Villa Training Day

Villa Training Day

UFC 120 London 02

UFC 120 - 02 Arena - October 16th 2010

Can't wait for this - why? Because I'll be f*cking there that's why!!

The fight I'm really looking forward to is Dan Hardy and Carlos Condit which should be a belter. Michael Bisping will have a tough night with Akiyama but I still think he'll win, and John Hathaway has another tough one with Mike Pyle. Obviously I want all the English guys to win but I just hope they're all great fights -

I'll be there with my Nephew - bring it f*cking on!!



...more later.

UFC 120 - The Aftermath

What a night! Even with so many of the English fighters losing and Dan Hardy getting spearked out, it was a fantastic event - really enjoyable. The 02 is a brilliant venue and I look forward to going there again.

Before the start my Nephew's girlfriend has said about 02 customers going into a bar if they text a number - I did that so we got into an "exclusive" area and won UFC2010 for the XBox 360 - only problem being I don't have one!!

Drinks were expensive (we were prepared for that) - food was diabolical, the only minor downside to a superb night.

Onto the action then - here goes....

IT'S TIME!!!!

James McSweeney vs. Fabio Maldonado

McSweeney starts the contest with a couple of outside leg kicks. Maldonado retaliates by charging forward with punches, but none of them land. The Brit is still kicking. First, he goes upstairs and then follows with a shot to Maldonado’s thigh.

A right hand from McSweeney lands solidly. The crowd is chanting the Brit’s name, and he accidentally hits the Brazilian with a shot below the belt. Maldonado recovers and bulls forward with more punches. McSweeney locks up the Thai plum on him and lands a knee. The pair clinches against the cage and McSweeney shoves Maldonado against the fence. McSweeney slips a big right hand from the Brazilian and lands knees to the head of the prone Maldonado, followed by a high kick. Maldonado points at his chin, taunting McSweeney.

The Brit obliges him and lands another shot. Maldonado is unfazed, again pointing to his chin. McSweeney lands multiple shots on the Brazilian against the cage, and all Maldonado can do is cover up. McSweeney backs up as the round ends.

The crowd is fired up to start round two, and McSweeney starts this frame as he did the first one, firing off a leg kick. McSweeney looks a little tired, and he’s backing up. He pushes out a front kick. The crowd is still cheering him on. Maldonado connects with a right hand to the body that hurts McSweeney. Maldonado smells blood and continues his assault on the Brit’s ribs. Hurt from the body shots, McSweeney falls to the floor to protect himself. The Brazilian follows him to the floor and ends up in side control.

McSweeney recovers half-guard. Maldonado transitions back to side mount and is working for an americana. McSweeney escapes, but Maldonado is there to deliver more punishment. The Brit works up to his knees, but Maldonado is on his back and drags him back to the mat. Maldonado decides to stand back up late in the round, and McSweeney obliges. The Brit looks tired now. Maldonado capitalizes, landing combinations as the round ends.

Exhausted, McSweeney is tossing out front kicks to keep the Brazilian at a distance. He lands a jab, but Maldonado again points at his chin and let’s McSweeney know the punch did nothing. McSweeney slips, but Maldonado allows him to stand.

The Brit covers up against the cage, but Maldonado is relentless with his body attack. The Brazilian can see it’s his fight to win, and he unleashes a flurry of hard punches, forcing referee Marc Goddard to stop the fight at 48 seconds of Round 3.

Spencer Fisher vs. Curt Warburton

Fisher comes in looking to throw leg kicks, Warburton obliges him hitting the more powerful leg strikes. The kicking exchange continues for 90 seconds until Fisher decides to clinch up. Warburton reverses and has the American on the fence. Warburton hitting knees to the thigh and takes down Fisher with 2:30 left. He's in side guard working a guillotine. It looks tight but Fisher wiggles out of at at 1:45 left.

Round two starts with a low kick exchange as well until Fisher catches the leg and moves to clinch. Warburton promptly reverses him. Both fighters' offense in the clinch consists of knees to the thigh, but the Englishman is more active in throwing those. The referee separates them with three minutes left. Fisher misses a spinning back kick and clinches up again, this time he has his opponent on the fence. The fighters separate and Fisher lands a right during coming out. Warburton clinches again, dropped levels for a takedown that was easily stopped. Fisher catches the leg and sweeps Warburton. Warburton rolls for a leg during an axe kick with Fisher on top of him but doesn't get it. Fisher now tries some GNP but stands up and goes for the axe kick again and same scenario happens. 10-9 Warburton.

The fighters abstain from leg kicks electing to use their hands more. Fisher tags Warburton with a "Superman" punch and clinches up again. Both fighters get reversed on the fence a couple of times. Referee separates them with 2:30 left. Warburton misses a takedown but still forces Waburton against the fence. Referee steps in much quicker here. Warburton lands a mid kick but gets tagged by a right hook. Warburton knees low again forcing the referee to step in. 70 seconds left. Double jump flying knee at least partially lands for fisher. Warburton elects to try a takedown but get reversed and Fisher goes for a rear-naked choke, doesn't get it but has mount and soon after tries again. With less than 10 seconds left he lets it go and tries to punch as the horn sounds. 10-9 Fisher.

Fisher takes the unanimous decision with scores of 29-28 across the board.

Paul Sass vs. Mark Holst

Holst comes in swinging on Sass, who changes levels but decides to work from guard. He threatens with his trademark triangle but Holst doesn't have much trouble defending it and standing up. Same scenario on the feet with Sass grabbing a hold of Holst and pulling guard. Sass attacking with elbows from the bottom. Holst trying to stand up but Sass has him well tied up. Sass goes for a heel hook but finally Holst returns to his feet. Sass very slowly throws a spinning-back kick but uses the opportunity to tie up Holst on the ground again. 1:40 left when the fight returns to feet. Sass again is reversed on his takedown attempt and works from his back. after throwing some initial elbows Sass stops his offense until he gets Holst in a triangle. The American tries to defend and forces Sass to readjust a couple of times but ultimately can not find a way out and submits to the Englishman with a triangle choke at 4:45 of round one.

