I was sitting watching some more West Wing on TV last night, now on season six, so not that long to go and I had a fantastic idea for a post, but as some of you may know when the wife allows me time to sit in front of the TV, it's going to take more than an idea to get me off it.

So I emailed myself instead from my phone, so I'd not forget and well, you know what somewhere between my sofa and my desk upstairs and probably the few servers in between, it got lost, so while you were going to get one of my best blogs ever this morning, you're now getting this instead.

I will say this, if you haven't already seen it; Doc Bowles is back and his first post will be considered slightly controversial by some, but he's not wrong and it's view held by quite a few for some time and after reading an article in the Telegraph this morning by our friend Sandy Macaskill, it seems to be a growing consensus.

The post is basically about Barry as captain and it raises a point that will no doubt get a few people talking. You know my views on Barry, although I've got to say he has played much better when we've had a five man midfield for me, but he isn't captain material.

Moving on, which is quite appropriate as I'm wanting to tell you about Marlon Harewood, who has finally joined Wolves on load until the end of the season. If you haven't read between the lines, this is Marlon Harewood joining Wolves and never doming back.

Billy Davies told us this was going to happen last week and I've given my opinion on Harewood so I'm not going to repeat myself this morning although I will say thank you to the player. His commitment to Aston Villa can not be questioned and he had real heart and desire.

In reserve team news, I know not something I usually delve into despite me knowing I should and I feel bad about it, Wilfred Bouma played again last night - it is all good news.

When he does finally make the step up to the first team it will be hailed as a new signing and well, I suppose you could say he was because it hasn't worked for Nick Shorey. Bouma also set up the winner for the reserves, so he'll be feeling good this morning too, as we should be as it's possible he could make a return against Manchester United.

Lastly, I think for now and quite possibly today, we've got two players in the England squad, didn't we have five last time? They are Gareth Barry and believe it or not Emile Heskey. I'm now convinced there is a secret club or handshake because I fail to understand how Heskey got picked.

Heskey must have some dirt on someone at the FA because if he can get picked for England, I should be able to on current form, but maybe there is still more to come from Heskey, you'd hope so, because it would be nice to see some goals from him in the eight remaining games, as barring injury he will play every one of them.

Right, that is about it I think, that great idea from last night hasn't come back to me but if it does, it'll get posted, don't you worry.

Comments (76)

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Nick said:

... he will play all of them until he retires. So yes, here is to hoping he, we improve

Comment 1, made on March 24, 2009 at 8.44 am

Milk said:

... Looking forward to Bouma coming back. Hopefully it'll be the same time as Laursen. Then we can have the folling back 4, bouma, laursen, davies/cuellar, young. Finally we'll be back with a recognised right back. That can only be a good thing.

Comment 2, made on March 24, 2009 at 8.44 am

Nick said:

... Oh and I was talking about England because MON will be sending Heskey out well into his retirement. Which if it were not for this England call up I might have thought already started.

Comment 3, made on March 24, 2009 at 8.48 am

Keith said:

... Ive spent the last 90 minutes sat on my fat arse on a football pitch. I'm expecting a phone call from Fabio any minute!

Comment 4, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.10 am

Michaell Lockey said:

... wisj the match was this weekend. hate this long wait !!!

Comment 5, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.20 am

Mark said:

... Well if the Doc is right as you say, our slump has got nothing to do with Heskey has it? It's all about our shit captain and Captain Marvel Laursen who, with whom, we never conceded any goals did we? Such a simple game, makes you wonder why legendary managers of the status of Capello are needed.

Comment 6, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.21 am

Damian said:

... The real AVMark is back! Just kidding AVMark Anyone click on the photo of Laursen above?

Comment 7, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.30 am

Mark said:

... Oh isn't because Capello is tactically naive?

Comment 8, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.30 am

Chris Harper said:

... Yeah just tried it Damian....why?

Comment 9, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.43 am

Chris Harper said:

... Nice touch I must add...

Comment 10, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.44 am

Damian said:

... Just thought it a nice little feature to add .. is all.

Comment 11, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.48 am

Ramon Maklouf said:

... It's a conspiracy. MON has figured out Heskey isn't suited to our team play so he has asked [possisbly bribed him] in the hope that Heskey picks up an injury... And what happens if Hesk doesn't get injured? Simple, MON will tell the world that he is injured. Just like he told the papers Carew 'injured' his back after the nightclub incident . Just joking you never want to see a player get hurt... Or do you? UTV!

Comment 12, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.53 am

Ramon Maklouf said:

... The person that MON is bribing is Capello. Forgot to mention that !

