February 2010 Archives

So it all ended in tears for Aston Villa and the wait for silverware remains 14 years and counting.

And having returned from my duties at Wembley, here's a few observations from today's Carling Cup final.

- Seeing as Villa's defence has been their strongest department this season (and one of the strongest departments in the Premier League), it was surprising to see such a disappointing showing from the claret and blue back-line. Positioning, urgency, tackling, opposition awareness, energy - all poor from Villa's back four. Stephen Warnock, in particular, did his claims for a World Cup place no favours. Judging by the post-match talk in the Wembley press room, it appears the national hacks (more influential than they should be) may be giving Warnock a bit of a battering in print tomorrow.

- While the jubilant likes of Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand (yes, that's right, the one who didn't even play) all stopped to give their post-match thoughts to the written press, it comes as no surprise that their Villa counterparts weren't as approachable. Other than James Milner and the reluctant Brad Friedel and Carlos Cuellar, it was a case of heads bowed and phones stuck to their ears for the rest of O'Neill's troops.

- Is Stan Collymore, proudly wearing his Villa colours at Wembley yesterday (whatever happened to national media pundits being impartial), the loudest man on radio? With Wembley long emptied, myself and colleague Chris Lepkowski were left tapping away our pearls of wisdom for tomorrow's Birmingham Mail, who could we hear from the opposite side of the 90,000 seater? None other than Mr Collymore waxing lyrical on his radio show.

- Crossed my mind that I could soon be back at the national stadium for a Villa-Blues FA Cup final/semi-final, a prospect that will have the authorities panicking, given the unfortunate ugly history of the fixture. If the big Birmingham two do get all the way to the season finale, then will it be the first ever FA Cup final to be held at midday on a Sunday?

-And another belated observation from the pre-Carling Cup final press conference at Bodymoor Heath last Thursday. While being led to our 'Sundays only' presser with O'Neill, we were taken through the staff canteen at Villa's training ground. And who should be sat in there, laughing, joking and dressed in Villa training kit? None other than former Villan and current Derby squad man Lee Hendrie. And no, I have no idea what he was doing there.

I was fortunate to meet the Carling Cup today, during the trophy's whistle-stop tour of the West Midlands and Manchester.

Me and colleague Mat Kendrick were lucky enough to have the silverware centre stage while filming a Carling Cup special edition of Villa View.

It was our own little way of wishing Martin O'Neill and his men good luck for Sunday's Wembley showdown. Hopefully next time it's back in the Second City it will be clad in claret and blue ribbons and not the red, black and white ones that adorned the cup today.

But of course, a good luck message from the Birmingham Mail and Sunday Mercury is nothing compared to some of the well wishes that have come in Villa's direction from their celebrity fans.

Because given that HRH Prince William and Conservative leader David Cameron are self-confessed Villa fans, they may well already have the future powers of this nation behind them.

A WHOLE host of football pundits have been forced to eat their words over the years.

Who could forget Rodney Marsh reluctantly having his head shaved in the Valley Parade centre circle in 2000 having flippantly dismissed Bradford City's chances of Premier League survival?

Or the most famous example of all - Alan Hansen's infamous 'you'll never win anything with kids' remark in 1996 before Manchester United's young guns went on to bag the double.

While I'm merely a local footballer reporter, I too, like Marsh and Hansen, am about to eat a huge slice of humble pie.

Whether it be for a national TV network or a local rag, if you're publicly voicing your opinion on aspects of the game then there comes a time when a comment will come back to bite you on the bum.

And the subject of my back-peddling? Joe Hart.

Although it was through the pages of the Sunday Mercury's sister paper, the Birmingham Mail, I have to confess that I doubted Alex McLeish's faith to stick with the on-loan goalkeeper as his number one.

What has since turned out to be my opinion of madness, came at the start of November when the Hart v Maik Taylor debate was raging.

Hart's October had been overshadowed by a handful of errors, notably at Burnley and Sunderland in the Premier League, and Taylor had just come in from the cold and kept a clean sheet during the youngster's enforced absence against his parent club Manchester City.

Back then, I felt that Hart's inexperience was in danger of costing Blues and that he was on course to suffer the same loss of confidence that dogged World Cup-hopeful turned England-flop Scott Carson during his loan spell just across the city at Villa Park.