Rob Broughton vs. Vinicius Kappke de Quieroz

Spartan throwing heavy hands and connecting on his opponent with a right and a leg kick that bends over Broughton. Then he muscles the Englishman to the ground and works from half guard. Powerful rights land from that position. Broughton regains full guard and Queiroz still working hard. Broughton tries to rise to his feet but he gives up his back. Queiroz has his hooks in but not working hard for the choke.

Broughton almost does a 180 on a haymaker and Queiroz jumps on his back. He can't secures the position and the Englishman shrugs him off. Spartan has slowed much in this round and Broughton gets inside of his range an lands repeatedly a jab, hook combo. Queiroz wisely takes the fight to the ground with Broughton offering no defense of the takedown. nothing much happens on the ground and Goddard stands them up after less than a minute. Broughton goes back to his jab to right hook combo to score some more points, Queiroz answers with a light head kick that landed and again takes his opponent to the mat.

The crowd is quick to boo as the Brazilian does almost nothing. Broughton actually is busier of his back with some light punches. The fight returns to feet and after a few successful combos by Broughton he again can do nothing about the takedown. Spartan is in full guard just holding on. 10-9 Broughton.

Double jab, right hook lands for Broughton. Again with the looping hook, he finally defends a takedown and catches a standing guillotine. He lets it go but in the process muscled the Brazilian to his back. Queiroz tries to get up but Broughton keeps him in his half guard. Broughton now working a straight armbar and Queiroz rolls to turtle position. Queiroz has to fend off left hand punches from Broughton before the local gets his hooks and gets the rear-naked choke victory. Broughton takes the win at 1:46 of round three.

James Wilks vs. Claude Patrick

Referee Dan Miragliotta presides over the first fight of the main card. Wilks opens up with a leg kick, which is returned by Patrick. The Canadian ducks inside and pushes Wilks to the fence with double underhooks, then trips the Brit to the ground. Patrick lands in half guard, but Wilks stuffs him back to full. Triangle attempt makes Patrick stand, and Wilks tags him with an upkick. Patrick dives back into Wilks’ guard and Wilks closes up. Patrick stands and chops at the grounded Wilks with leg kicks, then spins into side control on Wilks’ right.

Patrick steps right into mount with two minutes left. Wilks again manages to stuff him back, but Patrick looks for an arm-triangle, then transitions to a north-south choke. Neither stick, and Patrick winds up back in Wilks’ guard after stacking him up and landing a few hard shots. Again, Patrick stands, keeping out of range of upkicks from the lanky Wilks. From half-guard, Patrick lands a hard left hand, then mounts Wilks for the final 10 seconds.

As the round begins, Wilks is cut under his right eye. Patrick changes levels, feinting a single-leg, but it’s Wilks who comes forward and pushes Patrick into the cage. They jockey for position, reversing along the fence in the clinch. Left straight connects for Patrick as he backs out, but they’re soon back to clinching.

Patrick finds the double unders again, drags Wilks to the mat. Wilks ties up Patrick’s right arm, making offense from half guard difficult, so Patrick stands and slaps away with more leg kicks. The Canadian goes back down and scores with short punches to the body and face from Wilks’ open guard. As Wilks tries for rubber guard, Patrick stands and eats another solid upkick, but it doesn’t seem to faze him, and he goes right back to half-guard with a minute left. Patrick looking to isolate Wilks’ right arm, but the round ends before he can do anything.

It’s Wilks who initiates the clinch to start the third, but it’s Patrick who once again scores the takedown with an easy trip. Pattering shots to the body by Patrick, as Wilks just tries to tie up and maintain guard. Patrick stands and Wilks looks for a leg lock, which Patrick defends easily. Light boos coming from the British crowd as Patrick passes to Wilks’ right with two minutes remaining in the bout.

Wilks escapes and pushes Patrick up with the butterfly guard, but Patrick stays on top and gives Wilks a couple hard punches for his efforts. Wilks looks for a desperation omoplata in the final seconds, but doesn’t really come close.


Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne


Referee Marc Goddard in the cage for this heavyweight bout. Browne comes out swinging wild, not connecting. Kongo answers with some hard kicks to the inside and outside of Browne’s left leg. More wild strikes from Browne, ugly head kicks missing by a bunch. Browne’s looking for a home run left hook, but Kongo’s evading it every time.

Browne finally connects with the left about three minutes in, and Kongo begins to look a bit more tentative. Body blow from Browne, answered by Kongo with a kick to the liver. Browne steps in with a single, looping overhand right that clubs Kongo about the ear. Then another. Kongo clinches briefly, but can’t hold Browne against the fence as the frame ends.

The pair clash inside leg kicks, then Kongo follows up with a few more. Browne goes to duck inside with another overhand, but Kongo’s ready this time and tags him. They clinch against the fence and Kongo lands a knee to the groin. Browne recovers quickly and they restart.

Again, Browne rushes Kongo with flailing shots, and again the Frenchman sees it coming. Kongo bullies Browne into the fence, but Browne shoves him out and Kongo falls to his rear. Kongo seems to motion that he’s been poked in the eye, but Goddard tells them to fight on. Kongo pushes Browne into the cage with over-unders, landing liberal knees all over Browne’s legs. Goddard warns Kongo to work; he doesn’t, and they’re restarted. Browne misses with a further four punches, then opts to push Kongo into the cage. Kongo reverses and goes back to working the inside right thigh of Browne.

