Villa duo against appointment of Houllier as new boss

Aston Villa keeper Brad Friedel and full-back Stephen Warnock are unimpressed with rumours that the club want to appoint former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier as the new manager at Villa Park.

Both Friedel and Warnock endured a difficult time at Anfield under the French coach.

Friedel was sold by the Frenchman to Blackburn Rovers in 1999, while Warnock was sent on loan to Coventry City.

A Villa source told the News of the World said: "When it was revealed Houllier was the favourite for the Villa, it went down like a lead balloon with a couple of the players. You can't underestimate the strength of feeling, especially of someone such as Brad Friedel who felt he had no relationship with Houllier when he was at Anfield."

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 Houllier to be announced as new Villa boss within 48 hours

Aston Villa hope to announce Gerard Houllier as successor to Martin O'Neill in the next 48 hours.

Houllier is spending the weekend deciding whether to return to Premier League management after a six-year absence.

Houllier was interviewed for the post last week - along with the likes of care-taker boss Kevin MacDonald and former West Ham boss Alan Curbishley.

The indications are former Liverpool boss Houllier would not be against joining Villa in a traditional managerial type of role.

But reserve team chief MacDonald's coaching skills are highly rated by Lerner - and the Villa players - and he could have a role with the first team.

He is currently France's technical director but has come under fire after their disappointing World Cup campaign and may welcome a change.

There have been question marks raised over Houllier's health after he suffered heart problems during the latter part of his time with Liverpool.
But he has apparently assured Villa they would have no cause for concern in this direction.

Villa believe he has the resume to keep them progressing in the right direction after three successive top six finishes in the Barclays Premier League.

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 Pulis plans to involve Gudjohnsen in Stoke’s clash with Villa

Stoke boss Tony Pulis plans to involve new signing Eidur Gudjohnsen either from the bench or in the starting eleven against Aston Villa.

The Iceland striker moved to the Britannia Stadium from Monaco on a one-year deal on summer transfer deadline day.

Gudjohnsen and Pulis have both previously confessed that, having missed pre-season, there is a lack of match fitness and that made the former Bolton, Chelsea, Barcelona and Tottenham player a doubt for the arrival of Villa on 13th September.

"Although Eidur has a bit of catching up to do, he is a fantastic professional," the Stoke boss told his club's official website.

"You have to be to play at the highest level and enjoy the success he has achieved.

"It will depend on the amount of work we can do with him which will determine whether he starts the Villa match or whether we put him on the bench."

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 Liverpool hero Thommo: Houllier primed for Villa job

Phil Thompson has backed former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier for the Aston Villa job.

Thommo was Houllier's No2 at Anfield and the pair were together again for Jamie Carragher's testimonial.

Looking tanned and healthy, Houllier simply gave a Gallic shrug and shook his head when asked about the state of his health.

But former Liverpool manager Thompson - a close ally of Houllier in the past - pushed the Frenchman’s cause.

He said: "Have you seen him? He looks extremely fit and what he would bring to Aston Villa is a wealth of experience and organisational ability in the role.

"You see what he did for the golden generation of French football - not the latest group of French players, those who came before."

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 Villa turned to Houllier after receiving knockback from Everton boss Moyes

Aston Villa turned to Gerard Houllier after attempting to prise David Moyes away from Everton.

The Daily Star Sunday says Villa have opted for a joint-managerial team of Gerard Houllier and Kevin MacDonald – after missing out on Moyes.

Everton boss Moyes was the first choice of Villa owner Randy Lerner to replace Martin O’Neill, who walked out on the club on the eve of the new season.

But an informal approach was rejected ten days ago with Moyes making it clear he would not be willing to swap Merseyside for the Midlands.

It was only after that snub that Lerner and his fellow Villa directors decided to interview other candidates for the post.

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 MacDonald happy to work with Houllier at Aston Villa

Kevin MacDonald is keen to work with Gerard Houllier at Aston Villa.

Yesterday, during Jamie Carragher's testimonial, Anfield was abuzz with talk of Houllier returning to the Premier League. The Frenchman was in England for the game.

The Mail on Sunday says Houllier refused to be drawn on whether or not he would be prepared to work with caretaker Villa manager MacDonald.

But it is understood that there would be no problem with MacDonald continuing at Villa Park.

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 Houllier family needs convincing about Villa move

Gerard Houllier's family needs convincing about the wisdom of taking the Aston Villa job.

The Birmingham Mail says sources in his native France say the former Liverpool boss is now contemplating whether to return to the Premier League after a six-year absence.

However, Houllier is having to reassure his family that he is well enough to return to the pressure-cooker of the English top flight after well-documented health problems.

He had major surgery in 2001 after suffering a heart attack during his Anfield reign and his wife Isabelle has previously being opposed to him managing again in the Premier League.

But the timing of the Villa job could be ideal for Houllier who is currently having to deal with the fall-out from his home nation’s catastrophic World Cup campaign.

“This could be a good time for Gerard to return to the Premier League because there are problems with French football at the moment and he has taken some of the blame,” said a source in France.

“There have been lots of concerns about his health, including from his wife, and whether he could cope with the pressure of the Premier League again on a day to day basis.

“But he feels as if he still has business to finish in England and this opportunity could be just right for him.”

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 Agbonlahor: Ireland settled quickly at Aston Villa

Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor says Stephen Ireland has settled quickly since his arrival from Manchester City.

Agbonlahor is tipping Ireland to become a claret and blue star despite damaging defeats to Newcastle and Rapid Vienna in his first two appearances.

“Stephen Ireland is getting a good relationship with some of the players,” said Agbonlahor.

“Obviously Newcastle was a hard game to come into. He’s not really played much football, so we’re still yet to see the best of him.

“But what I’ve seen in training is that he’s been one of the top trainers. He can add a lot to the squad.

