Surprised to see no real talk about his situation here. About 2 weeks ago he had a training ground bust up with Houllier and other coaches, was stripped of his captaincy and was told he had no future at villa.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news...cle650269.html
And sure enough he didn't even make the squad today, along with Ireland.
Rumours linking him with Tottenham and Everton at the moment, definitely appears probable he's on the move. There's also whispers about him having personal problems leading to the tension on the training ground as well as him putting on weight recently.