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Posts Tagged ‘Aston Villa’

Media balls: Arsenal ‘controversy’ upsets Aston Villa

It was pulsating stuff at the Emirates when Arsenal met a lively Aston Villa in the Premier League. The Gunners, who fluctuated between catatonic, dire, chaotic and scintillating, saw a man sent off and fought back from 2-1 down to win 3-2. Arsenal’s first goal came from the penalty spot. Björn Engels took Matteo Guendouzi out as the Frenchman dribble into the Villa box. It was , says the BBC, a “sloppy tackle”. The Indy and Times say Guendouzi was “tripped”. It was a blatant foul.

Or as the Birmingham Mail puts it:

Arsenal, though, battled back, winning somewhat of a controversial penalty as Jon Moss adjudged Engels to have brought down Matteo Guendouzi, the Frenchman going down so softly before £72million winger Pepe dusted himself down to fire the spot-kick straight down the middle.

Controversial? Only if you’re monocular Villa fan looking for solace in a biased read.

Posted: 22nd, September 2019 | In: Arsenal, Sports | Comment


After the Jack Grealish attack: it’s time all footballers were armed

stone island
Fire at will!

After Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish was attacked by a Birmingham City fan during Sunday’s derby at St. Andrew’s, reaction was swift. The idiot was jailed for 14 weeks.

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville wondered that would have happened had the criminal been carrying a knife. It was a good question, although I wondered why Neville had thought only of a knife and not, say, a gun, candlestick or length of lead piping?

Neville’s thinking was doubtless shaped by historical events, particularly when Monica Selles was stabbed between the shoulder blades by a keen Steffi Graf fan during a break between games in a 1993 match in Germany. If it can happen in the rough trade of women’ tennis, why not in football’s controlled and marshalled realm?

Such is his breadth of Neville’s sporting knowledge, we should expect to hear the ubiquitous former Manchester United defender commentating at Wimbledon soon.

Meanwhile, over the airwaves on BBC Radio Wales – thus marking the punch as an international incident – ex-Birmingham forward David Cotterill served up the suggestion that police attending football matches be armed with guns. “Shoot” scream the crowd as the players take cover.

Again, the ex-pro is not going far enough. Why not twin football with darts or the javelin? Moreover, if the Modern Pentathlon can test athletes for their prowess with fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting and cross country running, surely its within the wit of the FIFA to equip all footballers with rifles and print targets on replica kits issued to all fans at the turnstiles. Although given many football hooligans’ predilection for the Stone Island fashion brand, anyone clad in crosshairs is already fair game.

Posted: 12th, March 2019 | In: Key Posts, News, Sports | Comment


The joy of cheating

cheating football

Cheats never prosper – but Maradona went on to win the World Cup after his ‘Hand of God’ moment

 

We love cheating, referee errors, good goals disallowed and bad goals that were. A Manchester United player was just offside for their first goal against Arsenal last week. The officials missed it. Arsenal’s first goal crossed the United goal line by the width of a cigarette paper. Again the referee missed it. But the robots didn’t. Goal given. Last night West Bromwich Albion cheated in their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. “Jay Rodriguez just threw himself at the cross,” Baggies head coach Darren Moore told BBC Sport. “He admits that it did hit his arm but he didn’t know much about it. And you’ve got to admire his honesty.” 

How can you not admire the footballer who scores with his hand? Not the part about his being honest. That’s guff. Cheating is cheating. We should admire Rodriguez because he pushed the rules to the limit, found them wanting and in so doing created emotion and a story from a small moment in a distracting leisure activity. Isn’t football great.

Well, enjoy it while it lasts. VAR is an abomination. Football is fast. Mistakes happen. Fans and players feel feted or hard done by. The joy surges. The antagonism builds.

At another recent Arsenal match, this time against Spurs, the Tottenham striker Son dived to win a penalty. No VAR was used. Arsenal felt aggrieved. The home fans seethed. The visitors taunted. The stadium throbbed like Terry Waite’s bladder. It was great. What a show. This was the theatre of football. It’s not an insurance seminar on risk reduction. 