Comment 13, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.54 am

Simon said:

... Damian, thanks to Keefvilla and Villatill_Idie have got your new / old blog site. Its good to see blogs of controversy as who wants to agree all the time. Its good to be back

Comment 14, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.02 am

jon said:

... Awesome! Laursen gets super-sized! Where did Shorey play last night? Young, Davies, Laursen and Bouma at the back? Have they ever played together?

Comment 15, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.08 am

Damian said:

... Welcome back symbas.

Comment 16, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.08 am

Chris Harper said:

... Shorey played CM last night Jonny! I know...you have to laugh

Comment 17, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.11 am

jon said:

... Just checked, Young and Bouma have never played together. Shorey at CM? Why doesn't MON loan him out, hes clearly not going to get any football at VP for the rest of this season.

Comment 18, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.16 am

Mark said:

... Damian I apologise for my populist comments yesterday, I was in a rare good mood. Everything is now back in working order.

Comment 19, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.21 am

Ramon Maklouf said:

... I think people are making too much a big deal out of Bouma's return. Don't get this wrong, I love the bloke, and I thought he was exceptional last year but come on let us be honest. If Bouma was to come back into the team how would he cope? Would he be able to keep with the pace of the game? Is he mentally ready? I think he will struggle for the rest of the season and any contribution he makes must be seen as a bonus not a neccessity. I'd play Shorey for the love of God. Something tells me one got into the ear of the other and then it all blew out of proportion. I honestly don't think Shorey is that bad a player. I mean after all, Milner got a sustained time in the starting line up to prove his worth. This gives me the idea MON has his favourites [The Heskey & Milner cases v The Sidwell & Shorey cases]. For the record, I think I got the 12th post... And not the first time . Hahaha I forgot what that was about anyway! UTV!

Comment 20, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.37 am

Nick said:

... What happened to Sidwell anyway? I didn't see any reports he was injured...

Comment 21, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.53 am

celtic_villain said:

... i totally agree, shorey in the team gives our back four some shape. cant figure out why o neill dislikes him so much, hes clearly the best option despite some errors early on. but sidwell had his chance, and by all accounts didnt take it, his performances were poor. but like what we are seeing with heskey, despite performances, mon has his favourites and petrov should probably have been droped last season. he my favourite villa player, and was my favour celtic player, but he was playing badly. id love to milner employed as a busibody in the middle for a game. if it doesnt work, fine bring in gardener, nrc or sidwell, but ffs drop heskey.

Comment 22, made on March 24, 2009 at 10.55 am | url

Ramon Maklouf said:

... sidwell had his chance, and by all accounts didnt take it, his performances were poor. Maybe... But we won more games then we lost when he was in team. Same can't be said about Heskey - arguably his replacement in recent times? Maybe it's the formation, it probably is. But at the end of the day you don't change a winning formula. If it aint broke, don't fix it. MON tinkered with a system that was, whilst not pretty, effective. I think the difference with Petrov and Heskey tho is that we didn't have many options other then to play Petrov. And we were definetly not in this sort of position. Whereas with Heskey, we have a much better target man, and goal scorer on the bench as a much better alternative... And we have almost sacrificed a CL spot!

Comment 23, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.03 am

CSM said:

... I really hope Bouma plays against the Reds. I don't think he is the best left back in the world but he will give us back some much needed balance. It wil free up Milner to get forward a bit more and hopefully Luke Young can feel a whole lot more comfortable supporting him and put some crosses in with his right peg.

Comment 24, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.04 am

jon said:

... Ramonicus - I think the thing with Bouma coming back and people getting excited is the prospect of playing 11 players in their natural positions again, something MON is clearly reluctant to do with Shorey.

Comment 25, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.20 am

Richard Bunn said:

... After the next round of games there is every chance that we'll be 6 points behind the arse. Does anyone think we can turn this around?

Comment 26, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.27 am

Ramon Maklouf said:

... Ramonicus - I think the thing with Bouma coming back and people getting excited is the prospect of playing 11 players in their natural positions again, something MON is clearly reluctant to do with Shorey. I see your point... But what I'm worried about is that people will expect Bouma to shift right now and play like he did last season. That's too much to ask for from him. In my humble opinon.

Comment 27, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.30 am

Mark said:

... Shorey has had his chances. He has been poor. Bouma is recovering from a serious injury and is lacking match fitness - it would be an act of desparation to play him against Man U. We know how Man U will play, lots of quick, clever balls into the box, lots of midfield runs - I would play Cuellar, Knight, Davies at the back with Barry and Milner as wingbacks (who lets face it won't get forward much!), Petrov, Sidwell, NRC in midfield and Carew with Ashley having a free role behind. That looks a sensible use of our talent. But what the hell do I know?

