Aston Villa: The Paul Lambert Era

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Aston Villa Football Club
Established: 1874
Ground: Villa Park
Chairman: Randy Lerner
Manager: Paul Lambert(First Season)

Club Honors

European
-UEFA Champions League: 1
1981-82
-UEFA Super Cup: 1
1982
-Intertoto Cup: 1
2001

Domestic
League Titles
-First Division Champions: 7
1893-94, 1895-96, 1896-97, 1898-99, 1899-1900, 1909-10, 1980-81
-Second Division Champions: 2
1937-38, 1959-60
-Third Division Champions: 1
1971-72

Cups
FA Cup Titles: 7
1887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913, 1920, 1957
League Cup Titles: 5
1961, 1975, 1977, 1994, 1996
FA Charity/Community Shield: 1
1981(shared)
Football League War Cup: 1
1944(shared)

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15 August 2012

2012-13 Aston Villa Season Preview

2011-12 Season Recap

Premier League: 16th
FA Cup: Fourth Round
League Cup: Fourth Round

Transfer Round-Up

Players In: Ron Vlaar(Feyenoord £3.2 M), Matthew Lowton(Sheffield United £3 M), Karim El Ahmadi(Feyenoord £2.5 M), Brett Holman(AZ Alkmaar, Free), Christian Benteke(Genk £7 M), Joe Bennett(Middlesbrough £2.5 M), Jordan Bowery(Chesterfield £500,000), Ashley Westwood(Crewe, Undisclosed)

Players Out: James Collins(West Ham £2.5 M), Carlos Cuellar(Sunderland, Free), Connor Taylor(Walsall, Free), Reece Caira(Western Sydney, Free), Nathan Delfouneso(Blackpool, Loan)

Summer So Far

-Villa sack Manager Alex McLeish after narrowly avoiding relegation and, after holding talks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, they go on to appoint Norwich boss Paul Lambert

-Lambert announces that Stillyan Petrov will remain club captain despite his absence from the team with acute Leukemia. The midfielder later reveals that his recovery is going well and "the hardest bit is over." It has just recently been confirmed that he is in remission.

-Brad Guzan leaves the club at the end of his contract, along with striker Emile Heskey, but is resigned on a three year deal following Lambert's appointment.

Key Fixtures:

-Paul Lambert's managerial skills might be tested to the maximum as they play Manchester United(H), Manchester City(A), and Arsenal(H), in a span of 14 days in November

-The Scot's first game against former club Norwich will be on 28 October, with his return to carrow Road on 4 May

BBC Sport's Phil Maiden: Following their worst home record in the club's entire history under Alex McLeish, fans will be hoping the arrival of Paul Lambert as manager can rekindle some of the excitement that has clearly been lacking at Villa Park.
Villa have struggled post Martin O'Neill to compete in the top half of the table and, having seemingly cut his spending, Owner Randy Lerner will be looking at Lambert as the man to restore the club's pride.
Karim El-Amadhi has looked good in preseason and should be a key man in midfield while Brett Holman, who was signed on a Bosman by McLeish, could prove useful in attacking positions for a side which struggled to find the net last season.
Another year of transition looks to be on the horizon, but Villa fans will be hoping this time it is one that can lead to future success, albeit on a budget.

