Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Legion on November 24, 2011, 12:22:04 PM
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Listen here (http://brmb.orionplayer.co.uk/player/podcasts/the-goalzone/24728)
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Good interview. Talked the club up and spoke about the ambition of getting back into Europe.
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Faulkner will never have an easier interview. Pity there weren't a few difficult questions. Faulkner was fed and then endorsed. Hardly investigative reporting was it. Very poor, but BRMB has it's audience of course.
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Faulkner will never have an easier interview. Pity there weren't a few difficult questions. Faulkner was fed and then endorsed. Hardly investigative reporting was it. Very poor, but BRMB has it's audience of course.
That's just what I thought.
Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
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Faulkner will never have an easier interview. Pity there weren't a few difficult questions. Faulkner was fed and then endorsed. Hardly investigative reporting was it. Very poor, but BRMB has it's audience of course.
It was better than Randy's interviews of recent.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
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It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
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It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Yes. I think it may have been discussed a time or two here.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
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We know, it's one of the most debated and argued about things ever on this forum, that's what Risso was referring to.
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Is our wage bill still bigger than Spurs'?
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Thanks for posting this. It's always good to hear interviews like this. It's a positive interview and PF comes across as a decent guy. What I just hope for, after listening to this, is that we start hearing our leaders give us clear targets - i.e. we want a top four position by 2013-14 - as opposed to vague comments like "a club like Villa belongs in Europe". I want to hear our leaders say "our aim is to be in a position to challenge for the title by 2014-15". Clear, smart targets.
My one other gripe is the mindset "when Man Utd come calling there is little anyone can do" (which Tom Ross came up with and PF quietly agreed with.) The culture at Villa Park, the mindset, has to be we are second to no other club. When Man Utd come calling tell them to do one...even better, tell them to put the kettle on because WE are going to be calling around to them.
Please Randy, PF and Villa: No more small-time thinking at Birmingham's major club.
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Tom Ross is hardly Jeremy Paxman is he?
Thought the questions were spoon fed, but I suppose BRMB have to keep the club onside. For me, not a lot was said.
Interesting that Faulkner thinks we can compete with Spurs and yet Mcleish termed them "one of the super-clubs now" after Monday. There's clearly a disparity there and if results go wrong in December there might be a bit of defensiveness [verbal, not tactics] from Mcleish about the squad and funds he's working with.
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It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Yes. I think it may have been discussed a time or two here.
Really?!!! I must have missed that, could you give a brief precis of what the arguments were? <huge winky thing>
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It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Yes. I think it may have been discussed a time or two here.
Really?!!! I must have missed that, could you give a brief precis of what the arguments were? <huge winky thing>
Where is Villadawg by the way?
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I think he jacked it in back in the summer, don't know why, though he's been back to defend MON on a few occasions from recollection.
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Maybe he's helping MON with some litigation research.
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Maybe he's helping MON with some litigation research.
MON the brilliant manager who never made a bad decision ever? That MON?
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It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Yes. I think it may have been discussed a time or two here.
Really?!!! I must have missed that, could you give a brief precis of what the arguments were? <huge winky thing>
Where is Villadawg by the way?
He's preparing his latest defence of the numbers, and scouring furiously through the internet for evidence of Spurs' wastefulness in wages and transfer spending. I've heard he's even got evidence that their tea lady, and the bloke polishes the door knobs are being paid a little more than their counterparts at B6.
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It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Yes. I think it may have been discussed a time or two here.
Really?!!! I must have missed that, could you give a brief precis of what the arguments were? <huge winky thing>
It was like this:
Tottenham Hotspur plc, their accountants Deloitte, every poster here bar one: "Spurs have a lower wage bill than us, look at the accounts"
One poster here: "no, that can't be right because *insert a series of ill thought out, fundamentally incorrect assumptions here*"
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Well both the owner and his CE have been interviewed recently and imo come over as honest well meaning people. They don't appear to have their egos wrapped up in the club and seem to genuinely care. They have their view on AM and we can only go with that. I think Randy in his interview refers to something like the 'hysteria' of instant results which I believe is correct. Had this interview been after the Norwich game it would have been better received.
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Maybe he's helping MON with some litigation research.
Or holding a one man candlelight vigil outside MON's Bucks residence.
I miss him. There, I said it.
(VD, that is. Not Magic Martin).
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
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Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
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And Van Der Vaarts wages probably amount to more than all of ours.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
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I've never thought of that, that is very depressing.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
And Van Der Vaarts wages probably amount to more than all of ours.
Not sure. I think his wages are not much different from Heskey's.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
And Van Der Vaarts wages probably amount to more than all of ours.
