Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has named a 24-man squad for the upcoming international friendly against the Czech Republic in Dublin on February 29th.
Speaking after the squad announcement, the Irish boss said, "This game is the beginning of our Euro 2012 preparations.
"As we face this fixture, it is important for our players to remember the attitude and performance that brought us qualification.

Match report Video

At half-time yesterday Arsenal left the pitch to a chorus of boos. 2-0 down against Aston Villa, it looked as if we were heading for a fourth January defeat. We hadn't played particularly badly, to be fair, but got caught out twice in ways we really shouldn't have.

Arsene Wenger has openly spoken of his delight about Arsenal's thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 win to progress to the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of Aston Villa but refuses to discuss the half-time conversation with his players.

The Gunners were 2-0 down heading into the interval following goals from Richard Dunne and Darren Bent but two second-half penalties from Robin van Persie and a deflected goal strike from Theo Walcott completed a memorable triumph.

Three goals in seven second half minutes that's all it took for Arsenal to win a game in which they were otherwise unimpressive. While the comeback was miraculous and the result crucial, many problems still remain.

As has been the case for the last month or so, Arsenal started at a pedestrian pace.

By Alan Duffy

Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa FA Cup 29th January 2012

With Aston Villa going in at half-time two goals up, Arsene Wenger would no doubt have been preparing himself for a mountain of abuse from the Emirates crowd for the rest of the afternoon.

szólj hozzá: a3-2av

Today was a must win for Arsenal. Not just to reverse the perception of a club descending into a familiar and vicious cycle of self inflicted wounds and low self esteem. But to resurrect the career of a manager under fire.

A defeat would have tipped the scales between the two camps, the AKB and the ASG (Arsene Should Go) resting at a precarious 50-50 irrevocably in favour of the latter.

The A-League's answer to Richard Dunne If new Melbourne Victory coach Jim Magilton was paying attention last weekend, he would have seen that the key to success in the A-League is simple: get out of the way of the opposition and leave them to it. The former Southampton, Ipswich and Northern Ireland midfielder was on [.

By Alan Duffy

Chelsea 1-3 Aston Villa Premier League 31st December 2011

Coming only days after he was chastised by manager Alex McLeish for being photographed with a hookah pipe and drink in hand, Stephen Ireland rediscovered his best midfield form to inspire the Villans to a superb and surpirsing victory at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool head back out on the road, visiting the West Midlands in search of their second consecutive win in league. Success away from Anfield has been easier to come by, with Kenny Dalglish's squad winning more at opposition venues than they have at home. Alex McLeish's squad are level on points with Norwich City in ninth and have earned eleven of their nineteen points at Villa Park despite losing two of their last three.

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.

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.

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.

Remember the Premier League? Yeah, we're finally back in action tonight for our first league game under the floodlights of 2011/12. Returning to White Hart Lane also happens to be significant for Alex McLeish, but that's not something we wish to dwell on.

Truth is, coming back from North London with a point has generally been a decent result for us in the past, you'll do well to find many Villa fans optimistic about grabbing something tonight.

The Euro 2012 play-offs are over and we now know all 16 teams who will be competing in Poland and Ukraine next summer. Barring any injury issues, there will definitely be some Villa interest as the Irish saw out their considerable advantage from the first leg against Estonia to book their place in the finals with a 1-1 draw in Dublin.

The Euro 2012 play-offs are over and we now know all 16 teams who will be competing in Poland and Ukraine next summer. Barring any injury issues, there will definitely be some Villa interest as the Irish saw out their considerable advantage from the first leg against Estonia to book their place in the finals with a 1-1 draw in Dublin.

I mentioned last week that future Villan Enda Stevens had been nominated for the 2011 PFAI Player of the Year Award and I'm pleased to let you know that he was named the winner in Dublin last night. Not only that, but Richard Dunne also scooped the Irish Overseas Player of the Year.

I mentioned last week that future Villan Enda Stevens had been nominated for the 2011 PFAI Player of the Year Award and I'm pleased to let you know that he was named the winner in Dublin last night. Not only that, but Richard Dunne also scooped the Irish Overseas Player of the Year.

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On this week's report we focus on the four play-off ties that will decide the last four spots in next summer's European Championship finals in Poland and Ukraine.

Richard Dunne has confirmed what we already knew; he was heading for the exit door under Gerard Houllier. He's yet another player to lift the lid on a testing atmosphere under the Frenchman last season.
Speaking to ESPNsoccernet ahead of Ireland's vital Euro 2012 play-off match against Estonia the veteran defender said:

Last season was very difficult for me as I was not enjoying coming to work every day at Villa and there were some issues with the Ireland team as well.

Richard Dunne has confirmed what we already knew; he was heading for the exit door under Gerard Houllier. He's yet another player to lift the lid on a testing atmosphere under the Frenchman last season.
Speaking to ESPNsoccernet ahead of Ireland's vital Euro 2012 play-off match against Estonia the veteran defender said:

Last season was very difficult for me as I was not enjoying coming to work every day at Villa and there were some issues with the Ireland team as well.

You have to go all the way back to 2004/05 to find the last time this fixture was played; a 3-0 win under David O'Leary. Alex McLeish could really do with something similar today.

Darren Bent has said that one goal could open the floodgates, and McLeish has "rubbished" silly rumours of a January sale.

