PS Mr Lerner

[thehomeoftheCC]

i cant believe that houllier put out a team like that only a few days after birmingham proved that these top teams can be beat

[Billy Walker]

Let's not go down this whole Moscow road again.  We're all gutted but why bring instability to the club?  If you're reading this Mr. Chairman I'm backing your judgement with GH.  He's a very good manager, let's give him time.

I just hope the media don't jump on this and stir it up.   Let's stick together and push on.

[TonyD]

Tonight our Famous Aston Villa status was dealt a killer blow.  The FA Cup is sacred.   

Was this a manager decision or the board's.

I think we deserve answers.

[bvb]

Let's not go down this whole Moscow road again.  We're all gutted but why bring instability to the club?  If you're reading this Mr. Chairman I'm backing your judgement with GH.  He's a very good manager, let's give him time.

I just hope the media don't jump on this and stir it up.   Let's stick together and push on.

we have one of the best teams in the land lets not get hasty gh has only had the job for a short time in football and if he can bring us half the success he bought liverpool we will be fine

[PeterWithesShin]

Anyone else think there's a few noses on here?

[Holtenderinthesky]

Anyone else think there's a few noses on here?

Yep, they've spent the pittance they got fom winning the Carling Cup on educating their part time scumbase how to read and type.  Not a bad effort so far but they still have a long way to go.

[Billy Walker]

Here's your answers TonyD.  GH's post match thoughts from the OS:

"I started the game with three players up front - three internationals," he said.

"Nathan Delfouneso is an England U21 international and he will probably play in the tournament in June.

"Emile Heskey went to the World Cup and is one of our leading goalscorers. He was an international until last summer.

"Gabby Agbonlahor had been called up by Fabio Capello for the game against Denmark.

"The midfield were also three internationals playing for the first team, whether it is for Bulgaria, the United States or Scotland.

"The two centre-backs were Irish internationals. The two full-backs, Herd has been called up for the next international for Australia, and Delph has been called up once for the U21s when he came back from injury.

"We have an enough quality in the squad. We have an important game also against Bolton."

Houllier insists the absent players could have done little about Yaya Toure's early strike.

The Frenchman felt the ruthlessness of Roberto Mancini's team in front of goal was the deciding factor in the cup clash.

"I don't think they would have done anything to avoid the first goal," he said. "It wouldn't have changed anything. We conceded a very cheap goal very quickly.

"After that, for 50 minutes the team were a bit shaky - maybe thinking about what happened last December here.

"But apart from the goals I didn't see Brad Friedel have much work to do.

"We were beaten by a team that is better than us at the moment and who are probably ruthless in terms of goal opportunities."

[London Villan]

You can tell by their typing skills.

[BBNCCW]

Let's not go down this whole Moscow road again.  We're all gutted but why bring instability to the club?  If you're reading this Mr. Chairman I'm backing your judgement with GH.  He's a very good manager, let's give him time.

I just hope the media don't jump on this and stir it up.   Let's stick together and push on.

we have one of the best teams in the land lets not get hasty gh has only had the job for a short time in football and if he can bring us half the success he bought liverpool we will be fine

Can he though? I'm not so sure he has any idea what's actually important to the fans. Under MON yes things could be frustrating but we very rarely saw a roll over like that or performances like we've seen this season with no one giving a rats ass. It sickens me that our club is now resting it's best players for Bolton in the league. I honestly think we could have beaten them tonight off the back of a dodgy result at Fulham. Hart may as well have sat jacking off for the whole game, he didn't have much better to do.

[TonyD]

Here's your answers TonyD.  GH's post match thought from the OS:

"I started the game with three players up front - three internationals," he said.

"Nathan Delfouneso is an England U21 international and he will probably play in the tournament in June.

"Emile Heskey went to the World Cup and is one of our leading goalscorers. He was an international until last summer.

"Gabby Agbonlahor had been called up by Fabio Capello for the game against Denmark.

"The midfield were also three internationals playing for the first team, whether it is for Bulgaria, the United States or Scotland.

"The two centre-backs were Irish internationals. The two full-backs, Herd has been called up for the next international for Australia, and Delph has been called up once for the U21s when he came back from injury.

"We have an enough quality in the squad. We have an important game also against Bolton."

Houllier insists the absent players could have done little about Yaya Toure's early strike.

The Frenchman felt the ruthlessness of Roberto Mancini's team in front of goal was the deciding factor in the cup clash.