Comment 28, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.37 am

jon said:

... That's too much to ask for from him. In my humble opinon. I agree but when Bouma comes back in, L Young will surely be allowed to play at RB again and while he has done a good job at LB, he will surely play better on the right. Bouma will play better at LB than NRC at RB if you get my meaning.

Comment 29, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.39 am

Michael panizza said:

... Yay I'm back! Christ that O****e site had gone quiet..

Comment 30, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.56 am

Michaell Lockey said:

... The resevers are better then are first team lol. Think we should jsut drop the lot and play them for a game! thrash man u 7-0! anynews on big brads ban??

Comment 31, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.56 am

Michaell Lockey said:

... yes they play against reserves them selfs!!! i just clicked after i sent it! haa

Comment 32, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.59 am

James Turvey said:

... leawaylittlema - Its a long shot but I feel we may be able to. The Arse still have to play MU, L'Pool and Chelsea. 2 away I think. Correct me if i'm wrong. We seriously need to get back to 4-5-1 and maybe even try Milner in the middle as we don't really have that central midfielder that will go beyond the strikers. Carew has to start.

Comment 33, made on March 24, 2009 at 12.15 pm

FatK said:

... MoN Threw away our season in moscow & another crap signing in Heskey. Like it or not ML was the difference He is the only man in the team with a winners mentality. Ashley is the gifted crowd pleaser. The clubs false promises has help't dull GB fire, as for the rest of the team just fine weather or average at best

Comment 34, made on March 24, 2009 at 12.49 pm

crazyhobo said:

... Brad has had his card recinded

Comment 35, made on March 24, 2009 at 1.16 pm

alfie said:

... Brad's ban has been lifted so he can play at Man Utd! Is Bouma fit for it does anyone know?

Comment 36, made on March 24, 2009 at 1.18 pm

Imran Patel said:

... i had the unfortunate pleasure of being at the game on sunday, i have to say though the support was immense 5-0 down yet still in full voice. It was during the pre-match warm up i realised that we would loose. The reason, Emile Heskey. i dont know if MON has lost all common sense but how do you go to a team who has just been 2 of the worlds best teams and scored 8 goals in the process and play two target men up front both with back to goal and play 4 in the middle who were no match for the 5 that liverpool had. Seems harsh i know but i personally think our season fell apart long before the whole moscow fiasco, it was the day MON stupidly decided to sign Heskey. He is up there with Sidwell as the flop of the season. villa were doing fine until he came along. he plays on the half way line with his back to goal, falls over more then Cristiano Ronaldo and has not contributed positively to the team other then his goal on debut day. He has even managed to zap gabby's confidence. honestly MON needs to go back to the winning formula of 5 in the middle. we dont have the quality of the other top 4 teams in the middle of the park to play man for man against them. we handled arsenal, united and every other team that came against us with 5. we switch to 4 and we have looked nothing less then diabolical. Rant over

Comment 37, made on March 24, 2009 at 1.21 pm

Adey Stuttard said:

... He is up there with Sidwell as the flop of the season Bit harsh isn't it? As someone has already stated Sidders has actually done well as far as scoring goals is concerned this season and that is the most important thing IMO. Let's hope Heskey comes back with a slight strain that keeps him out for a few weeks as this is the only way MoN will currently drop him!!

Comment 38, made on March 24, 2009 at 1.52 pm

Michael panizza said:

... The goals we conceded Sunday were a disaster: the long ball through the middle only exploited the prairies of space our midfield was allowing. Anyone could see that Gerrard was breaking through the middle, you could have fitted the Titanic in there such was the space allowed by Villa. We were disjointed and got the formation horribly wrong again: Liverpool thrives on space and have taken apart 2 quality, attacking teams like Madrid and Man U..what does that tell you? Pack the midfield with a fast tackler like NRC to help out 2 relatively slower CM like Barry & Petrov and try to smother Gerrard. Anyone could have seen Liverpool thrives on space, it's no surprise they struggled against the likes of Stoke and West Ham, teams who went to play at Anfield with some sense of reality. You also have Heskey badly under-performing and on a number of occasions Carew has proved - coming on as a sub - that he'd do a better job up front as a target man. And why not give Shorey a chance when you spent 4m on him only a few months ago, that would allow you to return Luke Young on the right where he looks more at ease, because at Anfield he was all over the place. Further more, let's talk about A.Young. Initially on the left but unable to go past Arbeloa once, MON decided it may help if he moved the winger up front - this happened in the 1st half with Heskey & Carew still up there. Result? Nobody to cross unless Luke Young made his way all the way up on the left - which meant we were caught on the break over and over - and 1 of our best players was wondering around with no purpose. The long punt from Reina was a copycat of their 2nd goals vs Madrid: hardly stuff of dreams, just a long ball catching out our slow midfield and bingo, it's a goal. This is stuff I noticed during the game, you don't need to be Brian Clough to work it out.

