Page 22 - Aruba Today
P. 22
A22
SPORTSTuesday 12 January 2016
Extra Time:
Villa well on way to joining list of fallen English giants
STEVE DOUGLAS mous fans in Prince William loss to the league’s next-to- seasons in 2008-10 and has Randy Lerner, the former
AP Sports Writer and British Prime Minister last team. long been one of the most owner of the Cleveland
Evoking memories of Op- David Cameron — heads On Saturday, the atmo- celebrated clubs in English Browns, bought Villa in
eration Desert Storm during into a home match against sphere became more soccer fallen this far? 2006 for $104 million but
the Gulf War, an American Crystal Palace on Tuesday heated, with players requir- It’s a story of inertia and ap- has been looking to sell
board member at Aston 11 points from safety with ing a police escort to get athy in the boardroom, of the club since May 2014,
Villa recently urged fans saying he was drained by
of the Premier League’s Wycombe Wanderers’ Aaron Holloway, right, and Aston Villa’s Jores Okore battle for the ball dur- the “week-in, week-out
last-place club not to give ing their FA Cup, third round soccer match at Adams Park, High Wycombe, England, Saturday, battles.”
up hope in its increasingly Jan. 9, 2016. Villa’s current manager is
desperate bid to escape Remi Garde, hired in No-
relegation. (Paul Harding/PA via AP) vember as its sixth coach
“We were standing next to since 2010. Garde is a
minefields separating Saudi 18 games remaining, and on the team bus as angry strategic failures in recruit- Frenchman with no previ-
Arabia and Kuwait,” Gen. in turmoil on and off the Villa fans vented their fury ment, and of a squad that ous coaching experience
Charles C. Krulak, a former field. following a humiliating 1-1 has been regularly stripped in England.
Commandant of the Ma- Two weeks ago, disgrun- draw at fourth-tier club Wy- of its best players. Thrust immediately into a
rine Corps, recounted in tled supporters chanted, combe in the FA Cup. The people in key positions relegation dogfight, he has
British newspaper The Sun. “You’re not fit to wear the How has it come to this? at the club appear to be yet to win a game after 10
“There were trenches filled shirt,” as Villa players pre- How has a team that fin- either unsuited to the task, in charge. It sums up Villa’s
with gas, massive artillery pared to leave the stadium ished sixth in the Premier not up to it, or simply don’t plight that in welcoming
ready to rain down on us in Sunderland after a 3-1 League for three straight want to be there. Garde to Villa Park, the
and the threat of chemical club misspelt his name, say-
attack. ing on Twitter: (hashtag)
“My next-in-command WelcomeRemy.
looked at me and said, Villa has an American chief
‘How are we gonna get executive, Tom Fox, whose
through this?’ I said, ‘We’re background is mainly in
gonna do it, we’re gonna marketing and who risked
go through this like a knife intensifying fan ire by say-
through butter.’ It’s easy to ing last week that the club
give up, but you can’t do was “making progress” be-
that.” cause it has “generated
Villa, a seven-time English more revenue on both our
champion and European shirt and kit deals and in
Cup winner in 1982, is an our ability to control costs.”
odds-on favorite to lose its Fox arrived from Arsenal, as
unbroken status as a Pre- did newly hired sporting di-
mier League club. Winless rector Hendrik Almstadt,
since the opening day of who brought with him the
the season on Aug. 8, the risky transfer strategy of
biggest team from central buying young to get better
England — boasting fa- value-for-money signings
so they can be sold for a
Messi, Lloyd Win FIFA World Player Awards profit. The so-called “Mon-
eyball” policy has been
Continued from page 17 ahead of Sasaki on 17.79 Chile coach Jorge Sam- Monday due to this eight- a disaster so far. Thirteen
percent and Sampson’s paoli placed third, on 9.47 year ban imposed by the players — many unproven
Lloyd got 35.28% of the 10.68 percent. percent, for guiding the FIFA ethics committee last youngsters from overseas
voting points, ahead of The Americans last swept host to a first Copa Amer- month. Four of the five can- — joined last offseason for
Germany’s Celia Sasic with the women’s awards after ica title. Messi lost out in didates competing to suc- 50 million pounds ($72.5
12.6 percent. Third-place its 2012 Olympic title, when the Puskas Award for most ceed Blatter in the Feb. 26 million), but for a reported
Aya Miyama of Japan got forward Abby Wambach beautiful goal to Wendell election attended on Mon- net spend of only 7 million
9.88 percent. Sasic also and Swedish coach Pia Lira of Brazil. Lira’s bicycle day: Prince Ali bin al-Hus- pounds ($10 million) as Villa
scored six goals in Cana- Sundhage were rewarded. kick for Goianesia against sein, Jerome Champagne, used the cash recouped
da to win the tournament Barcelona also swept the Atletico-GO in a league Gianni Infantino and To- from selling Belgium strik-
Golden Boot, then retired 2011 men’s awards when game topped an online kyo Sexwale. Only Sheikh er Christian Benteke and
aged just 27. Messi and then-coach Pep poll that logged more than Salman bin Ibrahim al Khal- England midfielder Fabian
Ellis won the coaching Guardiola won following 1.6 million votes. ifa skipped the event. Delph — its two best play-
award in women’s football the club’s previous Cham- The gala night allowed FIFA In Blatter’s absence, acting ers.
ahead of two men: Japan pions League title. to forget its corruption crisis FIFA President Issa Hayatou Garde has the January
coach Norio Sasaki and Guardiola, now coaching and many legal problems of Cameroon made the transfer window to work a
Mark Sampson, who led Bayern Munich, placed in 2015 to focus on soccer formal opening speech. He miracle, but which poten-
England to third place at second to his former team- highlights. noted the election meeting tial savior wants to join a
the World Cup. mate Monday, getting Still, FIFA withheld the Presi- in Zurich where 209 mem- club destined for relega-
English-born Ellis got the 22.97 percent against for dential Award that Sepp ber federations will also tion? Garde may just have
most dominating win. She 31.08 percent for Luis En- Blatter would traditionally vote on restructuring and to work with the current set
scored 42.98 percent, rique. Neither could attend pick and present. The out- modernizing the embattled of players, who have prov-
due to team commitments. going Blatter was absent soccer body.q en this season they are sim-
ply not good enough.q
