It's Warnocks turn.

[VillaAlways]

We can try to convince ourselves that we are better off without Houllier. But the real reason why so many of our players are happy to see the back of him is that he wanted them to leave the 1990-ies mentality of English football which involved six days of slack and 90 minutes of mindless gung-ho with no game-plan every week. Despite his flaws, Houllier knew that the players needed to train hard, use their head during training and matches and play with some composure and sophistication if they wanted to be successful. Sadly, a lot of our players were never comfortable with that.

Pity Houllier didn't spend a bit more time practicing defending set pieces with this fantastic modern day training he supposedly implemented

[gervilla]

We can try to convince ourselves that we are better off without Houllier. But the real reason why so many of our players are happy to see the back of him is that he wanted them to leave the 1990-ies mentality of English football which involved six days of slack and 90 minutes of mindless gung-ho with no game-plan every week. Despite his flaws, Houllier knew that the players needed to train hard, use their head during training and matches and play with some composure and sophistication if they wanted to be successful. Sadly, a lot of our players were never comfortable with that.

Pity Houllier didn't spend a bit more time practicing defending set pieces with this fantastic modern day training he supposedly implemented

He was going to that during the summer, yes I thought is was a little bit late too.

[olaftab]

Warnock, Young, Dunne and anyone else you were all a disgrace to your profession and you all let us, the fans, down last year. Now shut up and pay back if you can if not  leave. This Club will survive without you.

[Legion]

Warnock, Young, Dunne and anyone else you were all a disgrace to your profession and you all let us, the fans, down last year. Now shut up and pay back if you can if not  leave. This Club will survive without you.

Both Youngs have gone.

[villa `cross the mersey]

Stephen Warnock born Ormskirk in December 1981 - lets hope he can emulate a certain winger playing that year, who also hails from Ormskirk.

[Ger Regan]

It was Warnock's fault he fell out with Houllier.
It was Dunne's fault he fell out with Houllier.
It was Collins' fault he fell out with Houllier.
It was Gabby's fault he fell out with Houllier.
It was Carew's fault he fell out with Houllier.
It was Ireland's fault he fell out with Houllier.
It was Beye's fault he fell out with Houllier.

Houllier is in no way shit at managing relationships with his players, nosireebob.

I'd say Dunne, Collins, Warnock and Carew would have to take a fair share of the responsibility for the falling out, Carew especially seemed to go out of his way to have a public falling out with Houllier. Some of the others would have to be put down to Houllier though.

[Percy McCarthy]

We can try to convince ourselves that we are better off without Houllier. But the real reason why so many of our players are happy to see the back of him is that he wanted them to leave the 1990-ies mentality of English football which involved six days of slack and 90 minutes of mindless gung-ho with no game-plan every week. Despite his flaws, Houllier knew that the players needed to train hard, use their head during training and matches and play with some composure and sophistication if they wanted to be successful. Sadly, a lot of our players were never comfortable with that.

Pity Houllier didn't spend a bit more time practicing defending set pieces with this fantastic modern day training he supposedly implemented

Actually, the previous manager used a more modern defensive system. Our defence didn't like the out-dated version that Thoroughly Modern Gerard implemented, which is why they thought he was out of touch with the modern game.

[Lambert and Payne]

Bore off with the Houllier shite. Its happened, get on with this season and we'll worry how the current manager does yeah? Thankyou

[TheSandman]

We can try to convince ourselves that we are better off without Houllier. But the real reason why so many of our players are happy to see the back of him is that he wanted them to leave the 1990-ies mentality of English football which involved six days of slack and 90 minutes of mindless gung-ho with no game-plan every week. Despite his flaws, Houllier knew that the players needed to train hard, use their head during training and matches and play with some composure and sophistication if they wanted to be successful. Sadly, a lot of our players were never comfortable with that.

Pity Houllier didn't spend a bit more time practicing defending set pieces with this fantastic modern day training he supposedly implemented

Actually, the previous manager used a more modern defensive system. Our defence didn't like the out-dated version that Thoroughly Modern Gerard implemented, which is why they thought he was out of touch with the modern game.

I think that was entirely obvious from the sarcastic tone of ZoggyAlways's post.

[ozzjim]

Houllier was right though about most of the players he fell out with apart from Dunne in terms of ability, but way before GED came Dunne was mightily over weight. Irelands head was all over the shop last season, Warnock was very poor in the 10 or so games GED started him, Luke Young was a regular and his beef was more with Martin. I still reckon long term GED would have proved a better bet than Eck for progression.

[VillaAlways]

Houllier was right though about most of the players he fell out with apart from Dunne in terms of ability, but way before GED came Dunne was mightily over weight. Irelands head was all over the shop last season, Warnock was very poor in the 10 or so games GED started him, Luke Young was a regular and his beef was more with Martin. I still reckon long term GED would have proved a better bet than Eck for progression.

What about Gabby? He was possibly the most scathing out of everybody.GH just didn't get the Villa and I'm glad he's gone

[pauliewalnuts]

To be honest, if the players had any brains about them, they'd refrain from talking too much about last season, lest they remind us of their own roles in it.

To listen to some of them recently, you'd think they contributed nothing to it. I don't remember Houllier forcing Dunne and Collins to go out and get shitfaced on the team bonding exercise and start throwing punches around, and I also don't see how Houllier was responsible for Dunne coming back from the summer the size of a branch of Tesco Express.

