Rickie's Back Again

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Grealish pens new Villa deal​

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Aston Villa winger Jack Grealish has today signed a new deal which will see him extend his stay at Aston Villa until the summer of 2019. Grealish, 20, an established England under 21, has been in sensational form so far this season in the Championship, scoring 13 and creating 5 in 23 appearances.

"We all know that Jack has had a few issues in his past" said Villa manager Rickie Lambert "but we all hope these are well and truly behind him now. The lad has all the ability in the world and I am certain he can achieve his ambitions with us here at Villa"

Grealish has been an almost ever present in the Villa side this year along with fellow attacking partners Jordan Ayew and Albert Adomah.

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Cardiff Vs Aston Villa
26th December, 2015.​

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A happy boxing day as we grind out a result against Cardiff to move top of the league! Its so important to pick up points in the championship, even when your not playing well, and thats exactly what we did. Kodjia also scored his first goal for the club as we rotated slightly and gave some subs some game time as we begin a busy period, this being the first of 4 games in 9 days.

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Even more good news for the club is that Alex Tettey has resumed full training and was back on the bench for the Cardiff game! hopefully he can repeat the influence he was having in pre-season now.

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Aston Villa Vs Ipswich
30th December, 2015.​

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Really disappointing to lose like this at Villa Park, especially after the run of form we have been on but we just didnt have our shooting boots with us today. A poor end to a fantastic month as we see out 2015. We have a choice to make now, do we back ourselves in the transfer market and go for broke for promotion? or perhaps act a little more conservatively?

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Another downside to todays game is the injury to Albert Adomah who will miss the next month or so through injury.

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December Review

Results​

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So nearly a perfect month for us until Ipswich came to town. I have been super impressed with the squads fitness levels over the busy Christmas period. Hopefully January will be just as good and we can really kick on!

Table​

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2nd in the table at the turn of the year? yeah I would have snatched your hand off for that at the beginning of the season! It cant surprise anybody that the top three are now the three relegated sides from the Premiership last season, such is the quality of player we have all managed to retain.

Next months fixtures​

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A massive, massive game up next against Derby in the league before our FA Cup campaign starts in earnest against Morecambe town.

Player of the month​

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I am going to give it to Mile Jedinak this month! it is all too easy to see the impact the attacking players make, but sometimes its an unsung defensive hero that needs to be praised. He is a major part of all the clean sheets we have been keeping.

News​

Rudy Gestede has left the club, completing a £3 million move to Wolves, while Agbonlahor and Chester have both had transfer requests accepted.
 
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Lingard joins Villa​

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Aston Villa have today completed the signing of Jesse Lingard from Manchester United for an initial £3 million. While the exact fee has not been disclosed by either club, it is thought the deal includes multiple add ons that could push the transfer fee up to the £6 million mark.

Lingard, 23, had found himself on the transfer list at Manchester United and after brief discussions with manager Jose Mourinho, decided to drop down to the Championship to further his career.

"We are delighted that Jesse has joined us here at Villa Park" Said Villa manager Rickie Lambert. "Things are in place here for a very strong promotion push and Jesse has obviously seen that and seen our ambition when making decisions about his future. He is a welcome addition and gives us great depth and options."

Lingard will join up with fellow England Under 21 Jack Grealish at Villa Park and could make his Debut against Morecambe in the FA Cup 3rd round on Saturday.

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3rd round
Morecambe Vs Aston Villa
9th January, 2016.​

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Disappointing, but you cant begrudge Morecambe their trip to Villa Park in the replay. A replay was the last thing we actually wanted but a rotated front line failed to do anything really. McCormack playing was a desperate attempt at trying to find a second striker some form to act as back up to Ayew, but it didnt work out for him and his future at the club looks bleak.
 
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Iheanacho joins Villa on loan​

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Manchester City starlet Kelechi Iheanacho has joined Championship side Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season. Iheanacho, 19, has found game time hard to come by at the Etihad under the management of Pep Guardiola so will drop down a division to try and find some game time and some goals.

"Kelechi is already a full International for Nigeria by the age of 19" Villa boss Rickie Lambert told BBC Sport. "That shows you the level of quality you are dealing with here. He is young, driven and has natural ability and an eye for goal, he is going to fit right in here and gain vital experience in the game."

Iheanacho becomes the second signing in through the door at Villa Park following the deal that was struck for Jesse Lingard to move to Villa from Manchester United.

The deal for Iheanacho has paved the way for Villa's summer signing Jonathan Kodjia to move to French side Nantes on loan for the rest of the season.
 
