The end is nigh.

[Chris Smith]

A contingency plan covers more than sacking the current manager. Given the lack of football people inside the boardroom at Villa Park, do you really think they'd leave it to chance?

How is it 'leaving it to chance'?  All I'm saying is that most clubs who lose their manager unexpectedly then start the process of finding and recruiting a new manager, not draw a name out of a hat as they're short on time!!

I think they can have a plan of how they will go about finding a replacement but not about who it will be. Doug had been through it so many times I'm sure it ran on auto-pilot but Randy has never actively recruited a manager so he needs to have a plan of what he would do if Risso assasinates MON over the weekend.

[eastie]

Randy has not been afraid to pull the trigger on coaches at Cleveland browns and I'm sure he won't hesitate here when he feels the time has come, there were reports that he consulted klinnsman before buying villa and I'm sure he would consult football people before appointing a successor.

[Mazrim]

Randy has not been afraid to pull the trigger on coaches at Cleveland browns and I'm sure he won't hesitate here when he feels the time has come, there were reports that he consulted klinnsman before buying villa and I'm sure he would consult football people before appointing a successor.

Exactly. I'm guessing he's not in the same post code as thinking that way at the moment.

[Risso]

A contingency plan covers more than sacking the current manager. Given the lack of football people inside the boardroom at Villa Park, do you really think they'd leave it to chance?

How is it 'leaving it to chance'?  All I'm saying is that most clubs who lose their manager unexpectedly then start the process of finding and recruiting a new manager, not draw a name out of a hat as they're short on time!!

I think they can have a plan of how they will go about finding a replacement but not about who it will be. Doug had been through it so many times I'm sure it ran on auto-pilot but Randy has never actively recruited a manager so he needs to have a plan of what he would do if Risso assasinates MON over the weekend.

I'll be assassinating you first for that atrocious spelling.

[placeforparks]

MON hasn't lost the dressing room yet, purely because he marginalises all the players who openly criticise him - the shoreys, the luke youngs, the reo-cokers...

i couldn't believe our annual wage bill when compared to everton and spurs, both of whom i expect to finish higher than us this season. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/aug/02/pre-season-preview-aston-villa

personally speaking, i would take mid-table obscurity in the short-term if it meant reducing the club's wage bill and developing youth, whether bringing them through ourselves or buying in young talent.

[andrew08]

I think I've lost my competitive edge. I've completely accepted where we are; never gonna catch manure chelski or arse. Probably be left by citeh this time. Battle with everton,liverpool  and spurs for the scrap
s, which means I'll see lots of wins against all the rest. Sorted

[Toronto Villa]

Ok, I have to ask this question because each thread is degenerating into a pit of sorrow. Oh poor us, we're shit. Our players are shit and so is the manager. The kit is bollocks, the tickets are too pricey, the manager doesn't care about transfers, we got battered vs Benfica, we have Heskey and Sidwell, the greatest RB ever Luke Young is leaving, Milner wants out, Warnock hates MON, Bannan's too small, John Robertson smokes too much, and the poor bull in the "promotional" ad for the Valencia game. Add to that we haven't signed anyone, and we might sign Keane and McGeady you get the impression sometimes that we are royally fucked this season.

Honestly, everyone. We finished 6th last year, and no team below us has done enough in my opinion to get that much closer. That includes Liverpool signing Joe Cole. Add to that Spurs are not that much better with who they have added. Are they better, yes, but not to cause this much distress and anguish. Man City stand alone in all of this, and the question will be their chemistry. Can they sustain it? Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal are better than us, and will be again.

Seriously everyone. Is it really that bad or are some of us making way too much of this? We're all Villa fans and we want the same thing, but sometimes this is too much misery. It really isn't that bad.

[Mazrim]

An excellent post, TV.

[pauliewalnuts]

Of course it isn't too bad.

The kits a bit ugly, but I don't really care.
The match day tickets are a bit pricey
Luke Young is leaving, he's good going forward.
The football is shit
We seem to sign our players from a very limited pool of talent.
Milner is leaving.

But ...

The season tickets are good value
Cuellar is a good defender
We're in Europe
We're a decent, hard to beat side
Milner will make us a big profit if we sell

It is only black and white if you make it that way.

[Ads]

I think its boredom that exacerbates it. This is a football messageboard and we’re football fans- but there is no football to discuss, only the unsavoury paraphernalia that surrounds its absence. Its dull and its depressing.

When we can moan or sing with joy about the actual football again, things will brighten up. Or not.

[Olneythelonely]

Of course it isn't too bad.

The kits a bit ugly, but I don't really care.
The match day tickets are a bit pricey
Luke Young is leaving, he's good going forward.
The football is shit
We seem to sign our players from a very limited pool of talent.
Milner is leaving.

But ...

The season tickets are good value
Cuellar is a good defender
We're in Europe
We're a decent, hard to beat side
Milner will make us a big profit if we sell

It is only black and white if you make it that way.

Now Luke Young isn't leaving. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

[Risso]

He isn't?!

[Olneythelonely]

He isn't?!

Not today. Dave said so.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Here's a slither of good news for you, VT:

Downing talking about Albrighton..

“Do I think he’s going to run Ashley and I close? Yes, obviously he’s done very well. He’s a good player.

“The manager has said he will give people a chance if they are playing well – and he is – so we’ll have to be on our toes.

“He’s obviously got the ability. He’s scored some good goals, the biggest thing for him is to get a run in the team.

“The manager will play him, I know he likes him so me and Ashley had better stay sharp, because if we’re not he’ll put him in.”

[KevinGage]

Here's a slither of good news for you, VT:

Downing talking about Albrighton..

“Do I think he’s going to run Ashley and I close? Yes, obviously he’s done very well. He’s a good player.

“The manager has said he will give people a chance if they are playing well – and he is – so we’ll have to be on our toes.

“He’s obviously got the ability. He’s scored some good goals, the biggest thing for him is to get a run in the team.

“The manager will play him, I know he likes him so me and Ashley had better stay sharp, because if we’re not he’ll put him in.”

That is good news.