Well, seeing as Paul Lambert is likely headed to Villa, it's time for me to start cracking wise about our maybe, possibly, soon-to-be manager. I did a different style of this when we hired Gerard Houllier, and didn't with Alex McLeish. I think it's clear to see that if I lampoon the new gaffer, Villa will do pretty well, and if I don't Villa will be terrible.

So, in the name of public service, allow me to present the worst Paul Lambert jokes I could think of. Feel free to throw virtual tomatoes in the comments.

• Hopefully Villa can overcome the historical problems of the lions laying with the Lambert!
• I'm glad Lambert resigned his position with Norwich City, putting a canary in this coalmine would be disastrous!
• I hear that Norwich City fans were ap-Paul-ed at Lamberts departure! (Thanks for that one, Gareth!)
• Don't let Lambert cast a Paul over the season. Things are looking up for Villa!

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Norwich City manager Paul Lambert has walked out on the team that he brought from the first division in 2009-10 to the Premier League this season. According to the Guardian, it seems all-but-assured that the former leader of the Canaries will be the new manager at Aston Villa. If that is indeed what happens, it will be a welcome (to many) end to a managerial saga that was showing signs of dragging on forever.

Lambert certainly represents a break from the tactics and transfer style of Alex McLeish,and he should be a breath of fresh air for Villa supporters looking to forget last season as quickly as possible. Lambert has shown that he can make the most of a club on a shoestring budget. When he arrived at Norwich, they were the 66th team in the English football ladder and in dire financial straits. At the end of this season -- after fewer than three years at Carrow Road -- Lambert had the squad up to 12th in England.

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For a couple of weeks we've known that Emile Heskey and Carlos Cuellar would be leaving Aston Villa after the season was over. We did not, however, was that they would be joined by goalkeeper and US Men's National Team member Brad Guzan. The release of all three has become official today according to the club.

Guzan has been with the club since 2008, but only netted 32 appearances. In those appearances, he was always competent and often excellent. Unfortunately for him he was stuck behind Brad Friedel and Shay Given, two of the best keepers in the Premier League. For Aston Villa the situation was ideal: they had a backup keeper who would likely start on most teams. For Guzan, though, it led to frustration:

"I want to be playing games and I think I've proven, not only to myself but to my team-mates and to coaches that I can play at the highest level and if given the opportunity I can play well."

-Brad Guzan

That's entirely understandable, I think. While it is sad to see Guzan go, he was entirely to good to be stuck on the bench, and the end of the relationship shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. I would imagine that Guzan's departure will put an end to the Shay Given transfer rumors that were beginning to percolate.

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In what is unquestionably stunning news, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has pulled himself out of contention for the Aston Villa managerial position according to Mat Kendrick of the Birmingham Mail. The former Manchester United striker has opted instead to stay at the helm of Norwegian club Molde. Apparently the decision came after Solskjaer met with the owners of Molde this afternoon.

Aston Villa are insisting that Solskjaer was not the club's first choice, but rather one of many, but you'd have a hard time convincing a number of Villa fans about that. This means that the search continues, and the likelihood of one of the more commonly brought up names becoming manager rises. If I were a gambling man, I'd stick to the blackjack tables. However, if someone forced me to wager on the next manager of Aston Villa, I'd probably guess Norwich's Paul Lambert. He was initially the odds-on favorite for the job, and with Solskjaer out of the running I think he's got to re-assume that role.

I'd say this is a little disappointing, but nothing we should be too shocked about. If nothing else, the club's simple willingness to consider Solskjaer should make us all happy as it means they are willing to look outside of the same, old, tired retreads. I've got no idea who will be leading Villa next season, but thanks simply to the OGS saga, I feel confident that it will be someone that is a far cry from Alex McLeish.

Last night I came across a photo gallery on the official team site of Carlos Cuellar on his last day at Villa. I'd realized that he was leaving, and I realized that I didn't like it. But when I saw that picture of Carlos, it hit me hard. I can't remember the last time I've liked a player that much. And not just as an athlete, but as a person. Aaron mentioned this in his match preview this weekend, but Cuellar seemed like one of the most genuinely wonderful people around. Not just among athletes, either. He just comes off as an absurdly likeable guy.

