There is obviously also the point that the villa side won at Anfield. Not sure if any of those sides bettered that result, though I imagine the Arsenal and Leeds sides had a number of comparable or better results.Anyway, for what it's worth, of the side that played v Liverpool, my bet is that Lichaj and Herd will be distant memories the next time someone knocks one of these things together; we'll have a bunch who go on to have good premier league (or maybe top level championship for some seasons) careers and 2-3 of them will be consistently playing top half premiership football or better. No prizes for guessing who's top of that list!
The collectiveness at the heart of the club.By Brian DooganFrom a stage at the centre of the Holte Suite, having posed for pictures with staff from hospitality, stewarding, security, operations and other departments at the back of the packed room, Paul Lambert made a short address to matchday staff attending their Christmas party."All of you here play a vital role at the Club and the games wouldn't happen without the work and dedication you put into it each and every time," the Villa manager enthused. "For everything you do - and I mean this genuinely - a really sincere word of thanks."Hours later, after the draw had been made for the semi-finals of the Capital One League Cup confirming a two-leg semi-final against Bradford City in the New Year, chief executive Paul Faulkner found himself picking up this theme of collectiveness even while elsewhere pulses quickened and thoughts and dreams of Wembley were dominating the claret-and-blue horizon."Everyone at the Club works hard - all of the staff at Villa Park and at Bodymoor - and we have a very motivated group of people who take pride in who we are and what we represent and it's that spirit of collectiveness that is at the heart of this Club," he declared. "Building something together, with everybody having their part to play, that's the essence of Villa because football is all about people coming together - that's the heart and soul of the game."For years, too, the Academy has been the heart and soul of the Club. From 1998, the year that the Premier League's Academy system was established, through to the 2010-11 season, some 145 players have come through Villa's Academy. Of these, 51.7% have played in the Premier League, the Football League, a top league overseas or remained in the Academy.In the same period 15 Academy graduates have become full internationals while many more have played in international games at underage level.Just weeks ago Villa secured Category One status for our Academy following an independent audit of the Club's youth development programmes, which forms part of the Barclays Premier League Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). In addition to achieving the highest status of the EPPP, the Aston Villa Academy emerged as the No.1 ranked Academy in the country, testament to the investment the Club has made to the development of young players.When Chairman Randy Lerner and the Villa board embarked upon the process of identifying and appointing a new manager this past summer the criteria was clear. Young, bright, hungry and ambitious - these were the sought-after qualities. Lambert had demonstrated these qualities in his successful tenure as manager of Norwich City where he secured the League One title in 2009-10 and led the Canaries to a second-place finish behind Queens Park Rangers in 2010-11 to gain automatic promotion to the Barclays Premier League. But it was in terms of vision, too, that the manager's and Villa's aligned.With significant investment, a total of nine players - including the returning Brad Guzan - were brought to the Club during the summer, yet on Saturday at Anfield, six Academy graduates - Ciaran Clark, who captained the team, Nathan Baker, Chris Herd, Eric Lichaj, Barry Bannan and Andy Weimann - all featured in the starting XI. Two more players who arrived in the summer are 22 years old - Ashley Westwood and Christian Benteke - and Matt Lowton is 23. Goalkeeper Guzan and attacking midfield player Brett Holman also started and they have typified the essential characteristics of the hard-working, motivated, zestful and ambitious side that Lambert has brought together. A clear, definitive, collective spirit and approach runs all the way through the Club."Collectively, we are trying to build something that will be strong and lasting and those efforts are hopefully starting to bear fruit which is pleasing for everybody associated with the Club," Faulkner emphasised. "There's a long way to go and no one is getting ahead of themselves but encouragement is a vital ingredient in order to sustain everyone's effort along the way and what we're starting to see this season is really encouraging."One of the key points that Paul made from the outset when he arrived in the summer was how important and influential the fans would be. Home and away, we've seen tremendous examples of the fans producing a rocking, thunderous atmosphere and that symbiotic relationship between the fans and the team is key. We have a young, hungry, ambitious manager and we have a young, hungry, ambitious team whose average age on Saturday was just over 23, the youngest Villa team ever in the Premier League."For a long number of years, our Academy has been a powerful symbol and a really definitive example of what we're about as a Club, with the work performed by people such as Bryan Jones, the Academy Director, and Gordon Cowans, who coaches the development squad, underpinning this. Our manager is a big advocate of promoting young players who are good enough to succeed in the Premier League. He is tremendously enthused and takes an active interest in NextGen Series games and the Professional Development League."Naturally, we are all delighted to have secured Category One status for our Academy, something we view as fundamental to our strategy moving forward. The infrastructure of the Club is rock-solid and our Academy provides tangible proof of this. The Chairman has strongly supported our Academy from the outset and over the past six-and-a-half years the investment in developing young players, in terms of the facilities at Bodymoor right through to our efforts in recruitment and providing for the young players who come through, has been substantial. This also dovetails very naturally with the ethos of the manager and so what we have is a very clearly-defined approach and togetherness."That our fans can now also look forward to the semi-final and an opportunity to compete again at Wembley for a trophy for what would be the second time in four seasons is really great. Villa Park will be jam-packed with the hopes and aspirations of the entire Villa fanbase on Tuesday, January 22. The tie against Bradford City is one we are all looking forward to and I'm sure it will be hard-fought. The flags will be out in force again and memories of European nights against the likes of CSKA Moscow will be evoked and, of course, that unforgettable night against Blackburn Rovers when the game finished 6-4 and there wasn't anyone with a voice left in the stadium by the final whistle!"But we can look forward to it all as this evolves because it's going to be exciting. Paul and the team are working hard to achieve the kind of progression the manager wants to oversee and that work ethic is mirrored throughout the Club. Ian Culverhouse, Paul's assistant manager, and Gary Karsa, head of football operations, are an essential part of what Paul has brought to Villa, as is Michael Henke, our head of European scouting, all of whom have been fantastic to get to know and work alongside over the past six months. The best things take time to build but Paul has been great from day one. He grasped immediately what Villa is about, the history and heritage of the Club and also the fans and the impact they have on everything. By continuing to grow together, we will hold steadfast to the values and standards we, as a Club, strive always to maintain."
It is a very positive article, and I'm really interested to see who Michael Henke identifies for us.
Wasn't that Boro side played in the last match of the season when they were safe and quite a few were making their debuts?
UTV
3 games away from Europe too....
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Topic: Reasons to be cheerful (Read 5476 times)
