Title: SPYIN' KOP Aston Villa away 2007
Post by: Mr Mojo Risin' on March 9, 2007, 06:54:25 pm
Aston Villa v Liverpool Sunday 18th March Kick Off: 13.35pm Referee: Mark Halsey   Well they've had a settling in period, for Martin O'Neill and the Randy one, so I popped over to villatalk to see how it's all been so far. And I haven't once mentioned that we knocked the mighty Barca out of Europe. Promise.  Club Honours European Cup Winners: 1982 European Super Cup Winners: 1982-83 InterToto Cup Winners: 2001 First Division Champions: 1893-94, 1895-96, 1896-97, 1898-99, 1899-1900, 1909-10,1980-81 Second Division Champions: 1937-38, 1959-60 Third Division Champions: 1971-72 FA Cup Winners: 1887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913, 1920, 1957 League Cup Winners: 1961, 1975, 1977, 1994, 1996 Questions and answers taken from Villa Talk, thanks all. How has the season been shaping up so far? blandy- A bit of a season of 3 halves, - started off with a rediscovered sense of optimism and improvement, and transformation. The team was limited, but worked their nads off and was the last team in England to lose a game (to you lot, as it turned out). We then suffered a spell of winlessness that was an unjust as the loss-less streak was. Now we're in the third part and it'll be this final third of the season that is the interesting bit, I reckon. The first 13 games or so, we got through on adreniline, the next 13 or so showed that the team and squad was (as we knew) too small and weak, but now we have a few ins and outs, we'll get to see maybe a glimpse of the future. bof-We were the last team in the country to be beaten in the league (and it was you guys who beat us in the end !), so we got off to the best possible start. We then went on a run of 1 or 2 wins in 16 games so we've had both sides of the coin so far. We are currently levelling out and after a good January where we brought in the solid if unspectacular Phil Bardsley from everyone's favourite club the Mancs, the experienced John Carew, the deadline day swoop for Celtic's exciting Shaun Maloney and the exciting explosive Ashley Young for perhaps over the odds, and got rid of the over-rated Milan Baros (you remember him don't you?) villafan306-Transitional is a word thrown about far too much in today's day and age but that truly sums up our season. A great run at the start, a terrible run in the middle and most ikely a decent run to end the season - mid table beckons. What were your expectations for this season? With Mr O'Neil taking over the helm. Have they changed from day one? blandy-before MON came in and Ellis went, relegation. Since the changes lower mid table or better. rudy-I honestly thought we'd be in the top 8 by now due to MON. Some on here even now don't seem to want to give him time. I think he has to be given 3 years to mould his own team and then we'll see. This season we've had key injuries to Moore and laursen which haven't helped and have at times being forced to play that lazy t3at Baros, who you will of course know well. Thanksfully he's now gone and been replaced by Carew who looks good. I fully expect us to be challenging regularly for a top 6 position next season suc is my confidence in MON blackcountryvilla-I expected mid table but in the back of my head i always thought we had a slight chance of the UEFA cup, my expectations are still to finish mid table Which Villa player(s) has had the most impact this season? blandy-Gareth Barry overall, though Gabby had a big impact early on, and gary Cahill is coming on nicely. bof-For differing reasons Gareth Barry, Gary Cahill & Gabriel Agbonlahor. Gareth Barry took the captaincy over from Olof Mellberg in the summer and has been our top scorer while shifting between left back & centre mid. Yes he has his fair share of penalties but his England call-up is testament to how good he has been playing - if a player can get called up to the England squad despite not playing in London or in red then he's gotta be doing something right. Gabby was our little secret. We knew about him from the reserves and it wasn't long before the rest of the Premiership knew about him. He has perhaps been found out a little on the wing because he is primarily a striker, and the better leftbacks know how to deal with him, but he has definitely been the outstanding newcomer to the team this season. Gary Cahill showed tremendous promise while on-loan becoming Burnley's player of the year 2 years