[kurtsimonw]

Eduardo will be making his comeback against Portsmouth in tonights reserves game. All the best to him.

That's good to hear. I just hope that Arsenal haven't rushed him back, and that they've waited a good few weeks longer than they were told to, just to make sure his injury has healed properly.

[kurtsimonw]

Eduardo played 45 minutes for the Arsenal reserves tonight, before being substituted with a sligh hamstring injury. I don't think it's serious at all though, just an effect of not playing much, maybe.

[Tennie]

+1 box of cookies to Eduardo for making it back this far. When i saw his injury i wasn't even too sure he'd be able to walk without a bad limp.

[kurtsimonw]

They interviewed Eduardo on Sky Sports last night, he says his ankle feels fine and it's pretty much a case of just getting match fit.

Though, from a personal stand point, I hope he has a terrible season for both club and country, for the sake of Villa and England!

[Fillipo Simone]

Haha Kurt, I know you hope so... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[kurtsimonw]

Modrić still didn't achive anything much but his potential and capacity is much bigger then Young's, trust me on that one.

Hmm. I don't know about that. In another league, Modric may be able to become a World beater, but he seems a bit slow and weak for this league at the moment, and pace isn't something you can really improve upon too much.

Young is the best real winger this country has had since.. before I started watching football. I'm not saying Modric is a bad player, but he played his football in a weaker league, while Young has already made Team of the Season for the whole league and similar acolades in one of the best leagues in the World. We'll have to wait and see. One thing is for sure, they will both be in the bracket of "World Class" at some point in their career.

[Tennie]

Kurt may have a point here. Modric may not be suited to the English game. Fillipo's got a point too though - Modric has immense potential. I think he'd have done far better in Spain or Italy.

[Milan Are Brilli...]

Modrić still didn't achive anything much but his potential and capacity is much bigger then Young's, trust me on that one.

Not sure how you are so certain!

The only thing I'd look at is Modric was bought for £16m and Young was bought for £9m so in that case Modric should be a lot better. There's only one player out of the 2 who I'd say was showing more promise at the moment.

I'm pretty sure if Young was playing in the top 4 he would be easily above Downing and way above the showboater J.Cole in the national team. It's a shame that he's not in the England team currently. When Villa knock Arsenal out of the top 4 this coming May we might see a change, let's hope so.

[kurtsimonw]

I'm pretty sure if Young was playing in the top 4 he would be easily above Downing and way above the showboater J.Cole in the national team. It's a shame that he's not in the England team currently. When Villa knock Arsenal out of the top 4 this coming May we might see a change, let's hope so.

It does seem pretty stupid. I do rate Downing, but to have him over Young is a bit weird. I think Capello has learned that playing for the top 4. or being a star name, doesn't mean you should automatically play for England. I'm sure if you were to ask people who our best CM is, the majority would say Steven Gerrard.

CM partnership vs Croatia: Barry & Lampard - Won 4-1.
CM partnership vs Germay: Barry & Carrick - Won 2-1.

And both were superb. I have to say Gerrard may find it difficult getting back into the team, or at least he should, because the above 3 names have been far better than he in an England shirt.

Robert Green for keeper as well, seen alot of West ham games lately and he's been top notch.

This post has been edited by kurtsimonw: Dec 18 2008, 06:36 PM

[Milan Are Brilli...]

Robert Green for keeper as well, seen alot of West ham games lately and he's been top notch.

Ah 'the hobbit' good keeper though I agree.

[kurtsimonw]

Ah 'the hobbit' good keeper though I agree.

Yep. Don't think he can pull of some of the saves that James does, but cerrtainly more consistant.

Artice on Young I took from a Villa forum (Source is Marca I believe, this is the translated version).

Ashley Young - very good, very expensive

"I've been reading that Real Madrid are keen on Ashley Young, and it doesn't surprise me. Regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of this guy. Right now, he's the best player in the Premiership who doesn't play for a "big four" club. A guy destined to be a star for the national team, even if Capello hasn't managed to make him a regular starter just yet. The title of "the New Beckham" has caused quite a bit of excitement on the Marca.com message boards. But it's obvious that they are very different players; the Villa man is much quicker and trickier than David. But I will never grow tired of saying that, in my opinion Ashley is the best striker of a ball the Premiership has seen since Becks left for Madrid. So I understand that this comparison is based on a fundamental aspect of their games: free-kicks, crosses, defense splitting passes, creating chances with a simple touch of the ball. But I'm not going to devote this article to discovering a player many of our readers already know a lot about. All I'll say is, I'd sign him with my eyes closed. But I do want to make one thing clear: getting him out of Birmingham certainly will not be easy. He'll be bloody expensive, basically for four reasons.

1.) The amount Villa paid for him - Young was a star for Watford in the 2004-05 season when they won promotion to the Premier League. It took just half a season in the top flight before the big clubs came knocking. Aston Villa paid €13 million, an extraordinary amount if we take into account the fact that he'd only played 20 games in the top division in his entire career. He was the Birmingham club's record signing, and since then, he's never looked back. He's now far better known and a much better player than he was then. So, if he already cost over €10 million as a promising young talent, you'd expect his value to have multiplied by now, and not just by 2. In fact in England, the figure flying around is €40 million.

2.) The Gareth Barry saga - This summer, another important member of Villa's squad, Gareth Barry was the star of an incident which shows just how hard is it to sign a player from this club. Liverpool were very interested in him, but down in Birmingham they rejected one offer after another - according to the English press, the final one was €20 million. Not even pressure from the player himself worked. Barry publically declared that he wanted to leave, and even criticised his manager, Martin O'Neil for his attitude throughout the saga, but Villa stood firm and didn't give in. The captain stayed, and is a key player in the excellent season his team are enjoying. It seems the club wanted €25 million. Considering Young is younger and his departure would be more unsettling to the team, it doesn't take a genius to work out that Villa would want more for him.

3.) He signed a new deal in November - To dissuade possible buyers, Less than a month ago Villa improved his wages and lengthened his contract until 2012. The strange thing is that Ashley didn't ask for a new contract, it was his club who felt they should reward him him for his superb performances.

4.) O'Neil is crazy about him - I've never seen a manager give so much praise to one of his own players as the Ulsterman has to Young. O'Neil talks about him almost every week, always praising him to the heavens. Not long ago he even said he considered Young in the same bracket as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Improving his contract was O'Neil's idea. It's obvious that he will want to keep him at all costs, because the club's aim is continue to grow and to become a regular in the Champions League."

[Fillipo Simone]

Well, I'm certain because I saw him play uncountable times. And Kurt you are right, him choosing EPL...that was the biggest mistake so far. But look at Kranjcar, he was slow and week at the start, now he adapted and does more then a solid job for Pompey. The same I expect to happen with Luka.

While you're right that Modric played in a much worser league, might I remind you also that he played both 1 World cup and a Euro already. He was great in Germany and solid in Austria to say at least.

[kurtsimonw]

West Ham 0-1 Villa in the live evening game. James Milner shot deflected off Lucas Neill for the goal. We're now in 3rd position, 4 points off top. MON. Is. Genius.

Man City in the relegation zone at the moment. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[kurtsimonw]

West Brom 2-1 Man City. Do City really think they'll get all these great players while they're in the bottom 3? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

Arsenal vs Liverpool now, huge game for both teams.

[kurtsimonw]

Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool.
-van Persie opened the scoring.
-Keane equalised.
-Adebayour sent off.

Chelsea beat Everton tomorrow, and they go top.