06/05/06

VILLA fans today rounded on David O'Leary for boasting about the club's success in beating the drop. The Irishman will come in for a rough ride from supporters against Sunderland on Sunday for insisting at yesterday's press conference that he was proud to have saved the club from relegation. Villa have endured their worst Premiership season and have their worst home record of all-time yet O'Leary claimed there was a feel-good factor among fans because for the first time in 116 years Villa will be the only Midlands club in the top-flight. O'Leary said: "We are all disappointed with the season and I'll be glad when it's over because I have never been in this situation before. I don't like it and it leaves a sour taste. But I am proud to have kept the club in the Premiership because since Christmas my one and only aim has been to make sure we were safe. And, although I don't want to rub people's noses in it, when I've been around the city this week, everywhere I've been, even just filling up with petrol, there's been a great mood. You can see it's given the Villa fans a real lift that they're the only ones in the Midlands still in the Premiership and hopefully they can look forward to better things. I never thought we would go down. But I was worried during the January transfer window when Birmingham brought in three players while I had to send a valuable player like Eirik Bakke back to Leeds." Lifelong supporter, and travel operator, Steve Gough, of Cannock said: "What he has said is laughable. He is trying to fool us but we have had enough. He is bragging about us staying up and words fail me. He has to go. Bearing in mind the quality of players we have, this has been the worst season of all-time. Billy McNeill is generally regarded as the worst manager of all-time, and yet at least he won seven home games and drew seven - so how bad does that make O'Leary?" Mike McKiernan, of Shenstone - and one of the people behind the infamous "fickle" banner against Fulham - also rebuked the manager and warned him there will be more banners on display on Sunday. "He is on another planet for saying this," said McKiernan. "Does he seriously believe we should be rejoicing in beating the drop? Does he not realise how bad the last two years have been? We have had about four performances this season that have made us proud. If that is the best he can do then it is not good enough. Our club is bigger than that. What are his aims for next season? The same again? Our banners will be flying high on Sunday because we have got to get change." Clive Courbet, a supporter since 1959, added: "Words fail me. I cannot believe he thinks he has done a good job. The football he has served up has been attrocious. It is certainly the worst since McNeill which was by far the worst in my 47 years of following them." Dave Woodhall, editor of the Heroes and Villains fanzine, said: "You couldn't make this up. Here is the manager who three years ago was talking about leading us into Europe, now talking about being proud we've finished in the bottom five after our worst season in the Premiership. He's actually boasting about us not being relegated. It's just unbelievable." Jonathan Fear told his Vitalfootball website: "This man has got to go because he is blind to the ways of the Villa fans, he does not understand the club and has no idea what we are thinking. Most of us are bored, angry, devastated and saddened."

VILLA fans are set to step up their protest against manager David O'Leary by releasing 2,500 orange balloons before tomorrow's final Premiership game against Sunderland. Organised by lifelong fan Martin Field, 37, of Stafford, who bought them from a company in Telford, the balloons will be handed out by volunteers around the ground before kick-off. The colour has been chosen to keep in with a recurring theme started with the now infamous orange "We are not fickle" banner and continued with hundreds of badges carrying the same motto. Field said: "There was talk of black balloons to illustrate a demise of the club but we want this to be seen as a bit of fun because things have been dreary enough lately. It is not sinister or anything but the underlying message is that the manager must go. We have had enough." Field says there is a groundswell of belief that O'Leary, who has been told by chairman Doug Ellis that he can carry on, must carry the can for the club's worst season in the Premiership. "We have had our worst home record ever," he said. "I can put up with Villa losing but what I can't accept is the players, the club and the supporters being talked down all the time which is endemic of his reign. The notion that he is 'proud' to keep us up, as he said this week, is ludicrous." Field revealed that the protests have been on hold since the away defeat at Everton and goalless draw with Fulham in March. "We didn't want to protest against Albion or Blues as they were too important, and we were still not safe against Manchester City," he added.

Aston Villa v Sunderland 

Villa Park, Sunday, 7 May, Kick-off: 1500 BST

Relegated Sunderland will give fitness tests to both Justin Hoyte and Anthony Le Tallec. Julio Arca, Liam Lawrence and Jon Stead are also doubts but striker Stephen Elliott (Achilles) will not be fit.

