North America Invasion 2014

Lions Club members from all over North America will be descending upon B6  for the final week of the Premier League season (Hull City at home and 2 away fixtures at Man City and Spurs).  Following the Hull City match, Lions Club chairmen will take to the Villa Park pitch for the annual UK Lions vs Overseas Lions match and then followed by the annual Lions Club awards night.

(from our Chicago meet-up for the opening of the Premier League season in Aug 2013)

We Will Not Be Moved!

The long-awaited home win came today versus Man City.  An improbable result as we were without The Beast and Gabby in the front.  How did Villa stay in this game and eventually take all 3 points?  Pure determination and never giving up.  Every man on the pitch worked for the entire 90 + 4 minutes, especially Tony Moon... It was clear he was tired and banged up, but his motor would not stall.  This Villa team is so different from teams the past several years.  A goal from the opposition does not cause panic or hopelessness.

Alot of Season Left

After losses to the 2 Manchester clubs, we find ourselves in the bottom 3 at the moment.  We are in the midst of a tough part of the schedule so it is way too early to panic.  I think the Man Utd game really provided a preview of what this club is made of and how well it can play.  It really was sad to see us not able to hold onto that 2-nil lead, but the football Villa played was so much more enjoyable to watch than last season.  We have the Gunners on Saturday - our chance to get a result.



(Match will be televised live here on the West Coast @ 8:30am Pacific time)

Didn't Expect to Win, but...

Manchester City coming to Villa Park wasn't looking like a game that Villa could compete let alone win.  But it was nil-nil at the half and all of Man City's scoring chances stayed close, but out of the Villa net.  Despite the defense holding on, offensive chances did not appear until very late in the second half.  What do we need to do to turn our Villa fortunes around?

Is this a sign of a spiral downward?

2 losses in 2 weeks (Man City and WBA).  My opinion is that we were robbed by the referees in the WBA game.

In today's news - Barry Bannan arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.  Geez - one of our better players too.   This is not a good sign of how the team is reacting to this dry spell and the frustrations from the WBA game.  Let's keep it together lads.  There is alot of season left.  Don't follow Rooney's example!

Villa midfielder Bannan arrested on drink-drive suspicion after 5:30am M1 smash
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2052774/Aston-Villas-Barry-Bannan-arrested-drink-drive-suspicion-M1-crash.html#ixzz1bkEOq9YU

Villa vs. Man City

AVFC California members will be gathering Saturday morning (15 Oct 2011) for the televised game between our Villa lads and Manchester City.  Kickoff (pacific time) is 7:00am.

The Shakespeare Pub (San Diego)
The Olde Ship (Santa Ana)
The Mad Dog in the Fog (San Francisco)

UTV!

I don't understand

So - who can explain why Houllier rested so many regulars in Villa's defeat in the FA Cup 5th round vs. Man City??  (No A. Young, Albrighton, or Downing).  Huh?? We still had the opportunity for some glory this season - and there was no need to hold out key players because we are not in the race for the Premiership title or hovering close to relegation.  So we go down to City 3-nil and then our "rested" players come up short to Bolton today in our Premier League match.  So why did it look like we were "resting" people??

Villa had all of the chances to win today - Bent missed some key opportunities right in front of the net.

Bolton Cahill 45,75 Klasnic 86	3 - 2	Aston Villa Bent 15 Albrighton 64

Villa Gets Past Man City with Bent's Foot

Can you believe it?  Darren Bent gets signed and in his first game with the Villa, he scores his first Villa goal and it turns out to be the game winner.  As we watched, holding our breath every second, we joked about how that was the 24M goal and IT WAS WORTH IT.  The defense also withstood the desperate onslaught of shots being taken by Man City in the final 20 or so minutes

These 3 points have the potential to turn our season around.  There should be a ton of momentum and confidence.  First win in that last 11 games.  It's been a looooooooooong time.   UP THE VILLA!

Scoring Summary

Aston Villa	Manchester City
Darren Bent (18')

Match Stats

Aston Villa

Manchester City

9(7)	Shots (on Goal)	25(2)
12	Fouls	12
2	Corner Kicks	13
1	Offsides	2
31%	Time of Possession	69%
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
2	Saves	6

Awful - Can this season get any worse?

Villa was squashed by Man City today 4-nil.  City's Balotelli got a hat trick and led City as they destroyed Villa.  What is going on?  All of a sudden, I have had a sense of fear develop inside of me as the bottom of the table looms.  How do we get out of this slump and get a couple of decent results?  It is scary eight now. I don't want to use the "R" word - so I won't.  I want to hold on to hope...for now.

Scoring Summary

Manchester City	Aston Villa
Mario Balotelli (pen 8')
Joleon Lescott (13')
Mario Balotelli (27')
Mario Balotelli (pen 55')

Match Stats

Manchester City

Aston Villa

13(6)	Shots (on Goal)	9(4)
14	Fouls	14
8	Corner Kicks	6
2	Offsides	0
50%	Time of Possession	51%
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
4	Saves	2