Villans Fixtures announced

With the kick-off to the 2015/16 Barclays Premier League season close upon us the fixtures have been announced for Aston Villa. They start with a trip to St. James' Park to face beaten Capital One finalists Newcastle United on Saturday 22nd August. They play at Villa Park for the first time on Saturday 29th August against newly promoted Nottingham Forest, who along with Charlton and Wigan got promoted this season.


Villa's first match is away to Newcastle

Villa will doubtless look forward to their match against defending champions Man Utd at Old Trafford on Saturday 26th September, with the return match at Villa Park scheduled for Saturday 30th January.

Meanwhile the traditional Boxing Day fixture sees Aston Villa travel to The Hawthorns to take on Capital One Cup semi-finalists West Bromwich Albion and Villa will wrap up the season away to Charlton Athletic on Sunday 8th May.

Elsewhere Villa announced there merchandise sales this week and it was announced that they made £2,370,000 with non-domestic sales amounting to £237,000 of this total.

The club sold over 19,000 shirts with the following names selling particularly well.

Gabby Agbonlahor topped the charts on the most wanted name on the back of Villa fans shirts with Fabian Delph just close behind. They have both been at Villa for a while so this is of no surprise.


Gabby Agbonlahor is a legend at Villa and was the player the fans wanted on there shirt the most

New signing Luc Castaignos was the third most wanted player and after the first season he has just had can you blame the fans for that! We cant, however we do not get the forth most wanted name in Keiren Richardson. This one is a puzzling one because he did not really do much last season but the fans obviously like him.

Andi Weimann rounds off the top 5 and again Villa fans seem to love the lads that always come through the ranks and this is no different.

BT Sport today released there predicted positions for the upcoming Barclays Premier League today with the newly promoted sides Charlton, Nottingham Forest and Wigan all got promoted last season and all feature towards, if not at the bottom of the predicted table.

Every side have been able to strengthen and we will see if it has any effect on the season ahead but here goes we are going to go from the team we predict to finish first, to the side to finish last.

Predicted Position

Manchester United
Predicted Position: 1st
Last Season: 1st
Key Signing: Falcao (£42,000,000)
Key Man: Angel Di Maria

Manchester United, courtesy of 38 goals in 37 matches swept every aside last season to hunt down Chelsea and just steal the title off them. Louis Van Gaal showed David Moyes how to win a title in his first season. Angel Di Maria though for us holds the key for Man Utd because without good play from the midfield Falcao will not be able to score. Although there defence is still shaky, the acquisitions of Jan Vertoghan and Daley Blind from Spurs and Ajax respectively seems to have sorted this out a bit.

Chelsea
Predicted Position: 2nd
Last Season: 2nd
Key Signing: Youles Belhanda (£7,500,000 from Kyiv)
Key Man: Diego Costa

Jose Mourinho maintains that he has the best squad in the Premier League last season and still thinks that they have the best side this season too. The truth is though, it is actually very close between them and Manchester United and it might come all the way down to who stays in Europe the longest. It can cause strain for the squad that lasts longer, which means they might lose focus in the league. In Oscar, Cuadrado and Hazard Chelsea have the best midfield in the Premier league and with additions like Belhanda and Gourcuff it just adds to the strength.

Manchester City
Predicted Position: 3rd
Last Season: 6th
Key Signing: Jordy Clasie (£14,000,000 from Fayenoord)
Key Man: Joe Hart

Manchester City by there own standards were very disappointing last season finishing down in 6th but we do not see that this season and think that although they can not compete against the top two yet they will be back in the top 4 this season. Manager Unai Emery has addressed the midfield crasis from last season and signed Jordy Clasie from Fayenoord but the season will come down to England keeper Joe Hart. The stopper was prone to a lot of errors last season and actually gave away a lot of goals. This is a make or break season for the former Champs

Arsenal
Predicted Position: 4th
Last Season: 5th
Key Signing: Fernando (£10,500,000 from Shakhtar)
Key Man: Mesut Ozil

Arsenal could be a side to watch this season, they have signed well in Bernard and Fernando from Shakhtar and Bruno Martins Indi from FC Porto, so we think that they can improve on 5th place last season and get into the Champions League. Arsene Wenger is confident they can challenge the top two but we do not think they are there yet but they are getting closer. There defence is still shaky and needs improving, if they can manage that then they will be up there.

