Villa announce incentive scheme to get new fans

Aston Villa have launched an incentive scheme to encourage season ticket holders like myself to recruit new fans.

Villa will be giving tokens to all season ticket holders who book seats for non-season ticket holders between now and the end of the season.

The official Villa website says that the scheme should help to fill the ground and raise the atmosphere.

But I've got an even better idea...

...why don't we ask the rich over-paid players to actually play a little bit bloody better? That might bring in a few new fans.

Snow stops play in Black Country dingle-dong

Wolves hard man Mick McCarthy was seething today after officials and public safety experts at The Hawthorns called off this afternoon's big Black Country derby with Sandwell rivals, the Baggies.

With an opportunity to go top of the Braggers League had Wolves beaten West Brom, McCarthy was observed storming into the Albion dressing room where players were drinking Bovril and holding Baggy Bird hot water bottles.

"I don't know what's up wi' footballers these days" big Mick was heard to fume. "You're nowt but wimps. In my day we were sent out trainin' over t' moor in just our underpants and bare feet as like. Nowt a rub down with a bottle of embrication couldn't sort out, son".

McCarthy then challenged Albion boss Roberto di Matteo to a snow ball fight. In spite of being born in Switzerland, the Italian manager only lasted 3 minutes in the freezing cold as McCarthy pelted him with snow balls.

As di Matteo was seen heading back towards his personal dressing room, wiping away the snow as he made his escape, McCarthy was heard to shout:

"Well we bloody well won that one sunshine!"

     

Stoke stay top as Brummers clash with Yammers in double trouble weekend

In spite of being beaten at home by Blackpool this weekend, it's no change for Stoke who remain at the top of the Braggers' League after a double of derbies between Brummagem and the Black Country this weekend.

Villa fought hard yesterday at Villa Park to secure a 2-1 victory over Albion with Villa goals from Downing and Heskey and Albion's from Paul Scharner.

Wolves beat Blues 1-0 today at Molinuex with the game's only goal from Stephen Hunt.

Today's results mean that Blues remain fixed to the bottom of the Bragger's League have lost 3 of their local derbies this season and drawn only one.

Villa and Wolves climb up the Braggers' League in chase of Stoke.
  
    

Blatter accuses English of arrogance after his great Zurich stitch-up

The Yodeling Empress, Queen Sepp

Fifa President Septic Blabber has accused the English World Cup 2018 bid team of arrogance following widespread condemnation of the way the voting process was manipulated by Blabber and his cronies. (Ahh, that's a relief, we thought Fifa were cross about the flare at the Blues Villa match) 

Blabber told Swiss magazine Weltwoche ("who are yer?"): "To be honest, I was surprised by all the English complaining after the defeat. England, of all people, the motherland of fair play ideas.

(Well why the surprise then because that's exactly why we're complaining Sepp ...the absence of fair play)

"Now some of them are showing themselves to be bad losers. You can't come afterwards and say so and so promised to vote for England. The results are known. The outcome came out clearly.


"I really sense in some reactions a bit of the arrogance of the western world of Christian background. Some simply can't bear it if others get a chance for a change.

(Did I miss something? And when did religion come into all this?) 

Blabber went on:

"What can be wrong if we start football in regions where this sport demonstrates a potential which goes far beyond sport?"

(Good point, it just would have been nice to know that particular criteria before we threw 15 million plus pounds at our bid Sepp).

(Can we not do him in the small claims court?)

Blabber also rejected claims that FIFA is corrupt, even though two members of football's governing body were suspended after an investigation by the Sunday Times alleged they had offered to sell their votes.

"There is no systematic corruption in FIFA. That is nonsense. We are financially clean and clear."

Blabber did however concede:


"We need to improve our image. We also need to clarify some things within FIFA".

(You don't say?)

It has been revealed that the two winning bids, Qatar and Russia, were both given poor technical reports. England's bid chief Andy Anson has also suggested Blabber had instructed his members not to vote for the England bid following stories about FIFA corruption which appeared in the British media. England's team was also disappointed that votes promised to them failed to materialise.


Sepp Blabber, who was once the president of the World Society Of The Friends of Suspenders, an organisation which tried to stop women replacing suspender belts with pantyhose in the 1970s, is now said to have his eye on China and India in his quest to personally conquer the world.


It is not known if Fifa vice-president Jack Warner prefers stockings or pantyhose, but he is known to do a good impression of Dixon of Dock Green at Fifa Christmas parties.

"Evenin' all"

Warner keeps his eye on one of his unusually large balls whilst Blabber

fleetingly day dreams about the inside of the Anne Summers' store on Zurich High Street

The campaign to ditch these incompetent, paranoid clowns starts here.

Boycott Fifa. Keep it local.

Blues v Villa tonight - but will it be a thriller or a chiller?

Birmingham City take on Aston Villa at St Andrew's this evening in the quarter final of the Carling Cup, but a game which should be a fantastic local derby thriller could also be a chiller as the snow continues to come down and temperatures remain low.

Blues boss Alex McLeish believes that the home fans could play a big role in terms of spurring on the boys in blue and has been talking up memories of their 3-0 triumph over Villa when Blues returned to the top flight 8 years ago. He was not managing Blues back then but was apparently present at the game.

But 3-0 may be rather ambitious for either side who are both lacking consistent strike power up-front at the moment so McLeish may be hoping for an early goal and then to bolt the doors up at the back for the remainder of the match as they did when they beat Chelsea recently. If this were to happen, Villa could find it very difficult to break through.



Birmingham's legendary Scarf Lady says
"wrap up warm tonight me babs"

 Having said this, Agbonlahor is set to return to the Villa side after a period of illness and could be the vital factor in the game, as he has been in recent derbies between the two sides. Ex-Villa players Craig Gardner and Liam Ridgewell will also have points to prove if they play.

I see this one as being a tighly fought contest in difficult environmental conditions and could even go to penalties, in which case it will be anyone's to win.

I am going to St Andrew's tonight with my two sons so we are very excited about the match and fingers crossed the weather conditions don't stop play. The great thing about the Villa Blues rivalry is that the city is not split geographically or religiously as it is in certain UK cities, so my family and workplace are fairly evenly split and the banter is fantastic and very good humoured.

But either way, someone has to win tonight because it's a cup match, so no goaless draws on this one and whatever transpires, someone is guaranteed Braggers' Rights!