With a minute remaining, Goddard again cautions them to stay busy. Browne now trying to check the knees. Goddard splits them up, and they clinch again almost immediately. Browne trips Kongo to the mat just before the horn sounds.

Browne pushes forward instantly and muscles Kongo into the fence. Goddard warns Kongo for holding the shorts of Browne. He lets go, but Browne tells the ref Kongo’s still holding them. Goddard disagrees, but a moment later, Kongo grabs them again. Goddard splits the heavyweights up and deducts a point from Kongo for the infraction. Kongo pushes Browne into the fence, tries some foot stomps, and is again warned for grabbing Browne’s trunks. They disengage. Kongo is pressing the action now, with Browne moving backward. Kick to the midsection by Kongo, then back to the familiar clinch.

Kongo grabs at Browne’s shorts again, and Goddard doesn’t take another point, but instead manually removes Kongo’s grip. The ref splits them up for inaction, and Kongo begins unloading punches on the visibly weary Browne. Single right hand lands for Browne with 40 seconds left; it’s his best offense of the round. Kongo pushes Browne into the cage once more, and again Goddard takes his hand away from Browne’s shorts. Browne scores a takedown in the last five seconds of the bout.

All three official judges see the bout 28-28 for a draw.

* Marciniak and Rysiewski saw the third round 10-10. Kongo's point deduction gave Browne the frame on their scorecards, 10-9.

John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle

Leon Roberts is the third man in the cage. Hathaway works from the center of the cage as Pyle circles outside. Pyle ducks inside, pushes Hathaway across the cage and trips him down against the base of the cage. Hathaway uses the fence to quickly work back to his feet and reverses the position, putting the sitting Pyle’s back against the cage post.

Hathaway can’t advance and lets Pyle back up. Pyle goes low again as Hathaway misses with a one-two, but Pyle can’t get a grip on the Brit’s leg this time. Quick flurry lands for Hathaway; Pyle answers with a hook which stumbles Hathaway. Another right lands flush for Pyle, then a follow-up left. Hathaway trying to stick and move with his jab as Pyle continues to head hunt. Shots to the body by Pyle now, who trips Hathaway to the mat with 10 seconds left and finishes punching from Hathaway’s guard.

Hathaway begins the second frame looking to establish his left jab, then swinging hard with the right. Pyle ducks in with a body lock, spins Hathaway around, but can’t complete the takedown. Then, it’s Hathaway pushing the American into the fence, exiting with a short-range elbow and a solid left hand.

Hathaway puts together a nice one-two, then a knee to the midsection, and Pyle tries another takedown. Hathaway defends momentarily, but Pyle whips him to the ground with a second effort. Hard elbow from the top by Pyle as he tries to step over. He does, and Pyle locks up a very tight inverted triangle from mount, then punches away at the face of the defenseless Hathaway. Still 90 seconds left in the round, and Hathaway is just hanging on, trying to use his only free hand, his left, to defend his bare face. The choke won’t put Hathaway out, but these punches are accumulating, and Pyle starts to add elbows to the mix. Hathaway somehow survives to see the final round.

Hathaway looks recovered and pushes the action as the third round begins. He puts Pyle’s back to the fence, but Pyle puts him down. Hathaway stands, only to be dragged down once more. This time, Pyle scoots the Brit away from the cage and works from Hathaway’s closed guard. Hathaway throws up his legs for a sub attempt and Pyle shucks them aside, advancing to half-guard. Hathaway pushes Pyle back to guard and tries to explode, but Pyle stays right on him and pushes him into the fence.

Pyle pouring on the punches from half-guard as Hathaway angles for a last-second sub. He can’t find anything, and Pyle finishes on top, much to the displeasure of the London crowd, who boos at the final horn.

Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit

Dan Miragliotta returns to ref this welterweight match. Condit opens up with four or five inside leg kicks, and Hardy gives back a few of his own. Left hook from Hardy finds its mark as Condit continues to slap away with kicks, now sending some to the body as well. Tentative exchanges through the first half of the round. Condit tries a hard spinning elbow which just misses, as does the counter left from Hardy.




Condit pops Hardy with a solid left hook, and Hardy lands one in return. One minute left and Hardy puts his left in Condit’s face again. The pair swing hard left hands at one another, and Condit’s lands first, sending Hardy crashing to the mat. Condit pounces with a right which puts the Brit out cold. The official time is 4:27 of the opening frame.

Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

Referee Marc Goddard draws officiating duties for the main event. Akiyama connects with a cracking right hand just seconds into the bout. Bisping quickly regains his composure and tries for a head kick, which is blocked. Left straight lands for Akiyama, then a left hook. Bisping tries to trip Akiyama down, can’t get it, tries again and succeeds, but Akiyama pops back up instantly. Kick from Bisping appears to land low, but Goddard tells them to proceed and Bisping lands a few punches.

Akiyama lands a low kick of his own and Bisping waves it off. Right straight from Bisping finds the mark, followed by a partially blocked head kick. The Brit goes low for a single, but thinks better of the takedown attempt and wades back out. Spinning back-fist attempt from Akiyama puts a grin on Bisping’s face. Bisping tries a takedown, can’t get it, and instead opts for a flying knee attempt just before the end of the round.

One-two combo from Akiyama opens the round. Bisping kicks to the body, Akiyama catches it and lands a right straight. One minute into the round, Bisping motions that he’s been poked in the eye; Akiyama stops the action, but Goddard tells the fighters to continue after just a few seconds. Bisping missing on his combinations as Akiyama backs out of range each time he comes forward. Right straight lands for Bisping, he goes for a leg, then backs out again. Another right for Bisping, and the pair trade stiff jabs. Bisping capitalizes on Akiyama standing in the pocket and tags him with a right cross, then follows up with some leg kicks and a teep to the body.

