Manchester United, the League Cup and Westwood

There is a large amount of optimism surrounding today and it might not just be because Manchester United are in town. It could be that Aston Villa are about to confirm the signing of a winger from Spain, but we don't know that for sure, but it would be nice.

But it could also be because we can get something out of tonight but if I continue writing like this you would have read it before. With optimism comes the belief that we can win and that is actually what most are happy with. But this is Tim time and even if we get spanked tonight he's got plenty of time.

So, with the match coming up later, I'm going to say nothing else about it, but there will be updates and team news and all that as it comes. And it will be a good night either way.

Instead, there is other news and we can start with getting Notts County in the League Cup second round at the end of the month. The match is at Villa Park and you'd think it's a nice one for us. And the League Cup is an important competition for us, so this will be taken seriously.

And in other news, Ashley Westwood has signed a new five year contract, which is nice for him. He's certainly a player that probably doesn't get enough praise, for what he does on the pitch, but I hope part of this new deal is a clause around working on taking corners in training.

And unless I've forgotten something, that's about it until later. I've got to get on a flight, but I should be back in plenty of time for what is no doubt going to be a very loud night at Villa Park.

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