Editor's note:

Incidentally, in spite of my original intentions for this website, the Braggers' League table is purely based upon the results of the Premiership derbies, anything else would have been too complicated and introduced the possibility of bias from me as a Villa fan (as if!!) So this match is purely for pride and a place in the semi finals of the Carling cup.

But mainly pride.

Harry smacks the Frenchman's posterior in North London thriller

Harry: chewing a wasp or just happy to beat the Gooners?

Days after France beat England 2-1 at Wembley this week, England manager-in-waiting Harry Redknapp took swift revenge on the French this afternoon by winning the North London derby and thus provoking a well-known French man to throw his bottle of drink onto the ground in rage, followed by the lid.  

Spurs came back from 2-0 down at the Emirates today to win 2-3, giving them their first win at Arsenal in 17 years.

Redknapp's tactical changes in the second half and the manner of Arsenal's collapse, are already sparking predictions that Spurs are on the verge of taking the Gooners' place in the top four of British football.

But maybe that all depends on when Fabio does the decent thing and Redknapp takes over as England manager?

Book your seats early for the Black Country Christmas punch-up

Aynuk and Ayli scrag it out for Black Country bragging rights

Just in time for Christmas, the first of this season's Black Country derbies will be fought out on December 19th at The Hawthorns.

In the meantime here is some old news footage of a previous meeting between the two teams in the third round of the FA Cup in 1956, Albion won this one, but can they do it on the 19th December?

WEST BROMWICH ALBION v WOLVES 1956

Click on image to watch film footage

Stoke stuff the Baggies against the run of play to head the Braggers' League

Stoke City have consolidated their position at the top of the West Midlands Braggers' League by beating the Albion at the Hawthorns earlier this evening. Albion's loss at home was arguably undeserved as Stoke were not a great threat and the first two of their goals were controversial penalties, netted by Etherington (55 minutes) and Walters (85 minutes).

Stoke's third goal came in the 3rd minute of injury time with a final smash and grab goal, again from Walters.

The win means Stoke are 5 points clear of Villa (in second place) at the top of tthe Braggers' League, although they have played more derby matches than the other 4 West Midlands teams.

Albion drop below Black Country rivals Wolves on goal difference.

Severn derbies have now been played this season. The positions of our 5 teams in the Premiership are as follows:

8th position   Stoke   played 14   points 19
12th position  Villa    played 13    points 17
13th place   Birmingham  played 14   points 16
14th place  West Brom   played 14   points 16
19th place   Wolves  played 14  points 9

These are the scores of the derby games so far this season:

Albion 0 Stoke 3
Stoke 3 Blues 2
Villa 0 Blues 0

Wolves 1 Villa 2

Albion 3 Blues 1

Stoke 2 Villa 1
Wolves 2 Stoke 1

Coming up in December in the Braggers' League:

11th December
Aston Villa v West Brom, 15:00

12th December

Wolverhampton v Birmingham, 13:30

19th December

West Brom v Wolverhampton, 12:00

Also coming up of local interest:

Blues v. Villa

Carling Cup Round 5
1st December 2010

Blues come-back is not enough to stop the Potters

A late 2nd half two goal come back by Birmingham City was not enough to prevent the Potters from taking all 3 points in tonight's latest West Midlands derby.

The boys from North Staffordshire ended their run of four Premiership defeats in a row with goals from Robert Huth, Ricardo Fuller and the late winner from Dean Whitehead 5 minutes before the end of the game.

Blues had looked good for the draw with 2 goals in five minutes from Keith Fahey and Cameron Jerome to bring the game to 2-2 but Whitehead's late goal meant that the Potters have now jumped ahead of Villa at the top of the Braggers' League with Blues fixed to the bottom of the league with only one point out of three derbies.

But with each of our 5 local teams playing 8 derbies in total this season, there's still plenty of scope for things to change and, so far, not that much between the teams in terms of general form.

Potter's supporters - pleased with their win

Villa go top of the league following 2nd city Sunday lie-in

As the clocks went backwards for British wintertime this morning, the players of both Aston Villa and Birmingham City took full advantage of the extra hour in bed by barely showing up for the 12 noon showdown at Villa Park.

Fans from both sides probably gained more excitement from the smoke bomb in Witton Road after the match and the over head helicopter than they did from anything which took place on the pitch. Certainly I did, although I could have done without the grunge character sat behind us on the North Stand who repeatedly told his girlfriend how boring the game was for the entire 95 minutes. When you're watching a crap match there's nothing worse than some clever ass behind you commenting on every bodged pass and wasted chance of the entire game in the most winging glass-half-empty moaning Villa fan drone you've ever heard.

Aside from a couple of incidents involving Villa's captain Nigel Reo-Cocker and ex-Villa player Craig Gardner, which saw both yellow carded, there was little to talk about in a match that both teams were clearly playing to draw. Which strangely enough would have been Bradley the Octopus's prediction (typical that the one he would have finally got right was the one we forgot to post up on the website!)

Perhaps this was the warm-up for the clash between Blues and Villa in the Carling Cup quarter final at St Andrews on 29th November? At least someone has to win that one, so who knows, the players may actually get out of bed for it.

In any event, the draw means Villa go top of the Braggers' League with 4 points from 3 local derbies this season. Blues gain their first point of the season from 2 derbies so remain rooted to the bottom. But with just a quarter of this season's derbies played so far this season, it's all still to play for.

The results so far:

Wolves 2 Stoke 1
Stoke 2 Villa 1
Albion 3 Blues 1
Wolves 1 Villa 2
Villa 0 Blues 0

Villa Blues - the last 12 matches

Prior to 2003, Villa and Blues had not met for a decade. With the entry of Blues into the Premiership in 2003, began a run of derbies between the clubs which was only interrupted when Birmingham were relegated back to the Championship for the 2006-2007 and 2008-2009 seasons. Out of these 12 fixtures Villa have won 6, Blues 4 and there have been 2 draws.

A famous double by the Blues over Villa in 2002/2003 was followed the next season by two draws then another two victories by Blues in the 04/05 season. Just when Villa fans were starting to believe the rumour that the St Andrews gyspsy curse had been transferred to Villa Park by a Blues supporting builder who reputedly dropped a brick from the demolished Spion Kop into the foundations of the new Holte End, Villa finally broke their run of bad luck against their rivals. Two victories in the 05/06 season no doubt contributed to the relegation of the Blues at the end of the season.

