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Aston Villa - Restoring Former Glories

Started on 12 July 2015 by LFC
Latest Reply on 21 July 2015 by Devzie92
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Not a great end to the month there :/

CONFIRMED: Sherwood to stay on as Villa boss



Tim Sherwood has confirmed that new chairman Graham Taylor has allowed him to keep his job for the foreseeable future.

The Aston Villa boss admitted he was worried for his future at the club when news of Taylor's plans to replace him surfaced. Ian Holloway was expected to join The Villains as their new manager but the former Blackpool boss was never contacted by Taylor.

"I've got exciting plans for this club," Taylor began. "I am really pleased to have taken over from Randy and I can't wait to get started.

It's true that I was considering Ian as a replacement for Tim. This wasn't anything to do with how Tim is doing his job, because I think he's doing brilliantly. My reasoning behind it was that I simply wanted a fresh start for the club.

But the support Tim has had from the existing board members, staff, players and fans has been incredible. I'm very impressed with the rapport he's built with everyone in such a short space of time and that's really convinced me that he is the man to lead this club."

Sherwood signed a new three year contract at Villa Park back in December and is pleased to be able to continue with his work with the club.

"I'll confess that Graham's arrival had me very nervous about my future. But I think he's seen that we're doing a lot better than we were last season and decided to keep me on.

I am really, really excited about what this club can achieve in the future and I'm pleased that I've been allowed to oversee the continued development of Aston Villa."
Sherwood....
Just finished reading this. Lots of quality updates and I love the monthly results presentation, keep them coming!
LFC's avatar LFC
9 yearsEdited

Aston Villa announce deals for Fortuna Sittard trio



Dutch Jupiler League side Fortuna Sittard have confirmed that youngsters Jordi Baur, Christopher van der Aat and Robin Lutgens will all leave the club to sign for Aston Villa when their contracts expire this summer.

The second division side announced the news earlier today and wished the trio luck on their new adventure in England. The three Dutchmen have made a total of seventeen league appearances between them for Fortuna Sittard so far this season, with Jordi Baur perhaps impressing the most, having played ten games.

Scouts from Aston Villa had been watching the prospects since November of last year, but Sherwood never got around to making a bid for any of them until now due to a transfer embargo imposed by the board as Graham Taylor's takeover bid was being processed.

Now with Taylor's ownership of the club confirmed, The Villains are free to act in the transfer market once again and have decided on the young Dutch talents to be their first signings of Graham Taylor's spell as chairman.

The three players have a combined age of 57 and are not expected to be playing for the senior side any time soon. Instead loans are likely, especially for Robin Lutgens, 17. Fortuna Sittard currently sit in 6th place in the Jupiler League with a real chance of promotion to the top division in Holland.



NB: Unfortunately I can't really show the screenshots of them yet because they are not fully scouted, but when they do officially join, I'll be sure to post the screenshots.
I've never heard of them, so I'm not sure exactly how good they are, but I trust in you!

Jack Grealish scores first goal in claret and blue, dedicates it to late brother



Aston Villa's Irish winger Jack Grealish netted his first competitive goal for the club after years spent in their academy, and dedicated it to his late brother Keelan, who passed away fifteen years ago at the age of just nine months.

Grealish netted in the 50th minute for Aston Villa to see of the challenge of Southampton and pointed to the sky as he celebrated his goal.

The 19-year-old, who extended his contract by an extra year last week, added to Antonio Valencia's goal to defeat The Saints and come away with the three points for his team.

Since returning from his very impressive loan spell at Millwall, where he scored twice and provided four assists for his League One teammates, Grealish has managed to dislodge former Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair from the team and take his place on the left wing.

Young Grealish made his debut for the Irish national team earlier this season but has not featured for Martin O'Neill's side since their 3-0 defeat to Scotland. The Solihull-born player is looking to change that.

"It was always my plan to dedicate this goal to Keelan. His death affected my family so much and I'm really happy to have been able to score for him and make him proud.

