The replacement for MON...?

[Monty]

GH may end up having another heart attack when he see's Carew missing chance after chance in front of goal.

Any more games like the Everton one and I'll be fearing for my health, let alone Gerard's.

[Quiet Lion]

I think Houllier would be a great appointment, if not for his record in the transfer market. He really did buy some absolute shit.

35 million on Hesky, Cisse and Diouf.

to be fair to GH...

Heskey was one of the hottest prospects in the prem when Liverpool got him, lots of clubs were chasing him.

Cisse was a decent buy, he was a good player and had a lot of bad luck with injuries.

Diouf looked superb at the world cup before they bought him, but he was a pony.

All true but ultimately they were shit.

5 mill a piece on Igor Biscan and Salif Diao.  Arsene Wenger he aint!

The thing is the consensus is that McDonald is a capable coach, but needs some help in the form of an experienced head, to guide him in other aspects. It is just a worry that his buys were less than inspiring.

[Toronto Villa]

I think Houllier would be a great appointment, if not for his record in the transfer market. He really did buy some absolute shit.

35 million on Hesky, Cisse and Diouf.

to be fair to GH...

Heskey was one of the hottest prospects in the prem when Liverpool got him, lots of clubs were chasing him.

Cisse was a decent buy, he was a good player and had a lot of bad luck with injuries.

Diouf looked superb at the world cup before they bought him, but he was a pony.

All true but ultimately they were shit.

5 mill a piece on Igor Biscan and Salif Diao.  Arsene Wenger he aint!

The thing is the consensus is that McDonald is a capable coach, but needs some help in the form of an experienced head, to guide him in other aspects. It is just a worry that his buys were less than inspiring.

No, he's no Wenger. But then Wenger has purchased some dross himself. And his record with buying goalkeepers must be amongst the worst out there. In fact when given a lot of money, Wenger has been really quite poor. His real skill has been finding raw talent and turning them into fabulous players before selling them on.

[Arsey]

SVC doesn't seem to think much of the (expected) Houllier appointment.

[citizenDJ]

To be honest, given his reputation in the game, which seems to be pretty high, I wouldn't be surprised at all ti see a couple of 'big name' signings. Hope so!

Anyway, if true (and I hope it is, really), then welcome Gerard, and good luck! I'm pretty optimistic about it, actually!

[hawkeye]

I am firmly in the wait and see camp, i do not find GH inspiring and despite some very lucky cup runs his Lpool team were dull to watch. Considering who was available i guess Houlier is the best of a bad bunch.

[eastie]

If collymore doesn't rate him , he must be ok then ! Stans opinion is hardly gospel, welcome gerard and good luck , he wasn't
my choice but as others as said it could be worse and its not kmac or bob Bradley.

I think the aim realistically must be top 6 to top 8 as we haven't done anything worthwhile regarding transfers. Just seen mcateer on sky spouting how o neill was a great man manager, utter bollocks.

He reckons houllier is a hugely defensive coach but we will wait and see. 

[sfx412]

I am firmly in the wait and see camp, i do not find GH inspiring and despite some very lucky cup runs his Lpool team were dull to watch. Considering who was available i guess Houlier is the best of a bad bunch.

Me too, wait and see camp that is, although I had hoped for a more exciting and innovative option originally. One of my main worries with mon was the time he'd spent out of the PL, and Houllier is no different.
It will take him time to adjust, time I don't think we have to waste considering the major spend has been frittered away.

[Reina]

If you don't mind me saying I think Houllier would be an excellent appointment. Vastly underrated manager, tactically spot on and builds good relationships with the players. If it wasn't for his heart problems he would have won the title with us and he'll give you a much better shot at breaking into the top 4 than O'Neil.

Thanks Reina. Interesting to hear it from a Liverpool perspective. There seems to be concerns on the site about some of his transfers (altho he also seems to be credited with building your Champions League winning team under Benitez).  What's your view on that?

It's mainly based on his last couple of seasons when he went a bit loopy after his health issues. He really should have had 6 months off and then come back but he lost control and bought some expensive shockers like Diouf, Diao and Cisse. Before that he had his failures like any other manager but he'd built a strong foundation with shrewd sigingings like Babbel, Henchoz, Mcallister and Hyppia (who is undoubtedly one of the best signings the clubs has ever made taking into account fee and service) as well as making full use of the talent already available to him. Heskey turned into a big pudding but in the treble season he was unstoppable.

