retired_loubou

Absolute class Brian. good luck against Blackburn

retired_embartl

Glad you're continuing to enjoy this Bjorn and thanks
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Monday 16th The Guardian

Clarets take Spoils in Birmingham Derby
by Brian Cohen

In a game that one never expected to be dubbed a top 6 clash it was the home side who narrowly took the spoils in this one, although Gary Megson will feel his side had done enough to warrant at least a point. Both teams have made impressive starts to the year, none more so than West Bromwich Albion’s who’s team work and high sense of work ethic has carried them into the top 5 this year to everyone’s astonishment. The fact they are still there or thereabouts as we approach Christmas time is a testament to Gary Megson’s credentials.

An erratic Villa playing against a solid, defensively based West Brom was never a game that would set the pulses racing or one particularly worth of a TV screening but Sky showed it all the same. This was more of the type you’d expect from a local derby – one that had in fact not been played in top flight football for 17 years. The last meeting between these two sides came in an FA Cup 4th round clash in 1997 when Villa, thanks to a rare good day from Stan Collymore came away from the Hawthorns with a 4-1 victory.

For twenty minutes this afternoon after kick off the feeling you sensed from these players was that a 2.00 p.m. kick off time was far too soon after lunch to be playing. The pace was slow, counter attacks rendered useless and runs were scarce. Then as food became less of a burden digesting itself, the players woke up, waking up an evidently unimpressed crowd too.

Jason Roberts control of the ball whilst running was a sight to behold as he began to stretch Mark Delaney one way and then the other before sending some dangerous balls into the area. Fortunately for Villa, West Brom were relying on the striking finesse of Danny Dichio as their goal getter.

At the other end Juan Pablo Angel was causing problems for the Albion defence and it was only timely interventions on two occasions by Darren Moore that prevented the fleet footed Columbian from opening the scoring.

This to-ing and fro-ing continued for the rest of the half, Roberts providing the away sides threat and Angel doing the same for Villa. If only either side could get a shot in at goal.

After the break though the game livened up further. It was still a tightly fought game that centred mostly on who won the key midfield scraps but legs were wearing down and space was created on both flanks at both ends. Megson seemed to have encouraged a negative impasse approach where his side should focus on blocking the Villains at every opportunity before slowly moving their way forward, whilst Davies attempted to exploit the legs by knocking the ball long therefore bypassing the midfield battle.

Both strategies held firm for a good 15 minutes before the solitary goal of the game arrived a little after the hour mark. Daniele Dichio attempted an effort from 45 yards out which unsurprisingly was easily blocked by Olof Mellberg. The Swede pumped another long ball over the midfield where his compatriot Marcus Allback used his physical presence to win the ball and with his back to goal played a deft back heel for Kim Kallstrom to run out. In an all Swedish movement thus far Juan Pablo Angel became the odd one out as the Columbian nodded home from Kallstrom’s cross, which had beaten even the towering Darren Moore for height.

When you have a game as tight as this one goals are precious commodities and Villa certainly showed they had no intention of giving this one away cheaply. A return to the long ball stratagem, combined with Joey Gudjonsson and Ian Taylor going into overdrive in midfield and West Brom were struggling to find openings. If they dallied on the ball they soon lost possession and if the ball was hit long looking for runs it was cut out 95% of the time by a much more confident home side.

The contrasting styles were working to Villa’s advantage, as they had intended and as a result Gary Megson tried to shuffle things up by bringing on Lee Hughes to add some physical presence to the front line. For a brief period Villa felt slightly ruffled and had Lee Hughes not lost his footing in the 78th minute an equaliser might have beckoned for the Albion.

As it was Villa soon regained possession and settled the match down. In the final stages Kim Kallstrom’s 28-30 yard drive fizzed a foot past the upright in a rare attacking opportunity but that was as close as the game came to a goal and the final whistle arrived moments later to a cheer from the quite bored home crowd. However a win is a win and Villa are in no position to complain given their erratic form of late.