Liverpool
Predicted Position: 5th
Last Season: 8th
Key Signing: Victor Wanyama (£9,250,000 from Southampton)
Key Man: Mario Bellotelli

Liverpool are such a unpredictable side to work out. One season they almost win, and really should have won the title and then the season after they languish down in 8th place. They have made just one signing so far this summer and that is Victor Wanyama from Southampton and he will do what Steven Gerrard now can not do. Liverpool can reach 5th place if there defence, who were new signings last season can find the understanding needed. Simon Mignolet needs to let less goals in too as 55 is a lot over 29 games.

Tottenham
Predicted Position: 6th
Last Season: 4th
Key Signing: Mauro Icardi (£24,500,000 from Inter)
Key Man: Erik Lamela

Tottenham finished a surprising 4th last season and had some absolutely amazing performances but most of all, new manager Marcelo Bielsa had them playing as a team. With Christian Eriksen signing for Bayern for £26m the money was invested wisely by Bielsa as he bought Mauro Icardi for £21m. Icardi will provide Tottenham with an unbelievable finish which could net him 20 goals this season allowing Spurs to maybe challenge for the top 4 again. There defence was one of the best last season and with Hugo Lloris in goal he could well help them to surpass the prediction of 6th.

Everton
Predicted Position: 7th
Last Season: 3rd
Key Signing: Jonathon Dos Santos (£4,000,000 from Villarreal)
Key Man: Samuel Eto'o

Everton completely surprised everyone last season with there amazing run of form but in Eto'o and Lukaku you have two amazing strikers that work very well together. The difference that Everton have is a settled side in every position. You have Coleman and Baines on the wings, Miralles, Babel and Barry in midfield and the two towering strikers. We think Everton could well finish higher than 7th but with the other sides improving a bit faster than the The Toffees, things will be good this season with the Champions League!

Southampton
Predicted Position: 8th
Last Season: 10th
Key Signing: Felipe Gutierrez (£7,500,000 from Twente)
Key Man: Jo

Southmpton had a up and down season last season but did end up finishing just inside the top half. With a new manager installed this summer in former Manchester United defender Steve Bruce he has made some interesting signings in Gutierrez and Matt Phillips from Q.P.R. Southamptons season will come down to whether or not Jo can find his form. The Brazilian joined last season for £8m and Saints fans seem to think that he will need to work hard to get them on side this upcoming season

Newcastle
Predicted Position: 9th
Last Season: 13th
Key Signing: Darren Fletcher (Ex Man Utd midfielder on a free)
Key Man: Papiss Cisse

Newcastle are a side that always flatter to decieve. They looked totally unstoppable around christmas time but the stints they had in between that, they were appauling. This season all hinges on whether they can keep Papiss Cisse or not. Manager Tony Mawbray, who replaced Alan Pardew half way through last season does not want him to leave but Mike Ashley has decided to place him on the transfer list anyway. Newcastle could have pulled off an amazing coup in signing Darren Fletcher after his Man Utd contract expired and he could well have a big say on whether Newcastle ride high for battle the drop.

Stoke
Predicted Position: 10th
Last Season: 7th
Key Signing: Jordan Ayew (£5,250,000 from FC Lorient)
Key Man: Mame Diouf

Stoke over-achieved last season, everyone agreed, including Stoke City themselves! They have boxed clever this transfer window though and made three awesome signings. Aly Cissokho joins from Villa and thinks that the Villans were wrong to let him go so he has something to challenge himself for. Jordan Ayew comes in with a reputation of being once one of the guys to watch. He has to now show that on the big stage. They are always strong in defence and has the record with Aston Villa of getting most tackles per game last season.

Swansea
Predicted Position: 11th
Last Season: 9th
Key Signing: Hatem Ben Arfa (Ex Newcastle winger for free transfer)
Key Man: Gylfi Sigurosson

Swansea was another side that seemed to slightly over-achieve last season. They signed Gylfi Sigurosson from Tottenham last season and carried this Swansea side last season too. Nathan Dyer is another who could become an amazing Premier League player but bringing in Ben Arfa on a free could well be the stroke of genius by manager Garry Monk, who is really proving his worth as a manager in the Premier League. I expect a Swansea to go on and have another solid season.