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16 August 2012

Confident Lambert Dismisses Talk Of Relegation prior To Opener

Villa Park- Despite a shaky preseason, new Villa Gaffer Paul Lambert insists his kids are alright and dismissed suggestions that Aston Villa are doomed to a relegation struggle this season.
Lambert has leaned heavily towards youth in the preseason, handing multiple starts to Nathan Baker, Fabian Delph, and Nathan Delfouneso. In addition, he has purchased youngsters Matthew Lowton from Sheffield United, Joe Bennett from Middlesbrough, and Chesterfield's Jordan Bowery. Further moves in the past week for Charlton Athletic's Dale Stephens and now former Genk striker Christian Benteke, whom Villa have finally captured, have reinforced the notion that Lambert is deliberately targeting youth.
Of that crop, only Lowton has celebrated his 23rd birthday. Despite this Lambert is confident there will be no repeat of the woes suffered under Alex McLeish last season, when Villa finished just two pints above the drop zone.
Asked whether they can be in a survival scrap once again, Lambert said: "No, no before adding that his crop of youngsters would come good. "I had exactly the same question last year and the Norwich lads surpassed everything," he said. "It's my decision. I am comfortable with what I'm trying to do. I don't have any fears about them. I'm trying to give them the confidence to do as well as they can. That's what I'm looking for."
"I know that when you get really hungry players they can take you a long way, that's what we will try to do."
"If you don't have that hunger as a footballer, there's no point playing the game. You need that enthusiasm, so we will see how it goes."
Lambert added that he had been put under no pressure to pursue this policy by Villa's American Owner Randy Lerner, who's slashing the club's wage bill.
The Scot said: "These have all been my decisions. The football decisions are mine. I'll take full responsibility for that. "But I think the importance of transfer fees can be blown out of proportion. How do you put a price on someone?"
"It's whatever we think can help us and we will look at them. How do you know they are not good enough? You won't know until you give them the opportunity, I like to do that."
"It gives me great satisfaction knowing people can do well for themselves and the team."
Aston Villa open the season on Saturday afternoon in East London's Upton Park against new boys West Ham United.

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Barclays Premier League Round One
18 August 2012
Upton Park, East London

West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa

Scoring Summary
18' Charles N'Zogbia - AVFC
83' Mark Noble(pen) - WHU
87' Darren Bent - AVFC

Bent Sinks Hammers With Powerful Late Strike

Upton Park- Outplayed and trailing for most of the match, West Ham took full advantage of a questionable penalty call to level the match at 1-1 with just over seven minutes remaining, but in the end, visiting Aston Villa playing their first league match under new manager Paul Lambert would not be denied, as Darren Bent put the Villains ahead to stay with a first touch rocket shot that just made it under the crossbar and beyond a helpless Jussi Jaaskelainen at the 87' minute mark, and Aston Villa went on to defeat West Ham United by the score of 2-1 here at Upton Park.

Barclays Premier League Results

12 August 2012
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Bromwich

14 August 2012
Chelsea 3-1 Reading
Southampton 0-2 Manchester United

18 August 2012
Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland
Fulham 5-1 Norwich City
Newcastle United 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Swansea City
Reading 0-3 Stoke City
West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa

19 August 2012
Everton 0-0 Manchester United
Manchester City 2-0 Southampton
West Bromwich 2-1 Liverpool
Wigan Athletic 1-2 Chelsea

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24 August 2012

"My Time Here Has Come To An End"
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Just Days After Scoring The Winner At Upton Park, Bent Demands Transfer

Villa Park- Darren Bent is at it again. Just days after playing the hero in the victory over West Ham, the English international striker has demanded a transfer away from Aston Villa, saying simply "I want to win trophies, I want to play in Europe, and with this club I don't think that will ever be possible, my time here has come to an end."
Stunned and then angered by the demand, Manager Paul Lambert was quick to retort, saying: "he can go if he wants I won't stop him, but what I will not do is give him away. The club comes first, not Darren Bent."
When asked if Bent would be in the team for the home opener against Everton, Lambert stated flatly No, absolutely not."
With just one week before the deadline, it's unclear if Chairman Randy Lerner will make available to Lambert any of the funds from Bent's potential sale or if he will be forced to continue on as is.

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Barclays Premier League Round Two
25 August 2012
Villa Park, Birmingham

Aston Villa 0-4 Everton

Scoring Summary
30' Nikica Jelavic(pen) - Eve
34' Leon Osman - Eve
60' Steven Naismith - Eve
79' Leon Osman - Eve

Bent-Less Villa Routed By Everton, Lerner Then Vows To Provide Funds For Replacement

Villa Park- Out of sorts and unable to cope with a very good and very determined Everton squad, Aston Villa were run off of their own pitch today in an ugly 4-0 defeat at Villa Park. Following the match Villa Chairman Randy Lerner voiced his displeasure with the whole Darren Bent affair calling it "an act of betrayal" before heartily backing his manager and pleading with the fans for patience, saying that: "Paul will have what he needs to bring another quality attacker here to replace Bent." "And to the fans I implore you, please be patient, I know the past couple of seasons have not been the best, but I promise you, we will again be a force in the near future."

