Aston Villa 0-0 Fulham: Even visit from sprint legend Johnson can't sort out goal drought

Draw the curtain, nurse - this is going to hurt, although it won't be as painful as four goalless draws in eight home games.

If the penny hasn't dropped with Aston Villa after a splendid advertisement for hypothermia, the slot machine needs a service and they can forget about breaking into the Champions League cartel.

There is no point in Villa winning at Arsenal and forcing the European Cup holders to hang on grimly for a draw if they are going to bottle it at home against alsorans.

As Roy Hodgson's vastly improved Fulham side hammered another pair of nils into Villa's flat pack, the atmosphere in swirling fog was ghostly and the entertainment value was ghastly.

Liverpool, Portsmouth, Manchester United and Fulham have all left Spaghetti Junction with clean sheets this season, and if Villa are serious Champions League pretenders it is high time they beat somebody convincingly on their own manor.

When Brad Friedel's record 167th consecutive Premier League appearance is the only cause for celebration from a barren scuffle, Villa are not just clutching at straws-they can't even find the haystack.

Make no mistake, they should have won on Saturday, but Gareth Barry and Steve Sidwell put the 0-0 into gloomy by wasting Ashley Young's stream of crosses.

A win would have taken Villa up to third in the table but inexplicably the incentive did not galvanise them and it took Friedel's late save from Clint Dempseyto preserve even the meagre ration of a point.

Let's put a spoonful of sugar into the nasty medicine: Villa are a fine club with proud traditions, they have a jewel of a manager in Martin O'Neill, and their core of English players is a model for clubs obsessed with shopping in foreign hypermarkets.

O'Neill brought Olympic sprint legend Michael Johnson to the training ground last week to give his players expert tips on speed, agility and acceleration, but against Fulham they were running on empty.

With seven games in 26 days this month, including a UEFA Cup stroll down the Reeperbahn in Hamburg and a Boxing Day reunion with Arsenal, Villa are going to need all hands on deck. But O'Neill has revealed they must cope without battering ram John Carew "for a few weeks" because of a side strain, and the Norwegian striker will undergo a "procedure" to rectify it on Thursday.

O'Neill insisted: "We are still in there fighting and although the programme up until Christmas will test us severely, I still believe that we will come out the right side of it.

"But there's no doubt we've missed a great opportunity today and it's a couple of points dropped. I genuinely thought we would create more chances than we did, but there was some sloppy play and it became frustrating."

Fulham, compact and unashamedly happy to settle for a point, have scored only twice away from home all season, but Hodgson has at least cured them of being a soft touch on the road.

Skipper Danny Murphy believes Villa are still the likeliest bet to break United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool's standing order with the Champions League - especially if they hang on to England anchorman Barry.

Not that it's any of his business, but Murphy advised Villa to push the boat out for Barry, saying: "The one thing I know about Gareth is that he is a quality player and, if he continues to play at the level he has reached, the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool are going to be watching him.

"I don't know the financial constraints at Villa but it's up to them to offer him the type of contract he deserves - if you want the best you have to pay for it.

"He's been a fantastic servant to Villa and if they carry on the way they have been playing this season, who's to say they won't soon be in the Champions League?

"I think they are knocking on the door and they are the next-best for sure, but a lot will depend on Arsenal's form and whether Villa can keep their best players fit.

"You have to say their squad doesn't look as strong as Liverpool's or United's."

Aston Villa : Friedel 6, Cuellar 6, Laursen 7, Davies 7, Young 6, Petrov 6, Sidwell 5, Barry 6, Young 6, Milner 5, Agbonlahor 5.

Fulham : Schwarzer 6, Pantsil 5d, Hangeland 7, Hughes 7, Konchesky 6, Murphy 6, Dempsey 6d, Bullard 7, Davies 6, Johnson 5, Zamora 5 (Gera, 85).

Referee : Mike Jones
Attendance : 36, 625

You the Manager Man Of The Match (Worth an extra two Fantasy League points) Aaron Hughes (FULHAM) 7 Best of a mediocre bunch for keeping Gabby Agbonlahor quiet

Villain of the Match James Milner (VILLA) 5 A winger who didn't hit a single cross with enough pace on it

ANORAK Fulham have not won a League game at Villa Park for 35 years

NEXT THREE GAMES

ASTON VILLA
Thursday: MSK Zilnia (h) UEFA Cup
Sun Dec 7: Everton (a) Prem
Sat Dec 13: Bolton (h) Prem

FULHAM
Saturday: Man City (h) Prem
Sat Dec 13: Stoke (a) Prem
Sat Dec 20: Boro (h) Prem

VILLA'S HOME BLANKERS

Aug 31: Villa 0 Liverpool 0 Up front: Agbonlahor & Carew

Oct 18: Villa 0 Pompey 0 Up front: Agbonlahor & Carew

Nov 21: Villa 0 Man Utd 0 Up front: Young & Agbonlahor

Nov 29: Villa 0 Fulham 0 Up front: Young & Agbonlahor

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