Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air on March 26, 2011, 10:43:02 AM
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Dont panic, its from The Sun. I've only seen it because its reproduced on yahoo.
Legendary Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is set for a shock return to the Premier League, according to this morning's papers.
..The Sun claims that the Spaniard, who won the 2004-5 Champions League with Liverpool and reached the final two seasons later, is being lined up by Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner despite his troubled track record with American paymasters while at Anfield.
He took over European champions Internazionale from Jose Mourinho in the summer but lasted only a few months before being replaced by Leonardo and is currently out of work.
Villa boss Gerard Houllier is under pressure from fans and reports on Friday claimed several of the club's top stars are ready to walk out in protest at 'draconian' disciplinary measures introduced by the Frenchman.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26032011/58/premier-league-paper-round-villa-line-benitez.html
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Would rafa kiss the badge if we get to go to anfield next season ?
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So we could be getting the fat Spanish waiter as our new manager.
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They might have won the title if Fergie had not got inside his noodle and twisted his melon.
This is fact.
Pros
* Very tactically astute
* European Cup Winner
Cons
* Football devoid of passion
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Does he know Barry has now left?
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Haven't they just
They might have won the title if Fergie had not got inside his noodle and twisted his melon.
This is fact.
Pros
* Very tactically astute
* European Cup Winner
Cons
* Football devoid of passion
Another con is that he needs a bottemless pit of money to spunk.
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Would prefer to stick with what we have.
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Can we please avoid anything to do with the scousers, whilst I think Houiller is a knob and needs to go, I dont want that man anywhere near our club.
What next corpse of Paisley?
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Would prefer to stick with what we have.
Same here.
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On the plus side - when he took over from Houllier at Livepool he won the Champions League in his first season. So it's a good omen!
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corpse of Paisley?
If I form a band, that will be it's name.
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Benitez did pretty well at Valencia. He might be ok. I hope we don't sign that useless Spanish forward who used to play for Liverpool. You know the one, "the Spanish Harewood".
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Would prefer to stick with what we have.
He would be a considerable improvement on what we have...but I still wouldn't want him.
Break the bank for Moyes, Coyle or Jol.
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No No No.
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It's in The Sun it aint happening,panic not.He wouldn't come to a Championship side anyway ;)
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Can we please avoid anything to do with the scousers, whilst I think Houiller is a knob and needs to go, I dont want that man anywhere near our club.
What next corpse of Paisley?
No. Its Benitez, then Woy Hodgson for a few months, then we bring in an ex player ....Paul Merson anyone?
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I find it hilarious that people are reacting this way to a Rafael Benitez link
whatever you think about the football, if this guy could be convinced to join us we'd have pulled off a MAJOR coup
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No, thank you.
As much as I want Houllier out, Benitiz would be pretty low on the list of replacements.
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Strange how people don't want a manager who has won many trophies with an English football team, regardless of how it all ended for him.
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Rafa sold keane, crouch, Bellemy and Risse without replacing them.
Terrible manager
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With Real Madrid under-19s...
Under 19 league champions
Under 19 cup winners
With Extremadura..
Promoted
With Tenerife...
Promoted as Champions
With Valencia...
League Champions (twice)
UEFA Cup Winners
With Liverpool...
European Cup Winners
FA Cup Winners.
Not a disastrous CV. Plus it only started to go wrong for him at Liverpool when the old board took charge. It has started to go right for them since they got a new board in.
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Rafa sold keane, crouch, Bellemy and Risse without replacing them.
Terrible manager
And won a European Cup, an FA Cup, took Liverpool to their closest challenge in 20 years, got to another European Cup final and won 2 La Liga's and the UEFA Cup in 4 years at Valencia.
And he's only 50.
It went sour towards the end at Liverpool, but he had shocking backing from the board, was never given total control and Hodgson (who 8 months ago we'd have loved to have replaced MON) did alot worse.
He's done pretty well with the academy too.
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Not the worst option but not the best either although having stated his desire to return to Liverpool it would suggest we would be a stop gap option , I'd still prefer coyle or moyes.