Aston Villa's leading scorer Milan Baros is fit after recovering from a hamstring injury. Defender Jlloyd Samuel (tonsillitis) is a doubt after being sent home from training while defenders Martin Laursen and Mark Delaney are both injured.

Sunderland (from): Davis, Nosworthy, Hoyte, Breen, Caldwell, McCartney, Welsh, Whitehead, Miller, Brown, Le Tallec, Alnwick, D Collins, Leadbitter, Kyle, D Murphy, Arca, Lawrence, Stead.

Aston Villa (from): Sorensen, Hughes, Mellberg, Cahill, Bouma, Milner, Davis, McCann, Barry, Baros, Phillips, Angel, Moore, Taylor, Agbonlahor, Gardner, Ridgewell, Hendrie.

Aston Villa boss David O'Leary: "I'm hurt and wounded at where we are and I don't want this happening to me. If the players don't share that hunger when we come back for pre-season training in July, then I'll get them out of the door. I want people who want the challenge: if they're out of the team, theyve got to have the hunger to get back in."

Sunderland manager Kevin Ball: "We've had a great win over Fulham and I now expect us to go to Aston Villa and have a right go in this game as well. In the same token I would expect David O'Leary saying the same thing to his players as they are desperate as well. I want three points in every game. I will stress to the players how important it is to win this game as well. It's the last memory of the Premiership and we all want it to be a win."

BIG-MATCH FACTS

ASTON VILLA and Sunderland clash for the 150th time in the League, in what is a "bottom five" Premiership duel. Villa will finish the highest of the three west Midlands clubs, but with the other two relegated that says very little. David O'Leary's will end up in 17th spot immediately above the relegation zone, if Portsmouth beat Liverpool and Villa fail to defeat Sunderland. Brian Little's Villa side finished fifth bottom in 1994/95 - the season when four went down - and they escaped the drop by three points. Graham Taylor was in charge in 2002/03, when again they survived by three points. This will be their lowest placed finish since then, whether it's 16th or 17th. The Midlanders ended last season with three straight defeats. They're battling here to avoid bringing the curtain down on a fourth successive loss, after defeats to Wigan (a), Manchester City (h) and Liverpool (a). Villa last lost four on the bounce between 12 and 28 December 2004. Villa are defending an unbeaten home Premiership record against the Wearsiders, of two wins and three draws. Former Sunderland favourite Kevin Phillips returned to Wearside in November and duly scored the opening goal that led to Villa's first ever victory at the Stadium of Light, to set up the possibility of a first Premiership 'double' over the Black Cats, and an 11th against them all time.

SUNDERLAND finally avoided the ignominy of becoming the first club in English League football to go through the season without a single home victory, by defeating Fulham 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on Thursday night. They're now hoping to mark their exit from the big time with back-to-back victories. The Black Cats last recorded successive wins in the Premiership on 22 and 26 December 2001, when Everton (h) and Blackburn (a) were their victims. The eclipse of the Cottagers was Sunderland's first win in nine games under Kevin Ball. They need another maximum at Villa Park to avoid setting a new mark for the lowest ever top flight points total in the 25 seasons since three points for a win was introduced. The Mackems tally of three wins equals the lowest ever accrued in the highest League. If they beat Aston Villa, they'll equal their own unwanted record of fewest victories in a Premier League campaign of four. The Mackems have gained only one win in 13 League visits to Villa Park - a 1-3 top flight triumph on 28 August 1982, since when they've drawn three and lost five of eight visits.

REFEREE: Mike Dean (Wirral)

SEQUENCES/RECENT FORM

ASTON VILLA

16th 39 points, Highest achievable: 16^th, Lowest could fall: 17^th, Won one of 10 in all competitions. Lost the last three highest League duels against Wigan (a), Manchester City (h) and Liverpool (a). Failed to win eight of the last nine Premiership games. Failed to score in four of seven top flight outings. The Premiership's draw specialists (12 of 36). Gone 13 matches since a Premiership score draw (1-1, home to Chelsea on 1 February). Failed to score in four of the last seven. Conceded more penalties in Premiership matches this season than any other club (eight). One defeat in five Premier League games at Villa Park. Failed to find the net in three of the last four League games on home turf. Kept clean sheets in three of the last five top flight matches in front of the home support. The third weakest home club in the Premiership, with 21 points from a possible 54. Only West Brom (20) and Sunderland (seven) have fewer. Beaten Blackburn, Charlton, Everton, Portsmouth and Birmingham in home League games this term.

