Pride

News today has given me an immense sense of pride of being an Aston Villa fan. In a move which is entirely unique, Villa's shirt "sponsor" will be Acorn's Children Hospice.

This is incredible, and quite the opposite to being "sponsored" by a betting company of unknown proportion, whose users often need help and support of other charities.

I'm not sure how Aston Villa expected the media to react, but to me - this shows more than signing that £15m player, or getting into the Champions league it shows spirit, community, honesty, values.

I know, for example Ulises De La Cruz, albeit not the best player to play for Villa, but his work with charity at his home village made him one of my favourites.

There is more to life than football & money, Aston Villa have just acknowledged that - turning down millions of pounds worth of potential revenue for a good local cause.

Aston Villa - We salute you!

Stay Barry, please Stay!

It's been a long time, but it is time it got resurrected for such a vitally important issue.

Here is my open message to Gareth Barry;

You are an Aston Villa legend, in my eyes bigger than Olof, and as important as Giggs to Man U - many supporters became dis-illusioned with the last Manager, and I'm guessing you, and fellow players did too?

With Martin, I believe that we can be that 4th place team (next season) and finish above Liverpool, as a player you must see that too, that is why it must be a very hard decision for you.

A player as important as you could be the difference between top 4 and bottom half of the Prem, and I have no doubt that you be a very sucessful Aston Villa player, who will be important enough, and good enough to play for us for another 10 years.

Perhaps Mr Lerner will offer you alot of money to carry on playing for us, but look at what Olof got that money can't buy - sure enough I will be telling my grandkids about that "Gareth Barry" legend, the one in bronze statue outside the Holte having been the captain that led us to the glory days again.

Rich

Tom Hanks Wants Villa to win premiership

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm

A good bit of business

I'm liking the deal we've done with WBA. Curtis Davies on loan for a year, with a view to an £8.5m transfer at the end of it.
That still leaves whatever budget that we had earmarked for him to go and get Jermaine Defoe and a right back.

I keep hearing from people that we need a center midfielder, but I disagree. We need a right back and then we should be ok in numbers till xmas (kiss of death perhaps). Once we get said right back, that'll free up gardner for centre midfield, so that we can have the choice of

• Reo-Coker
• Barry
• Osbourne
• Petrov
• Gardner
• Young
• Agbonlahor
• + any new youth that O'Neill finds, as we have an awesome youth system.

as midfield options.

I'm not complainin at that.

Up the Villa

Blues are the New Hearts

Anyone hear about Hearts getting taking over by that Lithuanian (i think) businessman last season, and him bringing in all his countrymen to play for Hearts (and they went from clear at the top of the league to finishing 4th).

Well, it looks like the blues are gonna go the same way (without getting anywhere near the top of the league ofcourse). Their new chinese chairman has stated that his dream for Birmingham City is to field a full side of chinese players in the premiership.

Players like Zheng Zhi I can understand, but china aren't a great footballing nation. Steve Bruce has got some intelligence, I'm sure he'll stamp this notion out, but just thought it worth putting on here.

Laterz

Transfers

Stunned to read today that MON is holding talks with Marlon Harewood, and I got to ask why. He's the poor man's Emile Heskey, and I wouldn't even want that guy at Villa Park.

I'd even rather have another one hit wonder, who's on his way out of spurs, in Mido, that Marlon Harewood. Harewood only plays well when the team around him play well, and it showed last year when he only scored a handful of goals.

Not sure about his former team-mate Reo Coker. He's obviously captain of England U21's for a reason, but he again was part of an under-performing team that barely stayed up.
Saying all this, we did raid a relegated side a few years ago and brought Sorensen and McCann from Sunderland, and they've both done a good job for us.

Basically, I would have thought with this spending power from Lerner, the knowledge of O'Neill and the potential of our squad, I would have thought we would be attracting a higher calibre of player.

New signings I would like to see are a couple of new defender (Dawson would be great, Curtis Davies, Luke Young or Heinze perhaps), Shaun Wright-Phillips and Defoe. Not that I'm greedy or anything.

all quiet on the signing front

So the boys are due to go out to America soon. surely now is the time to get new blood in so that they can join the squad before they go to america.