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Author Topic: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne  (Read 19372 times)

Offline SoccerHQ

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #60 on: September 14, 2019, 11:34:08 AM »
I seem to remember rumblings about relegation setting in while Houllier was running the team.Then as soon as he had the health problems and that football managing magician Gary McAllister took over, we lost maybe 1 of our last 8, going from something like 16th in the league to 9th. Suggests to me that the quality in the squad was much better than the league position suggested when Houllier was managing them and he was indeed a waste of space and a complete and utter c***.

Were 14th and one point off the bottom 3 going into April of that season after losing at home to Wolves.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/9425547.stm

Was very little between many of the teams, think Blackpool went down with 39 points in the end. 9th was a very flattering final finishing position for us. Improbably won our final two away to Arsenal and at home to Liverpool and even then think Newcastle being 3 up yet drawing 3-3 at home to West Brom meant both teams somehow finished below us on the final day.

Offline cdbearsfan

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #61 on: September 14, 2019, 11:39:17 AM »
Look at that Wolves side. Bunch of absolute hod carriers. Losing at home to that shower should have been an instant sacking. I remember in the Bartons we were all convinced we were down after that. Little did we know we'd have another five years of suffering to endure, first.

Offline SoccerHQ

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #62 on: September 14, 2019, 11:49:39 AM »
Look at that Wolves side. Bunch of absolute hod carriers. Losing at home to that shower should have been an instant sacking. I remember in the Bartons we were all convinced we were down after that. Little did we know we'd have another five years of suffering to endure, first.

That final day was crazy, thankfully we weren't part of it but can remember barely watching half of the Liverpool game and just scanning at the live table on my phone. Wolves were 3 down to Blackburn and still staying up, they got back to 2-3 and were then in 18th. SHA got to 1-1 at Spurs and were 14th before eventually taking the plunge.

Get the feeling this season will be like that, will be very close between whoever are the bottom 8 teams this season I think.

Offline pauliewalnuts

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #63 on: September 14, 2019, 06:26:57 PM »
It's been forgotten now, but there was a performance against Sunderland in the New Year where Heskey got sent off, and when they scored their winner the whole of Villa Park sang "you're getting sacked in the morning" at him. Then we signed Bent and managed a bit of momentum. 9th was a false position - winning at Arsenal made us safe but on paper that was an horrific run-in.

I remember that.

It was a midweek game. It was - even taking into account the shitness of the following six or seven years - one of the most inept home performances I've ever seen.

Offline PeterWithesShin

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #64 on: September 14, 2019, 06:33:35 PM »
We finished 9th as over a 38 game season we were the 9th best team. Doesn't matter when the points were won. No one says, well apart from probably Stuart, that 5th last season was a false position despite us spending nearly the entire season lower than that.

Offline Damo70

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #65 on: September 14, 2019, 06:46:22 PM »
We finished 9th as over a 38 game season we were the 9th best team. Doesn't matter when the points were won. No one says, well apart from probably Stuart, that 5th last season was a false position despite us spending nearly the entire season lower than that.


I accept your point about the bottom line being where you finish, but our finishing position of 9th did not tell the story of our season. We were struggling for most of the season until the run in when we picked up points and other results went for us. I am not the only one who thought the Wolves result in particular suggested we would struggle to stay up.

Offline PeterWithesShin

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #66 on: September 14, 2019, 06:56:35 PM »
Neither did finishing 5th last season, hardly tells that we couldn't win for months.

We were often shit under Houllier, the Wolves game was truly awful, but we also had the worst run of injuries I can ever remember and we've had some spells over the years. But just like last season, players back and new signings meant we looked a lot better, why is one a false position and the other isn't? That's more my point rather than claiming we often weren't crap.

Online dave.woodhall

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #67 on: September 14, 2019, 07:14:03 PM »
That season must be the most picked-over and analysed of all time. It must also be the only season where a team's supporters will argue until they're blue in the face that they should have finished lower.

Offline danno

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #68 on: September 14, 2019, 07:42:34 PM »
This sounds pretty damning, but then Stephen Ireland is quite possibly the biggest wanker who ever played for Aston Villa.

Didn’t he get voted player of the year?

Yes, after he played well in an away win against Chelsea and for about half an hour in a defeat at home to Arsenal... It was under Mcleish so it was either a piss take or us hoping collectively that a player of the year award would coax out a few more appearances where he actually broke into a sprint.

It didn't work, so no surprise we didn't do the same for N'zogbia.
 
Ireland had plenty of chances and was shit. He can blame whoever he likes for how crap he was at Villa but I've a feeling he'll find the real culprit in his mirror.

Offline Damo70

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #69 on: September 14, 2019, 07:44:59 PM »
This sounds pretty damning, but then Stephen Ireland is quite possibly the biggest wanker who ever played for Aston Villa.

Didn’t he get voted player of the year?

Yes, after he played well in an away win against Chelsea and for about half an hour in a defeat at home to Arsenal... It was under Mcleish so it was either a piss take or us hoping collectively that a player of the year award would coax out a few more appearances where he actually broke into a sprint.

It didn't work, so no surprise we didn't do the same for N'zogbia.
 
Ireland had plenty of chances and was shit. He can blame whoever he likes for how crap he was at Villa but I've a feeling he'll find the real culprit in his mirror.


McLeish, Ireland and N'Zogbia mentioned in one post. I had done my best to forget about all three of them. Somebody take my belt and shoelaces off me before I top myself.

Online Toronto Villa

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #70 on: September 14, 2019, 08:06:05 PM »
I'll accept Houllier was a cock, and loved Liverpool, a career that literally nearly killed him. But the last person I'm believing on anything is Stephen Fucking Ireland the lazy wanker. So how about all the other places he failed at? Were all of other managers shit too? Before slamming others, especially a manager who achieved quite a bit in the game, take a look in the mirror Stephen.

Offline ChicagoLion

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #71 on: September 14, 2019, 08:40:13 PM »
This sounds pretty damning, but then Stephen Ireland is quite possibly the biggest wanker who ever played for Aston Villa.

Didn’t he get voted player of the year?
Yep, but you would never know it based on comments on here.

Offline Rudy65

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #72 on: September 14, 2019, 09:15:49 PM »
It's been forgotten now, but there was a performance against Sunderland in the New Year where Heskey got sent off, and when they scored their winner the whole of Villa Park sang "you're getting sacked in the morning" at him. Then we signed Bent and managed a bit of momentum. 9th was a false position - winning at Arsenal made us safe but on paper that was an horrific run-in.

A v young Jordan Henderson involved in the sending off I recall

Offline PeterWithesShin

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #73 on: September 14, 2019, 09:17:10 PM »
Winning POTY that season is hardly a ringing endorsement, our second highest league scorer had 4 goals. That's like being the tallest man in Lilliput.

Offline Rudy65

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Re: Playing under Houllier was a chore says Dunne
« Reply #74 on: September 14, 2019, 09:17:41 PM »
That season must be the most picked-over and analysed of all time. It must also be the only season where a team's supporters will argue until they're blue in the face that they should have finished lower.

I think we jumped 5 or 6 places on the final day. 9th isn’t bad overall but it just felt a false position based on how inept we had been over the whole season. But as they say, the table never lies

 


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