Aston Villa
Predicted Position: 12th
Last Season: 12th
Key Signing: Micah Richards (Ex Man City joined for free)
Key Man: Jack Grealish

Aston Villa were a side that had ups and downs last season. The keepers have gone and the defenders have been shaken up as Villa conceded the most goals in the League last season. In signing Micah Richards on a free transfer, it is thought that is Paul McGrath, who is well known for his defending could resurrect Richards career at Villa Park. There are now two new young keepers to go with Jed Steer, who is understood to be the favourite to be the number 1 to start with but it is all about Jack Grealish at the moment as the youngster could well fire Villa up the table and they could well get the top half that they want.

Queens Park Rangers
Predicted Position: 13th
Last Season: 11th
Key Signing: Harry Kane (Loaned by Tottenham)
Key Man: Sandro

Q.P.R had a good season last season. Sandro came in from Spurs and for £6,000,000, was deemed a steal by Rangers. The fans were just glad they stayed up but to then finish 11th was probably seen as the over-achievement of the season. They have a good stable defence in Steven Caulker and Rio Ferdinand you have the best combination of teacher and student. In midfield with Callum McManaman and Adel Taarabt you have two exciting youngsters and they will really work hard to keep Q.P.R up again this season.

West Ham United
Predicted Position: 14th
Last Season: 15th
Key Signing: Matt Lowton (£750,000 from Villa)
Key Man: Andy Carroll

West Ham finally got the right back situation sorted this window by signing Matt Lowton from Villa. they had been looking for more home grown players for a while now so the fact that former Villa manager Paul Lambert is in charge it seemed like a perfect move for both. West Ham faltered a lot towards the end of the season. They were looking towards a big top half finish but in the end it lost Sam Allerdyce his job. If they can finally get Andy Carroll fit then he might be able to recapture his Newcastle United form and hoist them into the top half, but more looking behind them than in front of them to be fair this season.

West Bromwich Albion
Predicted Position: 15th
Last Season 17th
Key Signing: Thomas Kalas (£1,000,000 from Chelsea)
Key Man: Saido Berahino

West Brom were the under-achievers of last season as they were looking towards a top half finish this time last season. Unfortunately this season though it is going to be can they survive! The signing of Kalas is huge for West Brom as there defence was awful last season, giving away silly goals and meaning that later in matches they would give away cheap goals. West Brom are the side that is most in danger of going down this season. It will be down to Saido Berahino to score the goals although to score goals you need service and West Brom do not have a lot of that!

Hull City
Predicted Position: 16th
Last Season: 16th
Key Signing: Nathanial Chalobah (Loan from Chelsea)
Key Man: Abel Hernandez

Hull last season were meant to be fighting against relegation and that is what they did and they did it very well indeed. They have had a good window this summer in grabbing Chalobah on a season long loan from Chelsea, he has a big future ahead of him and with Elliot Bennett and Bryan Ruiz also joining the Tigers, they are making sure they buy experienced players to fight relegation and we think that they will stay up again. They must keep Abel Hernandez who is currently wanted by Hertha Berlin in Germany, so that is going to depend on how they do this season.

Wigan Athletic
Predicted Position: 17th
Last Season: Champions Of Championship
Key Signing: Fernando Forestieri (£2,100,000 from Watford)
Key Man: Adam Forshaw

Wigan, Champions of the Championship last season will pin there hopes on new signing Forestieri and youngster Adam Forshaw. If these two can come out of the blocks shooting then Wigan CAN stay up and we predict that they can stay up. Wigan will have to make sure they pick up wins against the teams around them if they are to stay up and if they can get some 'bonus' points against the top 8 sides then even better for them.

Nottingham Forest
Predicted Position: 18th
Last Season: Promoted Through Play Offs in Championship
Key Signing: Gary Hooper (£1,300,000 from Norwich)
Key Man: Britt Asambelonga

Forest got a great result in the playoff final to get promoted. In Gary Hooper they have a player who can score plenty of goals as he showed in Scotland with Celtic. Forest have a good chance of staying up and in Jan Mucha they have a keeper who could be awesome in the Premier League. They must hold on to Britt Asambelonga if they are to stand a chance because the 22 year old is very talented but with Genoa hunting him down Forest will have to be very tough to make sure he stays.

Leicester City
Predicted Position: 19th
Last Season: 14th
Key Signing: Ciprian Marica (£1,100,000 from Konyaspor)
Key Man: Anthony Knockaert

Leicester City seem to have been left behind this transfer window, they have signed Marica for £1.1m but in a league where everyone else has spent quite a bit Leicester have really been left behind and are one of the favourites to be relegated. It is going to be a very poor season we think here.

