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Time to start a new one I think, it's been a while
Season 01
Who Is Doug Ellis?
Herbert Douglas Ellis, OBE, the Chairman of Aston Villa Football Club, is a very unpopular man, at least amongst the team’s supporters. He first took charge at Villa Park 36 years ago and in two spells as chairman he has worked with 13 managers. Nicknamed "Deadly Doug" for his reputation for sacking coaches, the 80-year-old has endured a tempestuous relationship with the club's fans. While the club remains financially stable, he has been accused of failing to invest sufficiently in new players.
Ellis was the owner of a successful travel business when he was originally invited to Villa by London financier Pat Matthews in 1968. Shortly afterwards, Villa slipped into the old Third Division for the first time in their history. Ellis stepped down as chairman in September 1975 and left the board in 1979, but by that time Villa were back in the top flight and had won the League Cup in 1973 and 1977. A brief spell as a director at Wolves followed before Ellis returned to Villa Park as controlling shareholder in November 1982 and he has been at the club ever since.
During his time away from Villa Park, manager Ron Saunders, who Ellis appointed in 1974, guided the team to the League Championship in 1981 and the European Cup the following season. Villa lost their top-flight status in the mid-80s but under Graham Taylor the club enjoyed a revival, finishing as Division One runners-up in 1990. But silverware has been at a premium in the last 20 years, with just League Cup victories in 1994 and 1996.
Ellis has often had to bear the brunt of supporters' frustrations. He has been accused of failing to invest sufficiently in the transfer market and there have been repeated calls from supporters for him to step down. Last year, Ellis, who relinquished the role of chief executive in April 2004, rejected a £30m takeover bid led by former Manchester City defender Ray Ranson. He has given no indication that his time at Villa will soon end despite being diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago.
Deadly Doug incurred the wrath of the fans once more when, after yet another falling out over money, he dismissed popular manager David O’Leary barely 14 months after his appointment in May 2003. Worse was to follow when he installed Bob Taylor, a 37-year-old Scot with no previous top-flight managerial experience, as the new Manager of Aston Villa. Taylor has spent his career so far honing his sills in the lower reaches of Scottish football and those that know him describe him as a volatile character with a notoriously short fuse. Rumoured to be as parsimonious as his Chairman, he will certainly not be agitating for multi-million pound transfer deals, a definite plus in the eyes of Ellis.
You can find an interesting article on Aston Villa here if you would like to know more about the history and achievements of the club.
So here we are, Villa Park. Nice stadium I must say – 42,500 all-seater, a decent training facility at Bodymoor Heath and a good Youth Academy run by former Villa player Gordon Cowans. The boss wants respectability in the league but without splashing the cash too much – fair enough. The backroom staff look competent enough and at least Assistant Manager Roy Aitken talks the same language. Not a big squad though – 19 in the first team, 17 in the reserves and 18 in the U-18s. None of the reserves are older than 21 and, at least at first glance, none of them look ready for first team action just yet.
So let’s take a look at the big boys then and see what we’ve got.
Goalkeepers
Thomas Sørensen, 28, Denmark An established international and definitely our first choice. If he has a weakness it’s his kicking and he’s a wee bit too quiet for my liking – he needs to learn to bollock his defenders a bit more.
Stefan Postma, 27, Holland A decent backup but nothing special.
Defenders
Vaclav Drobny, 23, Czech Republic On loan from the season from Strasbourg and I hope we don’t have to use him. His pace is deceptive – he’s slower than he looks. I’ve seen milk turn quicker to be honest.
Mark Delaney, 28, Wales Probably our starting right back – strong in the tackle and not bad in the air.
Jlloyd Samuel, 23, England If we didn’t have Gareth Barry in the squad then he’d start at left back, but we do, so he won’t
Martin Laursen, 26, Denmark Classy centre back – not the strongest tackler and his distribution could improve but he’ll do for me.
Olof Mellberg, 26, Sweden El Capitano and the main man at the back. He has everything I look for in a centre half, except maybe the beard – footballers shouldn’t have beards. Stubble, fair enough, but not a full beard.
Ulises de la Cruz, 30, Ecuador Second choice right back. A bit of a prima donna methinks and I’m not sure that me and Ulises are going to get along.
Gareth Barry, 23, England Top man and a definite starter at left back. He fancies himself more as a midfielder but I disagree and I write the names on the teamsheet.
Midfielders
Mathieu Berson, 24, France A capable looking holding midfielder who should see some action from the bench.
Eric Djemba Djemba, 23, Cameroon Flatters to deceive in my opinion. He has all the physical attributes to make a first class holding player but there’s something lacking in his mental approach I think.
Gavin McCann, 26, England An unsung performer and my first choice in the holding role. Strong, brave and hard in the tackle, he’ll be alright for us.