Not sure. I think his wages are not much different from Heskey's.
Dare I say it, it shows us just how important a decent, canny manager is to a football club. Redknapp's done a fantastic job there.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
And Van Der Vaarts wages probably amount to more than all of ours.
Not sure. I think his wages are not much different from Heskey's.
And there in a nutshell is why Spurs have played champions league football in the last 2 years and are looking good again for it and we haven't and aren't.
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This has just flashed up on the BBC.............
0932 FOOTBALL: Chief executive Paul Faulkner believes Aston Villa should be challenging for a European spot this season. "I think Europe sits there as a goal and this year that would be our goal. That's what we want to try and achieve," said Faulkner. "It's not easy but I believe it's doo-able this year. We've got a lot of ambition."
Oh dear...........
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I've got ambitions to shag Jessica Alba.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
And Van Der Vaarts wages probably amount to more than all of ours.
Not sure. I think his wages are not much different from Heskey's.
And there in a nutshell is why Spurs have played champions league football in the last 2 years and are looking good again for it and we haven't and aren't.
If anything shows the difference in approach, it is the fact that we were paying Steve Sidwell twice as much as Spurs were paying Luka Modric.
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This has just flashed up on the BBC.............
0932 FOOTBALL: Chief executive Paul Faulkner believes Aston Villa should be challenging for a European spot this season. "I think Europe sits there as a goal and this year that would be our goal. That's what we want to try and achieve," said Faulkner. "It's not easy but I believe it's doo-able this year. We've got a lot of ambition."
Oh dear...........
To be fair,Imagine the reaction if he'd said we had no chance of challenging for a European spot this year because we've got no ambition
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This has just flashed up on the BBC.............
0932 FOOTBALL: Chief executive Paul Faulkner believes Aston Villa should be challenging for a European spot this season. "I think Europe sits there as a goal and this year that would be our goal. That's what we want to try and achieve," said Faulkner. "It's not easy but I believe it's doo-able this year. We've got a lot of ambition."
Oh dear...........
Well he did state that was the ambition for this season, albeit a little unconvincingly.
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I thought it was a good interview.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
And Van Der Vaarts wages probably amount to more than all of ours.
Not sure. I think his wages are not much different from Heskey's.
And there in a nutshell is why Spurs have played champions league football in the last 2 years and are looking good again for it and we haven't and aren't.
If anything shows the difference in approach, it is the fact that we were paying Steve Sidwell twice as much as Spurs were paying Luka Modric.
I think Levy has to take some credit as well as Redknapp. It shows the advantages of having a chairman who knows his arse from his elbow when it comes to football, budgeting, and contract negotiation.
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Still, had to laugh at the "Villa's wage bill was bigger than Spurs'" bit, maybe Tom is an H&V reader?!
It was. In the last year or 2 of MO'N reign we had a bigger wage bill than Spurs
Nevermind that ancient history. The side Tottingham put out on Monday cost less than ours. Y'know, that side who are in a diffferent league to us now, so good that we can only hope to go there and keep the score down etc.
And Van Der Vaarts wages probably amount to more than all of ours.
Not sure. I think his wages are not much different from Heskey's.
And there in a nutshell is why Spurs have played champions league football in the last 2 years and are looking good again for it and we haven't and aren't.
If anything shows the difference in approach, it is the fact that we were paying Steve Sidwell twice as much as Spurs were paying Luka Modric.
I think Levy has to take some credit as well as Redknapp. It shows the advantages of having a chairman who knows his arse from his elbow when it comes to football, budgeting, and contract negotiation.
Spot on. Spurs still have a very different hierarchy to their purchasing, and a good scouting system which targets younger players with good sell on value. Levy is an incredible negotiator both in and out, while also not being afraid to upset people over what he expects for them. Very envious.
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If O'Neill had left a year or two earlier, imagine the reaction if we'd appointed 'Appy 'Arry? Spurs board deserve credit for that.
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This has just flashed up on the BBC.............
0932 FOOTBALL: Chief executive Paul Faulkner believes Aston Villa should be challenging for a European spot this season. "I think Europe sits there as a goal and this year that would be our goal. That's what we want to try and achieve," said Faulkner. "It's not easy but I believe it's doo-able this year. We've got a lot of ambition."
Oh dear...........
To be fair,Imagine the reaction if he'd said we had no chance of challenging for a European spot this year because we've got no ambition
I think this is good. It gives us all something to aim for and it instills a sense of direction, too. Now we know what we are aiming for we can push on.
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Spurs also had a much more clearly defined wage structure. We just seemed to pay the players whatever they asked for. The fact that we relied on players from the English leagues who were already on decent wages (and who expected to get a pay rise for coming here) didn't help.