Charlton Athletic
Predicted Position: 20th
Last Season: 2nd in the Championship last season
Key Signing: James Husband
Key Man: Igor Vetokele

It was a shock when Charlton went up, not only did they go up but they went up automatically. Angolan Igor Vetokele was the reason why, he hit 11 goals on the way to being top scorer for Charlton and he is now going to try and replicate this, this season. New signing James Husband is going to be important. Charlton COULD stay up but Husband, who is deemed one to watch for the future is going to be thrown into the deep end this season!

Two More In For Aston Villa

Obi flies in to join Villa

Aston Villa have today secured two signings, which ends Paul McGrath's exploits into the transfer market and has also signed a 17 year to come in at the beginning of January too.

McGrath has signed young guns this window so the fact he has just got a 24 year old seems old to most pundits at the moment. Joel Obi has been signed by Villa from Inter for £925,000 which could seem a bargain at that price. The Nigerian, who has 16 international caps to his name is going to be a great asset to the club, he possesses great pace and acceleration, which looking at the players McGrath has gone for means they are going to hit the teams on the break this season.

He started his career at Inter in 2007/08 and broke into the side in 2010 and made 49 appearances. He spent time on loan with Parma too but it was with Inter that he lifted the Italian Super Cup, Italian Cup and World Club Championship too before moving to the Premier League.


Camarasa comes in for £4m and loves what Villa are trying to do

The second signing is former Levante midfielder Victor Camarasa, who moves to the Premier League for a shot at the big time for a fee of £4,000,000. The 21 year old uncapped Spaniard only had 18 appearances at Levente but Paul McGrath went to watch every single match he could get over there for. Camarasa is also know for being very fast and has a great cross on him also. But it is his first touch and his technique that is most talked about by scouts and pundits alike.

Paul McGrath has now finish his signings for the start of this season and also announced the squad numbers.



Pedreg Rajkovic could well be the number 1 goalkeeper this season as he takes the jersey off Shay Given. New signing Micah Richards picks up the number 2 shirt off Nathan Baker and Romanian Nicolae Vasile takes Gino Peruzzi's shirt because Peruzzi picks up his favourite number 4 shirt which Ron Vlaar used to have but he takes over the unassigned number 5 shirt. Alessio Ramagnoli is going to wear the number 6 shirt and Luc Castaignos gets the number 9 shirt. Star midfielder Jack Grealish will continue to wear his favourite number 41 shirt.

So there is the shirt numbers and you will notice that Joe Cole was missing.

Joe Cole Retires

Aston Villa attacking midfielder Joe Cole has retired from professional football.

Cole will now focus on his non-playing commitments, which are now with Aston Villa as he has signed a 2 year deal to be a under-21 coach.


Cole in the early days for West Ham

Joseph John Cole was born in Romford on 8th November 1981. In a player career which spanned 18 years from 1997 to 2015, Cole made 418 appearances and scored 50 goals. Cole made his senior debut playing for West Ham United against Swansea City on 2nd January 1999. After scoring on his England debut against Mexico in May 2001, he went on to make 56 appearances and score 10 goals for his country.

Joe Cole started his career at West Ham United in 1997/98, breaking into the first-team 1998 and making a total of 126 league appearances and scoring 10 goals for the club. After leaving West Ham in August 2003, Cole moved to Chelsea for £6,500,000, where he made 184 appearances. During his time with The Blues, Cole's team lifted the English Premier League in 2005, 2006, 2010, the English FA Cup in 2007 and 2010, won the Capital One Cup in 2005 and 2007 and the Community Shield in 2005.

A spell at Liverpool beckoned but Cole made just 26 appearances and during this time he also spent time on loan at Lille, making 32 league appearances and scoring 4 goals. Cole moved back to West Ham in January 2013 but he stayed only briefly, making a further 31 appearances and scoring 5 goals.

Cole finally hung up his boots at the age of 34 in July 2015 following a spell with Aston Villa where he made 19 appearances.


Cole last season for Villa, will stay on in a under 21 coaching role

Some fans think that Joe Cole could have had one or two more seasons in the Premier LEague but they are happy he will be passing his wisdom onto the young guns in the Under 21's.