Aston Villa have had their fair share of poor transfer dealings over recent years, haven’t they? The club have made moves for both experienced players who should have the know-how to succeed, as well as younger faces who can inject energy in the side. Either way, both calibres of players have had mixed fortunes in the Midlands.

This season, Villa’s approach to transfers has largely paid dividends. The permanent signing of John McGinn, as well as loan moves for Tammy Abraham and Tyrone Mings particularly stand out due to their performances in a claret and blue shirt during their time at Villa Park.

However, not all transfers are able to have such an effect on the side. With that being said, let’s take a look at two of the worst Villa transfers over the past five years…

Micah Richards

Richards was Tim Sherwood’s first official signing as Villa manager in 2015 and upon his arrival, he was made club captain. Given his credentials and understanding of the League, it seemed to be a positive addition.

In his first campaign, injuries and poor showings from himself in a lacklustre side meant Richards was in-and-out of the side after the turn of the year.

The following season he made three appearances, the last one came in October 2016 after he came off against Wolves and he has not played for Villa since.

The 30-year-old is reportedly on £35,000 per week, as reported by BirminghamLive and to be paying a player a significant amount of money when the situation is completely unknown is just baffling. Richards’ contract expires in the summer so that will surely bring an end to his four-year affiliation with the club.

Joleon Lescott

Lescott joined from West Bromwich Albion in the same summer that his ex-Manchester City teammate joined Villa too.

He made 31 appearances for Villa that season, with a significant number of them being substandard defensive showings as Lescott seemed to be a shadow of his former-self that had been so dominant in years gone by.

His reputation among the fans was not done any favours through the infamous tweet of a Mercedes following a 6-0 defeat at home to Liverpool and the former-England international did then move on to AEK Athens soon after. He has since retired following a spell at Sunderland and leaves little to no legacy at Villa Park.

أكد فرج عامر رئيس سموحة أنه سيواصل التصعيد في شكواه ضد الزمالك، بسبب مشاركة لاعبه إمام عاشور في مباراة الفريقين ببطولة كأس مصر.

وكان سموحة قد خاطب اتحاد الكرة وطالبه رسميًا باعتباره فائز بمواجهة الفريقين في بطولة كأس مصر، والتي انتصر فيها الزمالك بنتيجة 2-1.

وقال فرج عامر خلال مداخلة هاتفية ببرنامج “اللعيب” المذاع على قناة “إم بي سي مصر”: “قدمنا شكوى لاتحاد الكرة وننتظر الرد ونستغل حقنا الطبيعي، وسنقوم بالتصعيد للمرحلة الثانية والثالثة، وسنرى إلى أين ستصل الشكوى”.

وأضاف: “هذا حقي، ما المشكلة في أن أخذ كل طرق التقاضي أو أقدم شكوى خارج مصر؟، لست أول شخص يقدم شكوى بالخارج، وإذا وُجدت ثغرة إدارية في المباراة سيكون لي الشرف أن أسعى لكشفها”.

وأضاف: “لا ألوم على الحكم فلنا ضربة جزاء لكنه كان تحت ضغوط عصيبة شديدة جدًا، وهو ما زال صغيرًا ولم يصل للدرجة الدولية والكرة لم تلفت نظره ولم يسأل الفار وهم لم يبلغوه”.

وأدار الحكم طارق مجدي مباراة الزمالك وسموحة في دور الـ16 لبطولة كأس مصر.

وواصل رئيس سموحة: “أنا غير محظوظ أمام الزمالك، ودائمًا تكون كفتي الأعلى في اللقاء، لكن تحدث أخطاء تحكيمية تكون عكس سير اللعب”.

وأردف: “سموحة يجيد اللعب أمام كل فرق الدوري المصري”.

وعندما سئل عن موقفه من انتقال حسام حسن للزمالك حال تلقيه عرضًا أجاب: “لم لا؟ أنا لا أكره الزمالك بل أحبه، وعندما كان يريد تأجيل المباراة بسبب بطولة إفريقيا وافقت من أجلهم”.

واستأنف: “الزمالك فريق مصري ولو حصد اللقب الإفريقي سيكون شرفًا لمصر، والأهلي وبيراميدز أيضًا، لكن يوجد شخص في الزمالك لا علاقة لنا به”.