Their manager afterwards admitted it had been no pretty spectacle. “ Well I know this was a televised game and all that but we played the game we had to in order to win the game and pick up 3 points, not a game primarily for entertainments sake. When you play gritty sides like Albion, who are also local rivals this is the type of game you have to expect. I was happy with how we performed and we coped well with their threat and it was us who tired them down and thankfully Juan Pablo popped with another important goal for us.”

Full Time: Aston Villa 1 West Bromwich Albion 0 Angel

Postma 7, Delaney 7, Johnsen 8, Mellberg 8, Barry 8, Hadji 7, Hendrie 8, Gudjonsson 6. Kallstrom 8, Angel 8, Allback 8.

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Tuesday 17th Daily Mail

Arrogant Alpay Demands Move
by A. Bigot

The Turkish defender Ozalan Alpay who ply’s his trade with Premiership Club Aston Villa has sought a permanent transfer away from the club which helped mould him into a world class centre half who helped Turkey finish 3rd in the World Cup finals.

Now the selfish outspoken Turk, who inflamed fans with his barbaric comments over Anglo-Turk relations, has told his manipulative money grabbing agent to secure a transfer in January away from the club. He is currently playing in Spain, on a 6 month loan contract that ends next month with Espanol.

Although he has performed well in Spain, in the period when he has not been injured, a player of his calibre should not be mouthing off in the manner he has. Players need to learn a code of conduct before shooting their mouths off to irresponsible tabloid journalists.

Already clubs who might be interested in the 30 year old Turk include, Blackburn Rovers, Graeme Souness has never denied his interest in him, Paris Saint Germain, Sevilla, Leverkeusen, Fenerbache and Mallorca. Spanish paper Marca were hyper critical of the centre backs recent performance for Espanol against Barcelona. If Alpay leaves Rod Davies will be looking for replacement defenders in the mean time.

Snapshots

Patrick Kluiverts long standing admiration of Sir Bobby Robson is said to be a key factor in his probable decision to move to Newcastle when the January window re-opens.
Manchester United will sign Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos and Andrei Shevchenko in the mid season transfer break according to our man in the know. The Shevchenko deal is said to be worth around £18 million in all as it’s a £ 19 million cash plus David May and Diego Forlan bid.
Peter Crouch , the lanky Aston Villa forward is said to be fed of rotting in the reserves as he feels he is ready to handle first team football. However with better strikers ahead of him it’s unlikely he’ll succeed.

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Thursday 19th – The Independent

He’s So Kewell
by Bjorn Noppe

Leeds United recorded a much needed home victory against Aston Villa last night with Harry Kewell their Australian winger the difference in a 2-1 win. The Elland Road faithful have not enjoyed quite what they may have expected this season as the Yorkshire side lie in an unfamiliar 14th spot, languishing in mediocrity that has not been seen here for a few years.

It was Harry Kewell’s surging runs that troubled their opponents greatly and the first of these runs helped create the opening goal on 5 minutes for Alan Smith. Collecting a pass from Ian Harte, the Australian utilised his pace to maximum capacity as he tore away down the left side of midfield past the flaying boots of Joey Gudjonsson and Mark Delaney. Cutting inside, Kewell laid off for Viduka to blast the ball towards the goal before Alan Smith took advantage of Postma’s inability to hold the ball.

However whilst the Leeds of old may well have gone to ensure this became a comfortable victory, this Paul Appleton side failed to take a grip as Villa were allowed to come back into the game. It had been an open exchange of shooting opportunities for both sides, before Marcus Allback’s intensity pressurised Gary Kelly into an appalling back pass which was never going to make it back to Robinson as Allback stole in to level the scores up. At 1-1 and confidence amongst the Leeds side was frail.

Yet, their opponents have not been playing consistently well either making this Leeds performance look quite lethargic. A minute after Allback’s goal and Leeds were thanking their lucky stars it wasn’t 2-1 to Villa as Marcus Allback, missed one of the easiest chances you could possibly have, as Kim Kallstrom did all the hardwork to give his fellow Swede a chance to scored from 3 yards out as Robinson was floored. Miss he most certainly did though and Leeds, appreciative that they now had to work for their win upped the tempo.

