Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on December 17, 2012, 11:00:01 AM
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I've waited two years to use that one:
www.thebirminghampress.com/2012/12/16/step-forward-step-forward/
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poetry....very well written article
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Right on, Comrade. It really has the feeling of a turning point week - the lads seem to feel that they can beat anyone and, on those showings, they can.
I do love that Weimann goal, including as it did my two favourite pieces of Villa skill this season: the backheel, obviously, and Bannan turning and leaving Gerrard on his arse earlier in the move.
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Nice article Dave. I remember being at that Everton game as well, standing behind the goal giving me an ants eye view of the action.
Certainly think the League Cup is on this year.
UTV !!!
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Good write up Mr W.
Co-incidently I am reading Big Nev's autobio at this time and thought would MON ever have signed a plyer like that during his time at the Villa.
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Who did they sign from Bury? Sharp was from Dumbarton and Sheedy from Tranmere is memory serves.
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Not sure i can see lambert guiding us to a top 4 spot in his reign as the finances available to the so called called big 4 are huge and vast , but I certainly think he can get us back into the top 6 and compete favourably with the likes of spurs , Everton and Liverpool given time.
The game has changed with man city's multi millions and with Man U averaging 75000 , arsenal 60000 and Chelsea bankrolled by roman it is very hard to catch those 4 clubs- what a shame o Neill was the one given the massive funding as I think with the same resources lambert would far outweigh o Neills achievements.
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Who did they sign from Bury? Sharp was from Dumbarton and Sheedy from Tranmere is memory serves.
Southall.
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Well I'm happy for us to try this approach to get to the top 4, we tried it the other way and it failed.
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The finances may be great, but what's most important is HOW you spend the money. £10m spent well is better than £20m spent badly.
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Good article Dave, and spot on.
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I've waited two years to use that one:
www.thebirminghampress.com/2012/12/16/step-forward-step-forward/
I think we've all waited a long time for you to be able to use that title.
An interesting parallel with Everton in the 1980s. I think Everton from when Moyes took over may also be relevant.
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Spot on Dave , sums us up perfectly
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A 4-1 win away to West ham ignited our season under Little back in 1995, let's hope the result against Liverpool has a similar galvanising effect. Somebody in the H&V fanzine back hen predicted that we'd batter West Ham as well.
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A 4-1 win away to West ham ignited our season under Little back in 1995, let's hope the result against Liverpool has a similar galvanising effect. Somebody in the H&V fanzine back hen predicted that we'd batter West Ham as well.
If you ever see the footage of that West Ham match after one of the goals you see a fella in glasses invade the pitch. That was one of my mates. Not one his brightest moments.
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Just looked up our results after the West Ham game out of curiosity and we only won 3 out the next 11. Like Risso I thought we had a decent run after stumbling on playing Super Tom behind Yorke and Savo.
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Not sure i can see lambert guiding us to a top 4 spot in his reign as the finances available to the so called called big 4 are huge and vast , but I certainly think he can get us back into the top 6 and compete favourably with the likes of spurs , Everton and Liverpool given time.
But apart from the Manchester two Chelsea if Abramovich doesn't get bored who else is really chucking vast amounts about? Spuds made the top four, Everton have come close, there's a place there for the taking by someone i reckon.
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Not sure i can see lambert guiding us to a top 4 spot in his reign as the finances available to the so called called big 4 are huge and vast , but I certainly think he can get us back into the top 6 and compete favourably with the likes of spurs , Everton and Liverpool given time.
But apart from the Manchester two Chelsea if Abramovich doesn't get bored who else is really chucking vast amounts about? Spuds made the top four, Everton have come close, there's a place there for the taking by someone i reckon.
I really think Arsenal are on the wane and will be the next side to 'do a Liverpool'. Unfortunately, I think it'll be too soon for us to be the ones to take advantage of it.
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Another good article Dave let's hope what you say comes true.
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Not sure i can see lambert guiding us to a top 4 spot in his reign as the finances available to the so called called big 4 are huge and vast , but I certainly think he can get us back into the top 6 and compete favourably with the likes of spurs , Everton and Liverpool given time.
But apart from the Manchester two Chelsea if Abramovich doesn't get bored who else is really chucking vast amounts about? Spuds made the top four, Everton have come close, there's a place there for the taking by someone i reckon.
Arsenal average 60000 , have huge finances and will finish top 4 in my opinion , they are having a rough spell but have qualified 13 years running for the knockout stage of the champions league- I think they will spend big big money in the coming year and would not be surprised if pep takes the job, winger looks tired with it all and guardiola has always viewed the arsenal job highly.