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Strange how people don't want a manager who has won many trophies with an English football team, regardless of how it all ended for him.
Two? That's not to be sniffed at, but let's not stretch the truth.
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Cons
* Football devoid of passion
Not aware of any teams winning Silverware on passion alone. However no thanks don't want him here.
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Strange how people don't want a manager who has won many trophies with an English football team, regardless of how it all ended for him.
Two? That's not to be sniffed at, but let's not stretch the truth.
Two is too many compared to us this century! (Though to be honest, I thought he'd won more than that)
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On the plus side - when he took over from Houllier at Livepool he won the Champions League in his first season. So it's a good omen!
I will be very surprised if he does that at VP in his first season ;)
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Benitez signed one heck of a lot of duds for lpool !
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If we do decide to change the manager and break the bank in the process, go for Coyle; he's a rising star who wants a larger stage whereas the FSW will simply be looking for the money.
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Cons
* Football devoid of passion
Not aware of any teams winning Silverware on passion alone. However no thanks don't want him here.
It was a poncy way of saying I think his teams are boring.
I will take results from effective football though.
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Better than what we have, but not sure he would be a success for us somehow. Would be worth a punt though if we were unable to get Moyes or Coyle. As good as anyone else apart from the ones we have zero chance of getting.
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You can't argue with his record. But I'd rather us get someone who sees Villa as a chance to better themselves and get their name amongst those who are at the top table, as opposed to someone who is looking for a decent job until a top table place becomes available.
I definitely wouldn't rule him out though, and if Houllier goes and Rafa is up for it then he's certainly worth an interview.
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Hate the thought we've been linked with FSW..., just when you think things can't get any worse....
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You can't argue with his record. But I'd rather us get someone who sees Villa as a chance to better themselves and get their name amongst those who are at the top table, as opposed to someone who is looking for a decent job until a top table place becomes available.
I definitely wouldn't rule him out though, and if Houllier goes and Rafa is up for it then he's certainly worth an interview.
I'd prefer someone who wants to get Villa sitting at the top table. We'll never be satisfied until we get a manager who wants (and manages) to achieve major success with us.
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That headline story is totally devoid of any information to back up it's claim.
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You can't argue with his record. But I'd rather us get someone who sees Villa as a chance to better themselves and get their name amongst those who are at the top table, as opposed to someone who is looking for a decent job until a top table place becomes available.
I definitely wouldn't rule him out though, and if Houllier goes and Rafa is up for it then he's certainly worth an interview.
I'd prefer someone who wants to get Villa sitting at the top table. We'll never be satisfied until we get a manager who wants (and manages) to achieve major success with us.
Well obviously, but those two things would probably come hand in hand.
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I'm sure there's nothing in this story, but in theory I'd be more than happy to have Benitez as our manager.
Without question he would be a significant step up from the current custodian.
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I'm sure there's nothing in this story, but in theory I'd be more than happy to have Benitez as our manager.
Without question he would be a significant step up from the current custodian.
the funny thing about this link is, hes probably out of our league, he's use to competing and winning trophies at the very top level of world football
our biggest achievments in recent years is managing to qualify for the wafer cup and then go out in the early stages
but yeah, we don't want Benitez, hes rubbish!
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Hmmmm.
Right now I just want us to survive relegation and we see what happens in the summer regarding managers.
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I am expecting us to be linked with Comical Ali any day now.
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Well if it's in The Cahrrahnt Bahn it must be true.
We're more likely to appoint Sgt Wilko as caretaker until the end of the season.
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Would not be my first choice but don't doubt he might actually do a good job.
If we stay up I expect that Le Gaffeur will remain our manager and that Rafa won't want to manage in the Championship.
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Had a really poor last season at Liverpool. They were excellent the season before that but the decline was huge after the sale of Alonso with which he can only blame himself. Should have seen that Carragher was on his last legs too.
To be honest I dont think we are big enough for him. We dont want another manager fawning over Liverpool.
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not going to happen is it? and with a section of our support demanding the manager has unbridled love for our club, replacing a manager who fondly remembers his time with his ex, with another who's still getting drunk and throwing stones up at her window while she entertains new boyfriend Ken is not a good idea
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No.
