Please Randy sack Houllier

[ROBBO]

Brian we are of the same era and your memories match my own, apart from winning the FA cup in all the years i followed Villa we were not a successful club. The biggest acheivement i remember was battling our way back out of the third division. I missed the Glory of Europe. This is precisely why we are not a big club, young kids these days want heroes and they want to be associated with success, Uniteds success bought them support and that support had children who also supported them. This is why for people of our age it is so disappointing, i had hopes that in my lifetime i would see an Aston Villa team become one of the top sides in the premiership not just for one year but for a decade and bring glory to the Midlands. For a short time we had a chance, a glimmer, but it has soon faded. I will support them forever but loyalty these days is success based.

[old man villa fan]

If Houllier was to go, the last thing you want to do is to appoint a manager with limited experience of big time football.  That would be like placing your last chip on '0' in roulette.

The pressure on any new manager would be immense.  For an inexperienced manager that hasn't handled intense media spotlight, supporters' immediate turnaround requirement etc. and then have to concentrate on reorganising a team, the gamble would be huge.

To get a manager that has qualities to take us firstly to safety and then later to top 4, you would have to go and buy a manager from another club as there are certainly none out of work at present.  6 to 12 months ago I would have said Jol, Rijkaard or even McLaren but it just shows how even in a short period of time perceptions can change.  Or is it that modern day football doesn't allow people time to change things and rebuild and accept there will be setbacks along the way.

[sheldon nose]

i would like to see dr jo or billy mcneill back.....

[WikiVilla]

Is Alan Buckley available ?

[sheldon nose]

 

Is Alan Buckley available ?

[Toronto Villa]

 

Is Alan Buckley available ?

I was actually hoping Gary Pendry or Terry Cooper still fancied a challenge

[brian green]

Thank you for that Robbo, your views are much appreciated.   Like you I missed a great deal of the glory years.   There was a brief window of opportunity to go on and stamp our authority on football at the highest level but Doug Ellis wanted to go into cruise control and maximize the benefits of the then recent past and the great team crumbled to dust.

Over the years I have followed them I would estimate five percent of the time we have been a great side twenty five percent of that time we have been moderate but good on our day and seventy percent of the time we have been rubbish.

Based on what I have seen with my own eyes, in the flesh, not on television or read about in the Daily Mirror I truly believe that the appointment of Gerard Houllier has ushered in another rubbish phase.

If I could do one thing and one thing only to try to deflect what I dread is going to happen I would like to get everybody who makes top level decisions at Villa Park and the coaching staff and the players in one room together and with a mutually respected figure to keep order - say GT for example - have it all out once and for all so that the new year can be a new start for everybody.   It ain't going to happen.   It's Gunfight At The OK Corral.   Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday versus the Clancey gang.   Last man standing gets to say we we will win promotion in our first year.

[Willie Anderson]

Thank you for that Robbo, your views are much appreciated.   Like you I missed a great deal of the glory years.   There was a brief window of opportunity to go on and stamp our authority on football at the highest level but Doug Ellis wanted to go into cruise control and maximize the benefits of the then recent past and the great team crumbled to dust.

Over the years I have followed them I would estimate five percent of the time we have been a great side twenty five percent of that time we have been moderate but good on our day and seventy percent of the time we have been rubbish.

Based on what I have seen with my own eyes, in the flesh, not on television or read about in the Daily Mirror I truly believe that the appointment of Gerard Houllier has ushered in another rubbish phase.

If I could do one thing and one thing only to try to deflect what I dread is going to happen I would like to get everybody who makes top level decisions at Villa Park and the coaching staff and the players in one room together and with a mutually respected figure to keep order - say GT for example - have it all out once and for all so that the new year can be a new start for everybody.   It ain't going to happen.   It's Gunfight At The OK Corral.   Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday versus the Clancey gang.   Last man standing gets to say we we will win promotion in our first year.