SUNDERLAND

20th 15 points, Will finish bottom, Won one of 16 in all competitions. Pressing for a second win in 16 Premiership engagements. Sunderland won just four games, lost 27, scored 21 goals, conceded 65 and gained a record low 19 points when relegated from the Premiership in the 2002/03 season. The record lowest points tally in top flight football since three points for a win was introduced in the 1981/82 season, is 17 accrued by Stoke from 42 matches in 1984/85. Least wins in an English top flight season is three by Stoke in 1889/1890 - the first ever season of League football when just 22 matches were played. Won fewer Premiership matches than any other club this season (three). Lost more top tier games than any other club this term (28). Own the least effective attack in the top table - 25 goals in 37 games. Kept only four clean sheets in the highest League (v Middlesbrough, Bolton, West Brom and Manchester Utd) - fewer than any other club. 13 of the 67 League goals conceded, have been leaked in the last 10 minutes. Dropped 96 points this season so far. Won three of the last 57 Premiership matches played. Lost 43 of 52 Premiership games, and 49 of 61, spanning the 2002/03 and current seasons. "Doubled" 10 times this season - more than any other club. Gone nine away games in League and Cup since a win. Without an away League victory in eight. Lost 11, drawn two and won one of the last 14 away League encounters. Bottom but one in this season's Premiership "away" table with eight points. Fulham are at the foot with seven. Their only points on the road have come from victorious trips to Middlesbrough and West Brom, and draws at Everton and Manchester United. Two short of conceding 200 Premiership goals all time, away from home.

KEY PLAYER NOTES/POTENTIAL MILESTONES

ASTON VILLA

If he lines up for the opening whistle, Jlloyd SAMUEL will be making his 150th career League start. If he gets a run out, Lee HENDRIE will be making his 250th career League appearance - all for Villa. If involved, Ulises DE LA CRUZ will be making his 100th appearance for Aston Villa.

SUNDERLAND

Anthoy LE TALLEC is Sunderland's top scorer this season with five goals. LE TALLEC, Dean WHITEHEAD, Liam LAWRENCE and Tommy MILLER jointly head the club's Premiership scorers list with three goals a piece. If he gets a run out, Chris BROWN will be making his 50th League appearance in a Sunderland shirt.

THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE:

Sunderland 1-3 Aston Villa

19 November 2005 - Ref: Chris Foy

Sunderland scorer: Whitehead 90 pen

Villa scorers: Phillips 55, Barry 82, Baros 83

HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS

League: Villa 62 wins, Sunderland 50, Draws 37 Prem: Villa 3 wins, Sunderland 3, Draws 5

HEAD TO HEAD at Villa

League: Villa 47 wins, Sunderland 13, Draws 14 Prem: Villa 2 wins, Sunderland 0, Draws 3

Aston Villa boss David O'Leary says he could launch a renewed bid for Leeds midfielder Eirik Bakke in the summer, after admitting he had a dressing room mutiny on his hands when the Norwegian ended his loan spell in January. Bakke impressed at Villa Park but club chairman Doug Ellis failed to keep him at the Premiership side due to financial constraints - meaning youngster Steven Davis had to play a key role for the rest of what has been a dismal season. O'Leary has now revealed that a number of his playing staff confronted the ageing supremo after the 28-year-old rejoined Leeds, although he could reignite his interest in the summer should he have the financial clout. "I could reactivate the deal if I get funds," said O'Leary. "After Eirik went to Leeds we had no back-up and I cant wait for the season to finish because Steven Davis needs a break. "

