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For many people, their highlight of the footballing year is the first weekend of the calendar year as the FA Cup really kicks into gear with the third round and the introduction of teams from the top two tiers of the English footballing pyramid. Before that point however, the competition has been going for a while (since August in fact) and for many of the non-league teams that do reach that stage, it has been a long but ultimately worthwhile journey to get there.

This weekend sees the ‘second qualifying round’ take place, which confusingly is not the second round to take place, as prior to the qualifying rounds the ‘preliminary rounds’ occur. This stage sees teams from the Conference North and South join in the fun for the first time and, whilst still played on geographical basis sees some cracking ties with plenty of opportunities for upsets as well as the ‘magic of the cup.™’

So in the interests of all things non-leaguey (which is my job description on this site) here is my pick of the 5 best ties taking place this weekend. (I must apologise as it is somewhat southern-focused, but these were the ties that stuck out for me!)

Bedford Town Vs Boreham Wood

This is my tip for a shock. Bedford are currently sitting near to the bottom of the Zamaretto Premier and this weekend host Boreham Wood who languish at the foot of the Blue Square South. BHW have really struggled since their promotion from the Ryman Premier division last season and are yet to win a game this term. Bedford on the other hand gained their first 3 points of the season last time out against Bashley and knocked out Stanway Rovers after a replay in the first qualifying round. If you are going to be drawn against a team from a higher division, you cannot ask for much more than a home tie against a team yet to win this season.

My penchant for a shock here does come from Kingstonian-related bias as it was BHW who beat the K’s in the playoff final last season, after much controversy and an appeal, a subject that I discussed in length here. Both teams will be looking to kick-start their season, and I’m going to stick my neck and say the home team will provide a shock.

Dartford v Lowestoft Town

This game is a story of two teams on the up. Dartford seemed to destroy everyone on their path on the way to winning the Ryman Premier last season, creating a feel-good factor at the club, and even managed not alienate of wind up fans of their rivals in the division, a classy season. Lowestoft (England’s most easterly club) have gained back-to-back promotions from the Eastern Counties League, to Ryman division 1, to the Ryman Premier. It may only be 8 games into the season but they sit 2^nd in the league and look to be a side going places. The real intriguing factor is how these two-upwardly mobile teams compare. Dartford sit comfortably mid-table in the BSS whilst Lowestoft seem to be pushing for a third successive promotion, both teams have lofty ambitions, and the FA Cup serves as publicity as well as financial generator. For me, this is the pick of the ties this weekend, and whilst I think Lowestoft may ultimately come up short, it will be a good test for the Suffolk boys, and a cracking tie to go see!

Telford United Vs Stourbridge

Telford have created one of the most impressive non-league organisations in recent years. Whilst still in the Blue Square North they boast impressive attendances (their last two home games have featured crowds of over 2000) and are a club that work well in the local community. The club went into liquidation a few years ago, and were saved by a takeover from the supporters trust. Since then they have started from the bottom and gone from strength to strength.

Having spoken to a key member of the supporters trust recently, they have ambitions to build and see themselves as having the target-audience to be a league club at some point; they are certainly reaching a stage where the infrastructure is in place. They currently sitting 4^th in the BSN, only 3 points off the top, and this may well be the season where they reach the conference.

This Saturday seems them host Stourbridge, a team in the same division as Bedford and one who currently sit just outside the play-off places.  The club will fancy their chances against nearby Telford after an FA Cup run last season which saw them reach the first round proper for the first time in their history, before narrowly losing 1-0 to comparative big boys Walsall.

This promises to be an interesting clash between the two midland clubs, and whilst Telford will clearly be favourites (I think they will progress) as we see so often, the cup may sprinkle some of its magic to give the underdogs a win.

Folkestone Invicta Vs Leiston

Two years ago Leiston reached the first round of the cup, knocking out Conference Lewes on the way. This season, after knocking out St Neots in the first qualifying round, their journey takes them to Ryman Premier side Folkestone, who knocked out Horsham in the previous round.

Folkstone, whilst two divisions above Leiston are currently toiling near the bottom of the Ryman Premier following their promotion last season, and have only one league win to their name this season, over promotion-challenging Kingstonian. Leiston on the other hand, sit 4 in the Souther Premier and with cup pedigree may fancy their chances to cause an upset. Despite the gap in the non-league pyramid, this is my tip for an upset.

Margate Vs Kingstonian

This is only really included in this list, as it is my own personal game of choice this weekend, watching the mighty K’s start their FA Cup adventure after progressing to this stage without playing at the expense of struggling Croydon Athletic. The two teams sit 8^th (Margate) and 3^rd (Kingstonian) in the league, and met a few weeks ago, when a late Dean Lodge goal was the difference for Kingstonian. On Margate soil it will be a different matter however, as since the previous meeting the K’s have struggled for form, whilst Margate have won 4 in a row. Kingstonian players Dean Lodge and Bobby Traynor have cup pedigree being named players of the round over the previous few season, and the away side will be hoping their away win at Wembley (home of Hendon) will be a good sign for Saturday’s game.

The joy of the non-league game is that the match is just part of the experience and an entire day out, including a trip to the beach, will most certainly be occurring. I think this one will be a tightly-contested affair between two decent teams, and will go to a replay at fortress Kingsmeadow, hopefully after a high-scoring draw.

Others games to look out for include Boston United (rising from the ashes) hosting Worcester City, and Blue Square South Woking travelling to Gloucestershire (not a hotbed for football) based Bishop’s Cleeve.

A quick plug for the real kings of this stage of this stage of the completion, ‘The Real FA Cup’ who track the competition from beginning to end, and can be found on twitter @therealfacup and their website http://therealfacup.co.uk/ . They clearly know their stuff as they will also be watching the wonderful Kingstonian at Margate this weekend.

Whichever game you decide to attend, enjoy it, and remember the FA Cup is for life, not for just after Christmas.

So, it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted in the wake of O’Neil’s departure and for that I heartily apologise. Let’s have a look at what has been occurring in the different world’s of Villa, Dale and the K’s shall we?

Villa

I previously suggested that after MON had left that the first part of this season would be a write-off for Villa as instability would reign at all levels of the club. It certainly didn’t look that way after a first-day trouncing of West Ham, where the three goals scored could easily have been 6 or 7 and a new shape to the midfield saw Villa play better football than they have in years, with new face Marc Albrighton a particular highlight. This was followed up by a draw in Vienna by a team consisting of 8 changes from the weekend’s line-up. Whilst this is a cause of optimism when looking at the strength of the squad, the decision to rest so many for a European game early in the season is in line with the regime under O’Neil, and perhaps is telling of a policy of higher up in the club. If that is true, (and there is nothing other than rumour and conjecture to suggest so) then real questions need to be asked of the pretty public image that we have of Lerner et al. The result did allow more grace than O’Neil was afforded in previous seasons as unlike in Vienna and Moscow, the draw should be enough to see us through after the home-leg.

If this has been written 72 hours ago, it would have ended with sweetness and light and in all probability a naïve plea to the owners to the owners to allow Kevin MacDonald a chance at managing the team on a more permanent basis, however yesterday afternoon happened.

