AG's Football Reports

ASTON VILLA former European Champions now facing the possibility of administration and starting next season on -12 points. What has happened to this once huge powerhouse in English football. Two weeks ago Aston Villa lost the Championship play-off final  1-0 to Fulham Wembley consigning them to a third season in England's second tier. However, the defeat at Wembley has done a lot more damage than just that, the club is now in big financial difficulty as it now needs to sell its big names players to comply with the FFP rules and regs. There is a real possibility that the club could end up in the hands of administrators. Just yesterday the club suspended its CEO after it failed to pay a tax bill. According to Sky Sports News they have been told officially the the club is not for sale but sources have told them that the owner Dr Tony Xia is looking for new investors to share the burden with and if the right offer comes in to cut his losses and sell the club,...

SWANSEA have announced that Carlos Carvalhal has left the club.  The club have opted against extending Carvalhal's contract which expires at the end of the season. He was a surprise appointment in December. However, he oversaw an upturn in results but he couldn't save the club from the drop after a damaging defeat against Southampton in their penultimate match of the season. Relegation was confirmed last Sunday when the Swans lost 2-1 at home to already relegated Stoke. A statement from the clubs chairman Huw Jenkins read: "We'd like to put on record our thanks to Carlos for his enthusiasm, hard work and commitment since arriving at the club in December. "Naturally, we are all disappointed with the clubs relegation from the Premier League, and following discussions with Carlos, we felt it was the best interests of both parties that we move in a new direction. "Everyone at Swansea would like to thank Carlos and his staff for all their efforts...

DAVID MOYES has left West Ham after his contract came to an end.  Moyes leaves West Ham after his contract ended. The announcement comes no less than 12 hours after Co-Owner David Gold had said that he hoped Moyes would stay and continue in his role as manager for next season. Moyes's backroom staff including his assistant Stuart Pearce will leave the club with Moyes. A statement on the clubs website read: "West Ham can confirm that David Moyes has left the club following the end of his short term contract. Co-Owner David Sullivan said the following: "I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to David Moyes and his staff for achieving the target of keeping West Ham United in the Premier League. "Throughout his time here David has himself with dignity and honesty and we have all found him to be a pleasure to work with. He, Alan, Stuart and Billy accepted the challenge and attacked it head on, turning around a very difficult situation. They des...

EVERTON have sacked Sam Allardyce, with Marco Silva set to replace him at Goodison Park.  Allardyce leaves Goodison after just 7 months in charge. Everton finished the season in 8th position in the Premier League table with 49 points, 12 fewer than they achieved last season. Allardyce met with the club's majority shareholder Farhead Moshiri this morning (Wednesday) where he was told that his services were no longer required. This is believed to be have been a decision that come from an Everton board meeting on Tuesday afternoon. It is believed that Allardyce will receive the vast majority of of the final 12 months of his contract which Sky Sports estimate is around £6m. A statement on the clubs website read: "On behalf of the chairman, board of directors and Mr Moshiri, I'd like to thank Sam for the job he has done at Everton over the last seven months. Sam was brought in at a challenging time last season to provide us with stability and we are grateful to h...

ASTON VILLA have the advantage heading back to Villa Park on Tuesday after a 1-0 win at the Riverside against a flat Boro at the Riverside on Saturday evening.  (C)BBC Sport Former Crystal Palace captain Mile Jedinak headed the winner from a corner in the first half and it seemed to stun Boro who just couldn't find a way back into the game. It has been almost three months since Boro failed to score in a game but they just didn't do enough to trouble Sam Johnstone in the Villa goal ensuring the visitors have the edge going to Tuesday's second leg at Villa Park where Villa have lost just six times since the start of last season. Tony Pulls named an unchanged lineup from the one that started last Sunday at Ipswich, while Steve Bruce made six changes to the side that lost 1-0 at Millwall on the last day of the regular season as all the big hitters came back in. Sam Johnstone, Ahmed Elmohamady, John Terry, Robert Snodgrass, Jack Grealish and Lewis Grabben all starte...

CHARLTON have it all to do in their bid to reach the second tier after they lost the first leg of their Sky Bet League One play-off semi final at home Shrewsbury.  (C) Daily Mail  The game was settled by a stunning strike from Jon Nolan his tenth of the season and 20th goal that Charlton have conceded in the final 20 minutes of a game this season. In a game that lacked clear cut chances the hosts started the better of the two sides and went close early on through both Ajose and Josh Magennis. Jake Forster-Caskey produced a good save from Shrewsbury keeper Dean Henderson who had to parry his effort from outside the box wide for a corner. Both sides caused problems with set-pieces especially Shrewsbury every time the ball went into the Charlton box it was won by Shrewsbury head. Carlton Morris was causing a lot of problems from those set pieces. However, failure to convert half chances into anything dangerous cost Charlton dear as a moment of magic from Jon Nolan st...