Following a radical clear-out at St Andrews, Blues quickly bounced back up into the Premiership but they have never been able to repeat the humiliation bestowed upon Villa in their 2002-2006 spell in the Premiership. Villa have won the tie six times in a row since November 2007, including the devastating 5-1 victory at Villa Park in 2008 which once again helped to relegate their rivals.

With Blues' return to the Premiership once again in 2009, last season witnessed two very tight games between the teams with Villa clinching 1-0 wins in both games. Villa now hold the ongoing all-time record for wins in a row in this fixture, but with both teams in reasonable though not fantastic form this season, who knows what will happen on Sunday? The law of averages says Blues must be due a win but both teams may ultimately be satisfied with the draw out of this one. Having said this, derbies have a tendency to throw up incident and even experienced players lose the plot under the unique pressure of a derby game. Blues will be most fired up following the controversy of the penalty in their last meeting at Villa Park, but pressure can produce errors of judgement as well as heroics. Blues are playing with 2 ex-Villa players, Ridgewell and Gardner whilst the Villa have ex-Blues man Hesky, this always helps to influence the dynamics of the game. 

24 April 2010    Aston Villa - Birmingham City    Aston Villa win 1 - 0
The meeting of ex-Cletic and Rangers bosses ends in a very controverisal penalty

12 September 2009   Birmingham City - Aston Villa    Aston Villa win 0  - 1
As evenly matched as it gets but Agbonlahor clinches it in the 85th minute

20 April 2008   Aston Villa - Birmingham City       Aston Villa win 5 - 1
Blues fans leave at half time - a good day to be on the Holte End

11 November 2007 Birmingham City - Aston Villa    Aston Villa  win 1 - 2
Ridgewell scores for Villa - but he was playing for the Blues

16 April 2006      Aston Villa - Birmingham City  Aston Villa win 3 - 1
Baros and Cahill inflict the damage on Blues

16 October 2005  Birmingham City - Aston Villa  Aston Villa  win 0 - 1
Kevin Phillips finally restores pride for Villa

20 March 2005  Birmingham City - Aston Villa  Birmingham City win 2 - 0
Another bad day at the office for Sorenson

12 December 2004  Aston Villa - Birmingham City  Birmingham win 1 - 2
Thomas Sorenson blamed for goalkeeping errors

22 February 2004  Aston Villa - Birmingham City  Draw 2 - 2
Stern John gets a 90 minute equalizer in a second half come-back for Blues.

19 October 2003  Birmingham City - Aston Villa  Draw 0 - 0
We don't need 0-0 draws in derbies thank you very much

03 March 2003 Aston Villa - Birmingham City  Birmingham City win 0 - 2
Dublin drops the nut on Savage and Blues humiliate Villa at Villa Park

16 September 2002 Birmingham City - Aston Villa  Birmingham City win 3 - 0
The Peter Enkelman howler at St Andrews

5 days to go - countdown to the Brummie derby

Let the red mist descend. It's time to take off the gloves and prepare to do battle..

Gladiators... are you ready?

A new generation brings new heroes and new villains. But the prize remains the same.

Honour, pride and of course...

Braggers' Rights!

BRUMMAGEM EXPECTS.

What a difference a week makes!

But you know what happened the last time someone threw limitless millions of pounds at a failing cause?

It was called the recession and we're going to be paying for it for years.

"I say, I say, Wee Alex, I've hurt my ankle"

"Oh no you haven't Master Wayne"

"Oh Yes I have"

"Oh yes you have"

"Oh no I haven't!"

"Haha! Got you there Master Wayne"

"Pah! That's it I'm off to join the boys in blue across the city"

"Oh no don't go Master Wayne, I'll give you a million pounds to stay"

"Is that a million pounds every week little Wee Alex?"

"Och I! But only if ma little gee-gee wins on the 2.30 at Kempton Park"

"Ok shut up now and drink your whiskey"

"Gottle a geer Wayne, gottle a geer"

Bemused Sir Alex hastens to leave the door open for his star Number 10

Sir Alex introduces his new number 10

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has responded directly to counter recent media speculation by denying that he has played any significant part in driving his legendary number 10 from the club.

"As far as anyone at Old Trafford is concerned" Sir Alex told a hushed press conference yesterday "the lad has settled in well and has benefited from the support of our staff both on and off the pitch. He's a great little player so the door is always open for him, regardless of his private life or the interference of his greedy  agent".

Humble father figure Sir Alex continued:

"No, there's just not a problem and I would also want to deny allegations that I am a bitter and controlling old git from the Govan who doesn't tolerate prima donnas. I can reassure United supporters that there is no sense of panic or desperation at Old Trafford, no player is ever bigger than the club and therefore Fred the Red will be putting on the number 10 shirt as usual on Saturday afternoon ".

Asked about Rooney, Sir Alex gave the swift but barely discernible retort "who let that wind-up merchant  from the BBC in here?"

Toffees win the Scouse derby

Well done to the Toffee boys for winning the Scouse derby 2-0 and just when Liverpool supporters were celebrating having won more court cases in a week than they've won Premiership matches all season.

Still, at least they will have next season's Scouse derby to look forward to. Liverpool versus Tranmere Rovers.

I say, I say, I say... how many Liverpool fans does it take to change a lightbulb?

They have electricity on Merseyside?

Local Merseyside derby this weekend...

Scousers - preparing to bring comedy value to the Championship

As Liverpool and Everton go head to head in the battle over who remains lowest of the pair of them in the relegation zone, the Braggers' League wipes a nostalgic tear from our collective eye and sniffs, "yeah, but...who gives a damn?"

Let's hope it's a draw so they both go down.

Calm down! Calm down!

Double celebration for Scousers and Miners

On the historic day when both miners and Scousers were happy at the same time, the Braggers' League asks...

...what's that all about then? Has Mrs Thatcher died?

Former Grantham Town right winger Margaret Hilda Thatcher

"Support for the miners? Of course, Dennis and I used to own one before we got the Austin 10"

Di Matteo - Once upon a time in the West Midlands

By Steve Mitchell

Sunday 10 October 2010

In a revealing interview with the Gazzetta dello Sport, West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo explains what life is like managing at the top level in England and gives his thoughts on the current state of the Italian game.

