Tommy Cummings – R.I.P.

Although he was only to be at the club for a season-and-a-bit, I do have memories of a ten year old fanatic being excited at the arrival in the summer of 1967 of Tommy Cummings after our relegation to Div 2 and the dismal performance by Dick Taylor (better shopkeeper than football manager). Cummings made several signings and although they were all dismal failures ultimately, for a young Villa Lad it was great stuff and we were surely going straight back up – how naive of me… First there was Tommy Michinson who came from Cummings’ previous club, Mansfield, where he had been a bit of a hero. He wore the #8 at the Villa and then didn’t do alot although I remember he looked quite doing so…Then T.C. bought in the B.G.’s – Brian Godfrey and Brian Greenhalgh from Preston. This was very exciting and Godfrey was a solid player, and captain, for a few seasons. My favourite memory of these two was being at Villa Park with BlueNoses, Stephen (who had unforgivably changed from Villa to Blues after our relegation) and David Prentice and their Dad, Mr. Len Prentice. I’m not sure why they were there but needless to say they wanted Blackpool to beat us (and cheered when the Seasiders scored, much to my anger and frustration). However, it finished 3-2 to Villa and I think the B.G.’s scored a couple of the goals to add to an impressive start at the club. Godfrey was great that day and almost supplanted an injured Alan Deakin as my superhero! The Argus headline was “Villa B.G.’s do it again” and I’ve never forgotten it… Unfortunately, their positive start did not last. We finished not far from the bottom of Div 2, including a 2-4 embarrassment at home to the BlueNoses in front of over 50,000, which has some value if only for the diabolical tackle made by Edwards on BlueNose hero Johnny Vincent – they should have had a penalty I can now admit over forty years later… Despite adding the likes of Dick Edwards, Tommy Ferguson, Oscar Arce, and Barry Hole (“he’s here, he’s there, he’s every f***in’ where”) in the off-season, Cummings departure was inevitable after a poor start to the 1968-69 season, which again included a defeat to the BlueNoses (0-4 at St. Arthur’s) – very tough to take at my new school (H.G.S.) where it was a tense, equal parts Villa, BlueNoses and WBA, unlike a comfortable Birches Green Junior School which had been 60-30, Villa to BlueNoses (10% Spurs and Man U glory chasers). He was replaced by the ‘Messiah’, Tommy Doc following “The Revolution” in November 1968… I spoke with my Dad today and he remembers (I don’t) that we were at Cummings’ last game, along with 13,372 disgruntled others, as we went down 0-1 to Preston. My Dad did not attend the ‘Revolutionary Meetings’ of the ensuing weeks but I remember how much they were talked about in our house with my Villa Granddad who lived with us and my Uncle Roland, my Dad’s older brother – not a shy man! Thanks for doing your best, Tommy, it was a no-win time at Villa Park in every sense and whilst my memories are quite vivid they are not happy ones…R.I.P. Steve of Withers, Wright, Aitken, Chatterley or Park, Sleeuwenhoek, DEAKIN (I was wearing an old #6 jersey of his to sleep in at the time), MacLeod or Rudge, Mitchenson, Greenhalgh, Godfrey, Anderson (the next George Best)…