So congratulations to Rodriguez, Son and all the players and refs who keep the game human. Don’t let the robots in. They’ll kill it. 

PS:  If football is to become an extension of the classroom, will that stop cheating? Nope. James M. Lang argues that place and time can trigger cheating: 

[C]heating levels are fairly high, but they have always been so. The better question to ask is why. Duke University researcher Dan Ariely and his colleagues have conducted dozens of experiments designed to see what makes people willing to engage in acts of cheating and dishonesty in their everyday lives. Their findings have been remarkably consistent: most people, under the right circumstances, are willing to engage in small acts of dishonesty. This seems to be a part of our human nature.  With enough incentives in front of us, most of will cheat at least a little bit.

Cheating is natural. The temptation to cheat is human:

As it turns out, almost anyone will cheat when given even minor, consciously imperceptible behavioral cues. For instance, in a series of three experiments, a group of psychologists found that lighting could affect cheating. In one study, participants in a dimly-lit room cheated more often than those in a lighter one. While both groups performed equally well on a set of math problems, students in the darker room self-reported that they correctly solved, on average, four more problems than the other group—earning $1.85 more as a result, since they were being paid for each correct answer. The authors suggested that the darkness created an “illusory anonymity”: even though you aren’t actually more anonymous in the dark than in the light, you feel as though you are, making you more likely to engage in behaviors you otherwise wouldn’t. Similar effects have been observed with a variety of situational factors that don’t seem directly related to cheating. We cheat more, for instance, when we’re in a messy environment—one that has more signs of socially deviant behavior, like litter, graffiti, and other rubble.

And then – and then – you think of the spirit and what happens next. What reputation do you want? Matthew Syed cites a sporting great:

In the World Cup semi-final between Australia and Sri Lanka at St George’s Park in 2003, the Aussies were on 34 after five overs when Aravinda de Silva was brought on to bowl. On his second delivery, Adam Gilchrist stepped forward to sweep, edged the ball on to his front pad, and watched it sail into the hands of Kumar Sangakkara, the wicketkeeper. The Sri Lankans made a sustained appeal. Rudi Koertzen, the umpire, shook his head. “Not out,” he said.

In True Colours, his wonderful autobiography, Gilchrist would later recall that he felt “strange” at that moment, perhaps a little confused. “So much discontent about umpiring, video decisions, and trust between players had been bubbling away,” he said. He then heard an emphatic voice in his head. “Go,” the voice said. “Walk”. As he made his way towards the pavilion, something odd happened. The Port Elizabeth crowd started cheering. They knew that he had made a gesture more important than mere winning and losing.

We love the cheats. And we love the heroes. The best bit is that in the rough and tumble of sport, in the complexity and contradiction of what it is to be human, you can be both. And there’s always the drugs…

Posted: 8th, December 2018 | In: Arsenal, manchester united, News, Sports, Spurs, Technology | Comment


Aston Villa adopt John McGinn’s weird FIFA avatar as his official twitter photo

Aston Villa FIFA

 

The official twitter account for Aston Villa FC noticed that their team’s John McGinn looks not a lot like his Fifa 19 avatar. That’s McGinn on the right in the above photo. Today, McGinn scored as Villa lost 1-2 to Sheffield United. This is how Villa’s tweeter-in-chief celebrated:

 

Aston Villa FIFA

 

Ha.

Posted: 22nd, September 2018 | In: Sports | Comment


Dalian Atkinson: ‘You can stick your Tasers up your a***’

dalian atkinson taserDalian Atkinson: a look at reporting on the death of the former Aston Villa footballer.

BBC: “Tasered footballer given CPR for 35 minutes”

The post-Tasering facts are given to us straight:

Doctors battled in vain for 35 minutes to save ex-footballer Dalian Atkinson after he was Tasered by police, the inquest into his death has heard. He died 90 minutes after the weapon was used by police in Telford on 15 August.The 48-year-old former Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich striker went into cardiac arrest on his way to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

But why did he die?

The inquest was adjourned to 22 November after post-mortem tests failed to establish the cause of death.

Waiting is hard on the loved ones. Sky says they will have to wait nine months for an independent police watchdog investigation to complete its investigation. Thats seems like a very long time to wait. Why does it take so long?