5 minutes later and they were almost giving the Elland Road crowd a goal to cheer about as the tireless Kewell began a Leeds counter attack. As Mustapha Hadji dallied on the ball, wondering who to pass to, Kewell stole the ball from his feet and commenced his customary dart towards goal. As the Villa defence hurried to get back into position, Kewell caught them out by playing the ball early across to Mark Viduka and the prolific marksman fired an instant 30 yard effort against the crossbar. If that had gone in it would surely have been a contender for goal of the season.

That effort proved to be one of the final chances in that half as the last fifteen minutes soon descended into a battle in the midfield. No-one was willing to give the ball away cheaply as Paul Durkin was soon called into action more often in a frustrating stop start period of play. Gareth Barry and Lee Hendrie both picked up cautions for the away side whilst David Batty was a recipient for the Whites.

After the break this aggressive play continued. Steve Staunton had come on for Lee Hendrie, who was dangerously close to picking up a second yellow which obviously wasn’t going to help Villa. What also didn’t help Villa was a lack of attention meted out at the beginning of the second half. After the initial scrap fest of the first 5 minutes, Harry Kewell finally found space on the left hand side of the halfway line.

Choosing to run at the defence he swiftly overcame the timid challenges proffered by Delaney and Ronny Johnsen as he closed down on Stefan Postma’s inviting net. A neat step over in the box helped create a shooting opportunity that the superb forward dispatched with frightening accuracy into the corner to the delight of the fans. Harry is certainly the key player in this Leeds side.

Leeds soon took command for the succeeding 10 minutes as both Alan Smith and Mark Viduka had fine chances to give Leeds some leeway but Stefan Postma was equal to the efforts, tipping over the Australians and parrying Smith’s effort wide. However those chances were almost rued just before the hour mark when the away side came inches from squaring up the match.

Steve Staunton, adjusting to his midfield role, squared the ball out wide to Kim Kallstrom on the right. The Swedish youngster held up the ball whilst his team mates caused havoc amongst the Leeds defence and when the ball was finally sent in Marcus Allback escaped his marker to thunder a well-timed half volley towards the goal where it hit the cross bar and bounce to safety. It was a well-worked move that deserved a little more luck but Leeds survived.

Following on from that Leeds tightened up, eager to maintain their slender advantage as the away side fought in vain to create worthwhile opportunities. The introduction of Stefan Moore and Ulises de la Cruz added fresh legs and pace but neither could breakdown a steadfast Leeds defence, marshalled superbly well by Dominic Matteo.

With 5 minutes remaining though and the ball was in the back of the Leeds net, as young Stefan Moore appeared to have made a remarkable impact on the game. De La Cruz’ pacy run caught Ian Harte sleeping and the Ecuadorian sent in an enticing cross for Stefan Moore to head home. It seemed a valid goal but the referee called play back for an infringement on Paul Robinson, a harsh call possibly but once again Villa were left rueing their luck. However, despite this Davies seemed reasonably pleased with his sides effort.

“ It was disappointing to lose this evening but we have to look at the positives. We created chances and never gave up which is what I want from any Villa side that goes out onto the field. Perhaps Stefan was unlucky with a debateable decision but I’m not going to undermine the ref’s authority, as they have to make split –second decisions all the time. We should have scored before that too and Marcus was upset in the dressing room as he felt he was at fault but credit to Leeds – they persevered, and defended stoutly and I’m sure many other top sides will struggle when they come here.”

It was an opportunity lost by Villa to overtake Arsenal in the league, but there was enough in this game for fans to remain hopeful in future games. For Leeds meanwhile it was a welcome win. Although they are still some way from re-capturing those brief moments of glory in the Champions League, there is plenty of potential in this side. Paul Appleton has faced a large degree of criticism in what is one of those ‘can’t win’ situations – like the Spurs job, but as long as he retains the likes of Kewell and Viduka, a UEFA Cup spot challenge is not beyond the Yorkshire side.


Full Time: Leeds United 2 Aston Villa 1 Smith 5, Allback 20, Kewell 46.

Postma 7, Delaney 7 (Cruz 6), Mellberg 7, Johnsen 6, Barry 8, Hadji 7, Gunjonsson 6, Hendrie 6 (Staunton 7), Kallstrom 7 (Moore 7) Angel 6, Allback 8.

