H&V - the bits you didn't see

[Darth Villa]

Great article that. I never really bought into the MON Clough comparison and always thought that Mourinho is much more befitting of the modern day Clough mantle.

On a slight tangent, I grew up near Derby and a friend of mine worked at Clough's local Co-op. I'd often see him as I waited for my mate to clock off. He once saw me doing kick ups in the car park and asked me "Who do you want to play for young man?" to which I replied Villa, "You'd be lucky" was his response. He always said hello and would regularly buy sweets for any kids near the checkout. I once saw him pay for an old lady's shopping for no reason other than to be nice.  A top bloke.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Martin O'Neill is not in same league as Old Big Head. If Clough was in his 40s and managing Villa today we will win 2 more titles and possibly champions league. Clough always like footballers to play and pass the ball properly. I am a big fan of Old Big Head but not O'Neill.

[brian green]

A good article.   My own view is that the O'Niell/Clough dimension is little more than spin.  O'Neill perceived a media structure being erected and stepped inside it.   Martin O'Neill has never made it at the highest level and now probably never will.   Dave summed it up for me when we chatted before the West Ham game and said he felt O'Neill is a top six manager but not a top four manager.

[cheltenhamlion]

He has made a career out of not doing difficult high profile jobs was how someone else described him.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

A good article.   My own view is that the O'Niell/Clough dimension is little more than spin.  O'Neill perceived a media structure being erected and stepped inside it.   Martin O'Neill has never made it at the highest level and now probably never will.   Dave summed it up for me when we chatted before the West Ham game and said he felt O'Neill is a top six manager but not a top four manager.

I agree Brian that at best he is a top 6 manager (if you let him cultivate an outlandish wage bill) So why did so many people treat him like the second coming?

[Percy McCarthy]

A good article.   My own view is that the O'Niell/Clough dimension is little more than spin.  O'Neill perceived a media structure being erected and stepped inside it.   Martin O'Neill has never made it at the highest level and now probably never will.   Dave summed it up for me when we chatted before the West Ham game and said he felt O'Neill is a top six manager but not a top four manager.

I agree Brian that at best he is a top 6 manager (if you let him cultivate an outlandish wage bill) So why did so many people treat him like the second coming?

I really don't think that's true Mark. Personally, I just think he's a good manager, but seem to have said so hundreds of times in arguments with people who disagreed. This in turn led to the kind of accusation you have made above, unfairly IMO. I could have responded by saying 'you think he's the anti-Christ', but mostly just accepted that your opinion is that he's not a good manager, and argued against that.

[Risso]

Maybe not so much on here Perce, but other sites were full of comments like "he's the best manager we could hope to attract" and "if he leaves we're fucked".  Both absolute nonsense of course.

[DrGonzo]

Thanks for the praise, but Si and Stuart Griffin also helped to get everything sorted so thanks to them as well.

   

[eamonn]

Yeah, I can see why that bit was left out of the fanzine.

[dave.woodhall]

And another piece we had to omit:

Has the Honeymoon ended for O’Neill?

Martin O’Neill’s fifth season at Villa Park sees him dealing with a new situation. Inside the club the money flow is being squeezed, with clear suggestions he has to cut the wages bill. And from outside, the new 25 man limit on Premiership squads and attempts to curb club debt mean gambling on players is over. The immediate question is who Martin will have for his 25 man squad by 1st September.

As of 7th August, the key question of whether Milner will stay or go is unresolved. If he goes, Martin has more cash for transfers, but whatever happens, Villa face an uphill battle in a world where Manchester City aim for two seasoned internationals in every position, while Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal – plus maybe Spurs and Liverpool – can match them. How will Villa cope?

There’s no doubt money is tight. The BBC reported on 7th April that Lerner had removed our chief financial officer, Mike Keenan, and later appointed  Paul Faulkner as Chief Executive Officer – a post vacant for a couple of years. This took place as Villa announced a loss of £30.1 million to May 2009 on turnover of £84.2 million, mostly due to a wages bill of £70.6 million. While most Villa fans are not interested in what happens off the pitch, these moves will have a big impact on what players we have.

The Daily Telegraph reported on 6th March that Villa would be banned from Europe under the new UEFA Financial Fair Play rules if we didn’t balance the books. Perhaps Randy is running out of money. But even if he isn’t, Villa cannot run a loss of this size and play in Europe. The obvious implication is that we must cut the wages bill. It’s not surprising that six high earners have been told they can leave. But in fact Villa cannot get big money for current players unless they sell the crown jewels – notably James Milner.

Who will the Villa have this season?

We looked short of players last season even without transfers out; most of games were played by a pool of 12 key men. We have only one keeper who has played in the Premier League, just three conventional forwards and if Beye, Luke Young and Shorey go, have only Cuellar and Warnock as full backs.  Cuellar is not a regular full back, and Beye might come back into favour. In central defence, if Curtis Davies goes – and would we get anywhere near the £9 million we paid for him? – cover might have to come from Ciran Clark, and whether he gets a squad number will be interesting.

Midfield will be light if Sidwell leaves, with Delph out until December. Martin may have no choice but to name the youngster and hope he recovers from injury quickly. He also has little choice but to name all three goalkeepers, though only Friedel has Premier League experience. In the forward line, while few will regret the release of Marlon Harewood, this leaves three natural forwards of whom Heskey rarely scores. We need one more, so perhaps Robbie Keane will finally arrive.

Young players will have to be named and given a chance, if only from the bench. Albrighton and Delfouneso had squad numbers last season without starting any league games. Reo Coker may have to stay, possibly not happy. Will Osbourne and Guzan get games? Can any of the fringe youngsters get into the squad? Lichaj and Bannan are highly spoke of. Martin may have to name players who have never played in the Premier League in his 25.

Lerner put up an estimated £82.5 million to boost the squad but cash flow didn’t improve, partly because we didn’t perform in Europe and never got into the money-spinning Champions League. This season we will have to cut the deficit. How this squares up with having 25 players fixed until Christmas at least will test Martin O’Neill’s skills to the limit.

Trevor Fisher.

[curiousorange]

It's a shame that second article had to be nixed as well - the questions still remain and is the answer any clearer following the West Ham game? There's a lot more optimism now, for sure, but with Milner's future up in the air, the Ireland transfer turning into a bit of a saga and Robbie Keane dropping off the radar, we're all still in limbo a bit.

[cheltenhamlion]

Thanks for the praise, but Si and Stuart Griffin also helped to get everything sorted so thanks to them as well.

   

I do look like that naked!