I've been playing a lot recently and I'd just like to thank Tim for putting his faith in me. My next aim is to really establish myself in the national team and then I think I can develop from there."

Mercenary Big Ben eyes City swap



Aston Villa's Christian Benteke has reportedly told boss Tim Sherwood that he'll be wanting to leave if wealthy Manchester City come in with a bid for his services.

The Belgian mercenary has bluntly told Sherwood that money is the only reason behind his decision amid heavy speculation linking him with a move to Manuel Pellegrini's side.

The 24-year-old has apparently told his manager he will sign an improved contract and remain at Villa Park, but officials at the Midlands club are reportedly unwilling to meet Benteke's wage demands, which are thought to be around £90k per week, almost double what the former Genk man is being paid at the moment.

Benteke's contract runs until 2017 and so Sherwood could refuse to sell him with the risk of the strong striker disrupting the team happiness or sell him earlier and bring in a replacement.

Last summer Sherwood confirmed Benteke remained happy at the club after a number of offers from the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan were turned down by the club.

But now it looks as though his future is once again in doubt, and with Sherwood's side not in the financial position to give him what he's after, Benteke could have played his last season for The Villains.
LFC's avatar LFC
9 yearsEdited

Villa striker Benteke seals £21m move to Wolfsburg



German side Wolfsburg have announced the signing of Aston Villa's wantaway striker Christian Benteke in a deal worth £21m.

Benteke, who netted nineteen goals for Tim Sherwood's side last season had reportedly told his boss that he would be leaving at the end of the season for a better contract, and Wolfsburg have offered the big Belgian £72,000 per week for his services.

Aston Villa will be able to use the money to strengthen their current playing squad, which finished in 11th place in the Barclays Premier League last season.

Benteke has thanked the fans for their support during his time in England and wishes The Villains luck in future seasons.

But now the 24-year-old will turn his attention to his new team and UEFA Champions League football for the first time in his career and the Belgium international can't wait to get started.

"I'm excited for the future of this club," he told their official website. "I can link up with Kevin De Bruyne at club level now as well as international level. He's one of the best in the world and it's a privilege to play alongside him.

The squad here on the whole is fantastic. We've got Champions League football next season and I'm going to be giving my all to help the team progress as far as possible in that competition.

I was a little disappointed at the way my Aston Villa career ended because I loved playing for the club. I don't want to be called a mercenary like I was by the papers. The fans were great and I had a lot of good memories there."

It is likely that Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner will be sold with the impending arrival of Benteke, with the former Arsenal striker not fitting into Dieter Hecking's plans.

Benteke turned down Atletico Madrid to sign for the Bundesliga side.
Wow, I would've gone to Atleti! Good luck strengthening your team, now!

Villa captain Delph turns down sensational £22.5m move to Lippi's United



Fabian Delph has confirmed that he has rejected a four year contract at Manchester United in favour of a stay at Villa Park.

The England international was made captain of The Villains during the 2014/2015 season after an impressive run of form, and the former Leeds midfielder hasn't looked back.

Offers from Spurs and Everton were rejected by the club, but Manchester United manager Marcello Lippi came in with a huge offer worth £22.5m. Tim Sherwood accepted the bid and everyone expected Delph to follow in Christian Benteke's footsteps and leave for a better contract until the 25-year-old announced that he had rejected the advances from The Red Devils.

Delph only played 21 league games for Aston Villa last season due to a number of injuries but clearly did enough to warrant some interest from some of England's top teams.

"I didn't want to leave. I'm really happy here and everything is going well for me. I signed a new contract last season and I want to see it out.

It's flattering that such teams did want me but I want to be remembered by the Villa fans as a loyal captain, and that's one of the main reasons I turned United down.

The contract on offer was big, but I'm not in it for the money. I just want to carry on playing good football here with my current team."

More news relating to Aston Villa and Manchester United now as Tim Sherwood has confirmed the club will not take up the option to buy Antonio Valencia, who spent last season on loan with them.

"Antonio came in and did a good job but I think we have better options now."

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