The Great Villa Euro Debate – Feb 2009

Bren obviously makes some good points but fails to address Tom’s remarks about the fans who have attended the two games and, with regards to some of the players having had time off recently and then having no match next weekend, he has appeared to swallow O’Neill’s strange decision to rest the ‘leggy’ ones. We will have just two games between March 4th and April 5th!! Two!! We could be out of Europe by tomorrow evening so what’s the point of saving the players for that period of time?…Professional footballers who have played 40 games or so at the most at this point is not too burdensome surely… Meanwhile, I think you try to win every game – hence my extreme annoyance with our League Cup performances of late…
Bren also talks about the team qualifying for the C.L. whilst at the same time indicating that we would struggle in the next round of this far lesser competition if we played a team like Donetzk – a decent team I suppose but no last 32 of the C.L. club. How far does he expect us top go if we qualify for the C.L. if he is concerned about such teams in the UEFA Cup? He appears to base this opinion on being able to sign ‘big’ names before next season. This may not happen to any significant degree and we could be out of the C.L. in the early stages – which answers MJFC’s comment of support for Brendan’s point about a “year in the C.L. transforming the club” – we won’t be in it for a year. If we qualify, we may be out of it within a couple of months, possibly back to the UEFA – then what would we do if we get in the same position again?
I must also disagree with Bren’s comments about finishing 2nd being “not unrealistic” and qualification for the C.L. being “more important to us at this stage of the club’s development.” I cannot see us finishing 2nd and think it is unrealistic. I have watched virtually every game and we are not as good as so many seem to think. We have battled hard for every point but have been quite fortunate to gain as many as we have. We are the fourth or fifth best team and over the 38 games this is normally borne out by the final table so I will not be shocked if we struggle a little in the closing stages and 4th is as optimistic as I can be. That would be a marvelous achievement of course and Villa fans should be overjoyed, and yet even coming fifth, and a Euro spot by doing so, should be viewed as “important at this stage of the club’s development” given the short period of time over which this excellent progress has been made.
Perhaps my guarded optimism, some would say outright negativity, is as a result of being somewhat removed from “ground zero’ in and around Villa Park/Erdo. I accept that (and hope I am wrong to be so negative), but this view from way, way beyond B6 is all I can offer – watching the games sitting in my living room at 7am with a bucket of strong coffee, nervously pacing up and down and alternatively stroking/kicking the confused dogs around me, is perhaps not the best way to come to these opinions but I have often been left disappointed by our performances, even in victory.
I hope that if we do fail to qualify for the C.L. the fans are not too down-hearted and critical. It is where we are at this stage of our development. Unlike in years past, pre-’Premiership’, teams do not change things around over night unless ridiculous amounts of money has been made available. We have made great progress and fifth is very good; disappointing of course, certainly a bit of a let down at this point, however significant strides forward have been made. Fourth would be very impressive indeed if you remember where we stood at the season’s beginning. We have not played a lot of great football this season. Great results, not great football. Sure, in many matches we have been very good for lengthy periods but apart from Arsenal away I cannot think of a completely satisfying performance. Too often we give the ball away easily, too often we have had too few attacking options, and too often the squad’s lack of depth in terms of “Top Four Quality” has been exposed. We are not as good as the Top Three; Arsenal are another matter – to be decided in the next couple of months…
This is a classic Villa discussion – equally valid points on two sides; one dominated by admirable but frequently false optimism, the other by traditional, oft-proven, but perhaps out-dated pessimism. The ‘proud history; bright future’ of the Lerner/O’Neill Revolution is a wonderful credo, yet it’s merits can be discussed ad finitem by those who really know the club – as we do. ‘Fascinating and proud history; hopeful of a bright future’ is perhaps a more accurate and reserved motto from a personal point of view…Meanwhile, bless us all.
So sure, “three cheers for Mr Dunne”…and Mr Mannion…and Mr C Jr too…To one and all – Claret & Light Blue 4 Ever!!!
“Happy to beeeee a Villa fan, until my dying day”…and hoping to be proven wrong by Mick’s 2-1 prediction for tomorrow’s match…

**********************************************************************

On Feb 25, 2009, at 12:35 PM, michael cusack wrote:

3 cheers for Mr.Dunne

From: BrenDunne@Baratuk.wanadoo.co.uk

Subject: Re: The Great Villa Debate
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:55:15 +0000

And another thing….

A year in the CL will transform the club, a night in Moscow won’t.
—– Original Message —–
From: Brendan Dunne

Subject: Re: The Great Villa Debate

It’s all about prioritising.

We couldn’t get a good result against CSKA in the home leg, what real chance do the same bunch of players on a plastic pitch in -8 conditions have against a very good Moscow side?  We could lose and come away with injuries and niggles to some of our best players leaving an already ‘legy’ and tired looking side struggling against Stoke and even more tired against an improving Man City 3 days later.