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The People is reporting that Houllier may return to his old job at the French Football Federation in the Summer with us looking at Hughes, Benitez, Alardyce and Kevin Mac to replace him.
The article was badly written and filled with spelling errors (including Houllier or should I say Hoillers name) so I am not going to bother copying it out.
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Is there an unwritten law that we can only employ a Manager who is out of work?
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The People is reporting that Houllier may return to his old job at the French Football Federation in the Summer
**Praying emoticon **
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Lightning doesn't strike twice
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The French people have all taken time off bombing Libya to deny these allegations. They are very happy with the current DTN, thank you very much.
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HOULLIER OUT
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Please no no no to Benitez, if we are after an out of work manager let's go for Jol.
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Please no no no to Benitez, if we are after an out of work manager let's go for Jol.
For his accent alone he'd be worth employing
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I hope Benitez never sets foot in our ground.
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I think he is a world class manager and better than Houllier. First and foremostly he is a better tactician and better at getting the best out of what he has got (that, as well as luck, is the reason he won the CL with Liverpool).
I'm not sure he would be right for us, though. His Liverpool connections, seemingly bizarre tactics and cold, analytical approach would probably lead many fans to view him as another Houllier.
His transfer record is mixed. He bought some shite, but he also signed Torres, Reina, Mascherano and Alonso who all have been or could have been sold on at a massive profit.
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I am a bit fed up with lazy French and Spanish stereotyping laced with barely-concealed xenophobia.
So, in the interests of fair play, can we have a German manager instead?
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The Duke of Edinburgh ?
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When exactly did we become so good we can reject a Champions League-winning manager out of hand?
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The Duke of Edinburgh ?
The Duke is from Greek stock.
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When exactly did we become so good we can reject a Champions League-winning manager out of hand?
I think he's been trading off that for a while now and it's coverign up the fact he's a decent, but not great, manager. He had the Liverpool job during the period of the enshrined 'top 4' so had regular CL football and a decided financial advantage over 16 other sides in the division, yet the side he produced seemed to get worse as he went on and was only kept in there by Garrard, who he inherited.
Just get the feeling he'd come with an air of "I'm doing you a favour by taking the job" and it simply wouldn't work. A spanish O'Leary.
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That's the problem with Champions League-winning managers. They're not as good as Owen Coyle or David Moyes, and they'll arrive with a snottier attitude.
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When exactly did we become so good we can reject a Champions League-winning manager out of hand?
I think he's been trading off that for a while now and it's coverign up the fact he's a decent, but not great, manager. He had the Liverpool job during the period of the enshrined 'top 4' so had regular CL football and a decided financial advantage over 16 other sides in the division, yet the side he produced seemed to get worse as he went on and was only kept in there by Garrard, who he inherited.
Just get the feeling he'd come with an air of "I'm doing you a favour by taking the job" and it simply wouldn't work. A spanish O'Leary.
So we need a manager who's built a team from nothing to major success and wants desperately to prove himself at a relegation-battling club. Previous Villa support an advantage.
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So we need a manager who's built a team from nothing to major success and wants desperately to prove himself at a relegation-battling club. Previous Villa support an advantage.
Not what I said at all.
I simply don't think it's an appointment that would work out and the fact that he has won the CL does not change my mind.
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When exactly did we become so good we can reject a Champions League-winning manager out of hand?
Not the issue Dave. I just think he is a ****** for what he continuously says and how he acted over GB.
I would rather have someone I could respect and who showed respect for others.
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Houllier has just tweeted: "Bollocks! Rafa wouldn't be able to see Barry Bannan in a pot of treacle."
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As a matter of interest, has Benitez ever won anything without his former assistant, Pako Ayesteran?
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So we need a manager who's built a team from nothing to major success and wants desperately to prove himself at a relegation-battling club. Previous Villa support an advantage.
Not what I said at all.
I simply don't think it's an appointment that would work out and the fact that he has won the CL does not change my mind.
I wasn't saying you were, but there seems to be a very high credential-threshold at work here.