Moving on I'm not so comfortable with Faulkner being as clearly explicit about our goals especially when I don't think they are do-able. With a pretty solid top six and Newcastle starting the season like a train I think the top seven is already pretty much decided with only the order to be sorted in the rest of the season. I don't know whether it is them just desperately trying to appear that they are ambitious against all evidence to the country or something else but the nearest we are going to get to going into Europe with this bunch of players and manager is our trip to the Liberty on Sunday.
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Nah he's completely bullshitting about everything. He says Warnock is one of the best LB in the league and also thinks Hutton for Luke Young was a good switch. I hope it's just PR nonsense because he can't be that clueless.
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If O'Neill had left a year or two earlier, imagine the reaction if we'd appointed 'Appy 'Arry? Spurs board deserve credit for that.
The thing is, Spurs have always tried to be a footballing side, so it wasn't like the kind of revolution it would need at Villa Park. Redknapp certainly deserves credit for what he's done at Spurs. If he did the same at the Villa I'd be on the phone to the Vatican to announce an act of divine intervention.
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I'm not sure where this myth of frugal Spurs came from, they've spent far more on their squad than we have.
I did some sums a year or two back on comparative cost in transfer fees of the two squads and theirs was almost twice as much. We've hardly pushed the boat out since so I can't imagine it has altered much.
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This has just flashed up on the BBC.............
0932 FOOTBALL: Chief executive Paul Faulkner believes Aston Villa should be challenging for a European spot this season. "I think Europe sits there as a goal and this year that would be our goal. That's what we want to try and achieve," said Faulkner. "It's not easy but I believe it's doo-able this year. We've got a lot of ambition."
Oh dear...........
I saw it on the back of the Mail as well.
Chalk that one up with AM saying heskey would be a good centre half
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As others have said Levy and in my opinion Comoli deserve as much credit as Redknapp. I think he is the coach who has benefitted from Comoli and levy's astute signings. I've not checked but the only Redknapp signings in their first team are probably VDV, Adebeyor, Parker and Fridel - all players with issues in one way or another.
Their main stars, Modric and Bale and the more stable players in their squad were signed by other managers and whilst Comoli was at the club.
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This has just flashed up on the BBC.............
0932 FOOTBALL: Chief executive Paul Faulkner believes Aston Villa should be challenging for a European spot this season. "I think Europe sits there as a goal and this year that would be our goal. That's what we want to try and achieve," said Faulkner. "It's not easy but I believe it's doo-able this year. We've got a lot of ambition."
Oh dear...........
The crucial word is "challenging". He is not claiming that we will get there but at the end of the season he would like us to be closer to 7th (usually the lowest UEFA spot) than the bottom. The top six are miles away but seventh will be claimed by a Stoke, Newcastle or Fulham type club.
I do not see that as an unrealistic target. I'd be disappointed if the club were gearing up for finishing 17th (see the reaction to the Spurs match...).
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I thought it was a good interview.
I did too Darren, I sometimes wonder what some of these posters really want?
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I'm not sure where this myth of frugal Spurs came from, they've spent far more on their squad than we have.
I did some sums a year or two back on comparative cost in transfer fees of the two squads and theirs was almost twice as much. We've hardly pushed the boat out since so I can't imagine it has altered much.
Not sure about the squad, but compare and contrast the starting XI from Monday:
Tottingham:
Brad Friedel - 0
Kyle Walker - £2.5 mill (part of £5 million double deal with Naughton)
Younes Kaboul £5 million
Ledley King- 0
Benoit Assou Ekkottu £3.5 million
Aaron Lennon - £2.5 million
Scott Parker - £5.5 million
Luka Modric - £16.5 million
Gareth Bale- £7 million
Emmanuel Adebeyor - loan
Rafael Van Der Vart - £8 million
Total------------------- £50.5
Villa
Shay Given - £3.5 million
Carlos Cuellar - £8 million
James Collins- £5 million
Richard Dunne- £5 million
Alan Hutton- £4 million
Stillian Petrov £8.5 million
Chris Herd - 0
Emile Heskey - £3.5 million
Stephen Warnock £8 million
Gabriel Agbonlahor - 0
Darren Bent - £18 million
Total------------------ £63.5 million
True, they had the likes of Defoe (£15 million) and Bassong (£8 million) on the bench. But then we had Delph (£7 million) Stephen Ireland (£8 million) and Charles N'Zogbia (£9 million)
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Good point above but, if they actually bought Adebeyor it would bump that amount toward the 80 million mark.
