Tag: Aston Villa

PETROV IS CLUB CAPTAIN

New Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has confirmed that midfielder Stilian Petrov will remain as a club captain for now, although he has confirmed that he will be looking to appoint a new captain to represent the club on the pitch. Stilian Petrov was recently diagnosed with leukaemia, which means that he is set to miss a considerable portion of the next season. Despite this, Paul Lambert has decided to offer the position of being the club captain to the former Celtic midfielder. The 32-year-old Bulgarian international has been a huge influence on Aston Villa in recent seasons, and Paul Lambert hopes that it will continue even after his arrival.

Aston Villa recently managed to bring in former Norwich city manager Paul Lambert amidst a lot of fury from the Cannaries. The former Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish was using striker Gabriel Agbonlahor as the captain on the pitch for the club. However, it is thought that Paul Lambert will be looking to make a defender or the goalkeeper as the captain. Lambert has also revealed that the club will be undergoing a major overhaul when it comes to the scouting system. Aston Villa have been on a constant downhill in the last couple of seasons, which Lambert will be hoping to avoid this season.

“Stiliyan is still club skipper, no doubt. He’s a huge influence on the club. I just need to look for a team captain. He’s such a strong lad and a terrific guy. It makes you sick, actually, when you have played with someone, seen them in their prime and are close to them, then you know he has an illness like that. Hopefully he’ll be OK and be here,” said Lambert when speaking after his official appointment on the official website of Aston Villa.

IRELAND WANTS TO STAY

Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland has said that he is hoping to remain as a Aston Villa player next season. Stephen Ireland has been criticised by current boss Alex McLeish for not being professional enough. The midfielder arrived in a swap deal involving James Milner from Manchester City a few seasons ago. However, he has not been able to stake a claim in the first-team due to his regular problems off the pitch. He recently dismissed suggestions that he is looking for a move to the United States to play with former Aston Villa striker Robbie Keane, who is currently with MLS side LA Galaxy.

Robbie Keane made the great impact with Aston Villa during his short term loan spell from LA Galaxy. He has also seem to have affected the future plans of Stephen Ireland after that have been recent speculation that the Ireland midfielder is looking for a move to the United States in order to escape the constant attention from the media over his private life. Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish recently said that watching Ireland play is a great pleasure, and he hopes that the midfielder will soon become a regular part of the first team.

“My objective now is to be the best I can and to keep entertaining the fans. Things are going brilliantly for me at the moment and that’s a massive relief. I’ve put 100 per cent into my game, tried to express myself and work hard for the team. It makes it even more satisfying when you feel you’ve ‘earned’ your shirt,” said Ireland ahead of the match with Arsenal during the weekend. Aston Villa will be taking on one of the inform teams in the Premier league in the form of Arsenal. They can put their relegation worries to the bed with a win at the Emirates.

MCLEISH TO LEARN US WAY

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has been asked by club owner Randy Lerner to spend time with the head coach for Cleveland Browns, another sporting team that Lerner owns, in order to receive some tips from a coach of a team from overseas which Lerner hopes will provide McLeish with some inspiration and new, fresh ideas.

McLeish’s tenure so far at Villa Park has been fairly unsuccessful, with the side sitting at the wrong end of the table and being far too close to the relegation zone for a team with Villa’s quality and history. McLeish’s decision to sign Irish striker Robbie Keane on loan proved to be a masterstroke, with the player hitting sensational form for a team that was relatively short on goals.

The only downside of the deal is that he returns to LA Galaxy for pre-season next week, which will mean one of McLeish’s most important players will leave for the rest of the season. With strikers of the quality of Darren Bent and Gabby Agbonlahor, Villa should be pushing for Europa League places, but sadly ever since Martin O’Neill resigned, the villains have been in a steady decline.

Lerner has come across as a fairly good owner, by allowing his manager’s time and space to settle into their role, but McLeish will know the side’s form will need to pick up towards the back end of the season if he wants to be in the Villa hot seat this time next year.

With Villa only having won one of their last 6, their game against Wigan after the break for the FA Cup is a game that will be seen by McLeish as a must win to provide a catalyst for his team’s poor season so far.