Doug Says "Liverpool Should Have Taken a Lesson From Villa"

[Eigentor]

Ellis stands accused of mediocrity. Even in the price he got for the club, he was mediocre. That is not to say that what he did did not bring some benefits - lack of indebtedness, a reasonable new owner, etc.

In short, the advantage of being mediocre is not being shit.

Doug was probably more harshly viewed by (some) Villa supporters than he deserved, but popularity isn't only about what you do but also about how you act.

[cdward]

The big difference is hindsight. It will never prove O'Leary as anything other than a self-obsessed incompetent. However, looking back at it, a fair chunk of what Doug did from the mid-nineties onwards proved correct.

Just out of interest Dave, what kind of things do you have in mind when you say he did a lot that proved correct?
 

Questioning the price of a cup of coffee in Birmingham Airport?

[Jimbo]

The big difference is hindsight. It will never prove O'Leary as anything other than a self-obsessed incompetent. However, looking back at it, a fair chunk of what Doug did from the mid-nineties onwards proved correct.

Just out of interest Dave, what kind of things do you have in mind when you say he did a lot that proved correct?
 

Questioning the price of a cup of coffee in Birmingham Airport?

Well, there was a recession five or six years around the corner. Now that's foresight.

I think it's important to remember, using hindsight, that while Doug probably wasn't Satan himself, and a doer of nothing but evil and terrible deeds, neither - and I understand how unpopular this view might be with many - was Dolly. He bought Martin Laursen, Freddie Bouma, finished 6th... etc. That doesn't mean he wasn't an unctuous turd, especially towards the end, but still.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

For me, the simple rule of Doug is he did a very good job first time around but should never have returned.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

The big difference is hindsight. It will never prove O'Leary as anything other than a self-obsessed incompetent. However, looking back at it, a fair chunk of what Doug did from the mid-nineties onwards proved correct.

Just out of interest Dave, what kind of things do you have in mind when you say he did a lot that proved correct?
 

Questioning the price of a cup of coffee in Birmingham Airport?

Well, there was a recession five or six years around the corner. Now that's foresight.

I think it's important to remember, using hindsight, that while Doug probably wasn't Satan himself, and a doer of nothing but evil and terrible deeds, neither - and I understand how unpopular this view might be with many - was Dolly. He bought Martin Laursen, Freddie Bouma, finished 6th... etc. That doesn't mean he wasn't an unctuous turd, especially towards the end, but still.

Herbert got manically tight towards the end because just before O'Leary's last season, he bought (I think) 6 players in at a cost of £15m, which was a lot for us, the end result of that was near relegation, during that season I reckon Herbert thought
'I've spent all that money and we're doing cack, when I spent next to nothing we finished 6th.'

[5ft811st2 Durham]

You can either remain bitter and frothing at the mouth with every mention of his name or you can smile at the sight of Doug heading towards his tenth decade as egotistical and publicity-hungry as ever.   

Or maybe you can view Doug's often factually inaccurate and self serving pronouncements with the level of cynical scepticism that they deserve.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

You can either remain bitter and frothing at the mouth with every mention of his name or you can smile at the sight of Doug heading towards his tenth decade as egotistical and publicity-hungry as ever.   

Or maybe you can view Doug's often factually inaccurate and self serving pronouncements with the level of cynical scepticism that they deserve.

Which is exactly what Dave is advocating.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

I've had enough of this '8 Ace' malarkey, change it to something more relevant like 'Hung like a draught excluder' Fletcher.

Go on.

[TheSandman]

I'm glad he's not in charge any more, but I really can't be bothered disliking him.  Now he's just an elderly, slightly embarrassing gent who cares about the Villa.  Plus that time he shook Abramovitch's hand with a look of pure delight on his face as we beat Chelsea made me smile.

I agree.

There is something strangely endearing about the old sod at 86 still being the same old Doug.