Maybe I'm being sentimental as I'll always respect him for what he did for us in the first part of his reign, but I just don't think you can argue with his record. He'll also command the respect of the players (well most of them) and will be able to attract better talent from abroad. In terms of the style of football, you will be organised but a lot more flexible than you were under MON, who I felt was a bit one dimensional.

[Damo70]

I really wish I could be as positive as most of you are but Im more with " Can Carew Be Bothered!?!?" - I think everyones trying too hard to find the silver lining- I can't help wondering , if the day Martin O' Neill left I had posted "Houllier for next boss"- would the reaction been as positive?

[abc123cox]

i'm looking forward to having a foreign coach around Villa, different style of football i hope!!

he loves the playmaker player also so i'm sure Young will be in his element!

[Toronto Villa]

If you don't mind me saying I think Houllier would be an excellent appointment. Vastly underrated manager, tactically spot on and builds good relationships with the players. If it wasn't for his heart problems he would have won the title with us and he'll give you a much better shot at breaking into the top 4 than O'Neil.

Thanks Reina. Interesting to hear it from a Liverpool perspective. There seems to be concerns on the site about some of his transfers (altho he also seems to be credited with building your Champions League winning team under Benitez).  What's your view on that?

It's mainly based on his last couple of seasons when he went a bit loopy after his health issues. He really should have had 6 months off and then come back but he lost control and bought some expensive shockers like Diouf, Diao and Cisse. Before that he had his failures like any other manager but he'd built a strong foundation with shrewd sigingings like Babbel, Henchoz, Mcallister and Hyppia (who is undoubtedly one of the best signings the clubs has ever made taking into account fee and service) as well as making full use of the talent already available to him. Heskey turned into a big pudding but in the treble season he was unstoppable.

Maybe I'm being sentimental as I'll always respect him for what he did for us in the first part of his reign, but I just don't think you can argue with his record. He'll also command the respect of the players (well most of them) and will be able to attract better talent from abroad. In terms of the style of football, you will be organised but a lot more flexible than you were under MON, who I felt was a bit one dimensional.

Reina - that's a good assessment and where I stand also. Regarding transfers it's easy to concentrate on the poor ones, but as you mention he made some good ones at Liverpool also, and while at Lyon. Also, regarding players like Diouf, it's only in hindsight that he turned out to be bad. Correct me if I'm wrong be he was quite highly regarded at the time, but nobody really could have guessed he was going to turn out to be a nut. And you're right about Heskey. He was very good that season, but he's time has passed now.

My hope is that the appointment of Houllier not only brings us some much needed stability but allows us to develop the technical side of the game. We were quite predicatble under MON, and while effective against most teams it held us back taking that next big step forward. I hope that Houllier has learnt a lot since his departure from Liverpool and now has a number of new strings to his bow. He enjoyed a good spell at Lyon, and he must have made some great contacts in his current role with France which should benefit us. I hope Villa fans give him time to establish himself at the club, and build on the solid foundations that are already in place.

[Bosco81]

Totally uninspiring, a decent manager but nothing special, perhaps he now matches our aims, we've gone from a team spending £20m net to a team banking £20m in the space of a year, is the first page of ceefax our target for the season.

I'm not about to start to send my season ticket back, I'll go to the cup games as they're priced quite reasonable but it's a distinctly average appointment.

I can't believe of all the managers in world football this is the best we can get.

[VillaVillaVilla]

I don't agree with the short term approach, if the Board believe he is the right man for the job they should back him with a 3-4 year contract. I can't see any point in a short term deal at the moment.

There in lies the rub, imo. It wouldn't be surprising for the Board to believe that believe he is the right man for the job but with the caveat - "under the circumstances." I'm not convinced that if Jol or Moyes, Hiddink, Hitzfeld were chomping at the bit to move over to Villa, I doubt Hollier would even be in the picture. Having said that, I'll support in every way, Hollier's appointment.

By the way you're signature will be my new motto if Hollier is appointed "Give Quiche a chance" 

[sfx412]

I'm told by several Liverpool fans, including someone who played under him, that until his illness he set Liverpool afire and did little wrong.
After his illness things went from bad to worse and admittedly his and Liverpool's performances deteriorated quickly, but he never looked well, all the time he was there.
Now evidently he's looking and feeling fit and well, and probably has plenty to offer, although I still say so long away from the Premiership means plenty, its changed dramatically since the days he and Liverpool did well.
Good luck to him if he gets the job.