Now it’s Akiyama who ducks Bisping’s spinning strike attempt. Akiyama slowing down, not throwing with anywhere near the volume of the first frame. Single shots coming from Akiyama now, and a solid right lands. Another right from Akiyama with 10 seconds left appears to hurt “The Count.” Akiyama smells blood and tries to punch him out as Bisping backs into the fence, but the round ends there.


UFC 120

Akiyama looking to land the same right hand again, and he does about 30 seconds into the round. Left high kick connects for Bisping, but Akiyama absorbs it. Another kick from Bisping, then a flush straight right 10 seconds later. Bisping finding his mark with the straight right repeatedly now. Left inside thigh kick from Bisping connects square to the cup of Akiyama, who collapses to the mat in obvious pain, kicking his legs on the mat. Referee Goddard wants Akiyama to stand almost immediately, but it’s clearly not happening and he calls for the ringside doctor.

After two or three minutes, Akiyama gets to his feet. Bisping wanders over from his neutral side and apologizes, embracing the judoka. Action resumes with a little over three minutes left in the bout. Akiyama catches a leg kick and tries to sweep, nearly kicks Bisping low, but Bisping stays vertical. Bisping doing well with head and body kicks. Left hook lands for Akiyama, who’s pushing the action now with two minutes remaining.

Akiyama stands stock-still in front of Bisping with his hands at his waist, allowing the Brit to land a few blows. Bisping pours on the combinations, his best punches coming in the form of right hooks. One combo sends Akiyama stumbling backward. Akiyama only throwing single punches with 30 seconds left, and continues trading blow-for-blow with Bisping to the final horn.

Official scores: 30-27 across the board for Michael Bisping, the winner by unanimous decision.

What a night!

Watson Beats Reid

Tom Watson v Alex Reid Bamma 4

Though Alex Reid had to contend with the pressure of the media circus surrounding him, he stepped up and showed that he is indeed a fighter, first and foremost. For me, Reid has never been that good technically - many will never know how he blew his UFC Ultimate Fighter chance by being cocky and showing off.

Whilst I thought Tom Watson would hammer Reid, the fight became an absolute war of attrition from the opening bell to the last, a testament to the heart and conditioning of both athletes. Probably shocking no one more than Watson, Reid employed an aggressive, forward motion from the start, catching the defending champion early and making his intentions clear.

Watson found himself having to counter as well as defend the shoot as Reid walked him down, easily taking the first round.

Setting the tone for the fight, Reid and Watson engaged in a gruelling battle, played out on the feet and in the clinch. Trading kicks, knees and elbows as well as landing big combinations, both athletes were soon marked up and bleeding and though Reid looked like he was gassing in the third, he continued to stalk the champion and throw big shots.

Watson tried to shoot but Reid stuffed the takedown showing that records mean nothing and that ring rust was having no effect. Going into the final and fifth round, both men traded vicious combinations and submission attempts until the bell.

The judges gave the nod to Watson (49-46, 49-46, 49-47) but the fight proved to be more than a title defence. Reid displayed the toughness that he was always known for on the domestic scene whilst both earned the respect of the other.

Getting a title shot after so many MMA defeats was a bit of a joke but it was a really good fight.

"Sonic.gif"

Gerard Houllier

Welcome To Villa Park Gerard Houllier

Considering the shitty timing of Martin O'Neill's exit, I think Randy Lerner has done extremely well to come up with this appointment.



Some of the names on the list were quite scary - this man has a wealth of European knowledge and has won trophies by the bucketload. His contract with the FFF seems like a minor problem - I can't imagine Villa announcing the press conference is there REALLY was a chance he couldn't arrive for three months!

Which will come first - Gerard Houllier or the Nike shirts?!

I wish him all the best

James Milner Twat

James Milner - Not That We're Bitter....

Stephen Ireland - Welcome To Villa Park!

Stephen Ireland - Welcome To Villa Park!

Daniel's Third VP Match

Aston Villa 3 West Ham 0

That was one of the best team performances I've seen in years.

I could try and single out Marc Albrighton for a fantastic display, or maybe Ciaran Clark for popping Carlton Cole into his pocket and looking like he's been in the first-team for years.

Maybe Stuart Downing's best display since arriving, Petrov's urgency, Ashley Young's skill and workrate. Luke Young being rock-like in his rightful position and also getting forward. James Milner's performance which ended with him getting a standing ovation. John Carew who got nothing from an awful referee but still should have scored a couple at least.

We played like a team and we looked happy.



Apart from a spell at the start of the 2nd half (when the thunder and lightning arrived) we dominated West Ham who were lucky to get away with three. It was one of the best and most enjoyable games I've seen in a long time. For the first half alone, Kevin MacDonald should be allowed to continue in this job for the season at least.

The available names for our job fills me with utter dread. The way we played today suggested a very happy camp with him at the helm.



Lucky mascot Daniel was with me too today - that's 3 visits to Villa Park and wins with no goals conceded. He was even happy to brave the swirling rain with me while others ran away - it was a great day and he loved it!

Aston Villa (2)3 West Ham (0)0: Downing, Petrov, Milner - Att: 36,604

UFC 117 Review

UFC 117

F*cking wow - what a card and what an amazing main event fight between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva. The best I've seen in ages.

Sonnen backed up every inch of what he promised pre-fight and totally dominated Silva on the ground. Not only that but he caught Silva several times during the stand up battle as well - but after four rounds and three minutes of domination, Silva pulled out a submission and stayed the Champion.