03/05/06

DOUG Ellis is believed to want to speak to both Martin O'Neill and Alan Curbishley before he calls time on David O'Leary. But he looks increasingly likely to pull the plug on the Irishman's three-year reign and offer him 1.7 million - a year's salary - to go. Former Celtic boss O'Neill's name is believed to be at at the top of Ellis' wish-list, but Curbishley's availability after the announcement that he will be leaving Charlton next week after a 15-year-reign has also thrown him into the mix. Curbishley, aged 48, played for Villa in 1983/84 and was believed to have been approached by Ellis in 2001 to replace the departed John Grgeory. Despite Villa's lowest points total ever in the Premiership, O'Leary is confident he will still be in his job next season but the statistics show that only Graham Taylor in his first spell has survived such a poor season. O'Leary said: "You can bet that I will be manager next season. People in the game know what is happening at this club and the big expectations at Villa. But I was unable to do anything in the last transfer window, we have had to use the youngsters and dig in to get ourselves across the line. We will give another couple of youngsters their chance before the end of the season. We budget for 10th or 12th place, and we have not done that so this has not been a good season. If someone else comes into the club and has money and wants to change things, so be it. But I am not expecting it. I was told a few days ago that I must sell before I can buy, and that is what will happen. The good thing is that the youngsters have done well and they will be part of our future." Villa remain two points behind their tally in 1990/91 which saw Jo Venglos fired when the club finished in 17th. Graham Taylor's newly-promoted side of 1988/89 ended up with 40 points after 38 games to end in 17th. Before that, Billy McNeill lost his job when Villa were relegated in in 1986/87 having accumulated just 36 points from 42 games to finish in 22nd. Curbishley admits he is in no rush to return to management. He said: "I don't know what the future holds but I am looking forward to a bit of a break. I went straight from playing in management and it has been non-stop, so that's my main aim - to recharge myself. Then we will see what happens then but I have no immediate plans, that's for sure."

Liverpool 3 Villa 1

WHEN David O'Leary announced at the post-match press conference that they could "bet on him" being Villa manager next season you could be forgiven for side-stepping William Hills on your way out of Anfield. Only a punter as adventurous or as daft as Barings Bank trader Nick Leeson would take a gamble on O'Leary being around beyond the summer. Indeed, the under-fire Irishman, who has now overseen officially the worst Premiership season in Villa's 14-year tenure in the reformed league, could even be out of the door before the ink on the betting slip is dry. With Villa now no longer capable of finishing beyond 16th, and quite possibly 17th if they slip up against Sunderland on Sunday, savage cuts are being made throughout Villa Park and O'Leary has to shoulder most of the blame. Around the same time that news was breaking down at Charlton that Alan Curbishley would be leaving The Valley, surely a Villa target in the coming weeks, O'Leary was saying: "You can bet that I will be manager next season. But I was unable to do anything in the last transfer window, we have had to use the youngsters and dig in to get ourselves across the line." The irony though is that without those youngsters Villa would surely have fallen through the relegation trap-door. His chief signing Milan Baros has been almost laughably linked with a 15 million move to a warmer climate following the World Cup. He was so off colour on Saturday that he may as well have been playing in black and white. Whether he is seen again at Villa Park after two successive early substitutions - this one at his former club - very much remains to be seen. Steven Davis, back in the side at Anfield after a hamstring injury, has been the star of the show but there would have been very little of Davis this season but for injuries because O'Leary had been grooming Patrik Berger to play central midfield alongside Gavin McCann. Luke Moore's joint-top eight league goals have played a crucial part but only because of injuries to Villa's senior strikers. Liam Ridgewell has likewise done well in profiting from Martin Laursen's demise, while in recent months Gabby Agbonlahor - Villa's star man on Saturday - and Gary Cahill have done their level best to pick Villa's season off the floor. After so many recent abject performances of late, though, Villa were much brighter at Anfield. True, they were sluggish and nervous in the opening 30 minutes, perhaps not surprising in view of their woeful recent record which left them mathematically at least looking over their shoulders. They got off to the worst possible start when they fell behind to a fourth minute Fernando Morientes goal after Villa's midfield and central defence opened up as embarrassingly just as Tower Bridge might with nothing but a small tug boat underneath. The Spaniard sent Cahill spinning onto his backside and finished clinically beyond Thomas Sorensen. But Villa recovered and should have equalised before the break when James Milner got away from Djimi Traore and Jamie Carragher inside his own half. The on-loan winger crossed as he reached the penalty area, but with time to pick his spot Gareth Barry nodded into the ground and the ball bounced over the crossbar. Juan Pablo Angel livened things up quite markedly at half-time and there was much more purpose and belief about Villa after the break. Sorensen produced a fine save to deny Morientes a second when the striker's volley took a deflection off Cahill. Barry equalised from close range after Angel missed Aaron Hughes' excellent right-wing centre after a move initiated by the Colombian. Agbonlahor missed a great chance when he shot wide from the edge of box after an awful mistake from Sami Hyypia. But then Steven Gerrard decided that Liverpool had been posturing for too long and single-handedly dragged them up by their boot laces. The game was over and done with when Gerrard produced a well-timed run and well-executed volley to stab Alonso's corner beyond Sorensen at his near post. Within minutes it was 3-1 with a 30-yard screamer from Gerrard. To their credit Villa rallied and Barry's shot was agonisingly tipped around the post by Jose Reina after Momo Sissoko's deflection. In injury time Craig Gardner was denied when Reina blocked at point-blank range. Despite the defeat, the away fans were soon rejoicing in events 100 miles away. Likewise, events off the pitch are likely to keep them interested over the coming weeks.

