Gérard Houllier takes Aston Villa to Manchester City in the FA Cup on Wednesday night admitting that his last visit to Eastlands represented his lowest point since he took up managing 38 years ago. Villa suffered a thumping 4-0 defeat against Roberto Mancini's side in December that left them one point above the relegation zone and prompted Houllier to comment that he had "never had a team that has given up so easily".Villa have recovered since that chastening result, winning five of their next 11 matches, including a 1-0 victory over City at home in January, to pull clear of the bottom three and reach the FA Cup fifth round. "I knew I could turn things around, because I had the faith of the chairman [Randy Lerner] and the CEO [Paul Faulkner]," the Villa manager said. "It was just that I was too soft in trusting players too long, that is probably what happened."Asked specifically about the 4-0 defeat at City, Houllier said: "The low point of my career. I never in my life, never, had a team that has given up so quickly. I told you several times, we hit rock bottom there. We sprung up after that. We lost twice: Sunderland, when we were down to 10 men, and Manchester United away, but [Old Trafford] was a good game."Houllier sees genuine signs that things are coming together. "We have improved physically and mentally. We have improved as a team. The squad lives together better. They realise it is not just 11 players and the rest. We have quality everywhere. We also improved the ball retention. The [4-1] win against Blackburn [on Saturday], the skill – don't get me wrong, we haven't reached it yet, but that sort of game has to be repeated on a consistent basis."The £18m club-record signing of Darren Bent in January has helped Houllier's cause although it remains to be seen how many similar acquisitions will be made in the years to come. Villa's latest financial results revealed the club made a £37.5m loss last year and that wages had increased to £79.9m, which represents an unhealthy 88% of turnover. "We have to be careful like any other business that we don't slip into a crisis. You can feel it," Houllier said.Lerner's continued financial commitment should prevent that from happening but there is also likely to be a change in strategy and a greater emphasis on bringing through home-grown talent in the future. "We are lucky because we have a good crop of players coming through behind these," Houllier said. "You have to find a balance between youth and experience. You need experience and talent and the chairman and chief executive know that."
He is getting the hang of being one of us and its good to hear.
Quote from: cheltenhamlion on March 02, 2011, 08:56:37 AMHe is getting the hang of being one of us and its good to hear.I've always said there's something different about us as a club. How many former players and managers, with no previous connections to the club, go on to become unashamed fans of us (especially on the pundit circuit)? I know many clubs have this, but none to quite the same extent as the Villa.
I like what I'm hearing and it's now making me wonder whether his comments about the game being lost once 2-0 down at Liverpool (which boiled my piss at the time) were a reflection on him or if he knew the team had no heart.
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Topic: Houllier - 'Never had a team that gave up so easily' (Read 11201 times)