Props to Silva for being battered but winning - I have a new hero in Chael Sonnen though - there must be a RE-MATCH!



One of my favourite fighters, Clay Guida, dragged Rafael dos Anjos into the third round, where the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt submitted to an apparent jaw injury. Dos Anjos, cringing in visible pain tapped out. Guida turned the tide in round two, as he secured his first takedown, controlled the last half of the round from top position and neutralized dos Anjos with ground-and-pound. In between rounds, concern over the injury became evident in dos Anjos’ corner.

Another great fight saw Matt Hughes knock down former middleweight Ricardo Almeida with a ringing left hook and then rendered him unconscious with a modified anaconda choke. The end came 3:15 into round one, as Hughes became the first man to submit the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

Roy Nelson showed huge balls of steel in his fight with Junior dos Santos. Dos Santos scored repeatedly with uppercuts, knees to the head, punches to the body and even a third-round takedown, as he won a unanimous decision from the former International Fight League heavyweight champion. Scores were 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for dos Santos, who secured a title shot with his seventh consecutive victory

Some New Ish CD's

Just a few CD'S purchased recently

Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare




Written in the aftermath of Jimmy "The Rev" dying at the age of 28. Some of their best stuff in my opinion, including a couple of quick nasty tracks befitting a heavier band. "Buried Alive" the best for me.

Mad Caddies - Consensual Selections



Apart from two tracks, Caddies fans will know all of these. Still great though!

The Bluetones - A New Athens



Probably dreaded this the most - loved The Bluetones since "Expecting To Fly" but they've tailed off a bit and the last album was pretty average. I feared more of the same but have been pleasantly surprised and would say this is some of their best work since ETF. Personal fave is "The Culling Song" but there are plenty of strong tracks on here including a hidden instrumental.

Blur



Never got into Blur and only got this for "The Universal" which I really like. However, it's strange how many tracks you end up remembering - like "Charmless Man" and "Coffee & TV". Really good listen.


Hatebreed



Just had to get another shouty, full on kick in the nuts record and this fits the bill! A brilliant instrumental in here too but in the main just loud guitars and lots of shouting!

Milner Gone

Money Grabbing Fuck Bag

He won't be wearing the new Villa shirt!!

Slavia Prague Kit 2010 / 2011

Slavia Prague Kit 2010 / 2011

Italia 1990 World Cup

Gazza's Tears Italia 1990 World Cup

Everyone has a World Cup they associate as being "theirs" - this was mine.

I was 19, following the Villa everywhere and extremely patriotic. For Italia '90 we would meet at the Riverside in Tewkesbury to watch the England games - it became such a popular place that lads from Worcester and Birmingham were heading there!

I remember the terrible stick the press gave Bobby Robson and the team in general and the programme that was on the other night brought back all the memories of that June twenty years ago. Hearing "Nessun Dorma" again just brought it all back.

After the opening two draws we still felt we would qualify easily and had played pretty well against Holland. The Riverside was buzzing for the Egypt match and I remember having "World In Motion" blaring for the boys on the journey over to Tewkesbury.

What followed against Belgium was amazing. We'd met some Nottingham Forest lads who were a good crack but were pretty scathing about Platty coming on as a sub making out he wasnt good enough - when the mental celebrations of his goal had finished we all reminded them of their comments! Afterwards Terry Butcher & Chris Waddle were doing the "lets all have a disco" dance. The feel-good factor was amazing.

Cameroon was hell - Platty scored again and started to get a repuatation - some witch doctor had predicted a 2-1 win for them and when they went ahead we all looked at each other and said "he's gonna be fucking right"!! Luckily Gary Lineker saved the day and we prepared for the German game. People who had just watched the game at home said it was boring - anyone who was watching the games where we were could tell a different story.

A couple of us had even looked into going over for the Germany game but £400 for a day trip was a bit much back then! The Riverside was rammed solid and the game was torturous, everyone knows the rest. We could barely watch as Platty stepped up for his penalty but when he scored the Forest lads were hugging us again - we hoped to return the favour because Stuart Pearce was a sure shot with penalties - but not this time. A few minutes later it was all over, the Forest lads were inconsolable, as were all of us.

A few BMW's were hurt that night.

Paul Gascoigne was a true football genius and down to earth with it. That's why it's so sad to see him as he is now. Bobby Robson stuffed it to the press and ended up a hero - England should have been in the Final and there was a cheating Argentinian who was due 4 years of payback.

Italia 90. Nessun Dorma, Toto Schillachi, Roger Milla, Paul Gascoinge, The Italian Riot Police, Sardinia, Germans, penalties and The Riverside.

When Paul Gascoinge said he never wanted it to end I know how he felt because I didn't either.

Final Day Of Football Training 09/10 HYFC

Daniel & all his friends have their final training day of the season. A very enjoyable day, and enjoyable experience all year. We're lucky to have a very supportive group of parents around us and look forward to meeting up again in September!

Don't Believe The Hype

Germany 4 England 1

After the Slovenia game people were saying everyone should stop moaning after the "hugely impressive" victory over such a massive football nation.

This defeat today was coming - it was on the cards but the majority were caught up in the England hype and honestly believed we would win. I saw Germany twice and it was obvious to Stevie Wonder that they were far better than us.

We're guilty of being ignorant. I saw the likes of Shearer and Hansen laughing away at "the fun to watch" Japanese when they beat Denmark. England would kill to have the team-play, work-rate and skill of that Japan side at the moment. Japan played excellent football at World Cup level - can England honestly say the same?