It is also somehwat early to start trumpeting how your success reflects your happiness with the new management team. We're six or seven games in. Come back and triumphantly tell us when we're sixth after 26 games, not 6.

I still reckon long term GED would have proved a better bet than Eck for progression.

So do I. For all his failings, Houllier had started to at least try to get us playing football, to pass the ball around a bit. I'll give AM a chance to show us his ethos, but it'd be beyond depressing to have parted company with one "traditional" British style manager, gone through all the pain of the Houllier year, started to show some progression, to then regress to the less appealing aesthetics of the British game.

[KevinGage]

We can try to convince ourselves that we are better off without Houllier. But the real reason why so many of our players are happy to see the back of him is that he wanted them to leave the 1990-ies mentality of English football which involved six days of slack and 90 minutes of mindless gung-ho with no game-plan every week. Despite his flaws, Houllier knew that the players needed to train hard, use their head during training and matches and play with some composure and sophistication if they wanted to be successful. Sadly, a lot of our players were never comfortable with that.

Pretty much this.

I've said at various times I was never overly keen on the guy -dating back to his time at Liverpool, when any below par performance or bad result was always somebody else's fault.  But reading Luke Young's whinge last week, I started to have some real sympathy for the guy.  Saying before a big game 'keep calm and composed' ? Asking players who weren't in the side what extra work they were doing to get back in?  What a rotter!   He should have just left them to their own devices, to pocket small fortunes for doing next to nothing.    And Luke was one of the good guys.  :/

It's quite clear that the good professionals; Ash, Downing, Bent, NRC and Walker were OK with his methods -or if they weren't it didn't seem to harm their form.  It's pretty certain also that had he remained, a fair smattering of the sugarbags piling in now would be elsewhere.  That wouldn't necessarily have been a bad thing as far as I can see. The new lot might have been more professional and in tune with what he was looking for.  Maybe -and I accept we don't know this at all-  when he referred to only being able to sort the defensive issues (and we definitely had them)  in the summer, he meant in terms of new playing personnel and the coach he had at Liverpool and Lyon.

I'd agree with the wider point as well, it's way too early for Dunne, Collins, Warnock and co to be crowing about great form and this great new feeling around the place. We've faced a pretty easy run of fixtures thus far, and whilst the defence has been better, it's hardly been like a steel trap.  When they've churned out a few clean sheets against the likes of the Manc pair, Chelsea, Tottingham and co they can pat each other on the back and piss in each others pockets- telling everyone how united they are.

[Percy McCarthy]

We can try to convince ourselves that we are better off without Houllier. But the real reason why so many of our players are happy to see the back of him is that he wanted them to leave the 1990-ies mentality of English football which involved six days of slack and 90 minutes of mindless gung-ho with no game-plan every week. Despite his flaws, Houllier knew that the players needed to train hard, use their head during training and matches and play with some composure and sophistication if they wanted to be successful. Sadly, a lot of our players were never comfortable with that.

Pity Houllier didn't spend a bit more time practicing defending set pieces with this fantastic modern day training he supposedly implemented

Actually, the previous manager used a more modern defensive system. Our defence didn't like the out-dated version that Thoroughly Modern Gerard implemented, which is why they thought he was out of touch with the modern game.

I think that was entirely obvious from the sarcastic tone of ZoggyAlways's post.

I know, I'm agreeing with him.

Just think it's funny how he is credited with all this 'modern' thinking when in some ways he was more old-fashioned than the previous bloke. I was particularly a fan of the cutting-edge fitness regime that generally made the players look less fit (on the odd occasion they got over their injuries and managed to actually play a game).

God help us if he'd still been manager. Probably another ten departures on top of those who left, and still no money to replace them. Most of the NextGen team would have been playing by now.

Actually, scratch that. Most of the NextGen team would have been out injured by now.

[VillaAlways]

It's quite clear that the good professionals; Ash, Downing, Bent, NRC and Walker were OK with his methods -or if they weren't it didn't seem to harm their form.  It's pretty certain also that had he remained, a fair smattering of the sugarbags piling in now would be elsewhere.  That wouldn't necessarily have been a bad thing as far as I can see. The new lot might have been more professional and in tune with what he was looking for.  Maybe -and I accept we don't know this at all-  when he referred to only being able to sort the defensive issues (and we definitely had them)  in the summer, he meant in terms of new playing personnel and the coach he had at Liverpool and Lyon.

I'd agree with the wider point as well, it's way too early for Dunne, Collins, Warnock and co to be crowing about great form and this great new feeling around the place. We've faced a pretty easy run of fixtures thus far, and whilst the defence has been better, it's hardly been like a steel trap.  When they've churned out a few clean sheets against the likes of the Manc pair, Chelsea, Tottingham and co they can pat each other on the back and piss in each others pockets- telling everyone how united they are.
[/quote]

Out of the good guys you've listed only Bent remains,and that would have been no different had GH remained in charge.Ash was always off to Manure.Downing to 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' for more money and 'Arry would never had let us sign Walker,oh and Gabby would have been on his way as well.He only played Bannan when he had to then loaned him out and slated Ireland publically..How would we have replaced the players sold and the players he'd alienated who are now playing especially with the financial constraints we've all seen imposed by Randy?
I know it's early days for AM but he strikes me as being a reallly good man manager who is proud to have the job.GH struck me as a really poor man manager who thought he was too good for the job.


I don't know anything about our new training regime but I do know Petrov and,Dunne look much fitter than last season

Apologies I'm rubbish at this quote thing