The replacement for MON...?

[PaulTheVillan]

Randy putting nearly a quarter of a billion squid into the club has outlined his ambition already.
Whoever he appoints will not change that.

However, I think he will appoint a "name" so dont worry.

I agree, but I just worry that all the hard work in the past could be undone by appointing MacDonald.

He's a great coach and has done a fantastic job as a reserve coach but I'm not convinced he's the man to take us forward.

[Concrete John]

Randy putting nearly a quarter of a billion squid into the club has outlined his ambition already.
Whoever he appoints will not change that.

I'm not so sure.  All the money he's put in so far is in the form of equity or debt, so it's still 'his' even though we've benefitted from it.  And for the record I have no problem with that.  But if it's no a case of no further money and running things from within our own turnover, then I don't think bettering 6th is possible.  Further investment is unfortunately needed to propel us those couple of places higher to get CL football.  Investment which he would again benefit from as he sees his asset (the club) worth more and making more money.  The question is does he have the inclination to do that?  Past experience would say 'yes', but this window and a manager walking due to disagreements over money would at least suggest 'no'.

Then we come to the issue of a new manager.  Any 'top name' we want would only come if he thought he would be successful and in order to do that he would need money to work with.  So if we get Hiddink I think it's fair to say Randy's looking to complete what he's started.  However, if we get a manager who we could class as lucky to get the job, then I think it may be a case of now further monetary injection and we run ourselves as a top half club with regular Europa the realistic target.

[TimTheVillain]

'regular Europa as a realistic target'

If that is true, why, when we qualify for Europa do we not bother ?

Both MON and KM played reserves in both games and on both occasions we were dumped out by a lesser team on paper.

If that is the target - at least be serious about winning the Europa Cup, a lesser cup than the one we one a number of years back.

Re. new Manager, does anyone know what timescale the biard are working to --- is it still a Manager in place for the next game ?

[Mazrim]

John, the bottom line is Randy has funded this club lavishly by his own means and certainly by our recent history. Thats not just transfer fees but in all areas.
Whatever reason MON walked away, it wasnt because Randy hasnt supported him so we can put that one to bed.
If he was asked to help clean up his own mess thats fair enough and it doesnt mean Randy wont spend again in the future. He most certainly will in my opinion.

If Randy appointed K Mac for instance, beacuse he backed a hunch he may have what it takes, yet backed him heavily in the transfer market, what would that say about his ambitions? Its just not that simple.
I dont think Randy should have his ambition questioned at this stage regardless of who he appoints.
That's not to say he can never be questioned but he has done enough to be cut some slack and not have his ambition questioned in my opinion.

[PaulTheVillan]

Re. new Manager, does anyone know what timescale the biard are working to --- is it still a Manager in place for the next game ?

I really hope someone is in place by this weekend.
That gives them a full week to prepare for Stoke

[damon loves JT]

I dont think Randy should have his ambition questioned at this stage regardless of who he appoints.
That's not to say he can never be questioned but he has done enough to be cut some slack and not have his ambition questioned in my opinion.

Quite. He has taken a hospital pass off O'Neill and he has the right not to spunk millions on a quick fix.

[jonzy85]

Re. new Manager, does anyone know what timescale the biard are working to --- is it still a Manager in place for the next game ?

I really hope someone is in place by this weekend.
That gives them a full week to prepare for Stoke

With players away in international duty, dont think it matters all that much.

Having said that, how many are actually on international duty?

Dunne, Collins, Carew....any involved with England?

[Mazrim]

Ashley Young, and I think Carew has pulled out.

[Concrete John]

John, the bottom line is Randy has funded this club lavishly by his own means and certainly by our recent history. Thats not just transfer fees but in all areas.
Whatever reason MON walked away, it wasnt because Randy hasnt supported him so we can put that one to bed.
If he was asked to help clean up his own mess thats fair enough and it doesnt mean Randy wont spend again in the future. He most certainly will in my opinion.

