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To be honest Given was my biggest worry as he has declined a lot recently due to his age and the fact he's been sat on the bench for this season, In the end he barely had to do a thing so I needn't have worried.
Beck's is all smiles following promotion.
David Beckham announced that he is delighted to have overseen Villa's immediate return to the Premier league and was quick to lavish praise on his players in the aftermath of Saturday's play-off final victory over Blackpool.
When asked how he felt his first five months with the club had gone, the former England under-21 coach replied "It's been fantastic, there were a few moments where I feared things might cave in on us, but the lads kept fighting and now they have their reward."
Beckham has himself received praise from with his own camp, striker Darren Bent dedicated his golden boot award to his manager, saying that he helped the forward improve his consistency and earn not only this award but also a place in Brendon Rodgers's England World Cup squad.
The 38 year old boss refused to give any clues with regards to summer signings and departures but did confirm there would be several new faces as Villa gear up for their return to the top flight.
03/07/2014
Villa Snap Up Lescott
David Beckham has made his first major signing as manager of Aston Villa by moving quickly to snap up England defender Joleon Lescott on free transfer.
Lescott was released by Manchester City after five years at the Etihad where he picked up two Premiership titles as well as Champions League and FA cup winners medals.
Born in Birmingham, Lescott is a lifelong Villa fan who is said to relish the chance to play in front of the Holte End at Villa park where he used to sit as a youngster before being signed by rivals Wolves.
Lescott, 31, has won 20 caps for England but missed out on selection for the World Cup in Brazil. he has been signed by Beckham to replace the outgoing Richard Dunne who was allowed to leave Villa park this summer.
Beckham has also confirmed the club is in talks with Chelsea with regards to goalkeeper Ross Turnbull as a replacement for Shay Given who has also found himself surplus to requirements at Villa Park.
11/07/2014
Turnbull Set For Villa
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull for a fee of £1.3M.
Turnbull, 29, has struggled to get first team football at Stamford Bridge and has had to settle for sporadic cup appearances along with playing for the reserves.
Turnbull's signing comes after Villa confirmed the release of Shay Given despite what was believed to be a heavy compensation package for the Irishman who was wages of around £50k a week despite only making four appearances for Villa last season.
Dyrim
Dan
t-mase
I presume you mean transfer targets? I have my eye on one or two more additions yes.
Yeah, I thought it had gone a bit quiet around here.
Thanks mate, are you starting a new career?
Thanks matey, keep reading!
Dan
Hahaa! Afraid not mate, can't find inspiration at the moment!
Don't bother with a challenge or competition, I used to like your old ones when you managed Liverpool as a story.
Dan
I do enjoy writing but I don't have the time to write full blown updates these days! I may look into something though
14/07/2014
Beckham Reunited With Swans Duo
Aston Villa today confirmed they have captured two of manager David Beckham's former Swansea City charges from his brief spell in South Wales.
England target man Andy Carroll, still just 25 years old, has joined Villa on a season long loan from Liverpool with the Midlands club having the option to make the deal permanent at any time for a fee of £4M.
Carroll has not turned out for Liverpool in almost three years despite the Merseyside outfit splashing a record £35M to lure him from Newcastle in 2011, since then the man who has seven caps and two goals for his country has spent time on loan with West Ham, Swansea and now Villa.
Villa now looked spoiled for choice up front with Caroll joining last seasons championship golden boot winner Darren Bent, Belgian international Christian Benteke and Colombian forward Teofilo Gutuerrez among their ranks.
Also pulling on the famous claret and blue jersey next season will be Nigerian international full back Taye Taiwo who joins the Villains of free transfer following his release from AC Milan. Taiwo made 25 appearances for the Swans last season, he has also had loan spells at QPR and Dinamo Kiev after he failed to break into the Rosseneri side following his move from Marseilles in 2011.
We've just kicked off in our pre-season game with Stranraer.
15:00 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
LATEST: Stranraer 0 - 1 Villa (Goal: Benteke)
15:06 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
LATEST: Stranraer 0 - 2 Villa (Goal: Bent)
15:26 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
LATEST: Darren Bent carried off injured (On: Andreas Weimann).
15:40 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
HT: Stranraer 0 - 2 Villa. Villa in complete control.
15:46 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
LATEST: Stranraer 0 - 3 Villa (Goal: Weimann).
16:16 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
LATEST: Penalty to Villa.
16:36 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
LATEST: Stranraer 0 - 4 Villa (Goal: Carroll penalty).
16:36 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
FT: Villa barely break a sweat brushing aside Stranraer 4-0 to kick off pre-season
16:46 19/07/2014, Near Galloway, Scotland.