The CL is our priority, finishing 2nd is not unrealistic and probably more possible than going all the way to Istanbul which requires another 8 games should we get a result against CSKA , Shaktar Donetzk in the next round will be no pushovers should we succeed.  It would be great for the club to win the UEFA cup and qualify for the CL but realistically we don’t have the strength in depth to do both.  In any case, CL qualification is more important to us at this stage of the clubs development.  Should we get there we keep Barry and prying eyes away from Young and Gabby and we are also in a position to sign the quality that is required to build the squad with players who don’t mind or at least understand that they will at times have to warm the bench.

We’ve already played 11 games in the UEFA cup starting back in July.  It was important then as no one expected to be in the position we are now with 6 points in front of Arsenal.  This competition has to be considered less important while we are within grasp of the exclusive Sky 4 cartel.

—– Original Message —–
From: TMannion@bca-group.com

Subject: The Great Villa Debate

Back here in Blighty there is a huge debate going on about O’Neill’s decision to send a scratch team to Moscow and leave 8 first choice players at home. In fact one or two folks who live in roads starting with the letter O are banging heads at the moment.
I personally  wish he had taken a chance and tried to win the game and also tried to get in the Champions league as well. I also believe that 38,000 people paid £25 a ticket last week to see us in the competition which surely is evidence that the fans want us to do well in the tournament. Several hundred have shelled out a grand (Eugene is one of them) to go to the return leg too. Some of the players have recently had suspensions so have missed games anyway so have had their rest. We also get a break from league action soon as well. Like everybody else I would like to see us qualify for Champions league football but being as we are into the final stages of the EUFA Cup and it is something we have never won then I would like us to have given it a go. We had an opportunity in January to strengthen the squad too.

Gentlemen, your opinions please.

An Apology…sort of…

Over the past month or so my efforts with regard to this Blog have been found wanting to say the least. There are good reasons for this, too boring to go in to, suffice it to say that in the next week or so I shall be dedicating many more hours to “Football – it’s not rocket science, it’s far more complicated than that…”

Thanks for your continued support and comments…

Humbly and Sincerely, Claret & Light Blue and feeling like Uriah Heep…

Two Top Tens…

As a brief insight which may explain some of my comments within these pages, I thought I’d share the teams who, currently (’cause this can change), make my Top Tens of both My Most Disliked Teams and My Least Disliked Teams. Obviously, being a true Villan, I don’t really like anyone else but if Villa cannot win  the Cup in my lifetime then I’m not completely opposed to one of the teams on the second list below doing so. It should go without saying that I wish for nothing except ill-fortune for all those teams on the first list…

Ten Most Disliked…

1. BlueNoses – no change there then..

2. Liverpool – that’s what living in a country valley with three football fans, all Red Scouse, will do for you…Benitez and the “Red Media” also helped them get 2nd on this list…

3. Chelsea – that’s what will happen as a result of being behind the bar in a city pub where loads of new, loud, Chelsea fans watch their new team…

4. Man U – you know the reasons…

5. Tottenham – ’cause they’ve done virtually nothing for 40 years yet the press and media think they have…Crap fans too…

6. W.B.A. – owning a bar with a Baggies fan will do this…

7. Newcastle – see 5. Also repeatedly being told the oft-repeated lie that they have “the world’s best fans” is very annoying…

8. The Arse -  – good to watch; horrible to listen to the excuses when they lose…

9. West Ham – cos’ they apparently play the “West Ham way” which I haven’t actually seen them do since 1973 or so…

10. All other teams Villa play and do not beat (on a week-to-week basis)…

Ten Least Dilsiked:

1.Oxford Utd – spent formative summers (‘64-67′) in Oxford with my Auntie Rose and Uncle Sid…

2.Walsall – despite the 70-71 and 71-72 seasons, most Villa fans’ favorite lovable loser/underdog

3.Derby – thanks to the early Clough and Taylor days; most entertaining team on A.T.V.’s Star Soccer…

4.Hereford – my cousins live there and their second team is Villa; Hereford 2-1 Newcastle 1972…

5.Hartlepool – Monkey hangers; can’t imagine living there – must be tough..

