Who Do You Blame/Who Are You Angry With?

[Irish villain]

As might be obvious from my posts I have been quite angry with the owner.

I realise O'Neill was a tool and we would have cracked the top four with a better manager spending all that money. But ultimately it was Lerner that signed the cheques (and he genuinely did go for it from 2006-2010).

But Lerner's policies since August 2010 have taken us to relegation strugglers. As I said earlier I miss the days when I looked out for the results of clubs like Liverpool, Spurs and Everton. It is disgusting to be anxiously watching the form of QPR, Southampton and Reading and knowing that clubs like West Ham, Norwhich and the Baggies will probably finish comfortably ahead of us.

[Doorbell]

I blame Al Qaeda and Muslim moderates for not intervening  and sorting out the  fundamentalists.

I'm blaming Mars Corp for changing the name of marathon to snickers.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

The Twerpish Randy Lerner and his lickspittle Faulkner have to take the majority of the blame. The trouble started when they allowed O'Neill to have free rein at Villa Park.
With his previous 'toys out of the pram' behaviour, it was always going to be a disaster when he walked and so it proved.

I agree with Hilts above, it's a big surpise the way that he's avoided criticism for so long.

[not3bad]

The rot seemed to set in 18-24 months before Doug sold up, we seemed to be a club in decline, no longer able/willing to compete financially with the biggest clubs. O'leary was lambasted for likening us to Charlton and Southampton, accused of playing down expectations and failing to acknowledge our rightful place in the scheme of things.

Didn't we spend prettty heavily in the 2005/2006 close season?

[tomd2103]

I personally think all this mess can be traced back to the end of the 2009/10 season.  In hindsight Randy and Faulkner should have dealt with the O'Neill issue at the end of that season and not let it drag over the summer and leave us in the position of having no manager just before the start of the new season.  We have been up against it since then and haven't really recovered.  The two manager appointments after O'Neill were poor and the squad has lost a lot of quality which hasn't really been replaced despite some new faces coming in.  Had O'Neill been moved on at the end of that season and been replaced with an able manager (it would have still been an attractive post at the point), we may have been able to avoid the mess we now find ourselves in.  Despite many complaints about lack of spending since O'Neill has left, we have still spent more than a number of clubs who currently sit higher in the table than us.   

 

[kipeye]

I can only blame my Dad-he made me a Villa fan, and for that I am ever grateful. I don't care much for blaming anyone else-not even Herbert these days.

[Irish villain]

It really does surprise me that there isn't more criticism of Lerner and Faulkner, especially on H&V

This point astounds me. I think we have beent he most miss-managed club in the PL since 2010. Fans of other clubs always say it to me. When I attack MON they concede Ithat  probably have a point but go on to say Lerner sanctioned both the MON regime and the crap that has followed on its heels.

[Billy Walker]

The Chairman has made a mess of his two previous appointments but my gut instinct is telling me we have the right man for the job now and he'll get it right.  If I have to blame anyone for my frustration at the moment then I blame the ref/linesman from Saturday.

[Mister E]

Lerner - not for 2 poorly thought through appointments, not for allowing the transfer policy or wage structures of previous regimes but for having absolutely no plan whatsoever.

Bang on.
We can blame others all we want - MON for being an arrogant sod who waltzed off at the 11th hour with a total lack of respect for us and others; TSM for just existing; other teams for being 'luckier' - but in the end it does not appear that RL has any sort of long-term plan.

Funny, he's sort of become a similar Chairman to Doug*: likely to put his hand in his pocket to ensure top-flight existence but more interested in the short-term financials. Perhaps he sees salvation in the FFP: if so, he's naive (but then I think we already know that).

* with two crucial differences: HDE was obsessive about the £££ minutiae; and, he knew his way around English football.

[Irish villain]

I personally think all this mess can be traced back to the end of the 2009/10 season.  In hindsight Randy and Faulkner should have dealt with the O'Neill issue at the end of that season and not let it drag over the summer and leave us in the position of having no manager just before the start of the new season.  We have been up against it since then and haven't really recovered.  The two manager appointments after O'Neill were poor and the squad has lost a lot of quality which hasn't really been replaced despite some new faces coming in.  Had O'Neill been moved on at the end of that season and been replaced with an able manager (it would have still been an attractive post at the point), we may have been able to avoid the mess we now find ourselves in.  Despite many complaints about lack of spending since O'Neill has left, we have still spent more than a number of clubs who currently sit higher in the table than us.   

 

I made a similar point yesterday and it proved controversial. I think Houllier was a dreadful appointment.

[Salsa Party Animal]

I think It is a mixture of Martin and Randy.

Martin for spending too much and paying too much wages and sticking to expensive premier league market too much.

Randy for not appointing a man to replace Steve Stride to keep an eye on football finances and putting too much trust and faith and money on MON's plan. Also Randy didn't appoint right man X 2 when replacing MON. What would we be like if we appoint someone like Lambert and give him the money 6 years ago, we could be winning a couple of cups and play champions league for 1 or 2 season already.

[JUAN PABLO]

I blame Simon Cowell.  I hate that f***er.

But I suppose Lerner for letting that pubic headed twat spend loads of dollars on over paid turds.

[SashasGrandad]

Denise van Outen - the slut.

Things have never been the same since she corrupted Stanley VC.

And how she is getting top marks on Strictly I'll never know. Can't be sleeping with the judges as only 1 of them prefers women.

[PaulTheVillan]

I don't think much blame can be pointed at Lambert, apart from his awful substitutions.

Between Lerner, Faulker & O'Neill, so fucking awful decisions have cost us massive.

[garyshawsknee]

I don't think it's quite time to start shitting our pants just yet,if we're in the same position come the end of Jan,then it will be.

The owner and management need to shoulder most of the blame for letting our spending reach levels we could never maintain without CL football,and then for making two misguided(to put it mildly) appointments.

But,(and i'll start by saying i'm really pleased he's our manager,and after a sticky start he'll pull us towards mid table in the new year)it was him who spent all the resources on 6 or 7 players without any PL experience,knowing that our squad was very thin in numbers and quality,and they would be thrown in with our youngsters who have had their confidence shattered after being thrown in the deep end for the past two years.

I think we'll get two or three wins before Christmas and it'll be onwards and upwards.