Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has signed a new deal running until June 2015 with the Midlands outfit. The 24-year-old is one of Villa's most highly rated players and has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract extension to show his commitment to the side. "I can't see myself playing for any other club," Villa academy product Agbonlahor told the club's website. "I am happy and I just want to keep on playing for Villa. It's my childhood club and the one I support and love." Agbonlahor has had an injury-hit campaign so far this season and has only scored once in seven outings. But he scored 16 times last season and will be hoping to soon get back among the goals after returning from a groin problem as a substitute in the 3-2 midweek win over Blackpool.  

The England international is now in contention to play against Manchester United on Saturday and his new deal will give the club a boost ahead of the Premier League game at Villa Park. "I am happy to commit to the club, " added Agbonlahor, who has scored 52 goals in nearly 200 games for Villa. "Hopefully, I can progress and keep improving on what I've done so far. "It's important nowadays to not move from club to club. If you're happy at a club stay there." The England international had spells on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and Watford before making his Villa debut in March 2006 and is currently the longest-serving player in manager Gerard Houllier's side. "I just want to make sure he keeps growing," said Houllier. "He's a local boy, it's good to keep the roots sometimes and the target is to make him a regular player for the national team."

ELEVEN Birmingham City fans involved in violent scenes following a derby game with Aston Villa have been given suspended sentences and football bans.

During the violence in September last year, missiles were thrown and a bus was surrounded and attacked a court heard.

Judge Christopher Plunkett said: "What happened in this city on September 13 last year was a serious piece of violent disorder."

He said that "mercifully" no serious injury had been caused although it had taken up a large amount of police resources and caused people just going about their lawful business to be put in fear.

The court heard that some of them later handed themselves in to police after their pictures were published in the Birmingham Mail.

Neville Bailey, 39, of Trinity Road Aston and Vernon Jourdain, 41, of James Turner Street, Winson Green had both previously admitted affray.

Trevor Chester, 22, of Kennet Grove, Chelmsley Wood, Daniel Etheridge, 19, of Warndon, Worcester, Michael Harper, 34, of Summerfield Road, Solihull, Glen Hudson, 27, of Stoneymoor Drive, Castle Bromwich, Simon Makri, 30, of Marlene Croft, Chelmsley Wood, Lee Mayors, 27, of Digby Drive, Marston Green, Paul Sheehan, 25, of Sycamore Green, Cannock, Dean Swift, 20, of Water Orton Road, Castle Bromwich, and Kenneth Wallace, 39, of Wallhouse Road, Walsall, had previously admitted violent disorder.

They were all made the subject of three year football banning orders and ordered to pay £200 costs. 

Bailey was sentenced to nine months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work.

Chester was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to do 175 hours unpaid work.

Etheridge was given an eight month sentence suspended for two years and also ordered to do 175 hours unpaid work.

Harper received a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work as was Swift and Wallace.

Hudson was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work as was Jourdain.

Makri was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.

Mayors was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.

Sheehan received an eight month sentence suspended for two years and was ordered to do 150 hours unpaid work.

Madhu Rai, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said the match at St Andrew’s had kicked off at 12 noon and that just before 2pm Birmingham City supporters started to leave the ground while the majority of Aston Villa fans stayed inside celebrating their 1-0 win.

She said as they were going down the Coventry Road a large group of Birmingham fans, which included the defendants, had become disorderly and were gesturing towards the police and Aston Villa fans.

Police attempted to keep the opposing supporters apart and requested the Blues fans to leave the area but they ignored the request and started to become more hostile.

Items, including stones, bricks, bottles and other street furniture, were hurled at the police while officers were also pushed, kicked and spat at.

Police car windows were also smashed and opposing fans, who were on opposite sides of a carriage way, threw missiles at each other.

Miss Rai said there was also disorder in the Digbeth area where drivers stuck in traffic were confronted and a bus, with women and children in, was surrounded and its windows were smashed.

Aston Villa have appointed former Real Madrid talent spotter Jeff Vetere as their new chief scout.

Vetere, who also previously worked with Charlton and Newcastle, will have the responsibility of leading Villa's bid to secure the cream of the best young players in the area.

Vetere has been chosen as successor to Ian Storey-Moore and will work closely with new Villa manager Gerard Houllier.

Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner said: 'We're delighted to have Jeff at the club. He comes with a fine pedigree as a talent spotter and is well connected in the game

An eye-catching West Midlands derby between bitter rivals Birmingham and Aston Villa was the standout tie in today's draw for the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

Just 24 hours before the two sides meet in the Barclays Premier League, Alex McLeish's Birmingham landed a home tie against city rivals Villa, who reached the final of the competition 12 months ago.

The Blues made hard work of reaching the last eight, narrowly overcoming npower League One outfit Brentford on penalties, while Gerard Houllier's Villa needed Stewart Downing's stunning strike to see off Championship side Burnley after extra time.

Holders Manchester United, who defeated Wolves in the last round, will continue their bid for a third successive Carling Cup win against West Ham at Upton Park.

Arsenal's reward for their emphatic 4-0 triumph at Newcastle is a last-eight encounter with 2006 finalists Wigan, while Ipswich, the only side from outside the top flight remaining in the competition, will aim to secure a semi-final berth at the expense of West Brom.

The quarter-final ties will be played in the week beginning November 29

The draw in full: Arsenal v Wigan, Birmingham v Aston Villa, West Ham v Manchester United, Ipswich v West Brom.

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Chelsea will be joined by Premier League rivals Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers at the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong next summer.

The Premier League-affiliated pre-season tournament will also feature the Hong Kong First Division League champions, with the teams participating in a knock-out event.

Semi-finals will be played on Wednesday, July 27, with the final and third-place matches on Saturday, July 30.

Clash: Chelsea and Aston Villa are two of the teams in next summer's Asia Cup

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti believes the fixtures will slot in suitably with his club's pre-season plans.

Ancelotti said: 'We look forward to taking part in the Barclays Asia Trophy having played matches and trained in Malaysia and Thailand before the tournament begins. Games against two Premier League sides and the Hong Kong champions will provide excellent preparation for the team ahead of the start of next season.' 

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Gerard Houllier is opening the doors of Villa Park to all fans for a special training session. Grandparents, mums, dads and kids are all invited as the Villa boss puts his squad through their paces - in half-term week - on Monday October 25 - as the first team prepare for our home Carling Cup tie against Burnley on Wednesday evening. Villa's players are switching the open spaces of Bodymoor Heath for the confines of Villa Park with supporters able to look on as their heroes train.

Turnstiles open at 9.15am and there's a host of activities going on throughout the morning. There will be special offers available on merchandise plus you might be in with a chance of winning some amazing prizes and have the opportunity to learn some incredible tricks from a football freestyler. Entry is FREE, simply book your ticket by clicking here or calling 0800 612 0970. We had over 11,000 fans at the event last time so please book early because spaces are limited. The event is sponsored by Fiat, the club's official vehicle supplier. Download the Open Training Day Flyer Button Schedule 9.15am: Turnstiles open 9.30am-10.15am: Build-up with football freestyler 10.15am: Interview with assistant manager Gary McAllister 10.30am: Training session starts 11.30am: Training session finishes 11.35am: Penalty shoot-out with Brad Guzan - find out how you could the win a chance to take a penalty by visiting www.avfc.co.uk later this week

12noon: Activities continue in the Trinity Suite After the football feast, why not get your energy back with a lovely meal. Take your day into extra-time with two-courses in the Trinity Suite from 12noon, with a fun zone in the 82 Lounge where you'll be joined by club mascots Hercules, Bella and Chip as well as face painters and balloon modellers. Please be aware, this is subject to an admission fee and spaces are limited. Contact 0800 6120950 for more details.

The prices are £10 [adults], £7.50 [under-16], £3.50 [under-5s] and free [under 2s]. We would ask anyone attending the training session to use public transport where possible. Please click here for links to train and bus timetables. If you are driving to this event, please don't park in residential streets surrounding Villa Park. Car parking is available free of charge in either the Aston Arena Car Park (formerly known as Aston Events Centre) in Aston Hall Road [B6 7LB] or the Brookvale Road Car Park in Brookvale Road [B6 7DS].

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Great first goal for Marcy Boy,  villa have played some great stuff, and gutted they scored just before half time

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Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has finally put pen to paper on his three-year contract at the club.