6.Burnley – can’t work out why – claret and blue kit?…

7.Shrewsbury – farmer fans but in the lovely county of Shropshire (not Norfolk); excellent pies…

8.Notts County – one of the original 12; oldest club; Laurie Sirrel – ugliest manager ever…

9.Accrington Stanley – for the fans who suffered for so long…

10.Whoever Brian Little is managing – so I suppose that’s Wrexham for now…

2008-09 Premiership Preview

With the first matches just days away, I thought it was time to offer my prognostications for the 2008-09 Premiership season. This is not to be taken all the way to the bank (as if?) and with another three weeks before the transfer deadline hits there will no doubt be many pivotal signings made between now and that time. However, perhaps these will balance out between the teams and what I pick now will hardly change by September. We shall see…Whatever, I’m doing it anyway…(Final predicted 08-09 finish in brackets)

It’s hard to think that anyone will break the oft-mentioned stranglehold of The Big Four at the top of the league. The usual pretenders no doubt think they have a chance but in reality, over the 38 (not 39 thank god!) games, this will not happen and the top teams’ strength in depth plus overall superior quality will surely mean they finish one through four once again…ad nauseum.

With that being said I think perhaps one significant change within that group will occur – Liverpool (2nd) usurping Chelsea (3rd) as the runner-up to Man U. (1st). Benitez has improved his squad yet again (and needs to have early season success if his own position is not to come under threat) and with Torres and Keane perhaps being the most successful partnership in the league and Barry joining Gerrard in the middle, I see them slipping past Chelsea, who with a new manager and few new signings, may be in a transition period. It’s hard to go against Man U to win it all and even though at the time of writing they have yet to sign the extra forward they need, I cannot see them failing to do so and once again being the team to beat. As for Arsenal (4th), once more they will play lots of good football but I cannot see their young-ish team finishing above these other three.

Now to the interesting part of of The Premiership – The Battle for 5th (Premiership ‘B’ if you like)…Several teams have made efforts in the off-season to improve their squads, some more successfully than others, and it would appear that this “battle’ will be very close. Everton (7th) claimed 5th last season but with little movement in the transfer market to this point they may well slip a little despite the continued excellent leadership of David Moyes…To be replaced by, dare I say it, Aston Villa (5th)…Martin O’Neill, a very shrewd and smart manager, I must say, has made a number of excellent signings, particularly in defense with Friedel in goal (one of the division’s best and now backed up by the U.S.A.’s young Guzan), two England full-backs in Luke Young and Shorey, and just yesterday, the young Spanish star and player of the year in Scotland (so what, you may say) Carlos Cuellar. Add Steve Sidwell in the middle and probably a couple of more signings with the Gareth Barry money (if the end of this long-running saga ever happens), and you have a very solid squad – certainly one that will be up there challenging for the European spots next May…

Other teams in this group will be Tottenham (6th) who may well be 5th best on paper but this is Tottenham remember- perennial underachievers; Man City (9th) will slip a little but not much if their off-field problems do not interfere too much, not to mention that they had a great start last season and will probably not repeat this; Portsmouth (8th) under the excellent tutelage of Harry Redknapp and following some very good signings should hold steady; and perhaps Blackburn (11th) but I do think they will slip to mid-table as Paul Ince struggles to learn the managerial ropes at the top level…

The Rovers will probably settle in mid-table with the likes of Newcastle (10th) – with Keegan’s job under threat if they have a bad start; West Ham (13th) who may slip into the dogfight to avoid relegation with Curbishley also in the hot seat, and Middlesbro (12th), where my mate Gareth Southgate continues to do a very solid, if unspectacular, job…

The remaining teams – those that struggled last season along with the newly promoted trio, will be fighting for Premiership survival. Of this group, Roy Hodgson has done the most work in the transfer market, he needed to, and I think his Fulham (14th) will do relatively well. I hate to say it but Steve Bruce seems to have his Wigan (15th) players believing in him (for now) and even without the help of their awful pitch (surely it’s been re-laid) they will survive; and then there is Roy Keane’s Sunderland (16th) who will earn enough points at home in The Stadium of Good Fortune to once again survive…