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This is good . Coming from a Coventry fan, thats some achievement

retired_embartl

Cheers rocheyuk, glad for your support


Friday 20th Daily Mail

Dawson Central to Davies’ Plans?
[ by A.Tool

The increased speculation over Michael Dawson’s future at Nottingham Forest continues once again with links being created with several potential Premiership employees. Aston Villa, whose links to Dawson have never been denied by any Villa official, re-surfaced yesterday, as it became clear Rod Davies, would be looking for a new central defender in the upcoming transfer window.

Ozolan Alpay, that Turkish miscreant currently on loan at Spanish side Espanol, has secured his much-vaunted move away from the club by securing a permanent deal to remain in Spain. However it is not with Espanol but with rivals Malaga, so much for loyal Turks right?

Unsurprisingly Alpay decide to bash the English side and some of the people connected to Villa. Losing all his friends at Villa in one quick speech Alpay heads off to join Malaga who currently 15th in the Spanish first division – and he says it’s not for the money!

“ They have no ambition, not enough money for me because they clearly cannot see how much I can add to that side and I feel I have been treated disgracefully by the club. What kind of a manager sends a central defender who was noted to be one of the best at the 2002 World Cup on loan to Spain? That’s just ignorant. With all due respect to Ronny Johnsen he’s just an injury prone past it kind of defender. However the fans were idiots too – couldn’t stop booing me for wanting 40k a week which is a perfectly reasonable request for someone of my undoubted talent. Well I’ll just laugh when Malaga next thrash Villa in European Competition.



His move will not go through until his loan deal is officially over in mid January but when it does it will net the Midlands club a little over 1.5 million pounds.
That cash should be enough to secure a ready replacement and Michael Dawson is one of the possible targets suggested, although re-calling Liam Ridgewell from his loan spell at Walsall is another possible move.

Soccer Snapshots

Mustapha Hadji will be out of competitive football for 1 month after dislocating his shoulder in training. His Moroccan teammate Hassan Kachloul is still a week away from full fitness.

With Leeds still needing to satisfy the bank manager in January, fans are getting concerned that some of their high profile players will be shed to keep the club in business. Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka are two players, who have been linked with moves to AS Roma, Juventus and Manchester United, Real Madrid and Real Betis respectively. Any move may bring in around between 8 and 12 million pounds per player.

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Monday 22nd The Times

The Monday Game Supplement

There were few shocks this weekend in a round of uninspiring football as the thoughts of Christmas with the family seemed to dwindle on the mind. However there was one big local derby being held and that was on Sunday in the last ever Manchester Derby at Maine Road and the home fans were delighted to see their side beat the table topping reds by 2 goals to 1 with Robbie Fowler amongst the City goal scorers. Newcastle did stun 3rd placed Liverpool though as Sir. Bobby fights against a swarm of cold-blooded tabloid journos and unforgiving board. Don’t forget to read a delighted Frank Skinner’s review of Albion’s amazing success story this season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">12th Newcastle United 3:1 Liverpool 3rd2nd Arsenal 1:0 Southampton 15th 20th Birmingham City 3:0 Charlton Athletic 17th 7th Bolton Wanderers 0:1 Sunderland 19th 18th Everton 0: 1 Blackburn 8th 11th Leeds United 2:2 Fulham 10th 13th Manchester City 2:1 Manchester United 1st5th West Bromwich Albion 2:1 Tottenham 6th 16th Chelsea 3:0 West Ham United 14th 9th Middlesbrough 0:0 Aston Villa 4th </pre>

Bore Draw as Villa held
by P. McGrew

Teeside is not the most attractive of venues in England and the dull cloudy weather only added to the discomfort and misery of all the fans that forgot to bring travel pillows with them.

This has to be one of the most non-descript games to have taken place in the history of the premier league games and it was of no surprise the fans left a full 10 minutes from the end despite the scores being level. As a cold wind blew across from the east, many in the ground must have been wondering what on earth possessed them to come out on this Saturday afternoon. The combined weekly wage of all 22 starters on that pitch is over half a million pounds incredibly.

