Is the Villa job a poison chalice?

[Proposition Joe]

There certainly seems to be some kind of poisonous slime mould growing in the walls. It has a strange effect on managers' brains where no matter who you are or where you came from, after a while Gabby is the first name on your team sheet and Westwood is on set pieces.

[robbo1874]

At the moment it seems to be.

We have very little credibility as a decent sized club with Randy looking to sell.

The sooner he sells, the better in my view.

Difficult to see how we can attract a proven manager with so much uncertainty around the club.

[brontebilly]

Most of the managerial appointments over the past 25 years were decent ones at the time. McLeish was an unforgivable mistake, Houllier and GT2 were miles past it. But most of the others were arguably good appointments at the time.

The morons we have running that club in that time are more at fault, HDE and Randolph

[Risso]

Roy Keane would kick arse and be good for a quote now and again. But I am en Garde.

Maybe we should send out for Ronnie Pickering.

WHO?!

[paul_e]

Roy Keane would kick arse and be good for a quote now and again. But I am en Garde.

Maybe we should send out for Ronnie Pickering.

WHO?!

RONNIE PICKERING!

[itbrvilla]

RONNIE FUCKING PICKERING!!!!

[Villafirst]

It's simple really, years of a penny-pinching budget and poor manager appointments are to blame. Lerner is a disgrace as custodian of this great club. A disastrous last 5 years of gradual decline.

[Ad@m]

Is it a career Ender? Mon did OK because he walked. SGT got the England job but other than that I can't think of anyone who went onto something better?

Not many bigger jobs than Villa though.

Precisely - and not in a big-headed, ideas-above-our station way either. There just aren't that many more upwards steps to take.

How many Spurs or Newcastle managers in the last generation have gone on to bigger things than those jobs? Like us, they've each provided England with a manager and that's about it.

Whilst there may not be many upward steps, anyone who manages the Villa tends to disappear in to obscurity very quickly.  I can't name a single manager, Sir GT aside, in the past 30 years who has had anything other than the managerial wilderness.  MON's the only one to have kept his career going post-Villa (Sir Brian going to Stoke ended his career, even though strictly he carried on managing) and even he's a busted flush in club football now.

Spurs and Newcastle don't destroy careers - there's lots of examples of managers at both of them who've gone on to be successful elsewhere.

[YamYamVilla]

we are a poison chalice, we are a car crash of a club, top to bottom, but I bet there is a huge list of applicants wanting to have a go.

[Clark W Griswold]

True, and I honestly believe that the right man could still have us mid table (although very unlikely this season now).

[damon loves JT]

One day, somebody will get it right, and I will go to Blackpool and get his face tattooed on my leg so badly that I will be unable to go swimming in public for the rest of my life

[in exile]

"The right man" would never take the job with the club in it's current position.
Up for sale, absent owner, inexperienced staff in crucial positions...doesn't appeal does it?

[Musicmaan]

RONNIE FUCKING PICKERING!!!!

Do you know who he is?!

[itbrvilla]

One day, somebody will get it right, and I will go to Blackpool and get his face tattooed on my leg so badly that I will be unable to go swimming in public for the rest of my life

get his face tattooed on your face

[TheMalandro]

RONNIE FUCKING PICKERING!!!!

Who is that?