Doug's biggest crime(IMO!) was the appointment of Graham Turner who pissed off the first team squad with his winning personality then shipped out the "bad eggs" who happened to be the majority of players who had won us the League & EC. An act that took us a decade to recover from. Deja vu.

[KevinGage]

I seem to recall that last Summer there were plenty in the anti-MON brigade going on about getting shot of MON.  Apparently, they'd be loads of big name applicants just desperate to manage Aston Villa, you'll see they said, they'll be queing up.

Turned out that the best we could come up with was a hugely uninspriring shortlist of Houllier, Curbishley, Bradley etc.

This anti- MON brigade: I seem to recall two, possibly three posters at most actively wanting him out. Many more (like me) were critical of various aspects of his management but wanted him to be given at least another year to deliver.  Quite a few others believed he could practically do no wrong.

In my lifetime he was possibly one of the most popular managers we've had, more popular even than the likes of Sir Brian and BFR who delivered far more than he did.

Does  2/3 people constitute a brigade, a major movement against the bloke? I dunno. Or are we including anyone who was at any time critical of the bloke during his tenure here? In the law of absolutes I guess if you question you must be anti. If you're not with us, you're against us and so on.

On your final point, I guess if he had done such a fantastic job and left the club in such rude health it could be argued there would have been plenty of top managers willing to walk out on their clubs too on the eve of the season to land such a coveted role.  Are you saying that his time here didn't  improve the status of the club?

[Willie Anderson]

I seem to recall that last Summer there were plenty in the anti-MON brigade going on about getting shot of MON.  Apparently, they'd be loads of big name applicants just desperate to manage Aston Villa, you'll see they said, they'll be queing up.

Turned out that the best we could come up with was a hugely uninspriring shortlist of Houllier, Curbishley, Bradley etc.

This anti- MON brigade: I seem to recall two, possibly three posters at most actively wanting him out. Many more (like me) were critical of various aspects of his management but wanted him to be given at least another year to deliver.  Quite a few others believed he could practically do no wrong.

In my lifetime he was possibly one of the most popular managers we've had, more popular even than the likes of Sir Brian and BFR who delivered far more than he did.

Does  2/3 people constitute a brigade, a major movement against the bloke? I dunno. Or are we including anyone who was at any time critical of the bloke during his tenure here? In the law of absolutes I guess if you question you must be anti. If you're not with us, you're against us and so on.

On your final point, I guess if he had done such a fantastic job and left the club in such rude health it could be argued there would have been plenty of top managers willing to walk out on their clubs too on the eve of the season to land such a coveted role.  Are you saying that his time here didn't  improve the status of the club?

IIRC (& I stand to be corrected) there was a poll 60/40 in favour of MON staying I don't think it was a MON in/out POll more of a vote of confidence I'll see if I can find it & post a link.

Incidently I am quite surprised at the support for GH I've yet to speak with a Villa fan who wants him to stay & I've spoken to quite a few.

[TheSandman]

I'll do it. I'm cheap and have a successful track record at U-11 level.

Do you need a glowering, scary Scottish assistant?

[Lucky Eddie]

loyalty these days is success based.

The loyalty shown by the contributors to this site is hardly success based Robbo.

[Clampy]

 

Is Alan Buckley available ?

I was actually hoping Gary Pendry or Terry Cooper still fancied a challenge

Good point, and how old is Ricky Otto nowadays?

[ROBBO]

loyalty these days is success based.

The loyalty shown by the contributors to this site is hardly success based Robbo.

But we are the glued on support that all clubs have i am talking about mainly kids who follow a team because of their successs and reputation.

[hawkeye]

I wanted MON gone at the end of last season, I thought that he had taken us as far as he could, If he had of gone then we would have had plenty of managers to choose from.Having thought a lot about it.
I now believe that we have to stick with GH because the alternative would just be panic, the disgruntled players would have control over the management. Now if there is not a significant change in results and performance through January then Randy may have to hit the panic button.