Just when Newcastle fans thought they had suffered enough, the good ship St James' hit rock bottom on Wednesday night.

After a day of fresh farce, it was revealed that David O'Leary rejected the chance to become manager on a two-year contract, despite spending the past three years out of the game.

WEBFLASH: Beye Signs


Villa have signed defender Habib Beye on a three-year deal from Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee.

The experienced right-back becomes Martin O'Neill's third signing of the summer.

The 31-year-old Senegalese international, who can also play at centre-back, was Newcastle's Player of the Year in 2008 and also a UEFA Cup finalist with Marseille in 2004 as the French side were defeated by Valencia in the showpiece decider.

Stay tuned to www.avfc.co.uk for more reaction to our new signing.

Habib Beye revealed his heart was set on a move to Villa when the club showed an interest in him.

Beye insists joining the claret and blue troops is a "great step" and a proud moment in his career.

He told AVTV: "I think Villa is a great football club.

"I was really happy when my agent told me Villa were interested. I just said 'get it done.' I wanted to sign for this club.

"It's going to be great working for Martin O'Neill because Villa have a great team. I am so proud now to play here.

"It was important for me to stay in the Barclays Premier League and am really happy I have with Villa.

"Newcastle are a massive club but everybody knows the problems at the moment. But I think joining Villa is a great step for me.

"I signed my contract this afternoon and I am really glad. I now hope I will be successful with Villa."

Aston Villa and Manchester City can create 'top six', says Arsenal's Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has predicted that the traditional ‘big four’ next season could turn into a top six, with Manchester City and Aston Villa challenging the established elite for Champions League places.

By Jeremy Wilson
Published: 10:49AM BST 07 Aug 2009


Wenger also said that the perception of an unshakeable ‘big four’ in English football was not supported by the facts over the past decade, with only Arsenal and Manchester United having never missed out on Champions League qualification.

“I would say top six with Aston Villa, you cannot discount them,” he said. “Last year they collapsed in the last 12 games but at some stage they looked like they might challenge for the championship.

“I never felt that the top four is set forever. If you look in the last 10 seasons, only two teams have always been in the top four and it is Arsenal and Man United. Liverpool was out of it, Chelsea was out of it.

“When I arrived, Newcastle was in the top for and then Leeds. It is not set forever. Some clubs in the last 10 years have invested. It is not because they do not have the resources.

“Football is not as scientific and predictable as people have it sometimes. Everybody can be wrong. Last year the team that won everything in Europe was Barcelona. What did they do? They sold two superstars, Ronaldinho and Deco.”

Wenger also admitted that he had been monitoring Fulham centre-back Brede Hangeland and suggested that he may add one defender and one striker.

“We have a look at him yes,” he said. “We have not contacted Fulham, we have not contacted Hangeland, we have not made our choice on him or anybody else at the moment.

“We can still make with one or two player more. One could be in the defensive areas and one in attacking areas.”

That extra attacking player could be Marouane Chamakh, with Wenger considering a renewed offer.

Arsenal have also lost Tomas Rosicky to injury, potentially for six weeks, although Wenger expects the Czech midfielder to make a full recovery.

“He was so sharp it’s difficult to accept he has a muscular injury,” he said. “You get that kind of injury when a player has been out for 18 months. I believe he will play an important part in the season.”

Fabian Delph made a great first impression, he was superb on the ball beating players on runs

Yeah this guy has looked impressive for a while now, hopefully Villa can nurture him into World-Class material and we will have a good end product as a country rather than another Walcott.

And we cast away Ancelotti, only for him to win again

And we cast away Ancelotti, only for him to win again

If his teams play like this, they can write off the title already. United battered them, both goals were goalkeeping errors.

well it is too early to say that, but overall United were better. My point is that the castaway coach went off to win a trophy, while we remain getting spanked on every occasion thus far

I don't really see the community shield as a trophy that everyone can point the finger at us and say 'Aha!!' We made the wrong the decision in letting Carlo go

I still say good riddence, it's not like its an important trophy its basically a competitive warm up to the season. I really can't see his Chelsea side winning the league as he's pulling the same old sh!t he did with Milan

