This is the second in InTheStands' Transfermation series exploring the potential summer ahead for all Premiership clubs involved....this addition: Aston Villa

Where they stand:

Well, well, well, if I was an Aston Villa fan I would be sceptical – looking down the barrel at another mid-table finish.

This is the second in InTheStands' Transfermation series exploring the potential summer ahead for all Premiership clubs involved....this addition: Aston Villa

Where they stand:

Well, well, well, if I was an Aston Villa fan I would be sceptical – looking down the barrel at another mid-table finish.

By Chris Wright

Cracking spot from Pies fan Lee Hickson, who noticed that Baggies goalkeeper Ben Foster bears an uncanny resemblance (it's the 'head-too-large-for-face' ratio that does it) to actor Danny Miller, who currently plays Aaron Livesy on Emmerdale which is, as Lee points out, a rubbish Northern soap opera.

By Chris Wright

For the record, we're not talking 'blessed with a gift from the gods' special here, we're talking 'eating the crayons again' special...

Adam Johnson, England: Thumbs up if you're enjoying yourself...

Dieter Hecking, Nuremburg: Looks like the kind of chap that doesn't have to pay on local buses.

Carling Cup calamity A goalkeeper would usually know he is at fault if he was beaten by a cleanly struck Carlton Cole effort, given his form this season. When a scuffed Cole strike beats you, you know something has gone horribly wrong. Birmingham City keeper Ben Foster picked a horrible time to play a game [.

By their very nature relegated teams are not overloaded with talent worthy of the Premier League. That is not to say that West Ham United, Blackpool and Birmingham City do not have players who will attract interest from top flight clubs. Some players are already the subject of approaches.
West Ham have a core of English players who, whilst generally have been disappointing this season, will be attractive due to their Premier League experience and native nationality.

Sidelined for almost the whole season in favour of Heurhelo Gomes, the 37 year-old veteran keeper has arguably gone beyond the call of duty when asked to stand in for Heurhelo Gomes for two brief periods during the season when the No. 1 was hit firstly with a match ban and then more recently was ruled out with a back injury.

With so many goalkeepers pulling out of the England squad as of late, we're eagerly awaiting a call up call to the Kickette office. We figure that it's only a matter of time before Fabio Capello runs out of options and seeks help from the leading proponents of football fluffery. It's a long shot, sure, but we've packed for a heavy Joe Hart 'training' session.

Fabio Capello's fall from grace in the eyes of the English public since the 2010 world cup has been almost as hyped as his team's chances for the same tournament. One of the main problems journalists have cunningly picked up is his lack of communication skills due to his sub-standard grasp of the language.

Fabio Capello's fall from grace in the eyes of the English public since the 2010 world cup has been almost as hyped as his team's chances for the same tournament. One of the main problems journalists have cunningly picked up is his lack of communication skills due to his sub-standard grasp of the language.

Under-21 Euro 2011: Players To Watch - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

With no senior tournament for Europe this summer, it is the chance for the next generation to shine. Here are eleven youngsters hoping to catch the eye at the forth coming 2011 Under 21 European Championships in Denmark.

Quick Reminder, Real Life The two most important words on any West Brom fan's lips last season must surely have been: Peter Odemwingie. What a breath of fresh air in the Premier League. Odemwingie arrived at The Hawthorns and was an instant hit. The club dismissed manager Roberto Di Matteo half-way through the year in the thick of a relegation battle, and Roy Hodgson came in, steadied the

LONDON, England Ben Foster handed under-pressure Avram Grant a lifeline with a huge error to gift 10-man West Ham a narrow 2-1 lead going into the second leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Birmingham. The England stopper, who produced a series of stunning saves in the first half, failed to control Carlton Cole's [.

LONDON, England Ben Foster handed under-pressure Avram Grant a lifeline with a huge error to gift 10-man West Ham a narrow 2-1 lead going into the second leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Birmingham. The England stopper, who produced a series of stunning saves in the first half, failed to control Carlton Cole's [.

LONDON, England Aston Villa's on-loan full-back Kyle Walker and Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale are two of the surprise inclusions in Fabio Capello's latest England squad. The two players are the only first-time call-ups for the 25-man squad to face Denmark, which also sees familiar names Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines and Scott Parker return to [.

The difficulties in juggling club management and international management are once again in the spotlight this week with England set to play a pretty pointless friendly in Denmark.
Coming as it is between two sets of Premier League games and a week before the resumption of the Champions League it is little surprise there has been a flurry of drop outs.

Guest blogger Richard Smith takes a look into the future...don't forget, coverage is on ITV1 tonight and kick off is 7:15pm.

It's the first International fixture of 2011 this week and with all eyes firmly fixed on qualifying for next year's European Championships, it is sure to be a pivotal year for all concerned with the England setup.

Abhinav's Note: I originally intended my new post to be either on the current hopelessness of perennially injured Owen Hargreaves or in praise of the Scousers (sic). Since both are subjects that would've driven me to the verge of questioning my sanity, I decided to question you guys, who apparently have been deceived into reading this post.

David Stockdale's been on twitter saying more or less what he's thinking, e.g. I want to play first team football. Whether this is the correct medium for the message, and what he accomplishes by making these comments is a debate for another day, but there they are: Stockdale wants to play.

The problem is big, yellow and Australian.

Of course I mean Birmingham City. With Arsenal and Chelsea the marquee teams playing two this game week, it's easy to overlook the "other" Blues. But they have a good home match against Sunderland at the weekend before travelling to a less than rampart Chelsea. It's at least worth a closer look at their squad as there may be some bargains - and some pitfalls - from the Second City Players.