ago. He has come back and dislodged the much-improved Liam Ridgewell from the team and until Martin Laursen returns to fitness (if ever) he looks to be there to stay. paulobarnsi-Barry has been great. Gabby has shone as well. Cahill and Ridgwell are both good. Laursen who has been injured for most of the season is a truly class defender. McCann started off well, but has really dropped off; when he plays well we tend to play well as a team. Carew and Yong look like a great pair of signings. Disappointing; that has to be Petrov and Baros. Disappointing because both players are talented. Very glad Baros has left and Hendrie is no where to be seen Your worst ? bcv-Aaron Hughes, Angel, Baros, Sorensen - all poor v306-Aaron Hughes has been disappointing, Petrov hasn't made sa big an impact as I'd hoped/expected and Agbonlahor has been ineffective on the wing. Do you have a particular memory of any previous meeting between our clubs? Say something that happened to you that day or a decision you disagreed with? gabby- one of, in not the 1st Villa matches i went to was at villa park between Villa and pool, i think it was a boxing day game and pool won a VERY dodgy penalty which i think Litmanen took and missed. Ican also remember shouting obscenities at the linesman from about 5ft away when i was about 7 nuremburg villain-I remember being at Mould Trafford for the Cup semi-final where, as usual, Robbie Fowler single handedly turned us over. On the way out I remember seeing that loads of people had written abuse about the Mancs on some of the seats, using Tipp-Ex. bof-My prominent memories of matches against Liverpool are ones where we end up losing. Getting anything from Liverpool is always a good result although now we have a little more belief so your 'franchise' better watch out. rocafella-Who can remember the Ronny Rozenthal-miss in 92/93, that was great! I remember beating you when Collymore had just joined us from your lot. I remember Ian Taylor scored a goal and we won several years ago. Other than that, very little. jasthevillafan-Fans that were there always talk about beating the team that would win Liverpool's first European Cup get thrashed 5-1 at Villa Park with all the goals in the 1st half. For me it is when we won 3-1 at Anfield towards the beginning of 2001-2 and the officials gave you 7 (SEVEN!) minutes injury time to try and salvage a point but to no avail! lancsvillan-0-0 at Anfield when Jimmy Rimmer got a standing ovation from the whole ground is one of my fondest football moments of all time. The reception your fans gave The Holte End on out last day was excellent coming a week after The Kop last game.Thought the media never mentioned ours and Deano's home debut 4-2 victory the Rosenthal miss and having to watch only the highlights of the game on MotD as I got married that day!!! What sort of line-up will be put out against us? nbgvillan-We've got some players back from injury, but essentially it'll look like the side who played Reading, but maybe with Martin Laursen in the side (we hope) and Luke Moore somewhere in the 16. rudy-Our strongest! Carew, Young and the returing Moore up front, thereby giving Gabby a well earned rest. Villa fans travel well, but at home they tend not to be so vocal.Any new chants/songs we might hear? rudy-To be honest we're pathetic at home, but most clubs are the same. You were pretty quiet earlier this season when you were 3-0 up. There are some new chants about Carew apparently rocafella-Well according to Liverpool you are they only club in the world to have vocal supporters at home, even though neutral evidence show you are pretty much like the other teams and fans everywhere. Villa Park is probably a bit silent due to poor performances and empty seats in recent years. This will turn around. v306-You may hear booing if Carew scores but be assured it is just 3000 Villains chanting Carew! jasthevillan-'Carew! Carew! Carew is on fire!' Various Martin O'Neill songs as well as 'USA' for Randy We may remind you that Gillett got turned down by Villa and Liverpool were his second choice! lancsvillan-I would hope for something about you being run by a cowboy and his mate, as I keep thinking of what Hicks did for Corinthians and hope he doesn't do the same to you. I've been looking around the site,and you have a 'run in ' topic.KKR has a good take on what he expects from the remaining games. What's yours? rudy-I think our form will pick up and expect us to