Martin O'Neill praises Villa

Martin O'Neill praised his players for their commitment and determination in coming from behind to beat Sunderland.

O'Neill also picked out Stiliyan Petrov as the outstanding performer on the day.

He told AVTV: "I am delighted with the third successive league win because Premier League points are hard to come by.

"It was a great effort by the players. I thought we might tire as the game wore on, as was the case, but it was good to have something to hold on to. Sunderland pressed at the death but it was good to see it through.

"Ashley scored an absolutely fantastic goal and John continued his good form with a great finish. I couldn't be more pleased for the lads because they have showed an enormous amount of determination to fight back in the game.

"We seem to be getting into the habit of winning close games, which is very encouraging.

"The team have been playing so, so well but if I was to pick anyone out this afternoon, it would be Stiliyan. I thought he was absolutely outstanding.

"I heard the announcement at the end of the game that he was man of the match. I certainly wouldn't disagree with that."

Source: Aston Villa Media

Yeah!

I'll be blunt - I take a lot of grief for being an Aston Villa supporter but finally the team looks like it is coming good!

I don't think anyone will call them a glamour side, but the win over Sunderland showed a bit of grit and class.

The side has played something ridiculous like 5 games in 13 days and they've managed to hang on to beat Sunderland yesterday despite looking dead on their feet.

Its pretty satisfying to see them in contention for Europe ahead of more fancied teams like Tottenham and Newcastle.

Gooooo Villa.......................

The tackle

Did anybody see the tackle of Maritzburg United Defender Gary Goldstone on Kaizer Chiefs striker Tshepo Bulu?

This is what Bulu looked like afterwards.

It was an absolute shocker of a tackle that I'm surprised didn't result in some criminal prosecution for Goldstone.

Absolute shocking.

KaizerChiefs.com are quoted as saying Bulu’s injury. “He will be out for a month as his nose is fractured. His face is very badly swollen with sutures. He must wait until the swelling has gone down and then Tshepo will be seen by a specialist to reassess the damage and what the prognosis is,” said (Kaizer Chiefs coach) Ertugral.

Blatter slams Bafana Bafana

Fifa president Sepp Blatter said on Monday he was disappointed with the recent performance of the national team of the 2010 World Cup host country South Africa.

"I am disappointed that during the years since 2004 when this World Cup has been given to South Africa...the national team is not better," Blatter told journalists after a visit to the building site of Cape Town's Green Point Stadium.

He said it was "incredible" that Bafana Bafana had gone from being the African Cup of Nation champions in 1996 to failing to even qualify for the crunch tournament in 2008.

"I cannot understand it. It is the last moment now to move...do something, move it," he said.

These were comments made by Sepp Blatter and quoted on a 24.com website. Terrible that we are being seen in such a negative light at the moment...

Read the full article here....

Former Bafana boss blasts Santana

Bafana Bafana's most successful coach Clive Barker has called on the South African Football Association (Safa) to set up a round table meeting with former local born national coaches as a matter of urgency.

Read the complete article here.

Banana Banana

Ok I am not normally cynical but I read a really weird comment that had been attributed to Benni McCarthy this morning. I would love to support our national side and really get behind them - but they say and do some really baffling things - so for tonight they are BANANA BANANA (and no that is not racist!)

Apparently Benni said it wasn't that bigger deal that we have been knocked out of the qualification African Nations Cup by Nigeria yesterday. His logic was that if had gone to the African Nations Cup and we had won it next year and then we had gone to the World Cup and been knocked out in the first round, our fans would have been disappointed....

uuuuhhhh Benni - we have a better than average chance of being knocked out of the first round. While Nigeria are getting game time against all the major African powerhouses (minus SA), our guys are going to be at home trying to find SOMEBODY to play a game against....

Are you nuts?!

You can't just stand back and say "oh well we didn't qualify for the African Nations Cup, but we're building to the World Cup"....

IT'S A BLOODY CATASTROPHE...

With our strongest players and a multi-million Rand coach, the African Nations Cup was something we could have and should have won. A bit of pride and prestige would have been shoved the South African way after all the grief we have given the players and coach.

Instead we shrug our shoulders and say that it is no big deal.

What better way to have built South African support going into the World Cup campaign, than being the champions of Africa?!

Unfortunately we committed ourselves to this bloody expensive coach and subsequently his mate - and we've got nothing to show for it except a country like Lesotho playing in our spot.

I really hope that the South African side comes right in the next few months. They need hard games against quality opposition and they need a settled side.
The coach can no longer be guessing which players he is planning to use. He's got them - now he has to make them do the business.

I'm sorry but you guys are BANANA BANANA until you can give the fans what they are looking for....

Why Santana will fail in South Africa

As Bafana Bafana approach what might turn out to be the most defining game of the progress made (or lack thereof), more doubts have been cast about the man at the helm, Joel Natalino Santana.
Top article from Lux Mantambo here....