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As a matter of interest, has Benitez ever won anything without his former assistant, Pako Ayesteran?
Club world cup at Inter (although the hard work was done for him). But I don't think so at Liverpool, although he did come very close to winning the league without him in 2008/09 I believe.
Not sure if he was there for the entirity during his success at Valencia?
Either way Benitez's ability is unquestionable. He took four world class players to Liverpool (Reina, Mascherano, Alonso, Torres), four very good ones (Agger, Kuyt, Benayoun and Garcia) and got the best form of their careers out of Gerrard and Carragher.
He did sign a few duds, and a few players that didn't work out, but the finances and backing he was given wasn't enough and it resulted in players wanting out. He was given money and it does all add up to a big fee, but there were loads of £5-8m pound players he had to buy because he needed someone and the money wasn't there to get the extra quality, which ultimately doesn't win you leagues.
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So we need a manager who's built a team from nothing to major success and wants desperately to prove himself at a relegation-battling club. Previous Villa support an advantage.
Not what I said at all.
I simply don't think it's an appointment that would work out and the fact that he has won the CL does not change my mind.
I wasn't saying you were, but there seems to be a very high credential-threshold at work here.
I think it's about more than credentials - at least for me anyway - and Gezza himself is a good example of why that should be the case.
Some may down play what he's done in the game as they simply don't like him. I don't like him either, but my objection is not because of that.
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Two things I used to like about Benitez.
1. The way he says "clooob" instead of club.
2. The way he used to try to take on Ferguson in mind games, but always come out looking like an idiot after Fergie took him to the cleaners without even getting out of first gear.
Two on-the-pitch things I liked about Benitez.
1. He won the CL.
2. He almost won the League. Well, nearly.
One thing I wouldn't like about him being our manager.
1. If you thought the love-in between Houllier and Liverpool was bad, it would be ten times as bad with Benitez. If Houllier tapped the Anfield sign and clapped their fans whilst ignoring ours, Benitez would probably snog each of their fans individually up the face, and set about ours with a flamethrower.
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HOULLIER OUT or shall i say FOOLIER OUT !!
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I think he is a world class manager and better than Houllier. First and foremostly he is a better tactician and better at getting the best out of what he has got (that, as well as luck, is the reason he won the CL with Liverpool).
I'm not sure he would be right for us, though. His Liverpool connections, seemingly bizarre tactics and cold, analytical approach would probably lead many fans to view him as another Houllier.
His transfer record is mixed. He bought some shite, but he also signed Torres, Reina, Mascherano and Alonso who all have been or could have been sold on at a massive profit.
He also tried to get rid of Alonso to sign Barry, Big mistake in my opinion
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HOULLIER OUT or shall i say FOOLIER OUT !!
I think you've already said it once
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He says it in every fucking post.
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Rafa as manager and MON as No 2 LOL.
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I think he would be a major coup for the club. Won't happen anyway.
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*massive generalisation alert*
In my (admittedly limited) experience of travelling abroad, meeting people from different cultures (does a Yam Yam in Hong Kong count?) and exploiting them, I'm struck by the amount of foreigners who don't actually get how big we are.
Some do. The vast majority think the Premiership begins and ends with Man U/ Liverpool/ Arsenal/ Chelsea (and now maybe Tottingham). We are generally seen as on a par with West Ham, Fulham or Blackburn.
GH managed in the Prem before and even he mentioned some crack about 7th-12th on arrival. Perhaps Rafa might have a higher regard for us though, who knows.
There might be a legitimate argument for someone being born and raised in this country (these isles if we're feeling adventurous) having more of an idea what we're about -even if they don't have a previous association with a club. Or that might just be blinkered, xenophobic clap trap. I can't decide.
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Dos cervezas, por favor............
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*massive generalisation alert*
In my (admittedly limited) experience of travelling abroad, meeting people from different cultures (does a Yam Yam in Hong Kong count?) and exploiting them, I'm struck by the amount of foreigners who don't actually get how big we are.