IAN HOLLOWAY HAS BEEN SACKED BY QPR.  Ian Holloway was appointed in November 2016 QPR finished the season in 16th place in the Championship table. It was Holloway's second spell in charge of the West London side and he managed to win just 26 of his 80 games in charge of the club. There has been speculation around his future with widespread reports that former England and Derby manager Steve McClaren would replace him once the season had ended. A statement on the clubs official website read: "On behalf of the Board we are hugely grateful to Ian for his incredible efforts during his time with us. "He joined us at a critical time when we were looking to cut the wage bill, bring in younger talent and remain competitive on the pitch at the same time. "That is no easy feat and it was down to his desire, love for the club and hard work that he achieved those goals. "However, we are now looking to take the next step as we continue to work through what is...

It has been a superb season for Pep and Manchester City this season as they have taken the Premier League by storm and brushed every team other than Liverpool aside throughout what has been a dominant campaign.  Pep Guardiola has led City to their 3rd Premier League title.  P: 33 W: 28 D: 3 L: 2 That is Manchester City's stunning record so far this season. 2017/18 is a season that has seen them break the English top division record for consecutive wins. Raheem Sterling scored a late winner against Bournemouth on August 26th, they won every game including that one until their 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on New Years Eve which was a total of 18 consecutive wins, smashing the previous record set by Chelsea last season which was 13 wins in a row. Last 12 Seasons Champions. Passing is a crucial part of football and City do a lot of it. City broke this record twice. Chelsea visited the Etihad in March and were beaten 1-0. City set a new re...

The Championship is hotting up, there are three different races in the league that everyone is dying to see what happens with. Wolves look to have secured the title after victory over Cardiff who are now looking over their shoulders with Fulham just two points behind them. The race for the top six his hotting up as is the battle to stay in the league below is a round up of all the games. Cardiff 0-1 Wolves: This was the big game of the weekend on Friday night as Cardiff looked to cement second place in the league and cut the gap to Wolves to just three points, but they were unable to a beautiful Ruben Neves free kick was the difference between the two sides. There was drama at the end as Cardiff missed two stoppage time penalties first from Gary Madine and the second from Hoilett. Neil Warnock was unhappy with with Nuno Santos for the way he behaved at the end of the game as emotions boiled over. Barnsley 3-2 Sheffield United  This was a huge win for Barnsley a fir...

AS we reach the business end of the season the League tables have dictated which teams are going to be in the running for promotion, the play-offs and relegation.  Over the coming days I am going to be looking at different clubs who are fighting across these three fronts and speaking to fans of those clubs. Premier Football Books In this article I am talking to Barnsley fan Ryan. What have you made of Barnsley's season? Pretty underwhelming compared to last season but improvements are being made and we are on the up. Has the season lived up to your pre-season expectations and what were your expectations? To be honest, yes as we lost a few of our best players, then having problems with Mcburnine singing but I was hoping we would be a bit higher up in the table.  Who have been Barnsley's key players this season? Probably Liam Lindsey and Adam Davies have been our most consistent players this season but Mcburnie is...

AS we reach the business end of the season the League tables have dictated which teams are going to be in the running for promotion, the play-offs and relegation.  Over the coming days I am going to be looking at different clubs who are fighting across these three fronts and speaking to fans of those clubs. The Stadium Guide In this article I am talking to Bolton fan Neil. What have you made of Bolton's season? I would have been delighted with 20th before the season started. I  honestly didn't think we would stay up under the transfer embargo and everything else so I will be very happy if we stay where we are now. Has the season lived up to your pre-season expectations and what were your expectations? If it finished now then it would be above our expectations. I think most fans despite what they might have said publicly would not have been surprised if we were relegated, even more so after only taking two poin...

AS we reach the business end of the season the League tables have dictated which teams are going to be in the running for promotion, the play-offs and relegation.  Over the coming days I am going to be looking at different clubs who are fighting across these three fronts and speaking to fans of those clubs. (C)SAFC In this article I am talking to Sunderland fan Chris. What have you made of Sunderland's season? A total disaster with the real threat of us dropping into League 1.  Has the season lived up to your pre-season expectations and what were your expectations? Definitely not! I was hoping that there would be investment in the squad and we could challenge for the play-offs at least. However, the owner has had different ideas and not invested at all hence why we are bottom of the league.  Who have been Sunderland's key players this season? At the start it was Lewis Grabban and Aiden McGeady but now are key pl...

