"I had come from Man United with the slippers, dressing gowns and heated floors. All of a sudden I was getting changed in a tent, chasing ducks off the training pitch and cleaning up their mess. And they leave a mess like dogs, believe me."
Steve Bruce fondly recalls the day he left United to join Birmingham. Click to continue reading...

I am sleepy this morning. And possibly a bit grumpy. I share no other traits with the rest of the seven dwarves though. No, not even dopey.

Speaking of dopey how about those Birmingham fans? During the game on Saturday they sang 'There's only one Martin Taylor', to laud the man who broke Eduardo's leg.

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• User comments - City stars in the wars - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

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• Off The Post off the post Gareth Barry's homecoming welcome at Aston Villa

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• Lescott out of England squad - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

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• Shay Given condemns 'unfair' Aston Villa fans for baiting Gareth Barry | Football | guardian.

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Prior to the match, everyone claimed they didn't know how Aston Villa fans would receive Gareth Barry upon his return to Villa Park as a member of Manchester City. The deluded Mark Hughes hoped they would express respect for his service to the club, while Martin O'Neill said he wasn't "God Almighty" and that it's not his place to tell people what to do.

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I. Manchester City @ Manchester United: Who will get their face stamped on this weekend? No one, that's who - with City star Emmanuel Adebayor suspended. The Manchester Derby on Sunday could be an instant classic - as two Top-4 teams battle it out for bragging rights. Click to continue reading...

Some quick Larry King-like thoughts ("You know what I like a lot... rutabagas.... and egg creams.") on the first week of the Premier League.
Richard Scudamore - A bit of sleaze, a lot of smarts.
ESPN/EPL link seems like a very good thing
Since this is what everyone is talking about, I'll join in on ESPN's last-second buzzer-beater of an acquisition of Premiership rights. Click to continue reading...

Another good bit of business from Martin O'Neill.

Aston Villa have agreed a £7million deal with Middlesbrough for striker Tuncay Sanli.
Villa made their move after increased interest from Tottenham and offers from German clubs Stuttgart and Cologne.
Boro manager Gareth Southgate expressed surprise that the Turkey international was still at the club last week but a deal has now been reached with £5m up front and £2m to follow in add ons.

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Aston Villa fans had been worried by the lack of the transfer activity at the club this summer, having already stayed without Gareth Barry, but they will definitely be pleased with the latest developments. Villa have won the race for one of the hottest prospects in England, Fabian Delph, and the 19-year-old can prove to be a real bargain for £6 million the club paid for him.

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In the last couple of weeks, Arsenal and Aston Villa fans have voted to keep Cesc Fabregas and Ashley Young respectively. Fine choices both. Today, it's the turn of Chelsea. If you had to sell all but one of...

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Much has been said about Gareth Barry's £12 million move to Manchester City on Tuesday. Many Aston Villa fans have labelled him a hypocrite, whilst other football fans have just called him plain greedy.
So Football Corner wants you to sum up Barry in just three words. As a City fan myself I would probably say he is : a class act. Click to continue reading...

Gareth Barry has claimed that he rejected the chance to join Liverpool in favour of a £12million move to Manchester City amid fears of becoming a victim of Rafael Benítez's rotation policy at Anfield.
Barry implied yesterday that he was concerned he may have been asked to play out of position by Benítez, rather than in his preferred role in central midfield, and was worried about how that would affect his place in Fabio Capello's England team before the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer. Click to continue reading...

"Once I had spoken to (City manager) Mark Hughes there was nowhere else I wanted to go. I was also desperate to avoid any long, drawn-out saga.
"I feel I am joining a club that will seriously challenge to win major honours. People might doubt that but I am convinced, with the plans the club has short term and long term and the backing the manager will receive from the owners, that we will be a major force.

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Manchester City have completed the signing of England midfielder Gareth Barry from Aston Villa for £12m.
Gareth Barry has apologised to the Aston Villa fans after turning his back on them in favour of a £12m move to Manchester City, worth an estimated £100,000-a-week. Click to continue reading...

Many Aston Villa fans, Liverpool fans, Chelsea fans and even Arsenal fans have complained about the five minutes added on at the end of the 90 minutes, in the match between Manchester United and...
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Rafael Benitez suffered a torrent of abuse and saw his Liverpool side miss out on the chance to go top of the Barclays Premier League after a goalless draw at Villa Park.
Aston Villa fans taunted the Reds boss with chants of 'There's only one Gareth Barry' after the collapse of the England midfielder's move to Liverpool, and some of the crowd aimed personal insults at the Reds manager. Click to continue reading...

According to an article in the London Times, an ally of the Randy Lerner, the American owner of Aston Villa says they are ready to spend £30 million on 1 player. Well if thats really the case then why don't they? There are plenty of players that they could use so why don't they just go ahead and spend the money? Click to continue reading...

What a shame that the Aston Villa fans couldn't rise above the behaviour of fans of other clubs and hold back from jeering and booing Gareth Barry when he played for Villa in a pre-season friendly at Walsall. As a fan I fully understand the frustration, anger and upset when a player you formerly regarded as a hero makes it clear that he no longer wants to play for your club. Click to continue reading...

The boos were as predictable as the hostile chants as Aston Villa fans turned on Gareth Barry for a period last night when the England midfielder was subjected to a chastening run-out in a reserve XI at Walsall. Click to continue reading...

Martin O'Neill has wasted no time in signing a player who could prove to be one of the bargains of next season. While some Aston Villa fans will scoff and state that they're not too pleased with the arrival of Steven Sidwell in place of the treacherous Gareth Barry. others ... Click to continue reading...

Day two of the sign-up push for The Other Football fantasy football league is going well with Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham, Manchester United and Aston Villa fans adding to their total of entrants. At this point we are still waiting... Click to continue reading...

Martin O'Neill is a spiky character, yet it's fair to say that the majority of Aston Villa fans love him for it. Despite doing his utmost to try and keep Gareth Barry at the club, it appears that it's a case of 'when', not 'if' the skipper will jump ship. The 'when' depends on the [...] Click to continue reading...

More than 20 police force military officers were injured in force followers a Premiership football game derby.

Police said some of their military officers received minor hurts in hassles after the Pittsburgh Of The South City and Aston Pancho Villa lucifer at St Andrew's on Sunday.

Trouble flared outside the land after the game and force spreading to close the Bullring shopping promenade in the metropolis centre.

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