Written by Damian Friday, 14 August 2009 08:59
I am part of a film club that meets every couple of months, we have a nice dinner, watch a film (the genre changes every time and it has to be considered a classic), drink a few beers and play poker. Tomorrow is film club night and I'm not going.
Film club is basically what we call it but it is basically an excuse for a few lads to get together and drink and talk rubbish and usually lose money, but it usually happens on a Friday and for the life of me I don't understand why it was changed to a Saturday, especially for this day.
Admittedly it does include watching the football tomorrow, but I think I'm too old to start drinking at lunch time and I'd actually not have my first day of the season interrupted and I'd rather be here, so, like I said, I'm not going and the official line is 'out of protest for it moving from Friday to a Saturday' but the truth is, I'm too excited and want to spend the first day of the season as it should be spent, completely focused on The Villa.
Which is what this post is about so apologies about getting a little personal about my private life, but it needed to be said, for you to understand how important I think tomorrow is, not generally, but to me.
Expectations
We've seen quite a lot of things this summer to make us think things are not as bad as some of us, me included, might have thought by not directly replacing Barry or Laursen and as of right now, I'm not sure what team Martin O'Neill is going to put out or even what formation.
My head says 442 with Friedel, Shorey, Davies, Cueller, Beye, Milner, Petrov, Sidwell, Young, Gabby and Carew. My heart tells me it could be so different.
We saw Milner play 20 minutes of very good football on the left the other night for England which made me even think about playing him for Villa on the left. Doing that would allow O'Neill to play Ashley in the hole behind a main striker, probably Carew, who had a fantastic match against Scotland the other night too.
If the manager did it, he could put Albrighton on the right, who we now know has a bit of pace, some trickery and a wonderful cross.
But that isn't all. Towards the end of last season a few were talking about putting Milner in the middle and that remains an option, mostly because of the emergence of Albrighton, which would still allow Young to terrorise the left side and allow O'Neill to put out a 442 or a variation of 451.
If he went 451, we've even got Fabian Delph who could come in and even though my head formation doesn't include him, half of me expects him to start tomorrow, but it's just a feeling, I'm not sure why.
What I'm getting at is while our heads might tell us we know exactly what is going to happen, we actually don't know, as we've seen lots of things happen this summer and I fancy O'Neill is going to mix it up this season, don't ask me why and it might not happen tomorrow, but I think we are going to see it this season.
Wigan
Well, what can we say about Wigan. We drew with them at Villa Park in January but beat them 4-0 away last October. They've also lost two influential figures in Valencia to Manchester United and Cattermole to Sunderland and while they've brought in a few players you've got to fancy that losing those two is going to have an impact.
They've also got a new manager in Roberto Martínez who takes over from Steve Bruce. Bruce got Wigan to 11th last season and while Martínez shouldn't be underestimated, there is a big difference from managing a team like Swindon Swansea to Wigan and the match tomorrow is going to be a new experience for him. Missing two very good players is also going to not do him any favours, but he is going to try and stamp his own game on Wigan, which I think will ultimately mean we win tomorrow.
The Manager
We've had a good pre-season. Players have improved their fitness, improved in terms of confidence and determination. All of those things we had in abundance, particularly in the Peace Cup. But I've said in the past the test is in the Barclays Premier League and it starts in earnest on Saturday. It's a big game and we are all looking forward to it.
Prediction
A new manager brings a new game and Martínez will have spent a bit of time drilling into his players how he wants them to play but nothing can prepare you for your first game in the Premier League and I fancy we are going to come out all guns blazing.
This is going to either shock Wigan into making tactical changes or they are going to persist, which will I think give us this game. We have too much quality and on paper we should win this. I also think we are going to have an edge after our pre-season.
I know I'm looking at this too much and I know it might be completely different but I just think we are going to be too much for Wigan and I know this next part is pre-season optimism, but I can see us getting a very good result tomorrow and not just a boring 1-0 win.
I am mostly looking forward to seeing who starts and the formation but even if we start how we finished like I've said, I just think we are going to have too much for them. I'm going for a 3-0 home win.