Having recently claimed the manager of the month award he was asked how he felt about his team being in the higher echelons of the Premier League: “it is fantastic, in September we got seven points from three games and we are just behind Chelsea and Manchester City”. Following his team’s extraordinary win over Arsenal at the Emirates, Di Matteo explained that: “it was stupendous, we even earned the applause of the Arsenal fans terrific”.

He continued by outlining his philosophy on the game by stating that : “I want my teams to attack as a five and then cover as a five, my aim is to stop this club from continuing to be a yo-yo side” and he also had special praise for one of his newest signings: “Peter Odemwingie has been amazing, 45 appearances for his national side and three goals in his first five matches for West Brom, fantastic”.
 
Read the full article on Football Italiano

Revealed: Hundreds of football hooligans banned at West Midlands clubs

HUNDREDS of football hooligans were banned from Midland football clubs for violent behaviour last season, shock new figures have revealed.

Leeds United topped the league of shame with 162 thugs barred from attending games home and away.

But Wolverhampton Wanderers were fifth in the list of 92 clubs, with 98 hooligans hit by banning orders last season after causing trouble inside or outside grounds.

There were 79 fans barred at Aston Villa, 73 at Birmingham City and 37 at West Bromwich Albion, according to the new figures from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

Read the full story at Birmingham Mail online

Sir Edward Elgar wrote football chant along with his classical music

By Richard Alleyne



Telegraph Online

His songs are usually belted out from the plush red seats of the Royal Albert Hall, rather than the football terraces.

But it has emerged that Sir Edward Elgar, the composer of Land of Hope and Glory, penned the world's first football chant.

Titled "He Banged The Leather for Goal", the theme was written more than 100 years ago in honour of his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Elgar fell in love with football in February 1898, when he was in the crowd at Molineux for a game between Wolves and Stoke City, two of the founder members of the Football League.

He was inspired by rugged striker Billy Malpass who was celebrated in newspaper headlines the next day.

The reports told of the way he “Banged The Leather for Goal” and Elgar was so taken by it that he put the lyric to a short piece of piano music.

No one knows whether the tune was ever played during his lifetime but yesterday it got its first-ever known public performance at a charity concert in the city.

The choirs of St Peter’s Collegiate Church, under the baton of Wolverhampton Symphony Orchestra conductor Peter Morris, belted out the chant at a concert to raise money for the church’s organ restoration fund.

To add more nostalgia, the opera singer Rita Cullis – niece of the club’s "Iron Manager" Stan Cullis – was the featured soloist.

Elgar became a Wolves fan through his friendship with Dora Penny, daughter of the Rector of St Peter’s Church in the late 19th century.

The Pomp And Circumstance composer would cycle from Malvern to Wolverhampton to accompany her to Molineux, and immortalised the Midland lass with the tune Dorabella, from his famous Enigma Variations in 1899.

Former England women’s cricket captain Rachel Heyhoe-Flint – now a director at Wolverhampton Wanderers – helped to organise the concert.

“Over the years we have learned more and more about Elgar’s association with the club, and we’re very proud to have counted him as a supporter,” she explained.

“This was the first live rendition of He Banged The Leather For Goal.

‘‘The song was discovered by Dr Percy Young, who was the club historian back in the 1940s and 1950s, and was an expert on Elgar.

“Personally I’m delighted about this, I’ve been a Wolves fan since I visited Molineux in nappies back in the 50s, so I’m very happy that we’re celebrating our heritage in this way.”

While modern football fans are often associated with loutish behaviour and drunken singing, academics say that terrace songs are an important part of our history.

Professor Steven Mithen, author of The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind and Body, said: “Football chants are a very sophisticated activity.

"They come from a point in our evolutionary past before language, when we used music and chanting and dance to bond as social groups.”

The Wolverhampton Wanderers FC historian Graham Hughes said Elgar “loved coming” to the area.

“He used to watch the crowd going down to the match,” he said.

“Then one Saturday he said he’d like to go down to the match, so he went and that’s how it started.”

The original article is on Telegraph Online

Coming up in the Braggers' league in October and November...

Blues fans are hoping for more than a Toby Jug from their

Staffordshire sojourn in November

Bottom of the Braggers' League, Small Heath Alliance aka the Noses, have two forthcoming opportunities to clinch West Midlands 'Braggers' rights' this autumn firstly with a match against their old adversaries, Aston Villa, in October and a then second away trip, this one up the M6 to Stoke just a week later.

But it will be more than a pint of Ansells and a ceramic Toby Jug from which to drink it that Blues hope to bring home with them from these two clashes and I for one would not want to call the result of either game right now.

With the other 4 West Midlands teams on three points a piece in the Braggers' League as it stands after 4 local derbies, Blues fans will be feeling nervous but not desperate and six points from these two games will take them straight to the top, pending Stokes visit to the Hawthorns in late November.

Baggy Bird - on a roll

Here are the big autumnal fixtures for the Braggers' League:

31st October

Aston Villa v Birmingham 12.00

9th November
Stoke v Birmingham 19.45

20th November
West Brom v Stoke, 15:00

Who do you think will come away from these matches with West Midlands Braggers' Rights?

Albion maintain top place as Heskey gives McCarthy his self-predicted slap

West Brom maintain their top position in the The Braggers' League this afternoon as Villa take the 3 points away from Molineux in spite of, it has to be admitted, a valiant fight by Wolves in which they could so easily have got the winner themselves.

Emile Heskey netted his second goal in Villa's first two matches under his old Liverpool boss Houllier, with a stunning header followed by a celebration of putting his hands to his ears in defiance of his critics - which no doubt includes large numbers of the Villa faithful. Meanwhile poor old Mick McCarthy will be feeling a large sense of deja vu as all three points are once again snatched from his grasp after Wolves bossed the game for large periods.

The result means that four of our five clubs line up with 3 points a piece after the first four local derbies of the Braggers' League season. Albion maintain their position at the top of the Braggers' League purely on goal difference. I have also awarded Albion a discretionary bonus point for their exceptional week topped by sticking it up the Arsenal at the Emirates yesterday, which I am sure every fan in the West Midlands will join me in applauding. Remember, the Bonus Points (BP) don't influence positions in the League but will go towards a special award at the end of the season.