After I posted the picture, I noticed a link to Carlos' New Year's greeting from last season. That led me to his blog and eventually his twitter. When I got there, I noticed this, buried amongst the outpouring of support for Carlos:

@Cuellar24 goodbye my friend it was a pleasure playing with you. Can't get my head around you not being here next season #topdefender

— Darren Bent (@DarrenBent) May 13, 2012

Of course, Carlos responded:

@DarrenBent goodbye bro it has been a pleasure too!! Thanks mate I will miss u

Let me get this out of the way. I have no problem with the Aston Villa Player's Player of the Year gong going to Stiliyan Petrov. In fact I have the opposite of problems: I love it. No, what I'm here trying to figure out is why Stan received any sort of gong, and what exactly a gong is. I hadn't noticed this term when last year's awards were announced, but this headline from The Sun caught my eye today. If you're too lazy to click -- trust me, I understand -- it reads: "Shay: We've Gong Wrong." The story pretty much says that Shay Given felt that no one on the team deserved the player of the year award. Nifty. I think we can all agree.

But I had to do some searching. Why is is called the gong? A cursory Google search revealed nothing. A more in-depth Google search also revealed nothing. So, I went to the next logical place: Google Image Search. I was madly intrigued. Did player receive actual gongs? Were they full sized tam-tams or were they little miniature gongs that one would strike with a Q-tip? I figured certainly I'd get an answer through Google Image Search.

Unfortunately, I didn't. There doesn't seem to be a consensus. After the jump, I've got a few thoughts as well as what I actually did find.

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I'd like to think that 7500 to Holte is one of the least reactionary sources of Aston Villa commentary on the Internet. And that's not just the writers, it's the commenters too. I take pride in the fact that most everyone around here will usually take a rational approach to their emotions about the team. And no, match threads do not count. No one should be held responsible for what they say during sporting events.

But this thread will not be a part of the rational trend. Watching yesterday's match, I finally hit my breaking point with this club. This wasn't just a change from being optimistic to being pessimistic. That's happened to me before. Nor was it simply being angry. If it was a matter of that, we'd have all snapped after that atrocious Arsenal match. No, this was something more, and I know I wasn't alone. Seconds after the match ended, I checked my email only to find a rapidly expanding thread between the writers of this site entitled "F*** this club." Only it wasn't censored for front-page appropriateness. Every last one of us seemed, at least in the moment, to be filled with some combination of rage and disgust. I can't speak for the others, but I know that I'm still there.

What we saw yesterday has become so typical its nauseating. A bright first half -- okay, that's not typical, but it's also not unheard of -- followed by a steaming turd of a second half. Had Villa continued to play like they did in the first half, there's no reason to think they wouldn't have won 3-0. But they didn't. Immediately, it seemed that Bolton were picking apart the defense, and for no good reason. I don't know what it is about these players -- or their manager -- that causes this, but it's unacceptable. This is a club with obvious talent, and one that shouldn't be in the thick of a relegation battle. They aren't top-six material, but they are likely top-ten. And even with the injuries, they should be well clear of the drop.

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This weekend I missed the match against Manchester United because I had to take my girlfriend to the airport. When I emailed all of the other writers, I wrote that I was sorry to miss it and Aaron replied "'Sorry' to 'miss' it." Now, he wasn't being mean at all, he was just pointing out the unintended-but-actually-probably-true sarcasm in my statement. In reality, I was sorry to miss the interaction with the other writers and you readers. I was absolutely not sorry to miss the act of watching Aston Villa play football, let alone against Manchester United.

And tonight, as I sat here trying to think of something to write, I realized that there was nothing about which I cared with regards to Aston Villa. This team has nothing really left to excite me. Sure the youngsters are playing, but they're playing for almost nothing now and doing so in Alex McLeish's system. I'm tired of the football season, and I wish this one would just be over. But it's not over; we've still got five matches to watch! So what would it take to make me -- or to make any of us -- excited about watching any of those five matches? I'm genuinely curious. Below I've cobbled together a few ideas. You'll notice they are all very unlikely. This reflects the fact that there is probably nothing that will excite me about the remaining five matches.

