We Shall Not Be Moved!

[Risso]

It's all very laudable calling for unequivocal support from the fans, but it's hard to do when fans have given up a large proportion of their disposable income to go and watch the tripe that Houllier's team has served up this season.  I can't think of a team in the land whose supporters would sing their hearts out after watching the Aston Villa team go through the motions this season.  It's a two way street, with the onus firmly on the players and management.  We pay to go and watch them, after all.

[Surrey Villain]

A pity the coaching staff and players don't feel the same as you Billy.

The French team revolted against their training regime at the World Cup last year.  They were dispirited, looked knackered and were clearly angry. Very much like Villa players yesterday.  It is surely no coincidence that the French fitness coach in South Africa is now doing the same job at Villa, literally crippling the team. 

[TimTheVillain]

Villa Park has been such a crap place this season - no atmosphere, hardly any decent football from our team and a Manager who's as devoid of motivation skills as any I've witnessed at VP.

Man City was the straw that broke the camel's back - after a decent run, he gave up on the tie.

That and the Liverpool love in, are what he will leave engraved in our memories.

Let's just hope the other teams down in 'relegation ally' have a worse end to the season than us.

UTV

[eastie]

The fans are not the problem- the management and players are the problem and they alone can get us out of this mess- we will be left to pick up the pieces not them.

[Clampy]

Man City was the straw that broke the camel's back - after a decent run, he gave up on the tie.

 

 

 

That may well be the night when the majority of the players lost respect for him. If there's no respect there, it's only going to get worse.

[brian green]

That team who rolled over yesterday would only run through a brick wall if you told them it only looks like a brick wall, it's really polystyrene with bricks painted on it.   And you get fifty grand for every brick you knock out of the wall.   Run through brick walls?  That lot?   Jim Royle had two words for such a proposition.

[Percy McCarthy]

It's all very laudable, but you're pissing in the wind. Most of the fans are already lost, and will only get behind the team if the team themselves inspire it.

[Bad English]

A pity the coaching staff and players don't feel the same as you Billy.

The French team revolted against their training regime at the World Cup last year.  They were dispirited, looked knackered and were clearly angry. Very much like Villa players yesterday.  It is surely no coincidence that the French fitness coach in South Africa is now doing the same job at Villa, literally crippling the team. 

Sigh. For the umpteenth time: les Bleus didn't revolt against their training regime. All you saw on TV was Duverne having a go at Evra because the team were refusing to train (because Anelka had been sent home after a newspaper report said he had insulted the manager in the dressing room) before a World Cup game no less. They revolted against the lunatic Domenech, yes. Against Duverne, no.

That said, he may well be crippling the team, what the fuck do I know?

[Chris Smith]

It's all very laudable calling for unequivocal support from the fans, but it's hard to do when fans have given up a large proportion of their disposable income to go and watch the tripe that Houllier's team has served up this season.  I can't think of a team in the land whose supporters would sing their hearts out after watching the Aston Villa team go through the motions this season.  It's a two way street, with the onus firmly on the players and management.  We pay to go and watch them, after all.

The problem is that confidence is such a key ingredient in sport and it was clear that yesterday that the longer the game went on the more it ebbed away. One way of helping that come back is, as Billy says, for us to play our part and offer up as much encouragement as we can muster. The managerial situation is out of our control but we can try to influence performances.

Yesterday it was flat from the start, a sure sign of a nervous crowd, and just got worse as the game went on.

[Clampy]

It's all very laudable calling for unequivocal support from the fans, but it's hard to do when fans have given up a large proportion of their disposable income to go and watch the tripe that Houllier's team has served up this season.  I can't think of a team in the land whose supporters would sing their hearts out after watching the Aston Villa team go through the motions this season.  It's a two way street, with the onus firmly on the players and management.  We pay to go and watch them, after all.

The problem is that confidence is such a key ingredient in sport and it was clear that yesterday that the longer the game went on the more it ebbed away. One way of helping that come back is, as Billy says, for us to play our part and offer up as much encouragement as we can muster. 
 

I'm sure the fans will play their part Chris they always will, but when we have a manager in charge who did'nt trust his first choice eleven to win a one off cup tie, i doubt if he has the abilty to motivate the players before they leave the dressing room, just when we now need it most.

[hawkeye]

The Citeh debacle did for him, the club were inundated with letters and e-mails about what happened that night. To come off such a good performance against BBurn and then thow the game in the way he did, followed by his piss poor statements was the last straw. Its pretty obvious that between Citeh and now he lost the players.

[picicata]

I said it post-liverpool game that Houllier was a dead man walking. Its just a shame that he has managed to walk this far.

Calling for full out support is all very well but when the management and players look like they couldn't give two shits about the situation any support is going to quickly turn to frustration.

[Billy Walker]

The fans are not the problem- the management and players are the problem and they alone can get us out of this mess- we will be left to pick up the pieces not them.

I agree Eastie that the fans are not the problem.  There are many factors that have conspired to place us in our current position.  As someone posted on a thread elsewhere, however, the fans can be part of the solution.  The players are human and they will respond to positivity.  We've got to get behind them.  I remember some of the poisonous, horrible games in '86 and I'm determined that we are not going to allow history repeat itself, here. We've got to learn from that history.  We are definitely a better side than Turner/McNeill's side, there's plenty left to play for and the negativity must be left at the door until the final ball is kicked.  I'm not saying we are too good to go down because we are in a very delicate position, squad-wise.  We have some disenchanted senior pro's and some rabbit-in-the-headlight youngsters who need pulling together and huge support - the talent is there to lift the club.

Back in '86 our youngsters were Birchy, Gallagher, Kerr and the like.  The negativity destroyed some of those young lads.  We've got a good crop of young ones now that need support.  This season has been a baptism of fire for some of our youngsters, if we can get through this together it could be the making of them and our club for seasons to come.  Let's learn from the past, pull together and lift this club up.

[TheSandman]

It's a chicken and egg type situation.

I cannot believe the fragrant disregard for the club and its fans from our players and even to an extent the management this season. They haven't in many done anything this season to deserve support but to an extent they need it. However, I personally feel we should make the ground a wall of noise for them. Cheer on the young players sing about the Villa and put all negative thoughts of the manager and players out of your mind, ignore them if you have to and get behind the club our club. Make them look and feel even worse. We give our all but yet they do not or just lack the ability to. Save the comments and negativity for here.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

We needed a loud support prior to the game, that's all we can do, the rest is then up to the players.
Instead, we got a poxy banner that helped enhance the already morgue like atmosphere.