Game #5096
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Attendance: 40,688
Drew
Premier League
14th (-4)
Birmingham City
Last 5: 🟥 🟨 🟥 🟩 🟨
Villa Park
Villa fail to score for the third consecutive Premier League game under Gérard Houllier and are winless in four as they fall back to 14th in the table.
Aston Villa
0-0
Birmingham City
Assist(s) | None
KEY MAN
Nigel Reo-Coker takes time out from his running battle with Craig Gardner to focus on the ball as Villa fail to score for the third time in four winless Premier League games under Gérard Houllier, Sunday, 31 October 2010.
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
🟨 | 45’+2 Booking, Stephen Warnock
🕒 | HT Aston Villa 0-0 Birmingham City
🔁 | 58’ Sub off, Steve Sidwell, Sub on, Barry Bannan
🟨 | 78’ Booking, Nigel Reo-Coker
🔁 | 82’ Sub off, Nigel Reo-Coker, Sub on, John Carew
🕒 | FT Aston Villa 0-0 Birmingham City
ON THIS DAY
Villa fail to score for the third successive League game under Gérard Houllier and after 10 games have a record of P10 W3 D3 L4 as they fell back to 14th in the table - their lowest position of the season. Meanwhile, Steve Sidwell made his final appearance for Villa aged 27 before moving on to Fulham for a fee of £540,000 in January 2011. Villa had paid Chelsea £5,670,000 for Sidwell’s services in July 2008 and made 64 appearances, 27 of which were as a substitute and scored 4 goals.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Birmingham City
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: ❌
League Cup Winners: 🏆
Last Trophy: 1962-63
FIXTURE HISTORY
Birmingham City
Previous 5 vs. Birmingham: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 2010-11 |
Matchday | #14 |
League Game | #10 |
Manager Game | #7 |
Sunday, 31 October 2010
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Gérard Houllier | 🇫🇷 | Thérouanne, 2010-2011
Referee: Howard Webb | 🏴 | Rotherham, 2000-2014
Kick off: 12.00pm
HT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Result: 🟨 Drew
Last 5: 🟥 🟨 🟥 🟩 🟨
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Howard Webb | 🏴 | Rotherham, 2000-2014
Previous 5: 🟨 🟩 🟨 🟩 🟥
Last Match: 🟥 10 Apr 10, Villa 0-3, Chelsea (n) 🆘
Cards: 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨
Assistants: Stephen Child, Jake Collin
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Luke Young, Stephen Warnock, Richard Dunne, Stewart Downing, Emile Heskey and James Collins replace Eric Lichaj, Barry Bannan, Carlos Cuéllar, Habib Bèye, Marc Albrighton and Stephen Ireland.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 28.91 |
Oldest Player |
GK Brad Friedel | 🇺🇸 | 39.48 |
Youngest Player |
CB Ciaran Clark | 🇮🇪 | 21.19 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Gérard Houllier | 🇫🇷 |
Alex McLeish | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Brad Friedel | 🇺🇸 |
LB Stephen Warnock | 🏴 | 🟨 |
CB Richard Dunne | 🇮🇪 |
CB James Collins | 🏴 |
CB Ciaran Clark | 🇮🇪 |
RB Luke Young | 🏴 |
M Nigel Reo-Coker | 🏴 | 🟨 | 🔁 |
M Steve Sidwell | 🏴 | 🔁 |
W Stewart Downing | 🏴 |
W Ashley Young | 🏴 |
CF Emile Heskey | 🏴 |
Birmingham City
GK Ben Foster | 🏴 |
RB Stephen Carr | 🇮🇪 |
CB Liam Ridgewell (ex) | 🏴 |
CB Roger Johnson | 🏴 |
CB Scott Dann | 🏴 | 🟨 |
M Sebastian Larsson | 🇸🇪 |
M Craig Gardner (ex) | 🏴 | 🟨 | 🤡 |
M Barry Ferguson | 🏴 |
M Keith Fahey (yth) | 🇮🇪 |
M Aleksandr Hleb | 🇧🇾 | 🔁 |
CF Nikola Žigić | 🇷🇸 | 🟨 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 M Barry Bannan | 🏴 | for M Steve Sidwell | 🏴 | 58’ |
🔁 CF John Carew | 🇳🇴 | for M Nigel Reo-Coker | 🏴 | 82’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | M Aleksandr Hleb | 🇧🇾 | (CF Cameron Jerome | 🏴 |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Brad Guzan | 🇺🇸 |
CB Carlos Cuéllar | 🇪🇸 |
RB Eric Lichaj | 🇺🇸 |
M Stephen Ireland | 🇮🇪 |
F Nathan Delfouneso | 🏴 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Maik Taylor | 🇬🇧 |
RB Stuart Parnaby | 🏴 |
LB Jean Beausejour | 🇨🇱 |
M Michel | 🇪🇸 |
M Lee Bowyer | 🏴 |
CF Kevin Phillips (ex) | 🏴 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI: £68.13m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/11
Homegrown: 1/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 10/18
Homegrown: 4/18
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
Team Cost: £33.80m
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 6/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/18
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 4 |
M Fabian Delph | 🏴 |
F Andreas Weimann | 🇦🇹 |
F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴 |
M Stiliyan Petrov | 🇧🇬 |
Bomb Squad | 1 |
M Moustapha Salifou | 🇹🇬 |
Out on Loan | 1 |
CB Curtis Davies | 🏴 | Leicester
UNAVAILABLE
Not Reported
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Possession F | 55%
Possession A | 45%
Shots F | 7
Shots A | 10
Shots on Target F | 3
Shots on Target A | 6
Corners F | 1
Corners A | 4
Fouls F | 13
Fouls A | 11
TABLE

PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
“It is about players and staff. We do have a job on our hands. We know we can play better football, but whether it is possible in derbies I don’t know.”