AS we reach the business end of the season the League tables have dictated which teams are going to be in the running for promotion, the play-offs and relegation.  Over the coming days I am going to be looking at different clubs who are fighting across these three fronts and speaking to fans of those clubs. In this article I am talking to Wolves fan Mitchell. (C) Whats On Live What have you made of Wolves's season? It's been a great season for us to be up at the top of the Championship challenging for a return to the Premier League is great because that is where every club wants to be, playing at the top level.  Has the season lived up to your pre-season expectations and what were your expectations? It has been a great season. This season has exceeded my expectations. At the start before a ball was played I was hoping for us to get into the play-offs but we have been at the top since the start so yes the season has exce...

AS we reach the business end of the season the League tables have dictated which teams are going to be in the running for promotion, the play-offs and relegation.  Over the coming days I am going to be looking at different clubs who are fighting across these three fronts and speaking to fans of those clubs. (C) Wikipedia  In this article I am talking to Aston Villa fan Andy. What have you made of Villa's season? I am quite happy with where we are at the moment. I think the season has been okay but not great if we don't go up, if we do then its a great season. Has the season lived up to your pre-season expectations and what were your expectations? Being an Aston Villa fan I expected us to be at the top of the division as we are one of the biggest clubs in the division, if not the biggest club. Who have been Villa's key players this season? Our goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has been our key player this year. Saving us on so many occasions this...

AS we reach the business end of the season the League tables have dictated which teams are going to be in the running for promotion, the play-offs and relegation.  Over the coming days I am going to be looking at different clubs who are fighting on across those three fronts and speaking to fans of those clubs. (C) Nouse In this article I am talking to Hull City fan Emma. What have you made of Hull City's season? To be honest our season has been a very disappointing one, considering we were in the Premier League last season a battle against relegation in the Championship the following season is very disappointing for everyone involved with Hull City. Has the season lived up to your pre-season expectations and what were your expectations? To be honest I had hoped for a mid-table finish and not to be battling to stay in the division. I certainly wasn't expecting to be in the relegation zone for the majority of the season which we have been. Who...

MILLWALL made it five wins on the spin away from home in the Championship after 2-1 win over Hull at the KCOM Stadium.  (C) Hull Daily Mail  George Saville scored inside 51 seconds to give the visitors the lead his first goal of 2018. Tom Elliot and Lee Gregory both forced Alan McGregor into saves as the Lions continued their amazing start to the game. Jarrod Bowen then rattled the crossbar for the hosts as they looked to try and get back into the game. However, just after the half-hour mark Millwall were 2-0 up as Jake Cooper sent a looping header into the corner and over McGregor. Sub Abel Hernandez puled a goal back for Hull with ten minutes left but Harris's side held on to record their fifth straight win away from home in the league and their 17th point since in the start of February. The result means that Millwall remain 11th in the table six points off the play-offs and one behind Brentford who come to the Den on Saturday afternoon. Many fans thoug...

MILLWALL had to come from behind for a third straight home game in a 1-1 draw with bottom of the table Sunderland. The relegation threatened Black Cats took the lead just after the half hour mark when Bryan Ovideo struck a stunning shot from outside the box that beat Jordan Archer at his near post.  A poor first half from the hosts saw them booed off at half time by the crowd but a much better second half performance saw Sunderland lucky to escape with a point from South London.  The home side got themselves level with 20 minutes to go when Shaun Hutchinson scrambled the ball over the line the goal only being given because of goal line technology.  After the goal Millwall piled the pressure on and Sunderland were hanging on and dug in to earn the point. However, the point does little to aid Sunderland in their battle against a second consecutive relegation.  It was clear that Millwall wanted it more and then decided to go with an att...

HARRY KANE broke Crystal Palace hearts as he headed home an 88th minute winner at Selhurst Park.  It was Kane's 35th goal of the season and his 150th career club goal, the goal equalled his record of goals for last season as he once again looks on course for another stunning season in front of goal. His header broke the hearts of Palace who were denied a precious point in the battle against relegation. One man who will be thanking Kane for scoring will be Spurs right back Serge Aurier who had missed an open goal a few minutes prior to Kane's goal. The result saw Spurs go above Chelsea into the top four on goal difference before the Blues's trip to Manchester United. The defeat for Palace see's them remain 17th in the table outside the drop zone on goal difference. They also play Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in three of their next four fixtures. It was a tight and tense affair in the first half and Spurs were unlucky to be denied two penalties....