I’ve seen Villa thrashed a fair amount in my team, even in the past 2 season we’ve conceded 5 and 7 to Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, but Sunday afternoon was something different, conceding 6 to a team just promoted is in no possible way excusable.

Perhaps the weirdest thing about the game was that we started well. For the first 15 or so minutes we controlled the game well from the middle of the park and obviously missed a glorious chance from the penalty spot as well as having a goal disallowed. From that point on though, Villa fell apart. The central midfield of Petrov and Ireland looked slow and lightweight, whilst to a man, the back 5 looked awful. Friedel should have done better with at least 2 of the goals, Warnock’s poor form since February continued and Dunne looked ponderous at best. As for John Carew, when the bloke fancies it he’s unplayable but too often he looks like he couldn’t care less and yesterday was one of those games, he put more effort into his penalty than he did with the rest of his time on the pitch combined. Real questions need to be asked about Carew’s future at Villa as this type of performance is far from uncommon.

Perhaps the main positive I can take from Sunday is the frank way that Kevin MacDonald took responsibility for the defeat, which, whilst a clear departure in approach from the previous regime may (along with the result) rule him out of the running for full-time boss.

The make up of the squad is far from perfect, and with no manager at the helm, it is difficult to imagine us strengthening before the window shuts in a weeks time. As I said once O’Neil left, this season may end up being a write-off, and the squad we have should leave us safely in mid-table.

Hence, the big question to answer is who the new manager will be. At the current time, Bob Bradley looks the favourite, and has come out and put his hat in the ring. I would be hesitant to appoint someone with no European experience, but he did himself no harm in his guidance of the USA in South Africa. Another name whose name has emerged is that of Jurgen Klinnsmann, which would interesting to say the least. He is known to be friends with Lerner and has the contacts and track record to provide success. My personal preference would lie in Martin Jol, however his situation at Ajax seems unclear. Perhaps the answer instead lies in El Diego, whose ‘European representative’ says he would be interested. Whilst everything in me knows this wouldn’t end well for Villa, I would like to publically say that I am totally in favour of it. It wouldn’t last more than a season, and what a season of hilarity and drama it would be.

Rochdale

Saturday saw Dale’s first defeat of the season as they went down to a late winner at home to promotion hopefuls Colchester. Saturday was also Dale’s best performance of the season, and left many fans in no doubt that if they continue to play the way they have started the season they will end the season outside of the bottom 4. Creditable draws were earnt against Brighton and Hartlepool and this was accompanied by a defeat of Championship Barnsley in the Carling Cup and a draw away to Premiership Blue-Scum. Had I not been away this weekend this game would have probably be the highlight of my season but Dale will be there without me hoping for a shock.

The make-up of the team has been as expected after the pre-season, with it lining up in a 4-3-3 formation. The only rotation has been Elding being brought into the starting line-up for JLAA and for the first time in a while Dale have genuine options up top.

The next weeks or so will be dominated by whether or not Dawson leaves before the transfer window shuts, possibly made more likely by the arrival of centre-back Josh Thompson from Celtic last week.

Dale are of course still looking for their first win, but it shouldn’t be too far away should they continue their early season form.

Kingstonian

The K’s  season started on Saturday away to Bury St Edmonds in a game not really notable for much aside from the late arrival of a number of K’s fans. Whilst Kingstonian created the better chances and were denied by the crossbar and home keeper ‘Marcus’ in reality neither side did quite enough to warrant a victory and both sets of fans seemed content at the full-time whistle with a point apiece. Perhaps the biggest talking point for the fans was the line up that saw two players previously played in defense deployed as central midfielders, with ‘centre-back’ Thompson deployed as the most forward of a midfield 3, behind big-man Carl Wilson-Dennis deputising in the place of Bobby Traynor who had to make do with a place on the bench as he was carrying a knock. The 4-5-1 formation saw Gray and Lodge given a more forward role than last season, but whether this was used purely in the absence of Traynor remained unclear till Monday. The back-4 comprising 4 new signings looked solid and left back Tom Bird impressed both at the back and going forward.

On Monday night, the first home game of the season took place with Huckle and Traynor restored the starting 11 to face visitors Billericay, and the 4-5-1 shape restored. After a nervy start, the home team raced into a 2-0 with a lovely lob from a still not 100% Traynor and a tap in following a defensive mix-up from Thompson. They were pegged back to 2-2 just after half time after a long-range screamer from the right back, and then a neat finish just after half time from centre-forward Leon McKenzie (not that one). The K’s then got going and could have had a penalty, as well as having two contentious goals disallowed. They then forced two fine stops from ex-K Ashlee Jones and for the second game in a row, Matt Gray hit the post. The pressure and incessant running of Dean Lodge finally told though as he won two penalties in the last 7 minutes to provide Traynor with a hat-trick, and the opposition with only 10 men after having a man sent-off.

A fine start to the season for the K’s then, one that the management and fans seem happy with, and certainly a step up from the 19 goals conceded in the first 4 games last season.

Unfortunately that was the best I could do pun-wise…..

Only earlier today I published a blog in which I said that I thought Martin O’Neil would be the first manager to leave this season, and predicted something similar in a prediction piece for the equaliser blog a few weeks ago (I know, a wonderfully self-congratulatory start), and hence I thought that at some point this season I would be writing this blog. I didn’t think it would be this early.

Lets go back to basics, earlier this afternoon, Villa released this statement;

Aston Villa can confirm that Martin O’Neill has resigned as manager of the football club with immediate effect.

Kevin MacDonald, reserve team manager, has assumed the role of caretaker manager and will prepare the team for the opening Barclays Premier League game of the season against West Ham on Saturday at Villa Park.

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Aston Villa, said: “The club would like to thank Martin for the great work he has done at Aston Villa over the past four years. He has helped to establish the club in the upper echelons of the Premier League, has taken us to Wembley and we have also qualified for European competition for the past three seasons under his management. We wish him the best in the future.”

Martin O’Neill said: “I have enjoyed my time at Aston Villa immensely. It’s obviously a wrench to be leaving such a magnificent club. I would like to pay tribute to the Villa players, my coaching staff and the Villa supporters for all the support and encouragement they have given both the club and me personally during my time as manager. I wish them all the best for the future. I will obviously be assisting the club in the immediate short-term with regard to the handover of my duties.”

No further comment will be made by either Aston Villa or Martin O’Neill until further notice.

Short, sharp and sweet from both sides. Back in April it looked possible that O’Neil would leave but positive noises from both sides put that rumour to bed. Rumours of unrest within the camp persisted over the summer as Luke Young, Carlos Cuellar, Nicky Shorey and Nigel Reo-Coker had public differences of opinion with the manager over the use of his squad and tactics. Behind closed doors things sounded worse as reports surfaced of disagreements with more senior and influential figures including Richard Dunne, James Milner and John Carew, clearly all was not well at Villa Park.