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Huddlestone In​

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Just a quick one to announce that Tom Huddlestone has joined the club on loan for the rest of the season. His experience at this level and Premier League quality could give our midfield the real push it needs to get us firing again.
 
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Aston Villa Vs Blackburn
16th January, 2016.
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It took Iheanacho just 9 minutes to find the back of the net in what is an encouraging start for the young lad, but as it turned out it wasnt enough to break us out of this worrying run. seven points is now a sizeable gap to the top of the table and we look no less toothless than we did in the last match. All of our top players seem to have slipped out of form at the same time.

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3rd round replay
Aston Villa Vs Morecambe
20th January, 2016.​

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A stunning return to form from Jordan Ayew helped us smash Morecambe in our FA Cup replay and progress in to the 4th round of the FA Cup. I was hoping that playing Ayew against 'lesser' opposition might bring out the best in him after his 10 hour goal drought, and it turned out I was right.

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A tough tie to tackle in the fourth round, but at least we are at home!
 
great story this, and some fantastic signings! am I right in saying it took until boxing day for a striker other than Ayew to score?!
 
Cheers Buddy!

Ross McCormack got his one and only goal for the club against Derby, 2nd game of the season. But when you look at it, Ayew has 20 goals in all comps, McCormack has 1, Kodjia has 1, Iheanacho has 1.. and thats it.. its remarkable. Then again I suppose Ayew has had the VAST majority of games as he has been so good!

TheBattman said:
great story this, and some fantastic signings! am I right in saying it took until boxing day for a striker other than Ayew to score?!
Click to expand...
 
SaintMotbot said:
Cheers Buddy!

Ross McCormack got his one and only goal for the club against Derby, 2nd game of the season. But when you look at it, Ayew has 20 goals in all comps, McCormack has 1, Kodjia has 1, Iheanacho has 1.. and thats it.. its remarkable. Then again I suppose Ayew has had the VAST majority of games as he has been so good!
Click to expand...

staggering! oh well, if it ain't broke....
 
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Aston Villa Vs Q.P.R
23rd January, 2016.​

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Back to winning ways in the Championship as we secure another tense, hard fought win. It was the substitute Matty James, coming on for the injured Tettey, who scored the eventual winner, latching on to the end of a beautiful through ball from Ayew. If these tight games are what gets us promoted, I will take them every time.

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Even better news to throw into the equation is that Newcastle lost at Barnsley, meaning we can close the gap once again. Sadly, Tettey's injury will seem him out for the next 6 weeks, but I am confident in the backup that we have now that it wont hurt us too badly. Some serious question marks over his ability to stay fit now.
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4th round
Aston Villa Vs Stoke
30th January, 2016.​

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A Disappointing, if not predictable result as we go crashing out of the FA Cup after getting thumped by a full strength Stoke City side. The likes of Shaqiri, Allen, Bony and Diouf played us off the park and we had absolutely no answer to it. At least we can fully concentrate on the league now!
 
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January Review

Results​

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A really mixed month where nothing much has changed in our situation. The extra game against Morecambe was not needed, especially as we went out to Stoke in the next round anyway. Losing to Derby was really tough but the QPR victory shows that things might be moving back in the right direction.

Table​

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3rd in the league, level with Norwich and just four points behind Newcastle. Promotion is still very much in our hands as we have to play both of these sides again. Hopefully our January window can inject some extra momentum into our promotion bid.

Next months fixtures​

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A busy month in the league against some tough to break down sides. A similar sort of month to December as none of these teams are above mid table level. Expecting five wins from this lot.

Player of the Month​

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Alan Hutton gets the nod this time around for player of the month. He has been a steady and consistent performer from right back and has kept Micah Richards stuck at centre back with his performances.
 
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January transfer round up​

Along with the transfers of Jesse Lingard, Tom Huddlestone and Kelechi Iheanacho, we managed to bring in two more new faces on transfer deadline day!

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Jeffrey Bruma joins the club to give us more options at centre back. After being transfer listed by Wolfsburg, we got him for a snip at £1.8 million and on wages of just £12.5k I hope he is great value for money.

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Sergio Romero joins on loan from Manchester United to take the goalkeepers gloves. While Jed Steer had been doing a decent job, I just couldnt help but feel that it was an area of the team that could use some real quality, so I went out and did the deal.

Leaving the club were Ross McCormack, who left to join Wolves for just £2 million, and Gabby Agbonlahor and Gary Gardner who both travel up to Scotland to join Rangers on loan for the rest of the season. I would have ideally liked more money for McCormack but I just needed him off the wage bill.
 
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