7500 To Holte - Aston Villa vs. Southampton 2016: News, updates, preview, and more!Villa Til We Cryhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46611/7500-fave.png2016-04-23T17:15:02+01:00http://7500toholte.sbnation.com/rss/stream/112541052016-04-23T17:15:02+01:002016-04-23T17:15:02+01:00Lescott gets the chant that he deserves
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<p>The Holte End wouldn't let Joleon Lescott forget the stupid things he said last weekend. </p> <p>In a world of Aston Villa that has Gabby Agbonlahor and Randy Lerner, Joleon Lescott has somehow managed to make himself the most hated figure at the club. After last weekend's relegation, Lescott spoke to the press and said that relegation was "a weight off our shoulders and we can play with a level of freedom and give these fans what they deserve."</p>
<p>Judging by his inept performances today, if the weight is indeed off of Lescott's shoulders, it's been put right into his boots. And the Holte End made sure that Lescott had to hear his own words echoing back at him throughout the match. Take a listen at the devastatingly simple chant that Lescott met with.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It's just a weight off your shoulders, weight off your shoulders <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AstonVilla?src=hash">#AstonVilla</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/avfc?src=hash">#avfc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UTV?src=hash">#UTV</a> <a href="https://t.co/J2Ryhe5wv5">pic.twitter.com/J2Ryhe5wv5</a></p>
— Emma Mclean (@Emsy001) <a href="https://twitter.com/Emsy001/status/723878651075416064">April 23, 2016</a>
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<p>You know, with relegation confirmed, it's just a weight off the chests of fans and now they can chant with a level and freedom and give these players what they deserve.</p>
https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2016/4/23/11494292/aston-villa-joleon-lescott-chant-weight-shouldersRobert Lintott2016-04-23T17:03:15+01:002016-04-23T17:03:15+01:00AVFC 2-4 SFC: Instant recap
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<figcaption>Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Aston Villa lost again, and they didn't look very good doing so. But Ashley Westwood is a treasure. </p> <p>There is literally no point in recapping this match. Final score was 2-4 because that's an obligatory thing to put in the first paragraph. You've seen it before. Aston Villa, with a back line of Bad, Terrible, Worse, and Awful managed to provide no support to their keeper (Fumblehands) and shipped four goals to Southampton in their tenth consecutive Premier League loss.</p>
<p>If you want more details, please go read any of the recaps that we've written for the past nine matches. They tell you everything you need to know.</p>
<p>Instead of that, I'd like to actually focus on something good at Aston Villa. Ashley Westwood. No, he's not a world-beater. No, he's not as good as we all might hope. But dear God does he play his heart out for this club. And at a time when a player can talk about relegation being a relief, seeing some passion is genuinely wonderful.</p>
<p>Westwood had a pretty great match today. He created some chances. He made a few mistakes. He was Ashley Westwood. But he also found the back of the net twice. In a 2-4 match those goals meant nothing. And had they come from someone like Joleon Lescott, I'd just be irritated. But no, they came from one of the VERY FEW players at this club who have been consistently hard working and deserving of some sort of reward.</p>
<p>So good on you, Westy. Thank you for being the player we all want to see. Thank you for being someone who actually gives a damn about this club. And thank you for giving us two moments to cheer without irony today. For that alone, I think I'll love you forever.</p>
https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2016/4/23/11494206/aston-villa-southampton-premier-league-recap-report-2016Robert Lintott2016-04-23T12:00:03+01:002016-04-23T12:00:03+01:00AVFC-SFC: How to watch, lineups, open thread
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<p>Aston Villa are hosting Southampton and it's the penultimate Premier League match at Villa Park for at least a year. We've got everything you need to follow along.</p> <p>Oh god we have another one of these? I thought we got to stop playing once we were relegated. Maybe that's what I had just hoped. But noooo, the misery continues.</p>
<p>And today it's a visit from a Southampton team with almost nothing to play for. Tune in to find out which team will figure out the way to give the fewest cares and which team might accidentally try to do something.</p>
<p>We've got everything you need to follow along below. And we'll be on Twitter, and there are of course the comments. Join us! Misery is better if we're together!</p>
<p><b>Location: </b>Villa Park, Birmingham, England</p>
<p><b>Kick-off time:</b> 3 PM GMT, 10 AM Eastern, 7 AM Pacific</p>
<p><b>SB Nation Southampton Blog: </b><a href="http://stmarysmusings.sbnation.com/">St. Mary's Musings</a></p>
<p><b>Available TV:</b> USA (US... maybe? NBC's website says so, but no one else does)</p>
<p><b>Available streaming:</b> <a href="http://plstream3.nbcsports.com/">NBC Sports Live Extra</a></p>
<p><b>Available radio:</b> AVTV (subscription required), Westwood One Sports (US), TalkSport Radio World</p>
<p>For listings in other countries, check out <a href="http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/1614200/aston-villa-vs-southampton/">LiveSoccerTV.com</a>.</p>
