Please Randy sack Houllier

[brian green]

I shall attempt to return to this thread in April to find some comfort in the sound of so many voices raised in singing along with the string quartet on the deck of the Titanic as they  play Nearer My God To Thee with the North Atlantic lapping around their ankles.

The pain of the shambles a Eastlands has subsided and the denial is setting in again.

Football today is driven wholly by money.   We can get anybody we want if we are prepared to pay the price.   If you want David Moyes you write a big enough number on a piece of paper and he is yours.   Likewise Wenger, Ferguson Snr and Redknapp (especially Redknapp).

All the names you list Mac are cheap options.

I think this thread should be re-titled Aren't We Lucky To Have Houllier and the answer to that question is no, quite the reverse.   The spraying about of the names of rubbish managers as though those of us who oppose Houllier and are deeply critical of his performance since he joined us want Allardyce or Curbishley is totally disingenuous.

We will not get a top drawer manager or even a manager with the potential to become a top drawer manager because Martin O'Neill wasted so much money and the owner has said enough is enough.   This is not to agree with Oliver Holt that it is all Randy Lerner's fault, it is not, it is the profligacy which went into achieving those three 6th places.

On another thread I said that I have seen Villa relegated many times and the older you get the more you realize that history repeats itself.   What has happened in the past when disaster loomed the fans would be appeased by the signing of a big name goal scorer with his best years behind him.   So we got Frankie Broome, Trevor Ford, Jackie Sewell and Dave Walsh.   January will see the departure of Ireland, Beye, Carew and Dunne (sold or loaned) and the lollipop tossed to the fans will be Robbie Keane

[OzVilla]

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.

Much as I thought the GH appointment was a shocker ,which is unfortunatley being proven with every game lost and idiotic comment made, I can't see that the list of possible replacements would be much better now. 

Having said that, defeats against Sunderland and Blose and I reckon RAL won't have much of a choice.

[freakypete]

where do we go from here???its so depressing.......relegations a certainty,

[Simba]

I am with Brian Green having seen us relegated a few times. The current situation smells of relegation on all counts and it is almost as though the team is going through the motions. As a "work to rule" against Houllier by some? We can't know.

Motivation, morale, team spirit, will to win -call it what you like. We have lost it.

That is a management issue. Mc Callister? Houllier?

We can work on our tactics, defensive problems and anything else but without the 'fight' necessary in this league we will fail.

Wolves, Wigan, West Ham, Blues and the rest down with us still have that fighting spirit. We do not.

Chelsea will beat us unless there is a miraculous event, and possibly very badly. I mean humiliatingly.

If we lose to Sunderland then there is no debate: Houllier will have to go irrespective of his short tenure , injuries or any other excuse. The mental state of the team is his problem. It's management.

[TimTheVillain]

where do we go from here???its so depressing.......relegations a certainty,

It's a certainty with the current team - on and off the pitch.

Give him 3 more games and maybe keep him for his contacts on another deal - Head of Scouting, France.

Replace him with someone who can motivate and get the players wanting to play for him.....we should have the talent to stay up on that basis alone.

Alex Ferguson's son may not be a bad option, believe it or not.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Bring back Tommy Docherty, just to the end of the season.

[Simba]

where do we go from here???its so depressing.......relegations a certainty,

Well, that's the issue obviously.

If we keep Houllier until the middle of the month and under a performance threat such as West Ham have imposed it will mean we have lost the Window.

Give the dreaded Chairman's vote of confidence and if it continues to slide we may also be too late to replace him or turn it around.

Promise him the season and funds and we will be stuck with HIS players if we go down. Probably not the type of player suited to the Championship which is a lot about blood and thunder not ticky tacky.

Sorry but I would be holding crisis meetings with players and Houllier. Not take any threats from the overpaid, overweight tarts. Discover the malcontents and sell them on. Now. However, if the issues from the playing staff are real, widespread and mature in content. I would let Houllier go. NOW.

A compromise might be to get rid of McAllister who has a poor reputation and CV. In fact I think he is the problem.
The players, given some of the comments might react to that. It is at least decisive. Do it now.

Randy must get to the bottom of this situation if he is not already doing so.

Chris Hughton, (spelling? sorry) ex Newcastle might be a good replacement as manager with Houllier moving upstairs where his grand schemes of Barca football can be implemented by a proper 'man manager'.

[N'ZMAV]

Alex Ferguson's son may not be a bad option, believe it or not.

Serious?

[Woofles The Wonder Dog]

What has happened in the past when disaster loomed the fans would be appeased by the signing of a big name goal scorer with his best years behind him.   So we got Frankie Broome, Trevor Ford, Jackie Sewell and Dave Walsh.   January will see the departure of Ireland, Beye, Carew and Dunne (sold or loaned) and the lollipop tossed to the fans will be Robbie Keane

Trevor Ford scored 60 goals for Villa in 120 appearances before we sold him to Sunderland for a British record fee. Frank Broome 78 in 136 and we were his first pro club. Jackie Sewell helped us win the Cup. If we signed Keane and he scored 1 in 2 I think I'd be quite pleased and more than appeased.

Unless I've missed dome deep with and wisdom in your post....I'm confused...

[Lee]

Or, and this has been overlooked in the rush of knees being jerked, would join a club who sack a manager after three months.

Is the correct answer. I've heard Holloway mentioned. Is he this months flavour?

[wif]

where do we go from here???its so depressing.......relegations a certainty,

I'll tell you exactly where you can go.  To Betfair where you can have £100 on Villa to be relegated at current odds of 4.4/1.

A certainty at those odds, you'd be mad not to. 

This forum could become the richest on the web, which should take the edge of the current mood of suicide-watch.

[PaulTheVillan]

Owen Coyle is da man.

[Chris Smith]

I think we're all missing the obvious. We have dozens of experts on this forum who try to show us every week what a piece of piss managing a football club is, we just hold a raffle and let one of them do the job.

[maidstonevillain]

the return of Sir Brian

....now theres a idea.

[Eigentor]

relegations a certainty,

Reading the posts on this thred you get the impression that we have been hopelessly stuck in the relegation zone for months now.