I love it when Villa are playing. The wife knows it is one of those untouchable days, which is why I guess she likes it so much when the football season is over, as she can get me to do stuff around the house and generally be normal, but she knows today that, despite work needing to be done, that she can't ask as there are more important things to worry about.

She also knows that my mood for the next few days is very much based on the result today. It sounds strange, but if you were to all ask your wife, girlfriend or 'life partner' if your mood is affected by the football, they might tell you that it is. It is one of the reasons why she always asks me the result; not because she is actually interested, only so she knows how to be with me over the next few days.

Well, I'm in a positive mood today and I she hopes it stays that way and she I think it will. But before we get to the football, we have some paper news.

Paper Views

Having a quick glance over the net I've found that Martin O'Neill has backed Shorey Warnock to gain an England place, mostly because of his versatility and has hinted that he may be played in a number of positions. O'Neill said "He played midfield against us last season and scored a goal. If players have to move around different positions, it is no bad thing."

In other paper news, John Carew has dismissed speculation suggesting there is a rift between himself and the manager. No one man is bigger than the club, but Carew is certainly a fans favourite and he is a proper big bloke.

John Carew
There’s no drama, no hocus pocus, nothing going on behind the scenes any more dramatic than that I had a fever. I’m fine again, I’ve been back in training for a couple of days, was back in the team and hope to be again.

If you are telling me that there’s rumours and stories on the internet then I don’t know about them. If you haven’t read things like that then they don’t need to worry you.I love the fans here, and I’m just happy that they seemed so pleased to have me back in the team because the welcome I got was terrific.

So, the rumours of a rift have been flatly denied by the man himself; how much clearer do you want it to be? I must admit myself to thinking something could have been going on, but this should put this story to bed now.

League Cup

If you didn't know and I was a bit lazy with this news yesterday as some are still not finding the site on the new server and I don't want to be keeping two sites up and running while the change happens, we drew Cardiff in the 3rd round of the League Cup.

The match will take place on September 22nd or 23rd I suspect and Peter Enckelman, Riccardo Scimeca and Peter Whittingham will all be coming home. Well, not maybe home home, but you know what I mean.

A Dunne Deal

Depending on the paper you read, this deal is as good as done, it is just a case of how much money Dunne can get out of City before signing. One paper says £6mn while another says £2mn and well, you can't blame the player for trying to milk City for all he can get much like you can't blame Rooney for going over easy yesterday or Eduardo for diving earlier in the week.

Assuming he gets what he wants, talk is he should sign by the time the window shuts, which I now understand (thanks Badger) is now 5pm on Tuesday as tomorrow is a bank holiday.

Aston Villa v Fulham

Right, we will be updating this page with team news, some links to a few places where you can find the match online, this one might look new but it is the same as the one I usually recommend, they've just changed names and I'm suure there will be more added below.

We will be updating the Twitter page with news throughout the day and if you are not yet registered here, I suggest you get registered, if you want to leave comments and not have to rely on me or someone else making sure it can get published.

We are doing this, mostly because it started to get a bit silly the last few weeks with the type of comment that basically turned the site into a forum and when we have a forum up and running for banter like that, it seemed sort of pointless. I think this is the better way of doing it and while the other server was still getting about 30% of the traffic yesterday, the banter was better on here and a lot more orderly, which I think everyone prefers.

So, updates as we get them, with match updates here and on Twitter.

Team News

We will win today. O'Neill has a fit Heskey and Carew, but he has picked 4-5-1 with Gabby up front. Is he listening or has he finally figured it out?

Friedel, Beye, Cuellar, Clark, Shorey, Milner, Reo-Coker, Petrov (c), Sidwell, Young, Agbonlahor.

Subs: Carew, Albrighton, Delph, Heskey, Guzan, Warnock, Gardner.