Simply The Best

NextGen: New "Vintage" Footie Cards

In honour of Villa's Young Lions Easter adventure in Lake Como, the latest in our set of "vintage" footie card mocks:

Video: NextGen Series: Aston Villa v Olympiacos Pireus

Villa face Sporting Lisbon (AGAIN!) in NextGen Semi Final

Aston Villa's Young Lions will face Sporting Lisbon in the Next Gen semi finals

The Draw:

Villa earned the right to travel to Italy in a hard fought victory against a lively Olympiacos. Graham Burke's early goal settled it on a chilly night at Villa Park.  Supporters - including a loud and noisy clump of Greek fans - were seated in the North Stand, creating a boisterous atmosphere on a chilly night .

Chelsea qualified for the semi-finals with a crushing 4-1 win over Juventus while Sporting Lisbon cruised through in goal filled encounter with Spurs at Leyton Orient.

Sporting's youngsters were hugely impressive against the Villa in the group match at Villa Park, while Villa needed to reverse the result out in Portugal to progress.

The final quarter final takes place at the Emirates on Monday evening as Arsenal take on CSKA for the last place at Lake Como.

Both semi finals take place on Good Friday at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Lake Como, Italy while the final will be on Easter Monday.

just done recovery today! the draw for the semi finals at 3pm, we don't care who we get, we'll back ourselves against anyone #avfc
— Bradley Lewis (@BradleyLewis27) March 21, 2013

NextGen Series: Moving forward

NextGen match FREE to Season Ticket Holders

Villa's NextGen Quarter final clash with Olympiacos will be FREE to Season Ticket Holders.

There will be no need to collect a ticket for the event as Season Cards will be activated for the game at Villa Park on Wednesday 20th March with a 7.00pm kick off.

If you haven't got a season ticket, you can get tickets from Tuesday 12th March at £3 for Adults and £1 for nippers.

This will be the last chance to see the Young Lions in action at home in this tournament as the action moves to Lake Como for the semi-finals on the 29th March and the final on April Fools Day.

NextGen date with Olympiacos at Villa Park fixed

Villa's NextGen Series quarter-final tie with Greek outfit Olympiacos will take place at Villa Park on Wednesday March 20 with a 7pm kick off.

The game should be broadcast live and in HD on British Eurosport for those who can't make it to see the game in person.

Mikey Drennan's goals have helped Villa bounce through the competition with wins over Celtic, PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon, followed by a win over Ajax in their own backyard in the last 16. However doubts surround Mikey's fitness for the game.

Olympiacos qualified by winning Group 6 ahead of Arsenal, Marseille and Athletic Bilbao before going on to conquer Anderlecht 2-1 in the first knockout round.

This will be the last chance this season to see the NextGen team in action at Villa Park as the semi-finals and final take place between March 29 and April 1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia in Lake Como.

English clubs take part in every quarter final. The other ties are: Arsenal v CSKA Moscow, Chelsea v Juventus and Tottenham v Sporting Lisbon.

Villa at Home: Next Gen Quarter Final Draw

Aston Villa's Under 19 Heroes will take on either Olympiacos or Anderlecht in the quarter finals of the NextGen series.

The home draw means a night of excitement at Villa Park as the one legged tie will be settled on the night, with extra time and penalties if required. 

Villa have to wait until Thursday 28th February to find out their opponents as Olympiacos take on Anderlecht at 7.00pm.

NextGen co-founder, Justin Andrews, said: “We’re excited to be progressing to the next stage of the tournament, and to continue to witness the growth and development of some of Europe’s finest youth players and coaches.”

All the quarter finals will be covered live by Eurosport and played between 18th and 21st March.

CHELSEA vs. JUVENTUS or ROSENBORG BK

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs. SPORTING CP

INTER MILAN or ARSENAL vs. CSKA MOSCOW or PSV EINDHOVEN

ASTON VILLA vs. OLYMPIACOS or RSC ANDERLECHT

Could UEFA's NextGen hijack leave Villa out in the cold?