"I don't think they would have done anything to avoid the first goal," he said. "It wouldn't have changed anything. We conceded a very cheap goal very quickly.

"After that, for 50 minutes the team were a bit shaky - maybe thinking about what happened last December here.

"But apart from the goals I didn't see Brad Friedel have much work to do.

"We were beaten by a team that is better than us at the moment and who are probably ruthless in terms of goal opportunities."

Sorry Billy but no matter how much you try to justify the team tonight it was totally wrong and a disgrace.

[BBNCCW]

Anyone else think there's a few noses on here?

Doubt it, they're probably all still wetting themselves about Sunday. Pains me to say it but I envy them a bit. And the worst thing of all is that on the balance of things we can't even say they got lucky 

[DeKuip]

Mr Lerner / General Krulak

The previous manager's decision to give up on the UEFA Cup when we were still in it was the most disgraceful management decision ever taken at our football club in my 40 odd years as a supporter. I cannot believe that when his successor was appointed one of his first instructions was never ever to subject Villa supporters to such a disrespectful act again.

Our manager's team selection tonight was a disgrace to Aston Villa and to a competition that has a history as proud as ours. The fans who went to Manchester full of expectation after Saturday deserve at the very least an official apology – although I would say a full refund would be a more appropriate gesture by the club (deducted from the manager's wages).

The word PROUD was banded about freely by our marketing people a few years ago. There's no pride in throwing in the towell.
A big wedge was driven between the club and supporters tonight, and it will take more than a win at Bolton on Saturday to repair it.

John Gregory "lost" a lot of fans by his negative tactics at the 2000 cup final, Martin O'Neill "lost" the support of a many fans after Moscow, and Gerard Houllier has possibly scored his own goal tonight.

I wouldn't blame any player with a hunger for winning things in the game wanting to leave Villa after tonight. Good luck to Gareth Barry and James Milner for the rest of the competition, good luck to Ashley Young wherever he goes next season.

[TonyD]

Here's your answers TonyD.  GH's post match thought from the OS:

"I started the game with three players up front - three internationals," he said.

"Nathan Delfouneso is an England U21 international and he will probably play in the tournament in June.

"Emile Heskey went to the World Cup and is one of our leading goalscorers. He was an international until last summer.

"Gabby Agbonlahor had been called up by Fabio Capello for the game against Denmark.

"The midfield were also three internationals playing for the first team, whether it is for Bulgaria, the United States or Scotland.

"The two centre-backs were Irish internationals. The two full-backs, Herd has been called up for the next international for Australia, and Delph has been called up once for the U21s when he came back from injury.

"We have an enough quality in the squad. We have an important game also against Bolton."

Houllier insists the absent players could have done little about Yaya Toure's early strike.

The Frenchman felt the ruthlessness of Roberto Mancini's team in front of goal was the deciding factor in the cup clash.

"I don't think they would have done anything to avoid the first goal," he said. "It wouldn't have changed anything. We conceded a very cheap goal very quickly.

"After that, for 50 minutes the team were a bit shaky - maybe thinking about what happened last December here.

"But apart from the goals I didn't see Brad Friedel have much work to do.

"We were beaten by a team that is better than us at the moment and who are probably ruthless in terms of goal opportunities."

Sorry Billy but no matter how much you try to justify the team tonight it was totally wrong and a disgrace.

Sorry Billy again  - that was GH excuses.     Bottle of red finished and off to bed.    Still cannot get my head around tonight's farce.

[Linus]

If anything was going to convince me that what I wrote in the latest H&V was right, tonight was it. We acted like a c*nt's club tonight, surrendering our place in the 6th round of the FA Cup. The odd thing is that we might as well have done it in the 3rd round. Thanks, Mr Houllier, you've made me ashamed to be a Villa fan this morning.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

The cups just arent considered important financially compared with the holy grail of being in the premier league....not by the managers, not by the directors/owners, not by Sky and the worldwide TV audiences who are now the paymasters.

But what about the fans ? I mean the ones who go every week and pay their money at the turnstile.

How many fans celebrated on the pitch when we finished 6th in 2007/08 ? Approximately zero.
How many fans celebrated on the pitch when we finished 6th in 2008/09 ? Approximately zero.
How many fans celebrated on the pitch when we finished 6th in 2009/10 ? Approximately zero.

And when we got to a cup final ?


Perhaps one day all of football will go bust and start again, Sky and the rest of the world goes away and the real fans can become the paymasters again.

Thats the real reason so many of us are so angry about what happened in Manchester last night.