Now O’Neil is a canny character and it wouldn’t surprise me if he had been looking to make his exit for a while now. He knows that his time to land a major job (one a step above Villa, I’m thinking Man Utd, England, etc…) and needed to leave Villa in his time to ensure this remained a possibility, rather than after a poor start to the season with a split in the camp which would ruin his CV. I have it on fairly good authority that he put his name forward for the Liverpool job earlier in the summer, and by leaving Villa in a position where (points-wise) they have improved year on year, ensures that he would be in the running for any major job that appeared in the near future.

We could therefore conclude that MON leaving isn’t a massive surprise and one that perhaps suits both parties. The part of the story that throws the whole thing into confusion however, is the timing. It certainly doesn’t help the team’s preparations for the start of the season on saturday, whilst simultaneously negated MON’s work in pre-season and making him look almost flakey. Clearly, something has occured between Lerner and O’Neil.

Reports are suggesting that MON walked after hearing that not all of the money from the sale of James Milner would be available for him to spend, others read that bids had been accepted for either Ashley Young or Brad Friedel behind his back. The former option would fit in with what I have heard from within the club that Lerner is unhappy with the way O’Neil has used money in the past, and after a freedom in the market leading to poor decisions such as Shorey, Sidwell and Harewood, previously, Lerner was reluctent to see the irishman do something similar with a larger chunk of money. Certainly predictable links with McGeady and Keane did not suggest a change in MON’s British-focused transger policy.

If this is the reason that MON left I can see the frustrations from both sides. MON has spent a lot of money at Villa, and whilst some have been a success (Young and Milner being the best two examples), plenty have either been failures (Shorey, Sidwell, Harewood) or ignored by MON soon after having been bought or never been given a fair chance (Reo-Coker, Luke Young, Curtis Davies), whilst for others, such as record signing Stewart Downing, the jury is still very much out. To that end, Lerner’s reluctance to give MON a free reign over transfers once again is understandable and earlier today I heard rumblings from within the club of just that.

This to me seems a more logical answer and one more in keeping with the way Lerner has run things up to now, than that of Ashley Young going to Tottenham. I don’t think Randy sees Villa as a selling club. When Barry left last summer, it was after a year of holding on to an unhappy player, and with the money on the table for Milner this summer, accepting the offer is, in the eyes of the majority, the right call. I believe Lerner is a man who wants to take Villa places but at the same time is not willing to throw silly money around if he sees it being wasted, especially in the current economic climate. This balance is a tough one to find, and perhaps he no longer sees MON as the man to handle this balance, and there have been whispers that some of this power has been taken away from Martin, another possible factor?

There is a lot of negativity about Martin O’Neil from me, but I would like to temper that by saying that for the first 2 and a half years in charge I think he did a fantastic job. Yes, he had decent resources, but he took a team in doldrums after 3 years of David O’twatface and turned them into top-6 regulars. Some of the football played for a couple of those seasons was magnificant and he, alongside Lerner, has brough back an optimism to the club that hadn’t been around for a long time. However, his transfer policy has been incredibly frustrating and over the previous 2 seasons his lack of tactical flexibility and squad rotation have led to poor end to successive seasons. When Graham Taylor returned to Villa Park early in the last decade he famously said ‘You’re bored of finishing 6th,’ this is perhaps key to MON’s downfall.

O’Neil is a manger who will get you 6th. He will take a decent bunch of players, grind out some good results and convince you that you should be grateful. And we were. But perhaps more than his tactics, his lack of rotation, his small-minded transfer policy, this was biggest problem, that in his eyes, that was enough. He had vastly improved us from where we were, but could others have done it with the resources he had, possibly. The big question is whether they would take us further? I couldn’t see MON taking us any higher than 6th this season, and actually think we’d have been more like 7th or 8th. He has clearly been unlucky with the timing arrival at Villa coinciding with Redknapp’s reviving of Spurs and the world of Man City going MENTAL but would a better manager have used the resources at his disposal better? We all know that Martin O’Neil does not take criticism well and perhaps he decided to get out now before the growing swell of discontentment grew any larger.

Perhaps O’Neil thought 6th was enough for Villa, that we should be overjoyed. But we’re not. Because we’re Villa. A great name in English football, one of the founder members, Champions of Europe less than 30 years ago, one of the first teams to do the double, 6th? 6th is nothing. Yes, its arrogant to say so, and many others wouldn’t agree, but I’m sick of the Premiership telling us that we should be happy with 6th because we’re not in London ocr the North-West and that anything that happened pre-1992 is irrelevent. I’m sick of 4th place being treated like a trophy, and this being more important than actually going for real silverware. And I was sick of a manager who bought into that.

So did O’Neil do bad job? No

Had he taken us as far as he could? Possibly

Has a part of me been waiting for this day since he played reserves in Moscow last year? Yes

This season is a write-off. Whoever comes in will have no time to build and shape the squad to their needs and we will have to settle for mid-table obscurity. We were bored of 6th……..

But we’re Villa, and we will be back. I haven’t got a clue who will replace O’Neil but all I want is someone who takes the club as seriously as the fans do, someone who’s definition of bringing the good times back to the club stretches beyond 4th place and a semi-final, and lets face it, someone who will buy a foreigner that I’ve never heard of.

Thanks for the first 2 and a half years Martin. Thanks for Old Trafford this season, for getting us to Wembley, for some really good times. Hope we haven’t got in the way of your hunt for the big time.

Randy, over to you….

Up the Villa

Manchester City will finish above Manchester United. I figured I would just come out and say it. It wasn’t easy and I am prepared to look very foolish in a few months time, but I feel a little bit better now it is off my chest. This is going to be a bit of a rambling piece in which I toss out a few ideas and theories about what might happen over the next 10 months in this glorious game named football.

The English ‘Killing the game’ Premierleague

I don’t feel we give the EKTGPL its full title often enough. We’ve seen Blackburn buy the Premiership in the mid-90’s and Chelsea go from top-4 contenders to title contenders in the middle of the last decade, but this may be a season where Man City become a realistic option to become champions purely by being the biggest set of bastards this side of Guantanamo Bay. I always liked the blue half of Manchester, they were the plucky underdogs living in the shadow of the evil red empire on the other side of the city, the Cuba to Man United’s USA if you will. But now, roles have reversed, as the Red, green and gold devils (pipe down its not you Delia) struggle to survive, their rivals from Eastlands seem to be sucking in ‘not-quite good enough for Barcelona players’ left, right and centre (and in David Silva’s case, he can cover all 3).

Despite United’s impressive showing in the (utterly pointless) Community Shield I can’t see their squad being strong enough to keep up with Chelsea for an entire season. Chelsea might have lost at the weekend and struggled in pre-season but the look of their squad is one that will win games when they need to.

Man City will grow stronger and unlike the clubs around them will not concentrate as much on the Champions League. Their squad is strong and perhaps is too big to balance player harmony as well as the new 25-man squad rule, perhaps the biggest question this season is how the squal will gel.

The race for the top 4 will be fascinating. All of last years top 4 will obviously be in and around the hunt, Liverpool will certainly improve under Woy, and we’ve already mentioned City (look at me avoiding Villa), perhaps the dark horses for a challenge are Everton who ended last season superbly.