If Randy appointed K Mac for instance, beacuse he backed a hunch he may have what it takes, yet backed him heavily in the transfer market, what would that say about his ambitions? Its just not that simple.
I dont think Randy should have his ambition questioned at this stage regardless of who he appoints.
That's not to say he can never be questioned but he has done enough to be cut some slack and not have his ambition questioned in my opinion.

Yes, he's been amazing for us so far and nobody can question that.  And I'm not saying he is or isn't going to stop doing what he's been doing.  In all honesty I don't think we need a £40-50m spend each summer anymore.  Natural wastage will mean a few leaving for decent money, which is then re-invested, and our increased revenue, such as the new sponsorship deal, means we can generate funds ourselves, meaning we may only need an additional £10m or so to do what is necessary.  So I have no issue with the outside investment being reduced, just that I don't think it should be cut off completely.  I'd even be OK with a mediocre season while the wagesbill issue is addressed so we can then go at it again in 2011/2012.  However, following a lot of speculation in terms of spending being cut, we have just had a summer where the manager has walked, we've reduced the wages, made a transfer profit of £16m and are likely to appoint a cheap option as our new manager.

I think it's a case of 'wait and see' as to whether these things are a matter of unfortunate cuircumsatnce or a sign of our levelling out as 6th at best.

[Risso]

Appointing KM would be a simple statement that ambition has fallen behind cost cutting in our list of priorities. There'd be no other good reason for appointing him.

[pauliewalnuts]

There has been absolutely nothing at all to suggest transfer investment has been "cut off completely", though, nothing at all.  In fact, far from it, everything the club has said has pointed to the opposite of this.

Unfortunately, what will happen now, with the window closed, nothing spent, and no manager appointed, is that people will suggest it was timed to rule out transfer spending. Whether there's any truth in that won't actually matter, because people are still going to make the accusation, and that's where the damage is done.

Being asked to reign in the spending / cut the wage bill for one season, for example, doesn't really strike me as anything out of the ordinary. There is only one manager in the league who can engage in unfettered spending, and that's Mancini. Managing the squad in terms of ins and outs, within the constraints of a budget, is surely one of the key parts of running a football club - for both the chairman and the manager.

[Chris Smith]

I dont think Randy should have his ambition questioned at this stage regardless of who he appoints.
That's not to say he can never be questioned but he has done enough to be cut some slack and not have his ambition questioned in my opinion.

Quite. He has taken a hospital pass off O'Neill and he has the right not to spunk millions on a quick fix.

How convenient.

[Le Lapin]

Aston Villa are too big a club to be giving rookie managers time to find out whether they can hack it or not in the big time. He needs to have managed in the lower leagues at least. KMac has no experience at this level, ie. at being the manager of any club, the pressures that have been on him up until now are not comparable in my opinion to what he will be dealing with if given the job. KMac being appointed will set the club back a few years. A niaive move by Lerner if this proves the case.

[pauliewalnuts]

I dont think Randy should have his ambition questioned at this stage regardless of who he appoints.
That's not to say he can never be questioned but he has done enough to be cut some slack and not have his ambition questioned in my opinion.

Quite. He has taken a hospital pass off O'Neill and he has the right not to spunk millions on a quick fix.

How convenient.

Convenient is the very last thing I imagine he sees it as.

[Irish villain]

'regular Europa as a realistic target'

If that is true, why, when we qualify for Europa do we not bother ?

Both MON and KM played reserves in both games and on both occasions we were dumped out by a lesser team on paper.

If that is the target - at least be serious about winning the Europa Cup, a lesser cup than the one we one a number of years back.

Can't argue with that. It seems so pointless to work so hard in a season to finish, 5th or 6th and then throw in the towel when we do reach the Europa. My favourite season of the MON era was 08/09 when we had Thursday night games against the likes of Ajax. Being in European competition is where it is at and there was no point treating the Europa with so little respect.