I've lurked a couple of Chelsea forums and let me tell you, they aren't all that happy with him. First they're p!ssed off because he's playing Lampard in a Kaka position and he's not effective there and you can imagine how they feal when you touch Lampard for them, he's their God along with Terry. Also the fact that he was willing to go for Pirlo had them all fighting about whether he knew anything about the EPL or not, because let's face it, anyone who wants Pirlo to play there is clearly mental as Pirlo would most probably be mauled over in the EPL

I don't really see the community shield as a trophy that everyone can point the finger at us and say 'Aha!!' We made the wrong the decision in letting Carlo go

I still say good riddence, it's not like its an important trophy its basically a competitive warm up to the season. I really can't see his Chelsea side winning the league as he's pulling the same old sh!t he did with Milan

I've lurked a couple of Chelsea forums and let me tell you, they aren't all that happy with him. First they're p!ssed off because he's playing Lampard in a Kaka position and he's not effective there and you can imagine how they feal when you touch Lampard for them, he's their God along with Terry. Also the fact that he was willing to go for Pirlo had them all fighting about whether he knew anything about the EPL or not, because let's face it, anyone who wants Pirlo to play there is clearly mental as Pirlo would most probably be mauled over in the EPL

I am not praising Ancelotti ! All I said was that his first official game away from Milan and he wins a trophy let that be the milk trophy or a plastic trophy

While we sit here, with our futures uncertain !

Our future would still be uncertain had Carlo stayed, you really think he could have done better then what Leo has with this sorry excuse of a team?

And who really cares about the community shield, let's talk Carlo after January, I think that would be the best time to see whether he's cr@p or not in the EPL

True. But that is besides my point entirely

All i said was that Carlo wins on his first official game away from us while we sit here picking our noses.

Has nothing to do with him being good/bad, just a 'sigh' from my part

winning a measly piece of silverware that does not mean anything outside of England doesn't really concern me.

Our future would still be uncertain had Carlo stayed, you really think he could have done better then what Leo has with this sorry excuse of a team?

And who really cares about the community shield, let's talk Carlo after January, I think that would be the best time to see whether he's cr@p or not in the EPL

Aston Villa favourites to sign Wesley Sneijder as Inter Milan refuse to meet £20m price-tag


Aston Villa's hopes of signing Wesley Sneijder have been boosted by the Holland international's agent admitting Inter Milan were nowhere near reaching Real Madrid's asking price.
Real Madrid's Dutch player Wesley Sneijder

The price is white: Real Madrid want £20m for Wesley Sneijder

The Spanish giants are desperate to offload players to bring in another £70m before the transfer window closes and they value Sneijder at more than £20million.

Villa would want to knock at least £5m off the asking price, but Inter are ready to completely abandon their pursuit and instead make a move for Bordeaux midfielder Yoann Gourcuff.

Sneijder's agent Soren Lerby said: 'For some time there has been talk of a move to Inter for Sneijder, but the reality is that there is nothing happening.

'Currently, Real Madrid has set the price, so, anyone who wants to buy him should simply satisfy the demands of the club. The €25m (£21.5m) referred to seems a lot, but (Inter president) Massimo Moratti has recently asked for €40m (£34m) for Maicon, who despite being the best in his role, is still a full-back.

'Wesley is an attacking midfielder, very technical, with good vision for the game. Sneijder would definitely go to a club that can guarantee an almost constant use.

'A few days ago I heard from someone of Inter, but the problem is the money required by Real. The possibility that he remains in Madrid is still quite high.'

Chelsea have also tracked 25-year-old Sneijder.

Meanwhile, Roberto Mancini is ready to take a £7.7m pay-off from his staggering contract with Inter Milan, which will free him up to manage Zenit St Petersburg on a £65,000 a week deal.

Former Rangers boss **** Advocaat was sacked by Zenit on Monday.

So today Buffon gave the player interview from Azzurri training camp. He went out of his way to say how gracious the Villa players were to him after the Villa-Juve game in Spain. Couldn't say enough nice things about them. Just thought Kurt might want to know.

Di recente sono stato avvicinato dai giocatori dell'Aston Villa e mi sono sentito chiamare Leggenda. E ciò mi ha riempie di orgoglio.

You say it like it means something here..