At the bottom I can’t see past a relegated trio of WBA, Wolves and Blackpool, all look likely to struggle at both ends of the pitch, and whilst teams like Blackburn, Newcastle and Sunderland aren’t the forces they have been in the pastm they should have enough about them to survive.

Unlike some (Simon Pilkington from Talking sports and Ian Walsh from Touchline Views have done great jobs), I haven’t done a blog for each team, in fact I did a tweet, which explains the bad grammar below. So here are my views on all 20 teams in 140 characters or less, along with some thought from special guests who know far more about the teams than me.

Arsenal-Think will have a good season, stay in top 4, if they can grind out wins they could challenge. Can see them winning a trophy

Villa- If MON persists in not rotating or varying tactics, 8th will be the limit and he wont last the season. Some youngsters will impress

Blues-hopefully their owners will get bored and leave them in crap they are suited to. In reality it be mid-table security and obscurity

Blackburn- It wouldnt suprise me if they struggle this season. Big Sam gets the best out of teams but the squad looks poor.16th may suffice

Blackpool-Ian Holloway will provide some much needed fun amongst the managers,i can see them suprising a few teams but will come undone.last

Bolton-Sometimes I forget they’re still in the premiership, They’ll beat arsenal at some point but lose to blackpool and will be safe in april

Chelsea-Aging squad, but still quality all over the pitch.It will be close at the top and I think theyll win.Could be their season in Europe

Everton- They need a good start. The last couple of seasons they’ve been poor till christmas. Moyes has built a strong squad. Europa league

Fulham- before hughes took the job i thought they’d struggle but i think its suited to him. Strong in defense. Will need goals. Midtable

Liverpool- They can only improve, if Cole and Jovanavic are good additions, if Torres and Gerrard stay fit they could be back in the top 4

Simon Pilkington -Cautiously optimistic with new manager and new players in place. Ownership a worry but believe top 3/4 is acheivable but tough target

Man City-Errrrr, anything could happen, I’ll go out on a limb and say they’ll finish 2nd and win a cup. Or finish 7th with 8 managers used

Man Utd-Will get overtaken by city rivals. I dont think their squad is strong enough, can see them winning the FA cup.Hernandez will impress

Newcastle-I don’t think they’ll concede many,Campbell is a good signing.May struggle to score and this might mean a relegation fight.Survive

Stoke-No real change, strong at the back, tough in the middle, will rely on Fuller and Etherington to create and score. Safe by mid-april

Sunderland-Think they might be a suprise struggler, Bent will score but not sure how much they will create and look lightweight at the back

Spurs-Couldnt have finished 4th at worse time. Will be tough to repeat and probably need another striker to do so. May surprise a few in ECL

West Brom- They Will need some firepower up top to survive, and won’t.Stupid fans will talk bout nice football as they’re relegated by March

West Ham-despite the owners have bought well (Hitz in particular) if they keep Cole and Parker could challenge for Europe and will be top 10

Sam H-If Grant can get more from our average players than Zola, and new signing perform as per expectations, then I’m excited. If not, bottom half. alternative: we still have many weak links. We still need strengthening and will struggle again. Need experience at right back & goalscorer

Wigan-This could be the season they struggle, but it probably wont be, Diame and Hugo Rodallega will be key and flair from Moses and Koumas

Wolves-Will join their rivals WBA in relegation fight and in the championship next season, struggle to score and keep others out.a bad combo

And a conclusion tweet- So in conclusion-Champions-Chelsea, top 4-Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal. Relegated- Blackpool, WBA, Wolves.Surprise-West ham.1st boss to go-MON

So there you have it, that is how the new Premiership season will go. This may look silly in a few months time but so will a lot of us. I’d like to pretend I’m massively excited, but in reality sky have sucked all the life out of it for me, and on that note I will leave you with Chris Lines cracking article on Sky’s coverage.

Optimism. You can find it at almost every club at this stage of the season except perhaps Villa) and there’s plenty of it at Spotland going into their first season in League 1 since the 1970’s. Players have been lost but they are beginning to be replaced. New signing Anthony Elding is the most exciting player to arrive at the Dale for a long time, and contracts have been tied up for trialists Alan Goodall and Matt Done and hence the concerns about the small size of the squad are being  dealt with. As I’ve stated before, I feel the first XI (which with the latest signings has options) is strong enough to deal with this league.

Up front the addition of Elding gives real depth, and allows Keith Hill to set out Dale in a 4-4-2 with Elding alongside Chris O’Grady, as well as the option of playing 4-3-3, 4-5-1 or the 4-3-1-2 that he played at the end of last season with the Joe Thompson in the ‘hole.’ Jack Redshaw will give more options up top once he returns from injury picked up in pre-season, as will youngster Helio Andre, who has made a couple of impressive cameos in pre-seson. The wide positions will be manned by Thompson and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro (who can also play up front), with cover coming from new signing Matt Done , whilst Jason Kennedy and Brian Barry-Murphy (BBM) can also provide wide options.

In the middle, pre-season has suggested a midfield 3 of captain Gary Jones and the previously mentioned Kennedy and BBM. This is another area that one imagines Hillcroft will look to strengthen before the end of August, with a return for out of contract Ciaran Toner or a return for play-off semi hero David Perkins who would also provide cover at left back. One of the most promising young players to come through the Dale academy, Callum Bryne will also provide an alternative here.

The make up of the defense is going to be defined by where Craig Dawson ends up come August 31^st.  The boy is clearly class, and has showed this in his step-up from Radcliffe Borough in the last 18 months. Bids have been made, most notably from Middlesborough, and Keith Hill has stated that he expects Dawson to be playing Premiership football by the end of the season. Dale are not going to stand in the way of his inevitable move up the divisions (as seen by their attitude towards Tom Kennedy and Chris Dagnell) but they have a put a valuation on him, believed to be somewhere between £750,000 and 1 Million and will not let him go until this valuation has been met. Whilst the full back areas look strong with Scott Wiseman having been retained at right back and Joe Widdowson having been brought in to replace the aforementioned Kennedy, again, there is little cover in these areas. Matt Flynn can cover both sides, but many feel this will be the season where he breaks through at centre-half. Speaking of that area, should Dawson leave, the only players there would be Flynn, Marcus Holness (neither of which were deemed first choice last season) and new signing Alan Goodhall. The first choice goalkeeper for the season appears to be Josh Lillis backed-up by youngster Matty Edwards.

Keith Hill clearly has big ambitions for Rochdale and despite a severely limited the budget has improved the squad and performance year-on-year since his arrival. Whilst the team do not appear to be capable to gaining promotion this season, I feel it should be a season where Dale endeavour to settle themselves within the division, and certainly have the individuals to surprise some teams over the course of the year. If this can be achieved and Hill is able to strengthen again next summer, the example of teams like Hull, Blackpool, Scunthorpe and Doncaster is one that will give hope to the club and fans.

New Dale hero?

Being a newbie to this division my knowledge on a few of the other clubs is severly limited and as such I’ve got an all-star line up previewing their teams season. First up is Gary Andrews of Two Footed Tackle and his own blog looking at Exeter City’s hopes:
After final day heroics kept Exeter up last season, many have predicted the Grecians to struggle again. But manager Paul Tisdale has cut out a lot of the deadwood and brought in some players of genuine quality. Daniel Nardiello, Jamie Cureton and John O’Flynn have all arrived up front while ex-Bristol City midfielder David Noble is fit after a season out with a knee injury.

