Footballbits and pieces

Conforming to just about every stereotype going, perfectly-named Aston Villa director U.S General Charles Krulak has delivered a rallying cry to his players, urging them to ‘kick the crap’ out of their opponents between now and the end of the season in order to avoid relegation. Krulak, who is a vet of the Vietnam war [...]

How badly is Houllier doing at Aston Villa?  That is, what should the expectations of the Villa fans be for this season?  The club are hovering just above the relegation zone half way through the season after years of UEFA Cup football and just missing out on the Champions League under O’Neill which does constitute [...]

Judging by the considerable hike in both steward and police presence at St. Andrews (over 500 West Midlands officers were drafted in for the occasion), it’s pretty clear that the relevant authorities were envisaging a bit of a feisty affair between second city rivals Birmingham and Aston Villa in the Carling Cup last night – [...]

Aston Villa have confirmed that former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires will join the club this week. French Bob, currently a free agent following his release by Villarreal in the summer, has been in talks with Villa. He has also been training with the Gunners to help maintain his fitness (see photo above). Villa assistant manager [...]

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks in the Midlands. As Birmingham City, Wolves and Aston Villa struggle to find any sort of consistency, West Brom have become the Black Country’s team to beat. While few could have predicted the form, skill and killer instinct displayed by Roberto di Matteo’s Baggies, even fewer would have [...]