The future of popular pan-European Under 19 tournament The NextGen Series could be under threat, as UEFA plans to launch it's own version next season, a version which would exclude Aston Villa.

UEFA have been stung into action by the growing popularity of NextGen, now into a second season and are thought to be keen on wresting back control of youth football. However, the plan for the UEFA Youth League is to allow participation only to clubs whose first teams have qualified for the last 32 in UEFA's Champions League. Such a move would seem to exclude teams who have shone in the NextGen, such as Sporting Lisbon and of course the Villa.

As it seems fairly unlikely that the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona would enter teams in two European tournaments, the NextGen series would face the danger of losing some of it's biggest names and hence it's appeal as it seeks to grow.

Meanwhile, many would call into question the validity of UEFA's new youth tournament if criteria for entry is to be based solely on first team performance rather than on the standards and achievements of the competing academies. Just 10 of the 24 sides in this year's Next Gen had first teams in this season's Champions League

Villa qualified for the quarter finals of this year's tournament on Tuesday, coming through a tricky away tie at Ajax while Mikey Drennan has been the tournament's goal machine, netting six goals.

Villa's Next Gen Heroes march on in Europe

Goals from tournament top-scorer Mikey Drennan and Brad Lewis allowed Villa's young lions to wipe the floor with Ajax and power on through to the quarter finals of the NextGen tournament.

The Dutch side took the initiative early in the first half through Djavan Anderson, but goals from Michael Drennan and Bradley Lewis secured victory.

The visitors made the better start to proceedings, but it was Ajax who edged ahead within 15 minutes as Lesley de Sa pulled the ball back for Anderson to slot the ball home.

It was an advantage that lasted just over 20 minutes as Drennan levelled the tie with his sixth goal of the competition just minutes after seeing a curling effort travel just wide of the post.

Ajax held out until the break, but Villa pressure paid off midway through the second half as Lewis netted to put Villa within touching distance of the last eight.

The Ajax boys were unable to find an equaliser and Villa held firm to become the first team to reach the quarters.

NextGen: Ajax v Aston Villa as it was tweeted...

Jordan Graham out for the season

In a blow to Villa's Under 21 and Next Gen ambitions, promising wide man Jordan Graham has revealed on Twitter that he is OUT for the rest of the season. The news comes just a day after he featured in the latter stages of the Under 21s 4-0 triumph away at Sunderland.

It seems he's been diagnosed with severe tendinopathy.

On the train to London to see the knee specialist! Hopefully all goes well ✌ #ChilledDay

— Jordan Graham (@jordandakid) February 12, 2013

Wow. Im out till the end of the season. Im actually so gutted right now.

— Jordan Graham (@jordandakid) February 12, 2013

Thank you everyone for all your messages, I read them all, it means everything! Gotta keep strong and I'll come back better! Trust me

— Jordan Graham (@jordandakid) February 12, 2013

You know who's there for you when your at your lowest. Thank you everyone for your messages today. Have a lovely evening ❤

— Jordan Graham (@jordandakid) February 12, 2013

Away trip to Ajax in the Next Gen

Aston Villa have been drawn away at Ajax in the last 16 of the Next Gen Series.

The Under 19s tournament has now reached the knockout stage and game will be played over a single leg.

All the English teams have been drawn away with Chelsea facing a tricky trip to Barcelona, Spurs go to Paris St Germain, Arsenal face Inter Milan and Liverpool take on Sporting Lisbon.

Dates and times are still to be arranged but some ties will be live on Eurosport, while the Villa-Ajax clash is highly likely to be live on the Ajax website.

NextGen Series last 16 draw

Paris St Germain v Tottenham Hotspur
CSKA Moscow v PSV Eindhoven
Sporting CP v Liverpool
Barcelona v Chelsea
Internazionale v Arsenal
Olympiacos v RSC Anderlecht
Juventus v Rosenborg BK
Ajax v Aston Villa