I put this blog on hiatus shortly before Christmas last year with the promise of being back in the new year with a clearer idea for the future. This might not be what anyone thinks of as "the new year", but here I am and it's not last year.

I've written and re-written this post countless times, but it always degenerates into a verbose, self-indulgent trip down memory lane.

The season from hell is finally over and Alex McLeish's Aston Villa career has, as expected, been terminated. His tenure has passed on. It's no more. It has ceased to be. Expired and gone to meet its maker. A stiff, bereft of life. It rests in peace. Its metabolic processes are now history.

If you've been stopping by Aston Villa Central for a while now you would have noticed something amiss this past weekend and may have assumed that I had joined Darren Bent on a quick shopping jaunt.
I had no such luck I'm afraid. I did indeed watch the 2-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool, but for the first time in a few years I hadn't done any preparation before the game.

Marc Albrighton and Stiliyan Petrov produced the vital goals to deliver Villa's first away win of the season, but Ivan Klasnic was able to prevent Brad Guzan earning a clean sheet on his first Premiership start.

It was a much improved performance during the first half, and fans crying out for a 4-4-2 system will be quick to point out that was the case today with Marc Albrighton on the right and Charles N'Zogbia on the left.

With Shay Given out for a month, Brad Guzan gets his first Premier League start, and it's also emerged this week that the American is in contract discussions with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season. Jermaine Jenas is out for the season, and with the club apparently on the hook for his wages the less said about that the better.

They obviously can't be bothered, so neither can I. It was a positive line-up, but Utd never needed to get out of 1st gear. McLeish must be giving out his instructions in Russian or something because he's managed to make some very capable players look like they haven't the first clue what they're doing.

One of the bigger talking points has been the return of Ashley Young. James Milner showed class by not celebrating at Eastlands recently, expect Ashley Young to do exactly the same today, but preferably because he hasn't scored.

Either way, it's a tough game ahead and I suspect there will be a bigger interest in the manner we McLeish approaches the game than any real expectation in getting much from it.

At the onset of his tenure, it wouldn't have taken much effort to find predictions about the brand of football Alex McLeish's Aston Villa side were destined to serve up. None were particularly exciting or encouraging.

I prefer a 'wait and see' policy myself, but I think we're far enough into the season now to look at some statistics and draw some conclusions.

Despite it being a dead rubber for Rosenborg, and Ajax having the ability to win the group, it was the Norwegian side who took all three points with a 2-0 victory in Amsterdam tonight, leaving our own Young Lions at the top of the pile.

This means that we'll have the advantage of playing the single-legged quarter final at Villa Park, more than likely against Marseille.

The game went ahead amidst many calls for its postponement following the tragic news of Gary Speed's death. The result doesn't seem that important in the scheme of things right now, but it's probably a point that will prove invaluable at the end of the season.
Following a heart warming and entirely spontaneous round of applause in place of the planned minute of silence, the first half didn't provide any shocks.

This game will go ahead despite the tragic news that Wales manager, Gary Speed, has apparently taken his own life. Naturally, with the game being in Wales and a number of internationals involved, the game will inevitably be effected in some way. Such sad news.

Alex McLeish has promised a better performance than we were treated to at White Hart Lane and, in all honesty, it would be difficult to be much worse.

It's been the week of loans in B6 with no less than four players heading out to get some competitive football elsewhere.

Firstly, Habib Beye went to Doncaster, initially until January, but hopefully a deal to take him through to the end of the season (and his Villa contract) won't be out of the question.

Highlights from the U19s 3-0 romp over Ajax at Villa Park with the inimitable Gary Gardner grabbing all three goals and the match ball.

[Email subscribers can find the video here if it doesn't appear]

Gary Gardner scored all three goals in a comprehensive victory over Ajax U19s in the Young Lions' final group stage match of the NextGen Series at Villa Park tonight, guaranteeing a place in the quarter finals next year.
Ajax, who are now bumped down to second place in the group, have one final game; Rosenborg at home on November 29th.

This is not an attempt to absolve anyone of any blame for the unacceptable performance at White Hart Lane last night, but it's become painfully obvious to me in the last 18 months or so that in the fans' eyes it's players that win games... and managers that lose them.

Let me give you an example:
Towards the end of last season, in what would be Gerard Houllier's final game on the sidelines, we took on the hapless West Ham at Upton Park.