After 10 minutes of an error strewn opening a chance did arrive though and many in the ground assumed it would be the catalyst in improving the speed and quality of the games flow. Young Steven Davis, making a rare start on the right for the injured Hadji floated a 30-yard pass into the run of Marcus Allback but the misfiring Swede miscued his first time effort and Mark Schwarzer had little trouble in collecting the ball.

After that it descended into a lacklustre affair with little incisive passing. If there was a move involving more than 3 passes in a row then I have forgotten it. On half an hour Juan Pablo Angel was one on one with Schwarzer but he fell over his own laces and the fans became irritable having been awoken from their slumber.

Soon enough though the stadium emptied as half time drew near and I think I’m not too far wrong when I say the ground looked to have lost 2,000 spectators by the time the second half recommenced. With expensive drinks and cold pasties it wasn’t even an enjoyable half time.

In the second half the fans did wake up somewhat as they struggled to work out who the new sub was coming on for Kim Kallstrom. The PA seemed to completely forget to announce it but rumour has it that Oyvind Leonhardsen was making his first appearance in Villa colours since his summer move from Spurs. Davies has been looking to get rid of the aging winger for some time but now he finally gets 40 minutes to prove himself.

Amazingly the Norwegian came closest to opening the deadlock on 62 minutes as he astonishingly masterminded a successful 1-2 with Angel to give himself some time and space 14 yards out. Sadly his effort hit the side netting with the fans appearing to be suffering from some kind of post traumatic stress problem. The trauma of seeing an incisive move.

That seemed to signal a 10 minute period of low level excitement, about 5 levels up from the other 80 minutes, with 2 chances arriving, 1 at each end. First off, diminutive Brazilian Juninho struck the crossbar with a 25 yard free kick – the thud on the cross bar sending jolts down the sleeping spines of many a fan- whilst Juan Pablo Angel spooned a Leonhardsen cross 10 feet over the bar.

With that all done and dusted it was back to reality as the players continued their game of body tennis hitting it high and long down the pitch. When the PA’s booming voice announced substitutions I almost fell off my chair with surprise. Ronny Johnsen and Dion Dublin came on for Villa replacing Steve Staunton and Marcus Allback, the Swede having picked up a nasty looking shoulder injury in the process.

However they added little to the games play and mercifully Steve Bennett blew up a minute early – receiving a huge cheer from the remaining handful of fans still in the ground. The result is of no great benefit or loss to either side with Borough scrapping in mid table and Villa hanging on in the Champions League place. Both sides will have to improve though if they are to achieve anything meaningful this season and both managers conceded as such in the post match conference.

I can only apologise to all the fans who turned up this afternoon as it was certainly no spectacle I admit. I won’t even use the fact we gained a valuable away point as an excuse either – the football was poor and added to the miserable weather I can only imagine the frustration felt by the fans this afternoon.” said Rod Davies, who also revealed that Marcus Allback would be out of action for 4 weeks, whilst Steve McClaren was just as apologetic.

“ An awful game, in awful weather made for a truly awful day. I’m sure the fans are very unhappy with the performance out there today and I can’t blame them. We had a good chance to pick up 3 home points but we wasted it. Rest assured though the side to face Fulham on Boxing Day will be wholly different to that one both in personnel and spirit.”

Full Time: Middlesbrough 0 Aston Villa 0

Postma 6, Delaney 6 Mellberg 7, Staunton 6 (Johnsen 6) , Barry 7, Davis 7 Gunjonsson 6, Hendrie 6 Kallstrom 7(Leonhardsen 7), Angel 6, Allback 6 (Dublin 6).

