No 26 did not deliver destiny for Villa in the Championship play-off final against Fulham and now Steve Bruce has problems preparing for another promotion tiltSurely football’s gods would not deny Aston Villa this time: 26 May was the 36th anniversary of the club’s European Cup victory when the team in claret and blue, against all the odds, beat the bluebloods of Bayern Munich. The number 26 was on the back of Villa’s captain, John Terry, the warrior central defender who would pass his 38th birthday back in the Premier League, taking a couple of days off when his adopted club play Chelsea to whom he said goodbye a year ago in the 26th minute.That was to be the narrative except...
A record-breaking four promotions from the Championship will stand the former Birmingham City manager in good stead for his latest managerial roleSteve Bruce may be half the man he used to be but Aston Villa’s new manager remains a heavyweight promotion expert. So far so good for Tony Xia but, even though the clocks have still to go back, history suggests Villa’s ambitious Chinese owner may have to forget about an instant return to the Premier League this season.Indeed should Bruce – who has lost a staggering amount of weight and, even more startlingly, coloured his hair ash blond since resigning as Hull City’s manager in the summer – fulfil widespread West Midlands expectation having been named as Roberto Di...
The podders assess England’s win over Malta and the rest of the international action: is this the beginning of the end for Wayne Rooney? Plus, Steve Bruce looks set for Aston Villa – but is the Championship’s gain literature’s loss?Subscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, AcastOn today’s Football Weekly, AC Jimbo is joined by Rafa Honigstein, Iain Macintosh and Jacob Steinberg to whiffle on about the World Cup qualifiers. Is this finally the end of the road for Wayne Rooney? Does Gordon Strachan have a clue? Why can’t Wales win any more? Continue reading...