Comment 39, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.05 pm

Villa in Seattle said:

... I'm concerned about Oneil. I'd like to maintain the idea that he is the best thing for the Villa but when you look at the run we had it came down to playing the 4-5-1 formation which really wasn't his idea. Oneil was forced into it due to Carew's injury and for some reason Harewood's exclusion from his super sub role, which incidently he had played well, the crowd loved it and it actually paid dividends in goals and momentum. The stuborn resistance to substitutions and the player favortism are causing me to loose confidence in our man at the top.

Comment 40, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.11 pm

Heskeypleaseno said:

... the stats to show just how badly Heskey has affected Villa's performance is here.. http://avfccommunity.yuku.com/topic/131?page=-1

Comment 41, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.24 pm

Chris Harper said:

... That link doesn't work mate

Comment 42, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.28 pm

Jake Gardner said:

... Friedel has had his red card rescinded

Comment 43, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.33 pm

Jake Gardner said:

... woo bit late there sorry My heskey stats

Comment 44, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.36 pm

Heskeypleaseno said:

... Oh yes it does Chris. I have just tried it.

Comment 45, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.39 pm

Chris Harper said:

... Strange....it doesn't with Firefox

Comment 46, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.44 pm

Adey Stuttard said:

... Well done GonzoAvfc, you must have too much time on your hands! Not wanting to defend Heskey, but I would imagine a lot of the stats reflect the fact that Laursen has been missing (ie goals conceded?) not that Heskey has been playing. Fact (I think) is that Gabby hasn't scored whene partnering Heskey, and Fact... Heskey has not scored in last 7 games.

Comment 47, made on March 24, 2009 at 2.59 pm

Adey Stuttard said:

... Strange....it doesn't with Firefox Who does? Damian - is it possiblt to get links as a pop up rather than a re-direct? Cheers

Comment 48, made on March 24, 2009 at 3.01 pm

Adey Stuttard said:

... * possible

Comment 49, made on March 24, 2009 at 3.02 pm

Jake Gardner said:

... cheers 1874AVFC the way i look at it is we have had a similar amount of shots and chances but there not going in, so basically heskey can't score and gabby cant play with heskey and his stopping him from scoring. I had some time yesterday as i had finished my work at uni for the week

Comment 50, made on March 24, 2009 at 3.05 pm

Damian said:

... 1874AVFC I'm working on links in a new window now .. Everyone You might have noticed that there is now a preview button too. I'm also considering very closely to only allow registered members to see comments and will make a decision today. So if anyone has anything to say on the matter, say it now. Cheers

Comment 51, made on March 24, 2009 at 3.33 pm

Chris Harper said:

... If you make it so only registered members can see comments, it means we won't get the odd Arsenal fan coming on here talking absolute shite and causing a bit of banter....but then again, we have keef!

Comment 52, made on March 24, 2009 at 3.41 pm

no10 said:

... no to only allowing registered members,this might stop a lot of fans reading this blog.theres are people out there who wouldnt know how to regiter. no direspect

Comment 53, made on March 24, 2009 at 3.54 pm

Jake Gardner said:

... sounds like a good idea Damian, then if people really want to put there point across then they have to sign up. so we will only get the serious ones on here

Comment 54, made on March 24, 2009 at 3.54 pm

no10 said:

... you will only get the same old faces and views,and gonzo who is not serious.

Comment 55, made on March 24, 2009 at 4.02 pm

Jake Gardner said:

... the bloody arsenal tossers on here, i understand what u saying about people not understanding mate maybe if it was explained really clearly people would do it ?

Comment 56, made on March 24, 2009 at 4.16 pm

James said:

... Liverpool were lucky on Sunday. Discuss.

Comment 57, made on March 24, 2009 at 5.10 pm

Damian said:

... no10 I can understand you saying that it will only be the same faces and if that was for sure, I wouldn't even think about it, but I'm not convinced.

Comment 58, made on March 24, 2009 at 5.12 pm

no10 said:

... damien i believe a lot of people wont regiter to read comments .peple need to read comments to get involved. ive done it myself.thats my opinion.