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brian of Nazareth:
The Shevchenko deal is said to be worth around £18 million in all as it’s a £ 19 million cash plus David May and Diego Forlan bid.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


KUTGW Brian, this really is brilliant stuff. G'wan the Villa boys! Good riddance Alfie

retired_embartl

Cheers nerf - thought someone might pick up on that- and just wait to see who we replaced him with in January Anyway - about time this got back on track

Friday 27th The Guardian

Boxing Day Round Up

Yesterday was clearly a day for Manchester United fans as they extended their lead at the top of the Premiership following a 1-0 victory over West Brom at Old Trafford courtesy of Roy Keane. They were aided by Liverpool’s home defeat to Bolton Wanderers as Sam Allardyce’s men move into sixth spot in the league. Arsenal slipped up away to West Ham United whilst a last minute strike by Alan Shearer ruined Villa’s chances of gaining some ground on the leaders. Charlton pulled away from the mire following their 4-2 victory against Chelsea, with Kevin Lisibie firing in a rare hat-trick, whilst Sunderland and Everton battled away at the bottom in a 1-1 draw. Fulham, Southampton and Tottenham all enjoyed home wins.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">17th Charlton 4:2 Chelsea 16th 8th Fulham 3:2 Middlesbrough 10th 3rd Liverpool 0:1 Bolton 6th 1st Manchester United 1:0 West Bromwich Albion 7th 14th Southampton 3:0 Manchester City 15th19th Sunderland 1:1 Everton 18th 5th Tottenham 3:0 Leeds United 13th11th West Ham United 2:1 Arsenal 2nd </pre>

Late Shearer Strike Denies Villa
by Phillip Rolfe

In a space of 5 short seconds 38,000 Villa fans emotions changed from satisfaction to immense disappointment as Alan Shearer headed home from a Gary Speed cross to cancel out Lee Hendrie's superb first half effort to give the Geordie boys a share of the points, something that on the balance of play they perhaps deserved.

The home side who were missing Marcus Allback and Steve Staunton, whilst welcoming back Hassan Kachloul, Darius Vassell and Thomas Hitzlesperger, lost Kim Kallstrom to injury after colliding badly with Andy O’Brien in the 6th minute. Kachloul came on as a replacement but it was clear the Moroccan was still suffering a few effects from his injury.

Newcastle are a side in bizarre form. Seemingly struggling for parts of the season Sir Bobby Robson may well have finally found out how to gel his side together. Their recent form, encapsulated in the stunning 3-1 victory against title chasing Liverpool last week was indicative of this improvement.

Inside 10 minutes Craig Bellamy was sent clear by Kieron Dyer but his bursting pace was also too much for the linesman who called offside, but a moment later Bellamy broke free, the flag stayed down and it was Wales v Holland in the one on one. Villa fans breathed a sigh of relief when the imposing Dutchman flew himself across to his right to firmly parry the ball away from danger. Another missed chance for Newcastle though and in games like these it is something you can ill afford to do.

With a little under 20 minutes played and it was side in Claret and Blue that were celebrating as a through ball from Alan Wright found Lee Hendrie with space a yard or two inside his own half. Catching Newcastle on the counter the one time England midfielder made a darting run towards goal, drawing gasps of astonishment as he evaded challenge after challenge before chip-curling a superb effort from 25 yards over the head of Shay Given. A fantastic solo effort that will make managers sit up and take notice of the revitalized midfielder.

From that point on it would be easy to assume Villa would go on and at last control possession with the goal advantage but it was Newcastle who hit back first, almost leveling through the terrier like Craig Bellamy, who went very close to opening their own account for the match earlier on, missed a sitter from 6 yards out after being set up a treat by Hugo Viana with the Villa defense at sixes and sevens.

That proved to be the closest goalmouth threat in the remainder of the second half but nails were still being bitten as the game moved at a fast pace with quick smooth football flowing like champagne. At half time Davies would clearly have been the more satisfied of the managers but it was no clear-cut game.

Unsurprisingly Newcastle started the stronger in the second half, eager to level up matter as soon as possible and Craig Bellamy wasted yet another opportune moment to score in the 53rd minute as he headed over from 2 yards out. Viana’s weighted ball landed perfectly for the Welshman but he managed to completely miss the target – to the jeers of many a Holte Ender.

Just past the hour mark and the Villa defence were split open again, this time by the pace of substitute Shola Ameobi, and the England U21 attacker seemed to have set up the equalsiing goal but inexplicably Alan Shearer, whose goal scoring records are amongst the more impressive, managed to miss the target with a bullet header.

