Soccer Extra.
By Kevin Rooney.
IF a club has gone through a wretched run of results, not helped by the total lack of experience in the squad, one would suspect the manager be given good funds to go and strengthen.
But that’s not how they roll at Aston Villa.
And Villa will likely pay the price for this with relegation come May.
The midlands club entertained fellow strugglers Newcastle Utd on Tuesday night. The Toon splashed out the guts of £20m on new players in January.
This was to bolster the ranks of a depleted playing squad. And with new recruit Sissoko playing a blinder it paid off in a much-deserved 2-1 away win.
Penny for the thoughts of Villa Chairman Randy Lerner this week as come May he will probably be £50m out of pocket with the lack of Premier League TV money.
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AS soon as Mario Balotelli and Roberto Mancini had THAT infamous bust-up one suspected the former would not be around much longer.
And so it transpired.
Balotelli packed his bags and departed for Milan this week to join a club whose President called him a ‘rotten apple’ just a few weeks ago. Go figure!!
Series A has lost its lustre in recent years not helped by a match-fixing scandal.
But one suspects with Mad Mario in its ranks it will be worth a watching for the foreseeable future.
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THREE cheers for the lower league clubs who made it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
There’s nothing like a bit of cup magic to warm the heart.
And Luton, MK Dons, Leeds, and Oldham provided it in abundance at the weekend.
With the League Cup Final being contested by Bradford and Swansea maybe this season will be remembered for the underdogs all round.
A footnote: if anybody did the four teams above plus Brentford to draw with Chelsea, they would have got odds of 5000/1!!!
Sickener, isn’t it.]]>