Some do. The vast majority think the Premiership begins and ends with Man U/ Liverpool/ Arsenal/ Chelsea (and now maybe Tottingham). We are generally seen as on a par with West Ham, Fulham or Blackburn.
GH managed in the Prem before and even he mentioned some crack about 7th-12th on arrival. Perhaps Rafa might have a higher regard for us though, who knows.
There might be a legitimate argument for someone being born and raised in this country (these isles if we're feeling adventurous) having more of an idea what we're about -even if they don't have a previous association with a club. Or that might just be blinkered, xenophobic clap trap. I can't decide.
Well I'd like to challenge lee's position as H&Vs Alan Whicker by claiming to vastly well travelled. Villa are seen as bigger than the West Hams, Fulhams, and Blackburns of the world and our name is known wherever I go. the problem being - well not a problem I guess - is that there is more genuine surprise that we are from Birmingham. Most people think we are a London team.
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Of the people I meet around the world, more seem to have heard of Aston Villa than the city of Birmingham (let alone Birmingham City).
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Astonvilla are really popular over here. Everyone has heard of them.
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Astonvilla are really popular over here. Everyone has heard of them.
And St Etienne are huge over here. Well, they were.
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Anyway, if Rafa signs we will all need to "hold onto our Seats"
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Where is Seattle?
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America. You can't be that well travelled!
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Where is Seattle?
flew away with his seat
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We also like the Aston Villas. Very good team, many goals. Dean Saunders yes?
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We also like the Aston Villas. Very good team, many goals. Dean Saunders yes?
Saranyu ?
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Where is Seattle?
Best city in the USA.
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Let's just fast forward to Dalglish.
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Recall a bizarre encounter with some Slovan Bratislava fans many moons ago where they serenaded us with:
'As on Willa
As on Willa,
Ason Willa Bir- ming-ham'
(to the tune of We'll support you ever more)
So at least they knew where we were from.
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*massive generalisation alert*
In my (admittedly limited) experience of travelling abroad, meeting people from different cultures (does a Yam Yam in Hong Kong count?) and exploiting them, I'm struck by the amount of foreigners who don't actually get how big we are.
Some do. The vast majority think the Premiership begins and ends with Man U/ Liverpool/ Arsenal/ Chelsea (and now maybe Tottingham). We are generally seen as on a par with West Ham, Fulham or Blackburn.
GH managed in the Prem before and even he mentioned some crack about 7th-12th on arrival. Perhaps Rafa might have a higher regard for us though, who knows.
There might be a legitimate argument for someone being born and raised in this country (these isles if we're feeling adventurous) having more of an idea what we're about -even if they don't have a previous association with a club. Or that might just be blinkered, xenophobic clap trap. I can't decide.
I guess it is all down to personal experience, but the three years i lived abroad, I found that people were very much aware of who we were and how big we are. To suggest we are seen as on a par with West Ham, Fulham and Blackburn is way, way wide of the mark.
I sometimes wonder if half our problem is how much we talk ourselves down.
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*massive generalisation alert*
In my (admittedly limited) experience of travelling abroad, meeting people from different cultures (does a Yam Yam in Hong Kong count?) and exploiting them, I'm struck by the amount of foreigners who don't actually get how big we are.
Some do. The vast majority think the Premiership begins and ends with Man U/ Liverpool/ Arsenal/ Chelsea (and now maybe Tottingham). We are generally seen as on a par with West Ham, Fulham or Blackburn.
GH managed in the Prem before and even he mentioned some crack about 7th-12th on arrival. Perhaps Rafa might have a higher regard for us though, who knows.
There might be a legitimate argument for someone being born and raised in this country (these isles if we're feeling adventurous) having more of an idea what we're about -even if they don't have a previous association with a club. Or that might just be blinkered, xenophobic clap trap. I can't decide.
Big name signings will change that. Not saying we should do it for the sake of it, but for years we weren't able to (unless they were over the hill) and then from 2006 onwards we had a manager who wasn't willing/capable. One window with Houllier and we got two. That'll have gone some way to improving our image abroad.
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I sometimes wonder if half our problem is how much we talk ourselves down.
