Villa To Go Fourth? It`s Possible...

In April 2007 I watched a mid-table Aston Villa destroy Middlesbrough and I came back to F365 Towers singing their praises to a sceptical Villan who had only just stopped panicking about a relegation battle that had not and would never materialise. He had all the doubts associated with long-suffering fandom, but I insisted I had just seen a team that would be in Europe within two years.

I wrote an article saying as much - a companion piece to my report in a national newspaper that suggested Villa had produced a performance the equal of any other in the top flight that weekend, with particular praise being reserved for the irrepressible Gaby Agbonlahor (who I had previously seen only on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and had summarily dismissed as a speedy but essentially headless chicken).

I bring this up not only to applaud my prescience in the face of not-unreasonable doubt, but because it's now time to re-assess Martin O'Neill's side and suggest that actually, I may have underestimated their potential. Never mind fifth, this is a team that could qualify for the Champions League.

It was less than 18 months ago that O'Neill's first-choice side included Craig Gardner and Shaun Maloney, while jobbing professionals like Aaron Hughes and Luke Moore came off the bench. Agbonlahor, Martin Laursen and Gareth Barry were impressive, but the team had a lack of quality beyond the four or five players who were top-six material.

Now look at the bench from Wednesday's win over Blackburn and you will see John Carew, Steve Sidwell, Marlon Harewood, Zat Knight, Curtis Davies and Gardner. Show me better back-up for any Premier League side and I'll show you a Champions League club.

Of course Villa have spent money to be in this position - over £30m in the summer that puts them in the same bracket as Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and curiously Sunderland - but there was no flabby spending and no risks taken. Of the eight players through the door this summer, six had Premier League experience and five were English. This may be Premier League management by numbers (getting the best English full-backs on the market does not suggest imagination) but it is Premier League management that works.

Can they finish in the top four? A kneejerk reaction says not, because we are all conditioned to think that way - with Everton's gatecrashing an anomaly consigned to history - but I now beg to differ. This Villa side is twice that Everton team, which - lest we forget - featured Marcus Bent up front, David Weir and Alan Stubbs as the default centre-half partnership and an awful lot of 1-0 wins.

By contrast, this Villa side is one of only two (with the other being Arsenal) that boasts a pair of strikers with at least five Premier League goals this season. They have a central defender in Laursen that would improve the Gunners at a stroke and a winger in Ashley Young who is currently the best in England in that role. And the likes of Barry, Reo-Coker, Milner and arejuvenated Stilian Petrov are no mugs either.

They might have been dismissed by Chelsea with little fuss, but Villa don't need to challenge Chelsea to finish in the top four. Defeat to Stoke was a blow but wins over West Brom, Wigan, Sunderland, Spurs and Blackburn since show that such slips against lowlier opposition will be rare. They are yet to drop a single point from a winning position, something which neither ManYoo nor Arsenal can boast.

And unlike Arsenal, Villa are likely to spend again in January, with O'Neill admitting he wants to push on and the eminently sensible Randy Lerner suggestion that the chequebook is open with a view to the riches the Champions League can offer. Emile Heskey is apparently a target and while that might not be the kind of signing that Arsene Wenger would ponder, it is the kind of signing that could see Villa usurp the Gunners in the top four.

Kinnear urges Owen action

Interim manager Joe Kinnear has urged Newcastle United to pull out all the stops in an attempt to keep Michael Owen at St James' Park.

Owen, 28, is out of contract at the end of the current season and therefore able to talk to other clubs regarding a free transfer move from January.

The England striker has battled a series of injury problems during his three years on Tyneside but has found the net five times in eight appearances for the Magpies this season.

Owen has yet to agree terms on a new contract with the club despite holding preliminary talks during former manager Kevin Keegan's reign, but Kinnear believes losing the former Liverpool and Real Madrid marksman would be a serious mistake.

"It's better that this club has Michael and players like him because it's a big club and he's a big player," he told the Daily Star Sunday.

"I'm not privy to what any of the players are earning, what their contracts are, or who they've last spoken to.

"I would think it would cost a lot of money to replace Michael. I haven't given it any thought because I would have thought I could be gone by January.

Harry: What A Week!

Tottenham Hotspur's manager has reflected on a dramtic first week in his new job.

It is diffcult to believe that it was only a week ago that Harry Redknapp was appointed Spurs manager. Such a lot seems to have happened to the club since then.

They have collected seven points in their three games and gone from looking relegation certainties to one of the Premier League's form sides.

It all started with last Sunday's home game with Bolton Wanderers, which Spurs won 2-0. Redknapp was appointed onlu hours before the game, but got stuck in straight away, meeting the players at their hotel and delivering the team-talk to the side selected by Clive Allen.

Midweek saw Redknapp's debut North London derby and that amazing comeback, whilst yesterday, still only six days into the job, Spurs rode their luck to mount another comback and beat Liverpool 2-1.

"The Bolton match was vital for us," said Redknapp. "People talked about us showing character at Arsenal but we also showed a lot of character by winning against Bolton. That was a match we had to win and if we hadn't won that, we really looked like we were in trouble.