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Faulkner will never have an easier interview. Pity there weren't a few difficult questions. Faulkner was fed and then endorsed. Hardly investigative reporting was it. Very poor, but BRMB has it's audience of course.
and Tom Ross wants to be "respected " by the Club hierarchy so he protects his credibility by sitting on the ineffective stool.
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Faulkner will never have an easier interview. Pity there weren't a few difficult questions. Faulkner was fed and then endorsed. Hardly investigative reporting was it. Very poor, but BRMB has it's audience of course.
and Tom Ross wants to be "respected " by the Club hierarchy so he protects his credibility by sitting on the ineffective stool.
What questions would you have asked?
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My one other gripe is the mindset "when Man Utd come calling there is little anyone can do" (which Tom Ross came up with and PF quietly agreed with.) The culture at Villa Park, the mindset, has to be we are second to no other club. When Man Utd come calling tell them to do one...even better, tell them to put the kettle on because WE are going to be calling around to them.
Please Randy, PF and Villa: No more small-time thinking at Birmingham's major club.
This.
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Faulkner will never have an easier interview. Pity there weren't a few difficult questions. Faulkner was fed and then endorsed. Hardly investigative reporting was it. Very poor, but BRMB has it's audience of course.
and Tom Ross wants to be "respected " by the Club hierarchy so he protects his credibility by sitting on the ineffective stool.
Agreed. Journalists have to play politics with football clubs; they try not to upset them with tough and honest questions, especially local media.
Look at Randy's great hero SAF this week and the way he just walked out on a fair question.
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Faulkner will never have an easier interview. Pity there weren't a few difficult questions. Faulkner was fed and then endorsed. Hardly investigative reporting was it. Very poor, but BRMB has it's audience of course.
and Tom Ross wants to be "respected " by the Club hierarchy so he protects his credibility by sitting on the ineffective stool.
What questions would you have asked?
Something a bit more intrusive than "Paul me Tom I am a nice man don't forget me next time I ring you for some tickets for my family and friends" type of interview I have just heard.
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The only thing wrong with the interview was that PF missed the opportunity to have a real dig at Downing.
It was an easy chance to share his frustration over the move with the fans. He was far too polite about the situation, even if he did in a round about way explain that Downing wanted out. Too much was left to read between the lines. Obviously it may not be his style to go about decapitating former players but it would have done a hell of a lot to bring the fans closer to the reason Downing was sold.
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Faulkner will never have an easier interview. Pity there weren't a few difficult questions. Faulkner was fed and then endorsed. Hardly investigative reporting was it. Very poor, but BRMB has it's audience of course.
and Tom Ross wants to be "respected " by the Club hierarchy so he protects his credibility by sitting on the ineffective stool.
What questions would you have asked?
Something a bit more intrusive than "Paul me Tom I am a nice man don't forget me next time I ring you for some tickets for my family and friends" type of interview I have just heard.
In other words you don't know what you'd have asked, but you still want to complain about it.
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In other words you don't know what you'd have asked, but you still want to complain about it.
Yeah OK.
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Faulkner's damned whatever he said or says. He said we want to challenge for Europe this season so he's mocked. If he'd have said that that wasn't a goal, he'd have been criticised for lacking ambition.
The interview wasn't meant to be Question Time. It was an interview done before a game, hardly an opportunity for Tom Ross to grill the bloke.
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Just on WM PF saying DB will not be going anywhere regardless of who may come in for him
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Faulkner's damned whatever he said or says. He said we want to challenge for Europe this season so he's mocked. If he'd have said that that wasn't a goal, he'd have been criticised for lacking ambition.
The interview wasn't meant to be Question Time. It was an interview done before a game, hardly an opportunity for Tom Ross to grill the bloke.
Agree Toronto, as I said in an earlier post, I'd really like to know what some of these posters actally want.
They'd really have something to moan about if Randy said F**k it and sold up to someone like Doug!!
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No, you're just happy because Paul Faulkner is telling you stuff you want to hear. He's a good PR guy I'll give him that.
But not once did he explain on how we're going to reach the Europa League. We're miles off under this management. We have one of the worst pass rate and possession as well we can't defend for toffee now. If he had given us an in depth view on how we're going to turn things around to bring us back to Europa league then that would have been taken more seriously over something like we're a big club and deserve to be there. Talk about clinging on false hope. Doesn't sound like good planning does it?
And I find it very funny how he's very confident on keeping Villa players considering we keep losing all the best ones. There's no doubt in my mind Bent will be off sometime in 2012.
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We have to stop selling our best players - full stop. If it means losing one on a Bosman then so be it. We took that stance with Barry and we all were proud we did it, unforutnately we didn;t stick to our guns.
Until we do that we will be 2nd rate to the best clubs.