The coroner’s officer Julie Hartridge said West Mercia Police officers were called there at 1.39am following a “report of concern for safety”. She told coroner John Ellery that Mr Atkinson became unresponsive shortly after being shot with a stun gun. “At hospital, following 35 minutes of CPR, he was confirmed deceased,” she added.

Tragic indeed that a call of a report for safety should end in a death triggered, as is alleged, by police action. It’s the kind of help you could do without.

Guardian: “Two police officers to be interviewed over death of Dalian Atkinson”

A spokesperson for the IPCC goes on the record:

“Our independent investigation into the death of Dalian Atkinson is expected to take around nine months. We recognise there is significant public interest and while we will carry out the investigation as swiftly as possible, we need to ensure it is thorough and robust. Interviews under criminal caution with two West Mercia police officers will take place shortly.”

The Star cocks an ear:

Aston Villa fans hurl abuse at cops over Dalian Atkinson Taser death

What did they say that was abusive?

As the officers move in to disperse the crowd, they can be heard repeatedly chanting: “You can stick your Tasers up your a***.”

Abusive? That sounds restrained.

Posted: 25th, August 2016 | In: Reviews | Comment


Aston Villa: Jack Grealish in hippy horror night out

aston villa jackAston Villa footballer Jack Grealish went out and enjoyed himself his Aston Villa side lost 4-0 to Everton. This leads the Daily Mail’s sports news.

The facts in David Kent’s report are damning:

FACT:

The midfielder is then believed to have gone to Manchester nightclub Panacea with friends

FACTS:

Video footage shows Grealish singing into the camera before champagne and sparklers arrive at table

Jack Grealish is over the minimum age for drinking. He might be too old for sparklers, which are also own as ‘Hippy Central Heating’.

FACT:

Also in the video, it appears ‘hippy crack’ is being taken through balloons by the 20-year-old’s friends

Hippy crack is also known as laughing gas. Actual hippies most likely stick with LSD and ‘shrooms.

To recap: all David Kent knows is that Jack Grealish is in photo.

The story continues:

He then travelled home to Birmingham and hosted a gathering involving two blonde women at the Malmaison in the city centre.

Blondes.

 

There is no suggestion that Grealish was inhaling from balloons or in any other way and he trained on Monday with the rest of Villa’s squad at Bodymoor Heath.

And that’s it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted: 24th, November 2015 | In: Reviews, Sports | Comment


Aston Villa: David Moyes’ failure in Spain is no qualification for Premier League success

Screen Shot 2015-10-19 at 08.27.23Great news for Aston Villa fans comes via the Sun’s back page. Villa are on “alert” because fans of Real Sociedad want team manager David Moyes sacked. It’s pretty rum when your team’s fortunes depend on a saviour being sacked by their current club.

And what of Tim Sherwood, Villa’s current manager, who only yesterday was being backed by Sun columnist Alan Shearer?

The worry is that were Sherwood to go, he would then join David Moyes and Brendan Rodgers as young British managers given top jobs but ultimately seen as failures.

The football business is stuck on names. Villa get Moyes because Moyes did well at Everton. But why would Villa fans want Moyes, a man with baggage?

The BBC picks up the story of Moyes’ life in Spain.

Real Sociedad manager David Moyes said “I know I’m the best man for the job” after the pressure on him grew with a 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid. Fans reportedly chanted “Moyes go home” in English with Sociedad only outside the relegation zone on goal difference. “You cannot always keep changing your manager and think that’s the answer to your problems,” the Scot said.

He’s right, of course. So why, then, does the Star report that Moyes wants to manage Aston Villa?

 

Screen Shot 2015-10-19 at 08.58.51

 

The answer is the same reason that Villa might be eyeing Moyes: a lack of imagination and foresight.

In the Mirror Moyes denies seeking a move:

Moyes also denied reports that would be willing to the return to the Premier League should Aston Villa decide to do away with Tim Sherwood and offer the Scot the role at Villa Park. “During pre-season I had contact with clubs, which is normal, because they know my statistics, but my intention is to stay here at La Real,” he said. “I’m not thinking about anything else. You saw the hard work and determination the players put in, how they fought.”