“If you look at him he can score goals and he’s one of the fittest players you’ll see, getting up and down the field, so it’s looking good for Villa with him playing.”

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 Villa allay Ireland injury concerns

Stephen Ireland has shaken off injury fears at Aston Villa.

The Birmingham Mail says Ireland was left out of last Sunday’s win over Everton as a precautionary measure after tweaking his hamstring during the pre-match warm-up.

But, as expected, the injury is not serious and Ireland is expected to join his Villa team-mates when they return to training after a few days off next week.

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 Aston Villa ace Agbonlahor favours winter break

Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has joined calls for a winter break in the Premier League.

Agbonlahor suggests such a winter break can aid a national team in summer tournaments.

"I think we need a winter break," he told Villa's website. "I am sure that some of the teams that did well (in South Africa) like Germany they have a winter break.

"I think we should try it for a season. It would help with the weather that you get around that time and it's not very good weather for football."

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 Villa striker Agbonlahor maintains England ambitions

Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor is eyeing an England recall.

The 23-year-old has certainly got time on his side to add to his trio of senior international appearances.

"When I heard the comments (Capello's) I was disappointed to start the season being injured as it was going to be hard to be picked for the next few games," he told AVTV.

"Hopefully I will get a few games under my belt, play decent and then I'll get a chance of getting called up.

"For anybody that is English especially when you look back when you are older you can tell your kids you played for England - it's a big thing.

"So for anyone that is English to play for your country is a big thing. Hopefully I can keep getting called up to those squads and hopefully get on."

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 Carragher scores for Liverpool and Everton in good-natured testimonial

Jamie Carragher managed to score for both Liverpool and Everton in his testimonial game yesterday.

The 32-year-old defender scored from the spot in the first half for the Reds before converting a penalty own-goal for the club he supported as a boy after the break.

After Luis Garcia's second-minute opener it was only fitting the veteran defender claimed the spotlight as he celebrated 14 years' professional service with the Reds.

The teams looked one-sided as Carragher was able to call on favours from current team-mates Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole as well as former players Michael Owen, Luis Garcia, Emile Heskey, Danny Murphy and Jerzy Dudek.

But if you were being charitable to Everton, managed by David Moyes, you could say they did not want to spoil the occasion.

Gerrard, given dispensation by Fabio Capello after featuring in England's 4-0 victory over Bulgaria on Friday night, played the opening 10 minutes before being replaced by Murphy.

On the bench former Reds manager Gerard Houllier warmed up for a possible Premier League return with Aston Villa by sitting alongside current boss Roy Hodgson.

Carragher is hoping to raise £1million for his 23 Foundation from his game and a gala dinner, with proceeds going to local groups and charities.

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 Villa defender Collins cleared of serious injury

Aston Villa defender James Collins has been cleared of serious injury after apparently being elbowed in the face on international duty on Friday night.

The 27-year-old was checked out in hospital after a clash with Montenegro's Miodrag Dzudovic in the second half of Wales' Euro 2012 qualifying defeat in Podgorica.

Collins has a bad black eye on Saturday but has not fractured his cheekbone or broken his nose as manager John Toshack had feared on Friday night.

Wales have no game next week and Collins will now return to Villa to be assessed by club doctors.

Villa do not play again until they visit Stoke in the Barclays Premier League a week on Monday.

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 Houllier remaining coy over Villa link

Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier is refusing to comment amid speculation he is being lined up for a role with Aston Villa.

The 63-year-old Frenchman is reportedly in contention to fill the void left by the departure of Martin O'Neill before the start of the season.

Suggestions differ from the outright manager's job to a director of football role but Houllier would not comment on speculation when he arrived for Jamie Carragher's testimonial game against an Everton XI at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

"Never and always are two words you can't use in football," the Frenchman said.

Houllier last managed in the Premier League with Liverpool, leading them to a UEFA Cup, FA Cup, League Cup treble in 2001.

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 Carragher: Forget Man Utd, Souness started Liverpool demise

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher says it was Graeme Souness - not Manchester United - which started the rot at Anfield.

Souness had a difficult spell in charge of Liverpool just as United began winning the Premier League.

When asked what he would like to ask Sir Alex Ferguson, Carragher said: "If I was in his company, I would also tell him, first off, that Manchester United never knocked Liverpool off their ******* perch, as he put it. That’s just nonsense. Graeme Souness did that.

"When United were going for their first title under Ferguson in 1992-93, they were competing with Norwich and Aston Villa. They weren’t competing with Liverpool, were they?"

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Aston Villa (also known as Aston Villa Football Club, The Villa, Villa, The Villans or Aston Villa FC) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, Aston Villa plays in the Premier League of England. Aston Villa was founded in 1874 and was one of the founding members of the English football league in 1888 and the Premier League in 1992.

Aston Villa is one of the oldest and most successful English foortball clubs, Aston Villa has won the First Division Championship and FA Cup more than six times. Aston Villa has also won the European Cup in the 1981/82 season, Aston Villa is one of only 4 football clubs from the UK who won the UEFA Champions League. Aston Villa ranks at the 4th place among the English football clubs major honor winners.

After founding the Premier League with other clubs in 1992, Aston Villa has replaced its managers several times and experienced inconsistent positions during the 90's. Although Aston Villa won 2 League Cups and managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup regularly; Aston Villa league position continued to fluctuate as a result of replacing several different managers.

In 2006, Aston Villa was bought by an American business man and a new manager was now leading the team into a new period of optimism and greater success.

Aston Villa has a long term, rivalry with local rival Birmingham City club. Aston Villa and Birmingham City play against each other the famous Birmingham Derby since 1879.
Aston Villa traditional kit consists of white shorts, sky blue socks and claret shirts with sky blue sleeves.