Match highlights. I shall endeavour to update these with longer and better ones when they are available. Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, his team's "character", "resilience", "discipline" and team spirit. He also hails the performance of Birmingham 'keeper, Ben Foster for keeping his side down to two goals.

GK Ben Foster Birmingham
One of the only reasons Birmingham aren't in the bottom three. Foster has been consistent all season pulling a few worldy's along the way.

LB Leighton Baines Everton
An exceptional season for the leagues best left back.

It's maybe not surprising that some areas of the media are questioning the official explanation for Heurelho Gomes' absence from the Spurs squad last night. Tottenham have said that the Brazilian was suffering from a back injury and while we wouldn't want to question that statement, others have hinted at a smokescreen.

I am convinced that He does not play dice...

David Gold has insisted no stone will be left unturned as West Ham strive to ensure they appoint the right manager as Avram Grant's successor. Gold and co-owner David Sullivan are looking to bring in a replacement as quickly as possible so that the new man has time to start preparing for next season.

Alex McLeish has kept his job at St. Andrew's, despite Birmingham's last-day relegation to the Championship, but has been told by the board that he must lead the side back to the Premiership.

The Blues went down, due to a defeat against Tottenham at White Hart Lane and other results not going their way, and there were rumours that Birmingham City owner Carson Yueng would sack the Scotsman.

No players from Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal make my team of the season - and that tells its own story. It has been the city of Manchester that has dominated the headlines in 2010/11. Notable mentions must go to goalkeepers Ben Foster and Ali Al Habsi, who figured prominently in my team of the week selections but failed to convince me they were more effective than Edwin Van der Sar.

By Chris Wright

'Ruling yourself unavailable for international selection' for one reason or another seems to be a zeitgeisty trend sweeping through the English game at the moment first came announcements from Wes Brown, Ben Foster and Paul Robinson, and now there are several reports surfacing that Peter Crouch is about to pull the plug after failing to make the cut for Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against the Swiss.

Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing is set to hand in a transfer request in an attempt to speed up his protracted move to Liverpool, according to reports in the The Mirror.
Downing has been the subject of keen interest from Liverpool, and the England winger is keen on joining Kenny Dalglish's team - although Aston Villa are reluctant to lose the former Middlesbrough winger after seeing Ashley Young join Manchester United.

Europe's top shot-stoppers are Cech and Casillas slipping? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

It is fallacy that a goalkeeper's worth is measured in statistics. They can be measured only through very few statistics goals conceded, shots faced, clearances or saves made or finally, a combination of all of the above.

-
- Today's QPR Unveiling Comments
-
- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general.

Neal's post about San Jose's goal against West Brom brough this magic moment to mind:

Birmingham City keeper Ben Foster could be making his way back to the Premier League if a BBC report is correct.

West Brom is looking for a keeper after Scott Carson left and manager Roy Hodgson is thought to favor bringing in the former Manchester United backstop.

The Blues were unable to stay in the Premier League last season with Foster as their keeper, but they did manage a Carling Cup title.

BBC Sport Frank Lampard pulls out of England squad due to illness.

Let me start by explaining that I am not, and never have been , a Frank Lampard fan. I think he's overrated, a horrible ball striker, and without a level of talent that allows him to play the position for his club and country.

By Chris Wright

Reigning champs Manchester United got their title defense off to a winning start with a 2-1 win over West Brom at the Hawthorns on Sunday.

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring, nutmegging a shot into the far corner in the 13th minute before Shane Long pulled one back for the Baggies on his debut with a relatively tame shot trundling past David De Gea and nestling in the inside side netting.

The competitive home debut of Andre Villas-Boas' Chelsea is here.

I stole this from somewhere. Thanks.

Join us from 12:30pm EDT for team news and the like.

Cracking start to the second half of the season as Arsenal coasted to a win in the hostile environs of St Andrews. It is not easy to win there and for the Gunners, any trip to Birmingham dredges up bad memories, very bad memories. But they turned in a scintillating performance against a club that has only lost once in 29 other occasions at home.

Under pressure Avram Grant saw his West Ham side beat Birmingham City 2-1 in the first leg of their English League Cup semi-final.

West Ham took a deserved lead on 13 minutes when Mark Noble drove a ferocious shot through a throng of Birmingham bodies to make it one nil. West Ham continued to pile on the pressure but they could not get a second goal past Ben Foster as denied Spector, James Tomkins and, most impressively, Obinna all in the first half.

Under pressure Avram Grant saw his West Ham side beat Birmingham City 2-1 in the first leg of their English League Cup semi-final.

West Ham took a deserved lead on 13 minutes when Mark Noble drove a ferocious shot through a throng of Birmingham bodies to make it one nil. West Ham continued to pile on the pressure but they could not get a second goal past Ben Foster as denied Spector, James Tomkins and, most impressively, Obinna all in the first half.

"I don't wish I'd stuck around at all. A club like United is cutthroat, win at all costs, whereas here, you know you're not going to win every game but the players we've got bottle and don't give anyone a second breath. There is more pressure at United, without a doubt. Even if we drew there, it was the end of the world.

By Chris Wright

Having come off the bench to secure (with a smidge of 'help' from Brum keeper Ben Foster) a slender 2-1 aggregate advantage for his side in their League Cup semi-final with Birmingham last night, West Ham striker Carlton Cole celebrated after the game by getting well and truly steaming.