Did Villa offer Moyes the job in the summer?

The Mail presents Moyes’ return to the top flight of English football as a given:

David Moyes may be back in the Premier League even sooner than first thought after his side failed to win at home for the fourth time this season.

Lose in Spain and you get a top job in the top division.

Sudha Vishwanath sums it up:

These are dark days indeed, when failure overseas is a qualification factor for becoming an EPL club manager!

If Villa do sack Sherwood they should seek adventure and a vision. Moyes offers neither.

 

Posted: 19th, October 2015 | In: Reviews, Sports | Comments (2)


Transfer balls: Liverpool reject Rodgers tipped for Aston Villa job

Transfer Balls:what next for Liverpool reject Brendan Rodgers?

The Sun says Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood has a few games to save his job. If he goes Villa will turn to Brendan Rodgers, recently booted from Liverpool. Villa fans should be pleased. Rodgers has vision. Sherwood has a gilet.

Villa fans not all that keen on Rodgers can turn to the Daily Mail and learn that Real Sociedad manager David Moyes is also in the frame. why Moyes wold want the Villa job is a moot point. Surely he’d wait for team higher up the table to offer him a return to English football?

 

Posted: 12th, October 2015 | In: Sports | Comment


Aston Villa: Ireland’s Jack Grealish picked England for ‘commercial reasons’

JAck Grealish commercial reasons

 

Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish has opted to play for England, the country of his birth. Solihull-born to English parents, Grealish has declined the option of taking up the grandparents’ rule and playing for the Republic of Ireland.

Easy. But the troubling thing is that Grealish has already played for the Republic of Ireland, winning caps from under-15 to under-21 level. So it was bit of a blow to the Irish when he tweeted: “It was not an easy decision to make as Ireland has a special place to me through my family. However, I have decided to represent the country of my birth.”

So why did he play for the Republic, then?

 

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards says Grealish picked England for another reason. He has it on “good authority” that Grealish picked the red rose for “commercial reasons”.

 

Now kiss the badge and play the game.

Posted: 29th, September 2015 | In: Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Adama Traore signs for Aston Villa, completes for Liverpool and agrees Manchester United move

NYON, SWITZERLAND - APRIL 11: Adama Traore of FC Barcelona (C) competes for the ball with Miles Mueller (L) and Pascal Itter (R) of FC Schalke 04 during the UEFA Youth League Semi Final match between Schalke 04 and FC Barcelona at Colovray Stadion on April 11, 2014 in Nyon, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)

 

Transfer Balls: It’s been a busy summer for Barcelona’s Adama Traore. Those experts in the mainstream Press have been tracking his movements:

 

July 26, The Metro: “‘Manchester United paying release clause to seal Adama Traore transfer”

July 28, The Metro: “Why Arsenal need to beat Bayern Munich to the transfer of Barcelona’s Adama Traore”

July 30, The Metro: “Liverpool officials fly to Barcelona to complete Adama Traore transfer”

August 1, The Metro: “Southampton plot to hijack Liverpool’s transfer move for Barcelona winger Adama Traore”

August 2, The Metro: “‘Everton set to hijack Liverpool’s transfer move for Adama Traore”

August 3, The Metro: “Adama Traore travelling to Liverpool for medical ahead of transfer”

August 3, Daily Star: “Barcelona’s Manchester United target set for Liverpool medical”

 

August 5, The Metro: “‘Adama Traore has dinner with Stoke officials ahead of possible transfer”

August 7, Daily Mail: “Adama Traore is being linked with Stoke and Liverpool… Adama’s release clause in his Barcelona contract has dropped to £4.2m”

August 8, The Metro: “‘Adama Traore convinced he is making Liverpool transfer”

August 11, Daily Mail: “Adama Traore close to £12m Aston Villa switch from Barcelona”

August 11, Daily Telegraph: “Liverpool transfer rumours and news: Barcelona star Adama Traore emerges as top target”

August 11, Daily Telegraph: “Adam Traore is flying in for talks with Aston Villa on Wednesday as he prepares to complete a £7 million move.”