Unforutnately apart from Gabby no-one else in our first team would interest a top club and before anyone says Darren Bent - I bet not one fo them would entertain a player who can't trap a ball.
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Shame the playing staff aren't as good as Spurs.
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Just on WM PF saying DB will not be going anywhere regardless of who may come in for him
Yes just like Barry, Milner , Young and Downing. Two weeks before Downing joined Lpool Eck was saying he is not for sale at any price.
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I can't see Bent going anywhere purely due to cost and those prepared to meet it. However we need to start playing attacking football so we can supply him, or sooner or later he will want out.
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No, you're just happy because Paul Faulkner is telling you stuff you want to hear. He's a good PR guy I'll give him that.
But not once did he explain on how we're going to reach the Europa League. We're miles off under this management. We have one of the worst pass rate and possession as well we can't defend for toffee now. If he had given us an in depth view on how we're going to turn things around to bring us back to Europa league then that would have been taken more seriously over something like we're a big club and deserve to be there. Talk about clinging on false hope. Doesn't sound like good planning does it?
And I find it very funny how he's very confident on keeping Villa players considering we keep losing all the best ones. There's no doubt in my mind Bent will be off sometime in 2012.
It's not that at all.
Yes, of course he said the 'right things' I believe that our ambitions are to play European football.
It wasn't that sort of interview though, it was, basically, 2 blokes having a chat at a football game.
If you want more in depth stuff, go to one of the meetings he was on about. He said all are welcome (or words to the effect)
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Just on WM PF saying DB will not be going anywhere regardless of who may come in for him
Yes just like Barry, Milner , Young and Downing. Two weeks before Downing joined Lpool Eck was saying he is not for sale at any price.
When did he say Downing wasn't for sale at any price? Sorry, but, I don't remember that.
I remember him saying that he didn't want him to go and that his first priority would be to talk to him.
Downing was as good as gone, like Young, before AMcL was appointed.
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Just on WM PF saying DB will not be going anywhere regardless of who may come in for him
Yes just like Barry, Milner , Young and Downing. Two weeks before Downing joined Lpool Eck was saying he is not for sale at any price.
When did he say Downing wasn't for sale at any price? Sorry, but, I don't remember that.
I remember him saying that he didn't want him to go and that his first priority would be to talk to him.
Downing was as good as gone, like Young, before AMcL was appointed.
Read any of these. cheers!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/07/stewart-downing-aston-villa-liverpool
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/07/stewart-downing-aston-villa-liverpool
http://www.7500toholte.com/2011/7/7/2263801/aston-villa-transfer-news-rumors-rumours-stewart-downing-liverpool-alex-mcleish-not-for-sale
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Just on WM PF saying DB will not be going anywhere regardless of who may come in for him
Yes just like Barry, Milner , Young and Downing. Two weeks before Downing joined Lpool Eck was saying he is not for sale at any price.
When did he say Downing wasn't for sale at any price? Sorry, but, I don't remember that.
I remember him saying that he didn't want him to go and that his first priority would be to talk to him.
Downing was as good as gone, like Young, before AMcL was appointed.
Read any of these. cheers!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/07/stewart-downing-aston-villa-liverpool
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/07/stewart-downing-aston-villa-liverpool
http://www.7500toholte.com/2011/7/7/2263801/aston-villa-transfer-news-rumors-rumours-stewart-downing-liverpool-alex-mcleish-not-for-sale
f**k glen Johnson on 120 k a week .....
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We have to stop selling our best players - full stop. If it means losing one on a Bosman then so be it. We took that stance with Barry and we all were proud we did it, unforutnately we didn;t stick to our guns.
Until we do that we will be 2nd rate to the best clubs.
Unforutnately apart from Gabby no-one else in our first team would interest a top club and before anyone says Darren Bent - I bet not one fo them would entertain a player who can't trap a ball.
I disagree with that Fuse. I think we need to maximise the sales price we get and then make sure we reinvest the profits in young players. I would guess that once you deduct all our expenses - wages, maintenance etc from our turnover then there will be zero left for transfers (anyone?). Without any money for transfers then arguably we are not going to improve from where we are now.
Therefore our most viable way of making any money for transfers is to occasionally sell one of our top performers. Where we have failed is that we have not reinvested the money from the sales of downing and even milner.
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I think the sad truth is we have nothing more to sell other than Bent. If we are to reach the giddy heights of 2 years ago then another massive injection of cash is need. I doubt Randy gas the stomach or the pockets to do this however. Mid table mediocrity is our best option at this point.
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Just on WM PF saying DB will not be going anywhere regardless of who may come in for him
Yes just like Barry, Milner , Young and Downing. Two weeks before Downing joined Lpool Eck was saying he is not for sale at any price.
