Booing doesn't faze me... four weeks ago fans told Wenger to quit; VILLA BOSS HITS BACK O'NEILL SLAMS TERRACE CRITICS.Byline: BY JAMES NURSEY MARTIN O'NEILL fears mounting flak from Aston Villa fans may derail de·rail intr. & tr.v. de·railed, de·rail·ing, de·rails 1. To run or cause to run off the rails. 2. their Champions League bid - and he reckons supporter unrest is an increasing trend in football. The Villa faithful are getting more and more outspoken and frustrated after seven games without a win. O'Neill's decision to prioritise a top-four spot by fielding a severely weakened team away to CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (Central Sports Army Club Moscow, Russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a major Russian sports club based in Moscow. as Villa crashed out of the UEFA UEFA Union of European Football Associations UEFA n abbr (= Union of European Football Associations) → U.E.F.A. Cup is in danger of backfiring badly. Villa's loss of form has seen them slip to fifth behind Arsenal in the Premier League as they were booed off following a 2-1 home defeat to Tottenham on Sunday. Disgruntled Villa punters have even started abusing misfiring homegrown striker Gabriel Agbonlahor Gabriel Agbonlahor (born October 131986 in Birmingham) is an English footballer for Aston Villa, of half Nigerian and half Scottish descent due to his Nigerian father and Scottish mother. Agbonlahor is a recent product of the Aston Villa Academy system. - much to O'Neill's annoyance. And the Villa manager says coping with restless fans is sadly becoming routine in the top flight. "I obviously accept all the criticism that is coming around," said O'Neill, in charge at Villa since August 2006. "Take the stick, take the punishment - that's my job. "But I think some of it is over the top. "It is only four weeks ago that Arsene Wenger was told to leave his job and a couple of years ago when Manchester United fans were phoning in to say Sir Alex has lost the plot - and they are the champions. "It's entirely Villa fans' prerogative to do what they want but I'm not so sure it's entirely helpful at the minute. "Aston Villa might not for the next 25 years be in with the same chance of qualifying for the Champions League - you never know." O'Neill was slammed last month by many of the club's 295 away fans, who paid pounds 1,000 each to see a near reserve team lose in Moscow. O'Neill has written to them all with an invitation to an allexpenses paid dinner at Villa Park Villa Park, village (1990 pop. 22,253), Du Page co., NE Ill.; inc. 1914. It is a residential suburb W of Chicago. on Tuesday, April 7. Yet the Villa manager is still fuming with supporters for turning on England striker Agbonlahor, 22, who has scored just once in 15 games after another blank against Spurs. "Every time that Gabby gab·by adj. gab·bi·er, gab·bi·est Slang Tending to talk excessively; garrulous. gab  bi·ness n. mis-controlled the ball there were
hollers," he added.
"Gabby has done so much for this football club that I believe he is entitled to a few bad games." A result at Liverpool on Sunday will quell dissent and O'Neill knows only a top-four finish will end grumblings about Moscow. He said: "My time here will be dictated by results and the sort of progress we are hoping to make. "You do what you consider is the right thing. "We were playing on a plastic pitch in Moscow. "Other clubs have played lesser teams in the League Cup and gone out having taken less abuse." CAPTION(S): BOOS PROBLEM Agbonlahor (left) has become a victim... and yesterday's Mirror; TABLE TALK O'Neill has sent a dinner invitation (right) to all the fans who travelled to Moscow |
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