huge step in the right direction taken for the club as a whole. Everyone has a new – and seemingly fair – chance. It is no longer the budget that dictates Lambert’s…

After three games, we have seven points. That’s a more than decent start to the Premier League season. The basis for this productive run is without a doubt our newly-shaped defence, consisting of goalkeeper Brad Guzan, Alan Hutton, Philippe Senderos, captain Ron Vlaar and Aly Cissokho. Building from this solid back-line, our success should prove to be more than just a fluke but our goal-scoring record this season hasn’t really impressed and our opposition has been far from the world-class teams we will be facing in our next few games. With our defence still untested against this type of attacking-threat, we need…

Whenever we sign a new player, expectations and hopes are high. Good performances – a decent input on a regular basis – top the wishlist of requirements for every new addition to the squad. After all, we want every player to be remembered for having made a positive contribution. While only time will tell if our newest acquisition, loan-signing Tom Cleverley, will be a success, he will be someone with an unforgettable start to his Villa career. When was the last time Aston Villa, or any other club, signed a player seventeen hours after the transfer deadline? I can’t remember too…

Four days, including a weekend and an important league game, are all that are left of the current transfer window that has seen us make five first team signings, all of whom have had a positive impact so far and look very promising. With so little time left in the transfer period and Paul Lambert hinting that we might be looking at signing a few more players, speculation is increasing by the hour as to who could be signing for us before Monday night’s deadline. With the element of pressure coming into it, a lot of scenarios are possible and I want…