Hogg uses Pig-pen to Sign New Contract

Add another name to the "Staying at Villa For Ages" club. Jonathan Hogg, described rather kindly by the OS as "midfield ace," will be at Villa through 2013. Hogg, who has been part of Villa's injury-forced youth movement this year has been far from the most impressive youngster we have around. But the 22-year old signing to stay here for the next 3 years is hardly a bad thing.

Having someone come up through the system, and stick around at a first-team level is a good sign. And yes, Hogg hasn't been Mark "Elfboy" Albrighton or Barry "Mr. Schlewitz" Bannan, but he hasn't been Stephen "Oh Christ" Ireland either. He's some good midfield depth who has plenty of time left to mature his game and grow as a player. This also means Villa is building a core around which they can be competitive for years to come. With this signing, and those of Bannan, Gabby, Marc, and Ciaran Clark, Villa have five solid players for the future. If Hogg is the best player in your starting XI, you should be worried. But here, he isn't. He's a solid #11 or bench guy, and it's great for Villa to have the depth.