Blues remain at the bottom of the Braggers' League but have a game in hand over everyone else, apart from the Baggies, so it's all to play for and anything can happen yet as we go head to head for West Midlands Braggers' rights!

Emile Heskey - silences the voices of vile and unjust derision

...and that's just the Villa fans

Today's big game on Braggers' League - Wolves tek on the Villa

Following an historic week for their Black Country rivals Albion, who beat the Blues last week to put them on top of the Braggers' League, followed by a victory over Man City in the League Cup on Wednesday evening and then, most amazingly of all stuffing it 'up the Arsenal' 3-2 at the Emirates yesterday, the boys in gold and black will surely be after a scalp of their own this afternoon when they take on Premiership big boys, the famous Aston Villa.

The last time Wolves and Villa clashed was at Villa Park in March when Wolves deservedly stole a point having come from behind after John Carew's opener, with goals from Jody Craddock and an own goal from James Milner. John Carew saved the blushes of Villa fans with an equaliser 8 minutes from time.

The earlier derby of the season at Molineux also proved a tight one, with late goals from Agbonlahor for Villa and a penalty by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

Wolves boss Mick McMarthy is anticipating another tight derby match but believes that Wolves must avoid playing well while still taking a slap:

"It's a Premier League game but it does make a difference when its a local derby, of course it does, because of the interest that surrounds the game" said Mick. "It is a huge, huge game - having played well in the last two but losing we need to get some points. We know how harsh the Premiership can be, how unforgiving it can be. You can play well in it, you can entertain in it and be the best team in it and still get slapped".

'Pin-up' Mick McCarthy - why would anyone want to slap him? Well apart from Roy Keane.

Meanwhile Gerard Houllier, who has taken a break from playing boules this weekend to come and watch the Villa, is also anticipating a tight game but expects Villa to come away with the bragging rights:

"It will be tough but we will be ready and we will be up for it. I expect they will put everything in it to win it and they must expect we will put everything in it to win as well. It should be a very good game. The players are not necessarily from the area but they know what a derby is because at other clubs they knew what a derby was like and know what the fans are like. Our aim is to make our fans happy and hopefully win the derby. It is more than three points, it is a derby".

Jean-Paul Sartre: "Pah! Ooullier should win it on philosophy alone. Ee is a genius!" 

So, how does Braggley the Psychic Bingo Playing Octopus predict the scores on this one? Will the newly energised Villa take inspiration from their new continental manager and send McCarthy home with another cruel slapping? Or will the big Northern Man hold his nerve and show the prima donnas from Witton Road a bit of Black Country grit?

We caught up with Braggley at his favourite haunt the Amber Tavern on the Hagley Road, which rather aptly sits on the only sharp right turn on the road from Brummagem to Wolver-ampton.

Braggley predicts a tough game but only a 1-1 draw on this one. Goals from Ashley Young and Ebanks-Blake.

As always, good luck to both teams. Don't forget it's free on Sky Sports.

Notts County starlet Lee Hughes, unlikely to be in the hospitality suite at Molineux this afternoon

It's a funny old game ...says Braggley the bingo playing psychic octopus

It's a funny old game, especially when it comes to predicting the results of local derbies, and our very own Braggley the Octopus is rapidly learning that they never work out quite how we expect them to. With all the odds stacked against a win for the Baggies before the match this afternoon and trailing 1-0 at half time following a Cameron Jerome goal, the Baggies came out fighting in the second half and an own goal from Scott Dann put them back on level terms before goals from Peter Odemwingie and Jonas Olsson doomed Blues to their first defeat of the season.

Plonker

Scott Dann - equalised for the Baggies

It's a great win for the Baggies, which amazingly puts them at the top of the Braggers' League table and Blues, I'm sorry to say (and if you believe that you'll believe anything) taking Villa's recently acquired spot at the bottom.

But with just 3 out of the 20 West Midlands local derbies played so far this season, it's still early days and anything can happen.

(Note: whilst we are awarding bonus points for other factors worth bragging about, the positions in the league are only based on the final scores of matches).

Where's Houlier?

Aston Villa's new manager Gerard Houlier will not be catching the ferry from France for this afternoon's game at Villa Park against Bolton.

But Gerard will catch up on reports about the game in the foriegn sports round-up section of tomorrow's edition of Le Figaro.

The Baggies v The Blues

With betting odds favouring the draw followed by the away win on this season's 3rd local derby, Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish is not complacent and admits that Albion will be gunning for a scalp from this match, knowing that points from any or indeed all of their local derbies will increase their chances of survival at the end of the season.

This is what makes local derby games so interesting, as we have seen in previous seasons, the passions of a debry game are far higher than any other games with the possible exception of cup matches. The pre-match excitement I feel this afternoon when I troop off to see Villa take on Bolton, will pale into insignificance compared with the adrenalein build up for both Blues and Albion fans as they approach the Hawthorns for their three o clock kick-off.

Ok, the Albion Blues clash will not register quite as high on the Richter scale of fan's emotions as Wolves-Albion and Blues-Villa, but even so, there is plenty of rivalry between these two teams. Of the 60 games played between these two at the Hawthorns, the Baggies have won the fixture 26 times and Blues have won 15 times. Their previous match at The Hawthorns was in March 2007, where the two sides shared the spoils courtesy of a 1-1 final scoreline in a Championship match.

“I think they will be absolutely after our scalp,” Blues boss Alex McLeish told the Birmingham Mail this week. “Roberto di Matteo said he learnt a lot from the Chelsea game. But they will see these kind of games today the way we do - bread and butter. These are the games where you’re looking to take points from your neighbours. There’s probably seven, eight teams in the Premier League that should be guaranteed OK. And then it’s a fight with the other 12.”

Albion manager Roberto di Matteo is relishing the encounter and believes his team have already bounced back from the 6-0 battering by Chelsea a few weeks ago:

"Preferably I could have done without that kind of experience. It was a slap in the face. It was hello guys you are in the Premier League now and we are the top team. It was an indication that we have to learn fast at this level. The good thing is that we have not been crushed by the defeat. We have bounced back with some good performances and we have got better with each game. I have seen an improvement in every match we have played. That is very encouraging. I have seen a reaction and that shows the team spirit that we have within the dressing room."