It's just a nice curtain raiser for the season (usually) between 2 of the best teams in the country. I say play it in Asia, rather than have a 39th EPL game. It's not like they want an EPL game anyways, they'd hardly be happy if we shipped Hull and Bolton out to China. I say give the gloryhunters what they want and play the Community Shield there, we'll keep our meaningful games thanks.

The reporting on other sites is similar. He goes on to say that the reaction of the Villa players is very different to what he gets in Italy, where he's called 'too old'.

Hey Han i was watching some Football Documentry on TV the other day and it was about Maltese man united fans apparently its the most supported club there they have a museum with alot of man united memorabilia , just thought it was interesting story , alot of the past man u players go there for reunions which is nice for the supporters! is the fan base as big as the documentry says ?!

The Manchester United Supporters' Club in Malta was founded on 4th February 1959. The Club Founder John Calleja narrates a summary of how it all happened

http://www.manutd-malta.com/

Well they do have a big fan base, don't know if its the biggest though. Most football fans in Malta either support English or Italian teams, Milan, Inter, Juve, Roma, Manchester Utd and Liverpool are the most supported clubs over here. Then there are the occasional Chelsea, Arsenal and Lazio supporters but they're not as popular as the 6 I mentioned above

(But who do the little white dogs support, han?)

I think Gigi is one player that even our English press admire and build-up (as they should) to be a legend of the current game and to be fair they don't do that for a lot of Italian internationals, especially now.

Aston Villa will have to raise their offer for Stephen Warnock after a bid of about £4 million was turned down by Blackburn Rovers.

Martin O’Neill wants to bring in two defenders, with one a left back to replace Nicky Shorey, who is available for transfer. Villa had hoped that Wilfred Bouma would fill the position, but there are still some doubts about his recovery from an ankle injury, suffered in July 2008, which forced him to miss last season.

Blackburn believe that Warnock is worth about £7.5 million, five times more than they paid Liverpool two years ago. The player has three years left on his deal and has also been looked at by Tottenham Hotspur.

The teenage brother of Aston Villa and England footballer Luke Young has been found dead after a night out drinking with friends in a Greek holiday resort.



The body of 17-year-old Andre Young from Saffron Walden, Essex, was discovered on Wednesday morning on a building site near his hotel in Malia, Crete.

His parents have flown to the island to identify their son, who suffered serious head injuries.

In a statement his brother said: "My family and I are devestated by the tragic death of my younger brother Andre in Malia, Crete earlier this week.

"He was a tremendous and talented person and a diligent student and this is such a waste of a promising life.

"He went missing on the evening of monday 10th August and we would be extremely grateful if anybody with any information of his whereabouts during that fateful evening could come forward to assist with investigations."

Andre's grandmother, who answered the phone at the family home in Essex, was too upset to comment.

Holidaymaker Bethany Billings, 21, who saw the teenager before he went missing, said he had been drinking with friends.

She told the Daily Mirror: "He was proper drunk. He knew he'd had enough and wanted to go home."

She said she last saw him staggering up the street, and added: "He must have tripped and hit his head."

A spokesman for the police in Crete said they were not treating the death as suspicious.

Malia has recently been in the headlines amid complaints by locals about the behaviour of drunken British tourists.

CARSON YEUNG'S planned £70million takeover of Birmingham could be scuppered - by the Premier League.

SunSport revealed exclusively yesterday that Yeung is trying once again to complete a buy-out of the Midlands club.

But the controversial Hong Kong businessman will need to pass the "fit and proper person" test as soon as he increases his current 29.9 per cent stake in the club.

Five years ago Yeung was prosecuted by the Securities and Futures Commission for breaching the rules.

And that could come back to haunt him if he raises the cash to complete a buy-out which started two years ago.

The Premier League will launch an investigation into Yeung's business dealings as soon as he takes his shareholding over 30 per cent or if he becomes a director, shadow director or owner.

Yeung pleaded guilty to a charge of failing on five separate occasions to declare his interest in a company called Cedar Base Electronic Ltd and was fined.

It is not the only obstacle in the way of the billionaire. Angry fans have flooded forums to give Yeung the thumbs down.


One supporter labelled him the "Del Boy" of China.


In 2007, Yeung failed to stump up the cash for a proposed £50m takeover and fell out with Brum's owners. Chairman David Gold publicly accused Yeung of destabilising the club and vowed not to let it happen again. And company chief David Sullivan revealed that Yeung had refused to invest a penny in transfer funds.