Former Holte End hero Juan Pablo Angel has made a welcome return to Villa Park this afternoon as he accepted David Beckham's offer of a job coaching Villa's illustrious reserve team as Beckham looks to reshuffle his back room staff.
Angel scored 44 times in 175 appearances at Villa between 2001 and 2007 before moving to America to compete for the New York Red Bulls in the MLS.
At the time Angel was Villa's record signing after John Gregory shelled out £9.5M to bring the Argentine to the Midlands from River Plate. Angel is perhaps most remembered for his wonderful goal against Chelsea in 2006 which was voted second by Villa supporters in the list of all time greatest goals for the club.
Villa legend Gordon Cowans has done just about every job here at Villa park since he first joined the club almost forty years ago.
The 55 year old made over 450 appearances and scored 49 goals from midfield over the course of three spell with the club, helping Villa to the league title in 1981 and then to the European cup and Super cup in 82' and 83', He also won ten caps for England, scoring twice.
Since his retirement in 1997, 'Sid' as he is affectionately know has been a coach at all levels of the club, he was assistant manager under John Gregory as well as having a brief stint as caretaker manager before the appointment of David O'Leary. Now Gordon will embark on his latest challenge at the club, as head of youth development, he will be overseeing the scouting, recruitment and progress of Villa's many young starlets, including his own son Henry.
In other Villa news today, striker Darren Bent has been ruled out for the first month of the season after he ruptured his knee ligaments during our 4-0 friendly win over Stranraer yesterday. Losing the man who scored 33 goals in all competitions last season will be a bitter blow for David Beckham as he prepares for his first full season in charge at Villa Park.
ASTON VILLA
2013/14 Season
nPower Championship: 5th (Promoted via play-off's)
FA Cup: Quarter Finals
Capital One Cup: Second Round
Players in:
Mike O'Brian (Shamrock Rovers) £150k, Alessandro Trapasso (Empoli) £850k, Joleon Lescott (Man City) Free, Ross Turnbull (Chelsea) £1.3M, Andy Carroll (Liverpool) Loan, Taye Taiwo (AC Milan) Free Total: £2.3M
Players Out:
Richard Dunne (Released), Stephen Ireland (West Ham) Free, Daniel Devine (Released) Shay Given (Released) Liam Bateman (Aldershot) Loan, Nathan Delfouneso (Burnley) £2.7M, Benjamin Siergrist (Millwall) £150k, Joe Bennett (Huddersfield) Loan, Samir Carruthers (Bristol City) £120k, Alan Hutton (Norwich) 600k, Alessandro Trapasso (Leeds) Loan, Jack Grealish (Barnsley) Loan Total: £3.6M
Summer so far:
- Manager David Beckham has engaged in some spring cleaning by offloading several high earners in Stephen Ireland, Shay Given and Richard Dunne to reduce the clubs wage bill as well as shuffling his back room staff as he looks to make the club function as he believes it should ahead of his first full season at Villa Park. Fans of the club were disappointed to see captain Dunne leave after the Irishman became a firm favourite during his six years at Villa.
- Beckham has announced that Ciaran Clark will take over from Dunne as Villa captain and goalkeeper Brad Guzan will be his deputy, Clark at just 24 may be seen as too young for the armband just yet but is already one of the longest serving players among the current squad.
- Villa have brought in England defender Joleon Lescott to replace the ageing Dunne in the heart of defence, Lescott is a lifelong Villa supporter and has proved a popular acquisition amongst supporters, Andy Carroll has not received such a welcome with opinions divided on the big forward.
Key Games:- Villa return to the premier league with a home clash with a side they faced last season in the Championship, as Hull City visit Villa Park, the previous fixture resulted in 3-2 Villa win at the KC Stadium last March.
- Immediately following Hull, Villa face a West Midlands derby with Wolves at Molineux, with no local grudge matches last season Villa fans will be fired up for this one as they look to reclaim their status as the side to beat in the Midlands.
- September and October could be rough for the Villains with games against Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle, Liverpool and Spurs. As well as a return to the Liberty stadium for Beckham to face his former employers Swansea.
Media Prediction:18thVilla possess a fairly impressive starting eleven, but beyond that their squad consists almost entirely of youngsters who may struggle to hold their own as the club aims to stay above the red line this season.