Busy lad.

Posted: 12th, August 2015 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment


Manchester City: Fabian Delph gets loyalty lessons from Raheem Sterling

So. Fabian Delph said he wouldn’t leave Aston Villa for Manchester City – and then he did. Money; the craven and all-too common mantra “I want to win things” (why not win things with your existing club?); and, well, the money all played parts in Delph’s about turn.

But what about the Daily Mirror, which heralded Delph as the antidote to greed:

 

fabian delph bottler kidd

 

On July 13 David Kidd’s column was headlined:

Raheem Sterling has backed himself to shine at a top club, Fabian Delph’s bottled out.

Bottler!

 

Screen shot 2015-07-20 at 19.33.39

 

On July 17, Kidd’s column was headlined:

Fabian Delph U-turn is further proof that loyalty is dead in the Premier League.

Judas!

He can’t win in the Mirror but at least Delph now has a better chance of winning  on a football pitch.

Posted: 20th, July 2015 | In: Manchester City, Sports | Comment


Aston Villa fans unveil ‘Delph you snake’ banner

Delph snake banner

A few Aston Villa fans have daubed A message to Fabian Delphi, the team captain who committed himself to the team before heading to Manchester City.

Delph’s initial denying of Man City’s cash was prised by Villa manager Tim Sherwood:

“We are looking to build something here and we’re looking to keep our best players.

“Fabian is certainly one of those. It’s just an example of the measure of the guy really that he decided to stay – the loyalty he’s shown to the fans, the football club and the chairman. And I’m delighted to have him here next season.”

If you see any white paint on Tim’s fingers, let us know.

Posted: 18th, July 2015 | In: Sports | Comment


Fabian Delph: Manchester City buy ‘loyal’ Aston Villa captain for £8m

Fabian Delph is no longer Aston Villa captain having signed a five-year contract at Manchester City. A few days ago, Delph “set the record straight” over his future, stating on Villa’s website:

“I’m aware there has been intense media speculation surrounding my future in the last 24 hours and I want to set the record straight. I’m not leaving. I’m staying at the football club and I can’t wait for the start of the season and captaining this great football club.”

But then, as the story goes, he spoke with City’s Micah Richards. Says Delph:

“Micah Richards told me that as far as he is concerned, this is the best club in the world and he had the time of his life here.”

But give it a week and Richards might tell you it’s rubbish.

Posted: 17th, July 2015 | In: Manchester City, Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Aston Villa’s Fabian Delph signs for Manchester City in a matter of ‘hours’

Transfer Balls: It’s been a busy few weeks of doing nothing for Aston Villa’s Fabian Villa Delph.

July 10, Daily Mail: “Aston Villa captain Fabian Delph set to complete £8m transfer to Manchester City”

The Mail says that in the “next 24 hours”, Delph will be a Manchester City player.

 

delph agrees aston villa

 

July 10, The Daily Mirror:

The Mirror says Delph is on his way to Man City. But those 24 hours are now 48 hours.

 

Screen shot 2015-07-11 at 21.37.41
July 11, The Sun: “FABIAN DELPH has dramatically snubbed an £8million move to Manchester City.”

England midfielder Delph said: “I want to set the record straight, I’m not leaving. I’m staying at the football club and I can’t wait for the start of the season and captaining this great football club.”

Delph stays!

Such are the facts…

 

Posted: 11th, July 2015 | In: Manchester City, Reviews, Sports | Comment


The Sun hates Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish – Prince Harry but with talent

jack grealish marbella

 

The Sun continues its assault on Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish (previously: hippy crack and larks), whose in Marbella’s Sisu Boutique Hotel with a 6-litre Ciroc Vodka:

FOOTIE ace Jack Grealish lies beside a half-empty SIX-LITRE bottle of vodka costing £1,000 at a boozy pool party.

When we first see Jack in his baseball cap, lounging in the sun surronded by smiling, bikini-clad lovelies, we thought it was Prince Harry. But it’s not. It’s likeable Jack Grealish, what Prince Harry could be if he had talent.

