Senior Leadership
Danny Wright
Danny has worked for Breaking Media since 2017, managing a team of writers across numerous sites and playing a key role in the development of Villa News.
Mark Smith
Mark has worked for Breaking Media for four years after graduating from Leeds Trinity University.
Pete Hanson
Pete joined the team in 2023 and has 13 years of experience in sports journalism after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University.
Daniel Lewis
Daniel is a journalism graduate from the University of South Wales who has 10 years of experience in the sports side of the industry, which includes covering major events such as World Cups and the Champions League final for Stats Perform and Sports Mole. While he has an interest in rugby union, snooker and darts – yes, darts – football is top of the list in terms of favourite sport.
Villa News Experts
Dan Plumley
A senior lecturer and researcher at Sheffield Hallam University, Doctor Dan started giving his financial expertise about Aston Villa in August 2022. Since then, he has demystified football finance and governance for our readers. Never more at home than when pouring over a spreadsheet, he crunches the number so you don’t have to.
Dr Rajpal Brar
Rajpal Brar is a doctor of Physical Therapy. He is a Strength and Conditioning specialist along with being a Movement and Mechanics coach. The Los Angeles native is a Sports Scientist and Mindfulness coach who has experience in playing and coaching multiple sports including football, basketball and running.
Villa News Speaking to Ian Darke
There's not much Ian Darke hasn't seen in football. The former Sky Sports and BT Sport commentator has one of the most recognisable voices in the English game. Nowadays he commentates on matches for Fox, ABC and ESPN in the USA and we're delighted to get his expert reaction to all the latest news.
Keith Hackett
We are delighted to welcome Keith Hackett, one of the top 100 referees of all time, as our new columnist. Keith's refereeing career spanned over 19 years as he officiated in the Football League and Premier League and was FIFA listed for 10 years. From FA Cup finals to the European Championships and the from the PGMOL to writing books, it's harder to find anyone who knows more about refereeing than Keith.
Villa News Speaking to Martin Allen
Martin Allen made over 200 appearances for West Ham between 1989 and 1995. After hanging up his boots after spells at QPR, West Ham, Portsmouth and Southend, Allen entered management with the likes of Barnet, Brentford, MK Dons, Leicester and Notts County. We're now delighted to have Martin as our new expert.
Villa News Speaking to Bryan King
Bryan King has two periods as a scout at Aston Villa, amounting to 11 years. The former Millwall goalkeeper has also spent lengthy spells of his post-playing career at Everton and Tottenham, where he was instrumental in the signing of Luka Modric. He's now sharing his expertise on the transfer market - as well as other talking points - for Villa News.
Senior Contributors
Max Wilkins
Max graduated with a degree in Football Journalism from the University of Derby in 2023. After previously writing for VAVEL, Lichfield City and GRV Media, he started work at Breaking Media in 2024. He is a Villa fan and has had a season ticket for over ten years so has seen plenty of highs and lows. The best memory Max has is the Championship Play Off final against Derby County in 2019.
Contributors
Declan Carr
Declan is a sports reporter from Liverpool that covers multiple clubs. He graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a Masters degree in Sports Journalism in 2022. He has written for outlets such as the Liverpool Echo, Sports Mole and VAVEL. He has extensive experience covering press conferences and attending European matches as a member of the media.
Aheed Abrar
Aheed is a football fan from Kashmir. After completing his Master's in Sports Journalism from Sheffield Hallam University in 2024, he joined the Breaking Media team.
Alex Charlton
Alex is a lifelong Sunderland supporter who's been reporting on Mackem News since April 2025. Indeed, he started working for Breaking Media in April and has since graduated from St Mary's University as a NCTJ Gold Standard-accredited journalist, having completed his Master's degree in Sports Journalism. Alex previously worked for Football League World and has featured on the Roker Report, providing his opinion on all things Sunderland. While getting to the games is tricky, given his job, one of the highlights of his life was watching (and crying) as the Black Cats defeated Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium last season.
Andrew Beharie
Andrew graduated with a degree in Sports Journalism from the University of Sunderland in 2024 and gained his NCTJ Diploma in Journalism in the same year. He has previously covered Blyth Spartans AFC and South Shields FC for the Non-League Paper and worked as head of media at Seaham Red Star FC and Willington Quay Saints FC. Andrew completed the Breaking Media Academy programme before joining Breaking Media permanently in July 2025.
Evan Lloyd
Evan Lloyd has featured for several websites, including VAVEL, Hayters TV, SPORTbible and Centredevils. He joined Breaking Media in July 2025 after attaining his NCTJ qualification.
Evan Shaw
Evan began working for Breaking Media in June 2025, when he took on a role writing across their club sites. He graduated with a degree in Football Journalism from Derby University in the same year, having previously combined his studies with work for Football League World, and an internship with Burton Albion Football Club.
Henry Green
Henry is a Football Writer for Villa News. He finished studying Journalism at Nottingham Trent University in May, where he gained experience working for local news outlets, such as Notts TV and Nottinghamshire Live, as well as being sports editor for the student magazine. He started writing for Breaking Media in 2025.
Isaac Sanchez
Isaac graduated in 2025 from the University of Chester with a Bachelors in Sports Journalism. He has worked alongside Airbus Broughton UK FC and interviewed staff from the Liverpool Echo and Chester FC. He joined Breaking Media in September 2025 as a writer on the club sites.
Jack Dawson
Jack graduated from the University of Derby with Football Journalism and a Masters in Journalism in 2022. He has since held roles at Edinburgh Evening News and GRV Media working on both men's and women's football. He joined Breaking Media in April 2025.
Joe Elvin
Joe graduated with a Bachelors degree in Multi-Media Journalism from Bournemouth University in 2009. He joined Breaking Media in 2025 as a football writer to cover breaking news across the Premier League, EFL and Scottish Premiership.
Josh Edwards
Josh Edwards is a sports journalist with a keen eye for football. He currently writes for Breaking Media covering various clubs. With experience in podcasting, graphic design and writing, Josh is always involved with the sport. Having graduated with a Sports Journalism degree in July 2024, Josh joined Breaking Media in October.
Kevin Bannon
Kevin graduated with a Sports Journalism degree from Liverpool John Moores University in 2024. Having worked as a commentator for Marine, he is now the commentator for non-league side AFC Fylde. He has covered European and International football for Vavel.com and is part of the Counter Sport Podcast and YouTube channel.
Kyrenia Shipillis
Kyrenia will graduate with a Master's in Sports Journalism from St Mary's University, Twickenham in 2025. She spent several months working for the Non-League Paper and has written for the Sports Gazette. She has also produced written content for Connectsport.
Niall Togher
Niall has covered Aston Villa for Villa News since he joined Breaking Media in June 2025. He graduated from Leeds Beckett University in 2024 with a first class degree in Sports Journalism and has covered multiple sports such as MMA, boxing and of course, football, for other websites in the past.
Rahul Lakhani
Rahul graduated with a degree in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh in 2021. He has since worked for Planet Sport, Snack Media, GRV Media, Goalkeeper.com, Villarreal USA and more, covering football across the world. A La Liga specialist, Rahul is based between London and Valencia, and he joined Breaking Media in March 2025 for the company's club websites.
Samuel Fabre
Samuel graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sports Journalism from Bournemouth University in 2025. He has previously written for Get Football Group and Trill Magazine over the course of his studies. He joined Breaking Media in August 2025 as a writer for the company's different club sites.