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I certainly don't have to tell anyone that Villa are on the edges of a relegation battle. In all likelihood, the club is safe from the Championship, but it never hurts to see those below us in the table lose a game. If you're in the mood to cheer for the misfortune of others, have I got good news for you! Three of the bottom four teams in the Premiership are in action today, and two of the three are likely to lose badly to some very good clubs. With that in mind, use this as your scoreboard watching open match thread. I've put the details below (for all matches, including Man City and West Brom, because why not?) with the barest of analyses. I won't have lineups here because there's no way I'll get the chance to update just before these matches go live.

Manchester City vs. West Bromwich Albion Wednesday, April 11th Location: Etihad Stadium Records + Form (W-D-L, Points, +/-, Form) Manchester City: 22-5-5, 71, 49, 2nd, L-D-D-W-L West Brom: 11-6-15, 39, -4, 13th, W-L-L-D-L

Bare-bones analysis: City are likely out of the race for first, and WBA have hardly anything to play for. While City insist that they will keep playing their hardest, I imagine this is a snooze-fest.

SBN Blogs: Manchester City (Bitter and Blue)

Wigan Athletic vs. Manchester United Wednesday, April 11th Location: DW Stadium Records + Form (W-D-L, Points, +/-, Form) Wigan: 6-10-16, 28, -27, 19th, L-W-W-D-D Manchester United: 25-4-3, 79, 51, 1st, W-W-W-W-W

Bare-bones analysis: It says something about how poorly Wigan began their season that they have gained 2 points on us in the last five matches and yet are still seven behind. When I began writing this pithy note, I did not realize that Villa had gotten six points in their last five matches. I assumed it was maybe three. This point was much more impressive then.

SBN Blogs: Wigan (Pie Eaters Footie); Manchester United (The Busby Babe)

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Arsenal Wednesday, April 11th Location: Molineux Records + Form (W-D-L, Points, +/-, Form) Wolves: 5-7-20, 22, -36, 20th, L-L-L-L-L Arsenal: 19-4-9, 61, 22, 3rd, W-L-W-W-W

Bare-bones analysis: Arsenal are likely to take all three point here, and in doing so will make their hold on third place (and thus automatic entry to the group stages of Champions League place) more firm. Wolves would be divinely lucky to get a point, but even then it wouldn't really matter. They've got no chance of survival.

SBN Blogs: Arsenal (The Short Fuse)

Queens Park Rangers vs. Swansea City Wednesday, April 11th Location: Loftus Road Records + Form (W-D-L, Points, +/-, Form) QPR: 7-7-18, 28, -21, 17th, L-W-L-W-L Swansea: 10-9-13, 39, -6, 14th, L-L-L-W-W

Bare-bones analysis: This very well may be the most interesting match of the day. I, for one, love the fact that Swansea are going to be staying up when no one gave them much of a chance headed into the season.

So join in below. We'll all hop in as we can. It should be a fun day of action around the league!

Coming into the day, I imagine most of us would have been happy with a point at Anfield. When the lineups were announced, and we saw that Stephen Warnock was playing in midfield, I imagine we would have been ECSTATIC with a point. Well, we got the point, but ecstatic isn't the right word for how I think most Villa fans feel. No, I think we're all just relieved.

Things started rather quickly, and it seemed to be going in Villa's favor to begin the match. Liverpool threatened once and very well may have had a goal, but the officiating crew ruled that the ball was stopped by Shay Given just short of crossing the line. It signaled the beginning of a few things for the day. First, it seems that for once the calls were coming in Villa's favor. On the replay it looked to me as if Liverpool had scored a goal, but I'm happy the refs disagreed. Secondly, it let us know that Shay was going to be in top form today. Even if his last second parry was actually a bit too late, it was close enough, and that's how the keeper was all day. His effort, combined with Liverpool's stunning ability to not finish, is the reason Villa managed a point.

