Doffing my cap and a call from Italy

A point at Everton doesn't really change things. Had we won, it wouldn't have really changed things either. Not by itself anyway. Defeat would have fueled anger and possibly protests either before the twelfth man campaign or after it, but fortunately defeat didn't happen.

So, nothing has changed. We still sit precariously above the bottom three places. It is nice that the noises coming out of Villa Park towards the manager are all very positive. Players are putting their name to those words and it seems to be a new player every couple of days.

Man of the Match: Darren Bent

This turned out close but it went to Darren Bent. We're going to doff our cap to him on Twitter because I think we were unlucky not to win and I also think this lad is going to score a few more for us this season. Bent is a master goalscorer and more are to come. He won with 49% of the vote, as things stand now and Stewart Downing picked up 35% in second place.

Monday Speculation

I really am very close to never reading another bit of football speculation again. It is driving me mad. I know it is part of the game, but it really does wind me up and we are in April, not the summer or January. We all know the situation with Reo-Coker and Young because we talked about it last week, but they are both in the press again today, so if you want, comment away.

The thing about Reo-Coker is, if he was going to Valencia, Sevilla, Roma, Juventus or Napoli; where the supposed interest is coming from, he could tell us now if he wanted and have a deal all done and dusted - but it is just speculation and based solely, probably, on the basis that if he goes to Italy or Spain, he will be paying less tax and his next deal is going to be all about the money.

As for Ashley Young. I want to take the man on his word, so I will. He is enjoying his time at Aston Villa. He has no problems and he is going to sit down and discuss a new contract in the summer. I'd also like to think the club are first going to try and blow his mind with an offer and not start low and hope to get a bargain. Actions speak louder than words and all that.

Right, that is it for now. Coffee calls, some pain killers for the cold I am slowly getting and a read of the tabloids followed by a morning of telephone calls and football banter.