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		<title>ESPNFC.com - astonvilla</title>
		<link>http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla</link>
		<description>ESPNFC.com presents astonvilla</description>
		<language>en-us</language>
		<copyright><![CDATA[Copyright &copy; ESPN Internet Ventures]]></copyright>
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			<title><![CDATA[Difficult season ends with hope for the future]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 19 May 2013 12:41:56 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/749]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[The relegation six-pointer that never was. Sunday's match could have been one of excruciating tension for Villa, the last hurdle needing to be cleared before confirming Premier League survival. Instead, with insurmountable daylight between Villa and Wigan, it was only ever going to be one of those routine, season-ending affairs. So it proved, with both sides serving up an entertaining 2-2 draw at the DW Stadium.   Villa's performance, it has to be said, was indicative of the good and bad they have delivered for much of the campaign.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Villa praying Benteke absence is temporary]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 17 May 2013 11:45:33 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/741]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[A genuinely new selection dilemma to occupy Paul Lambert's thoughts ahead of the final match of the Premier League season, away to Wigan. Suspension will deprive the Villa manager of the services of Christian Benteke, making the big striker unavailable for the first time this season.  - Lambert to hold critical Benteke talks  Benteke has played every league match -- starting 32, appearing as a substitute twice -- since making his debut against Swansea in September, Villa's fourth game of the campaign: 34 out of 34.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[741]]></guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Nothing lucky about Villa survival]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 15 May 2013 13:27:11 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/736]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Villa players learned their Premier League status was secured for another season without even kicking a ball, no doubt watching Wigan's 4-1 defeat to Arsenal from the comfort of their own homes.   After seeing Wigan draw level through former Villan Shaun Maloney right on halftime, there was understandable relief when the Gunners coasted clear with three second half goals. The way the game petered out almost casually was in stark contrast to the heightened sense of anxiety the Villa contingent would have been feeling during both the build-up to the game, and throughout the first half.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[736]]></guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Villa denied the perfect finale on an emotional afternoon]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 11 May 2013 12:10:59 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/731]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[So close. So close to being the perfect finale to a season of trials and tribulations, with Villa on the brink of victory against Chelsea Saturday until Frank Lampard stole the show with two second-half goals, sealing a 2-1 win for the visitors.  Lampard, of course, has made a career out of bagging important goals, and plenty of them; his two at Villa Park made him Chelsea's all-time leading scorer. But Villa, if not in control, certainly had the upper hand in this game until, in a tempestuous second half, Christian Benteke was sent off for his second yellow card of the day.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[731]]></guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Villa's remarkable recovery - and how they did it]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 09 May 2013 14:55:41 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/722]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Wigan are widely acknowledged as masters of the great escape, on account of their relegation-defying performances in recent seasons. It's a well-deserved label, given the sticky situations Latics have wriggled clear of. But while Roberto Martinez's men have two more league games standing between them and Premier League survival, they may already have been usurped as escapologists.  Villa's recovery from a miserable first half of the season has been little short of remarkable, and somewhat overlooked.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[722]]></guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Happy 40th, Villa]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 04 May 2013 12:36:10 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/715]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[So far, so good. It's been a productive week for Villa. Successive fixtures against Sunderland and Norwich always had the look of holding the key to Premier League survival, with six valuable points at stake.   Studiously crunching the numbers, and calculating the odds, four would have been a decent return, verging on safety -- six, a result of winning both, would surely have clinched top-flight football again next season. Villa have done exactly that. Successive victories, eight goals scored and two against.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[715]]></guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Lambert's date with destiny]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 02 May 2013 15:02:56 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/708]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Norwich City versus Aston Villa at Carrow Road in the Premier League: It was this exact fixture, almost precisely 12 months ago to the day, that set in motion the chain of events which culminated in Paul Lambert swapping Norfolk for Birmingham.  - Benteke backed to score more  May 13, 2012: a sunny afternoon, and the final day of the league season. There was nothing at stake for either club, but no mistaking the contrasting spirits of the two teams which took the field. Norwich were bright and busy, eager to conclude an encouraging return to the top flight on a high note.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[A Benteke hat trick as Villa hit six past Sunderland]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:53:54 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/701]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[A marvellous, uplifting night at Villa Park as a tense relegation clash was transformed into a showboating six-goal victory. It was the kind of win, and performance, that Villa fans have craved for so long during this most turbulent of seasons that the second half of Monday night's 6-1 success over Sunderland unfolded in giddy excitement -- a display of breathless attacking football, unrelenting pressure and, above all else, goal after goal.  - Match report: Aston Villa 6-1 Sunderland - Brassell: Villa find their inner Di Canio  Christian Benteke was the headline-writing hero with a second half hat trick, but he was far from alone in rising to the occasion.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[701]]></guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Villa, Di Canio resume their rivalry]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 28 Apr 2013 09:06:36 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/695]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[So Paolo Di Canio, we meet again.  Villa have previous with Sunderland's new manager, having overcome a testing night at Swindon at the end of October 2012, a pulsating League Cup tie which was won 3-2 with a 90th-minute goal from Christian Benteke. Villa had been 2-0 up in that game -- two goals up at half-time -- and coasting to a routine victory until Swindon's Miles Storey scored twice to remind the Premier League club that the job hadn't been completed. Benteke duly did exactly that in the closing minutes, but the dramatic finale did not end at the final whistle.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Demise of the goal-scoring midfielder]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:49:48 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/684]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[The reappearance of Karim El Ahmadi as a half-time substitute at Old Trafford, his first in a Villa shirt since his 13 minutes against Liverpool on the last day of March, was a mild surprise on Monday.   Given the circumstances of the game, with Villa 3-0 down to a rampant Manchester United, El Ahmadi, very much a holding midfielder whose natural position sees him maintain a presence in and around the centre circle, would be one of the last players one would have imagined manager Paul Lambert to turn to.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[684]]></guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Villa the fall guys at Man United's title party]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:09:01 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/676]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[There was a party at Old Trafford on Monday night; a packed house, a stadium decked out in red and white, the destination of the Premier League trophy all but a formality. With a victory enough to finally confirm Manchester United would reclaim the title, there was only one truly likely outcome. Pity the opponents on this occasion. Villa were like young lambs to the slaughter, up against the home juggernaut. Beaten 3-0 and beaten within half an hour.  - Match report: Man United 3-0 Aston Villa  Villa's role in all this could have been gatecrashers to the house party.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[676]]></guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Stick or twist -- how should Villa play vs. Manchester United?]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 21 Apr 2013 07:42:18 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Hughes]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/astonvilla/id/668]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[The very last fixture Villa would have wanted, at this stage of the season and with so much at stake, is Monday night's visit to Manchester United (2:55 ET, ESPN2, ESPN3/WatchESPN).   After the benefit of a weekend's results to motivate, the opportunity to extend a lead over Wigan is this -- to Old Trafford, where the home support awaits in anticipation, and expectation, of three points which would confirm a 20th league title after Manchester City's loss at Spurs Sunday. Dangling such a carrot before red shirts only makes United a more dangerous beast.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[668]]></guid>
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