finish about 10th. bof-I've posted in the run-in thread too. Suffice to say I don't expect anything from the Liverpool game. gabby15-considering we've played 6 (7 by the time we play you) of the "big 4" and with the added quality of our new signings i'd expect quite a good run-in Any reds players you fear? if so , why? nbgvillan-Dirk Kuyt. He's got a face only a mother could love. rudy-Stevie G for obvious reasons. Crouch, if he sorts his nose out, simply cos he playing against an old club. Whatever he'll get a good ovation. Sincerely hope you play Pennant so we can give him some abuse. We hate the toe rag and i don't think you're too keen either? bof-If Gerrard gets near the penalty box, keep your hands by your side ! Seriously though, we don't like former players playing against, much like Darius Vassell only seems to score for City when he plays us, I fear what Peter Crouch will do against us too. Having lived in Redditch for some time,i got to know the deep feelings you and the blue side have for each other. Are they coming back up to the Prem? And are you all cock-a-hoop about it ? nbgvillan-They might get promoted, but we're all hoping they stay where they belong. If they come up we'll accept it, and given the way this club has been galvanised we might even have reason to look forward to playing them again in the future. That said it's never nice to see PornoDwarf, Werewolf and Spudface arriving at B6 in their porn funded blue and white coach. rudy-Hate them with a passion. Hope they stay down for a while and I don't think they'll go up anyway this season. They're top and their fans are still moaning. Bizarre. paulobanesi-They hate us. Until recently they were an irritant, but when they got promoted they became more than that. So yes we hate them. But its not just a rivalry; they have some of the most appaling fans in the country who would stop at nothing; on a plain with teams like Cardiff and Stoke. They give the Midlands a bad name lncsviln-I lived in Redditch 66-83 too. They are coming back unfortunately and cock-a-hoop! Isn't that something you can buy in their club shop. Early kick-off, Mothers Day, Sunday. What do you think the atmosphere will be like? ''Atmosphere will be poor due to the kick off time even though it's a full house. It will be ok if we're winning'' (x 3) lancsvillan-Poor atmos for this game but better than usual for an early kickoff as it's a full house. Pubs - Villa Tavern might be open, the social just off the A38 will be too Phil Neville played instead of Barry for England? Was Maclaren correct? bctvilla-Was he fcuk gabby15-Barry = Natural left back Neville = Right sided player Mclaren = idiot paulobarnesi-Yes in that it will bring the end of him quicker. He is just awful. But then so is the FA. This is a £50 mil a year business (double any other international team), and he’s in charge. Barry should have played a whole game in his correct position. The problem with England (IMO) is that no manager will take some of the radical steps of building the best team combo, rather than the best 11 Englishmen who don’t fit together. Build the team round Gerrard and Shrek. But in all honesty I ve lost most of my love and interest for the national side rudy-McClown is exactly that. Bizarre and stupid decision. Rather have given Baines of Wigan ago that Neville When Man UTD play at your ground, do they always sing about us? Or do they actually sing songs supporting their own side? outbyeaster-Don't flatter yourselves, Mostly about Mourhinho or themselves, a bit about City, a bit about Arsenal and occassionally a mention of you or Leeds. Most of them haven't been going long enough to remember you're their main rivals ! Good luck against Barca by the way, and thanks for a fantastic final last time you got there. bctvilla-They always make lots of noise at Villa, they sing a few songs about scousers but a lot about their own side paulbarnesi-There away fans are good; though very cocky (aren’t all Man U fans that way?). Yes they have an obsession with LFC. This season they have played some great football, but I still prefer watching Arsenal at full flow blandy-Their away support make good noise. It's clear they don't like you lot. And finally, what's the score going to be ? nbgvilla-Something between 0-0 and 10-10 I'd say rudy-3-1 Villa rocafella-Draw! I have been to VP three times. 1-1, 0-0, 2-2 v306- Villa 1-2 Liverpool |
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