There’s pace, balance and goals in the squad, which hasn’t always been the case, although the defence could be severely tested if skipper Matt Taylor is injured or sold. Some of the more optimistic fans are targetting the play-offs, but somewhere between 12th and 15th would be more realistic – well enough away from the threat of relegation without troubling the big hitters. And after nearly nine seasons of continuous drama, many City fans would take a quiet season.

Next is a team who joined us in coming up from League 1, Dagenham and Redbridge who were promoted after a victory in the playoffs last season. Mark Buckingham who runs this excellent blog on all things D and R related and other such football niceties has these nicely optimistic thoughts:

The beginning of an historic season for the Daggers is almost upon us. Just 3 years after our first ever foray into the Football League, we are now making our first appearance in the 3^rd tier of English football. Fairytale stuff for a club of our size.

Nobody can deny the fabulous job John Still has done; taking over a mid-table Conference side with crowds of 1200 and turning them into a League One side is some feat. Our crowds have risen about 70% but that will still make us the lowest-supported club in the division, and inevitably the club with the lowest budget. Of course we’re tipped by every man and his dog to be making a swift return to League Two, but the Daggers faithful are slightly more optimistic.

Last summer our squad was decimated by the departure of 5 first-team regulars in the close-season, yet somehow we replaced them and won promotion. This season we’ve had no such worries so far –promising youngsters Scott Doe and Danny Green have signed 3-year deals, and the club has warded off Charlton’s attempts to snaffle Paul Benson. We’re not out of the woods yet – last season a rousing start from Solomon Taiwo saw him become a Cardiff player in exchange for around £200k – but so far it is going to plan.

One of our main problems last season was a lack of strength in depth. As soon as injury and transfers accounted for a few of our first-team, the lack of experience on the bench meant we relied on ill-fated short-term loans. We were soon knocked off our perch at the top of the table. This time around we seem to have found room in the budget for a bigger squad. We’ve already signed 8 new players and lost only 2 notables.

So far Gavin Tomlin has been the one to catch the eye. Despite his goal record not being great for previous club Yeovil, he’s managed 5 in pre-season. He looks set to oust Josh Scott from the team, and his pace and tenacity should be well-suited to our style. John Still has a habit of getting the best from his players, and I wouldn’t bet against Tomlin finding a new lease of life with us.

Another signing who looks set to start is former Gillingham midfielder Stuart Lewis. He has quietly  gone about his job in the friendlies alongside the rather fabulous Romain Vincelot, and he’ll have a big job to do shielding the defence. Regardless of whether he manages it, I’m sure everybody is pining for the return of Stuart Thurgood – his injury mid-way through the last campaign coincided with our dramatic loss of form. Gillingham fans never rated him, but his energy, tackling and bravery were absolutely vital to us.

I suppose it is difficult to comprehend the step up in class we are facing until we’ve actually experienced it. There are certainly far more big-name players in this division – one look through first-day opponents Sheffield Wednesday’s squad list is enough to highlight the difference – but we’ve never been a club to worry about reputations. We have young, hungry players and I really do think we can survive at this level. Players like Mark Arber, Scott Doe, Abu Ogogo, Danny Green, Romain Vincelot looked a class apart at times last season, and they can continue in the same manner.

We’ll probably be relying on Paul Benson to find the net 15 or so times, but I think we can keep it tight against the bottom-half teams with some excellent players in our back line. We’ll probably lack a bit of size, a bit of pace against the top sides, and we certainly lack experience with over half the side never having played at the level. But will there be 4 worse sides than us? I think there will.

Finally some words on some other League 1 Newboys, Bournemouth, who pipped Dale to second place despite tight financial constraints last year. Insider info here comes from Chris Lines the man behind the excellent Narrow the Angle blog.

For the first time since the Sean O’Driscoll days, Bournemouth fans go into a season with genuine optimism. We’ve won promotion against all the odds, we’ve cleared a huge chunk of the debt that has hung over us for a generation and – what’s this – we’ve signed some players? For actual money? I may be wrong here, but I can’t remember us involved in an outgoing transfer fee since Steven Foley from Aston Villa in January 2006.

Eddie Howe is getting the absolute maximum from an earnest but unspectacular bunch of players. The standouts are Liam Feeney, Brett Pitman and keeper Shwan Jalal – all of whom remain at the club for the new season (though Blackpool are sniffing around Pitman like he’s a slab of premium Camembert). Pitman, scorer of 28 goals last season, is the oddest of footballers. He has the ungainly running action of a village idiot, but defenders just don’t seem to be able to read him. And once he gets a yard of space he’s a good little poacher.

The pick of the new signings continues a proud Bournemouth tradition of plucking talent from non-league. In the past, Bournemouth managers have picked up the likes of Shaun Teale, Efan Ekoku, Steve Claridge, John Bailey and Wade Elliott for peanuts from non-league sides. Former Charlton trainee Harry Arter joins from Woking, with the potential to be our latest non-league success story. He could even turn out to be our best signing since Elliott full-stop.

We may have dropped down to League Two twice in a decade, but League One is very much our natural level and feels like home. Another promotion would be over-achievement; relegation would be a big surprise too. We could finish anywhere from 9th to 19th, and the higher we finish, the more interest there will be from other clubs wanting to lure Eddie Howe away. He’s happy to stay for now – he loves the club and knows he can develop at his own pace here, away from the spotlight. But if we finish mid-table and there’s no budget for him to improve the squad next season, you wonder whether ambition will kick in.

In short, we’re delighted to be back in our rightful league. But those of you betting on us to go straight back down have probably wasted your money.

For League 1 as a whole, Southampton are the clear favourites for promotion to the Championship. Despite a 10 point penalty last term a superb second half of the season saw them get close to a play-off spot with a team that looks like they can scores goals at will, the line brilliantly led by Ricky Lambert. He is supported by experienced squad members Kelvin Davis, Radhi Jaidi, Lee Barnard and new signing Danny Butterfield. I saw them in a pre-season at Sutton United a couple of weeks ago, and despite not fully impressing they have the look of a team who will improve, score goals, and win the division.

Looking wider in League 1, last year’s play-off losers Swindon, Charlton and Huddersfield all look strong enough to challenge again and one can never ignore the relegated clubs (Plymouth, Peterborough and Sheff Weds) who all look like having the capability to challenge.  MK Dons have perennially looked capable of moving out of the division along with one of the surprise packages from last season, Colchester, whilst last season’s League 2 champions Notts County will have their targets set on successive promotions. My dark horses for this season are Brentford. Last season they impressed after promotion from League 2, with some impressive results against the top teams. Young manager Andy Scott has done a good job and with a decent start they could make a decent push for promotion.

