Sorry to break this to you Guys, but Aston Villa are no longer a part of England's footballing elite. Sure they've produced some decent players. Granted, their performance in the 2000 FA cup was surprisingly good. And yes, they do have a huge pool of young talent coming up through the ranks. But you really must ask where everything has gone wrong with Villa. European Champions in the 1980s, their current team has been spoiled by a mental chairman, unlucky injuries, and idiotic signings (David James, anybody?).

That said, it is a testament to the fan base that Villa have secured, that there is an Aston Villa Superpatch. What, you may ask, can be added on a Villa theme? And it's a good question, so follow me for a Villa themed trip through the superpatch...

Menus
Unsurprisingly, the ingame menus have changed to a Villa theme. The new title screen is bizarre - a view of Villa Park from the air, with a portrait of a Victorian man stuck on. One can only assume that he was the founder of Villa. Once past this oddity, a lovely Villa themed main menu awaits the user. Claret and blue is the colour scheme, and pictures of the current Villa squad can be seen . A nice touch is the spinning ball, which seems to be balanced on Gareth Southgate’s elbow. Nice touch lads!

Beyond this, however, there is very little to report. The screens for choosing a friendly, a cup match, and a season have been replaced with new Villa themed backgrounds, while all other screens are the EA originals. This inconsistency detracts from the enjoyment of the patch slightly - who wants to go from claret and blue to a dull white? The answer is that nobody does, and for this reason the menus have been marked down. I'd have to concede, though, that the menus are very, very attractive and well designed.

Pop Up Graphics and In-Game Graphics
Ste Cooper's "Sky Sports" Pop-up is included in this patch. This, of course, is top class, and really adds to the quality of the in game graphics. You want the authentic Sky Sports logo? No problem! New look stats bar? You got it! Even the thought of the penalty shoot-out indicator has got me salivating!

Yes, the pop-up graphics in this patch are almost unrivalled - only the ESPN patch comes anywhere close.

The good news continues. The in game graphics are top class as well. Unlike some fuzzy ad-boards that come bundled with patches, AVSP includes crisp, clean and colourful efforts which add to the in game atmosphere. Add to this the Mitre Premiership Ball and you have a set of quality graphics add ons.

Kits
Now we get into choppy waters. First let me say that the Villa kits in this game are top class. The Villa 99 kit is made with a whole load of loving care, and as for the classic kits... well, let's just say that they have to be seen to be believed!

And another thing - goalie kits! Yes folks, the authentic Villa goalie kit that David James so proudly pulls on every week is wonderfully recreated here. Surely a perfect mark will follow?

Sadly not - for there is one massive cloud obscuring the otherwise sunny kit situation. There are ONLY Villa kits included in this game. This seems quite surprising, given the authenticity that flows through the patch. It would have been a nice touch to have Villa vs Man United with authentic kits, but it doesn't detract too much from the patch.

Colourful, cheery and clean kits then, but the lack of variety marks this category down.

Stadiums
Prepare for a big surprise, Villa Park is included in the patch! And very nice it is too - with special adboards around the side and everything else that you would expect. Of course, Villa Park is the ONLY stadium included. Not really a surprise, but I'm not going to mark the patch down for it.

.dbi Files
Authentic team management, full squads for the 99/00 season, and four Villa classic teams are all you get in terms of new dbi files. While this doesn't sound like much, it's all you'll need if you're a Villa fan.

Scoresheet
MRA Compliancy	No problems
Menus
Pop Up Graphics and In-Game Graphics
Kits
Stadiums
.dbi Files
In Summary
Overall then, how does the AVSP compare to other patches? Let's look at the bonuses: some great Villa kits, great pop-ups, lovely ad-boards and some smart new menus. Unfortunately, non-Villa fans won't get anything out of this patch apart from: the classic teams, pop-ups and ad-boards. While the amount of effort that went into the patch is clear to see, there isn't really anything here that the non-Villa fan couldn't get by downloading Patch of The Day. A great patch, then, sadly let down by it's limited view.
Final Score	(10/10 if you're a Villa fan!)