McLeish and Di Matteo - Friends

On Blues, Di Matteo (a close friend of Alex McLeish - they recently travelled to a Champions League match together) says:

"Birmingham have certainly given enough people a clear indication of what is possible after reaching the Premier League. They had a tremendous run last year and what they achieved was impressive."

So, everything looks nicely polite and mutually respectful between the Managers, but will it transfer to events on the pitch?

I'm sorry Baggies fans but Braggley the Bingo playing Octopus predicts 1-3 to Blues with Marc Antoine Fortune scoring for the Baggies followed by a devastating reply from Gardner (2) and Zigic, the big Serbian showing his class in the second half. 

But as you know folks, Braggley has been known to get it wrong. In fact he hasn't managed to get it right so far this season, so we have had to ban him from going to his bingo for the past week so he can stay at home in his tank and fine tune his psychic abilities by reading Derren Brown's autobiography in a waterproof format.

That's how seriously we take things at Braggers' League.

May the best team win this afternoon - bring it on!

Wolves remain top after 2 local derbies

Following the second West Midlands local derby earlier this week, the editor (a Villa supporter), has begrudgingly dragged himself in front of the keyboard to draw up the very latest Braggers' League table. I realise we are just hours away from the next big derby between the Baggies and the Noses, but if I am going to compete for punters with the BBC, Talk Sport  and Sky, the least I can do is crawl out of bed on a Saturday morning and make a pretence at enthusiasm.

One of my mental blocks during the past two weeks was the concept of our Braggers' points, which are awarded on the basis of additional factors, over and above the scores in the pitch. Obviously many of these extra points will be dependant on a degree of discretion and interpretation from my part and as a keen footbal supporter it is only natural that I am going to be biased towards Villa. I make no apologies for this as, like all true soccer fans, it is my natural disposition to genuinely and tangibly hate the rest of you and will pull every trick in the book to make sure that Villa finish top. This being the reality of the situation, it is unlikely to attract fans of the other 4 sides to the website knowing that it's ultimately going to be stitched up so Villa win the League on the basis of every abitrary bonus point I can lay my hands on.  

On reflection therefore, I think that whilst the award of discretionary Braggers' points is potenially a lot of fun, the positions of the five teams in the League table should reflect the points gained from the actual matches. I am therefore keeping a column for bonus points awarded on the basis of our original list of silly regulations, but these will not count in the positions of the teams in the League which will be based on the standard points system employed by people like the Stourbridge and District, Warwickshire Leagues etc,  the FA, UEFA and those other ones who run the World Cup.    

It is with very mixed feelings therefore that I publish the latest League Table with Wolves remaining on top, Stoke in second place on goal difference, Villa at the bottom (for flip's sake!) and the Noses and Baggies poised to battle it out for the latest points.

The bonus points shown on the table were awarded jointly to Stoke and Villa for the highest incoming transfer fee of £8 million for Kenwyne Jones and Stephen Ireland and to Villa for players appearing in recent internationals (Ashley Young for England and Stiliyan Petrov for Bulgaria).

Stoke City versus Aston Villa

Tonight at the Britannia Stadium

Introducing the 2nd Braggers' Barclays Premiership fixture of the 2010/11 Season

Stoke City versus Aston Villa

Both teams go head to head this evening without their official manager, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis understandably absent due to the sad loss of his mother, Villa manager Gerard Houllier absent because he is French.

But Houllier does intend to watch the game on television. If he can get a dodgy Persian internet channel on his laptop.

Quick fire predictions from Braggly the Octopus:

A tough game, equally matched with a freshly bolstered Stoke side up against last season's Champions League pretenders, the Villa. Kenwyne Jones to score for Stoke in the first half, Agbonlahor to get a second half equaliser. Both teams will be happy with a point from this Monday night slog-out.

Plenty of yellow cards predicted and lost likely players to receive reds are Dunne (Villa) and Shawcross for Stoke.

Houllier most likely manager to throw his toys out of the pram though it won't count for Braggers' league point deduction as it will be because he's spilt his red wine over his laptop and no one was there to witness it, apart from his wife and the cat.

La chat, in fact.

Gordon Banks reveals Telford sacking heartache

England football legend Gordon Banks has revealed his sacking as manager of Telford United in 1980 was the reason why he did not manage again.

The 1966 World Cup winner was boss at Telford from January 1979 to September 1980, but was sacked after just a season and a half.

"They were good days for me, I thought I'd done a good job," Banks, now 73, told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"They asked me to get them out of relegation, which I did do."

He added: "Unfortunately we lost in a cup match, to a team lower down in the division away from home, and they gave me the big boot, which I was disappointed about."

Banks was capped 73 times for England

Banks was the second England World Cup winner to have a stint managing Telford after Geoff Hurst's spell as player-manager in 1977.

The former Stoke keeper admitted that his sacking by Telford changed his mind about a career in club management.

"It broke my heart. I just couldn't believe that I'd put all that effort in and found I just got kicked in the teeth and it just disappointed me that much, that I didn't apply for another job. I did not want to stay in the game."

Telford finished 13th in the 1979-80 Alliance Premier League during his time there. They lost 17 out of 38 games.

Remembered for his heroic part in England's triumphant 1966 World Cup campaign, Banks also had a successful club career that spanned three different decades where he played for a number of clubs including Leicester City and Stoke.

Capped 73 times by his country, he retired in 1972 at the age of 34.

This article from BBC Sport

Lowest crowd sees Walsall crash out

The Banks’s Stadium witnessed a piece of history for Walsall – but for the wrong reason.

A crowd of 1,793 watched the Saddlers’ 2-1 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy defeat to Chesterfield, the lowest gate in 20 years at the stadium.

The previous low, if you were wondering, was 1,837 for a 2-0 win over Mansfield in December 1992 in the Autoglass Trophy.

Fast forward 18 years and the same competition attracted an even lower gate, but what can be drawn from it?

Read the full article in the Express and Star

Editor: Have you ever been to watch Walsall or any of our other lower league clubs? I saw Walsall at the Banks's twice last season and I also watched Coleshill Town against Burton Albion in the cup on a freezing cold night last winter and remember thinking "this is real football". Maybe we should all make the effort to support the smaller clubs in the region this season. Never mind your Man Uniteds and Chelseas, take your kids to watch a lower league club every now and then and help keep grass roots soccer alive.

Stoke get the point as summer transfer window closes

Stoke chairman, Peter Coates - evidence that gambling can be good for you. 

