David Beckham: From Hero to Zero

Being an Irish man it is a very sad day to see Given retire I hope you can give him the send off he deserves

I have followed this story from the start and it deserved to win the Story of the Month. I hope you can reach Villa's former heights

Congrats on story of the month Glenn! I'm sad to see Given go, but I'm hoping that you'll be able to earn some goof results without him. Loving the story, keep up the good work!

Thank you all for the brilliant comments

Liverpool 1 - 2 Aston Villa
Hernandez
Hernandez

Fulham 2 - 1 Aston Villa
Clark

Aston Villa 2 - 2 West Bromwich
Bent
Hernandez

Aston Villa 4 - 0 West Ham
Hernandez
Hernandez
El Ahmadi
Hernandez

Southampton 2 - 2 Aston Villa
Gardner
Bent

AVTV Interviews: Hat Trick Hero

Javier Hernandez, Chicharito, has been phenomenal for Aston Villa this month after a horrible start to life on loan at Villa Park. As of now, he has banged in 6 goals in 11 appearances, pushing Mattia Destro out of the way and Darren Bent's role as first-choice striker in his sights. He even snatched his first hat trick for the Villans in a 4-0 win against West Ham during the month. Today, we interview him on his recent performances and his Aston Villa future, if there is any!


So do you prefer being called Javier, Hernandez or Chicharito?

Javier Hernandez: Umm... hahaha. Chicharito!

How have you been feeling about your performances lately?

Javier Hernandez: Pleased, obviously. I didn't have a good start as an Aston Villa player but I'm seriously hoping this will be the kick-start. I played really well against West Ham and I wanted to mimic that in all future performances.

Who do you enjoy playing with in the squad, the most?

Javier Hernandez: Wellington Nem and Will Hughes! They are the lads who supplied me with the passes for the hat trick. Both are great guys and it's always a relief having them on the wings because you know you're going to have plenty of chances. Will is a central midfielder but I think he should consider swapping to the wing full-time, he's brilliant over there!

Are you enjoying being a Villa player?

Javier Hernandez: Yes, but ultimately, I will enjoy it at every club I'm at if I get to play football. It is the best game and if I'm playing it, I feel happy, no matter what kit I'm in.

We understand you went on loan to Spain for six months last season, to Atletico Madrid. After seeing the Spanish play - which league do you think suits you best: the Premier League or La Liga?

Javier Hernandez: I think I would fit in more at a club in La Liga, but the Premier League remains the best league in the world to me and I would rather play here than in Spain.

You are on loan here at Aston Villa, so is there any chance you could make the deal permanent?

Javier Hernandez: We will see at the end of the season. Manchester United and Aston Villa are both really amazing clubs and it would be a fantastic achievement to play for either. Part of me wants to fight for that place at United, while another part of me wants to continue scoring goals here at Villa. I can't give you a definite answer just yet.

Is there a chance there could be an extended loan spell then?

Javier Hernandez: Well, all I can say is if that opportunity comes up I would jump to take it. Being on loan here for another year sounds pretty good to me.

Thank you all for tuning in. See you all next month for the next AVTV Interviews session.

World Award Winners 2013

Ballon d'Or

1st: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2nd: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
3rd: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

World Player of the Year

1st: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2nd: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
3rd: David Villa (Barcelona)

World Team of the Year

Casillas; Alves, Vidic, Kompany, Marcelo; Iniesta, Kroos; Messi, Modric, Villa; Aguero

European Golden Boy

Mario Gotze (Dortmund)

Curtain Close

Just weeks after Shay Given announced his intention to retire from professional football, fellow Aston Villa teammate Florent Malouda has also declared his retirement at the end of the season, closing the curtain to an illustrious footballing career.


The 33-year-old has only made 5 league appearances for the Villans after joining them in the summer, in stark contrast to fellow summer signings like Aaron Cresswell and Will Hughes, who have made 15 and 14 appearances respectively in a Villa shirt.

A career where he played for clubs like Lyon and Chelsea, is further decorated by competition wins of the Ligue 1, Premier League, and Champions' League.

"It has just not been working out for me now that I'm 33," said Malouda in the interview where he revealed his desire to quit the professional game. "I have not been getting games and I'm slowly losing interest in playing."