Looking the other way out of the division, I feel all 4 promoted teams have the capability to survive in the division and hence looking at the bottom end of League 1 from last season might give an indication about how it will go. Gillingham were relegated with 50 points buts there were 6 teams who survived with 53 points or less; Yeovil, Oldham, Leyton Orient, Exeter, Tranmere and Hartlepool. I can see the majority of these teams once again struggling with a couple of teams dropping down from higher in the table (Walsall and Carlisle). As such here are some predictions which may look very silly in a year’s time.

Champions- Southampton

Second Place- Swindon Town

Play Offs- Huddersfield, Peterborough, Sheffield Wednesday, Brentford

Relegated- Yeovil, Dag & Redbridge, Hartlepool, Walsall.

I kind of understood Liverpool going after Luke Young. My views on him have been made clear previously. He’ll give them good cover at both full back positions and if Insua leaves and they fail to get a replacement he could even start at left back (some Villa fans think he’s played better there than at right back).

Liverpool’s supposed interest in Petrov however is a mystery. If Mascherano leaves then clearly a replacement will be needed but is Petrov that man?

Younger, more creative days

Petrov came to Villa with high hopes of becoming Villa’s new midfield playmaker, however his first 18 months were a disappointment(with one or exceptions notably wonderful debut at West Ham, which while providing high hopes was overshadowed by first glimpses of 2 other players,), and Petrov was often dropped or shoved out right in favour of a midfield combination of Barry and Reo-Coker. However, since moving back inside and taking on a less creative role he has re-emerged as a key player.

He’s a classy player, a good passer and over the past couple of years his game has developed to the extent where is now an effective player in breaking up possession. However, he’s 31 and in the second half of last season he looked knackered 60 minutes into every game, naturally he was never replaced or rotated, only making this worse, another wonderful facet of MON’s (lack of) rotation policy, the other problem with this is that in a midfield 4 of Petrov, James Milner, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, Petrov’s holding role was crucial.

Perhaps in the system that Liverpool employ with two holding players, Petrov will flourish and a wiser use of the squad from Woy will prevent this leg-weariness we witnessed at the end of last season. It might seem like a strange move, and Stan is far from being on a par with Mascherano, however if used correctly, I feel Stan could do a job there. His maturity would work alongside the still raw Lucas and the combination of him and Alberto Aquilani would allow for both of them to gain a little bit of freedom, especially as when he gets the chance to go forward, Stan still looks like he has something to offer. He’s never exploded with the amount of goals he scored in Scotland, but his wise head and experience may prove valuable in Europe.

The big worry would be how Vill replce him, losing Milner (which is still up in the air, my hunch is that he will leave) already leaves us a player short in the middle, and the prospect of having only NRC and Sidwell as central midfielders until Delph returns in the new year is a frightening one, the question would still remain on how effectively MON can use any transfer income, as well as the need that would develop to replace Stan as captain

I don’t think Stan will leave, its not the perfect solution for either of the two clubs (though would work for Stan, as the hard-working, likeable chap deserves  decent payday), but perhaps it doesn’t make as little sense as on first glance.

There is however, a more than decent chance that I’m wrong on this, and so I’ve got the thoughts of Simon Pilkington, a Liverpool fan;

“When I first saw the ‘Young to Liverpool’ rumours, I was pretty frustrated. After years of unfulfilled promises from Hicks and Gillett, we were again promised a big transfer summer. While Jovanovic and Cole have come in and sign-on fees have to be paid, they are, effectively, still free-transfers, the first having been set up by Rafa before he left. Then, along came Young, a right back by trade, looking set to complete a £2.5mil transfer, when in my opinion, he isn’t necessarily needed.

We have Glen Johnson as first choice right back and even have cover, in admittedly, the relatively inexperienced Darby and Kelly,two younger players on the fringe of the squad who, when asked to perform, have done so extremely well. Left back is our biggest issue with Insua’s imminent departure to Fiorentina for £4-5million at the age of 21 having played over 40 games for Liverpool, a strange transfer to say the least. Now while Young can play in the left back position, he is right footed and is obviously more comfortable in the right back role. So while he wouldn’t be coming in to be our left back, he would at least offer some cover there.

After speaking to a few Villa fans as well, the opinion of Young is seemingly high and at the price of £2.5mil, isn’t exactly breaking the bank. If he is coming in as cover then he would be a welcome addition.

The Petrov rumours have to be paper talk. I like the player, I rate the player, but we don’t really need him in a midfield where we already have plenty of creative midfielders in Aquilani, Cole, Gerrard, Maxi and Lucas on his day. The one midfielder likely to leave is Mascherano and Petrov is definitely not a replacement for him, so I can’t see this happening at all.”

Thats just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to wise words from Simon, he is on twitter @simonpilkington and he blogs at http://www.talkingsports.co.uk/ where his Villa preview includes some words from the inside of my head.

It will be interesting to see how these stories play out, I’ve got a hunch that if the Milner move goes through it will starts ‘transfer dominos’ if you will, with Man City players ready to leave. And its only 2 and a half weeks till the start of the season.

Up the Villa

I’m bored of Villa. Of ridiculous fees for players who will be unwanted in a season, of players being paid more in a week than most people’s annual wage to sit on the bench. And of Martin O’Neil treating great professionals like Luke Young like crap.

So here it is, my thoughts on the seasons ahead for Rochdale and Kingstonian, based primarily on rumour, internet chat, and a smattering of knowledge.

Rochdale

For the first time in 36, Rochdale start a season outside of the bottom division and looking ahead, they have a good chance of avoding an immediate return. The first XI looks strong with regulars from last season such as Chris O’Grady, Scott Wiseman and Jason Kennedy retained, whilst the holes left by Dagnell and Tom Kennedy have been replaced by the wonderfully named Jean Louis Akpa Apro and Joe Widdowson, both of whom have impressed in pre-season.

Speaking of pre-season, a mixed bag of results have seen wins against non-league opposition, a creditable draw against Bolton Wanderers whose team included a number of first-teamers, but a 3-0 defeat tonight against Bury. Whilst the Bury game saw us field trialists and reserves and hence doesn’t provide a great deal of worry, the biggest shift in these games has been a move to 4-5-1 /4-3-3 formation with a fluid front 3 of O’Grady, JLAA and Joe Thompson, whilst a middle 3 of captain Gary Jones, Jason Kennedy and new boy Brian Barry-Murphy have sought to control the game from the middle. This has led to far greater ball retention than in the latter half of last season and should, so Hillcroft think, stand them in good stead for League 1 football.

Having seen one of the favourites for promotion, Southampton, play at the weekend, I wasn’t massively impressed and whilst obviously one cannot read too much into pre-season, Dale’s first XI looks capable of competing at this level. The major concern is the wider squad, its paper-thin and will rely heavily on youth, and as tonight’s game showed, there isn’t too much to be hopeful for! As in previous seasons, Dale’s hopes will rest on Hill’s ability to play the loan market well.

It may be a while into the season before we can evaluate Dale’s chances of survival, as we won’t know the full talent available until the squad is stretched through injuries and suspensions.