DAVID O'Leary today emerged as a shock managerial front-runner for Sunderland. O'Leary's long-time pal, former Arsenal and Ireland room-mate Niall Quinn, is understood to be within days of completing a 16 million takeover of the Black Cats. And Quinn, 39, who is backed by wealthy horse-racing magnate JP McManus, wants O'Leary to head up his new managerial team at the Stadium of Light. O'Leary will not walk away from his 1.7 million Villa Park job but a compromise would appear to suit both parties. O'Leary is frustrated by a lack of investment in the team and, with financial cuts sweeping Villa Park, he has already been told he has to sell before he can buy. O'Leary, who still lives near Harrogate, could walk away with his head held high and into a sleeping giant in the Championship. An insider close to Quinn told the Birmingham Mail today: "Quinn wants O'Leary as his manager as he has a lot of respect for him over a good many years. O'Leary would get cash to spend on new players and we hope it can happen." Villa chairman Doug Ellis, away this week on business, is reluctant to hand the manager a lofty compensation figure for sacking him and would favour the type of brokering that allowed him to snap up O'Leary in the first place in May 2003. Then, Ellis and Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale struck a deal months before Graham Taylor resigned whereby Leeds wouldn't get compensation for allowing their mananger to join Villa. O'Leary's first signing in the North East would be cult figurehead Kevin Phillips, Quinn's former strike partner. Phillips is still a legend at Sunderland for his goalscoring: 113 goals in 207 games between 1996 and 2003, including 30 Premiership goals in 1999/2000.

Manager David O'Leary claims that some of his side's previous games in Sweden have been "almost like a day off" and hopes that tussles with Hannover (August 5), NEC Nijmegen (August 8) and FC Groningen (August 11) will provide a more testing warm-up for the rigours of a Premiership campaign. In addition, the Villains will have use of the training facility used by the Dutch national team during their stay. O'Leary told the club's official website: "What I'm looking for is to extend the players' fitness. The matches themselves are an extension of training and some of those Swedish games have been almost like a day off. I want to get them into matches that test them. I'm not talking about going into matches to get beaten, but if we can get teams that are ahead of us in fitness, they can push us. It's not about the results."

Aston Villa ace Juan Pablo Angel has done little to help the position of embattled boss David O'Leary by implying the Irishman should be axed. Following their worst-ever Premiership campaign, which has left them wallowing in 16th spot, the Colombian has put the boot into O'Leary by pleading with chairman Doug Ellis to make "big changes" during the summer break. And several national newspapers have taken that plea as a vote of no confidence in O'Leary by Angel. "I'm not going to talk about my situation, but I think they know what to do to change things round," Angel said. "We can't afford to have another season like this. I'm sure they (the board) are already taking care of the situation for next season and, hopefully, there will be some changes."