Most certainly. The lads I go with think Benitez is out of our league. Maybe he is and he wouldn't consider us, but my assertion is with our facilities, resources and the working environment/freedom we offer we're by far and away the 7th most attractive club in the supposed 'best league in the world'. And we're able to compete for players and with a Champions League-less Spurs and Liverpool.
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Big name signings will change that. Not saying we should do it for the sake of it, but for years we weren't able to (unless they were over the hill) and then from 2006 onwards we had a manager who wasn't willing/capable. One window with Houllier and we got two. That'll have gone some way to improving our image abroad.
Laursen was pretty high profile in 2004, as any player who played for AC Milan at the time would be. Similarly Baros in 2005 probably qualified as a 'name.' Bouma also had a decent profile, as one of PSV's key players in their CL semi final campaign in 04/05.
Admittedly we've rarely gone the Tottingham route of signing players seemingly just for the headlines alone. But none of those dramatically improved our standing across the globe.
I'd still maintain that West Ham are at least as well known as us worldwide (possibly more so) whereas in this country most people with even a vague knowledge of the game know the difference.
For us to alter this perception would probably take competing at the business end of the table for a consistent period of time (we looked like we were making decent strides in that direction between 2007-9). And more cup final appearances. In the proper cup final. But alas that is probably a pipe dream, up there with Ivanhoe being a 20 goals a season marksman.
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*massive generalisation alert*
In my (admittedly limited) experience of travelling abroad, meeting people from different cultures (does a Yam Yam in Hong Kong count?) and exploiting them, I'm struck by the amount of foreigners who don't actually get how big we are.
Some do. The vast majority think the Premiership begins and ends with Man U/ Liverpool/ Arsenal/ Chelsea (and now maybe Tottingham). We are generally seen as on a par with West Ham, Fulham or Blackburn.
GH managed in the Prem before and even he mentioned some crack about 7th-12th on arrival. Perhaps Rafa might have a higher regard for us though, who knows.
There might be a legitimate argument for someone being born and raised in this country (these isles if we're feeling adventurous) having more of an idea what we're about -even if they don't have a previous association with a club. Or that might just be blinkered, xenophobic clap trap. I can't decide.
I guess it is all down to personal experience, but the three years i lived abroad, I found that people were very much aware of who we were and how big we are. To suggest we are seen as on a par with West Ham, Fulham and Blackburn is way, way wide of the mark.
I sometimes wonder if half our problem is how much we talk ourselves down.
I've been out of the UK since '96 - in the USA now, and in China for 5 years before that, watching the soccer at various bars with expats & locals alike
Harsh to say it, but to most foreign fans any club outside of the Big 4 (Arsenal/ManUre/Liverpool/Chelsea) is a bit like the Duke & Duchess of Kent - they seem to turn up from time to time in public, but no-one really knows what purpose they serve.
A lot of these fans are new to the sport - youngsters, increasing TV coverage, & improvement in the quality of the local leagues has increased the interest in football over the last 10 years
The problem is - they are attracted to the winners!
I did not see a single Chinese person wearing anything other than (knockoff) Big 4 shirts in China.
At my local here in Portland, there are always American fans turning up to support their Big 4 teams, - I've only seen expat Brits supporting the others
History means very little to many overseas fans, unless it is in their timeframe.
This isn't a pop at you guys - just my observations
For my part, all this talk of Blues tapping up the massive Chinese fanbase is way wide of the mark.
The fans over there will only buy into us if we are successful (read challenging for the Title/regularly competing for Cups), or if we have a Chinese player in our ranks
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That's largely my take on it too, BNB.
I did meet one Aussie Villa fan when I lived there, but she openly admitted she would just follow whatever club Olof Mellberg played for.
In the States, if anyone I spoke to had heard of us, that's literally all it amounted to -knowing the name.
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In the States, if anyone I spoke to had heard of us, that's literally all it amounted to -knowing the name.
You should have had a chat to Tom Hanks then ;)
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<FACT!>I went to school with a kid named Warren Badger. </FACT!>
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In other news, Benitez rules himself out of the running as Houllier's next assistant.
