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Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert insists he has a good relationship with owner Randy Lerner, ahead of the American’s visit to the Midlands.

Lambert and Lerner are set to meet next month following the disappointing start that Villa have had to the season and the manager believes he has the full backing of his boss.

The club have made their worst start to a season in 43 years and have just the one victory in the first nine games this season and the last time the club started the season off this badly they were relegated to Division Three.

Lerner is set to visit the Midlands in a fortnight, but Lambert has revealed that he is in constant contact with the American who has been very supportive of the team so far.

“The chairman has got the club at heart. I have a good relationship with him, which is mutual, and he will come over in a couple of weeks’ time.

“At the end of the day, you just keep going. Has he been really supportive? Yes. Honestly. I have a good relationship with him.”

Lambert is adamant his side will not be relegated this season and has faith in his players.

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“We will be fine, I always have belief in the team.”

A season of turbulance both on and off the pitch for West Brom resulted in relegation, despite Darren Moore achieving a great run of results towards the end of the season.

Starting out life with Tony Pulis at the helm, before making a disastrous switch appointing former Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew, who oversaw a nightmare mid-season trip to Barcelona, the Baggies looked like a club in major decline.

However, Moore stepped up to the plate and transformed the Baggies at the end of the season, giving fans of the West Midlands club plenty of reason for optimism going into next season.

West Brom also look like they are going to hold on to some key names, who performed well at the end of season, giving the club a solid spine going into their first Championship season since the 2009/10 campaign.

After today’s announcement, Baggies fans will have a much better idea of how the coming season will play out and their first six games are…

August 4th – Bolton (H)

August 7th – Nottingham Forest (A)

August 11th – Norwich (A)

August 18th – QPR (H)

August 25th – Middlesbrough (A)

September 1st – Stoke (H)

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”257603″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch West Brom’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Championship season”]

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Verdict

As an opening day match goes, hosting Bolton, who escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth last time around, shouldn’t be too tricky for Moore.

Trips to Forest, Norwich and Middlesbrough, managed by former Baggies manager Tony Pulis, are not particularly easy but all three might be coming off the back of a summer of churn on the playing staff and West Brom could exploit some teething problems.

They round off their opening six by hosting Stoke, which is an opportunity to lay down an early marker with regards their prospects of making an early return to the top flight.

There are two big derbies going on this weekend in the football calendar, with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal going head to head in the Premier League, and Aston Villa taking on Birmingham City in the Championship.

The latter will be hosted at Villa Park and Steve Bruce’s side head into the fixture in perfect form.

The team are on a six-game winning run in the second tier, and in that time they have scored 14 goals and conceded just three times.

As it stands, the Villans are third in the table and could potentially move into the automatic promotion places as they sit just one point behind second-placed Derby County.

Birmingham travel to their enemies’ stadium on Sunday with the need for points as they are four above the relegation zone.

The Blues are in relatively positive form, though, as the team have picked up wins in their last two matches.

On Villa’s official Twitter page, the club posted a graphic showing the clubs’ current form, and fans made an interesting point.

Some added their predictions for the clash.

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Liverpool icon Robbie Fowler believes that’s Steven Gerrard can mirror Manchester United hero Ryan Giggs by playing at the very highest level into his 40s.

The once rampaging attacking midfielder has now been moved into a deeper position under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, and has been thriving in what has been dubbed by many as the ‘quarterback role’.

There were doubts surrounding the 33-year-old’s ability to tame his forward thinking instincts, but he appears to have done so with his range of passing making him a deadly weapon for the title chasing Reds from just in front of his own backline.

United ace Giggs is a prime example of a player having altered his style to play to an older age, with the Welshman now a central midfielder after making his name as a flying winger.

The Red Devils man is still a first-team player at Old Trafford despite being 40, and Fowler thinks that Gerrard can emulate his adaptation and longevity:

“I think so. I am more than pleased for Steven because a lot of people were saying at the start of season maybe he is not as good as he was, or he is finished.” He said when questioned by talkSPORT about Gerrard’s ability to play to the same age as Giggs.

“For me, he has been immense this year. I know Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and even Raheem Sterling are getting a lot of the plaudits but I don’t think you can take away what Steven has done for the club this year.

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“He has always been a fantastic player and he has certainly got a good few years left in him. What a story it will be if he goes on the pick up this Premier League trophy. I think a lot of people will genuinely love to see that.”

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Aston Villa have brought in the man who exposed attempted match-fixing in Italy last year as a community coach.

Simone Farina will aid Aston Villa in spreading a message of fair play. He will help in the development of the next generation of players in Aston Villa’s community programme.

Farina, now 30 years old, was at Serie B team Gubbio, when he turned down an offer of £160,000 (200,000 euros), which was double his yearly salary to influence the Italian Cup match between Cesena and his team last November. However, Farina, who also used to be a defender for Roma, refused, before reporting the offence to the police, leading to 17 people being arrested .

As a result, he was made the Fifa ambassador for fair play by Fifa president Sepp Blatter and was awarded a commemorative medal by Interpol, a police organisation for the contribution to law enforcement and crime prevention. Additionally, it was Interpol who recommended Farina to Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner.

Farina has been in Birmingham for the last few weeks and will help children aged between five and 12 and find talent for Villa’s Bodymoor Heath academy.

Lerner has said that Interpol’s Secretary General recommended               Farina for “his immense courage and dignity when confronted with a very difficult situation.”

Lerner added: “I’m really pleased that Simone has taken up this opportunity and that he has fit in quickly and so well with our community coaching programme.”