I don't see villa cracking man city, utd chelski or arsenal for the foreseeable future.
I would be delighted with the odd cup final win and top 6 football and believe lambert can achieve that.
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But Arse don't have massively rich owners, the extra 20,000 spectators obviously helps, but in the end that is probably only the yearly wages of one player. Another season or two of them winning fuck all and they might drop away like Liverpool have.
Under O'Neill we nearly cracked them, Spurs have cracked them, it's possible you know.
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But Arse don't have massively rich owners, the extra 20,000 spectators obviously helps, but in the end that is probably only the yearly wages of one player. Another season or two of them winning fuck all and they might drop away like Liverpool have.
Under O'Neill we nearly cracked them, Spurs have cracked them, it's possible you know.
Can't see it personally , if we could hold onto our best players then maybe, but I fear once the likes of benteke, Westwood etc are established and have a couple of good years that they will be sold to the so called big boys, I don't think the top 4 is a realistic target unless we see substantial investment but I do think the top 6 is realistic.
It's interesting with the hullabaloo about Everton cracking the top 4 a few years ago that they got knocked out in the preliminary round qualifier and missed out on the champions league proper.
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I would be delighted with the odd cup final win and top 6 football and believe lambert can achieve that.
Would you not be even more delighted if you were proved wrong and Villa did crack the top 4? You have stated your opinion but that doesn't mean it's right. At the moment there's talk of Arsenal signing Stewart Downing so I'd say they're a long way from automatically finishing top 4 even if they have done in the past.
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But Arse don't have massively rich owners, the extra 20,000 spectators obviously helps, but in the end that is probably only the yearly wages of one player. Another season or two of them winning fuck all and they might drop away like Liverpool have.
Under O'Neill we nearly cracked them, Spurs have cracked them, it's possible you know.
At Arsenal's prices, those extra 20,000 seats are more than one player's wages!
The big question is whether they'll become 20,000 empty seats if they start falling down the league?
I think there's a change coming there, especially if they finish outside the top 4 this season. It was similar with Liverpool, where they made poor managerial apointments, despite having money to spend. I can't see Guardiola going there as I think him to Chelsea is a done deal for next season. So, they could easily start a downward spiral - some would say they're on it already!
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I would be delighted with the odd cup final win and top 6 football and believe lambert can achieve that.
Would you not be even more delighted if you were proved wrong and Villa did crack the top 4? You have stated your opinion but that doesn't mean it's right. At the moment there's talk of Arsenal signing Stewart Downing so I'd say they're a long way from automatically finishing top 4 even if they have done in the past.
Of course I would be delighted to finish top 4 , regarding arsenal I think they will spend big big money and not necessarily with wenger at the helm in the summer.
BY Bill Mann
IT'S THE NEWS every Arsenal fan has been praying for. No, Gervinho hasn't joined Spurs, and nor has Andre Santos been offloaded to Chelsea. It's better than that: Pep Guardiola has disclosed he's up for the challenge of restoring the good name of the Gunners.
"Guardiola's preference in England is Arsenal," a source close to the Spaniard whispered to the respected football website Goal.com. "The club are aware he would be interested in the job in 2013."
Seven reasons why Arsenal no longer need Wenger
The former Barcelona coach has been targeted by a host of top clubs across Europe ever since he stepped down from the Camp Nou last summer. Most recently Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was allegedly on bended knee, pleading with Guardiola to take charge of the Blues after the dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo.
But it seems the Spaniard has a soft spot for the Gunners and, says Goal.com, his representatives "have let it be known to the north London club that he would be very keen" to lead Arsenal out of the wilderness into which they have wandered under Arsene Wenger.
Guardiola is currently hanging out in New York on a 12-month sabbatical but that hasn't stopped a slew of stories emerging in recent months linking him with AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, not to mention Chelsea and Manchester City. He will apparently sit down in the New Year to consider his options.
During his four years in charge of Barcelona, Guardiola guided them to 14 trophies including two Champions League titles. His skill and reputation are too great to be trampled on by a know-nothing proprietor like Abramovich.
That explains why he apparently has no wish to go to Chelsea where the Russian has gone through nine managers in nine years. Arsenal, however, have a different and – dare one say it, more dignified - way of doing things and it's this approach that attracts the 41-year-old to the Emirates.
