HEROES
Benjani Mwaruwari Scoring the winning goal in the Manchester derby is not a bad debut in anyone’s books, even if you are only there for the money!

Football is a team game, but it’s amazing how much of an effect one individual can have on his ten team-mates. Witness Jimmy Bullard’s match-winning performance for Fulham against Aston Villa at Craven Cottage yesterday afternoon. His return from a long-term injury has lifted everyone at the club; it’s no coincidence that Fulham struggled in Bullard’s absence.

Tottenham have finally captured Alan Hutton (left) from Rangers, for a fee believed to be around £9m. That’s a lot of cash for a young defender, but if Hutton can offer Spurs the same level of reliability as great Premier League full-backs like Gary Neville and Denis Irwin, for example, then it’s a good deal [...]

Current league position 7th
Squad health Villa’s small squad means that Martin O’Neill simply can’t afford any injuries to key players. Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Zat Knight and Nigel Reo-Coker have all improved under O’Neill, whilst club captain Gareth Barry continues to lead by example. John Carew is finding his feet in the Premier League, and Villa fans will hope that reports of interest in the big Norwegian striker from Juventus are nothing more than tabloid filler. That’s the good news. On the downside, Villa still need a decent right-back and one more first-class striker, preferably to replace the woeful Marlon Harewood.

‘Both readers of this blog will have noted the lame gag we used after United drew Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup for the fourth time in seven seasons – namely that the FA must have their balls glued together. Well while that might not be the case – although we [...]

No.1 Fine performances from Gareth Barry, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and Scott Carson are a plus point for Villa – but that can be a double-edged sword for any Prem side not in the Big Four. Man Utd and co. will be looking more closely at Villa’s star performers (maybe not Arsenal, who don’t generally [...]

Blackburn Rovers 0-4 Aston Villa (Carew 29, Barry 53pen, Young 81, Harewood 89) These days, Blackburn just don’t ship four goals at home. They’re so tough to beat under Mark Hughes and yet Villa hammered them; Blackburn’s cause wasn’t helped when skipper Ryan Nelson was sent off, rather unfairly, for tugging Gabriel Agbonlahor’s shirt, but [...]

It’s been quite a year for Gareth Barry, he’s gone from international occasional to England’s most consistent performer and now there are rumours that Chelsea are preparing a £15m bid to bring him to the Bridge.

One is an indestructible English hero… the other is Captain Scarlet… Ahh, the old ones are the best. By the way, here are a few things I learned about Captain Scarlet on Wikipedia: ‘His real name is Paul Metcalfe. He has black hair and blue eyes, and speaks with an English accent and is said [...]

Aston Villa 1-0 West Ham
Craig Gardner won the match for Villa, but Dean Ashton is now a doubt for England after picking up a knee injury.

Wow, what a pulsating game to mark Spurs’ 125th anniversary! At 4-1 down, Martin Jol looked like a dead man walking, but Spurs roared back to snatch an unlikely draw – that no doubt felt to Spurs fans more like a win – with a Younes Kaboul goal in added time. This photo (Getty Images) [...]

Since West Brom were relegated from the Premier League, Pies has come to expect the occasional arrogant outburst from young centre-back Curtis Davies. The 22-year-old has been eager to tell all and sundry just how good he is – too good for the Championship and ready for the Premier League again.

Arsenal 5-0 Derby
Emmanuel Adebayor scored a hat-trick and Cesc Fabregas stole the show as the Gunners hit top gear.

Who is the best striker in the Premier League at the moment? Well, according to the league’s in-form defender it is none other than Aston Villa rent-a-tree John Carew. Manchester City and England starlet Micah Richards reckons the 6ft 5in Norwegian – worth exactly one Milan Baros – has been his toughest opponent so far this season.

Steve McClaren has announced his England squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia, and the biggest surprise – assuming he doesn’t get injured between now and the matches – is the inclusion of Aston Villa’s Ashley Young. Blackburn’s David Bentley also gets a call-up despite being frozen out of the international set-up since he withdrew from the under 21 squad at the start of the summer.

Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City
Cesc Fabregas finally found a breakthrough, despite an excellent performance from Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. The young Dane made a string of saves, including Robin van Persie’s 65th minute penalty.

One’s a Bulgarian winger that plays for Aston Villa and the other is an 80s American teen film star – but both share a fondness for big hair and highlights

Cheeky chappy Craig Bellamy just can’t hold his tongue. Here he is signing autographs for West Ham fans when one asks for his thoughts on Kieron Dyer (who at this stage is on the verge of a move to Upton Park). Craig the populist takes over Craig the professional, and can’t resist splurting out: “He’s like Reo-Coker, except he can play.”

The big kick-off is nigh and we don’t have a thing to wear. Well, we do now. This is part one of a bumper Kit Parade Special from Pies.
Arsenal
This looks a little familiar… wait a cotton picking minute! Yes, Arsenal have retained last season’s home kit for a further season. It makes my job a bit harder because you have all seen it before, but I’d be delighted if I was a Gooner. Comiserations to the parents of young Arsenal fans who will have to think a bit harder about birthday presents this year! Click here to buy it from Kitbag.

Yet more rumours abound about the future of Liverpool‘s Scott Carson, as he appears to be making his way to Aston Villa on loan for the new season. The ‘Pool sent the England U21 ‘keeper on loan to Charlton last season which saw him applauded for his performances in sticks. Now, in the quest for first team football, and with an eye on breaking into the senior team for England, Carson is off to Villa….

Aston Villa are the new Premiership champions. Well, Inter Milan beat Manchester United 3-2, and Villa beat Inter 3-0 so they must be the best in the league. Right? Gareth Barry slotted home and scored a penalty either side of a header from defender Martin Laursen.

Welcome to a new feature. Sporadically, we’ll be getting the opinions of the fans and bloggers of each Premier League side in the run up to the new season. Of course, these opinions will be biased and far from fair, but that’s part of the joy of football eh? Today, let’s have a look at the views of a Villa fan who is hoping that Reo-Coker will shine next season… and of course, some gentle slagging of Birmingham City.

There’s nothing like a warm welcome but Villa’s Stiliyan Petrov seems to be clouded by claret coloured spectacles in his praise of new signing, Nigel Reo-Coker.

One average Prem club sells average Prem striker to another Prem club. Hmm, it’s not the sort of news to make my day. I can’t imagine that Villa fans are even that excited about the prospect of Harewood – who, let’s face it, is not that good – arriving at Villa Park. He always seems to put in a lot of effort, and does occasionally find the net, but so what?

Last week we took a look back at the greatest ever foreign players to grace the Premiership, but you can be sure that for every Bergkamp there’s a Boogers who’s just as remembered…but for all the wrong reasons.