Farina says that he is “delighted” to work with Villa and help with the development of younger players.

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He added: “I wanted to move on with my life. Now I feel that I have real purpose again because of the support and opportunity Villa have given me. Randy Lerner and Paul Faulkner have been fantastic and already I feel I am part of the Villa family, with the way the club have embraced me. The opportunity here at Villa is perfect for me.”

Farina is an FA qualified coach, and has a Level One Award in Coaching Football.

Four Sporting Lisbon players – including long-term Newcastle United target Bas Dost – have terminated their contracts with the Portuguese outfit, as reported by The Telegraph on Tuesday morning, and Magpies fans have been quick to react.

The Telegraph says that the Netherlands international – along with teammates William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes and Gelson Martins – have all rescinded their deals claiming “just cause”, with Dost one of the players injured when some supporters broke into the club’s training ground and attacked the players last month.

Meanwhile, Toon boss Rafa Benitez is in the market for a new centre-forward this summer in order to boost a frontline that only netted 39 goals in their 38 Premier League matches last term, and he would surely be tempted by the opportunity to bring a player who has scored a remarkable 61 times in 61 Liga NOS outings for Sporting.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

Newcastle supporters, who want their club to snap up a £25m Premier League winger this summer, took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and while one said “I don’t even want him anymore”, another said “Charnley is on it lads”.

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Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Danny Rose has failed to win over the entire Tottenham Hotspur fanbase following his outburst in the summer.

The left-back publicly criticised the club for their transfer activity and relatively modest wage structure.

Rose also questioned the club’s ambition, but since he spent the aftermath out of the limelight recovering from a knee injury, the furore soon passed.

The full-back was reintegrated back into the team and has made nine appearances in all competitions this season.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino, though, has been without Rose for the past three weeks due to injury.

The 27-year-old’s future at the North London outfit remains uncertain, but according to The Independent, Manchester United have ended interest in him.

The Red Devils were initially heavily linked with a swoop, but Jose Mourinho is believed to have abandoned plans to sign a new left-back in this window as he has been impressed with Luke Shaw’s comeback.

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This latest development surrounding Rose’s future has got Tottenham fans talking.

Daniel Sturridge says that he is happy that he left Chelsea to join Liverpool last year, with a lack of belief in his abilities while at Stamford Bridge a source of frustration.

The England international was arguably the signing of the January transfer window in 2012, as he immediately settled into life at Anfield.

Sturridge was used sparingly in West London during his time there, with the club often electing to field him in a wide position despite him being more adept from a central area.

Since joining Liverpool he has operated in his desired role frequently, and has even thrived alongside the headline-grabbing Luis Suarez in a partnership dubbed ‘SAS’.

Sturridge told the Anfield Wrap that he always had faith in his abilities while at Chelsea, but found it frustrating that he was played out of position:

“When I was at Chelsea I wasn’t myself,” he says. “I wasn’t me as a person in terms of how open I am.

“I couldn’t be myself in terms of everything. When I came here I made the point to myself, ‘You know what, Daniel, just be yourself’ and if people take it well, then good.

“I always thought I’d make it but I was never sure if I’d play as a striker because people didn’t believe in me,

“I was often asked to play in a different position and to do a job for the team but having been a striker and then being asked to just flick a switch and play on the wing was always going to be difficult because mentally you’re going to play the way you always have and I play on instinct.

“I think that now I’m just playing the way that I did as a kid but I’d never had the chance to do that. When I was playing as a winger at Chelsea I was over-thinking it because I wasn’t used to doing it. It’s about that split second when you have to decide whether you do this or do that whereas now I’m just playing on instinct. I’m just doing the natural thing, playing my natural game and doing things off the cuff.

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Despite only joining Liverpool last year and having spent a large chunk of this season out injured, Sturridge has already netted over 20 goals in all competitions.

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Micah Richards played centre back at the weekend for the first time in five months, and put in a performance to spark claims of an England call up.

After the recent international retirement from former captain John Terry, and Roy Hodgson appearing to rule out picking Rio Ferdinand, there does appear to be a vacancy at the heart of defence for England.

Richards’ ability at the highest level has consistently been questioned, and in a 6 year career he has only managed to secure 13 caps.

Despite his decision to reject the chance to be on the stand-by list for Euro 2012, the Birmingham born defender has added fuel to the fire in showing that he is ready for England.

Manchester City team mate, Pablo Zabaleta told The Telegraph, “I think Micah is a fantastic player and he deserves to be in the national team, Micah came back to the team, he was solid at the back.

“He is young, he is strong and he can give England what he wants to give Manchester City. He can play either at centre back or right back.”

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His versatility also adds scrutiny to England managers who have overlooked the talented defender.

“Terry’s not in the international team any more so maybe that is a good chance for him to get into the England team,” Zabaleta added.

Liverpool would have taken a step further in their progression had they won the Champions League on Saturday night.

However, it was not to be as Real Madrid earned a 3-1 triumph, and they were helped along by some goalkeeping howlers from Loris Karius.

The German’s performance highlighted Liverpool’s need for a goalkeeper this summer.

After the final whistle, Karius was visibly distraught and in floods of tears, much like his teammate Mohamed Salah, who was forced off the pitch 31 minutes in with a dislocated shoulder.

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Liverpool have received plenty of plaudits this season for their scintillating attacking form.

In the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp’s side finished fourth, but in three of their four fixtures against title winners Manchester City in all competitions, they showed that they are more than capable of matching Pep Guardiola’s side.

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Some may have felt that the Reds would be title challengers next season, but after their disappointment in the Champions League final, have things changed?

Let us know by voting below…