Kingstonian

I witnessed my first Ks game of the season tonight and despite a 2-0 defeat to rivals AFC Wombledon, I found plenty of reasons to be hopeful. From watching the side play they’ve certainly improved their passing and ball retention from last season and in the first half knocked the ball around nicely, creating a few chances. Fan favourite Dean Lodge was restored to his favourite role on the left wing and as always, created problems. On the other side, one my personal tips, Lee Hall, impressed whilst Thompson did his best to support the consistent handful that is Carl Wilson-Denis (3 first names is greedy). Thompson clearly isn’t a striker and wasted 3 good first half chances that the wonderful Bobby Traynor would have buried. With him restored to the forward line, and the quality of chances created, Ks should hopefully recreate their goalscoring exploits from last season.

Looking further into the squad, Jean-Sylvain Dossou impressed in the centre, and whilst newboy Tom Bird looked a little light-weight at times at LB, he showed enough glimpses to provide hope of him playing a good role for the club. Other newboy and ex-Rochdale Jon Boardman captained the side and impressed in the centre of defense, Alan Dowse is building a good squad here, and the quality of first half performance despite the number of first-teamers missing bodes well for the season to come.

Perhaps the biggest worry for the new season is the rest of the league. Sutton United have impressed in pre-season, with a win against Crystal Palace and a creditable draw against Southampton. I was at the Southampton game and they caused the league side plenty of problems (though playing against a defense including Radhi Jaidi one is always likely to cause problems) and could have snatched a win. Already they look favourites for promotion, though at this stage the Ryman League Premier Division is always difficult to predict as so many teams join the league from a variety of places. Chris from Two Footed Tackle would love to suggest that Tooting stand a chance in the promotion fight and a 4-0 win over a Bournmouth XI last week looks promising with a couple of cracking goals to boot. However as this stage its too early to call, though even after a few weeks we’d be mugs to make any predictions after the Ks start to last season (1-3, 3-5, 1-6, 0-5). I guess we can only see what the season has in store.

Finally a quick plug for ‘Non League day.’ A great idea set up by the guys behind @non_league_day on twitter and this facebook event. On September 4th there is no league football and hence this campeign seeks to get more people at non-league games that weekend, a cracking idea. For what its worth I am yet to decide between Ks V Margate or Worcester V Nuneaton.

I’ve had to sleep on this one…..

Well I did say it would be an interesting season at Villa.

It appears tonight that Luke Young is on the verge of leaving the club after refusing to join the first team at their training camp in Ireland.

Martin O’Neil’s comments on Milner have upset his agent and it looks like a number of bridges have been burnt there.

Stephen Warnock looks to have fallen out with the manager and may be on the way out.

MON has attracted some criticism within the club, especially over this transfer policy and wages that are ridiculously high for players outside of the first team.

The thing is with all these issues, is that so many of them are summed up in the curious case of Luke Young.

Happier Times

It took O’Neil two years to buy a right. For the first season at the club he made do with an out-of-position Aaron Hughes (who has shown his true value as a centre back since moving to Fulham) and a loan move for Man United youngster Phillip Bardsley, neither of which set the world alight.

Despite this, MON did not see it fit to buy a RB the next summer (despite the fact that Luke Young was available) and the 2007-2008 saw the right back position covered by two more players switched out of position, midfielder Craig Gardner and centre-back and all round Colossus Olof Mellberg, from what I’ve picked up, this season played out of position (his centre back position was normally covered by Zat Knight…..) was a key factor in his decision not to sign a new contract and leave for Juventus. In fairness to Ollie he never gave anything less than 100%, his parting gesture of giving out shirts to all our  fans at our final game of the season at West Ham will be remember for far longer than any goal he ever scored, and the look on his face whilst leaving the field during our 5-1 victory over Birmingham City is easily my favourite Villa image of the past 10 years.

Just look at his face

Finally that summer MON invested in a right back, paying a lot more money for Luke Young than he would have the previous summer, and for that first season Young was brilliant, probably our most consistent performer over the course of the year, even when shifted out to left back to cover the unfancied Nicky Shorey, whilst centre-back Carlos Cuellar and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker covered at right back, sound familiar?

Despite being messed around by MON, Young never let Villa down and when Stephen Warnock was brought in last summer it was expected that Young would once again flourish down the right.

Tragically, the begining of last season for Young was overshadowed by the death of his step-brother, and hence he missed the begining of the season, whilst reports surfaced of how this had impacted his mental state. Meanwhile a settled back-4 with Cuellar again at right back (despite a natural right-back Habib Beye being signed and impressing in a win at Anfield) had emerged. Over the rest of the season, Luke Young only appeared when the team was finally rotated for cup games and due to injury to James Collins in late 2009 which saw Luke start in our win at Old Trafford, though once again, injury to Warnock saw him end the game at left back. Once Collins returned to the team, Young was once again a bit-part player, covering Warnock at left back whilst he was out for a month, however on his return he was again on the bench for the Carling Cup final where an unfit Warnock and an out of position Cuellar both struggled as Valencia in particular punished us down the flanks.

When Young was finally brough back in it was for our trip to Stanford Bridge, where curious tactics from O’Neil gave Young no cover from midfield and a poor performance from the team as a whole resulted in our 7-1 thrashing. Dropped after that game he didn’t start another league game for Villa and when brought on for an injured Warnock in the last game of the season, the decision was greeted with ironic cheers from the Holte end.

If Young leaves this summer, I’ll wish him all the best, he never let the club down, and Capello’s attempt to bring him out of international retirement for the World Cup shows how highly rated he is.

What Luke ever did to upset MON is a mystery to me and many other Villa fans, as is his reluctance to play defenders in the correct position, or in many cases to play any kind of natural right back. Perhaps if his treatment of Luke was a one-off  I might be more forgiving, but we’ve seen similar treatment of Reo-Coker, Davies, Shorey and Beye, all O’Neil signings! A number of these players look set to leave this summer, or at least if MON can get rid of them.

Reports from within the club suggest these players all seem to be on weekly wages somewhere between 25 and 50k a week, and obviously no-one else is willing to pay them that much. If we add to this the fact (from within the club) that Heskey is the highest paid player in the squad, and that MON is having a direct say in these figures, you have to begin to question the nous of the man in charge. Those within the club are also rubbishing MON’s claims of a sell to buy policy, but there is a genuine need to trim the wage bill as a result of this overspending.

It isn’t just his policy that is causing trouble. He appears to have fallen out with a lot of personel. The players listed above seem to have been shunned for various reasons whilst reports this week claim that Stephen Warnock is unhappy with O’Neil for rushing him back and playing him in the Carling Cup Final whilst unfit. This seems typical of a man who continued to play Richard Dunne and James Milner whilst injured at various points last season, angering them if reports are to be believed. It is claimed that Warnock is intent on leaving and return to Liverpool seems possible. If Warnock and Young are to leave, replacements will be vital, on top of the midfield and forward areas of the pitch that already need strengthening.

On top of the rift with Milner that has appeared in the mornings papers, the most worrying aspect is criticism of O’Neil’s selection and transfer policy coming from someone in the upper echelons of the club on a certain website. For privacy’s sake I’m going to keep names and details under wraps, but suffice to say all is not well at Villa. All these issues point towards a stubborness in the character of Mr O’Neil, a facet which seemed charming at first, but over time has led to tired players, poor ends to consecutive season, and now rifts within the camp.