One holidaymaker said: “He looked drunk…”

Days later he flew to Tenerife and angered Villa by being snapped lying in the street, apparently drunk and unconscious, during a bender there. That followed a warning by the club in April after The Sun ran photos of him inhaling hippy crack.

When did Jack Grealish become a spokesman for Abstinence UK or the Public Health England? Check the smallprint on that Aston Villa contract, Jack, and pay attention to the part about you being a ‘role model’.

It’s utter drivel. The elite like using footballers to teach fine morals to the working class.

You can read what a young David Cameron and his Bullgindon boys allegedly used to get up to on other people’ money here.

Posted: 22nd, June 2015 | In: Sports | Comment


Now Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish is famous the tabloids set about murdering him

jack grealish drugs

 

So good was Jack Grealish for Aston Villa during their FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool that the Sun has decided to ruin him.

In “HIGH JACK”, the Sun says Grealish, “apparently”, has been inhaling “hippy crack”. The Sun says this is the “third star exposed” by the Sun breathing in nitrous oxide from a ballon. Readers have already been treated to photos of Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling and West Brom’s Saido Berahino on the balloon.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: 23rd, April 2015 | In: Sports | Comment


FA Cup Balls: Liverpool’s ‘lucky’ Coutinho Was better than 8 Aston Villa players

fa cup aston villa

 

Aston Villa beat Liverpool 2-1 in an entertaining FA Cup semi-final. But what were the important scores, the ones newspapers award players?

Martin Samuel says Liverpool’s one goal was lucky. The Daily Mail writer says Philippe Coutinho’s shot went in via a “fortuitous deflection”.

 

 

fa cup aston villa 1

 

But one page on, the Mail’s Laurie Whitwell says of Coutinho:

“Super run and finish.”

From lucky to super in a page.

The Mail awards Coutinho a score of 7 our of 10. That makes him better than 8 Aston Villa players. But the Daily Mirror says every Villa player was better than every Liverpool player.

 

countinho score

 

Such are the facts…

Posted: 20th, April 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Aston Villa Balls: Paul Lambert wins in the Sun as Spurs, Everton and Newcastle queue for his services

The bouquets are out for Paul Lambert, who was finally sacked from his post as Aston Villa manager.

Alan Shearer tells Sun readers Lambert struggled because:

“They [Aston Villa] have had one of the lowest net spends in the Premier League.”

Did they? In February 2014, this was the net spend of the Premier League tables based on the preceding five seasons:

 

villa

 

 

Spurs, Everton and Newcastle must be hankering for Lambert’s services. Not.

Villa have long been one of the better-funed sides. From 2003 to today, that player investment table looks like this:

 

Screen shot 2015-02-17 at 14.55.02

 

Of course Lambert became Villa manager only in 2012. So. We could look only at the net spend over his tenure. In 2012/13, Aston Villa were the sixth highest net spenders in the Premier League.

In season 2013/14, Aston Villa were not bottom of the net spend table:

premier league net spend 2014

 

On September 2, after the summer of 2014 transfers, Aston Villa posted a net spend of £6m.

Arsenal, net spend: £46m; Aston Villa, net spend £6m; Burnley, net spend £8m; Chelsea, net spend £10m; Crystal Palace, net spent £11m; Everton, net spend £33m; Hull City, net spend £25m
Leicester City, net spend £10m; Liverpool, net spend £36m; Manchester City, net spend £32m; Manchester United, net spend £122m; Newcastle United, net spend £25m; Queens Park Rangers, net spend £21m; Southampton, profit £31m; Stoke City, net spend £0.5m; Sunderland, net spend £10m; Swansea City, net spend £1.5m; Tottenham Hotspur, profit £6m; West Bromwich Albion, net spend £13m; and West Ham United, net spend £31m.Aston Villa was one of 9 clubs with a net spend of £10m or less.

Lambert was not unsupported by the Villa owners. He just wasn’t very good at managing what he had.

Such are the facts…

 

Posted: 17th, February 2015 | In: Sports | Comments (2)


Manchester United Hardman Roy Keane Beats The Living Daylights Out Of Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho

Roy Keane

 

BY now you’ll be wondering what former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has been up. How’s the anger? Are the dogs well?

