Holtecast - An Aston Villa Podcast

Borderline racial slurs, negative support. There's a few things that buying a ticket doesn't entitle you to do.Welcome back to On The Pod My Lord! I'm so pleased to be back with a new microphone and hopefully some better production values. Join me on this crazy audio journey (now in stereo) to a world after Villa were hammered by Liverpool. I got to enjoy it. It wasn't fun. Hopefully this podcast is more fun. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're back and winning-er than ever! It's episode 80 of the Holtecast and we're riding the high that can only come from beating a team by multiple goals. I'm sorry you had to be the punching bags, Norwich City, but I'm actually not sorry.So yeah, Jack and Robert spend a bit of time on that this week. Talking about winning is fun, it turns out. We've also got the news of the day. News like Rémi Garde's commitment to the club so long as the club shows a commitment to (spending) money. And news like... uh... it's a quiet week.We've also got a very special game to celebrate Jack's 24th birthday! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jack and Robert are back, and it's safe to say that neither of them are too happy after what Aston Villa have done in the past week. After a glorious five-match unbeaten run that saw hope revived, Villa managed to get curb-stomped by Manchester City in the FA Cup and rode some Jordan Ayew anger to a two-goal loss against West Ham United.Goodbye hope, it was nice knowing you.We get to those matches, of course, as well as this weekend's tilt against Norwich City. Plus, your twitter questions, transfer ratings (hahaha) and more! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Five games unbeaten! Can you believe it? Jack and James are back with this week's episode of the Holtecast discussing Aston Villa's best run of form in... far too long.In addition to the normal recap of the last match and preview of the next fixture as well as Twitter questions, we got caught up in a few other recent Villa happenings.Some of the topics we lingered on were the terrible decisions that have doomed Villa prior to the arrival of Tom Fox and Steve Hollis, a lack of business in the transfer market partially due to the Football Association's biased rules and the merit of giving a run in the FA Cup a proper go. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Does something feel different around here? Is it the air? Maybe the water is different. Or maybe it's the fact that we're getting to do our second podcast in a row that doesn't talk about losing. That's the most likely answer.Jack and Robert return to delve into all of the important issues. Issues like, "How bad WAS that ref against Leicester City?" and "Does a 2-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup count if no one was able to watch it?"We also get to your twitter questions on this, the 77th episode of the Holtecast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Aston Villa have won again! It happened! No, really, it did! And to celebrate, we're having all three Holtecast hosts on this week for episode 76 of the podcast. Jack and Robert are reunited and it feels so good and James joins us to tell us what it's like being at Villa Park for an honest-to-goodness win.After reveling in the glory of three points for a while, we take a look at what Villa might have in store for January, this weekend's match against tied for points at the top of the table Leicester, and plenty more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hi guys, James here.I've only went and done a podcast! Inspired by our own Holtecast and the Aston Villa Review, I've decided to take up the mic and delve into the issues and ethics surrounding Aston Villa Football Club. I've piggybacked onto the Holtecast account, meaning you'll get this if you've subscribed to the Holtecast on iTunes and BlogTalkRadio.Basically, I set out to make a timeless anthology. I didn't want the issues laid out on this podcast to be dictated by results, fixtures and performances. In this first episode, I've taken on Stan Collymore's thirteen point plan. Stan came out with a plan, and I've taken it upon myself to take a look at each of these points in a bit of detail.So yeah, have a listen - I certainly started off a bit nervous, but I grew into it. I'll be looking to improve the production values for next time, but please - any feedback you can give will be helpful. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Over the Christmas period, Aston Villa were presented with a chance to dig themselves out of trouble. After reviewing the last two matches, we discussed possible transfer targets that could be heading to Birmingham in the coming month. To conclude transfer talk for the week we speculated on which players could leave the club. Things haven't exactly gone to plan, and it's starting to look pretty bleak. We got a lot of Twitter questions, like one asking the best and worst matches of the year. We wrapped the episode up by previewing Sunderland, a true do-or-die match. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well, we've made it to the turning point of the season. A busy festive period with three very winnable fixtures within the span of a week gives Aston Villa an opportunity to more than double their current total. Or, they could just lose all three and confirm our fears of relegation! This is gonna be fun!Speaking of fun, Robert is in Hawaii so James was back in the lineup for a second straight week joining Jack on the show. We also got a lot of great Twitter questions, so thanks to everyone that's been sending them in. In addition to talking about the recent draw against Newcastle United, we previewed the games against West Ham United and Norwich City, briefly talked transfers and James revealed what he wants for Christmas above anything else. (Hint, it's the same thing at the top of Rémi Garde's list as well.) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another demoralising loss to Arsenal last week means Aston Villa are still at the basement of the Premier League, and time is starting to run out. But, the toughest part of the schedule is past us and a busy holiday period of fixtures offers a chance for Villa to start to climb. This week, James joins Jack to talk about the matches, as well as a few transfer rumours and of couse the hilarious quesitons posed by our readers and listeners via Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well, it was a point, right? And we should all be thankful that it wasn't (yet another) loss, right? But it is hard to be too excited by Aston Villa 1-1 draw at Southampton last weekend. It doesn't help that the team didn't look all that good doing it. But, it's a point. We'll take what we can, especially with Arsenal on the docket this weekend. You may remember the Gunners as the team who ripped apart our dreams of FA Cup glory in 4-0 fashion at Wembley back in May. Or you may not remember, because you've wisely blocked that moment from your mind. Anyhow, Jack and Robert are back to break things down: where do Aston Villa stand and what can we expect going forward? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's been months. Literally. Months since Aston Villa traveled to Bournemouth on the season's opening day and got their first (and last!) win. And yet, we go again. After a pretty poor defeat at the hands of Watford, Villa will travel to St. Mary's to face Southampton for the second time this season. The first, of course, resulted in a 2-1 loss that saw Villa dropped from the League Cup. With Robert out this week, Jack was joined by James and the two of them delved into everything we need to know ahead of this weekend's pivotal match. (Must they all be pivotal? Why do we have to put up with this? Which one of you committed a grievous sin and has thus made us endure this?) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well let's see, what's happened since our last podcast? Rémi Garde managed his first match at Villa. And in one match he did 25% of the point total that Tim Sherwood and Kevin MacDonald had gotten in eleven. That's not bad! And then you remember that the point came against league-leading Manchester City and that becomes downright great!Then we had the international break, and of course with that comes injury. Usually it's not to bad, but this time it cost us left-back Jordan Amavi for the rest of the season with a horrific knee knock.With Villa back this weekend, though, they'll try to soldier on and build on a great performance against City. Going to Everton is never easy, but a win here could mean that Rémi Garde's team have the momentum they're going to need. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There's a new sheriff in town at Aston Villa. Or whatever it is that they call sheriffs in France. That's right, just as expected, Rémi Garde has taken over as the club's new manager to replace the recently-discarded Tim Sherwood. And the look on his face as he sat in the stands and watched Villa get trounced by Spurs was one that does not bode well for the players. I hope they enjoy strenuous workouts!And oh yeah, there was that loss to Spurs. If you focus on the 15 minutes of good, tough play, it was really encouraging. If you ignore them, it was absolutely terrible. We'll try and fall somewhere in between as we take a look at the match and see if there is anything we can take from it and apply to this weekend's match against Manchester City. And some player. Some player we all dislike. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Listen. We know it's not good news, per se, but we've got something very exciting in this week's Holtecast: talk of something other than a loss! Sure, it's the sacking of Tim Sherwood, and sure that sacking came as the result of another loss, but it's something different! Sometimes it's all about the little things in life. We sit down to try and figure out who might be the next man in charge in B6, and we do so even while speculation is swirling about Remi Garde, formerly of Lyon, canceling his weekend TV appearances. What would the Frenchman mean for Aston Villa? Could he help? Could anyone at this point hurt? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well then, last weekend didn't go as well as we had hoped. The first half hour, wasn't bad, but then Brad Guzan did Brad Guzan things and it all fell apart. At this point in the season, any loss is bad, but at least losing to Chelsea is something that we expect and can deal with.But those excuses don't exist this weekend. Swansea are a very good club, but they've hit a rough patch and if Villa want to survive this year, they need to take advantage of teams like this. There's a win to be had here, and while it won't get Villa out of the relegation zone, it could close the gap.Jack and Robert and back to talk about the Chelsea loss, manager speculation, and this weekend's match with Swansea. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

That may have been the most refreshing week ever. We're back and ready to talk about Aston Villa again. That's not to say that the club have become any better, but we're recharged!And what a match to come back for. With speculation swirling that Tim Sherwood may only have two matches to save his tenure at Villa Park, he must lead his club to Stamford Bridge for a tilt against Chelsea. Sure Jose Mourinho's squad aren't as good as we've come to expect this year, but that doesn't mean this won't be difficult. It's Chelsea. It's always difficult. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's been nearly two months since Aston Villa last won a match in the Premier League, and aside from a late-August draw against Sunderland, it's been all losing in the meantime. And if you're Tim Sherwood, you might be starting to worry about your job at least a little bit. This weekend Villa host Stoke in their last match before a brutal run through October and November.So what can the club do to right the ship? Does a win this weekend against Stoke before the international break allow us all to take a deep breath and stop worrying, or is it just plugging a hole in a dam that's riddled with them?Jack and Robert dive into that and more, including your twitter questions, on this weeks episode of the Holtecast! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Well, we didn't win both of the derbies, but we won the one that mattered. Aston Villa had another lacklustre week, losing 0-1 to West Bromwich Albion and eeking out a 1-0 win over Birmingham City in the Second City Derby. Nevertheless, a win is a win and hopefully getting one in front of a raucous Villa Park crowd will spur on this club to play the way we know it can.Jack and Robert take on the two matches from the past week before turning to your questions on twitter, many of which have to do with Saturday's match against a recently-struggling (and without Christian Benteke) Liverpool. What will it take for us to come away from Anfield feeling happy about the trip? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's derby week! What's that? No, hush. We don't want to talk about the Leicester match. Why would you want to talk about that? Are you a Leicester fan? Go away. Okay fine, we'll talk about that match, but we don't want to. But THEN! Then we get to talk about derby week! West Brom on Saturday and then [name redacted because of site policies that don't allow mentioning filth] on Tuesday! We take a look at what could be the week that makes or breaks Tim Sherwood and his new Aston Villa experiment. Is all of this sustainable? Can the team get past their early-season growing pains? Can they pick up three points ahead of a trip to Anfield? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.