Page 2 - Aston Villa
- January 02, 2016
Since Remi Garde took over as Aston Villa's manager on November 2nd (for the recently sacked Tim Sherwood), things seemed to look up slightly for the embattled football club. Before Garde stepped in for his first match, the Lions had lost seven Premier League fixtures in a row. Garde's first game in charge resulted in a scoreless draw with then-table-leaders Manchester City.
Since then, Garde has managed three additional draws, but while his overall average this season has probably been better than Sherwood's was, he still hasn't gotten a win.
Turning Things Around
Bottom line, Garde needs to hit the winter transfer market hard if he is going to have any chance of changing his team's momentum. Sherwood brought in a lot of new players over - December 17, 2015
In the 16 days that span between Saturday, December 19th and Sunday, January 3rd, the English Premier League will blast through what amounts to four weeks of competitive play. While most of the world is on vacation, in other words, England's top football clubs are heading into one of the busiest periods of the year. The festive season in the Premier League can define many teams' campaigns for the year, meaning the stakes are high for every soccer club hitting the pitch this holiday season. Teams that find their groove in these two-plus weeks can leap their way up the table or barricade their positions at the top. Teams that hit a rough patch during the festive period, meanwhile, often take themselves out of title consideration.
How Things - December 11, 2015
Aston Villa were founding members of the Premier League in 1992 and have participated in every season of the division, avoiding relegation even when doing so seemed distinctly unlikely. Newcastle United, meanwhile, were early Premier League contenders, finishing as the league runners-up in both 1996 and 1997.
Needless to say, both of these teams have notable legacies in the EPL-not to mention a lot of adoring fans. Both clubs could be on their way to the Football League Championship after the 2015 2016 season, though. Fifteen matches into the current campaign, both Aston Villa and Newcastle United both face relegation and are struggling to find their groove.
Newcastle's Second Relegation?
In addition to their early Premier League success, Newcastle also had a solid run in the league in the early 2000s, scoring top five finishes in 2002, 2003, and 2004. However, the Magpies have been inconsistent at best for the past - December 02, 2015
An eventful weekend in the English Premier League 2015 - 2016 week 14 saw Leicester City's Jamie Vardy shattering a 12-year-old record and Manchester City reclaiming the peak position on the standings table, among other things.
11 Games in a Row
Vardy was deservedly the story of the week, much like he has been the top story in English football for the majority of the season. In the midst of a 1-1 draw between Leicester City and Manchester United, the 28-year-old striker scored his team's lone goal. It was the 11th league match in a row that saw Vardy finding the back of the net, an accomplishment that no - November 26, 2015
Manchester City and Arsenal-the football clubs that were sitting at the top of the Premier League table headed into this weekend-week 13 of 201516 EPL season proved to be thoroughly unlucky. Both teams lost, with Manchester City falling 1-4 against Liverpool and Arsenal stumbling to a 0-1 loss in an away game at West Bromwich Albion. The Sky Blues and the Gunners now occupy the third and fourth place spots on the table, respectively. It's the lowest Manchester City have dipped all season.
Lucky Leicester
For many of the other most notable soccer clubs in the Premier League, though, week 13 proved to be surprisingly full of luck. Topping the list of fortunate teams are Leicester City, who beat Newcastle United 3-0 to scoot into first - November 14, 2015
Manchester City and Arsenal may be the football clubs at the top following week 12 of 2015/16 Premier League play, and Chelsea may be grabbing more headlines than just about any English team, thanks to their disastrous season so far. However, arguably no soccer club in the league has enjoyed more of a renaissance this season than Leicester City.
Indeed, the Foxes are sitting third in the Premier League after 12 weeks of competition, just one point behind both Manchester City and Arsenal. They've won seven of their games and have only lost one, making them the least beaten club in the league right now, alongside Tottenham Hotspur. Add the fact that Leicester currently have the top two scorers in the EPL, and the Foxes are beginning to look like legitimate title contenders.The Rise of Leicester
- November 13, 2015
When Tim Sherwood was sacked from Aston Villa and Remi Garde was appointed in his place, even the most adamant believers in the Claret and Blue were skeptical about just how much the new manager could change. Remi Garde did well in his three seasons at France's Olympique Lyonnais, but he was also arriving at Aston Villa with the football club in virtual tatters. How could he fix things when so much was broken? However, in his first game as manager he oversaw a strong performance from Aston Villa against Manchester City, is this the beginning of new found fortunes for the Claret and Blue?
Aston Villa's Tough Situation
Indeed, while Sherwood helped Aston Villa to avoid relegation last season, that's just about the only positive thing that could be said about the soccer club's last 12 to 18 months. The Lions lost their biggest talents over - November 05, 2015
Aston Villa needs a hero. Following a crushing 1-3 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, the Lions have officially dropped to the last place on the 2015 2016 Premier League table. 11 games into the season, the Lions have only picked up four points, winning one match, drawing another, and losing the remaining nine. They are two points behind Sunderland, currently their nearest competition.
With how awful Aston Villa's start to the 2015 2016 has been, it was only a matter of time before manager Tim Sherwood was fired from his position. Now, just a week and a day after Sherwood's October 25th sacking, Aston Villa appoint Remi Garde as their new manager, will he be the clubs hero?
New Blood
On November 2nd, following their loss against Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa announced that they had officially appointed Remi Garde as their new club manager. Garde, a former defender and defensive midfielder, - November 02, 2015
Up until now, the 2015 2016 Football League Cup has been largely predictable. Sure, Tottenham Hotspur, last season's tournament runner-up, bowed out in the round of 32. So did West Ham United, who have been surprisingly solid in the Premier League this fall. For the most part, though, the big teams made it to the League Cup's fourth round-including heavyweights like Chelsea, Arsenal, the two Manchester Clubs, and Liverpool.
As if sensing that the League Cup was getting a bit stagnant, fate stirred up some real drama in the League Cup 2015 round of 16. A few major upsets in the round, which took place on October 27th and 28th, could drastically shift the landscape for the tournament. But who were the major winners and losers, and which football clubs should you expect to see contending for the title, come the tail end of February? Read on to find out! - October 28, 2015
The writing was on the wall for Tim Sherwood, even prior to Aston Villa's Saturday, October 24th home fixture against Swansea City. The 46-year-old manager had only been in charge at Villa Park for eight short months. But the Lions had been in dire straits throughout the 2015 2016 Premier League campaign, having fallen into the red zone at the end of September. Everyone in the soccer world knew that Sherwood's job was on the rocks. The question was whether or not he would prolong his stint with a win against Swansea City, or put the final nail in his own coffin with a loss. Ultimately the news came - Tim Sherwood sacked as Aston Villa manager, but his team didn't let him go easily.
For a few minutes in Saturday's game, it looked like Sherwood might be able to salvage his job-for another week, at least. The Lions managed to stay pretty equal with the Swans in terms of possession and shots on goal. At the 62-minute mark, they even scored the first point of the match, with