"Arsenal was amazing. Sometimes you get turning points and the draw with Arsenal was one. When we scored it was as though we had won the cup.

"Liverpool are such a tough team to play against and when we went behind so early it was going to be difficult for us.

"We kept going and when you do that and don't give up, you get your rewards.

"Let's be honest, we would have taken two points from Arsenal and Liverpool. We'd have taken five points against Bolton, Arsenal and Liverpool all day long so to take seven points is fantastic for us."

It's All About Age

The age of the teams in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying may surprise you, but does experience translate into success? Read on and decide for yourself.

When Russell Latapy (40 year old) and Dwight Yorke (36) scored against the United States, the pair was a combined 76 years old. This might not be the oldest duo ever to score in a World Cup qualifying match, but it was certainly close and got me thinking about the relative ages of the goal scorers in the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup 2010 qualification. With such a strong focus on the youth movement -- especially in the United States and Mexico -- what is the average age of players who have tallied during the group stage and what, if anything, does this tell us about the teams?

First, some raw data. Below are the goal scorers for the three teams that have qualified for the Hexagonal as well as Mexico, Jamaica, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago, along with age of each player. The average age of the team's goal scorers is listed in parentheses next to the team name. (The number in parentheses next to a player's name represents the amount of goals he scored in the semifinal round.)

Costa Rica (29.6 years old) -- Alvaro Saborio-26; Froylan Ledezma-30 (2); Alejandro Alpizar-29 (2); Armando Alonso-24 (2); Celso Borges-20 (2); Alonso Solis-30 (2); Bryan Ruiz-23 (3); Walter Centeno-34; Junior Diaz-25; Victor Nunez-28
El Salvador (23.6) -- Rodolfo Zelaya-20 (4); Caesar Alexander Larios-20; William Torres-32; Shawn Hasani Martin-21; Eliseo Quintanilla-25; Own goal (2)
Honduras (26.3) -- Caesar Julio de Leon-29; Ramon Nunez (3)-22; Amando Guevara-32; Walter Martinez-26; Carlos Costly-26; Hendry Thomas-23
Jamaica (27.3) -- Andy Williams-31; Ricardo Fuller-29; Luton Shelton-22
Mexico (27.4) -- Pavel Pardo-32 (2); Andres Guardado-22; Fernando Arce-28; Johnny Magallon-26; Omer Bravo-28; Rafael Marquez-29; Carlos Salcido-28; Vicente Matias Vuoso-26
Trinidad and Tobago (31.5) -- Keon Daniel (3)-21; Cornell Glen-28; Russell Latapy-40; Dwight Yorke-36
United States (24.8) -- Carlos Bocanegra-29; Clint Dempsey-25 (2); Brian Ching-30 (2); DaMarcus Beasley-26 (2); Landon Donovan-26; Jozy Altidore-18; Oguchi Onyewu-26; Charlie Davies-22; Michael Bradley-21

A couple things jump out immediately. Due to the age of Trinidad and Tobago's dynamic duo, the team has the highest average age, although it's significantly lowered by of Keon Daniel's youth. El Salvador, led by 20-year-olds Rodolfo Zelaya and Caesar Alexander Larios, and 21-year-old Shawn Hasani Martin, boasts the youngest average age, with the United States nipping at its heels (thanks in part to recent tallies from Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, and Michael Bradley). Mexico, a team like the United States that is straddling between generations, has the third-oldest average age, with only one player under 26 finding the back of the net.

Every team, with the exception of Jamaica, has an age gap of at least a decade between its youngest scorer and its eldest. (The Reggae Boyz's Andy Williams is nine years older then Luton Shelton). That statistic demonstrates both the longevity of international soccer careers and also the weakness of the region as a whole. It's hard to picture a 40-year-old making an impact on a match in a UEFA or CONMEBOL match.

Surprisingly, if the numbers of goals scored by an individual are treated individually (for example, Zelaya's four goals count at four separate 20-year-olds scoring) and then the resulting average age is recalculated, the United States and Mexico are the only teams whose average age increases -- although both do by only half a year each. Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago get significantly younger, while El Salvador, Honduras and Jamaica stay relatively the same. To me, this suggests that the immediate offensive future of Los Ticos and the Soca Warriors looks bright, although the T and T figure is skewed because the sample size is only six goals, three scored by Daniel. Furthermore, while the numbers for the Untied States and Mexico would suggest that the teams skew older -- a possible negative -- followers of each team know that the squads loaded up on veterans and are bringing the younger players along more slowly. Essentially, they have the depth that teams from smaller countries do not.

Obviously, these numbers represent an abbreviated snapshot of seven CONCACAF teams. It's a rather arbitrary way to compare the squads, but nonetheless offers some interesting insights into the offensive strengths and weaknesses of teams in the Hexagonal. Going forward, it will be worth watching how the influx of youth on the American and Mexican teams alters these figures.