وعن حقيقة مفاوضات سموحة مع أطهر الطاهر لاعب الهلال السوداني تحدث: “مجرد كلام، ولم يوقع لنا”.

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According to The Mirror, Manchester United are set to confirm the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on a permanent basis, after the interim boss oversaw a remarkable upturn in results since taking the reigns at Old Trafford.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Norwegian has already confirmed that his contract with former club Molde has been torn up, leaving him all set to manage the Red Devils beyond the current campaign.

Solskjaer has navigated his troops to a phenomenal run of just one defeat in 17 games since taking over from Jose Mourinho towards the end of December, and the recent comeback victory against Paris Saint-Germain appears to have convinced United chiefs that he is the man to take them forward.

Watch the video below to find out what Jesse Lingard is like off the pitch in the latest Match Of The Bae with Emma Conybeare…

The former Cardiff manager will reportedly see his wages rise to a whopping £7.5m-a-year, compared to the £400k-a-year he was taking home whilst with Molde – however, Solskjaer will be earning exactly half of the wage that Mourinho picked up whilst at Old Trafford.

A complete masterstroke 

Everything about this news is good for United. In terms of finances, morale, and results, the appointment of Solskjaer is fantastic news for everyone associated with the club.

As mentioned in the aforementioned article, the 46-year-old is happy to earn significantly less than Mourinho due to his love for the club and desire to take the reigns on a permanent basis, which will leave United officials beaming as they have saved a huge amount of cash and come out sunny side up in doing so.

Additionally, key players such as Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba will love the news, seeing as Solskjaer was manager of the Under-23 side during their time in the youth ranks and oversaw a crucial stage of their development – it was the Norwegian that gave Lingard his debut in the reserves.

While Lingard has been held back by injuries, Pogba has looked like arguably the best midfielder in Europe since Solskjaer looked the helm, bagging nine goals and eight assists in 19 appearances. Reports suggesting he will be working with the interim boss on a permanent basis will surely fill him with confidence of sustaining this current level of form.

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Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter after the Daily Mail revealed that Juventus would be willing to offer Alexis Sanchez an escape from his Old Trafford nightmare, although he will have to take a wage cut if the deal is to go ahead.

The Chilean international has been a massive flop since his move from Arsenal in January 2018, scoring just five goals in 41 appearances for the 20-time Premier League champions, which makes it all the more surprising that a European giant such as Juventus are interested in him.

Watch the video below to find out what Jesse Lingard is like off the pitch in the latest Match Of The Bae with Emma Conybeare…

Sanchez’s failures are all the more highlighted due to the astronomical figures that he takes home. The 30-year-old reportedly earns a whopping £500,000-per-week in Manchester, a sum that will make it very difficult to find a buyer for the big-money flop.

Understandably, United fans are overjoyed at reports suggesting that the Italian giants could take Sanchez off their hands, as the player who has cost them so much and given so little in return may finally be about to depart.

Let’s take a look at what the United fans are saying on Twitter…

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Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish rightly received the plaudits for his conduct and indeed his winning goal against Birmingham City on Sunday afternoon.

Indeed, the midfielder showed incredible restraint not to react to the pitch invader who struck him on the back of the head in the first half of the derby.

Grealish went on to score the only goal of the match, but Villa needed a strong performance from their back four to collect what was a huge three points.

Villa’s injury problems at the back meant that Kortney Hause had to switch from his left-back role to central defence, with Neil Taylor coming into the XI.

Hause – on loan at Villa from Wolverhampton Wanderers – won 12 aerials and had a pass success rate of 71% against Birmingham, according to WhoScored.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

The Villa supporters have really taken to the 23-year-old in recent weeks.

And a huge number have been on social media urging the 6ft 2in ace to move to Villa Park on a permanent deal at the end of the season:

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Leeds brushed West Brom aside on Friday night at the Hawthorns, and the incredible performance of Ezgjan “Gjanni” Alioski epitomised what Marcelo Bielsa has brought to the club.

Pablo Hernandez scored after just 16 seconds as Leeds completely destroyed the Baggies on Friday night, finally getting revenge for the 4-1 thrashing that Darren Moore’s side dished out at the Hawthorns back in November.