Houllier agreed to take charge of the Midlands club just over a fortnight ago as Martin O'Neill's successor.

He revealed at his press conference ahead of Wednesday's Carling Cup tie with Blackburn that he had shaken hands with club owner Randy Lerner on the contract and that signing it was merely a formality.

And the 63-year-old Frenchman has now signed on the dotted line and formerly committed himself to Villa until the end of the 2012-13 season.

Houllier will take charge of his first Premier League game for more than six years when Villa face Wolves at Molineux on Sunday.

His last game in the top flight in England was as Liverpool boss in May 2004.

Good evening everybody and welcome to Villa Park for tonight's Carling Cup game against Blackburn Rovers.

Naturally, I am delighted to be taking charge of the team for the first time and I am looking forward to the journey that we will share together.

For me, this evening's game will have its own emotional significance but from the beginning I want to emphasise the important part that you - the supporters - will play. Your strong support will encourage the team and it is this communal experience that will fuel our efforts on the pitch.

We are in this together now and, collectively, we will do our best.

This has always been the mindset, of course, of Gary McAllister whom I am very pleased to have as my assistant manager. Gary will bring experience, knowledge and solid principles to the coaching team, which also includes first team coach and former European Cup winner Gordon Cowans who needs no introduction.

You will be less familiar with Robert Duverne, who will assist as coach/fitness coach. I worked closely with Robert at Lyon and he will be a real asset to the club and I know that Rafa Gonzalez has been working well with our goalkeepers.

The players have trained well over the past couple of days. As you would expect, Kevin MacDonald handed over responsibility for team preparations in his typical gentlemanly way and the response by the players has been very good.

I know several of the players from before, of course, but I have quickly got to know everyone in the squad and a commitment to do our best has been very evident thus far.

Some of the players in the squad tonight have maybe enjoyed a little less playing time than others and your strong support will help them, in particular.

This is an important competition, a cup which Aston Villa have won five times and we will approach it with respect.

For any club at this stage, the objective is to win five games (including the two legs of a semi-final) to reach the final at Wembley, so this presents an opportunity for everyone in our team to play in Europe next season and, most importantly, to contribute to the overall effort.

I have known Sam Allardyce for many years and I like him. I expect his Blackburn Rovers team to be resolute and very capable. We will need to be focussed and determined to compete strongly with them.

GERARD Houllier has saluted Villa’s trusted new backroom team who will be briefed every morning to carry out his precise philosophy on the training ground.

Houllier is delighted to have Gary McAllister, Gordon Cowans, Robert Duverne and Rafael Gonzalez as his coaching staff at Bodymoor Heath.

“We have to be extremely united, trusting of each other – manager, assistant manager, two coaches and a goalkeeping coach – that’s all,” said Houllier.

“We have just five, just like the fingers of the hand. I know some clubs have far more, but it’s OK. We have two former top players, a specialist for goalkeepers and a specialist in fitness.

“It’s very complimentary. The way I work is I meet with them every day in the morning before training – and I give them a programme and say ‘This is what I want’ and off we go.”

Houllier has recruited his former Liverpool on-field general McAllister as assistant boss and promoted Villa legend and under-16s coach Cowans to first team coach.

Duverne, who worked with Houllier at Lyon, is the new fitness coach, with goalkeeping coach Gonzalez promoted from Villa’s academy.

They replace John Robertson, Steve Walford, Jim Henry and Seamus McDonagh who left when former manager Martin O’Neill resigned five days before the season.

“I wanted Gary – or Macca as we call him,” said Houllier. “He had a few stints at management, which means he is motivated.

“He was first team coach at Middlesbrough but the good thing about Macca is I know him, I trust him and he knows the way I want to play. That’s very important. That will speed things up.

  Then I have two coaches – one is local and a hero here, Gordon. I was pleased when he said he would like to work with me.

“The second one is Robert Duverne, who is French. He is a fitness coach initially but he can help with other things too. His main function is to be the fitness coach.

“I have known him for a long time because I worked with him at Lyon. He is a different type of fitness coach.

“The goalkeeping coach is Rafa. He was doing a good job and Kevin MacDonald asked if I would keep him and I said ‘Yes’. We’ve had two days of training and I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the boys.”