Blockbusting Benzema Earns Praise

Karim Benzema has received all-round praise for his part in helping Lyon to a 2-0 victory over Sochaux last night. The young forward scored a terrific opening goal for les Gones and then laid on Delgado’s late effort…

With seven goals already this season, Karim Benzema’s importance to Lyon was underlined again last night as he put Sochaux to the sword, scoring a thunderbolt of an opening goal then showing the presence of mind to play in Delgado for a late second.

For over an hour Lyon looked puzzled as to how to break their hosts down yet, just when it seemed they had run out of ideas, Benzema picked the ball up 40 yards out, drove at the defence and sent an outstanding shot into the top corner of the net to break their duck and help Claude Puel’s side to their first league win in three.

“It was a good game despite the difficult pitch and the rain,” he told OLTV afterwards, “It was also difficult because we had a good team, Sochaux, placed in front of us. They presented us many obstacles with their defensive unit but we managed to stay focused and unblock the defence.

“In the first period I missed two chances that could have brought goals. In the second half I scored a beautiful goal but I am especially happy because the victory does us a lot of good.”

President of the club, Jean-Michel Aulas, who has valued Benzema at €100 million, praised his young striker. “Benzema played a good match,” he said afterwards, “Curiously, we should have taken the lead in the first half when we were better but it was in the second we scored.”

Aulas finished on a word of caution. “The injuries to Pjanic and Grosso are worrying. They will have a scan tomorrow but there is not good news ahead,” he explained.

Pjanic has since been ruled out for a month while news on Grosso is awaited. There is more positive news for OL as Lloris, Juninho and Ederson are all expected to return to the squad at the weekend.

Di Stefano Hits Back At Ferguson's Franco Remarks

Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano has today hit back at remarks made by Alex Ferguson about the Franco influence on the club, saying what should they have done except win?

Alex Ferguson hasn't been helping his popularity in the Spanish capital of Madrid lately after first having a public feud with Gabriel Heinze and then remarking that Real Madrid are General Franco's club.

The Manchester United manager has received criticism for those comments across Spain and today Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano has had his say about the reports.

"Ferguson, what is he going to say? We went for everything in Europe and at that moment the Franco government ruled. And what were we meant to do? Throw the games away? We had to win, we had a good team and the immigrants were happy with us. It was one of the fundamental things that [Santiago] Bernabéu did," he mused.

The former player showed his sense of humour too by initially replying to a question about Franco by saying, 'in Coruña there was a Franco who played on the left wing and he was very good.'

Aside from the Ferguson issue Di Stefano also spoke about another topic hot in the press at the moment, referees. The ex-Blanco said that that they make 'mistakes like players and everyone else' but believes he has already made good suggestions for the job.

"I already said that the Asociación de Futbolistas Españoles (AFE) had to do a referee school and to get referees from there, because football is for football. It is my criteria so that each one gets what they want," opined Di Stefano.

Top Five Dodgiest Football Games

Football News: Football is, as we all know, an honest game for gentlemen. Sadly there are some among us who try and bend the rules. 1. Spain v Malta, 1983 WC qualifying

Spain needed 11 goals against Malta to qualify past the Netherlands into Euro 84.

The Spaniards were only 3-1 up at half-time, Malta had more than held their own, but the second-half yielded a rout.

Nine goals went past the hapless Malta 'keeper as cross after cross was converted.

The scoreline provoked an inquiry by the Malta soccer federation with no further action taken. But what was not in doubt was Spain's advancement to France the following summer.

2. Akwa United v Calabar Rovers, 2006

This 13-0 victory in the Nigerian league saw Akwa promoted to the Premier League. An investigation was launched because any less than a 13-goal winning margin would have seen rivals Bussdor move up a division.

Chief among the suspects was the referee who sent off three Calabar players. Akwa had scored only 12 in 14 matches prior to the match.

3. West Germany v Austria, Spain '82

These two teams met in the final match of Group B with the knowledge that a 1-0 win for the Germans would mean both teams would qualify for the knock-out phase.

After 10 minutes, the score read 1-0 to West Germany and the game proceeded to take a comical turn as both sets of players stuck to their positions and made no effort to attack.

Unlucky Algeria protested at the result to FIFA. Ever since, the last batch of group matches have taken place at the same time to ensure there is no repeat.


4. AC Milan v Brescia, Serie A 1992/93

The Milanese needed only a point to secure the title ahead of rivals Inter as the League went into its penultimate weekend. Brescia figured that a point might be good enough to keep them up and so the game was as uneventful as West Germany's game with Austria 10 years before.

Although Milan took the lead on 82 minutes, Brescia then equalised two minutes later. However, the minnows got their comeuppance: results didn't go in their favour and Brescia were relegated.

5. Argentina v Peru, 1978 World Cup

The hosts Argentina needed to beat the Peruvians by four clear goals to make sure of a place in the final, after the tournament saw a second-round group format.

Argentina went on to record a 6-0 victory which left Brazil short on goal difference. The hosts then took the trophy when they beat Holland 3-1 in the final. (Sportasylum)