The club has announced it's completed squad list for the 2014/15 Premier League season;
(Age/Villa Appearances/Goals)
Goalkeepers
1. Ross Turnbull (29/0/0)
13. Mike O'Brian (18/0/0)
22. Brad Guzan (29/80/0)
29. Dane Flowers (16/0/0)
Defenders
2. Danny Simpson (27/83/2)
3. Taye Taiwo (29/0/0)
4. Joleon Lescott (31/0/0)
5. Ciaran Clark (24/112/7)
14. Enda Stevens (24/34/0)
15. Chris Basham (26/19/0)
18. Matthew Lowton(25/39/0)
23. Nathan Baker (23/37/0)
27. Joshua Webb (18/0/0)
30. Michael Roberts (16/0/0)
Midfielders
6. Martin Spelmann (27/56/3)
7. Marc Albrighton (24/76/9)
10. Charles N'Zogbia (28/92/6)
11. Graham Dorrans (27/59/2)
12. Gary Gardner (22/32/2)
16. Fabian Delph (24/79/4)
17. Nestor Calderon (25/53/5)
24. Jordan Graham (19/7/1)
26. Daniel Johnson (21/0/0)
31. Robert Curtis (17/0/0)
32. Craig Mace (16/0/0)
33. George Taylor (17/0/0)
Forwards
8. Andy Caroll (25/0/0)
9. Darren Bent (30/119/58)
19. Andi Weimann (22/23/2)
20. Christian Benteke (23/25/11)
21. Teofilo Gutierrez (29/30/8)
25. Callum Robinson (19/7/0)
28. Jordan Bowery (23/0/0)
34. Gabrial Peana (16/0/0)
35. Ashley Robinson (16/0/0)
16th August 2014
Barclays Premier League
Villa Park, Birmingham (34,224)
Joleon Lescott made a scoring start to his Aston Villa career.
David Beckham's Aston Villa emerged victorious from this battle of the newly promoted sides at Villa Park today.
Hull won the Championship title with a game to spare last season whereas Villa successfully negotiated their way through the play-off's, beating Blackpool at Wembley last May.
Beckham's starting eleven featured three new faces, Andy Carroll started up front as he looked to start his season long loan at Villa Park on a high, Joleon Lescott partnered Ciaran Clark in the heart of defence, Clark wearing the captains arm band for the first time after succeeding Richard Dunne. Left back Taye Taiwo also made his Villa début after his summer move from AC Milan.
The game itself failed to provide much excitement at all, the only two shots on target throughout the entire match ended up in the back of Hull goalkeeper Alex Cisak's net.
The first coming after 24 minutes when Villa were awarded a freekick just outside the Tigers box in a central position, Taye Taiwo's shot was blocked by the wall, however Taiwo's fellow débutante Lescott reacted fastest and slammed home the loose ball before any Hull defender could get near him.
Villa's second came with nine minutes to go, Christian Benteke who had replaced Andy Carroll just three minutes earlier chesting down Charles N'Zogbia's long ball 20 yards from goal before powering his way into the penalty area and rifling the ball past Cisak to ensure Villa's return to the Premiership was marked with a win.
In other Villa news, the Birmingham based outfit learned yesterday that the will face Portsmouth in the Capital One Cup second round, the game will be played at Fratton Park in a fortnights time with Beckham's men keen to go make up for last years humiliating early exit to Doncaster Rovers.
Before that however they must prepare for a trip to Molineux to face West Midlands neighbours Wolves, a game Beckham dared not lose.
Villa XI:
2.Danny Simpson - 4.Joleon Lescott - 5.Ciaran Clark - 3.Taye Taiwo
24.Jordan Graham (Sub 45) - 11.Graham Dorrans (Sub 86) - 6.Martin Spelmann - 10.Charles N'Zogbia
8.Andy Carroll
Subs: 17.Nestor Calderon (On 45) 20.Christian Benteke (On 78) 12.Gary Gardner (On 86)
24th August 2014
Barclays Premier League
Molineaux, Wolverhampton (28,623)
Christian Benteke came closest to a winner.
The 122nd meeting of these two old local rivals failed to ever really catch wind as both sides struggled to craft any clear cut chances throughout a rather dire Sunday lunchtime match.
Villa manager David Beckham made two changes to the side which ran out 2-0 winners against Hull last week with Nestor Calderon taking the place of injured Jordan Graham and Christian Benteke being preferred to Andy Carroll alongside Andi Weimann up front.
The only gilt edged chance of the game was produced by Benteke who, played in by Graham Dorrans set off on one of his trademark charges into the opposition area where he unleashed a venomous strike which Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey could get nowhere near, fortunately for the Welsh stopper his post came to the rescue as Benteke's effort left the goal shaking for some time.
Villa may have just edged the game in terms of possession but in truth it was a poor match which neither side deserved to win, a point a piece seems fair.
Villa XI:
2.Danny Simpson - 4.Joleon Lescott
10.Charles N'Zogbia - 11.Graham Dorrans (Sub 86) - 6.Martin Spelmann - 17.Nestor Calderon (Sub 80)
20.Christian Benteke - 19.Andi Weimann
Subs: 8.Andy Carroll (On 73) 25.Callum Robinson (On 80)
Dyrim
27th August 2014
After Extra Time
Capital One Cup Second Round
Fratton Park, Portsmouth (9,611)
Graham Dorrans had a hand in all three Villa goals.
