Aston Villa have officially confirmed that Shay Given will be out for a month. The goalkeeper picked up a hamstring injury during Villa's 1-0 loss to Manchester United -- and in a perfectly damning illustration of the way this season is going, Given managed to injure himself trying to clean up a mess made by Alan Hutton. So not only has Hutton managed to injure players on other squads (see Long, Shane), he is actively destroying the few good players on Villa. Excuse me while I go sob into a pillow.
With Given gone, the claret and blue will be relying on American Brad Guzan. After Given was carried off the pitch last Saturday, most Villa fans panicked, thinking that United would put four or five past the man that's rarely in goal, even for the reserve side. Instead, the visitors did absolutely nothing -- did Guzan even make a save?The one positive we noted is that Guzan didn't send a long kick out of the box, meaning he must have touched the ball at least once. But worry not. Alex McLeish will give Big Brad a fine, and he'll never take such risks again.