When did he say Downing wasn't for sale at any price? Sorry, but, I don't remember that.
I remember him saying that he didn't want him to go and that his first priority would be to talk to him.
Downing was as good as gone, like Young, before AMcL was appointed.
Read any of these. cheers!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/07/stewart-downing-aston-villa-liverpool
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/07/stewart-downing-aston-villa-liverpool
http://www.7500toholte.com/2011/7/7/2263801/aston-villa-transfer-news-rumors-rumours-stewart-downing-liverpool-alex-mcleish-not-for-sale
Still doesn't say "Not for sale at any price"
It only says "He's not for sale"
He didn't want to sell him so he said that "He wasn't for sale", which is exactly what any other manager would have said. At the end of the day, like I said, Downing was as good as gone, like Young, before AMcL was appointed. so AMcL had no choice in the matter.
It was also the Guardian reporting :-)
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Still doesn't say "Not for sale at any price"
It only says "He's not for sale"
He didn't want to sell him so he said that "He wasn't for sale", which is exactly what any other manager would have said. At the end of the day, like I said, Downing was as good as gone, like Young, before AMcL was appointed. so AMcL had no choice in the matter.
It was also the Guardian reporting :-)
Honestly what am I dealing with here!
Try these and from the Villa page read Fox News, Sportinglife and Stenta comments. Cheers.
http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2388547,00.html
http://www.freefootball.org/read-news.php?newstitle=soccer/11/07/07/manual_123124&BID=4
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Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has heaped pressure on manager Alex McLeish by asking him to deliver European football on a budget.
The American billionaire, along with Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner, have outlined their demands for the season and raised the stakes for the club's under-fire boss.
Lerner, via Faulkner, has communicated that the club expects to qualify for the Europa League while cutting back its' hefty wage bill.
McLeish has already been told that he won't be receiving any additional funding during the January transfer window and now the dictat from above has clarified his mission.
In training: The Villa squad are put through their paces on Friday
In training: The Villa squad are put through their paces on Friday
'I think Europe sits there as a goal and that would be our goal this year,' said Faulkner.
'We believe that being in Europe is psychologically important. Randy wants it back.
'I believe it's do-able. Aston Villa is a great club and should be up there challenging at the top of the league and we should be there pushing for Europe. 'It should always be the goal for a great club like this.'
Villa's boss was rounded upon by his own supporters who chanted 'oring, boring Villa' at his side during an insipid display at White Hart Lane.
And he is not expecting any help when the January transfer window opens. He has not held a discussion yet on any possible targets with the club's owner whose stance is in direct contrast to this time last season when Gerard Houllier was lavished with riches.
What a terrible article this is too. GH offloaded Sidwell and Carew to sign Makoun and Bent, what lavished riches?
It is sell to buy, and it seems to me AM is happy with his core squad.
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Is "challenging for a place in Europe" really something to get excited over any more? Unless Europe is taken seriously once you've qualified, or your lucky enough to draw a decent away day for the fans - it's just treated as a distraction nowadays. What I want to hear is that we're looking forward to taking on Europe and giving it our best shot, and not treating it as a few games to give the squad players a run out.
Of course, winning the FA Cup would also get us into Europe, but we'd have to show that competition a bit of respect too to have a chance, unlike last season.
The most surprising thing to me about the interview was that BRMB still exits and Tom Ross still hasn't retired. I thought all that went down the drain years ago when the beeb closed down WM after Tony Butler and Ed Doolan turned 90.
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The interview was pure spin but what was he expected to say,we can't afford to be ambitious.
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Still doesn't say "Not for sale at any price"
It only says "He's not for sale"
He didn't want to sell him so he said that "He wasn't for sale", which is exactly what any other manager would have said. At the end of the day, like I said, Downing was as good as gone, like Young, before AMcL was appointed. so AMcL had no choice in the matter.
It was also the Guardian reporting :-)
Honestly what am I dealing with here!
Try these and from the Villa page read Fox News, Sportinglife and Stenta comments. Cheers.
http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2388547,00.html
http://www.freefootball.org/read-news.php?newstitle=soccer/11/07/07/manual_123124&BID=4
"Honestly what am I dealing with here!"
Who are you to judge me?
You post 3 links and none said ".... at any price"
Yes, the later link had Fox, Setanta & Sportinglife saying that, but, the problem is that people are all to ready to believe what's in the media and not what someone says live on radio.
We all know that the media add little snippets or re word articles to suit and we all know that we didn't want to sell Downing.
Whether AMcL said ".... at any price" is debatable in my opinion.
