The replacement for MON...?

[Des Little]

Hmm - this may be an omen.

I had a dream/nightmare last night that the new manager was Alan Irvine...

I would lay off the cheese before bedtime if I were you

[Dave]

Teemo Tanio springs to mind immediately

Paul Saltieri was pretty awful too when there. Zakora was poor too.

However, having gone and had a good look online at who he did sign, there were some corkers - Berbatov being the most obvious. Trouble is a couple of his better signings did not come into their own until he had gone. Bale being the most obvious. Befinately a value for money man on signings though with most young and saleable.

They weren't his signings (the good ones or the bad ones) - they were Comolli's.

See here

[Somniloquism]

Yes, they are. And Etherington was signed as an 18yo back in 99. Just pointing out that they have been doing that transfer business and still are. It wasn't a Jol exclusive plan.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Trees on VT reporting Randy flying to Milan this morning ....

Claude Puel?

[PHAEDRUS]

With it clear that Randy will not be spending as in previous years, I think it's essential we get a manager who has a better knowledge of the european market.No, scrub that.A manager who ACTUALLY has a knowledge of the euroean market !
Martin Jol seems like a good bet to me

[Smithy]

Teemo Tanio springs to mind immediately

Paul Saltieri was pretty awful too when there. Zakora was poor too.

However, having gone and had a good look online at who he did sign, there were some corkers - Berbatov being the most obvious. Trouble is a couple of his better signings did not come into their own until he had gone. Bale being the most obvious. Befinately a value for money man on signings though with most young and saleable.

Those three certainly weren't great signings, but they cost a combined total of one Nigel Reo-coker (Taino free, Zakora £5m and Stalteri undisclosed but speculated at £3m).

I don't think his record is particularly good or bad in the transfer market, but there are plenty of successful/unsuccessful signings on his record simply because spurs tend to have a high turnover of players.

Jol almost got Spurs to the Champions League, but I can't help but have that nagging doubt about what went wrong the season they got rid of him?  How did he let the team drop so low?

[Monty]

OK, nobody wants Maradona to be Villa manager. But it does show our profile, that the greatest player to ever kick a football is at least rumoured to want to roll up at B6 as manager. Maybe Hilts and co had a point about our status, although I'd still say that, just possibly, Mourinho is out of our reach.

[paul_e]

OK, nobody wants Maradona to be Villa manager. But it does show our profile, that the greatest player to ever kick a football is at least rumoured to want to roll up at B6 as manager. Maybe Hilts and co had a point about our status, although I'd still say that, just possibly, Mourinho is out of our reach.

Pele wants a word with you.

Aside from that can't disagree, whilst clearly not the right person tactically or mentally for the job it does show that big names would be interested.  I think a lot of Villa fans massively undervalue the club when it comes to things like this.  It's particularly upsetting when you compare our opinion of ourself to that of tottenham, west ham, everton, newcastle, etc.  None of them are as big as we are but every one of those sides would be thinking that any manager in the world would be lucky to manage them, we're all worried that the manager of the swiss national team wouldn't even talk to us.

[Monty]

With Hitzfeld, it's more that it would take a hell of a club offer for him to leave international management, I think he's in semi-retirement now. I do think that our lack of "we're the greatest" is a quality that marks us from the likes of the London clubs and Newcastle, but we could use a bit more positive thinking of the type that I'm sure Randy subscribes to.

Also, Maradona was better than Pele, as Pele never did it in Europe .

[Dave Cooper please]

Pele never did it in Europe .

That'll be the erectile dysfunction.

[hipkiss92]

Cruyff was even better, as he moulded not only Holland and Ajax in his own image as a player, but also the successes of Barca and Spain  at the moment are down to the foundations he laid in the 90's.

[paul_e]

With Hitzfeld, it's more that it would take a hell of a club offer for him to leave international management, I think he's in semi-retirement now. I do think that our lack of "we're the greatest" is a quality that marks us from the likes of the London clubs and Newcastle, but we could use a bit more positive thinking of the type that I'm sure Randy subscribes to.

Also, Maradona was better than Pele, as Pele never did it in Europe .

Pele chose to stay with his boyhood club when the offers from europe were coming in.  Can't fault that.  The telling thing is that Pele bossed the 58 world cup with pace and skill and then bossed the 70 world cup with vision and passing.  Maradona was better with the ball at his feet but his overall game was miles short of Pele and their comparitive international records back that up.

I agree on cryuff to an extent in that I'd put him 2nd behind pele with maradona in third, the dutch team from the 74 wc are the best footballing side ever and he was the heartbeat of that.

[JUAN PABLO]

Trees on VT reporting Randy flying to Milan this morning ....

Somebody should tell Randy , Mourinho has gone to Madrid  ;-)

[freakypete]

martin jol please or why not give kevin mcdonalld a chance? continuaty mayb a good thing

[Matt C]

As I said earlier in the week, I'd try for Hiddink. I'm sure people will be quick to point out the reasons why not but I say why not try?