Feeling quite plucky Villa picked up their own game, perhaps banking on the ineptness of the Newcastle’s striking ability, and attacked with a renewed vigour, aided by the introduction of Ulises de la Cruz and Stefan Moore for Thomas Hitzlesperger and Darius Vassell. The young sub striker almost made an immediate impact, collecting a through ball from Hassan Kachloul and despite wonderfully taking the ball past Titus Bramble, the finish was weak and Villa continued to hold on to their lead.

Going into the final few minutes it seemed the home sides’ defense would hold up long enough to secure a valuable 3 points pushing them towards the top as Arsenal and Liverpool suffered surprising defeats. With 2 minutes to go and it was so close to being 2-0 as a fast counter attack led by Ulises de la Cruz caught Newcastle cold. His centre was met first time by the on rushing Stefan Moore. The young forward hit first time with astonishing power and speed, but the ball cracked the upright (quite literally) and rebounded into the legs of Gary Speed. Danger was averted.

Almost immediately, as the game entered it’s final minute, there being only 1 minute added on, the game dramatically changed tone as the Magpies grabbed a last gasp equalizer. Nobby Solano on as a substitute released Craig Bellamy down the left wing. Chased by a swarm of Claret and Blue defenders the Welshman flicked the ball past the on rushing Delaney, Mellberg and Barry ran round collected and hit a first time cross before any tired Villain could react and unfortunately for the home side the ball fell plumb for one of the most lethal finishers in the history of the English Premier League, Alan Shearer. Postma had no chance and the 3 points were squandered.

Afterwards Rod Davies was clearly upset at losing another 3 points. “It has been difficult recently for the fans and players but we’re still there fighting for every point. Today was very much a sucker punch blow but we can’t pretend it wasn’t coming. Bellamy could easily have scored on numerous occasions before then. However at least we are picking up points here and there. Going to Anfield on Saturday will be tough but I think we still have enough quality and desire to get a result. If not, the January window is only around the corner so we’ll see.”

Full Time: Aston Villa 1 Newcastle 1 Hendrie 19, Shearer 90

Aston Villa Postma 7, Delaney 7, Mellberg 7, Barry 7, Wright 8, Hendrie 8, Hitzlesperger 7 (De La Cruz 7), Gudjonsson 6, Kallstrom 6 (Kachloul 7), Vassell 7 (Moore 7), Angel 7.

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Sunday 29th

News of the World

Footy Round Up

8 sides played yesterday, their second in 2 days, and only 4 days before the New Years Day fixture on Wednesday. Liverpool moved into second following their 2-1 home win over Villa, who drop to sixth, While Bolton moved into 5th spot after picking up a home point against Everton, the Merseysider’s struggling in 18th position. That was one of three 1-1 draws on Saturday as Leeds, who hosted Manchester United in quite a vitriolic match kept their 11th spot with the Old Trafford side still atop of the pile whilst in the other draw it was 9th placed Middlesbrough who hosted a Tottenham side now up to 4th place in the league, shockingly actually on the fringes of success. After all those years of claiming to be a big-timer Glenn Hoddle seems to be actually getting the Londoners into a decent position to challenge. Amazing.

It’s the Anfield Class
By Jesse Owen

Boss Gerard Houllier can rest easier this week before they travel to Fulham to open up 2004, after his Liverpool side moved regained some title momentum with a hard fought 2-1 victory over the well organized Aston Villa.

It was not all easy going though for Liverpool as for the first 45 minutes they were certainly second best to a Villa side eager to prove they were up for Champions League contention and not simply early season surprises. Hustling and closing down Liverpool from the beginning, they gave their more illustrious opponents no time to move as they sought to re-establish themselves as runners for the title.

Early on in the game it was one-way pressure from the away side as Villa took the game to the hosts with first Lee Hendrie and then Darius Vassell went close to opening the scoring. First, after 11 minutes Hassan Kachloul’s swinging cross was headed back by Kim Kallstrom, only for Lee Hendrie to immediately volley wide. 2 minutes later and Alan Wright’s long ball was met by Darius Vassell and after a quick exchange of passes with Thomas Hitzlesperger the young forward let fly with a first shot that fizzled narrowly past the left hand upright.