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"Honestly what am I dealing with here!"
Who are you to judge me?
You post 3 links and none said ".... at any price"
Yes, the later link had Fox, Setanta & Sportinglife saying that, but, the problem is that people are all to ready to believe what's in the media and not what someone says live on radio.
We all know that the media add little snippets or re word articles to suit and we all know that we didn't want to sell Downing.
Whether AMcL said ".... at any price" is debatable in my opinion.
There was no judgement just a light hearted comment. Apologies if you felt it so.
I want my club to say something and stick with it just like Spurs did on Modric. I have no hope that this board will not repeat the past trend and keep on selling as soon as a Club comes in and player is destabilised. Other teams now know that they can buy any decent player from us and our past performance confirms that. Make any excuse we like but we have form.
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Spurs did with Modric what we did with Barry and similarly he'll most likely be off next summer.
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I do not see the point of splitting hairs over whether Downing could be kept. Anybody with eyes in their head could see the way he was showcasing himself. He used Villa and would never show us any loyalty no more than he will show Liverpool if they do not make top four.
He is a weasel and I am glad he has gone.
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I do not see the point of splitting hairs over whether Downing could be kept. Anybody with eyes in their head could see the way he was showcasing himself. He used Villa and would never show us any loyalty no more than he will show Liverpool if they do not make top four.
He is a weasel and I am glad he has gone.
Agreed, Brian, which is why I'd have liked to hear PF come out and give us the raw facts. He hinted at the player, amongst other things, refusing to train unless he got his move. I'm all for PF being very gentlemanly at the FA etc but he should have let it rip on this one.
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Agree on twat Downing.
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Is there really any difference to saying someone is not for sale and they are not for sale at any price? I daresay if Darren Bent decides to act like a weasel then we will doubtlessly sell him if we get an offer just like we did with the weasel in the summer.
My gripe is not so much with the fact that the club sold those players. Most of them wanted to go and it may have proved difficult to keep them. My gripe was that the money raised was not re-invested.
Oh and yes Downing is a cock. That is probably the one thing we can all agree on.
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Since some dozy feckers buggered up the economy I have had to take on an additional operational role in my company and get much less free time for buggering about on t’net. I’m not complaining about the work, glad to have it, but I don’t have enough spare time to spend on here.
On the issue of wages, I thought it interesting that the Gaurdian retraction last month pointed out that the wage bill for Aston Villa football club that we argued about was in fact £69m and not the £79m from the RAL consolidated accounts that was argued about on here. I also notice that the Spurs wage bill for last season was a tad over £91m and that they are still in discussions with HMRC over image rights payments to players. :-)
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With an England place up for grabs I don't see Downing going on strike had he been forced to remain.
My concern at the time was that £20 million was more than he was worth but selling one of our better players for the third time in just over a year would be damaging to our reputation. And so it has proved. Even opposition players now warn against the perils of 'becoming like Aston Villa.'
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With an England place up for grabs I don't see Downing going on strike had he been forced to remain.
My concern at the time was that £20 million was more than he was worth but selling one of our better players for the third time in just over a year would be damaging to our reputation. And so it has proved. Even opposition players now warn against the perils of 'becoming like Aston Villa.'
We sould have bought a 10-15 million pound midfielder, that would have showed some ambition. We sold 3 out of 4 of our starting midfield and only bought one replcement.
Liverpool have sold their best 3 players 3 years running. Alonso then Mascherano then Torres. The difference is they replaced them, or at least tried too.
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Well they got Torres right. Used the money reasonably well and got the fans behind the new direction. As you say 'ambition'.
Pity we don't have a 'Kenny".
We should, again as you say, have invested Milner money into a new Milner. Or at least play BB/ CH on a regular basis. In position.
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Our of all the players we have sold the two we miss most are Milner and Ash. I think we have replaced neither fo them. Why Ireland was ever invovled in the Milner deal I will never know or understand. The issue for me is even if we were to reinvest the money now can anyone think of a suitable midfielder out there who could play that running midfield role in the centre that we so desperately miss?
Oh to finding the 2012 version of Dennis Mortimer......we bought him from Cov didn't we? Funny that there is a midfielder at Coventry at the moment. He's an Eng u21 International, gets forward from midfield and scores loads of goals and he wouldn;t cost us a penny!
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Oh to finding the 2012 version of Dennis Mortimer......we bought him from Cov didn't we? Funny that there is a midfielder at Coventry at the moment. He's an Eng u21 International, gets forward from midfield and scores loads of goals and he wouldn;t cost us a penny!
Who, if he continues to demonstrate his considerable skills at Coventry, will return match fit and immediately be available to slot into one of the most difficult areas of a football team.