Comment 59, made on March 24, 2009 at 5.24 pm

Damian said:

... no10 i understand it too ... which is why i didn't just go ahead and do it .. i'm also doing a bit of research on the subject so no quick decision on it the most important thing is design/layout .. which will be ready in about a little over a week

Comment 60, made on March 24, 2009 at 6.39 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... AV_Mark said I would play Cuellar, Knight, Davies at the back with Barry and Milner as wingbacks (who lets face it won't get forward much!), Petrov, Sidwell, NRC in midfield and Carew with Ashley having a free role behind. That looks a sensible use of our talent. But what the hell do I know? I like that team, though as it's against ManU we ought to play a 6-5-2 formation, in fact 8-7-2 would be better but we don't have enough players for that.

Comment 61, made on March 24, 2009 at 7.07 pm

Ian Stockton said:

... Harewood, Knight, Shorey, Sidwell, Salifou, Heskey, and to a lesser extent (for me) Friedel and Carlos fail to impress. My confidence in MON's signings is shaking.

Comment 62, made on March 24, 2009 at 7.07 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... nanwasafan; Liverpool were lucky on Sunday because they just happened (luckily) to be playing Aston Villa. Had Lady Luck not smiled upon them they could have been playing 'Boro.

Comment 63, made on March 24, 2009 at 7.09 pm

Ian Stockton said:

... rooney and vidic out for the game up there, maybe scholes too as he saw red saturday?! Going to be a walk in the park...

Comment 64, made on March 24, 2009 at 7.25 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... Stocky, that's torn it - Park will now score a hat rick.

Comment 65, made on March 24, 2009 at 7.46 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... Damian, my opinion is to allow open access to both read and post comments. Any subsequent forum really ought to be for registered users only. Now that everything's back in your hands you need to make these hard decisions, have a beer - 'cos that helps.

Comment 66, made on March 24, 2009 at 7.51 pm

daniel wheeler said:

... keep it open to everyone damian,

Comment 67, made on March 24, 2009 at 8.02 pm

James said:

... Agreed Andy they were lucky to be playing us. Goal 1 Manager forgets to play a proper right back. Midfielder forgets how to tackle. Goal 2 Hopeful/desperate punt, latched onto by lazy player, failing to track back. Lashes speculative thrash onto crossbar and in. Goal 3 Ooops forgot how to tackle again. Goal 4 Ooops tackling. I'll just pass this into the net. Goal 5 I'm making myself small, oh tits forgot to stop the ball. This may be slightly wrong as I've been unable to watch any of this nightmare again. They didn't actually create much did they?

Comment 68, made on March 24, 2009 at 8.47 pm

James said:

... Oh look just ignore all that. It's all part of my therapy.

Comment 69, made on March 24, 2009 at 8.49 pm

Joseph said:

... I went away and when i came back it had all gone down the shitter, was a big shock I tell you. So this is the new home of the AVFCblog and thanks to bob I have found it. Hopefully with this fresh start our form will pick up.

Comment 70, made on March 24, 2009 at 9.29 pm

Ramon Maklouf said:

... Yay I'm back! Christ that O****e site had gone quiet.. Welcome back mate

Comment 71, made on March 24, 2009 at 11.14 pm

Nick said:

... MON's favoritism is definitely a topic that is worth discussing. I think it was pretty telling when Heskey started his first game at our club. Milner had to sit on the bench for several weeks while NRC did his best to look like a winger. This either tell me that A. MON really likes Heskey or B. MON really like 4-4-2 Either way we're screwed!

Comment 72, made on March 25, 2009 at 4.29 am

Keith said:

... talking absolute shite and causing a bit of banter....but then again, we have keef!smilies/grin.gif OY !!!

Comment 73, made on March 25, 2009 at 4.36 am

Keith said:

... Damian, I think it would be a better idea to allow everyone to view comments but you have to register to comment yourself.

Comment 74, made on March 25, 2009 at 6.17 am

testiez said:

... I would let everyone view. I would not have registered when i first started viewing the comments, but who am I. I'm just a lonely fool with a heart that beats for reading comments on blog sites. You all add passion into my life thank you from the bottom of my soul. Nan My nan said that Liverpool were just lucky on Sunday, while she was smoking some crack she said look at the facts my dear Grandson they only scored 5 goals, one rebound, two penalties, one long ball and a free kick that dribbled in past big Brad who had the sun in his eyes.

Comment 75, made on March 25, 2009 at 8.56 am

James said:

... I think I once did a pipe with your Nan.

Comment 76, made on March 25, 2009 at 4.24 pm

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