Big Eck was suffering the most painful of selection headaches and, in my all too publicly expressed opinion at the time, he had to turn to the veteran.

How wrong was I?

Hart's stunning performances between the sticks, not to mention regular contributors to our liveblogs on a match-day, have continued to remind me ever since.

I was down at Bodymoor Heath yesterday afternoon to hear Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill cautiously welcome talk of a play-off for the Premier League's Champions League-qualifying fourth spot.

But in my opinion, the idea should be shelved.

While I appreciate that, in the same way as the play-off system in the Football League, it would add an extra spark of excitement to the end of season run-in, ultimately it may weaken the eventual prize.

The make-up of the Champions League has already been diluted down from the original European Cup model. The current title is deceptive, it's not the Champions League, it's the Champions, Runners-Up, Third-Place Hopefuls and Lucky Finishers in Fourth League.

I can just about stomach the fact that the current model isn't solely made up of literally the champions of Europe, as I suppose the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona will testify that it's a mighty fine, money-spinning competition.

However, I couldn't accept the possibility of the Premier League's seventh-placed side pitting itself against the continent's greatest. The Football League's play-offs have consistently proved that they very rarely reward the better placed team.

Without wishing to cause too much offence to the following clubs - Fulham, Blackburn, Bolton, Newcastle and Middlesbrough have all occupied seventh spot at the end of the last five Premier League seasons. Hardly a list of world-beaters, are they?

Aston Villa talisman James Milner should go to the World Cup this summer.

In fact, given England boss Fabio Capello's admittance that Milner has been his most improved player and the Yorkshireman's versatility, his ticket will already be booked.

However, the suggestion that Milner should be taken as a replacement left-back for the injured Ashley Cole (as has been voiced by a handful of respected national pundits) is one that should be rubbished.

Sure, the 24-year-old is capable of playing anywhere across the pitch - the very reason why Capello will include him in his party bound for South Africa.

But Milner should only have to find himself at left-back for England as an emergency makeshift once the tournament is underway, not as a pre-planned option.

Not only would the decision to take Milner as a left-back be a waste of his supreme midfield talent, it would also be frankly disrespectful to those specialists currently performing sterling jobs in the Premier League in that position.

Stephen Warnock and Leighton Baines are all worthy candidates as an understudy to, or even in favour of, Wayne Bridge.

When it comes to his place in England's World Cup squad, Milner should only be viewed as a midfield maestro or Capello's flexible friend from the bench.

It's February 14 and love is in the air.

However, while it may be flowers, chocolates and sweet nothings at the moment, everybody knows that relationships in football can quickly turn as sour as Neil Warnock at a referees' convention.

So to mark Valentine's Day, I've decided to aim Cupid's bow towards our major clubs to see who is floating their boat, who's the special someone they long for and who might be about to receive the divorce papers.

BLUES

Head over heels with... Alex McLeish - in the loving eyes of Bluenoses, Big Eck can do no wrong. McLeish has quietly assembled a Premier League squad at reasonable expense. And all that while controversial outgoing owners bickered with a mysterious incoming regime in the background.

Would like to meet... A 25-year-old Kevin Phillips - the ruthless manner in which Super Kev saw off Wolves last weekend reminded Blues of the value of a natural goal-scorer. Trouble is, Phillips is 36 and Blues could do with the ex-England striker at his peak.

On the rocks with... Half of their squad - with 12 members of Blues' current first-team squad out of contract at the end of the season, it's likely that a large percentage of those will bid farewell to St Andrew's come summer. Chief executive Michael Dunford has already indicated that a mass clearout is on the horizon.

VILLA

Head over heels with... Richard Dunne - Villa fans have always appreciated a centre-half in the old-fashioned mould such as Allan Evans, Derek Mountfield, Paul McGrath, Martin Laursen; but when the latter announced his retirement, there was a slight sense of panic. Would the claret and blue rearguard suddenly become as suspect as Portsmouth's finances? But the £5 million that Martin O'Neill paid out to Manchester City for Dunne has turned out to be an absolute bargain. The Irishman has been colossal.