<h4>Aston Villa Starting XI</h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here's the Villa line-up to face <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC">@SouthamptonFC</a> this afternoon. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AVFC?src=hash">#AVFC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaintsFC?src=hash">#SaintsFC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AVLSOU?src=hash">#AVLSOU</a> <a href="https://t.co/ywj7qSNhFm">pic.twitter.com/ywj7qSNhFm</a></p>— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/723859173520355328">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h4>Aston Villa subs</h4>
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<p lang="da" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AVFC?src=hash">#AVFC</a> subs (v <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC">@SouthamptonFC</a>): Veretout, Gil, Bunn, Lyden, Gestede, Grealish, Toner. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AVLSOU?src=hash">#AVLSOU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaintsFC?src=hash">#SaintsFC</a></p>— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/723859304290353153">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h4>Southampton squad</h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The teams are in!<br><br>It’s a first start in seven months for <a href="https://twitter.com/JayRodriguez9">@JayRodriguez9</a>! Here’s how <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaintsFC?src=hash">#SaintsFC</a> line up at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AVFC?src=hash">#AVFC</a>: <a href="https://t.co/BXkvW2TJ3o">pic.twitter.com/BXkvW2TJ3o</a></p>— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC/status/723858982918598656">April 23, 2016</a>
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https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2016/4/23/11489556/aston-villa-southampton-2016-online-streaming-time-tv-schedule-team-newsRobert Lintott2016-04-22T17:00:07+01:002016-04-22T17:00:07+01:00AVFC v Saints: Please — seriously — don’t bother
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<p>Aston Villa are relegated, and Joleon Lescott and Micah Richards are going to start at centre back. Stop watching.</p> <p>Don’t even bother.</p>
<p>Already-relegated Villa host <a href="https://stmarysmusings.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Southampton</a> tomorrow, and you shouldn’t care. Find something better to do with your life.</p>
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<h4>What to know about Villa</h4>
<p><span>Jores Okore</span> probably won’t play for the Claret and Blues again, and <span>Ciaran Clark</span> is injured.</p>
<p>You know what that means!</p>
<p><i>(Hint: Don’t watch <span>Joleon Lescott</span> and <span>Micah Richards</span> concede 20 goals.)</i></p>
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<h4>What to know about Southampton</h4>
<p>Actually, I’ve been really impressed with Saints this season. Whenever a club overachieves, like Southampton have done the last couple years, there’s typically that year where the bottom falls out in spectacular fashion — think Fulham in their relegation year, for example. And early in the year, it looked like this might be that year, with Saints struggling to pick up points early in the season.</p>
<p>But like <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/epl/teams/stoke-city" class="sbn-auto-link">Stoke City</a>, who have been resurgent over the last 20-25 matches, Southampton have had an excellent close to the season and should secure a top-half finish once again with a win at Villa Park on Saturday, with the Europa League still feasible headed into the final weeks of the season. They’ve put together an impressive squad over the last couple years, and as they’re set to drop to Championship level, Villa should take note of how Southampton have built themselves into a solid top-flight club — emulating them, Stoke and <a href="https://bracethehammer.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">West Ham United</a> is a more feasible way forward than trying to "pull a Leicester."</p>
<p>If there’s any player that’s more reflective of Villa’s demise than Saints left back <span>Ryan Bertrand</span> though, I’d love to see him. When he was on loan at Villa Park, Bertrand had some shaky appearances and never really got his feet under him the way most supporters at B6 hoped he would. But since Bertrand moved to the South Coast, he’s thrived, breaking back into the England setup in 2015.</p>
<p>Everything’s broken at Villa, while everything works at Southampton.</p>
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<h4>The odds</h4>
<p>What though the odds, please don’t bet on Villa.</p>
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<h4>The prediction</h4>
<p>I don’t know, man. Let’s roll with a cheeky 1-3 to the visitors and go home.</p>
https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2016/4/22/11487254/aston-villa-southampton-barclays-english-premier-league-match-previewAlexander Carson2016-04-22T16:18:58+01:002016-04-22T16:18:58+01:00Jores Okore isn't happy, and refuses to play
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<p>Jores Okore isn't happy, and appears to have gone on strike</p> <p>Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, <span>Jores Okore</span> and interim manager Eric Black have had a bust up, and Okore is apparently refusing to play again this season.</p>