Those players in red today are simply made better in the Premier League by the foreign players around them. The England side have great players but are a fucking awful TEAM. Alan Hansen said the goal Italy conceded against Slovakia was the worst he'd seen by them - the first goal England conceded straight from a goal kick must be the worst this country has seen nationally. John Terry and Matt Upson between them were a sad joke.



Gareth Barry and Glenn Johnson were fucking abysmal.

I've seen this too many times before and I don't get caught up in the hype. We'll never be good enough at these tournaments, even when we were gift-wrapped a decent group to finish first in. Now everyone who bought a cheap t-shirt from Tesco and pretended to be a "football supporter" by going to the pub to watch it can leave it for another couple of years before they start to like football again.

Forget the three Lions - the only Lion that matters in the Rampant Lion of Aston Villa. August 15, West Ham at home, - I'll be there - and I'll be giving Robert Green plenty, believe you me.

"Sonic.gif"

Same Old England

Shit Old England Same Old Story

England 0-0 Algeria

I am so bored of this. In 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and now again - we're sat here saying about how our national team can't pass and keep the ball whereas other teams do it wish ease. Along with the French, we're the most dismal team in the Tournament. Lets all talk about changing things at Grass-roots level for the fucking millionth time.

We've got a bunch of hugely overpaid, over-blown prima-donnas who think they're much better than they are. We have great players, but an absolutely shit team. A striker in Wayne Rooney who does fuck all for 2 games but slates supporters who dare to have a go.

You may want a reality check Wayne - they're the people who spend thousands travelling to places like South Africa, that's peanuts to you - they're fucking well entitled to have a go when the England team dishes up such a pathetic and spineless display.

These players are pampered and molly-coddled to death but when it comes to the crunch they haven't got the stomach, or the bollocks, for a fight. There is zero passion, zero pride, zero tactics and zero technical skill.

Jesus - if they think they're under too much pressure to perform against the USA and Algeria, what the fuck are they going to do if they come up against the likes or Germany, Italy, Argentina, Spain or Brazil?

Years ago I was passionate about the national team - now I can't stand most of them and they continual bullshit they spout. Oh, and that advert Carling do about the super-passionate team-talk - please pull the plug on that NOW. After one average and one abject display seeing this advert say "Do It For Bobby" is insulting to the memory of Sir Bobby Robson.

..and one other thing. Emile Heskey is the butt of everyone's jokes and texts but he's done more in tho games than our "National Saviour" Wayne Rooney by a fucking mile.

I said second Round or Q/final before it started - it appears I may have been way too optimistic.

Pic

Cro Cop Barry

Old Pic

Old Pic

New Villa Kit 2010/2011 - Not

New Villa Kit 2010/2011 - Not

They're Not - But They Should Be

28 Years Ago Today

Aston Villa Won The European Cup





Others may laugh but for all you modern day glory-hunters, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City have never won it!

Well Done Ian Holloway

Ian Holloway - Sometimes The Good Guys Win

I was really pleased for Ian Holloway yesterday.

I've followed his career since he was at Bristol Rovers as the boss and always loved his TV interviews. It's nice to see a real, honest, genuine guy like him get success and I wish him and Blackpool all the best in the Premier League next season. Listening to his after match interview in the Blackpool dressing room yesterday was fantastic - what a top bloke.

In Nottingham Forest and Cardiff I though they had the hardest of roads to victory but they did it with style - fair play to em.

Bloomfield Road is actually one of the few league grounds I haven't been to so I'll be looking forward to putting that right sometime soon when the Villa go there! The burning question has to be - "I wonder if the away section will get a roof"?!

Daniel's New Kit

Paul Daley - Idiot

UFC 113 - Josh Koscheck & Paul Daley - What A Pair Of Cocks

I was looking forward to this fight at UFC 113 more than the main event. It turned out to be an utter farce.

Koscheck neutralized Daley’s strikes and nearly submitted him with a rear-naked choke in the opening round. Daley reversed into top position and unleashed an illegal knee as he backed out. The blow grazed the top/side of Koscheck’s head and brought the match to a standstill, though the American Kickboxing Academy standout appeared to really exaggerate the damage the knee caused.

Whereas Dan Hardy had been given a lesson but lost with pride, Daley ended up looking a complete dick. After the horn sounded to end the fight, Daley approached Koscheck from behind and blindsided him with a left hook to the face. Referee Dan Miragliotta quickly intervened and prevented the situation from escalating.



He'd had 15 f*cking minutes to punch him and chose then to finally do it. Now he's been cut instantly from the UFC - before the fight he talked plenty of sh*t but couldn't back it up. Now he's achieved the impossible as ending up as a bigger prick than Koscheck.



In the main event Mauricio Rua beat Lyoto Machida - Rua ate some knees to the body and succumbed to a pair of takedowns early in round one. However, Rua dropped Machida with a right hand to the side of the head in a stand-up exchange, followed him to the ground and moved immediately to mount on the dazed champion. A series of unanswered punches from the top left Machida limp, as Rua rose as the new champ.

Birthdays & Elections

Birthdays, Elections and Accrington Stanley's Incredible Fans

First off, Daniel was Five on Wednesday - he was made a fuss of at school and gave out sweets to his friends before I picked him up. Then he came home to play with his presents and eat his football cake. He's got a big party tomorrow with all his friends and been invited to another in the afternoon!



Election Day on Thursday. It made me laugh with all these people turning up at the last minute to vote and then complaining when they clearly didn't know the rules - and the law! If it was so important the Polling Stations were open at 7am - don't tell me you all worked 15 hour days?!

Now we have a hung parliament and it doesn't sit well with me. Gordon Brown should be booted out on his arse yet after losing he doesn't have to leave! It's all corrupt and we'll probably get shafted by whoever takes over.

Cheltenham Stay Up By The Skin Of Their Teeth!