There is nothing wrong with this loan, which enable the club to evaluate the player without possible detriment to ourselves, (should he not live up to reputation or have his confidence destroyed).
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Oh to finding the 2012 version of Dennis Mortimer......we bought him from Cov didn't we? Funny that there is a midfielder at Coventry at the moment. He's an Eng u21 International, gets forward from midfield and scores loads of goals and he wouldn;t cost us a penny!
Who, if he continues to demonstrate his considerable skills at Coventry, will return match fit and immediately be available to slot into one of the most difficult areas of a football team.
There is nothing wrong with this loan, which enable the club to evaluate the player without possible detriment to ourselves, (should he not live up to reputation or have his confidence destroyed).
Agree. When you consider the matches we have while he is at Cov, it's best he is there getting games rather than making his first appearences and getting steam-rollered every week.
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Well they got Torres right. Used the money reasonably well and got the fans behind the new direction. As you say 'ambition'.
Pity we don't have a 'Kenny".
We should, again as you say, have invested Milner money into a new Milner. Or at least play BB/ CH on a regular basis. In position.
Liverpool have used the Torres money well? Henderson and Carroll for a combined 55 million pounds?
I struggle to think of a worse way to spunk away that kind of money.
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Our of all the players we have sold the two we miss most are Milner and Ash. I think we have replaced neither fo them. Why Ireland was ever invovled in the Milner deal I will never know or understand.
I have made this point elsewhere, that someone at the club sanctioned this part of the deal to keep 'fans' happy by softening the loss of Milner.
Whoever agreed to this partial swap has wasted £10 million plus which, considering our barrel is now being scraped, is even worse than when we had money to spend.
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Well they got Torres right. Used the money reasonably well and got the fans behind the new direction. As you say 'ambition'.
Pity we don't have a 'Kenny".
We should, again as you say, have invested Milner money into a new Milner. Or at least play BB/ CH on a regular basis. In position.
Liverpool have used the Torres money well? Henderson and Carroll for a combined 55 million pounds?
I struggle to think of a worse way to spunk away that kind of money.
Top 6 and probably League Cup semi finalists, are you sure?
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After listening to Paul Faulkner the comment that sticks in my mind is that the club are 'happy' with regard
to the manager being Alex McLeish -
I'm not
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Well they got Torres right. Used the money reasonably well and got the fans behind the new direction. As you say 'ambition'.
Pity we don't have a 'Kenny".
We should, again as you say, have invested Milner money into a new Milner. Or at least play BB/ CH on a regular basis. In position.
Liverpool have used the Torres money well? Henderson and Carroll for a combined 55 million pounds?
I struggle to think of a worse way to spunk away that kind of money.
Top 6 and probably League Cup semi finalists, are you sure?
in that regard they are doing ok. They'll be expected to make the CL to recoup that level of investment, but it's not like Carroll or Henderson have played a big part in where they are right now. Only Suarez has been worth every penny, and maybe Adam for what they paid. But the rest have been decent and no more.
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Fair enough, I suppose you would expect top 4 for that money.
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As my liverpool supporting mate said down the pub tonight, League cup is the only realistic thing on offer for them this season and even then that looks iffy with the teams still in it,
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Well they got Torres right. Used the money reasonably well and got the fans behind the new direction. As you say 'ambition'.
Pity we don't have a 'Kenny".
We should, again as you say, have invested Milner money into a new Milner. Or at least play BB/ CH on a regular basis. In position.
Liverpool have used the Torres money well? Henderson and Carroll for a combined 55 million pounds?
I struggle to think of a worse way to spunk away that kind of money.
A whole team of Emile Heskey's !!
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Well they got Torres right. Used the money reasonably well and got the fans behind the new direction. As you say 'ambition'.
Pity we don't have a 'Kenny".
We should, again as you say, have invested Milner money into a new Milner. Or at least play BB/ CH on a regular basis. In position.
Liverpool have used the Torres money well? Henderson and Carroll for a combined 55 million pounds?
I struggle to think of a worse way to spunk away that kind of money.
A whole team of Emile Heskey's !!
And still have £20M left!
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Oh and yes Downing is a cock. That is probably the one thing we can all agree on.
Correct. The club had no reason for holding back their thoughts on him. Managers come and go with both sides sworn to secrecy but the way Downing shit on us was disgraceful.
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Dare I say it, it shows us just how important a decent, canny manager is to a football club. Redknapp's done a fantastic job there.
Most Villa fans wouldn't want Redknapp anyway given he doesn't appear to take the Europa League seriously enough. Would have made eleven changes tonight from Saturday, imagine the uproar if a Villa manager did that.