Lee Hendrie, 27, England A feisty one is young Lee but I’m not too sure how well he will fit into my system. Popular with the fans, despite his strangely orange colour. He’s either got a very dodgy sunbed or else he’s been well and truly Tango’d.
Thomas Hitzlsperger, 22, Germany A left foot like a howitzer – says it all really.
Nolberto Solano, 29, Peru Dead ball expert and Newcastle cast-off. Talented but a bit inconsistent but he’ll probably start on the right side of midfield. Nobby’s not my biggest fan though and he’s made that pretty clear already.
Forwards Juan Pablo Angel, 28, Colombia A decent striker but far from world-class. Then again, Doug doesn’t pay world-class prices so what can you expect. He’ll do the job even though he really, really needs to get a haircut.
Carlton Cole, 20, England On loan from Chelski for the season. A promising youngster who’s good on the ball but a bit rough round the edges.
Luke Moore, 18, England Bags of potential but needs to be nurtured carefully. He may go back to the reserves if we bring in another striker.
Darius Vassell, 24, England Two words – fast, overrated. Go on Darius, prove me wrong!
There we are then. One of the smallest squads in the Premiership. Still, Doug has given me £5.5M to spend so let’s get the scouts out and see what we can find. My shopping list – one centre back, two wingers, an attacking midfielder and at least one striker – go to it boys.
Thomas Hitzlsperger, 22, Germany A left foot like a howitzer – says it all really.
Stop! Hammer time!
Good luck Bob, will be keeping tabs on this one purely as you're taking control of one of my favourite non-Rovers players. The Hammer would be welcome in any team I handled :thup:
As we prepare for the season opener at home to Liverpool I’ve spent a bit of Doug’s money but still kept some in reserve. Let me introduce to the new boys.
Lorenzo Amoruso, 33, Italy The former Rangers and Blackburn centre back joined for a bargain £80K. Big Lol is prone to the odd mistake, I admit, but he’s just what I look for in a centre half – strong, good in the air and committed in the tackle. He’s on a one-year deal and I think he’ll do a decent job for us. He also really, really needs a haircut.
Daniel Bierofka, 25, Germany Another bargain at just £325K from Leverkusen, Dan can play on either wing and he’s going to see a lot of action.
David Rasmussen, 27, Denmark Arrived from Rostock for £275K and can play in central midfield or on the right. He might not be quite strong enough for the rigours of the Premiership but at that price he was worth a punt.
Fatmir Vata, 32, Albania A real shot in the dark this one – he could be the buy of the season or a pig in a poke. He cost a mere £26K from Bielefeld in Germany. He can play up front or on the right wing. Has been struggling with injury since he arrived but the scouts tell me that he is technically gifted and a good crosser of the ball.
Julio Ricardo Cruz, 29, Argentina My most expensive buy at £1.6M from Inter. A forward rather than an out and out striker but to be honest I really struggled to find a proven goalscorer that I could afford.
Well, on paper I’ve filled my shopping list but it remains to be seen just how well they all adjust to life in England and to the pace of play in the Premier League. I had a few other offers turned down and one or two that I had my eye on turned us down for other teams but it’s not too bad all in all.
Villa v Liverpool I’ve been pondering my team selection for the Liverpool game for a few days now and finally I go with the following.
GK – Sørensen
DR – Delaney
DL – Barry
DC – Laursen
DC – Mellberg
DMC – McCann
MR – Solano
ML – Bierofka
AMC – Vata
SC – Angel
SC – Vassell
Subs – Postma, Amoruso, Berson, Hendrie Cruz
It was a lively opening and we were all over them for the first quarter of an hour. I was my usual bag of nerves on the bench, jumping up and down and shouting instructions. We had by far the better of the first half but still went into the break goalless. Liverpool threatened more after the interval but oddly enough that worked in our favour as we were able to hit them on the break as they opened up a little. Angel set up Vassell for the opener on 55 and my man Vata scored the second on 79, breaking from midfield to chase down a Mellberg clearance and finish neatly into the bottom corner. Just the start we needed.
Hero : Bierofka – lots of good runs and he used the ball well.
League position : 7th.
Before our next game we completed another signing after we got clearance for the necessary work permit.
Clint Mathis, 27, America Spent the last couple of seasons at Hannover 96 but without much success. I picked him up on a free transfer – gives you an idea how desperate I was for some backup up front.
Fulham v Villa I put out an unchanged team for the televised match at Fulham – never change a winning side unless you have to, that’s my motto. I had barely taken my seat in the dugout when the home side scored – 25 seconds on the watch Roy told me later – Sylvain Legwinski firing home from distance. I hadn’t finished swearing at my defence when we equalised – 3:15 on the watch says Roy – Angel picking out Bierofka with a great crossfield ball for the winger to finish neatly. It calmed down a bit after that but we never really looked comfortable. I wasn’t too surprised when we conceded a second on 65 minutes, Tomasz Radzinski beating my entire defence to a near-post cross to head home. How could a shortarse like him get there before my big centre backs I wondered in the post-match discussion in the dressing room – or words to that effect anyway.