Well, those and an absolutely magnificent goal from Chris Herd. In the 10th minute, Barry Bannan received a ball to the right of the Liverpool goal, but the angle was no good for a shot. He decided to place a perfect pass on the ground to a Chris Herd who took a quick strike and put the ball above the reaching hands of Liverpool keeper Doni into the upper-left corner of the net to put Villa ahead 0-1. On twitter, I called the shot a volley. One of our followers pointed out that it couldn't be, since the ball was on the ground. They were right, but I don't know how else to characterize the shot. It came as an almost instantaneous reaction and seemed to be more of a deflection of a pass than a shot. Regardless of what it was, it was marvelous. Chris Herd became the third Villan in four matches to score his first Premier League goal following in the footsteps of Andreas Weimann and Eric Lichaj.

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This just came across from the Aston Villa official twitter feed:

Alan Hutton could return against Liverpool. Andi Weimann (ankle), Charles N'Zogbia (knee) and Carlos Cuellar (thigh) are all doubtful. #avfc

— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) April 5, 2012

I think it's safe to say that this is exactly what most of us did not want to hear headed into the match this weekend. It's easy to be hopeful about a tough match when you know there will be some youth players or likable players. Andreas Weimann has been look fantastically lately, so it would've been fun to see him try and continue that. Well, with him out I bet we'll be seeing some Emile Heskey (though Gary Gardner is a possibility too).

And on the defense, it's not much of a stretch to say that Carlos Cuellar is one of the most likable players on the team and Alan Hutton is one of the least. What's interesting about this is the fact that the two don't make a great one-for-one swap. Hutton, if he is healthy, will likely be in the lineup, but he plays on the wing. Who does that leave in the center where Cuellar has been? Does Lichaj--who looked fantastic playing the whole length of the pitch last weekend--shift to the center, or is he dropped from the lineup? If he is, what does that back four look like?

Don't get me wrong, this isn't end-of-the-world dire news, but it's a bit disheartening to see that Alex McLeish's hand may be forced away from the youth this week after the exciting results we got when the opposite happened last week.

Here at 7500 to Holte, I feel like I sort of hold the position of team optimist. With very few exceptions, I tend to be a "glass is not only half full, but the other half has some premium air in it" sort of guy. Once in a while this team will get the worst of me and I'll be down for a while, but it rarely lasts long. I feel like I can see the bright side in most everything. Is your cat on fire? Hey, that'll save on the heating bill! Stub your toe? At least it confirms that all of the nerves are working in your lower extremities!

So it is with that spirit in mind that I present this article. I'm not willing to concede that Villa are in the thick of a relegation battle yet. They're perilously close though, and a few results in the next week or two could put them in dangerous waters. That, to put it mildly, is disheartening. But thinking about the possibility of relegation terror has brought to light the realization that there are a few possible upsides to being in the thick of the battle to stay in 17th or higher.

• Suddenly, the matches mean something. Granted, for those of us more attuned to the financial realities of football, every match means something. There is a significant monetary difference between finishing 16th and finishing in 10th, but for most of us that means nothing. No, if Villa had six more points right now, they'd be well short of a European spot, and safely above relegation. The matches would be essentially meaningless. We'd all tune in, but it would be for boring football without any real end goal. Yuck. If we're battling for safety, though, each match is huge. Every goal feels like another step closer to freedom, and score watching other matches becomes important. Suddenly football becomes compelling drama again. And really, just being entertained is all we can ask for. It's like a push for the playoffs in that the rewards for finishing one spot higher than those last three are huge.
  

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On Saturday, I suggested that Aston Villa have a few games in which they look to be severe underdogs and could potentially run out a very young starting XI. It might seem odd to run out a team that is more likely to get beaten in already tough games, but it makes some sense. Villa are likely not a candidate for relegation at this point in the season, but it would still be helpful for them to pick up a few more points before all is said and done. Matches against Stoke, Norwich, West Brom, and eventually Bolton all present opportunities for Villa to get at least one point, and possibly three. Well, if these seem our most likely chances at improving the point total for the season, we should run out our absolute best squad. Take a "should happen" and turn it into a "will happen." This, of course, assume that the team doesn't play like they did this last weekend.