I took Daniel to Whaddon Road to see his first Cheltenham Town game and cheer them onto staying up in League Two. Bottom line was that they did it with a 1-1 draw and finished one place above the two relegated teams, Grimsby and Darlington. It was right up there with some of the most awful, tedious and un-skilful games I've ever seen.

However, there was huge entertainment during the game - it came from the away end.

Accrington Stanley brought 150-200 fans, the majority of which made a noise more befitting to 3000 fans - they would do the Premier League proud making that sort of constant noise. They sang loads of different songs including "I want to be Stan-a-ley" to the Sex Pistols "Anarchy" track! They even briefly sang "Sh*t support My Lord" which made me laugh!

Then during the first half (which even saw them lighting flares) something happened in the middle of their lot and one guy got injured and everything got very lively. The police waded in, one web-toed got arrested and so it continued for 5 minutes or so.

Then in the second half some lads had gone over to the left side of the Carlsberg Stand to collect a huge flag - when they attempted to take it back to where they were sat all hell broke loose as the stewards and Police wouldn't let them - more arrests and another injury.

A very surreal last 10 minutes followed as half of their supporters had disappeared. The A/S supporters entertainment far outweighed that of the tripe that was served up on the pitch! A few of them had banners with "SA" on them - couldn't quite work that one out - I don't think they'll forget their trip to Whaddon Road in a hurry.

Luckily Daniel saw none of it and was almost asleep for the last ten minutes (like most of home support) although he had enjoyed his day!

Chelsea Beat Villa

Wembley - The Same Hollow Feeling

First off, the trip down was fantastic - like old times on the Marchants bus, stopping for a couple of hours for drinks. Deep down I knew this would be the best part of the day and I wasn't wrong.

Aged 4 years and 11 months Daniel was a very lucky boy and got to see Wembley Stadium - as expected, parts of it passed him by but he did sing along at times and was really well behaved.



The game went as expected, we huffed and puffed but ultimately fell short in quality. The penalty we weren't given was a disgrace - Howard Webb should be strung up for that - but honestly, even possibly 1-0 up I don't think we would have won. Once they scored I knew the game was up - I don't think we seriously tested Cech at all.

Without wanting to single anyone out, Stuart Downing was abysmal for us, offering nothing and looking like the very average player I always thought he was at Boro.

"Bar.gif"

UFC 112

Anyway, Stuart Downing wasn't the only major disappointment. On returning to watch UFC 112 I had to suffer the misfortune of watching Anderson Silva defend his belt against Demian Maia. For two round he showed a total lack of class and respect as he fought hands down, chin up, taunting Maia at every opportunity.

Then he just stopped fighting. It was pathetic. No wonder the entire crowd booed him - it was a complete joke and made a mockery of the UFC and MMA. I hope Georges St Pierre gets his hands on Silva and makes him pay for that disgraceful display.

At least Dana White was honest....

Please Stay Martin!

Martin O'Neill - Tell Tale Signs....

It's pretty easy to see when a manager is under pressure by how he handles the media & press conferences. Yesterday Martin seemed very down, talking in a past tense.

He's really had the hump a couple of times with the support at Villa Park - once at the first game against Wigan and then against Wolves. I don't know if his reaction has been that clever in those situations but he seems to be really taking it to heart now.

Of course we have our grumbles. Why is Carlos Cuellar being turned into an awful right back rather than a decent centre half? Why is Luke Young so rarely used? Why even bother persisting with Emile Heskey? Why did we buy no one at all in January?

But hang on. These are the same grumbles any team (barring the top three) might have. M.O.N took over from the appalling David O'Leary, since when we've finished 11th, 6th and 6th again. This season we have a good chance of being top 6 again, got to the League Cup final and now the FA Cup Semi Final.



Of course we're going to moan about individual things at certain games, but overall we have to look at where we are now and be very happy in my opinion.

It would be a disaster if Martin O'Neill left us. Someone new comes in and starts all over again - and if you see what's available out there I'd advise we stick well and truly with what we have.

I hope we can get over what happened last week at Chelsea. Hey, we can always ask them how many European Cups they've won! Come on Martin - chin up!

UFC 111 Dan Hardy v GSP - Come On Dan Hardy!

Dan Hardy will be flying the flag for England and the UK on Saturday night against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111 - If he wins he'll be the first Englishman to hold a UFC Title Belt.

The build up has been great and the UFC Primetime programmes have been revealing - Dan did Taekwondo like me and trained with the shaolin monks in 2000 for a couple of months - quite the contrast to GSP who claimed that Hardy wasn't a "Martial Artist". Plus they showed Dan training with Matt Serra who was helping him with the ground game.



The majority of the UK will have no idea about this but I'm sure many hardened MMA fans will either be staying up late or watching UFC 111 first thing in the morning on ESPN.

Like previous fighters, Mike Swick and Marcus Davis, Dan Hardy is getting inside GSP and winning the mins games pre-fight. For me, the heart says come on Dan, you can do this, you know you can knock him out and you know your stand-up is better. The head says GSP is the total package - look at the way he dismantled BJ Penn for instance - if GSP is right on his game he should win.

Predictions: Frank Mir to win and get ready to face Brock Lesnar and, I'm going out on a limb, - shock of the night as Hardy wins and brings the belt back to England with him! Come on Dan!

UFC 111 Review

GSP was awesome - dominant from start to finish. I'm struggling to think if Hardy landed a shot on him. Patriotism blinded me in thinking Dan could possibly win, but one thing - Hardy has a huge, huge set of nads for going the distance and not tapping with the arm bar & kimura.