Liverpool composed themselves after that initial onslaught and seemed to take the initiative as, roared on by the Kop they began demonstrating why Gerard Houllier believes they can win the title and were it not for a superb reflex save from Peter Enckelmans finger tip following Danny Murphy’s 25 yard thunderbolt free kick.

As the momentum seemed to be edging back in Liverpool’s favour it was Villa who scored first. Winning a free kick around 40 yards out on the left hand side of the field, following Didi Hamaans late tackle on Lee Hendrie, the away side formed an at first set-up, whereby 6 of the Villains Offence all lined up single file facing the goal on the edge of the area. As the ball was sent in the players scattered, causing enough confusion whilst Thomas Hitzlesperger in open space had plenty of room to fire in low past the helpless Dudek.

That goal stunned the Reds into action once more and were it not for some fine reflex goalkeeping and attentive defending both Michael Owen and Emile Heskey could have scored in the space of 5 minutes before the half time interval. As it was though with oranges being handed round, the score remained Liverpool 0 Aston Villa 1.

In the second half though fortunes were reversed as it was the Anfield side who were on top, punishing every little mistake and, thanks to the work of Steven Gerrard and Didi Hamaan, controlling the tempo of the game.

The first real opportunity for Liverpool to level arrived on 55 minutes after they blocked a Kim Kallstrom effort from 40 yards. Responding quickly, the ball was sent down the wings for substitute Patrick Berger to chase down the left wing and a succession of rapid passing found Danny Murphy in plenty of space on top of the D. A sidestep and instant shot forced an excellent save from Peter Enckelman.

However the home side was not to be denied and moments later Steven Gerrard unlocked the midlanders defence to allow Emile Heskey, barracked by many non-Liverpool fans for his lack of goals, to volley thunderously past the Finn. It was a priceless goal for the England International and for a man who thrives on confidence it was most welcome.

Thereafter the match became something of a one sided affair as Liverpool, buoyed on by their vociferous KOP support launched into an attacking frenzy. Balls were won and sent into the area, runs were made and shots unleashed from all corners of the park whilst Villa were at sixes and sevens.

In the midst of this onslaught the away side had one brief opportunity to steal a march on their hosts and regain the lead however the inexperience of Stefan Moore let them down. Introduced past the hour mark along with Joey Gudjonssen, the youngster latched onto an enticing long ball from Lee Hendrie as Villa countered quickly. However the England U21 striker did not have the composure to cope with the pressure of the 1v1 situation and his shot sailed wide.

With that effort wasted many a Villain may well have developed a sinking feeling inside as Liverpool tightened up at the back and attacked intelligently. The inevitable goal arrived with little more than 7 minutes remaining. Patrick Berger swept over a corner that found the head of Emile Heskey who’s firm headed hit the cross bar. That moment saw Villa’s defence loosen believing the threat to be averted, however seconds later and a booming half volley from Danny Murphy 20 yards ripped into the back of the net to deservedly hand Liverpool the lead.

With Villa’s spirits low, Liverpool were able to control the tempo of the game, slowing the pace right down as they recovered from their intense offensive play. It was as Gerard Houillier explained the least they deserved. “ I was wondering when that goal was going to arrive. We played very well in the second half especially, and the first half also, but we were better in the second and Emile and Danny scored two very good goals. I am very happy for Emile because I hope people will stop criticizing him – he is an excellent player who deserves to be weith England.”

As for his counterpart the result was another disappointment, but one he felt they could recover from. “ Well it’s always a pain in the backside to lose but we simply couldn’t contain them out there. It’s that telling quality which we are striving for and perhaps we shall see that in the [transfer] window. I look to the positives and in the first 45 minutes we played some good incisive football and caused them problems at the back – it’s just a pity we were unable to maintain it for longer.”

Liverpool 2 Aston Villa 1 Hitzlesperger 32, Heskey 59, Murphy 83

Enckelman 7, Delaney 6, Wright 7, Mellberg 7, Johnsen 6, Hendrie 7, Hitzlesperger 7, Kachloul 6 (Gudjonssen 6) Kallstrom 6, Vassell 7, Angel 6 (Moore 5).