Especially if you own the company.

In spite of some frantic last day buying and selling in the Premiership yesterday, West Midlands clubs have not featured amongst the big spenders and Stoke City will be awarded the Braggers' League bonus point for their purchase of Kenwyne Jones from Sunderland for 8 million pounds.

With a rumoured consensus that the value of Stephen Ireland may have been around the 9 million pounds mark when he joined Villa from Manchester City as part of the James Milner deal, unfortunately because the real value of the transfer remains undisclosed, it means that Villa can not in fairness be awarded the Braggers' bonus point for highest local purchase.

Birmingham City arguably spent more than any the 5 West Midlands teams in the summer transfer window with the combined purchase of Ben Foster from Manchester United and Nicola Zigic from Valencia, both for 6 million pounds each. Albion's top declared purchase was 1.5 million pounds paid out for Nicky Shorey from Villa, whilst Wolves paid £6.5 million for Steven Fletcher from Burnley, £3 million for Stephen Hunt from Hull and £2.5 million for Jelle van Damme from Anderlecht.

This is the full list of the local comings and goings during the summer:

Aston Villa

Players in:

Stephen Ireland (Man City, U/D)

Players Out:

Wilfred Bouma (released), Marlon Harewood (released), Stephen O'Halloran (Coventry - free), Andy Marshall (released), Jack Dyer (Burton - free), Harry Forrester (Kilmarnock, loan) Nicky Shorey (1.5 million).

Birmingham City

Players in:

Enric Calles (NAC Breda - free), Ben Foster (Man Utd £6m), Nicola Zigic (Valencia, £6m), Matt Derbyshire (Olympiacos, loan), Martin Jiranek (Spartak Moscow, U/D), Alexander Hleb (Barcelona, loan), Jean Beausejour (Club America, U/D).

Players out:

Gary McSheffrey (Coventry, free), Gregory Vignal (released), Jared Wilson (released), Lee Carsley (Coventry, free), Artur Kryslak (Exeter, free), Franck Queudrue (released), Robin Shroot (Cheltenham, loan), Luke Hubbin (Notts County, loan), Colin Doyle (Coventry, loan).

Stoke City

Players in:

Eidur Gudjohnsen (Monaco, U/D rumoured £2 million), Carlo Nash (Everton, free), Florent Cuvelier (Portsmouth, U/D), Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland £8 million), Jon Walters (Ipswich £2.75 million), Salif Diao (re-signed), Jermaine Pennant (Zaragoza), Marc Wilson (Portsmouth).

Players out:

Andy Griffin (reading, U/D), Steve Simonsen (Sheffield United, free), Amdy Faye (released), Diego Arismendi (Barnsley, loan), Ibrahim Sonko (Portsmouth, loan), Nathaniel Wedderburn (Northampton, free), James Beattie (Rangers, U/D), Carl Dickinson (Portsmouth, loan), Salif Diao (released), Ben Marshall (Carlisle, loan), Liam Lawrence (Portsmouth), Dave Kitson (Portsmouth).

West Brom

Players in:

Pablo Ibanez (Athletico Madrid, free), Gabriel Tamas (Auxerre, U/D), Steven Reid (Blackburn, free), Peter Odemwingle (Lokomtiv Moscow, U/D), Somen Tchoyl (Salzburg, U/D), Marc-Antoine Fortune (Celtic, U/D), Boaz Myhill (Hull, U/D), Nicky Shorey (Villa, £1.5 million), Paul Scharner (Wigan, free), Craig Dawson (Rochdale).

Players out:

Andwele Slory (released), Robert Koren (released), Filipe Teixeira (released), Jonathan Greening (Fulham U/D), Borja Valero (Villareal, loan) Joss Labadie (Tranmere, free), Leon Barnett (Norwich, loan), Kayleden Brown (Tranmere, loan), Craig Dawson (Rochdale, loan)

Wolves

Players in

Jelle van Damme (Anderlecht, £2.5 million), Steven Fletcher (Burnley £6.5 million), Stephen Mouyokolo (Hull, U/D), Stephen Hunt (Hull £3 million), Adlene Guedioura (RSC Charleroi, free), Michael Macncienne (Chelsea, loan), Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (Charleroi, loan), Marcus Bent (Birmingham, loan).

Players out:

Jason Shackell (Barnsley, U/D), Mark Little (Peterborough, free), Daniel Jones (released), George Friend (released), Chris Iwelumo (Burnley, U/D), Andrew Surman (Norwich, U/D), Andy Keogh (Cardiff, loan), Same Vokes (Bristol City, loan)

Kenwyne - looks fantastic, but can he play football?

Remember, all players purchased during the season will be contenders for a special award in our Braggers' League Annual Awards next summer for the player who turns out to be the 'Biggest Flop', i.e. a high expectation signing who spends the season on the bench, fighting with the coach on the training ground, going on strike, etc). It looks like we're relying on Kenwyne to hit the booze and poker then, as there ain't a lot else to build our hopes up around this bloody shower!

The bonus point will be duly awarded to Stoke City, taking them to second position in the Braggers' League table, unless anyone shows us convincing evidence of a higher transfer fee having been paid (perhaps one of the undisclosed fees) before this weekend.

Back of the net! Three footballing greats coming to Solihull

Three greats from the world of football are coming to Solihull next month for an evening of fascinating anecdotes and stories from the game.

The Sporting Legends tour features sports broadcaster Gary Newbon, England’s most capped player Peter Shilton OBE and fans’ favourite commentator John Motson OBE and comes to the Arts Complex on Tuesday 28 September.

Gary Newbon, who lives in Solihull, boasts a forty-year career in sports journalism and is well-known for his role as a roving reporter on ITV sport and also as a sports presenter on Central News. He currently works for Sky Sports.

Peter Shilton kept goal 125 times for his country and played in three world cups. He has a wealth of amusing stories from his career, including from when he played under legendary manger Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest.

John Motson has been perhaps the most famous voice of BBC football coverage since he started on Match of the Day in the early 1970s. Motty is many fans’ favourite commentator and has a bank full of stories from some of football’s greatest occasions.

As well as having a host of tales to listen to, there will also be an opportunity for the audience to put questions to the three legends and there will be a book signing session afterwards.

Also appearing will by Kevin Connelly, a top sports impressionist from TV and radio’s Dead Ringers.