Up the Villa

What a lovely young man

Just look at him, look at his lovely face. I miss him already.

This post might be a little bit premature but I’m resigning myself to the fact that James Phillip Milner will, in a months time, be wearing a Man City shirt, and in a years time, be warming the subs bench a la Gareth ‘custard-pants’ Barry.

Rumours and ‘in the knows’ (one of my favourite phrases) for a while have been suggesting that Milner’s move up north was inevitable, City wanted him, they had the money, and an ambitious Milner was excited by the prospect to move.

I can’t blame Milner for moving, appearances suggest that Villa and Citeh are moving in opposite directions, whilst our mancunian rivals have strengthened with players such as Boateng, Silva and Toure, Villa are eyeing up players from Wolves, West Ham and Wigan. Milner will obviously be on more money there as well but he never struck me as the kind of player where this would be his sole motivation.

My worry is about Milner is that in a years time will be discarded and replaced in the same way it appears Barry is being now. If you look at Citeh’s transfer policy over the past couple of years this is typical. Do we honestly expect Santa Cruz, Viera or De Jong to start this season? In a years time will Bridge, Lescott and Bellamy be in their plans? The problem is that money and the alure of champions league football are attracting players in, understandably.

The question is where Villa go from here. Have we become a selling club, losing Barry and possibly Milner in consecutive summers, whilst players like Young and Agbonlahor are linked with moves away. I’m not sure, I still believe Lerner and O’Neil are looking to build something at Villa Park and selling players doesn’t fit in to this plan. Barry last summer was replaced by Milner moving inside, and I don’t feel Milner leaving would be a disaster. When fit I feel this could be the season when Fabian Delph really steps up, the glimpses we saw of him last season were certainly promising. Getting Stephen Ireland as part of the Milner deal would add some much needed creativity in the centre and repeated links to Scott Parker would give Petrov some much needed support as a linchpin to build the team around. This despite SuGo’s repeated claims that Parker isn’t for sale, and that Villa couldn’t afford him anyway (a come and get him plea if ever I’ve heard one). There’s also players like Reo-Coker and (if not sold) Sidwell who have shown flashes of being able to do a job.

Milner is undoubtably class (This was a class goal from last season) but one player does not make or break a club. With quality such as Gabby, Ashley Young and a hopefully re-emergent Downing, a solid back line, young players like the Fonz and Delph and cover to come in, my hope is that Villa will build and get better. In reality, they might not, and MON will really be tested. Perhaps after ending two consecutive seasons so poorly and losing key players because of it, MON will learn his lesson, perhaps not.

And after an optimistic end, I still hope we keep him.

Up the Villa

One of the things that attracted me to non-league football was the relaxed atmosphere at games, the opportunity to have a drink with the opposition’s fans, being able to swap ends at half time. Even in our playoff semi-final at Sutton United, after a KIngstonian victory we still had a drink with Sutton fans, talking over the result and were wished the best of luck for the final at Borehamwood the following weekend.

Upon arrival at Borehamwood that weekend we could tell something was different as our fans (about 500 who had travelled) were segregated into one end and half a side of the ground, whilst we initially moaned about this, at the full-time whistle we were grateful for it.

To be fair to BHW at this point, the segregation was a wise move as, aside from the extra away fans than normal, the local Arsenal and Spurs fans had turned up, primarily, it turned out, to cause trouble, adding to the crowd size massively.

What happened during the game has been reported widely, but in a nutshell, after 60 minutes an even game was turned on it head when (and I hesitate to call the offender a BHW supported) someone from the home end ran on the pitch and threw a punch at Kingstonian’s centre back and captain Francis Duku.

Not a man easily intimidated

This was the culmination of threatening behaviour from the home fans who were seen openly drinking cans and bottles on the terrace behind the opposite goal to the away fans. Whilst the fan in question was seized upon and kicked out (though many Kingstonian fans claim to have seen him re-enter and be seen behind the goal again) it clearly impacted the mental state of the Kingstonian  players and management, with Alan Dowson saying that he feared for his, his players and his family’s safety should Kingstonian go on to win. As it was, the K’s never recovered and BHW went on to win 2-0.

At the end of the game a pitch invasion from the BHW fans ensued (I’m not begrudging this, they had just been promoted) but rather than celebrating with their teams, the majority of the BHW fans came straight over the Kingstonian fans looking for trouble. To their great credit the K’s fans resisted and left, whilst after the game Kingstonian’s coach driver was subjected to abuse from the opponents’ youth team. It was a catalogue of threat and intimidation, leading to a situation where the result of a football match became a secondary priority behind one’s safety.

The next day Kingstonian appealed against the result standing, claiming that the fan had directly impacted the result of the game.

In a statement Downson said;

“We have an honest bunch of players and they just want to play football, not have your skipper Francis Duku punched in the face by a man running on to the pitch. You try and get on with it at the time but they were affected, no doubt about it. We went from our best spell in the game to falling into our shells. We had young lads and players with their families in the ground out there and when four of five of them are saying they want to come off and get away from it you have to wonder about their state of mind.”

Whilst Kingstonian fans realised that the FA was unlikely to call a replay, some punishment was expected. Yesterday however, Kingstonin published the reply they had recieved from the FA over 2 and a half months after the event, a letter which ended;

“After a full review of the facts in this case, The FA has decided not to take any further action in this matter. Boreham Wood FC have been advised that we may have to consider disciplinary action against the club if further reports of spectator misconduct should be received.”

So despite the biggest game of both clubs season’s being determined by the actions of one fan the FA sees no reason to punish the offending team, or to make it up to the team at the end of this incident.

Whilst obviously I am looking at this with a degree of bias, I can’t help but think that the non-action of the FA is a disgrace. Dowson has come out in criticism of the FA in, perhaps not the most controlled way-

“I can’t believe the non-response we’ve had from the FA. It’s been brushed right under the carpet and it’s a shambles and just pathetic. That wasn’t footballers affecting a football match and it could now set a very dangerous precedent, especially at this level of the game.”

The K’s joint-chairman Mark Anderson however released a statement summing the sorry matter up nicely, including;

“The response we have had demonstrates that our concerns have not been taken seriously, and whilst I can accept us losing our appeal with regards to the match, there were other serious issues that should have been addressed for the greater good.

“It is widely known that Boreham Wood have suffered crowd trouble on a number of previous ‘big match’ occasions, and there is no doubt it will happen again. The unwillingness of the FA to take action will allow that to happen again there and elsewhere, until finally a knee jerk reaction kicks in following a high profile incident.”

For me, Anderson nails the bigger issue here. What kind of precedent does this set. If the FA is not prepared to punish a club for one of their ‘fans’ changing the outcome of the game where does this lead to? If I run on the pitch in the last minute of extra-time, and do my best Luiz Suarez impression, what happens? The referee can’t give a penalty and the FA seems reluctant to act, I just hope it doesn’t take a high-profile incident where someone is seriously hurt for the FA to reconsider its policy here. Of course I’m angry that Kingstonian remain below the Blue Square South, but the FA’s response is typical of the lack of backbone they have consistently shown in the response to incidents where they are required to make a decision.