Are we too critical?

[AV82EC]

The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.

Is the right answer.  In getting rid of him Lerner was playing to the crowd, playing the look at me and what big balls I've got, done entirely for the benefit of the boo boys who weren't happy at the Liverpool and Man City incidents.  I was pretty pissed off myself at those incidents but I was willing to give the guy a chance and see what the summer would bring.

[Legion]

Unfortunately, his health issues dictated otherwise.

[Monty]

The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.

I agree. The parallels with Moscow were annoying, but I couldn't quite blame him for having a soft spot for a club which he clearly felt for (even though he went massively OTT, but that is Houllier). He was taking us somewhere, laying the groundwork for a modern, attractive, progressive club. The difference between then and now is so stark as to begger belief.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

No. The guy is clueless.

[Chipsticks]

As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.

Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year

In fairness I'd say we had a much better team, with far fewer injures.

And yes, we are far too critical, and it annoys me greatly.

[hawkeye]

I am more worried about the apathy, what is said on here is irrelevant compared to the faithfull trudging up to Villa Park accepting thier lot and trudging home again, every week the number of trudgers gets less.
Now that is really worrying.

[TheSandman]

Agreed on the apathy. I think apathy is more dangerous than anger as at least anger shows you still care. The people who have lost interest will be far more difficult to get back than those who have stopped going because they don't like McLeish or the direction the club has taken.

[luke25]

As for slating McAsswipe, I think he's got off pretty lightly so far on match days.

Totally agree with this, he's had a much easier ride than Houllier and yet we were a much better team to watch last year

In fairness I'd say we had a much better team, with far fewer injures.

And yes, we are far too critical, and it annoys me greatly.

We had the worst injury list I can remember any team ever having at one point last season.

[Dave Clark Five]

There are plenty around me in the ground who never stop moaning. If one of our players make a desperate clearance off the line, they whinge if it doesn't turn out to be an inch perfect pass to our nearest player.

[Eigentor]

The old Houller vs. McLeish question: Results are very much the same. Houllier had better players. McLeish the benefit of a complete pre-season and not having to deal with the immediate turmoil created by MON's exit.

For me, Houllier at least (seemingly) had a plan. I don't know if he would have been able to carry it out. But he had an idea of how he wanted the team to play, what kind of players he needed to get the team playing that way, and what they needed to do in training to progress towards that aim.

McLeish just seems to be clueless. I don't mean that (necessarily) in a "oh, my God, he's shit" kind of way. Just that he doesn't seem to really know how his team should play. Only that they should do their best and scrap for points. And that's what we do: scrap for points. And that's probably what we'll continue to do if McLeish stays in charge: scrap for points. It's hard to get excited about that.

With Houllier it was at least possible to believe that we might be going somewhere. Even if it was just a pipe dream.

[rutski]

I liked Houllier.

I did too. It was a shame the illness saw him off. The football was good and he wouldn't have pandered to the likes of Dunne Collins et al in the long term. He could have completely changed outlook of club, not just team. He just made enemies too quickly!

[PaulWinch again]

Not at all, and I agree with the above it's more apathy now. The owner doesn't appear to care, and everyone knows what will happen in every game we play. We either go behind and lose or we take the lead and then sit back until the oppostion equalises. It's mindnumbingly predictable.

[Rick_avfc]

I too was a big Houllier fan and was willing to give him more time as he was changing things at the club.  I strongly believe we would have been playing the sort of football that everyone wants to see - attacking, possession football.  I also believe he would have developed our youth players into more technical minded players, the kind that think while on the ball and make the right runs etc.

The whole Liverpool thing didnt really bother me.  I was a little bit annoyed about the man city game but i think he wanted us to be safe in the league first before challenging for a cup.

[eastie]

No we are not too critical - we care about the club and are hurting seeing the present state of things , we will be here long after the likes of lerner, mcleish and the players have gone.

[pauliewalnuts]

The Liverpool incident didn't actually bother me that much. The surrender against Money City really pissed me off though. I think he saw the bigger picture and could have moved us on to better things. There's no way we'd be in the situation we are now if he was still in charge.

Is the right answer.  In getting rid of him Lerner was playing to the crowd, playing the look at me and what big balls I've got, done entirely for the benefit of the boo boys who weren't happy at the Liverpool and Man City incidents  I was pretty pissed off myself at those incidents but I was willing to give the guy a chance and see what the summer would bring.

That's not true, though, is it?

The bloke spent the latter end of the season in hospital for a serious heart condition, which was the cause of his departure.