But with those four matches presenting the possibility of points, I think it's pretty safe to safe that Villa shouldn't expect too many points out of their other matches. Starting this weekend when Chelsea visit Villa Park and followed by matches at Liverpool (ok, that may be a possible win), Manchester United, and against Sunderland and Tottenham, Villa have the chance to take games that will likely be losses and turn them into opportunities for growth.

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This isn't going to be as incisive or as detailed as your traditional Aaron-style post-match recap. That'll come tomorrow. But, in the meantime, I thought we all might like a place to grieve after what was, unquestionably, one of the worst Aston Villa performances of the season. Going into Saturday's tilt at Emirates, I think we all probably expected Villa to lose to Arsenal. After all, the home side have been on their best form all season and Aston Villa have been... well, Aston Villa.

But I can't imagine many of us expected what we saw. Remember that the last time Villa were on the pitch--almost literally the last seconds--Andrea Weimann was crawling to the goal like a mad-man to give Villa a win against Fulham in the closing seconds of that match. Sure, it had been two weeks, but I was confident that the team could parlay the momentum into some good play this weekend.

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Let me get this out of the way first: this post isn't really strictly related to soccer. Instead, it's intended to bring to your attention some very excellent writing and design. I assume most of you are aware of Grantland, the pet project of ESPN columnist Bill Simmons. It launched last summer to much fanfare, and includes writing on sports, pop culture, and more. There are some amazing articles on the site, and there are some that just don't really do much for me. In some ways, it's gotten a bit out of control; there are so many sub-blogs and different categories that it is impossible to read everything on the site in a given day. The result of this explosion of content is that I pretty quickly gave up on Grantland as a daily thing. I go to school, occasionally try to write for this blog, read other things, do homework, etc. I didn't have time to read everything on the site, and I didn't really have a good way to curate it either.

But the editors at Grantland did something that was pretty smart. They teamed up with esteemed publisher McSweeney's to produce a quarterly of their very best work. It had always been the plan, and it made sense too. The very best writing on the site was the sort of long-form journalism that would stand the test of time. Individual articles may have addressed something that happened that day, but they also touched on the larger impact that sports and (yes, sometimes) pop culture have on our lives. By having a quarterly, the editors could pick a few of these stories every three months and bring special attention to them.

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Watching Aston Villa convincingly beat the Bristol Rovers in the Third Round of the FA Cup today got me thinking about something. It was their second 1-3 win in three matches. While this was a small sample, I noticed an interesting pattern here. When Villa score three goals, they win.

But I was not content to merely take supposition and conjecture for fact. Instead, I dove into the numbers to see what Aston Villa tends to do when they score three or more goals. Below, I present my findings.

What data did you look at?
I examined Aston Villa matches from the beginning of the 2009-10 season up until today's.

What did the numbers say?
Nothing. Numbers cannot speak.

/Sigh. How many matches were there in which Villa scored three or more goals?
21

And what was the record of Aston Villa in those matches?
I am sure it will shock you to know that Villa had 20 wins and 1 draw.

Good heavens! That's zero losses!
It is indeed! It appears that when they score three or more goals, Villa are unbeatable.

Were there any other interesting tidbits buried in the data?
I'm glad you asked, voice from nowhere. While examining the data, I noticed that one team in particular seemed to be on the wrong end of x-3+ defeats. Care to guess who that was?

Certainly, but I will only do so after the jump.
You're so persnickety, voice from nowhere. But, as you wish.

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Two days ago, Slaky wrote an excellent piece asking everyone to step back from the ledge with regard to the Darren Bent transfer rumors. There he wrote these measured and wise words:

There haven't been any offers and Aston Villa has said they aren't accepting bids. So please stop with the woe-is-you posts about how Bent is off to Liverpool and Villa are yet again a selling club. The fact that Villa is adamantly denying his availability means that Liverpool would have to grossly overpay to even consider acquiring his services.