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Posted: 10th, October 2014 | In: Chelsea, manchester united, Sports | Comment


Manchester United’s teenager Adnan Januzaj is just like Tony Dorigo – the Italian-Australian who became English for glory and money

PA-8822858

IAN Wright and Jack Wilshere agree that only players born and blooded in England should play for England at football. How Wilshere’s views will pan out with Liverpool and England’s Jamaican-born Raheem Sterling have yet to be established. Manchester United’s teenager Adnan Januzaj should not play for England, they say.

Fair enough. He might not want to. But Anorak recalls one foreign-born player who did pull on the England shirt. Australian-born Tony Dorigo, for it is he, played in the same England team as Ian Wright. We can find no record of Wright saying back then in 1993 that victory over Brazil would have been “hollow” with a foreigner in the team. Playing with a non-England born player is “just cheating” says wright.

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Posted: 11th, October 2013 | In: Key Posts, manchester united, Sports | Comments (2)


One Direction fans threaten to kill Aston Villa’s Gabby Agbonlahor for tackling puking Louis Tomlinson

Louis-Tomlinson- gabby

 

ASTON Villa’s Gabby Agbonlahor has been the subject of death threats on Twitter following his tackle on One Direction and Doncaster Rovers’ Louis Tomlinson at charity football match for former Villa and Celtic man Stan Petrov who was diagnosed with leukaemia.

After the forward’s challenge, Tomlinson went to the sidelines and threw up.

The One Direction fans duly moved on from threatening to murder GQ magazine staffers by threatening to murder a professional footballer:

Erica Ramirez ∞ ♥ @BelievingInMe_1 – I’ll Kill You Gabby Agbonlahor For Hurting My Man @Louis_Tomlinson

“@gabby_10 This guy hurt Louis knee. I shall hurt your face. I better hear that you apologized or I will find you, and I will kill you.”

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Posted: 8th, September 2013 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts, Sports | Comment


Arsenal balls: referee Antony Taylor ‘started refereeing in Aston Villa League’

THAT was quick, internet. No sooner has referee Anthony Taylor and his whistle helped Aston Villa record an unlikely win over Arsenal on the Premier League’s opening day than a look a his Wikipedia page turns up some interesting ‘facts’:

anthony taylor

 

Football’s back…

Posted: 17th, August 2013 | In: Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Christian Benteke snubs Spurs and Chelsea for £30m Turkse Rangers

benteke spurs

 

TRANSFER Balls: A look at Aston Villa’s want away striker Christian Benteke in the news media:

 

July 16

The above message is doing the rounds on the web.

In other news.

Liverpool have also made an enquiry for Benteke while Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is considering an offer for the forward, who went on strike last summer to force through his €9m transfer from Genk. – Goal.com

So. Chelsea and Liverpool want Benteke? He’s not gone to Spurs, then?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: 16th, July 2013 | In: Sports | Comment


Aston Villa fan overjoyed by Chelsea winning Champions League (photo)

HOW do fans of other British clubs react to Chelsea winning the Champions League with victory over Germany’s Bayern Munich? The overriding word is: indifference. Only the winners and the losers get to experience the real emotion. The rest are reduced to the role of mere spectators. Unless you are Aston Villa fan David Cameron, and you’re stood in the Laurel Cabin conference room at Camp David, Md., with Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. In which case you have to punch the air and bathe in reflected glory.


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Posted: 20th, May 2012 | In: Politicians | Comments (5)


Aston Villa’s Alex McLeish Won’t Say A Word About The Injury To Jermaine Jenas Of Spurs

ASTON Villa manger Alex McLeish will not say anything about the injury to Jermaine Jenas, on loan from Spurs:

“I am bound by the fact Jermaine is not an Aston Villa player to reveal any news about him. We have left it in the hands of Tottenham and they will probably make a statement later on. So obviously it’s not good news.”

No news, then. “Nuff said, Alex…

“I think Jermaine has ruptured his Achilles and that will take some time to sort out.”

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Posted: 7th, December 2011 | In: Sports | Comment