When asked if he would be keen to remain in a non-playing football role, Malouda reveals that he will instead look to explore other job opportunities.

Great story Glenn! I love the AVTV Interviews
Great wins against L'pool and West Ham, I hope Hernadez is going to stay.

Keep it up :D!

Youngsters Everywhere

Aston Villa have completed a deal for 15-year-old Irish forward Jim Lawless from Sligo Rovers.


David Beckham paid 400k to Sligo for the acquisition of Lawless, who will go straight into the Under-18s at Villa, joining fellow Irish wonderkid Jack Grealish.

Lawless' arrival has added to the wonderkid haul at Aston Villa, with the Midlands club already in possession of British youngsters like Joshua Webb, Adam Campbell, Callum Robinson and Andrew Black, as well as foreign wonderkids Miguel Marques and Mattheus.

Lots of great youth you've got coming through!

2013-03-07 06:05#83614 neal09 : Lots of great youth you've got coming through!

Especially Miguel Marques. What a beast.

Across the Midlands

Aston Villa striker Adam Campbell has agreed a loan move across the Midlands to join rival club Birmingham in the Championship.


The 19-year-old was tipped to challenge Christian Benteke for the role of Darren Bent's backup - but both have not been up to standard and now Campbell has joined Benteke on the list of loan departures.

The England Under-21 international will now be playing for Birmingham until the end of the season, and will look to help the club push for promotion to the Premier League under manager Mark Hughes. The Blues are currently 4th in the Championship, level on points with 3rd-placed Wolves.

Campbell is not the only one leaving Aston Villa on loan, with Nathan Baker also agreeing a temporary move to fallen Scottish club Rangers after his fairly average six-month loan with Bristol City.


"I am personally not in favor of loaning out some of the youngsters in our team that can develop into world beaters," manager David Beckham admitted in an interview. "I want to supervise them to make sure they do their best in training and not slack off. But we also want them to play. I'm sure going on loan will do loads of good to them."

Beckham's Deadline Deals

With David Beckham adamantly not completing any transfer deals for other players, excluding the arrival of 15-year-old Jim Lawless, during the transfer window, Aston Villa fans expecting reinforcements were left disappointed this January.

That was, until the confirmation of Clint Dempsey as an Aston Villa player.

Having failed to secure a first-team place at Tottenham after joining from Fulham in the summer, Dempsey made 6 appearances in one and a half years at White Hart Lane. The 30-year-old American winger has now been freed from his Spurs nightmare, where he also lost his status as an international. The deal that took Dempsey to Villa Park was rumored to be around the region of 3 million.


"It was crazy being at Tottenham," said an emotional Dempsey. "It wasn't a happy time for me at all. I couldn't play, I wasn't even on the bench. It was the worst period of time in my footballing career. But I want to put that behind me now and do the best I can for Aston Villa. David Beckham is going to go places in the managerial world and I'm pleased to be handed the opportunity to work with him."

With an arrival comes a departure. Gabby Agbonlahor has agreed a permanent 4.5 million move to Scottish champions Celtic.


Agbonlahor has been a key member of the Villa squad since 2006, but the 27-year-old soon fell out of favor with Beckham when he arrived at the club and made only 23 league appearances in Beckham's first season as manager.

He has only played 11 times this season and is now set to leave the club he joined as a young boy.

Premier League
Watford 0 - 1 Aston Villa
Bent

Aston Villa 1 - 0 Cardiff
Holman

Arsenal 0 - 0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa 4 - 1 Man Utd
Nem
Destro
Holman
Destro


FA Cup Third Round
Charlton 1 - 2 Aston Villa
Vlaar
Hughes

FA Cup Fourth Round
Aston Villa 2 - 0 QPR
Bent
Westwood

In the absence of Ron Vlaar and Ciaran Clark due to injury, Doria has been magnificent at the back and has duly won the Young Player of the Month award.


Meanwhile, Aston Villa's showing this month has won Beckham his first Manager of the Month.

January Transfers 2013/14

Becks wasn't as busy this transfer window, but there were certainly a lot of loans out. Let's take a look.