Patrick Bamford will hope to kick back into form now after scoring twice in Friday’s 4-0 win, and practically every player in a white shirt gave at least an eight out of ten performance.

No one was more impressive than Alioski though, who has gone from laughing stock to first name on the team sheet since Bielsa’s arrival at the club, and the gaffer deserves all the credit for it.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

Perfect management

Aforementioned, every single Leeds player will be proud of the way they played on Friday, but Alioski’s engine is like something from another planet.

Deployed at left-back again, a position he has made his own since the injury to Barry Douglas, the 27 year-old touched the ball 72 times and made a remarkable nine tackles.

To put that in perspective, no other player on the pitch managed more than six tackles (Kalvin Phillips) and no West Brom player managed more than just three.

His tap-in at the end was richly deserved for an all-action performance, and these performances are now becoming a regular occurrence for the man who’s most notable trait used to be getting flagged offside 50 times per game.

Put simply, Bielsa has taken an underperforming winger with poor end product, recognised versatility and work rate as the strengths in his game, and deployed him in a position and system where he can do what he does best – bomb up and down the wing and whip crosses in.

The Macedonian international’s end product has then improved as a result of improved performances and confidence, racking up seven goals and five assists despite playing left-back for around half of his appearances.

Practically every player at the club has improved under Bielsa, but Alioski’s transformation from scapegoat to cult hero has been incredible to witness, and the versatile ace epitomises the combination of positive reinforcement and tactical genius that Bielsa has unleashed on his squad.

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Sunderland fans have been reacting on Twitter to a bizarre story involving some sausages, their manager and a selection of players ahead of the Checkatrade Trophy final on Sunday.

This came after Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie revealed that Black Cats boss Jack Ross is planning to take some of his stars to a butcher’s in Sunderland.

Stirks Butchers in the city has been selling sausages inspired by the Scot and his stars, and they will visit the family-run establishment before vying for silverware against Portsmouth at the weekend.

Ross himself has had a sausage comprised of sweet chilli and Irn Bru created and some of his players have enjoyed the same honour.

Examples include captain George Honeyman and his Honeyman and mustard sausage, Will Grigg and his Will Grigg’s on fire sausage and Aiden McGeady and his McGeady Guinness and blackpudding sausage.

The story has been met by mixed reaction from the club’s fan base, some supporters are “horrified” while others seem amused.

You can check out the best of the reactions below…

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

ظهر المدرب الفرنسي، ديدييه ديشامب، المدير الفني لمنتخب فرنسا، في مؤتمرًا صحفيًا، للحديث عن مباراة كرواتيا القادمة في دوري الأمم الأوروبية.

فرنسا تحل ضيفًا على كرواتيا مساء غدًا الأربعاء على ملعب “ماكسيمير”، بالجولة الرابعة من دور المجموعات في الأمم الأوروبية.

وقال ديشامب: “من الجيد للاعبين غدًا وجود مُشجعين في المباراة، حقيقة تواجد 7 آلاف مشجع أمر جيد، سواء كانوا فقط من الكرواتيين، لكن علينا أن نرى الجانب المُشرق أيضًا من الأمر”.

وأضاف: “طالما السلطات الكرواتية قررت ذلك، فلا يوجد شيء يُمكن مُناقشته، بالنسبة لنا الأمر في فرنسا غير ممكن، ولا يُمكن مناقشته أيضُا، يتم اتخاذ قرارات وعلينا قبولها”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. بعد إصابة رونالدو بـ كورونا.. ليكيب تكشف نتائج تحاليل نجوم منتخب فرنسا

وواصل: “غدًا سنواجه منتخب جيد، لديهم لاعبين رائعين، مثل لوكا مودريتش، كرواتيا معه تُصبح أقوى بكثير، وله تأثير كبير، إنه قائد رائع، ولم يحصل على الكرة الذهبية بمحض الصدفة، لقد أتيحت لي مقابلته، إنه شخص جيد متواضع، وعندما يمتلك الكرة يكون قادرًا على تحسّين أداء كرواتيا”.

وعن إمكانية تواجد أوليفيه جيرو في مباراة الغد: “الجميع سيتدربون الليلة، أوليفيه متاح مثل كل اللاعبين، قادر على اللعب، وسأفكر مثل اللاعبين الآخرين”.