Match Day against Wigan
I'll be starting a match post quite early tomorrow, we'll be dropping links to everything you might need and the only thing I ask for is optimism. I fancy we can, I think we will and as supporters we have a part to play in this season. It's an important one.
enter your team in our fantasy football league and until tomorrow at 11.30am (double check this) to make as many changes to your team as possible.
I'm off to put up a ceiling. Back in a couple of hours. I might even wear my Villa shirt doing it, just to get in the mood.
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Tim Hillman
said:
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... I'm sure martinez was Swansea manager not Swindon! Anyway how exciting is this, I can't wait for tomorrow. I hope Delph starts as would give him confidence that the manager believes in his ability to play in premiership. I will go 3-1. |
boumavilla
said:
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... 2-1 villa can see us havin a bright start then wigan equalise then we score the winner in the 60 or 70 somethin minute! can see beye startin tho cos of luke young's bro dyin!!!  UTV  |
VillaDude
said:
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... On the roumours front - I just read that we have put a bid in for Dunne. Would we be happy with him being Laursen's replacement? and Clark being our 4th defender? |
scott1
said:
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... swansea manager damo.id start with delph for sidwell.dont be surprised at wigan trying to play attractive football tomorrow,everytime ive seen swansea theyve looked a good side. |
probinson
said:
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... Can anyone confirm if Tuncay has joined Fenerbahce on loan? I read it on the transfer gossip page of Football365. UTV 3-0 Carew, Sidwell, Delph (coming on as a late sub and finishing the match off in style) |
clarkamus
said:
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... if wigan play like SWANSEA they will keep there wide men on each touchline so expect a lot of crosses into the box but i think on the whole we will be too strong for them should be a nice start to what should be a successful year in claret and blue again, now lets all hope we can get a defender in today !! |
Woz_uk
said:
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... Cant wait for tomorrow, 10:30 start in the boozer for me. Quick question.... how many have had an 'invite' to the holte on matchday..... I think mine must keep getting lost in the post! |
Alan B
said:
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... Hi,just got home from work ( 7pm aussie ) and can't wait till sunday morning ( aussie time ) for the first result, I think that it should be 4-0, but have this funny feeling that it may end up a dull draw as I think Wigan will come for that, Also not sure that we will get any more signings till next week ????. I still think that we will have a good year and finish 6th. but could be much much better if we get a few new faces next week. |
ak_27
said:
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... If Martinez has had time to put his stamp on his team then they will come and pass the ball and try to keep possession. Because of that i would put NRC in the CM just to go and win it. I would go with Delph, Petrov and NRC in the centre with Carew up front. I think once we have the ball we should have far too much for them and hopefully with Beye and Shorey getting forward and supporting Young and Milner to deliver dangerous crosses in for Carew who will get a hatrick. 4-0 Villa. |
ruffy
said:
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... Valencia tore us apart season before last, agree that they have no one that should be able to do that this time and we should win. Maybe even win comfortably if a few of our lads have decent games. Hopefully I'll be able to watch on o*****e football. (I live on Canvey Island and dont get up to Villa park as much as I'd like) |
Rob The Villain
said:
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... I'm not sure putting Ash in the hole would work all the time, he gets knocked off the ball too easily. Also, all the success we've had has come from him being on the wing. Maybe he could switch inside now and again but I don't think it should be permanent. Milner on the left!? Yeah, I can see him switching there in the middle of a game but again, not permanent! Just because he had a good 20mins for England! I think your missing the point a bit, MON wants a fluid midfield that are able to switch positions throughout the game, not round pegs in square holes for the entire match. Really excited for tomorrow! Really interesting to see who's going to be captain. So far we've had Reo, Curtis, Ash and Petrov so unless Reo's playing then it looks like it's going to be Petrov. |
parisianrob
said:
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... Delph is a must for me in central role tomorrow dunne will be in for medical sometime today sidwell and reo warming the bench and mark allbrighton coming on for an outing leaving sidwell looking for another team or he could get on his bike as per video and do a route 66 trip across usa whilst the season unfolds delph to be very big this year UTV |
Michael
said:
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... Damian - another mistake, youve got us playing with a defender called hebe, is that a new signing we havnt been told about or is it a variation of habib beye |
Ronan Kenny
said:
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... Rumour has we have bought Dunne from city, anyone else heard this. Fm 104 reported this today. |
Michael
said:
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... wigan are my favourites to finish bottom of the league this season, a team like wigan cant cope with losing valencia, palacios and cattermole in 6 months. Im going with 4-0 - carew 2, gabby, milner. |
Damian
said:
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... Rob The Villain Would be quite nice for him to get knocked off the ball though just outside the box  mickey86 I did actually see that mistake before I published but forgot to change ... I'm having a mare. The new ceiling just arrived and well, I've got my head on different things for the minute |
Peter Dragoonis
said:
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... Cant wait for tomorrow! been a long time coming. im hitting the pub early before going to see villa demolish wigan!! my only concern is that heskey will start with carew on the bench. this guy isnt fit to lace carews boots never mind keep him out of the team. |
Tom
said:
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... ak - took the words right out of my mouth. Swansea were v good at sweeping it about under Martinez so I'd definitely lob Nige into the mix to chomp, bite and shut down. Delph should get a start too, I hope so anyway. |
probinson
said:
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... Players usually enjoy playing (and scoring) against their old teams. So while I think this could be the one time out of 100 that Heskey could start ahead of Carew. |
DavidC
said:
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... 1-1 I reckon. It'll be a lot tighter than people suspect. Dunno why, just have an inkling. |
StevieB
said:
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... Friedel, Shorey, Davies, Cueller, Beye, Milner, Petrov, Delph, Young, Gabby and Carew. 3 - 2 Big worry about our defence. Dunne is not the answer, he was piss poor last season for man city. |
StickyAV
said:
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... Off subject, the teenager found dead in Crete was Luke Youngs 17 yr old brother... Feel for Luke. So injury or not doubt he would be playing for a short while. |
stevo
said:
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... i think hesky will start tomorrow he is looking very sharp at the moment, everywhere else picks itself apart fom cm and i would put sidwell just in front petrov c'mon the villa ! |
Damian
said:
|
... Alan B I'm looking into it for you now .. not sure when registrations papers would have to be in ... I've emailed someone, hopefully they'll get back to me today. |
Tim Wood
said:
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... Has everyone forgot how bad our home form was last season??? I think we are lucky to be playing Wigan as our first game in order to get some confidence in our home form and set us up for the season. However, first game of the season so I'm going to be optimistic (not as much as some) but I reckon a convincing performance with Villa winning 3 - 0 (Milner, Heskey and Davies). And I'm putting £10 on a wigan player to be sent off and Villa to miss the penalty (odds 135 to 1) |
seijder
said:
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... fredial guzan my squad beye young davis cullar wheater dunne shorey bouma milner albriton petrov delph sidwell VDV downing young carew tuncay agbong heskey my squad |
keithj
said:
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... our home form was poor due to teams defending and not allowing our counter attack. however i feel wigan do not have enough to hold out defending, carew will destroy them. villa 5 (carew 3, gabby and milner) wigan 0 |
seijder
said:
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... tuncay of to wolves or everton. middlesbrough offered us tuncay for marlon and we turned it down. what the f**k oneill. |
Alan B
said:
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... Damian - thanks for that, just been called for dinner so will check later -- love all your comments and you all have a good day and a better weekend |
Joky
said:
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... Just watching sky sports and Im truly impressed with how fit the new presenter Charlotte is. |
Mark Johnson
said:
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... Its a good start, we're second in the table behind the Arse and not a ball kicked in anger yet, I predict we'll still be there tomorrow, after thrashing Wigan 3:0 |
keithj
said:
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... latest marca news They go der Vaart wants to go to England, but for the time being only there is interest of clubes but you do not offer specify. For Miguel Torres, the club hopes to pocket approximately 3 million euros. Gago is other of the quoted ones although also it enters the plans of Pellegrini. The club would accept a good offer. The Juve might offer in the next days approximately 12 million euros, although in England there is already interest of some clubes that look for a half center of his characteristics. the future is albrighton, the future is orange |
Carl Main
said:
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... Where is everybody hearing this news about Luke Youngs brother dying?...Thats terrible news if its true!...I feel for the lad, it will take a long time for him to get his head straight. |
GG
said:
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... 1st day of the season is the best day of the season - all sunshine & optimism and that feeling of "anything is possible"... so yeah, definitely not a day for film clubs! Wigan at home is either a chance to put last season's stutter to bed or a danger of picking up where we left off. This fixture last season summed our problems up. We did everything but score, and it was hard to believe we hadn't scored at the end. It was the footy equivalent of "Zulu", so I hope your film club hasn't got that lined up for tomorrow! |
Nathan
said:
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... i really dont fink well buy anymore players.its so frustrating! if we dont and conceide a lot of goals this season (which ends in loss of games) what will happen to mon? just a thought utv |
Stathis
said:
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... I am optimistic and i am excited for the start of the season, i fancy a 2-0 or 3-1 win, comfortably, and im gonna predict a goal from either Delph or Albrighton ^ ^ Bah anyway go lads UP THE VILLA!! |
HT Sweden
said:
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... Bentley hits rock bottom driving drunk- 'arry pays to get rid of him-doesn´t it sounds like an oppurtunity for MON give Bentley a new start of his career- and life? |
Villain down South
said:
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... Come on the Villa. Can't wait, be nice to see Delph and maybe Albrighton for at least part of the match tear in to Wigan. |
Peter Dragoonis
said:
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... There is still no mention of Luke Youngs brother on the club website. something offering condolences would have been nice. |
VillaFortune
said:
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... Premier League Opening Weekend Special - Top After Opening Round Of Games - Aston Villa 14/1 Might be worth a 5er |
. Anyway Villa top of the table by 2moro night
VillaFortune
said:
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... I could see Chelsea winning 2-0. Utd. beating the scum 1-0 and us....3 or 4-0 It's too easy!! |
Peter Dragoonis
said:
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... With Friedel, Cuellar & Davies at the back there is no way we are keeping a clean sheet! |
Martin Clabon
said:
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... Cascarino says Young is the kind of winger who only looks good against bad defences. Cascarino was the kind of Centre Forward who looked crap against all types of defences |
Woz_uk
said:
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... So this is the same young that skinned Lescot, who Man Shitty are trying to spend 15m on??? Why do ex Villa players have to talk $hit? First Platt, now this knob! |
noel farragher
said:
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... First time post. Im from Ireland and manage to get over about four times a year.I think MON is far to conservative in the transfer market and we go into the Wigan game without any decent centre half cover although we are been linked with Dunne who imo is a decent CB who had a poor season last year.I hope MON goes with Carew tomorrow and not with Heskey as another poster mentioned eariler on.Heskey is no where near as good as Carew who was immense again Norway midweek.I hope we go 4-5-1.Dont know about the rumors about Luke.My team would be Fredial.Beye.Davis.Culleur.Shorey.Milner.Delph.Petrov.Sidwell.Young.Carew.I was at this game last year a boring 0-0.Villa to sneek this 1-0 with Big John to score. |
Geoffrey Littleton
said:
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... Does anybody here know if Petrov is actually playing/starting tomorrow? If not, I need to adjust my fantasy team. |
phil the floorer
said:
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... think you should attend to that film night after football . Villa Win 3-2 |
G carew
said:
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... I can see us getting about 45 points from home this year, startng with 3-1 tomorrow- still worried about defence. |
Mostyn
said:
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... I hope we blast out of the traps and give Wigan a good hiding, thus sending a message out from day one that we mean business. |
Adzspur
said:
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... Good start lads, 0-2 at home to Wigan  God i hope u lot play like that all season ! Missing Barry much? lol |
albrighton
said:
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... ... Petrov has commented on yesterdays booing at the final whistle. He has said it has a big effect on the younger players and doesn't help. I for one think if there is booing it should be aimed at the manager - not players. But what do u think? |
albrighton
said:
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... ... Petrov has commented on yesterdays booing at the final whistle. He has said it has a big effect on the younger players and doesn't help. I for one think if there is booing it should be aimed at the manager - not players. But what do u think? |
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