By Alan Duffy

Sunderland 2-2 Aston Villa Premier League 29th October 2011

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish was left frustrated after watching his side twice throw away a lead, with Sunderland's Stephane Sessegnon ultimately nodding home a late equaliser to give Sunderland a share of the points.

Giovanni Trapattoni has included Shane Long in his 26-man Ireland squad to face Estonia in the Euro 2012 play-offs next month.
West Brom ruled Long out for 'up to six weeks' after he was injured by Alan Hutton's two-footed lunge during the first half of their 2-1 Premier League win at Villa Park.

It was so nearly a vital three points for Alex McLeish away from home thanks to goals from Stiliyan Petrov and what should have been a late winner from Richard Dunne to cancel out Conor Wickham's first half leveller.
Unfortunately, the familiar sight of a late goal coming from a set piece returned when 5'7″ Stéphane Sessègnon helped himself to a free header with one minute of normal time left on the clock.

Darren Bent's first return to Wearside since his switch to Aston Villa has dominated the headlines, but Steve Bruce will more concerned with trying to find what would only be his third home win of 2011.

Alex McLeish is coming off the back of two losses; one far from unexpected, the other extremely disappointing.

By Alan Duffy

Aston Villa 1-2 West Bromwich Albion Premier League 22 October 2011

They may have benefited from an extremely harsh red card given to Villa's Chris Herd for a rather innocuous-looking tangle with Martin Olsson, but West Brom fully deserved their victory against their local rivals.

West Brom come to Villa Park in a fixture we haven't lost since 1979. Our record from the last 10 times we played the Baggies in the league is six wins and four draws.

Roy Hodgson's side picked up their second win of the season last weekend, a 2-0 home victory against the hapless Wolves. We're trying to put a comprehensive loss at the hands of Man City behind us, Alex McLeish threatening to drop any players who put in lacklustre defensive displays.

European Championship qualifying group B was a strange one: Ireland beat Armenia who beat Slovakia who beat Russia who beat Ireland (while poor fourth-seeded Macedonia looked on and whimpered). The logical progression would have been for a match to be played out between twenty-two footballs kicking a man around the pitch.

We're back in action for what is the first really big test for Alex McLeish since he came to Villa, possibly one of the toughest of the season, but also as good a time as any to play Man City at their own place.

Over the last 10 times this league fixture has been played, we've won just two and lost eight times.

Estonia stand between Ireland and a place in the Euro 2012 finals following today's play-off draw in Krakow.
Giovanni Trapattoni's side will be away in the first leg on either Friday, 11 November/Saturday 12 November, with the return tie at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday, 15 November.

The qualification for Euro 2012 is almost done. England will be in Poland and/or Ukraine next summer after comfortably finishing top of Group G, albeit by handing Motenegro an unlikely point and a place in the play-offs in the final game. Ireland also made it to the play-offs, and could be drawn against Montenegro, but Wales and Scotland miss out once again.

By Alan Duffy

Three years after Thierry Henry's infamous handball in France's World Cup play-off with the Republic of Ireland, the Irish finally received some kind of footballing karma at the Aviva Stadium, courtesy of another appalling refereeing decision, this time by Spanish official Eduardo Ganzalez.

Why don't you put it out for a corner, Valeri? Valer-ee-hee. A quite remarkable thing happened as the Republic of Ireland booked a Euro 2012 qualifying play-off spot: Richard Dunne was on the scoresheet FOR HIS OWN TEAM, while an opponent was scoring a comedy own goal. Feels nice now the boot's on the other [.

Simon Cox will start in attack alongside Kevin Doyle for Ireland in tomorrow's vital Euro 2012 qualifier with Armenia in the Aviva Stadium. It was widely expected that in-form West Brom striker Shane Long would partner doyle, in the event of Robbie Keane failing his fitness battle.
Stephen Kelly comes in for the suspended Stephen Ward.

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has named his team for Friday's Euro 2012 Group 2 qualifier with Andorra.
John O'Shea replaces Stephen Kelly with Sean St Ledger coming in for the suspended Richard Dunne from Ireland's last game in Russia.
Trapattoni has resisted the temptation to bring Keith Fahey into the midfield after he hinted at using the Birmingham midfielder in training earlier this week.

With just two matches left in the qualifying process for the 2012 European Championships, the Republic of Ireland remain in with a very real chance of getting to their first major tournament since the 2002 World Cup.

Thierry Henry and France's controversial- and undeserved- win meant heartbreak for the Boys in Green in the 2010 World Cup play-offs.

Carlos Cuellar got on the pitch last night for the first time since his knee operation in May, playing 45 minutes in the reserves' 1-0 win over Chelsea Callum Robinson with the goal and says that he's feeling good.
That's great news for a very popular player, but what happens from here remains to be seen.

Carlos Cuellar got on the pitch last night for the first time since his knee operation in May, playing 45 minutes in the reserves' 1-0 win over Chelsea Callum Robinson with the goal and says that he's feeling good.
That's great news for a very popular player, but what happens from here remains to be seen.

It's just under five months since Wigan were last at Villa Park and they've proven to be something of a bogey team for us in our limited history of playing them. This will only be the 7th time this league fixture has been played, but we're yet to win one. The pattern so far is LDLDLD; clearly we need to break that pattern one way or another today.