وبسؤاله عما إذا كان يُخطط بعدم الدفع بلاعبي باريس سان جيرمان أو رين لكون الفريقين سيلعبان يوم الجمعة، أوضح: “لا هذا الأمر لن يتحكم في اختياراتي، وسأختار بناء على معايير أخرى”.

Alberto Aquilani will likely always remember the day he transferred to Liverpool as the moment his career ended.

According to the Telegraph, the £20 million man joined Rafael Benitez’ Liverpool in 2009 after impressing in his home nation for Roma.

Liverpool and Benitez really thought they had a player on their hands as well. The former Roma man was truly a quality player in Italy, his YouTube compilations full of exciting drilled passes cutting across the grass of the Stadio Olimpico to release the talent of Francesco Totti and co in the forward positions.

This was the player to replace outbound, world-class talent Xabi Alonso. The Italian messiah; the man with all the answers.

“Alberto has a winning mentality and great experience in both Serie A and the Champions League,” Benitez said at the time (via Telegraph).

“He has long been seen as a top-class talent, captaining his country at under-19 and under-21 levels.”

Oh how different things turned out to be.

The harsh reality of things is that he was a complete and utter flop. A sham; a wasted ‘talent’ who found more space in the medical centre than he did on the pitch.

The Italian playmaker managed only 18 league appearances in Liverpool’s colours before being shipped off to Juventus. And this pretty much signalled the beginning of Aquilani’s nomadic life; from Liverpool to AC Milan; to Fiorentina (where he spent a moderately long three years), and then to Sporting – a trend slowly begins to form where the quality of team deteriorated on every move.

It is at this point we wonder: how did he keep finding somewhere to play?

A move to Serie A minnows Pescara could have been his saving grace. A former ‘star’ with plenty of experience and a lot to teach, what was there not to love about Aquilani? Well, apparently quite a lot. The midfielder managed only four months at the club before being shipped out on loan to Sassoulo, who, believe-it-or-not, decided not to take up the option to sign him on a permanent basis.

Like saying goodbye to a family pet, it was about time someone cut Aquilani’s career short. And Las Palmas were the ones to do it.

Spain was the end of the road for the Italian. Leaving after only a season, he made 23 appearances for the club and created a grand total of zero assists.

Now without an employer, he is probably reflecting on his long and arduous journey through the footballing world and wondering where it all went so wrong.

Sheffield Wednesday have yet to taste defeat in the Championship since Steve Bruce took charge at Hillsborough, a run that has stretched back to January and includes 11 games.

During that run Wednesday have kept a superb seven clean sheets, thanks in no small part, to goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, who has played in every game since Bruce’s arrival.

The keeper, who has had spells at Manchester City and Sunderland on his CV, is “delighted” at his form and says there has been a “great turnaround” at the club in 2019.

He told the Sheffield Star: It has been a great turnaround and that is credit to everybody at the club,

“I think I have kept nine [clean sheets] from 14 games. I’m delighted. If you were a striker and you scored nine goals in 14 games, you would be absolutely buzzing.”

The Owls’ win at a blustery Bolton on Tuesday means that they now sit just four points off a play-off spot, but still have a number of clubs to overhaul in the remaining weeks of a season in a race that is sure to go down to the wire.

But Westwood’s focus is on the next game — Blackburn Rovers are the visitors to Hillsborough on Saturday — and stressed that all games between now and the end of the season are “massive”.

He said: “We have to keep plugging away. We have another big game on Saturday.

“Every game we have now is massive. If we can manage to get a win at the weekend going into the international break, that would be big.”

“Let’s just get to this international break and see where we are at.”

Certainly, along with fellow play-off chasers Preston, Wednesday are the form team in the Championship, but it is a run that needs to continue if promotion is to be a realistic target.

It would be a fantastic achievement from where the club sat prior to Bruce’s arrival. It cannot be understated the influence the former Manchester United player has had on the squad, and the players are clearly responding.

Whether the Owls can see it all the way through to May is another question, but regardless if they do or not, Bruce has breathed life back into a sleeping giant that was simply treading water beforehand.

What are your thoughts on the impressive run that Wednesday have been on? Are they realistic contenders for a play-off spot now? Let us know your thoughts…