A new weekly round-up of things that caught our eye at MOMS towers…name of round-up to come…
At the Everton game MOMS spotted England boss Gareth Southgate in the Trinity Road stand as he visited Villa Park for the first time this season to cast an eye on the club’s talent. While most would guess he was principally there to pass an eye over Jack Grealish, based on the first three games of the season so far, you’d have to say, Tyrone Mings would be the best bet to make the England squad first.
Both Mings and Bjorn Engels have formed a powerful centre-back partnership, that with Tom Heaton behind them already looks like it will be an insurance policy for Villa to at least stay in the division and provide a foundation to push on.
Mings in particular has certainly registered big time with the football statisticians, leading many defensive attribute tables like blocks and clearances (see below tables).
Most notably he has registered 11 more clearances than the next best tally by a defender in the Premier League, Norwich City’s Ben Godfrey.
When it comes to blocks, Engels is only one block off Mings’ top spot total of seven. Both made a vital block each against Everton at Villa Park.
So far, so good for Mings, who seems to be very much justifying the summer spend on him.
MOST BLOCKS
| Rank | Player | Club | Nationality | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Tyrone Mings | Aston Villa | England | 7 |
| 2. | Nathan Aké | AFC Bournemouth | Netherlands | 6 |
| 2. | Björn Engels | Aston Villa | Belgium | 6 |
| 4. | Steve Cook | AFC Bournemouth | England | 5 |
| 4. | David Luiz | Arsenal | Brazil | 5 |
Clearances
| 1. | Tyrone Mings | Aston Villa | England | 32 |
| 2. | Ben Godfrey | Norwich City | England | 21 |
| 3. | Jan Bednarek | – | Poland | 19 |
| 3. | Steve Cook | AFC Bournemouth | England | 19 |
| 3. | Martin Kelly | Crystal Palace | England | 19 |
Headed Clearances
| 1. | Tyrone Mings | Aston Villa | England | 15 |
| 2. | Ben Godfrey | Norwich City | England | 12 |
| 2. | David Luiz | Arsenal | Brazil | 12 |
| 4. | Grant Hanley | Norwich City | Scotland | 11 |
| 4. | Sokratis | Arsenal | Greece | 11 |
Atmos!
The Friday clash at Villa Park against Everton was the best league game atmosphere in recent memory and hopefully a real statement of intent of what’s to come at the stadium. After several seasons of having the Upper Trinity closed for most matches, it was good to hear all four stands in good voice.
If the results keep coming then the volume of the 12th man will hopefully stay and even grow.
Buried
After a last minute buy out of Bury FC fell through, the club has been expelled from the football league. It’s sad news and a real warning sign of where football could be heading. Theres many parties to blame and the current culture of the game is far from helping, it’s a story for another time on MOMS, but here’s the EFL’s official statement on the matter…a football body that really needs to sort out it’s regulation tests. Remember, Villa were in serious trouble under Tony Xia. We got lucky to get out of that mess.
BURY FC: MEMBERSHIP OF THE LEAGUE WITHDRAWN
The EFL Board met earlier this evening and, after a long and detailed discussion, determined that BuryFC’s membership of the English Football League be withdrawn after the deadline passed at 5pm today (Tuesday 27 August) without a successful resolution.
Despite repeated requests to its owner Mr Dale over a sustained period of time, the necessary evidence in respect of how the Club would meet its financial commitments, has simply not been provided and, as a result, attentions turned to securing new ownership at the Club.
At its meeting on 24 August 2019, the Board agreed a short extension to 5pm today (Tuesday 27 August) to enable Mr Dale and the Club to explore the possibility of a proposed sale with C&N Sporting Risk Limited, with Mr Dale having accepted their offer. Following due diligence, C&N Sporting Risk Limited opted not to pursue its interest.
Therefore, having fully considered all available options, including a number of late expressions of interest provided to the EFL, the EFL Board has unanimously determined with enormous regret that Bury’s membership be withdrawn.
The EFL Board had maintained that there could be no further suspensions to the fixture list and that these ongoing concerns and the integrity of the competition were a significant factor in the decision.
Recent events have highlighted how decisions taken at Bury FC over the last few seasons have caused the Club and individuals close to it significant financial distress and there are a number of matters which, in our view, will require further investigation.
League One will now comprise of 23 Clubs for the remainder of the campaign and relegation places in the division reduced to three, which will result in a full complement of 24 Clubs in 2020/21. A discussion will take place with EFL Clubs on the consequential impact in League Two when Clubs next meet in September 2019.
Debbie Jevans CBE, EFL Executive Chair, said: “Today is undoubtedly one of the darkest days in the League’s recent history. The EFL has worked determinedly and tirelessly to avoid this outcome and it is with a heavy heart that this situation has been forced upon us.
“The EFL has to place the integrity of our competitions at the heart of every decision we make, and we simply cannot allow this unacceptable situation to continue or countenance the prospect of postponing further fixtures.
“I understand this will be a deeply upsetting and devastating time for Bury’s players, staff, supporters and the wider community. There is no doubt today’s news will be felt across the entire football family.
“No one wanted to be in this position but following repeated missed deadlines, the suspension of five League fixtures, in addition to not receiving the evidence we required in regard to financial commitments and a possible takeover not materialising; the EFL Board has been forced to take the most difficult of decisions.”
50th Anniversary of Shoot
You may have heard a few references to Shoot Magazine’s league ladders on recent My Old Man Said podcasts. These were the free league tables with movable team tabs that the magazine used to give away at the start of the season back in the 1970’s & 80’s.
Well, this month marked the 50th anniversary of Shoot Magazine and to celebrate the occasion a 50 Years of Shoot! annual has been released containing the highlights of when pre-internet Shoot! was a magazine beloved by football fans.
There’s no doubt football fans who used to read the magazine will suffer a few flashbacks when flicking through the pages of the new annual, as they rediscover a time when footballers listened to Phil Collins and drove Ford Capri’s.
MOMS will be giving away copies of the annual to three lucky MOMS Patrons
The hardback annual released at £18.99 is currently on special offer on Amazon at £12.79.
FIFA 20 Incoming
It’s that time of the year where we await to see how the Electronic Arts team have done in terms of creating digital versions of Villa players. Jack Grealish and John McGinn have both suffered terribly in recent seasons despite advances in scanning technology.
The release date for FIFA 20 is September 27, 2019, but it’s available now to pre-order on Amazon.