Villan : Sørensen – caught flatfooted for both of the goals and I wasn’t impressed.
League position : 12th.
Villa v Charlton My defenders were still recovering from their verbal assault as we welcomed the visit of Charlton in midweek. I made some changes to the team selection for the game – never forgive a losing team, that’s my motto.
GK – Postma
DR – Delaney
DL – Barry
DC – Amoruso
DC – Mellberg
DMC – Berson
MR – Rasmussen
ML – Bierofka
AMC – Hendrie
SC – Angel
SC – Cole
Subs – Sørensen, Laursen, McCann, Vata, Cruz
An uneventful first half ended scoreless so I indulged in a rather animated team talk during half time. We looked a bit livelier after the break, our best chance coming in a frantic goalmouth scramble but the visitors somehow survived unscathed. Keeper Dean Kiely made some good stops but it was still a poor 0-0 draw.
Villan : Hendrie – the wee orange fella was ineffective playing behind the strikers, missed the target too often and got himself booked.
League position : 11th.
Man City v Villa I decided to give the same lineup another chance in our final game of the month at Man City. Angel gave us the lead after 20 minutes with his first goal of the season, pouncing on a rebound after Cole had his shot saved. Then on the half hour we got a penalty and in what I later recognised as the turning point of the game, Hendrie had his effort saved. Five minutes later Antoine Sibierski scored with a great shot from the edge of the area to square the game – the sod shouldn’t even have been on the pitch as he had hauled back Hendrie in the area to concede the earlier penalty and should have been sent off. The game was still very tight but I felt that we were just edging it when Bierofka collapsed after a collision and was carried off – I later learned that he would be out for 3 weeks with a damaged kneecap. That disrupted us and we began to lose our shape and City took control. Robbie Fowler scored twice in five minutes, the scouse git, and that was it. We got a late consolation from substitute Cruz but lost 3-2. I was not happy – in the words of Graham Taylor, do I not like orange!
Villan : Hendrie – he missed a bloody penalty!
League position : 15th.
Villa v Arsenal We’re on telly today, at home to Arsenal, and I have three injury problems – Bierofka, Angel and Laursen all absent, so I switch Barry into midfield and bring Jlloyd Samuel in at left back, bring Cruz in up front with Mathis and Drobny on the bench. A dire first half ends with us a goal down, Reyes scoring after nine minutes. I make three changes at half time as Hendrie, Berson and Amoruso are all playing like planks. Not that it does much good as the quality fails to improve significantly and the games ends 1-0 to the visitors.
Villan : Sky TV – a bloody awful game for the poor viewers at home.
League position : 16th.
Norwich v Villa A trip to Norwich next and if we can’t beat the Canaries then we really do have a problem. My injured trio are still not fit and after our display last week I feel that further changes are required.
GK – Sørensen
DR – Delaney
DL – Samuel
DC – Drobny
DC – Mellberg
DMC – Djemba Dejmba
MR – Rasmussen
ML – Barry
AMC – Vata
SC – Vassell
SC – Mathis
Subs – Postma, Amoruso, McCann, Hendrie, Cole
It’s official, we’re in trouble. We lost 1-0 and we’re in trouble. We really didn’t play all that badly but our real problem was our failure to get enough of our scoring attempts on target – 3 out of 11 just ain’t good enough.
Villan : our finishing.
League position : 19th.
Swansea v Villa We badly need a win to improve morale - to say nothing of my foul mood – and a League Cup tie at League Two side Swansea should present a perfect opportunity. I put out what I believe to be my best eleven.
GK – Sørensen
DR – Delaney
DL – Barry
DC – Laursen
DC – Mellberg
DMC – McCann
MR – Rasmussen
ML – Bierofka
AMC – Vata
SC – Cole
SC – Angel
The win duly comes, a confidence building 4-0 result with goals from Rasmussen, Angel, Vata and Cole. I can only hope that we can go on from there and sort our league form out.
Hero : Angel – An excellent performance from the long-haired one.
Villa v Bolton Before our next match at home to Bolton, young Hitzlsperger mouths off to the Birmingham Post, complaining that he should be in the first team and that his manager, and I quote, “didn’t know a good player when he saw one”. Cheeky little sod! There’s only one response to an outburst like that in my book – transfer list the bustard! Bolton have been struggling almost as much as us so far and this is game that we really have to win. I named an unchanged side but no only did we continue to fire blanks all afternoon, we also had Gavin McCann sent off late on when he received a second yellow card for dissent.
Villan : McCann – no backchat from my players thank you.
League position : 19th.
Heroes and Villans 
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