“He (Ireland) needs to work harder. He played against Chelsea and did well, then played against Sunderland and was not good enough for me.
“The skill is one thing but you need to compete. It is a difficult period for him but we will support him and back him. He’s come to a new club with a different manager in between.
“We know he is a good player but I don’t want to have players who say ‘he’s a good player but…’ If you say: ‘he’s a good player but he doesn’t defend, but he doesn’t run back, but he loses too many balls in crucial areas’ that’s difficult. He needs to get rid of these ‘buts’ and be a good player.”
Gérard Houllier.
*BBC Sport*
Sunday, 31 October 2010
*Aston Villa and Birmingham City shared the points after they fought out a dour midlands derby deadlock at Villa Park.*
Gerard Houllier had set his sights on victory in his first confrontation with arch-rivals Birmingham since his appointment as Villa boss - and saw his side waste the best of the chances in an encounter that was high on endeavour but desperately lacking in serious quality.
Ciaran Clark almost grabbed a late winner for Villa when his close-range header was only inches wide, and Ashley Young came even closer seconds later when he hit the woodwork with City keeper Ben Foster beaten.
But Blues boss Alex McLeish will feel his side’s defensive discipline and work ethic, with Roger Johnson outstanding, made them worth a point, and it was clear the visitors were happier with the result at the final whistle.
And Birmingham will also state a convincing case that they could have had more rewards, with referee Howard Webb ignoring a clear handball by Villa captain Nigel Reo-Coker in the first half.
Birmingham still nurse a sense of injustice after losing to a late penalty at Villa Park last season, and they clearly felt the fates were against them again here.
Villa boss Houllier gave Clark a midfield role in the absence of Stilyan Petrov, but after a bright opening the game swiftly became a war of attrition so often associated with derbies.
Emile Heskey was only inches away from getting a crucial touch on to Ashley Young’s shot and Reo-Coker almost charged down Foster’s clearance, the rebound dropping narrowly wide.
But Birmingham’s gameplan soon reduced Villa to too many long balls aimed in Heskey’s direction as the early creativity all but disappeared from their play.
And the away side were rightly infuriated nine minutes before the interval when referee Webb, despite looking right at the incident, ignored Reo-Coker’s obvious handling offence inside the Villa penalty area.
Chances were once more at a premium after the break, but Reo-Coker tested Foster with a shot that the Birmingham keeper was able to collect with the minimum of fuss.
McLeish introduced Cameron Jerome for the subdued Alexander Hleb with 19 minutes left, and his impact was almost instant as he outmuscled Richard Dunne - no mean feat - and worked his way into the area, only to hit his cross straight at Brad Friedel with Nikola Zigic unmarked and waiting for a simple finish.
Reo-Coker had been having an eventful afternoon in an uneventful game, and he was eventually successful in earning himself a booking for a flare-up with Craig Gardner, who had been shown a yellow card early on after the pair clashed.
Villa substitute Barry Bannan had been lively, and his 20-yard effort brought a fine diving save from Foster with only nine minutes remaining.
John Carew was eventually introduced for Reo-Coker with nine minutes left, and his header set up a chance for Clark, who could only direct his finish wide under heavy pressure from Foster, sustaining a nose injury for his bravery.
Villa were ending the game the stronger side, and Ashley Young almost made the decisive contribution in the final minute with a rising drive that crashed to safety off the angle of post and bar.
It was the final act of a colourless game - although there was still time for Reo-Coker to re-enter the pitch looking for an argument after the final whistle. As with his earlier efforts, he had little satisfaction.