22 August 2012
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Norwich City
Manchester City 3-1 Queens Park Rangers

23 August 2012
Liverpool 2-0 Arsenal

25 August 2012
Aston Villa 0-4 Everton
Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle United
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
Norwich City 2-1 Queens Park Rangers
Southampton 2-1 Wigan Athletic
Sunderland 2-0 Reading
Swansea City 1-0 West Ham

26 August 2012
Stoke City 0-2 Arsenal

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Barclays Premier League Round Three
28 August 2012
St. James Park, Newcastle

Newcastle United 2-0 Aston Villa

Scoring Summary
1' Papiss Cisse - New
83' Hatem Ben Arfa - New

Anemic Villa Defeated In Newcastle

Newcastle- A heroic defensive effort combined with great goalkeeping were all that kept visiting Aston Villa anywhere close, as Newcastle United used superior midfield play to control the match and ease their way to a convincing 2-0 victory. Playing their second match without star striker Darren Bent, who's asked for a transfer, Villa managed just three shots for the match with just one reaching the target. At game's end Villa Manager Paul Lambert summed it up like this: "Obviously we're struggling to score goals right now, that needs to be sorted quickly before we dig ourselves too big of a hole to climb out of."

26 August 2012
Stoke City 1-0 Arsenal

28 August 2012
Newcastle United 2-0 Aston Villa

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1 September 2012

Lambert Goes Big, Signs Benfica Striker Rodrigo For £14,000,000
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Bent Heads To Manchester City In £14.5 Million Pound Move


21 year old striker Rodrigo is set to become Aston Villa's new 1st team striker

Birmingham- In a move that just about no one seen coming, Aston Villa Manager Paul Lambert pulled off the coup of deadline day, selling disgruntled striker Darren Bent to Manchester City for £14.5 million pounds, and then reinvesting £14 million pounds of that money into former Real Madrid youth player and current Benfica starlet Rodrigo, who was signed sealed and delivered with just hours to spare. The 21 year old striker who was born in Brazil but moved to Spain as a teen has scored a total of 20 goals in 47 career appearances for Benfica and is seen as one of the best young strikers in world football, said Lambert: "We are so pleased to have acquired such a fine young talent, and although it hurts to lose a quality player such as Darren, we feel that Rodrigo can be one of those special players who comes along once in a great while."
Villa were not the only club active, with Manchester United, Athletico Madrid, and Lille also making impact purchases. Here's a rundown of the top deals:

1. In the biggest deal of the day, Barcelona have sold CB Javier Mascherano to Manchester United for £16.5 million pounds

2. Coming in at number two was Manchester City's purchase of striker Darren Bent from Aston Villa for £14.5 million pounds.

3. Aston Villa's purchase of 21 year old striker Rodrigo from Benfica for £14 million pounds comes in as the third biggest deal of the day.

4. Lille have shipped midfielder Rio Mavuba to Athletico Madrid for £12 million pounds

5. Spartak Moscow have sold 26 year old striker Welliton to Lille for £10 million pounds.

6. Borussia Dortmund have sold midfielder Sven Bender to Wolfsburg for £9.5 million pounds

7. French side Lyon have sold striker Bafetimbi Gomis to Liverpool for £9 million pounds

8. Lyon have also sold LB Michel Bastos to Arsenal for £7.5 million pounds

9. Sporting Lisbon have sold midfielder Adrien Silva to Borussia Monchengladbach for £7 million pounds.

10. Rubin Kazan have sold CDM Bibras Natkho to Cagliari for £6 million pounds.