MILLWALL came from behind to beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at the The Den on Tuesday night. The win see's Millwall rise up to 11th in the Championship table.  Lee Gregory and Steve Morsion turned the game in the second half after Joey Pelupessy had given the away side the lead with a stunner just before half time. Millwall dominated the play in the first half but were unable to really test Wednesday keeper Joe Wildsmith, Ben Marshall saw an effort deflected onto the woodwork as that was the closest the home side came to scoring. Wednesday took the lead against the run of play in the 42nd minute through Pelupessy's stunning strike from outside the box. However, he looked offside when he first received the ball. Millwall took just seven second half minutes to get themselves level in the game when Ben Marshall's free kick was headed back across superbly by Jake Cooper for Lee Gregory to power home a close range header to bring the scores level. Gregory w...

NORWICH scored a last minute equaliser to extend their nine year unbeaten run against their Suffolk rivals Ipswich.  Norwich celebrate late equaliser (BBC Sport) The game looked to be heading towards a 0-0 draw until the 88th minute when Luke Chambers thought he had won it for Ipswich when he headed home from a corner, but with just seven seconds left of stoppage time Timm Klose headed home a dramatic equaliser to deny Ipswich their first East Anglian derby win since 2009. Ipswich controlled the first half of with a very disciplined and professional performance. However, after the break Norwich responded and produced a good second half display. The result did little to help either side in their aims of reaching play-offs. Both sides are locked on 45 points, eight off Bristol City who occupy the final play-off place. Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy decided to match Norwich and play with three at the back and it looked to have worked very well the for the visi...

DERBY DAY in the Second City belonged to Aston Villa as they made it seven straight league wins to move up to second in the Championship against Birmingham at Villa Park. Albert Adomah gave the hosts the lead with his 13th goal of the season and from that moment on they didn't look back and nine minutes from time they doubled the lead with a stunning half volley from Connor Hourihane his 8th goal of the season. Birmingham's misery was compounded in stoppage time when N'Doye was sent off for a second yellow card. Villa started the game the better side and created the better chances including one from Scott Hogan which cannoned off the crossbar. The Blues also hit the woodwork just before half time as Sam Gallagher beat John Terry for pace and cut inside the box but his shot came off the far post before he sent the round over the bar. Steve Bruce who has a very difficult week on a personal level made one change to his side with Mile Jedinak coming in to play in ...

West Ham are believed to have started looking for a new permeant manager for next season.  The Irons sacked Slaven Billic in November and replaced him with former Everton, Manchester United and Sunderland boss David Moyes. Both the Telegraph and The Sun are reporting that Moyes has failed to to persuade the owners to extend his contract pass the end of the season. Names such as Rafa Benitez and Huddersfield's David Wagner along with Marco Silva are all being talked about by the West Ham board. After defeat on Saturday the Hammers are without a win in three Premier League games and are 12th in the table with 27 points, three above the bottom three. They were also dumped out of the FA Cup by Wigan and ad a difficult transfer window which ended in the Head of Recruitment being sacked for comments. Opinion from me is that it would be a harsh decision. West Ham are without 11 first team players due to injury so that would make any job harder The window wasn't g...

ANOTHER weekend has come and gone on the Premier League as we are now approaching the tail end of what has been another wonderful campaign. The first game of the weekend was Saturday's early kick off at Turf Moor between Burnley and Manchester City. All of the pre-match talk was about Pep Guardiola's decision to only name six substitutes with Gary Neville blasting it a 'joke' decision. It appeared business as usual for Man City after 22 minutes when left back Danilo curled a beautiful effort into Sthe top corner to give City the lead. In the second half Raheem Sterling was guilty of surely the miss of the season when he somehow failed to turn the ball into the net from 3 yards out. That miss would came back to hurt Sterling and City because 8 minutes from time Burnley equalised through Gudmundsson who got on the end of Matthew Lowton's cross to give Burnley an unlikely point. City's lead at the top has been cut to 13 points after that draw because Manch...

ARSENAL   had another Sunday afternoon to forget this time at the Vitality Stadium where Bournemouth came from behind to beat the Gunners. The Gunners took the lead through Hector Bellerin to scored for the second successive game but goals from Callum Wilson and Jordan Ibe turned the tie around for the home side who beat Arsenal for the first ever time in league competition. The headline team news on the Arsenal side of things was that Alexis Sanchez had been omitted from the match day squad and after the game Arsene Wenger admitted that his future will be sorted imminently with Manchester United now reportedly 'confident' of landing the Chilean. Arsene Wenger who himself was forced to watch from the stands as he served the third of his three match touchline ban was also without Mesut Ozil due to injury, saw Bournemouth start the better and they went the closest in the opening exchanges when former Tottenham right back Adam Smith shot wide of Petr Cech's post. Th...