The fight's end result came as no surprise to anyone who has watched GSP fight before. GSP took Dan Hardy down at will, beating him up and just neutralizing him. After 4 rounds of dominance I was willing Dan to just let his hands go at the start of the 5th - just a flurry, or something to ruffle GSP. Great as GSP is, I was gutted that Dan lost.

GSP can do nothing more to cement his status as the best welterweight in UFC history. The only competitive fights for him lie in the middleweight division. As for Dan, he can be a great fighter in this division for years to come. His next fight should be against Jon Fitch or Josh Koscheck.

Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir:

Shane Carwin came into the fight with an undefeated 11-0 record, with none of his fights going past 2:11 seconds of the first round. Frank Mir came into the fight with a very impressive submission win over Cheick Kongo, in which we saw a new and improved Frank Mir.

The fight was supposed to be a pretty even match-up, and for a few minutes it was. Then Shane Carwin unleashed his unbelievable punching power, and dropped Frank Mir with a few clean left uppercuts. Now, a fight with heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar awaits him.

Villa Lose The Final

Things That Make You F*cking Angry About Losing A Final

Empty seats in the "Freeloading" sections of Wembley. I've been to the arse-end of Europe supporting Aston Villa but because I don't have a Season Ticket now I have zero chance of getting to a game like this. Yet empty red seats adorned a Final I'd have loved to have been at.

Not only were there seats empty for the entire game, but hundreds were empty for up to 10 minutes of the second half as people meandered back to a game that clearly meant very little to them. I know of a Spurs fan who went along as his company gave him "a jolly up".

The FA make me fucking sick - and they've been doing it for as long as I've been going. Nearly 30,000 seats in that Stadium belonged to people that didn't deserve them - there should be a equal split of the full stadium for the teams - but of course, that will never happen.

Then you have a "bottle-job" like Phil Dowd - as baltant a sending off as you can get, but because it's Man Utd and because it's only a few minutes in he doesn't even book him! Wanker.

I think we've played alright today and gave a good account of ourselves. Maybe the service could have been better (esp from Cuellar) but it was certainly better than the pitiful effort 10 years ago at Wembley that's for sure. I stopped watching as soon as the whistle went so I haven't heard what's been said afterwards.

I still think Utd are a one-man team up front - without Rooney they have very little, although if we were without Gabby we'd be well and truly fucked too!

Up The Villa.

UFC 110 Australia Bonnar Blood!

UFC 110 - Bisping Loses to Silva In Australia

This was a big one for Michael Bisping, coming off a good win but needing to cement his position in the 185 standings. It didn't happen - it was very close - what annoyed me more was how all those judges saw Wanderlei Silva win the first round despite getting taken to the floor several times.

The second round was close with Bisping getting a takedown and Silva going straight to an arm-in guillotine - the bell coming at a handy time for our boy! The Aussie crowd were giving Bisping loads of stick, probably still frustrated by the fact their cricket team had lost the Ashes to England again.

The third round is even again and with 30 seconds left I'm just hoping Bisping will take him down and see out the round. At the 10-second warning, Silva lands a right hook that drops Bisping to the ground. Silva swarms, but runs out of time and Bisping is saved by the bell.

The main bout was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira & Cain Velasquez with the latter winning by TKO in the first round.



Both Anthony Perosh and Stephan Bonnar spilt loads of blood for the cause - both fighters continued until they were told to stop.

Ticket For Wembley?

Which Brad To Use For The Job

Now we're going to Wembley, M.O.N has to make a brave choice regarding the goalkeepers.

For me he has to play his strongest team in the final, and that means Brad Friedel must play in goal. Brad Guzan has been great on the way but was found out by Blackburn in the Semi Finals and Manchester United won't be offering him any charity come Feb 28.

Oh well, looks like the chances of a ticket for the final at Wembley are slim to none. I applaud the way Villa distribute the tickets (as they always have done)- they do it perfectly in my opinion. I just wish in some perfect world there was a way of rewarding 15 years of having a season-ticket, years of never missing a game and going all over Europe.

Unfortunately, after a few years of not having a ST, there isn't. Sigh.

Just aside from that, isn't Arsene Wenger a complete fucking prick? Whenever they lose or draw to throws a hissy fit, either not shaking hands or moaning that something wasn't fair.

Now after his side drew at Villa Park we're a "long ball team". Martin was dead right about that being an appalling insult. I'll just add that he's a f*cking idiot.

"Sonic.gif"

Snow In Hucc

Here Comes The Snow Again

So last Wednesday the snow arrived, much like last February it was quite deep, and if you're driving - very annoying. Still, the main roads were fairly resonable while the side roads and estate roads were the ones that needed extra care.

On Thursday morning the temperature in the car was -10'. I've never seen that ever before - left alone the -12' when I actually arrived at work. Not that you ever get any thanks for getting into work while others are off "sick", turn up late or not at all.



Daniel has been home with the school, being closed and all training has been cancelled so far which meant at least I could have half an our in snow with Daniel when I got home which we both enjoyed.

Today I've been out with him on his sledge which he's loved! We went round to the Business Park where you could see the snow for miles on the hills and it also has a few small spots where he can slide down in the sledge.



Daniel enjoyed running up the hilly part towards the trees and getting me to lob snowballs in his direction so he could jump out the way and shout "missed me"! Then he'd run down and fire back at close range. We ended up in our back garden, played snow-football and made some snow angels - with snow down the back of his neck and a very runny nose, I thought it was time to call it a day. Just an hour later after tea he fell asleep on the sofa!



You may as well get out in it as there's little on sport-wise today - everything has been decimated and even Wigan's undersoil-heating couldn't cope meaning the game was called off today, the second in a row after Blackburn.

Looking at the forecast there could be more games postponed in the week ahead...