Aston Villa advanced into the third round of the League cup with victory over Portsmouth this afternoon, but this game took it's toll on the Premiership side in more way than one.
Villa completed the 180 minutes with just nine men following a string of injuries as well as a red card for centre back Chris Basham.
Villa manager David Beckham fielded a heavily rotated side with on Charles N'Zogbia and Ciaran Clark retaining their places from the Villa's previous fixture and Wolves on Sunday, although Clark was eventually substituted for Nathan Baker.
The first goal didn't arrive until the 68th minute when Villa's hard working play maker Graham Dorrans picked out Teofilo Gutierrez, the Colombian forward was allowed a free header which he duly placed past Pompy keeper Simon Moore for his first goal of the season.
The League One side refused to be rolled over by Villa and hit back quickly, seven minutes after going behind substitute Ashley Harris whipped in a free kick from just inside the Villa half which the inexperienced Villa defence failed to deal with, allowing 20 year old Jed Wallace to loop a header of Villa's débutante goalkeeper Ross Turnbull.
Beckham urged his team forward, desperate to avoid extra time and risking further fitness issues after having already lost Jordan Graham and Fabian Delph earlier in the game. Villa were unable to find a winner before the end of 90 minutes.
Villa re-took the lead in spectacular style ten minutes into the extra period when Graham Dorrans curled in a thirty yard free kick that Beckham himself would have been proud of which seemed to bend into Moore's top corner in slow motion to give any youngsters wanting to see how to take a perfect free kick a master class.
Despite going down to ten men when Gutierrez limped off after all three substitutes had been utilised, the Villains ensured that this time they would not allow their lead to slip when in the 111th minute when the irrepressible Dorrans picked out Andy Carroll with a neat ball over the Portsmouth defence, the former England target man steadied himself before dispatching the ball across Moore for his first goal for Villa.
The visitors were briefly reduced to nine men at the death with defender Chris Basham seeing red for a two footed lunge on Pompy striker Rory Fallon but it made little difference with referee Howard Webb bringing proceedings to a close just moments later as Villa advance to the third round where they face a home tie with Cardiff.
Villa XI:
18.Matt Lowton - 15.Chris Basham - 5.Ciaran Clark (Sub 75) - 14.Enda Stevens
10.Charles N'Zogbia - 16.Fabian Delph - 12.Gary Gardner (Sub 45) - 24.Jordan Graham (Sub 14)
8.Andy Carroll - 21.Teofilo Gutierrez
Subs: 25.Callum Robinson (On 14) 11.Graham Dorrans (On 45) 23.Nathan Baker (On 75)
30th August 2014
Barclays Premier League
Villa Park, Birmingham (32,380)
Andy Carroll finished of Reading with his first league goal for Villa.
Andy Carroll's first league goal for Aston Villa set the Birmingham based outfit on their way to three points at Villa park this evening.
Villa have collected seven points from their opening three games as they look to re-establish themselves in the Premiership following their season playing in the Championship.
As with almost all Villa moves, midfielder Graham Dorrans was the instigator, the Scottish international paying a typical pin point long ball for Charles N'Zogbia on the right flank, N'Zogbia clipped a cross into the Royals six yard box where the substantial figure of Andy Carroll was waiting to head home from a yard out for his first league strike in a Villa shirt after 12 minutes.
Brad Guzan denied Reading an equaliser five minutes later when he brilliantly tipped the ball over his crossbar from a powerful Mikele Leigertwood drive just inside the Villa penalty area.
The American stopper was called upon again shortly after half time when Matt Lowton was caught rooted to the spot as Danny Guthrie chipped a cross over his head for James McClean who almost became a Villa player last month before joining the Royals, McClean tried to shoot across Guzan but the US international dived down quickly to tip the ball around the post.
Villa got their second shortly after the hour mark when Christian Benteke charged into the penalty are only to find his route to goal blocked by several Reading bodies, undeterred Benteke turned around and laid the ball off to Graham Dorrans who was arriving behind him, Dorrans met the pass with a curling first time shot that flew into Reading's net to seal the win for Villa who must now prepare for the visit of Liverpool to Villa park next week.
Villa XI:
18.Matt Lowton - 4.Joleon Lescott - 5.Ciaran Clark - 3.Taye Taiwo
10.Charles N'Zogbia (Sub 71) - 11.Graham Dorrans (Sub 87) - 6.Martin Spelmann - 17.Nestor Calderon
8.Andy Carroll - 20.Christian Benteke (Sub 87)
Subs: 25.Callum Robinson (On 71) 19.Andi Weimann (Sub 87) 33.George Taylor (Sub 87)
Dyrim
SteveBlack