...ubs and indeed Birmingham is the second largest city in england. To not have a football team in the top half of the table challenging for honours is unacceptable, or at the very least, surreal.

I have been reading recently that Doug Ellis has finally decided to relinquish control of the club. Doug has done very well for Aston Villa over the years (I am not one of those who blames him for our demise) and has managed to keep the business in a very strong position financially when so many other clubs are in deep financial trouble. Unfortunately the world of football has moved on from when Doug started and it is time for a fresh injection of cash and some new faces to try and revive the club. I sincerely believe it is time for a wholesale change in personnel at the club, players and manager alike.

Irish property developers the Comer Brothers and Michael Neville who are looking to purchase Villa for around 64million will certainly inject some cash to be spent on players, but my cynical side tells me giving it to a manager who fails to inspire his team will merely lead to a squandering of a golden opportunity. Dont get me wrong, I have nothing against David O'Leary as a manager and I think in the right circumstances he is very capable. I am suggesting, however, that he has become associated with the failures of Villa over the past couple of years and retaining him for much longer will keep that link to the bad days, when the club needs much more positive input. Likewise Juan Pablo Angel. He is simply another in the long line of expensive strikers who have moved to Villa and failed to live up to their potential. He is a very talented individual and I think perhaps he would benefit from a change of clubs. It is time to cut our losses.

For the Villa fans, we can only hope that the new year brings a new attitude at the club and that things will improve - lets face it, they cant get much worse after a 3-0 defeat at Doncaster!more

Soccer - Hisory of a Popular Sport

... London FootballAssociation, the clubs decided that official rules wereneeded that could be followed between clubs.

The groups got together and began trying to establish rules that everyone would approve, but there were many issues that could not be resolved. Although they eventually came up with rules, part of the group branched off and created the Rugby Football Union.

Although in America, the sport is called soccer, throughoutmuch of the rest of the world it is known as football, andwhat Americans know as football is called Americanfootball.

Soccer first entered the United States...more

A Ball, Some Friends, and a Soccer Goal

...If Pele, Maridona, and Beckham don't sound at all familiar to you, or if you think Freddy Adou is a guy you may have gone to high school with, keep reading... please. This article covers all the equipment and skills you'll need to join the rest of the world in playing the wonderful game of soccer.

Actually, the rest of the world plays football - they call the sport that Steve Young used to play American football. The term 'soccer' came into being in the later part of the 19th century when people began abbreviating the French variation of 'association football' to soccer. Whatever name you use (I'll call it soccer for the purposes of this article), it refers to the fast-paced, exciting game that has captured the interest of more and more Americans in recent years. If you've found that you've been left behind when it comes to the sport, here's a few equipment tips and skills you'll need to have to start playing.

As the name 'football' suggests, you'll need a ball. Soccer balls come in many different sizes, materials, and styles; and leag...more

Success Lessons From Three UK Soccer Managers - People Are Always Quick To Put You In A Coffin

...Arsenal Football club were the Champions of the Premier league in English soccer in 2004. This year they have not done as well and are only in third place.

The manager of Arsenal is Arsene Wenger. He is the French magician who brought Arsenal to the top of English football.He has found out the hard way how quick people are to write you off even if you recently achieved a huge success. He commented

"People are always quick to put you in your coffin."

Arsene admits that Arsenal have little chance of retaining their title as Champions but they are still third in the league and as such will be able to take part in the European Champion's league next year.

Arsenal have also just reached the quarterfinals of the first great soccer competition in the world -the FA Cup. They are in form at the moment.

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal football club have not given up. They know that they have not reached the pinnacle of English football but there are several other smaller mountains they are still busy climbing. They are not yet ready to climb into their coffins.

Too many people, at the first sign of criticism or the first hint of failure, meekly get into their own coffin and die before their time. This can happen at any age.more

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