End of Season Report

[not3bad]

Hmmmmm did you mention the shameful antics of GH at Eastlands?

or his Anfield Love in?

Certainly no end of season report would be complete without mentioning these.

[Tony Boucher]

I think it's quite telling that in this poor/transitional season, our home record is only one point worse than last season.

[Greg N'Ash]

aye. couldn't care less what his feelings are towards liverpool. Like a new manager is going to be in love with aston villa or whether that makes any difference to his ability to manage.

[UsualSuspect]

I think RL needs to make a decision this week regarding does he keep GH or does he retire him.

[UsualSuspect]

aye. couldn't care less what his feelings are towards liverpool. Like a new manager is going to be in love with aston villa or whether that makes any difference to his ability to manage.

So him waving to Liverpool fans and ignoring the Villa fans is okay??

[Greg N'Ash]

aye. couldn't care less what his feelings are towards liverpool. Like a new manager is going to be in love with aston villa or whether that makes any difference to his ability to manage.

So him waving to Liverpool fans and ignoring the Villa fans is okay??

I don't care personally. He has some fond memories of his time at liverpool and responded. Some villa fans are too precious imo

[OzVilla]

The OP makes some interesting points andf I can see some merit in what GH has achieved, training regimes better, a good signing, Bent in particular, some look promising Makoun and Walker if we can keep him, and some dross, Bradley, Pires.

Having said all that, the PR disasters, health issues that won't go away and lack of adaptability mean we can and should do better.

The Villa need a real top class Manager for the long term.  GH ticks neither of these boxes imo.

[Concrete John]

I think it's quite telling that in this poor/transitional season, our home record is only one point worse than last season.

That points more to our major flaw under the previous manager than it says anything positive about the new regime.  In the 2010/2011 'home league' we're actually 11th.

[Villa'Zawg]

Good post, even though i disagree with most of your conclusions

Some things to bear in mind.


We made a top 6 type start to the season (10 pts from 6 games) and we made a top 6 type finish to the season (11 points from 6 games). That's the same level of form this squad achieved for 3 seasons and demonstrates what they are capable of. It was the 2/3s in the middle of the season that was the problem.

You use the point that we dropped so many points from a winning position as a positive in support of Houllier, I think it is a major negative. He was competing against other managers and teams who were able to adjust their tactics during the game and we didn't cope well enough. I've read that Blackburn would have qualified for the CL if games only lasted 45 minutes.

And God bless Darren Bent, he is a great striker but John Carew scored more goals during the same period last season when we were battling in 3 competitions. He could and should have been handled much better than he was.

[pauliewalnuts]

There are a few positive things to take from this season. There are quite a few negative things, too.

The worrying thing is that a large number of the negative things were entirely avoidable.

[TheTimVilla]

And God bless Darren Bent, he is a great striker but John Carew scored more goals during the same period last season when we were battling in 3 competitions. He could and should have been handled much better than he was.

Are you including Carew's 5 FA Cup goals against Reading and Palace, of which 3 were penalties?

[Tony Boucher]

I think it's quite telling that in this poor/transitional season, our home record is only one point worse than last season.

That points more to our major flaw under the previous manager than it says anything positive about the new regime.  In the 2010/2011 'home league' we're actually 11th.

Absolutely - that's pretty much what I was getting at.

[UsualSuspect]

Carew for much of last season and this season whilst he was with us was a disgrace namely his "I really can't be arsed and will go for a silly backheel to try and score instead of blasting it in the top corner"

Anyway see who he signs for in the Summer that will tell you enough

[pauliewalnuts]

Carew for much of last season and this season whilst he was with us was a disgrace namely his "I really can't be arsed and will go for a silly backheel to try and score instead of blasting it in the top corner"

Anyway see who he signs for in the Summer that will tell you enough

Agreed

I used to be a big fan of Carew, but his uninterested slouching was totally not on - regardless of how the manager got on with him.

[sfx412]

A remarkable final position in a season of turmoil, not seen at VP for some years. For me the season was and is haunted by the ghost of Mon, and the subsequent illness to the new manager, Houllier.

Both incidents still hang over the club even now, as does the disgraceful antics of the clubs fans in the early Houllier days, antics that have demeaned our great club, world wide and played right into the hands of the Mon loving pundits, who have little time for Villa even when we do well.

There have been positives. Randy did spend and how. Its been some time since we have had a striker who just scores goals, even if he was a 'panic buy,' 'was overpriced', and so on.
Bent is just fantastic.
Some supposed heroes, fell to the wayside, some new talent was uncovered, some old talent rediscovered, and through the long list of injuries, we lost games we should have won, I got sick of hearing how we were the worst team for losing games from winning positions, but finally we pulled through to finish 9th. Not bad for a manager who joined us late and then spent the latter part of the season wired up to machines in hospital.
9 th was an admirable, nay remarkable achievement in the end and from out of it special thanks from me to Stewart Downing, I hope he stays, to Bent, his goals saved us, his goal at Arsenal special, to Walker, who gave us that missing something at fullback we haven't had in years, I hope he stays, to Luke Young who unspectacularly got on with it wherever he played, to Reo Coker who still can't convince manager and fans how good he is for the team, I hope he stays too, to Brad Friedel, who will be sorely missed when he goes, at times his saves were enough for victory against defeat, and lastly to Ciaran Clarke, who whilst other youngsters have won the headlines remains the one guaranteed youngster of class.

There now remains a huge amount needing sorting, from the removal of the unplayable dross ( where and what is Ireland doing by the way), the sorting of those out of contract, to the decision on who will be the manager next season.
It need sorting and quick, but from a point of total despair on my Birthday on the 28th December 5 defeats in 19 games was a decent return.
Well done in the end, but certainly, we can do much, much better, next season, club management, players and especially some fans.