Arsene Wenger's current deal with Arsenal runs until the end of the 2013-14 season but it seems almost certain that the Frenchman won't see out his contract. With the club floundering in the Premier League, and following Tuesday's humiliation in the League Cup against Bradford, it's more a question of when Wenger will go rather than if.
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Good piece Dave.
It will be good for English football and not just Aston Villa if this team of ours can become successful with home grown and hungry players.
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Good piece Dave.
It will be good for English football and not just Aston Villa if this team of ours can become successful with home grown and hungry players.
Yes totally agree, there is a feel good factor at the club again and if we can get to Wembley it will keep things moving nicely, 17 years without a trophy is a long time to wait and I think we have a great chance of silverware.
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During his four years in charge of Barcelona, Guardiola guided them to 14 trophies including two Champions League titles. His skill and reputation are too great to be trampled on by a know-nothing proprietor like Abramovich.
That bit is worth a chuckle!
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During his four years in charge of Barcelona, Guardiola guided them to 14 trophies including two Champions League titles. His skill and reputation are too great to be trampled on by a know-nothing proprietor like Abramovich.
That bit is worth a chuckle!
The thing about Guardiola is that he knew what was energing at Barcelona and had the good sense not to try and interfere with it. It'll be interesting to see what he does when he needs to actually BUILD a side.
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The only way Arsenal are going to win anything again is if they stop selling their best players. They have trouble keeping hold of their better players when the big boys come calling as well as us.
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The only way Arsenal are going to win anything again is if they stop selling their best players. They have trouble keeping hold of their better players when the big boys come calling as well as us.
I think the problem there is they seem happy to finish 4 th and qualify for the champions league year after year whereas most fans want trophies , a good bank balance is not what fans are craving ,it's silverware and a club like arsenal should be winning trophies - they have lost a lot of good players but haven't really spent big on replacements , although as man utd found out with Ronaldo good players are hard to hold onto.
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Back on the Press theme , here is how the Times described our Team that played against Liverpool .
" From their three unflappable centre-backs to their twinkle-toed forward line, via a Stakhanovite midfield, Villa’s team of boys played like men " .
and referring to the goals : " First, the Liverpool defence backed off Holman, who squared for Christian Benteke. The Belgium international had the time to pick his spot, albeit with a shot that bobbled over Reina’s late dive.
Villa’s second was a pearl but once again Liverpool’s tracking of their men was less than Mountie-esque. Weimann’s precise through ball was met by a superlative, first-time Benteke backheel, a moment of other-worldly but world-class magic that wrong-footed the Liverpool defence. The Viennese had run-on and, imperious as a Habsburg palace, smashed the ball gleefully past Reina.
Benteke is already looking splendid value for the £7m it took to prise him from Genk. Collectively, Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger tried means fair and foul to stop him, but for 90 harrowing minutes they were outrun, outmuscled and out-thought. And in Weimann, Benteke had a sidekick as eager and as willing.
To the Kop’s increasing but hushed horror, it could have been three before half-time when Glen Johnson let in Weimann, who chipped on to the roof of the net. Rodgers dangled the carrot of redemption before Joe Cole and the midfielder found himself with 45 minutes in which to further revive his stuttering career. After six of them, it looked unlikely when he was pickpocketed by Holman. The Australian found Benteke, who charged towards goal, again untracked, and skipped past feeble Skrtel and Joe Allen challenges before slotting over Reina with the insouciance of a lambent player near the peak of his powers " .
Some amazing descriptions in there ............Godzvilla !
p.s...
Definition of Stakhanovite
noun
a worker in the former Soviet Union who was exceptionally hard-working and productive: the Stakhanovites succeeded in increasing the quantity of goods produced
an exceptionally hard-working or zealous person: [as modifier]: she was a Stakhanovite worker in the field of female suffering a Stakhanovite train-washing programm
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Stakhanovite sounds a quality player. Come on Randy, open the cheque book !
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Does villadroid work for the times as I'm sure some of those words flow from his sentences when he posts his majestic views on the blessed Martin.
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Great article Dave, didn't remember the history but it sounded familiar as I was reading and the bit I really liked was...
'But I’ve not seen much this season to make me think that, given time and a bit of luck, a top four spot is out of the question, and with the way football now works that’s as impressive for a club of Villa’s resources as actually winning the league would have been in 1985.
If the future does go to plan maybe this was the week we’ll look back and call the time when it all started to go right.'
Right on! Gosh I hope you're right.
And as ALITA says, sign more talented Stakhanovites. They seem to work for PL! UTV