<p>Freelance journalist Ben Dinnery Tweeted the following:</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jores Okore will train with the Under-21s for the remainder of the season. Refused to play again in 2015/16. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AVFC?src=hash">#AVFC</a></p>
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenDinnery/status/723500020801134593">April 22, 2016</a>
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<p>This all stems from <a href="https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Aston Villa's</a> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35949318"> 2-1 loss</a> against Bournemouth from a couple of weeks ago, before which Okore refused a place on the substitutes bench, with <span>Joleon Lescott</span> and <span>Ciaran Clark</span> starting. Incidentally, this would explain why Kevin Toner found himself on the bench.</p>
<p>Caretaker manager Eric Black has had his say on the issue too. Speaking ahead of tomorrow's game against <a href="https://stmarysmusings.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Southampton</a>, he said:</p>
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<p>"Jores trained pretty well ahead of the Bournemouth game. I spoke to him at the start of the week and he responded well.</p>
<p>"Then when I announced he wasn't in the starting XI and wanted to work with them on the Friday he came to me afterwards and told me he didn't want to be on the bench.</p>
<p>"He didn't feel right to be on the bench - I found that strange.</p>
<p>"At that point he wasn't involved in the group - I didn't want him in the group if he didn't want to be involved on the bench.</p>
<p>"I then gave him the weekend to think about it and reflect. I spoke to him again on the Monday to see if he had changed his views on that and he just confirmed that he didn't want to play again and didn't want to be involved again, which I must admit I find very surprising.</p>
<p>"At that point I couldn't dream of bringing him into the group because I only want people there who want to play."</p>
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<p>Now, I can see both sides of the argument, and both Black and Okore raise valid points.</p>
<p>If I was Okore, who turned down <a href="https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chelsea</a> to sign for Villa, with the promise of first team football, I would be LIVID if Joleon Lescott was starting ahead of me. Going from being one of Europe's top prospects to being seen as understudy to West Brom's trash in Lescott.</p>
<p>BUT, his attitude sucks. Okore has spoken out before, and I suspect that he has an agent in his ear feeding him with frustration. He is a professional, and is being paid to do what his manager says, so it's quite disrespectful to both Black, the club and the fans that he has chosen to take this course of action.</p>
<p>Based on Okore's attitude, Eric Black is right to drop him. But, there is no way that it should have come to this. Look at this stat:</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AVFC?src=hash">#AVFC</a> in 12 matches started by Jores Okore: 2W, 5D, 5L (11 pts)<br>In 22 matches not started by Okore: 1W, 2D, 19 L (5 pts)<br><br>This club, man.</p>
— Alex Carson (@crashcarson15) <a href="https://twitter.com/crashcarson15/status/723521402104623104">April 22, 2016</a>
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<p>Jores Okore brings so much more to the lineup than Lescott, more than Clark too, though those two have previously worked well together and thus, should absolutely be the starting defensive duo. This situation has escalated in the way it has thanks to management failings, from both Black and his predecessors.</p>
<p>Regardless of who is at fault, the fans are the losers here. The club descends further into farce, and it looks like one of our most exciting prospects will be on his way out of Villa Park. And it was totally preventable.</p>
https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2016/4/22/11487316/aston-villa-defender-refuses-to-play-again-this-seasonElis Sandford2016-04-22T09:00:03+01:002016-04-22T09:00:03+01:00Episode 88: Relegation
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<p>It's episode 88 of the Holtecast and Jack and Robert are here to break down another crazy week of Aston Villa. </p> <p>Since we last spoke, we've had a lot happen at our beloved Aston Villa. The club lost. The club were relegated. Joleon Lescott said stupid things. Board members resigned. Stan Collymore threw fits. Fans threw fits. Takeover talk re-emerged. And everything looks to be suitably insane.</p>
<p>So why is it that everything feels so... boring right now? Jack and Robert dive into the week and focus on the big issues. With relegation guaranteed and no actual concrete takeover news, it's tough to really care about the club. Eric Black is still in charge and the same useless players are still around. Wheeee.</p>
<p>We've got another audio-only episode of the Holtecast this week, and we think it'll probably stay this way. Apologies if you're a fan of the video, but we just love how much better the sound quality is this way. As always, you can find us on iTunes, BlogTalk Radio, and now the Google Play Music Store! Thanks for listening!</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" src="http://percolate.blogtalkradio.com/offsiteplayer?hostId=674607&episodeId=8734029" height="180px" width="100%"></iframe></p>
https://7500toholte.sbnation.com/aston-villa-podcast-holtecast/2016/4/22/11483224/aston-villa-podcast-takeover-new-owners-board-resignationsRobert LintottJack Grimse