Sky Sports (http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6841476,00.html?)
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Houllier tries to take the credit for a CL win where he was never manager and, of course, he will blame that bloke who fucking well hasn't got a Law degree for our current woes. If we stay up, he will point to his new regime and tactics overcoming all odds. And when we qualify for the CL next year under surprise appointee Bert Van Marwijk, it will be Houllier's acorns that have become hardy oaklings. Indeed, I'm surprised he hasn't come out and said we won the Tranmere game because he was watching in his lucky 'Liver Bird' pants and brought them bad luck.
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Personally, If we get past this summer and he's no longer on our payroll, I'm happy for him to take credit for anything he deems within his sphere of influence. However tenuous the connection.
Once he's gone, he can spout all the self satisfied bollocks he likes.
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I don't think we're going down - and I don't think our owner is the sort of man who rushes into panicky decisions.
Houllier's CV is not dissimilar to that of Benitez - why does anyone think Benitez would flourish in the air round B6 any-more than GH has?
What is more heartening for all the Houllier haters is the fact that he doesn't want to be deeply involved in day to day coaching - that has been left to Mr G Mac (check his managerial CV out) - and GH is more of a DoF.
So if we should unite and agitate for anything in the close season (ie: not now) it is a change of coach - I would suggest a certain Mr O Coyle as a natural fit and a man who would relish the bigger budgets and better squads with aplomb - and may also bring a prodigal son home with him.
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Would it kill you not to mention supporters who might have a different opinion to you in every post?
Particularly with terms like Houllier haters, doom mongers and so on. Judging by that (quite frankly odd) Victor Meldrew thread, it seems as if you need to construct an enemy to rail against.
I might be way off beam, but it would seem to me that if your arguments were strong enough to stand on their own merits, you wouldn't need to keep on referencing these evil supporters who have the cheek to hold a contrary opinion to you and go against the grain. As if it's they who are the oddballs.
As for strong arguments, the logic you've used there for Coyle doesn't stack up either. Why would an up and coming manager want to tarnish his reputation by being even loosely associated with a failed regime? The only way we could get him would be if he has the autonomy to do what he is presently doing at Bolton.
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I'm sorry if I've upset you KG - no personal insult intended. However - if you don't get my posts or think them odd - that's up to you fella.
Yes I do think booing and jeering your own team is destructive (whatever opinion one holds)
I don't buy that Owen Coyle would not be interested in Villa
He left Burnley to get a bigger budget at Bolton.
Fat Sam left Bolton to get a bigger budget at Newcastle.
Far from tarnishing his rep I think Mr Coyle would leap at the chance to manage a club that can dish out £24 mill if needed. Who wouldn't want to work with our stars and our excellent youth? Especially with the amount of rebuilding that has to be done. He has coached Bolton to where they are - he hasn't bought that success.
And the way he took defeat against the Blues after his team dominated possession and shots on target was sheer class. You can watch it here. No swivelly eyes - no sly digs or lame excuses. Top drawer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/9444646.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/9444646.stm)
I think he would be a winner at Villa. And that's not a dig at you.
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following on Mr Gages point, Sonlyme, you attempt to hold your self up as the voice of reason, trying to put those that are critical of the manager as rebels without a clue. Your Victor Meldrew post was the worst attempt at humour I have seen on here, you got kicked off the other site because they didnt get it. hmmm
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It's been a really fractious season, pretty much from the get go.
I can see the merit in those suggesting we keep it all together and try to remain positive, I genuinely can. I don't think it's an unreasonable suggestion at all. That doesn't mean that supporters are in any way to blame for results, or some of GH's more curious antics since he took the job though. To even hint at that seems odd to me, like blaming punters for a horse being slow (or having a shite jocky).
I don't think the powers that be will move GH on until at least the summer (and maybe not even then). My hope is that in the home games that count, we see enough positives so as not to see a repeat of the pre and post match Wolves entertainment. If we do bomb though and paying spectators offer criticism, they're perfectly entitled to do so. Something would be seriously remiss if they just lapped it up and accepted it.