Appointment of Alex McLeish
As well as the fixtures being released, we have announced Alex McLeish as manager of the club. Obviously the decision to appoint a former Birmingham City manager has proved to be divisive to say the least, although I would hope we all get behind the team whether we agree with the managerial choice or not. A full link to the club statement is here – http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2377606,00.html
McLeish said:
“I am honoured to have this opportunity to manage a club with such a fantastic history as Aston Villa’s.
“The heritage, the history of success and the tradition of Aston Villa are compelling and irresistible. The challenge for me is to try to add my own chapter.
“Since first becoming a manager at Motherwell, my desire to succeed and my energy and drive have never waned. My objective is to impart that drive and will to win to the players and fans of Aston Villa.
“I know that some of our fans have voiced concerns and I can understand why. It will be up to me to convince you that I am the right man to drive the Club forward and I intend to give absolutely everything to prove that I can be a success at the Club.”
We can argue the finer points of whether he should be here or not, and whether people should buy season tickets and merchandise or not, but once the appointment has happened, we have little choice but to get on with it. Whatever you decide to do is entirely up to you, and you have my respect whatever your choice.
The board are not going to sack the guy no matter if there are protests at the first game or not, so I would advise fans to just get on with supporting the club, rather than booing the manager. Of course, I can’t stop anyone from doing anything, but I do think those wanting to boo McLeish need to look at the situation objectively and realise the only people it hurts is our team. We don’t need to give the opposition teams any more advantage than they will have already.
So what would you like to see McLeish say at his press conference? Talk of signing N’Zogbia? Dann? Foster? Maybe some statement to say that we will play more creative football than Birmingham? Possibly even some quote that details that he can do far more here than he ever could at Blues? Let us know your thoughts below.
Me in the Express & Star
Also if you haven’t seen this already, I was in the Express & Star yesterday with my first column for them. Come August I will have a weekly column, although I will write articles between then and now should there be a need to do so. Obviously you can still regularly expect articles from me on Aston Villa Life keeping you up to date on the latest developments at Villa Park.
The link for my first Express & Star column is here – http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/aston-villa-fc/2011/06/17/would-mcleish-be-that-bad-as-villa-boss/
Full fixture list
Today, the fixtures have been released for the 2011/2012 Premier League season. Villa kick of the season against Fulham away, and finish against newly promoted Norwich. Boxing Day 2011 will involve a trip to the Britannia Stadium, and we will play Chelsea away on 31st December.
The full fixtures are:
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Barclays Premier League
Fulham v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Blackburn, 15:00
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Barclays Premier League
Everton v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Newcastle, 15:00
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Barclays Premier League
QPR v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Wigan, 15:00
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Barclays Premier League
Man City v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v West Brom, 15:00
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Barclays Premier League
Sunderland v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 5 November 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Norwich, 15:00
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Barclays Premier League
Tottenham v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Barclays Premier League
Swansea v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Man Utd, 15:00
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Barclays Premier League
Bolton v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Liverpool, 15:00
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Arsenal, 19:45
Monday, 26 December 2011
Barclays Premier League
Stoke v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Barclays Premier League
Chelsea v Aston Villa, 15:00
Monday, 2 January 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Swansea, 15:00
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Everton, 15:00
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Barclays Premier League
Wolverhampton v Aston Villa, 15:00
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v QPR, 19:45
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Barclays Premier League
Newcastle v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Man City, 15:00
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Barclays Premier League
Wigan v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Barclays Premier League
Blackburn v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Fulham, 15:00
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Bolton, 15:00
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Barclays Premier League
Arsenal v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Chelsea, 15:00
Saturday, 7 April 2012
Barclays Premier League
Liverpool v Aston Villa, 15:00
Monday, 9 April 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Stoke, 15:00
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Sunderland, 15:00
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Barclays Premier League
West Brom v Aston Villa, 15:00
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Tottenham, 15:00
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Barclays Premier League
Norwich v Aston Villa, 15:00
And finally…
On a totally unrelated point, I’d like to draw your attention to the cause of an amazing young man based in Birmingham. Harry Moseley is 11 years old and has an inoperable brain tumour. He is campaigning to raise money for brain tumour research and is selling his hand made bracelets to raise money. If you can spare a pound or two, you can buy one of his bracelets to help the cause, and help put a smile on the face of one of the bravest young people I have ever met. His website is here – http://www.helpharryhelpothers.com/. Twitter followers can follow him here – @harry_moseley
The Author
