Aston Villa Is A Growed Up Big Boy Now

It's official. Michael Owen is now Newcastle United's second striker. Yeah, I know he's better than Alan Shearer but, come on, does anyone think Alan is going to play second fiddle to anyone? :)

This signing is just sad news. For one thing it's coming right before Fulham travels up to St. James Park. And just like with Milan Baros' transfer to Villa Park, I get the sneaking suspicion that he'll score in his first match for the barcodes.

It's also sad because I lose my jokes about how bad Newcastle is. While I don't think Owen will make them contenders for Europe (unless he scores 30 goals by himself since no one else Tyneside seems to be able to get one) or anything but he'll definitely take them out of the relegation zone.

So, um, Pompey you're it! Portsmouth is now the target of all my bad established clubs in trouble jokes. :)

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There's a much sillier signing in the world today - Fred. I mean, this guy is obviously good or Olympique Lyon wouldn't be signing him, but what self-respecting Brazilian takes the nickname Fred?

He's an up-and-coming striker in the Brazilian system but I guess all the good nicknames were taken. At least, the sportscasters and pundits won't butcher it like Juninho or Ronaldinho or even Juan.

It's a nice easy English sounding name. Of course he's playing in France so I don't think that's going to help much. :)

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In still more transfer news, is anyone else getting the impression that Aston Villa is a "big club"?

After Milan Baros decided he wanted to go and be a Villan, it's become almost the company line for new signees and transfers to refer to the Birmingham club as "big." The latest transfer, Wilfred Bouma formerly of PSV described Aston Villa in the following way:

"I had a good feeling about Villa -- with their history of being a big club."

Not to be conspiratorial, but I think all Aston Villa signees have a clause in their contract this season that they must try to recruit others by hyping how major a footcer team it is. It's like a pyramid scheme in the midlands. :)

The funny thing is that this "big club"'s manager David O'Leary is always complaining that he doesn't have the resources to compete with other "big clubs" like Chelsea and Manchester United. So if Aston Villa is a big club, I guess the others are super humungeouly gigantically large.

What I wonder, though, is if PSV actually has anyone still playing for them? I've lost count of this year's transfer. Sure they're always a farm team for bigger clubs but now it seems like Eindhoven is really a farm team - DaMarcus Beasley and a group of local Dutch farmers.

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Another team that no one's quite sure of who's on it is the United States men's national team which will play Mexico this weekend. Bruce Arena has made a point of keeping his lineup a secret (though he claims it's a media glitch).

Yeah, I had to use the Fox News link for that - it seemed fitting. :)

Go tell the world indeed. Just don't tell them exactly who's going to surprise them in the next World Cup.