The bottom four are going to find points very hard to come by. I’ve never been an admirer of Bolton’s (18th) Gary Megson, and think he should be plying his trade in the lower divisions – which he probably will be doing next year as The Wanderers go down. His former team, West Brom (17th), were the class of The Championship last year, playing some very nice football, and I believe this will give them just enough to survive this time round. The bottom two spots will go to Stoke ((19th) and Hull City (20th), with one or both of them breaking the lowest point total as the gap between the top and bottom becomes bigger than ever…

So, there you have it. I’m confident that many of these selections will be somewhat accurate – not because of my miraculous insights but due to the fact that the Premiership has become that predictable. However, there are always one or two surprises with a couple of teams either having surprisingly good (Pompey last year) or disappointingly bad seasons (Spurs) …I’m really looking forward to it, particularly that “battle” just below the Top Four and, if nothing else, I’m quietly confident of beating the B.B.C.’s Mark Lawrenson (“Lawro”) in our Weekly Result Prediction Challenge…

Claret & Light Blue and thanking you all for your continued support for this blog…

Thanks for your support…

Just a quickie (“as the bishop said to the actress”) to thank readers of this blog for their support. Despite my not writing too much at this time of year the popularity of the Blog has increased dramatically and I look forward to your continued support as the new season approaches and I return to contributing on a regular basis…

One recent comment seems to sum up readers’ points of view – “Very impressive that this blog is syndicated through Google…Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your success”..

See ya, Gareth…It was good but…

The Gareth Barry transfer saga continues but the end may finally be in sight. His proposed move from Villa Park to Anfield seems certain to take place, particularly with the player putting the final few nails in his Villa coffin over the past few days with his comments in the press.

Why do footballers feel they have to do this. In Barry’s case he has announced that if he wants to play in the European Champions League he must go to Liverpool. Staying at Villa will not get him there. He also says that Manager Martin O’Neill’s participation as television pundit for Euro 2008 meant that the “gaffer” had not expressed any interest in keeping Gareth at the club.

What a load of old bollocks all that is!. We are all very aware that playing for Liverpool rather than Villa has a much greater liklihood of resulting in E.C.L. football. It has done so for decades and will almost certainly continue to do so for some time. But why he has to say so, and thus alienate the many Villa fans who have supported his rise from promising full-back at Brighton to England part-time captain, is beyond me.

Why do departing players feel the need to abuse the club they are leaving. Why can’t they show a little class for once – thank the club and fans for all they have done for the player’s career; mention how the club will always have special memories – even if it’s not true, I suppose!

As for O’Neill’s apparent disinterest in re-signing Barry that is just wrong. He has clearly stated that he would love to keep Barry in claret and light blue. Just because he took a three-week break did not signify otherwise. Barry is now trying to put the ‘blame’ of his move on to the Villa manager – another classless act.

In my opinion,Gareth Barry was not one of the Villa ‘greats’, just one of the ‘very goods’… As my Dad said on many occasions following a match, “Barry was alright today, but he just doesn’t like to get his shorts dirty”. Perfect. Barry is a very good player but too often over his Villa career he would disappear in games – not good for a “star” and midfield general.. He was one of Villa’s best performers over the past couple of seasons. Prior to that he was very inconsistent, hence his merely sporadic appearances for England. I for one believe that for eighteen million we should be dancing up and down the Holte End with joy. He can and will be replaced; the money will hopefully bring in an equally good midfielder, plus an extra midfielder, another forward to back-up Carew and Agbonlahor, a right-back (we didn’t have one last year), a centre-back (to replace the dear, departed Mellberg, who selflessly capably performed at right back for much of the season), and a keeper to replace Carson and Sorensen. Eighteen million for Barry plus some pocket money from Chairman Randy Lerner should make O’Neill happy, and the Villa a top six club…I wish Barry well, certainly in an England shirt, and his efforts in the past two years will mean he will not be forgotten by the Villa faithful, but now, perhaps, as a result of his recent comments, he will not be forgiven either…

