The replacement for MON...?

[Ads]

I have had it from a very unreliable source that Kevin MacDonald has got the job until the end of the season.

Oh fuck me I hope your source is wrong.

Macdonald has not got a fucking clue.

[john2710]

Nothing that Lerner has done so far has come across as being cheap or superficial. He's also no mug, I can't honestly believe that he would risk the short-term future of the club or more importantly his investment in the unproven Bradley.

Kevin Mac does not give me the impression of a man who wants the job or the pressure that goes with it. I do believe that he might continue to hold the fort until the right man is available. I think that man is Martin Jol but with Ajax almost through the Champions League playoffs I'm not sure that he will be available anytime soon - I'm sure that if enough money was put forward he would bite.

This is the most important test of Lerner since he bought us, whoever he chooses will give us a very clear indication on which direction we will be going over the next 2-3 years. With Jol or the likes of Jol I think we will remain in the top 6 and possibly push on. Anything less & I can only see us sliding down the table & going back 2-3 years in a very short time.

I trust Lerner to do whatever is best for the club, I just hope it doesn't take too long, uncertainty is almost as bad as making the wrong choice.

[Clampy]

If it is Bradley, are we prepared to write off this season as one of experiment, and if it hasn't worked by next May say, "Okay, the gamble failed, let's go back to the tried and tested?" Or will we just moan and complain that Randy's gone for the cheap option and is more interested in cutting his losses/cracking the American market? 

Whatever we all thought of MON, he turned us into a hard to beat side that finished in the top 6 every season. It was'nt to everyone's liking obviously, but it's given us a platform to work on and push on from. Giving the job to some as inexperienced in English and European football as Bradley could undo O'Neil's good work. It's a risk i don't think we should even be thinking about taking.

[NeilH]

Whilst i echo many of the sentiments already stated here, there's two things that i keep coming back to every time (1) what manager who already is employed would quit and join at this stage of the season? (2) what manager is not not employed would do anything other than a damage limitation exercise?
As for Bradley, there's two word i hear when i think of Bob Bradley and that's Josef Venglos.

[Matt Collins]

I agree Bob Bradley's a big risk. But if Jol isn't interested, not sure who the likely candidates are. A caretaker option wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing in the circumstances, so TM might have some chance to redeem himself yet.

I know it's a weird thing to say, but the first twenty minutes yesterday demonstrated passing and movement that was still better than most of MON's tenure!

[midnite]

I'm wondering if we're waiting to see how Ajax get on in the champions league. If they go through, Jol will stay. If they fail then Jol might be lined up to take over.

Although I still fancy Pellegrini (in a none gay way of course)

[supertom]

Although I still fancy Pellegrini (in a none gay way of course)

Pour me a glass while your at it mate. Lemon and lime in there and some ice please.

[achilles]

Unfortunately KM demostrated yesterday by putting Heskey on when we are losing and then on the right wing, that he hasn't got a clue... sorry, he's a nice guy and all that but is not a top-flight manager!

[Clampy]

Unfortunately KM demostrated yesterday by putting Heskey on when we are losing and then on the right wing, that he hasn't got a clue... sorry, he's a nice guy and all that but is not a top-flight manager!

When Heskey came on and went out wide, I turned to my mate at the game yesterday and said 'has O'Neill been re=appointed'? My heart sank and i knew then the game was gone. It seemed like a sub that was designed not to get us back in the game, but to get some experience on the pitch and keep the score down.

[brian green]

Clamps that is precisely what my son and I said at the game.   If there were two glaringly obvious O'Neill failings Kevin McDonald needed to avoid at all costs were to play players in their correct positions and not to regard Emile Heskey as any kind of match winner.   As soon as he comes on the pitch you know it is going to be long ball lumped upfield and any skillful football solution abandoned.   I still cannot believe he did it.   Before Carew put his joke penalty into row ZZ I thought Kevin was nailed on as caretaker manager for the rest of the season.   As the game crumbled before our eyes so did Kevin's career.

[SoccerHQ]

I don't rate Bradley tbh...U.S could've gone further in the world cup tbh.

He kept on playing 4-4-2 which restricted Donovan and Dempsey and then kept on switching
to 4-3-3 in the second half of games after taking off that awful Ricardo Clark bloke.

So I think despite maybe being a decent motivator, he'd tactically get found out in the prem
and be gone within 18 months.

I think the best man for our current situation is Jol, really interested to see what happens if
Kiev knock Ajax out this week.

[JJ-AV]

I want it to be Klinsmann. I'm resigned to an average season anyway and while he might not be the best manager we could keep Kev Mac on behind the scenes and it'd keep us on the European radar. Maybe attract a few exciting players too.

Plus it'd win me £140.

I'd want Sven secondary for similar reasons.

I'd rather keep K-Mac than Bradley.

[villa for life]

With Klinsmann, Bradley or Sven are all risks. We might end up having an average season and paying top dollar, then having to sack them and paying them for years to come. Lerner might be thinking along the same lines and so might as well give it to kmac. We might have an average season but without the added financial risk.
We are not going to be a top six team this season, so I'd rather wait and get someone better when they become available

[KevinGage]

The ramifications for just having an average season are huge though - and carry financial risk in their own way.

-Bye bye Ashley Young
-Continued decrease in gates/ revenue
-Higher cost to close the gap next summer- or even to compete for in and around 6th

This is one time when the steady/ safe option really won't cut it.

[old man villa fan]

The ramifications for just having an average season are huge though - and carry financial risk in their own way.

-Bye bye Ashley Young
-Continued decrease in gates/ revenue
-Higher cost to close the gap next summer- or even to compete for in and around 6th

This is one time when the steady/ safe option really won't cut it.

Have to agree with that unless there is an underlying trend of improvement e.g. blooding some young players that are really going to come on the following season.

You are right about losing our better players but when you think more about it, at the end of this season other than AY and GA who stands out at this point in time that you could say we would find it hard to replace them.