The show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £15 and can be booked by calling Box Office on 0121 704 6962.

Braggers' Points up for grabs

There will be opportunities for West Midlands teams to earn extra BL points during the next few weeks, with a point being awarded for the highest transfer fee paid out for a new player (unfortunately I never thought to also do this the other way round as Villa could have had a point for Milner).

We also said there will be points awarded for international appearances by West Midlands club based players (no bench warmers - must enter the field of play). Players can perform for any national club, not just England or the home nations, but the more obscure ones will need to be brought to my attention as my awareness of who's playing where may not stretch to places like Togo and Bahamas.

Fickle: about to spend 40 million pounds on players for his beloved Blues, Carson Yeung was talked into purchasing this very fetching fur coat for the winter season instead. Kushty or what?

With only days left until the transfer window closes, am I right in thinking that the most expensive straight inward transfer for a West Midlands team in the summer window has been Stoke City's purchase of Kenwyne Jones for 8 million from Sunderland? Though I hate to say this folks, the value of Steven Ireland in the sale and exchange of James Milner was around the 9 million mark. Latest news from St Andrews is that their 9 million pounds bid for Charles N’Zogbia from Wigan has been turned down. So will Villa or Stoke grab that extra BL point or are we in for a few surprises between now and Tuesday?

Alex McLeish disappointed with refereeing decisions in Birmingham City's draw with Bolton Wanderers

Blues boss says draw 'feels like a defeat'...


By Chris Medland

29 Aug 2010 18:17:00

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish believes that decisions by the officials cost his side victory in the draw at Bolton Wanderers.

Goals from Roger Johnson and Craig Gardner had put Birmingham two goals ahead at the Reebok, with the home side down to ten men after the dismissal of Jussi Jaaskelainen.

But a Kevin Davies penalty and Robbie Blake free-kick rescued a point for Bolton, leaving McLeish deflated and upset at the decisions to award both set pieces.

Read the full story at Goal UK

My final word on the matter ...for now

Interesting times

To quote the ancient Chinese curse, "may you live in interesting times" - it's certainly been a case of living in interesting times at Villa Park since the sudden, though perhaps not entirely surprise departure of Martin O'Neill just days before the new season kicked off. Initially O'Neil's sharp exit up the Witton Road, clutching his rattle and dummy some claimed, didn't seem to make any difference at all, indeed Villa's comfortable humiliation of the Ammers was even interpreted as a sign that things were about to improve.

Giving the newly promoted Geordies a swift kick-in would therefore be a formality and everything was going to plan until the big Nordic nightclubber stepped up to take a penalty and uncharacteristically lost his bottle and skied it, at which point the gates of hell appeared to open. Before going any further, I would like to thank the blue noses in my office in South Yardley for changing the background image on my computer to a close-up of Andy Caroll firing past Brad Friedel. By the time I got round to changing it, the gesture had been  repeated on Thursday morning with a photo of the entire Rapid Vienna team applauding their barmy army after our next major humiliation of the week, taking up my entire screen as Windows booted up.

The hills are alive with the sound of the Rapid Vienna firm...

"Greeen armeee!"

I won't repeat my verbal response as it might be a bit rude and in fairness I think many of my blue nose colleagues do in actual fact have named fathers registered on their birth certificates. But the sniggers, even from other rooms in the building, were audible. My consolation is only that I know it won't be long until the shoe's on the other foot. I have the strongest feeling that ourselves and the Baggies won't be the only ones to experience life on the end of a six nil drubbing by the end of this season. Although in fairness to the Baggies at least theirs was at the hands of the migh'ee Chowl-say.

Pink Scousers on Parade

No.... nice

So this afternoon's three points from the boys in pink (is this someone's idea of irony to convince hundreds of hard nosed scousers to don pink shirts to away games? Some of them weren't even wearing official merchandise - they had actually come in non-football related pink shirts). Far be it for me to make politically incorrect remarks about men who wear pink, indeed I often wear a pink shirt to work and am loud and proud about being in touch with me old Jungian anima (look it up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anima_and_animus), but the terms "Scouse football supporter" and "in touch with one's feminine side" just somehow don't seem to be entirely compatible. It's a bit like the Ku Klux Klan leader becoming secretary of the Official Alabama branch of the James Brown Appreciation Society. You dig where I'm coming from here brothers and sisters?

Anyway, happily for Villa fans and sadly for the London based national media, the turmoil at Villa Park is over for now, though I do admit ...we continue to live in interesting times.

But that's enough about the Villa, anyone would think I'm biased!

I don't know whether we should be pleased or disappointed that none of the big five Braggers' League teams have gained or dropped extra BL points yet this season. With the gaps between derby games, it would be nice to have a bit of controversy to hold the interest but everyone seems to be getting on with normal business as we hurtle along the roller coaster that is the early season period.

In spite of the predictions that it's going to be the Albion and Wolves who struggle most amongst our teams this season, this evening's Premiership table finds Stoke in the lowest position of any of the West Midlands clubs, being in a lowly 19th position without a point from their first three games, with West Ham immediately below them and pretty in pink Everton above.

Early bath for Bolton's Jussi Jaaskelainen against the Noses today

"I'm going to slap you round the face with my white glove"

West Brom meanwhile are in 16th place, having gained three points from the game against Sunderland, Wolves are in 7th position with 5 points from 3 games, the Blues are in 6th with the same tally of points and Villa, astonishingly considering their major humiliation last weekend, are in 4th place behind Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United. Just goes to show, you can lose six nil against a team up from the Championship one week and still qualify for the Champions League the next! But as we all know, it's early days and anything can happen.

As we head for September, things may start to heat up a bit on the Braggers' League website with three local derbies coming up as follows:

13th September
Stoke v Villa, 8pm

18th September
West Brom v Birmingham, 15:00

26th September
Wolverhampton v Aston Villa, 14:05

So, let's get those predictions coming in during the next few weeks as we build up to the big local scraps. Will Stoke and Wolves allow the turmoil-ridden boys from Witton to come steaming up the M6 for a quick smash and grab of the points? Or will the Albion be the ones to stitch up the bookies this season?

Why don't you become a guest writer on Braggers' League and send me an article about your West Midlands team? I'm an unashamed bragger about the Villa so you can be one too about your local club.

Come on you West Midlands!!