SunSport's revelations caught the board on the hop - especially as it looks like Yeung is now prepared to pay £20m on top of the previous asking price.

Shares in the club yesterday shot up to value the business at £36.7m.

Yeung emerged out of the blue two years ago as a frontman for loss-making clothing company Grandtop International, who appear to have few assets.

When Yeung arrived in 2007, surrounded by an entourage of flunkeys, he promised massive investment in players when he finally bought the club.

But it became apparent that he could not raise the extra cash required - by which time his refusal to allow Steve Bruce to sign a new contract cost the club the services of a top-class manager.

Birmingham were relegated at the end of that season.

The board and fans blame Yeung for both the loss of Bruce and top-flight status.

Yeung started off as a hairdresser, built up a chain of hair salons then hit it big in real estate and casinos.

He was briefly owner of Hong Kong Rangers FC, where he was blasted for interfering in team selection.

He has a task to win over Brum fans, who point to the broken promises of 2007.

LIVERPOOL have made a cheeky enquiry about Aston Villa's young star James Milner.

Anfield boss Rafa Benitez is a big admirer of the emerging England winger but has received little in the way of encouragement.

Milner cost Villa £12million from Newcastle last August and has three years left on his contract.

And Villa manager Martin O'Neill has no intention of selling one of his prize assets.

Milner, 23, made his debut for the full England side against Holland on Wednesday and set up one of Jermain Defoe's two goals in the 2-2 draw.

E.P.L. on ESPN in the U.S. — Starting This Weekend
By Jack Bell
ESPN will carry 48 live matches from the English Premier League on Saturday and Monday in the United States, the cable network announced Friday night. It was the eve of the 2009-10 E.P.L. season.

The first game will be Saturday’s opener between Chelsea and Hull City from Stamford Bridge in London at 7:40 a.m. Eastern. Chelsea will be playing its first match under its new manager, Carlo Ancelotti, and the American Jozy Altidore has just joined Hull City on a season-long loan from Villarreal in Spain. But then late Friday night, in a posting on Twitter, Altidore said work still needed to be done on his British work visa and that he was still in the United States.

“The Barclays Premier League is one of the crown jewels of professional sports throughout the world,” Scott Guglielmino, vice president for programming at ESPN, said in a statement. “We’re pleased to work with Fox Sports International to bring some of the league’s marquee matchups to ESPN2 in our continued efforts to serve soccer fans in the United States.”

ESPN will also show 12 Monday games that kick off in the afternoon Eastern in addition to either 7:45 a.m. or 10 a.m. matches.

The network announced this schedule (all games on ESPN2):

Sat., 7:40 a.m. Chelsea vs. Hull City
Sat., Aug. 22, 9:55 a.m., Wigan Athletic vs. Manchester United
Mon., Aug. 24, 2:55 p.m. , Liverpool vs. Aston Villa
Sat., Aug. 29, 7:40 a.m., Chelsea vs. Burnley
Sat., Sept. 12, 9:55 a.m., Liverpool vs. Burnley
Sat., Sept. 1, 7:40 a.m, Burnley vs. Sunderland
Sat., Sept. 26, 7:40 a.m., Portsmouth vs. Everton
Mon., Sept. 28, 2:55 p.m., Manchester City vs. West Ham

So far, no word if the matches will be shown in high-definition. (Update: An ESPN representative, in a response via e-mail, said some games would be in standard definition. A commenter Saturday morning said the Chelsea-Hull City match was indeed in HD.)

The ESPN family of networks has a large inventory of soccer properties, but recently lost the UEFA Champions League games to Fox Soccer Channel. It will still carry the men’s and women’s World Cups through 2014; Major League Soccer; Confederations Cup and other FIFA tournaments; and a number of other European Leagues.

The recent collapse of the Setanta network, which shared TV rights to E.P.L. games in Britain and the United States, put some E.P.L. games up for grabs in each country.

Fishdoll gosh. Arsenal had a good day. Locke must be pleased.

(Kurt, re: Villa -- Fishdoll blames Harry, though man, Wigan looked like a different side).

I am...appeased.

I was expecting you to say something like "We need to do better than this."