On paper it looked like an expected result. Aston Villa 0 Manchester City 2. Yes, it was yet another home loss for Aston Villa and they certainly have had far too many of those in recent years, yet there was something rather different going on at Villa Park on Saturday. The pulse was back. Ultimately, the team ended up with nothing; running out losers courtesy of goals from two world class stars, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero, yet this was not a familiar story for Villa fans. They, more than most, know too well what woeful looks like. They have certainly sat through enough of it the last three campaigns. House of Horrors It has been three difficult seasons for the West Midlands club, both on and off the field. Massive financial cutbacks were required following the Martin ONeill era, a time many look back at as being a successful period for the club based on three straight 6th place finishes, yet it was a time of great turmoil financially. By the end of the 2009-10 season, the clubs turnover reached 90 million pounds, of which an incredible 88 per cent (80m) was being spent on players wages, an unsustainable figure for any business. It was time for them to pay for the relative success they achieved on the field. Villa plummeted from 9th to 15th in the 2011-12 season winning just four home matches, the lowest in club history. The crowds also dropped as the fans had no connection to manager Alex McLeish, a former Birmingham City boss who many in the area despised. 2010-11 attendance - 706,685 at an average of 37,194 (8th highest in the PL) 2011-12 attendance - 643, 590 at an average of 33,873 (9th highest in the PL). Paul Lambert arrived as manager in June of 2012 and with it came a new direction as many young, cheaper players from the lower leagues in England were signed. Lambert gambled on youth and it almost cost Villa their Premier League status. Home form wasnt much better than the previous year as they won just five matches, yet the fans returned coming closer to the figures in 2010-11 than in 2011-12. 2012-13 attendance - 666,135 at an average of 35,060 (10th highest in the PL). Villa were equally poor at home last season. Under Lambert they showed no progress in taking over games, struggling to keep the ball and being forced into a counter-attacking side that many said they were better suited to play away from home. Although that was true it was actually an indictment on the team rather than it being a positive system by design. Far too often they simply couldnt control games against inferior teams. They managed to reach six home wins last season but for the third successive season they were in a relegation fight into the last month. Still the crowds came, remarkably improving on the year previous. 2013-14 attendance - 685,535 at an average of 36,081 (9th highest in the PL). Of the 14 teams who played in each of the three seasons (2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14) Villa were last in terms of league home wins (57 games played): Man City 49 Man Utd 40 Chelsea 39 Arsenal 36 Everton 35 Tottenham 35 Liverpool 31 Stoke City 24 Fulham 22 Norwich 21 Swansea 20 West Brom 19 Sunderland 17 Aston Villa 15 Results and poor performances at Villa Park alone were not the reason for Villas struggles but they were one of the main reasons why many of the loyal fan base had grown tired of Paul Lambert as manager. He certainly didnt help his case losing cup matches to lower league opposition at Villa Park, also. Lambert, however, was rewarded with a four year extension last month after the club raced to 10pts through the first four games. Predictably, they have now lost three straight matches to Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City as they continue on a run where they play five successive matches against the teams that finished in the top five last season. They were already behind in the first halves against Arsenal and Chelsea but it took Man City 82 patient minutes before they tipped the balance at Villa Park. Yet, this was not a game where Villa simply sat deep and invited pressure on. Naturally Citys talent shone and they were able to dictate much of the possession but Villa showed real signs of progression that will certainly help them improve against much weaker teams than Man City this season. An English Triangle Lambert deserves credit for addressing an alarming lack of experience (and quality) in his squad this summer and bringing in (and back) some senior players, but one area he didnt need to make many adjustments to was central midfield. Many young players simply didnt progress under Lamberts tutelage but two that did were midfielders Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph. Both were excellent for much of the last two seasons but the Scots insistence to often play them in a 4-2-3-1 very often left them exposed. At the end of the transfer window in August, he added a third English midfielder, signing Tom Cleverley on loan from Manchester United. When healthy, the three have played every minute together since and already have a tremendous understanding of their roles. Westwood, who captained the team against Manchester City with Ron Vlaar and Gabriel Agbonlahor unavailable, sits slightly deeper of the three, centrally, but is far from a midfield destroyer. He presses well and reads the game well but his greatest assets are his passing and ability to find space. These are crucial when Villa start transitions. Delph, rightfully rewarded with an England call-up last month, covers much more ground than Westwood, is more comfortable on the ball and can penetrate into the final third with his endless amount of energy. He doesnt have Westwoods passing but he is much more dangerous