But in the email thread between the writers of 7500, Slaky expressed a desire to see someone write about why it might be a good thing for Bent to leave Birmingham. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and so I offered to write a few words on why it might not be so bad for Villa to sell the striker, either now or in the summer transfer window.

I have to mention first, however, that I don't dislike Darren Bent at all. He has been steadfastly professional since he arrived here last year. With the exception of one boneheaded shopping trip, he's been a player that has avoided controversy. More importantly, he was a major reason that Villa not only saved themselves from relegation last season, but also ended the campaign on a positive note. Contributions to Aston Villa aside, he is one of the best goalscorers in the entire world if given the proper service. There is a lot to love about him. In the bowl full of enervated goldfish that is the current squad, Bent is the beautiful tropical fish that makes the aquarium worth owning.

There is a problem, however, with owning a tropical fish. Sure, they can make the aquarium better, and yes they're fun to look at when they dart around. But they're also awfully finicky. Mess with the water a goldfish is in, and it would shrug (if it had shoulders). "Sure, whatever man. Just give me food flakes every so often." They can thrive even in less-than-perfect conditions. Ultra-rare tropical fish though? Those you have to be careful with. Screw up the pH even a tiny bit and the next thing you know you've got some shiny colors floating belly-up at the top of your bowl.

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We're back for another week of podcasting! And this week, the crew are joined by a guest: Ted Harwood, the esteemed author of SBN's Arsenal blog The Short Fuse. If you haven't been reading The Short Fuse, you really ought to be. It's one of the best soccer blogs on the web; consistently thorough, funny, and insightful. Ted helps give us some insight into what Villa might expect from the Gunners in a few hours.

Please excuse us a bit, as recording problems mean that the end is abrupt and sudden. Add that to the fact that I am not with my laptop and have no real editing software and you get a pod without intro music as well. That said, everything you'll hear is up to the usual standards, so hopefully it will still be enjoyable.

You can either stream or download the podcast below, (just kidding! The house I am at has an Internet connection that makes 3G speeds look blazing. So just grab it from PodOmatic!) or you can check out our page on PodOmaticic and subscribe to the podcast there. We're working on the iTunes thing, we promise, but until then you can throw the PodOmatic feed into iTunes and that should work just as well.

It's episode 5 of the 7500 to Holte Podcast! And thus ends the exclamation points for this post. I'll be honest, from what I've heard, and what the crew have told me on twitter/email, this is a depressing one. But realistically, what can you expect? Villa put out their worst 90 minutes of the season this week, and things don't look very uphill from here.

Of note in today's podcast, due to technical difficulties things begin a bit in medias res, so don't be shocked if it feels like you're dropping into the middle of a conversation after the theme jingle.

I was unable to make this week's episode, but you're in the good hands of Kirsten, Andrew, and your host Gareth. The good news is that, while things are dour for Villa, the commentary and insight in here are top-notch. Plus they talk a bit about our youth. So there is some upside!

As usual, right click to save the file, or just straight click if you don't mind streaming and listening in your browser. We look forward to hearing what you think!

7500 to Holte Podcast - Ep. 5

Two weeks ago, Aston Villa played a thrilling match and secured all three points against Norwich City. It was awesome, and I've largely forgotten it. I hate how much the international break kills any momentum built up. And I don't mean by the team. I'm still unconvinced that team momentum is a thing. What I'm referring to is fan momentum. Had the upcoming Tottenham match happened last weekend, I would have been optimistic and eager. Now, I've had time to look at things with a more level head. I'll be honest, it doesn't look good.

But let's see what everyone on the site has to say about Villa's prospects as they attempt to continue the good times at White Hart Lane. Here are our predictions for Monday's match, presented in the order I received them, since some refer to others.

Gareth: I can't imagine any scenario in which we don't get absolutely hammered. We're no good playing away, and you can bet that McLeish will park the bus and strip us of all attacking intent. One battle worth watching: Gareth Bale vs. Alan Hutton. That matchup will almost certainly result in a fatality. 4-0 to Spurs.