Claret & Light Blue and remembering the classic John Gregory story when he was Villa manager and we signed Barry from Brighton, about ten years ago…This caused the Brighton Chairman to accuse the Villa of all sorts of improprieties. Barry was the future of Brighton he said; it was a disgrace that Villa had “stolen” him…Upon hearing the Seagull’s Chairman’s comments, Gregory said, “The Brighton Chairman’s claim that Gareth is the future of Brighton is ridiculous. The Chairman has no idea who Gareth Barry is. He wouldn’t even recognise Barry if he saw him on Brighton beach, in a Brighton kit, with a seagull sitting on his head!”…

Villa unveil charity sponsorship…

Aston Villa have announced a shirt partnership with West Midlands-based charity Acorns Children’s Hospice.

The deal will see the charity’s logo being carried on the club’s shirts for free throughout the 2008/9 season.

“They look after people of Birmingham and the West Midlands and our fanbase covers that area,” Villa’s head of community Duncan Biddle told BBC WM.

“They have to compete against national charities for funds and hopefully this will elevate them to that level.”

Acorns, which was established in 1983, cares for life-limited children and their families in the Midlands.

The charity has three hospices across the region, in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester.

Credit must go to Villa for using its shirt sponsor to highlight and promote its charity partnership
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore
Villa have supported Acorns since 2006 and offered a sponsorship deal after being told Acorns needed to care for an extra 1,000 children.
David Studley, chief executive of the hospice, told BBC WM the deal was an incredible moment.

“It is just amazing. This is the platform we have all been looking for,” he said.

“We have a strategy that envisages reaching out to all the children across the West Midlands and it’s a vast fund raising challenge.

“We have to do it quickly and the platform this gives us it amazing.”

The deal is the first of its kind in the top flight and Villa’s act has drawn praise from the Premier League’s chief executive Richard Scudamore.

“Credit must go to Villa for being the first Premier League club to use its shirt sponsor to highlight and promote its charity partnership,” he said.

“I am sure Acorns’ association with Aston Villa will be of great help in raising awareness and funds for all the excellent work they undertake.

“The power of football and the power of the Premier League has long been something that companies have tapped into to reach audiences throughout the country and increasingly, across the globe.”

The ex-Manager of Chelsea

Poll Question of the Day: If John Terry scores their fifth penalty in Moscow and the Pensioners are European Champions, is Avram Grant still the manager at Chelsea?….
Please answer Yes or No…

Either way, today’s decision to fire him is very strange.

1. Is it just because they were runners-up in the two toughest competitions? If so, woe betide the next bloke in the hot seat for the Pensioners.

2. Is it because the ‘Powers-that-Be’ and the fans in S.W.6. want to see attractive football? If that’s the case would he still have been fired if they had won the league and/or E.C.L. whilst playing in their not-so-attractive style?…

3. Is it because Abramovich is such a meglomaniac that everyone on the board is scared of losing their own positions and therefore until they win a major trophy they will toe-the-line with Roman’s positions and keep firing their managers?

4. Is it because Spurs beat them in the League Cup Final? Quite a good reason some might say.

5. Is it because the Villa beat them 2-0 at Villa Park and then the “Superstars” only just managed a fortunate draw 4-4 at home?

I think you know the answer…

Claret & Light Blue and glad I’m not a Chelsea fan…and yet thinking about when I quite liked them (1965-1971)…

A Retraction…

A month or two ago in these pages I ranted about the Setanta Sports channel and organization. Whilst I stand by most of what I said about the ‘money-grabbing” nature of that organization in its formative days when I ran the “Home of Fotball” in San Francsico – The Mad Dog in the Fog, the comments I made about the O’Rourke brothers who headed the company not being fans of the game were unjustified and incorrect. Shane O’Rourke is a Liverpool fan who knows the game well and, whilst I wish him nothing but bad luck when it comes to his team, I have always had an amicable relationship with him and hope that it may continue. He is a decent man, a good businessman, his channel is improving each season, and they currently have the best coverage of football in this country – far superior to that provided by the Fox Soccer Channel.

Claret & Light Blue and not so high and mighty that an apology cannot be made when one is owed…