when in possession. Cleverley has been a superb addition that the pair needed. He operates to the right of Westwood, is a good passer but, like Delph, is intelligent in pressing and can make runs in behind defenders. The trio had an excellent match against a Man City team that once again experimented in midfield and still didnt get their balance right as they flipped from Toure and Fernandinho to Toure and Frank Lampard and eventually settled on Toure, Lampard and Fernando, a combination that was on the field for their goals but is still far from their best. Pass Completion Rate vs City Ashley Westwood 41/47 - 87 per cent Fabian Delph 40/45 - 89 per cent Tom Cleverley 53/56 - 95 per cent Total - 134/148 - 91 per cent Westwood to Delph (14) was the top pass combination for Villa in the game with Cleverley to Westwood (11) and Westwood to Cleverley (10) not far behind. The trio also combined for 10 interceptions. Statistics tell only part of the story. Their collective pressing was intelligent and rarely did they allow creators like David Silva and Toure in behind them. It was no coincidence that both City goals came from when they finally found the key to the space vacated behind the trio. In possession they switch the play well while Delph and Cleverley can break away on the break and create overlaps out wide with full backs or wingers. Star striker Christian Benteke returned for 30 minutes against Man City and linked up well with the three Englishmen in behind him. Results may have not gone their way lately but there is certainly many reasons for the Villa Park faithful to be optimistic once the team returns following the international break. With three rare intelligent English midfielders together there should be no reason why they cant finally dictate home matches against teams not challenging for the top six. Nike Air Max Tn Günstig . 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Steen scored his NHL-leading 14th goal in 14 games, Brian Elliott stopped 18 shots for his 100th career win and the St. Louis Blues beat the Calgary Flames 3-2 Thursday night. St. Louis has won five of six and is 6-1-1 at home. Calgary has lost four of five and eight of 11. Maxim Lapierre and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored for St. Louis. Elliott, who got the start in place of Jaroslav Halak, improved to 2-0-1 with his second straight strong performance. He stopped 31 shots in a 4-0 win at Florida on Nov. 1. Steen has a point in a career-best nine games in a row. He has scored in all but two contests this season. Despite his sizzling pace, Steen remains focused on the Blues quick 10-2-2 start and not his individual run. "I dont really analyze myself that way," Steen said. "You dont think about that or youll start focusing on the wrong things." Steen converted on a backhand from the slot in the second period to push the lead to 3-0. "He works his butt off and its nice to see him get rewarded," St. Louis defenceman Jordan Leopold said. "Whatever hes doing, hes got to keep doing it." Leopold had two assists in the game, his first points of the season. Steen scored the winning goal in the final minute of a 3-2 win over Winnipeg on Oct. 29 and a 3-2 victory over Chicago on Oct. 9. He became the first St. Louis player to score 14 goals in the first 14 games of a season since Brett Hull had 16 in that span in the 1990-91 campaign. Tim Jackman and Mike Cammalleri scored third-period goals for Calgary. Cammalleri tallied at 14:49 to bring the Flames to within 3-2. But Elliott was able to close down Calgary with some help from a staunch defence, which blocked 18 shots. "They got two on us, but we battled the last few minutes and squeaked it out," Elliott said. Calgary rookie goaltender Reto Berra fell to 1-2 in his third career start. Tarasenko broke an eight-game scoring drought with his fifth of the season on the power play at 3:01 of the opening period.dddddddddddd. He put home a rebound of a shot by Jay Bouwmeester. Lapierre pushed the lead to 2-0 just over seven minutes later with his first goal as a member of the Blues. "Everything we needed to do, we did in that first period," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We were really going, really on top of our game." Lapierre was suspended five games for a hit on San Joses Dan Boyle on Oct. 15. He got his first points of the season Thursday in his ninth game. "Its been a slow start for me the first three weeks, almost like two training camps," Lapierre said. "Tonight is more like the player that I am." The Flames, who were 0 for 6 on the power play, have failed in their last 28 man-advantage chances. "Id like to buy one," Calgary coach Bob Hartley said of the goal drought. "I know that the guys are working hard. It seems we just cant turn the red light on." Calgary, after taking five first-period penalties, rallied with a solid third-period effort. "A tale of two games," Cammalleri said. "We really didnt push the play early. At some point, we were able to get some momentum." St. Louis defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk picked up an assist in his seventh successive game, the longest such streak in the NHL this season. NOTES: Calgary forward Curtis Glencross is out four to six weeks with an MCL sprain suffered in Tuesdays 5-1 loss at Minnesota. The team is not disclosing which knee is hurt. "One of the two, what does that change?" Hartley said tersely. ... Blues have scored first in their last six games.... St. Louis opened a season-trying five-game homestand that concludes Nov. 16 against Carolina. ... The Blues have not allowed a power play goal in the last four games. ...Calgary did not record its third shot on goal until 14:30 left in the second period. ' ' '