Andrew: I'm with Gareth on this one. If this game was at Villa Park I'd give us a shot but in London, forget it. I feel almost as bad going into this one as I did going into the Man City match. This is one of those games where our fullbacks are going to make this very difficult to watch. Shit, that's all the games. If Villa can somehow get the first goal they'll have a chance to come out with at least a point. I expect them to come out with men behind the ball and looking for a chance to counter. So hopefully that works out. My prediction is Spurs 3, Villa 0.

(More after the jump!)

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Why look, it's Episode 4 of the 7500 to Holte Podcast! Sorry we missed last week, but things just didn't work out for us actually matching schedules. So to make up for it, we've got our longest podcast yet, and our first non-7500 guest! Graham MacAree of We Ain't Got No History joined us for the opening segment, in which we discuss the pending international break and Gabby Agbonlahor. After that, we touch of how Aston Villa is perceived, the upcoming schedule, Norwich City, and more.

So give Episode 4 a listen, and let us know what you think! Do you have any ideas for future segments? Would you like your questions answered? Leave us your thoughts below. Enjoy!

7500 to Holte Podcast - Ep. 4

Below, find some of the photoshops that were, for one reason or another, rejected for the banner image today. They were all inspired by today's episode. I hope you enjoy them, or something.

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This weekend we saw something from Aston Villa that we haven't seen in far too long. No, not a win, even though this weekend marked the first time Villa got three points in more than a month. What came back to the claret and blue was fun, and I certainly hope it sticks around.

This season, with very few exceptions, Villa have been dreadful to watch. They've played to every negative stereotype of soccer that I try to explain away to friends. The matches were slow, sloppy, low-scoring, and uncreative affairs. Certainly, there were sparks of brilliance from Gabby, and Shay Given played out of his mind a few times. But overall, watching Villa wasn't fun. It was work.

The sentiment was echoed by all of the writers here last week as we put our heads together to figure out what more we can put on the site. In order to find something to write about, we've either got to have news or be inspired on our own. There hasn't been too much news lately, and the team isn't inspiring.

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Aston Villa vs. Norwich CIty Location: Villa Park Date: Saturday, November 5 Time: 15:00 GMT/8:00am PT/11:00am ET Records (W-D-L, +/-, Points, Place): Aston Villa 2-6-2, 0, 12, 9th Norwich City: 3-4-3, -1, 13, 8th

Aston Villa Starting XI: Given; Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Petrov, Herd, N'Zogbia, Agbonlahor, Heskey, Bent.

Villa Bench: Jenas, Guzan, Ireland, Albrighton, Delph, Clark, Cuellar.

Norwich City Starting XI: Ruddy, Martin, Johnson, Morrison, Holt, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Bennett, Barnett, Tierney, Naughton.

Norwich City Bench: Rudd, Crofts, Jackson, Surman, Fox, Wilbraham, Delaet.

I like that the Canary is standing on what appears to be a yellow tomato. Also, that their lion is about to be crushed by a LEGO. Probably should try being PREPARED next time.

Speaking of prepared: Jermaine Jenas! We might actually get to see him! Meanwhile, the wee Scot who loves some wee scotch isn't even on the bench. Huh.

Norwich Preview: Better Know a Canary

Villa Preview: These Are The Games We Have To Win

Who Predicted the Correct Score?

In our discussions of what more to bring you here on the site, we realized that we were missing out on pre-match predictions. So in the spirit of ameliorating that, we've got our first set of predictions for you. Sure, Villa are at home against a newly promoted side, but they've been far from their best form lately. You'll see what we think, but make sure to put your guess in the comments below.

Aaron: I am too exhausted and just flat braindead to comment directly, but I do enjoy the fact that Norwich is owned by a lady.

Andrew: Norwich has been decent in their return to the Premier League and they've only lost one of their last six matches. We, however, know that number can be misleading because of Aston Villa's somehow uninspiring unbeaten run to start the season. The results are one thing but how they arrived at each result is probably more important at this stage of the season. The familiar refrain of dropping the most points from winning positions is back for Villa and if I had to guess, Villa is going to take a 1-0 lead late into the match only to concede on a set piece and settle for a 1-1 draw. I should put money on this.

More after the jump!

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