Would like to meet... A big name striker - how Villa fans would love to boast of their own Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney or Fernando Torres. A rock-solid defence, a midfield oozing with talent and a strikeforce that has power and pace but lacks a killer touch in front of goal.

On the rocks with... The beautiful game - Villa have developed a bit of a reputation for being boring. Admittedly that opinion largely seems to stem from north London but if this notion starts to gain momentum, Villa are in danger of being tarnished with the same ugly brush as Stoke.

I headed down to West Bromwich Albion's training ground this morning to interview their new loan recruit Frank Nouble.

While his burly frame may be intimidating, the 18-year-old is a polite, softly-spoken lad, who is only just getting used to living away from his parents and still relies on lifts from team-mates or taxis to get him to training.

Like thousands of others, Nouble is eager to make a name for himself in the game he's always loved.

And I wish him all the best because, from what I learned this morning, other aspiring English footballers should take a leaf out of his book.

Rather than risk being another homegrown talent to waste away in the reserves of a top club, Nouble took a stand against the foreign invasion in English football during the summer.

Having progressed through the ranks at the west London outfit, Nouble boldly, and sensibly, rejected the offer of a professional deal with Chelsea to try his luck elsewhere.

The reason? Given the top four elite's tendency to flood their youth ranks with foreign players, Nouble felt that, no matter how well he played, he's always find himself behind a footballer not from these shores.

It looks to have paid off for the England Under-19 international, as West Ham were quick to snap him up and he's already made his Premier League bow.

For my interview with Nouble, pick up a copy of this weekend's Sunday Mercury or stay tuned to sundaymercury.net, as it makes interesting and refreshing reading.

Hopefully Nouble's stance will be a positive sign of the times for English football.

Most people would presume that the football fraternity stick together.

When even the harshest criticism rains down on this grossly over-paid profession, surely stars of the football field, both past and present, stick together?

Well one conversation overheard at the Hawthorns last night suggests otherwise.

John Salako, the ex-England international who only hung up his boots five years ago, was seem to be tutting and shaking his head while flicking through the pages of a national newspaper during the half-time break of West Brom's victory over Scunthorpe last night.

The story that had attracted Salako's disgust was that of Kieron Dyer costing cash-strapped West Ham £30 million over the course of his four-year, £70,000-a-week contract.

Salako, now a Sky Sports pundit, remarked: "If I had been on £70,000-a-week then you certainly wouldn't find me working at a cold West Brom on a Tuesday night."

Proof that even those fortunate enough to have graced the game in the Premier League era are unhappy (or could that be jealous) of the cash-mad direction English football has gone in.

*And another observation from the Hawthorns - Baggies fans appear to appreciate Super Kev Phillips' recent exploits against Wolves just as much as Blues fans.
Even though it was Roman Bednar who lit up last night's match with a sublime finish, it was Super Kev's name that rang out from the Smethwick End during the first-half.

Aston Villa's so-called 'ugliness' was clearly a big deal for Tottenham Hotspur fans at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

Chants of 'boring, boring, Villa' were relentless from a large percentage of Spurs supporters, just 10 days after Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger sparked fury from Martin O'Neill following his long-ball dig.

However, there's no doubt that given their achievements so far this season, O'Neill and his Villa squad will take the latest unfashionable tag to be thrown their way on the chin.

But the club's image was hardly helped by a picture that adorns the wall in White Hart Lane's classroom-turned-post-match press hub.......

The year was 1995 and it was the moment that Jurgen Klinsmann took Mark Bosnich's knee on the chin during a Premier League match-up.

IF Christian Benitez ever broke his St Andrew's duck, then the Ecuadorian may feel inclined to take a booking and peel off his shirt in celebration.

And should Chucho choose to do that, then he will bear to the watching world the giant tattoo that covers his back.

The striker has a bit of a soft spot for the number 11, so much so that he's had it tattooed down his back.

It's also the reason that 11 is his Blues squad number and he concedes that, by turning to the ink, he'll be unable to wear any other digit wherever he ends up plying his trade.

And, during a recent interview with the South American, he revealed the sentimental reason behind his body art.

Benitez said: "I had the tattoo done two years ago, now it's the only number I can wear. My child was born on that day, on September 11, so it means a lot to me."