The replacement for MON...?

[jonzy85]

we are all in this together , please lets get behind gerard and thommo and give them our full support and backing , they are coming to our club and they want to succeed as much as we want a successful aston villa - lets put personal feelings to one side and enjoy the journey and see where they take us!

Agreed

[Mark H]

He is starting to make mistakes. You can see that his age is catching up on him.

That will be the same Brad that kept us in front in the Everton game I presume !?

[Reality]

Did I say he makes mistakes in every game?

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

Although this pairing does not get me excited. This pairing have had success at a high level and i am also hoping for some over seas players to give us more technical type football ...............

[alan_clarke]

Friedel is still top class in my eyes.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I quite like the thought of Thompson teaming back up Houllier.
I have always found him to be very passionate in everything he says and that can only bode well for spirit within the club.

Agreed. Thompson is extremely enthusiastic about the game and will bring some much needed energy to the club, especially on a day to day basis which I'm sure the players will appreciate. He also achieved great results with Liverpool when Houllier was ill. I really think he'll thrive on the opportunity and will give it his all. Both he and Houllier will be out with the squad every day at Bodymoor Heath which will help a great deal.

I'm assuming that Kevin MacDonald is going to be made first team coach which if so, raises one or two questions about tactics. Houllier is very much defence minded, likes his team very well organised yet I see MacDonald having a more expressive approach. I'm not to sure how well they will work together. It may turn out we benefit from the best of both worlds or it could be conflictive. One thing is for certain, we'll remain a very hard team to beat but hopefully we'll also find that missing link where by we can win the midfield battle and go on to win games, rather than backs to the wall and hoping to steal a victory on the counter attack.

[andyh]

who will be plan B if GH decides he doesn't want the job, or his missus decides he can't have the job because of his health and she doesn't want to live in the UK ?

[Reality]

He's bound to have spoken to his family by now about these issues.

[dreamlifter]

Don't feel comfortable with GH at all.
Hopefully, it is just one/two years appt and give the spot to KM when he is ready.

[Concrete John]

Don't feel comfortable with GH at all.
Hopefully, it is just one/two years appt and give the spot to KM when he is ready.

K-Mac is now 48 and been coaching for well over a decade.  If he's not ready now he never will be.

[JJ-AV]

we are all in this together , please lets get behind gerard and thommo and give them our full support and backing , they are coming to our club and they want to succeed as much as we want a successful aston villa - lets put personal feelings to one side and enjoy the journey and see where they take us!

I agree with this, but it's a bit rich coming from someone as anti-MON as you were.

[luke95]

we are all in this together , please lets get behind gerard and thommo and give them our full support and backing , they are coming to our club and they want to succeed as much as we want a successful aston villa - lets put personal feelings to one side and enjoy the journey and see where they take us!

I agree with this, but it's a bit rich coming from someone as anti-MON as you were.

I should'nt worry too much , he'll probably change his mind/view in a couple of days or so. 

[sfx412]

Is it now a requirement, that to be a Villa fan and to wish the new regime well, that you must have loved the Blessed O'Neill ?

Oh and if that comment winds anyone up, tough shit, get out your hankies and have a little cry.

[peter w]

we are all in this together , please lets get behind gerard and thommo and give them our full support and backing , they are coming to our club and they want to succeed as much as we want a successful aston villa - lets put personal feelings to one side and enjoy the journey and see where they take us!

And of course we will get behind them. Doesn't mean we can't express our feelings away from the pitch.

[Dave Cooper please]

Have you all read Brad Friedel's biography?  Has Mr Lerner? Brad despises Phil Thompson, so it does not seem possible they could work together. "I'm not sure what happened to him when he gave up playing.  He changed from a guy who believed he was destined for great things into a coach who maintained a negative disposition.... Thompson would rant when things went wrong...it had an adverse effect on most of the players." (pages 183-4.)

If Friedel feels he just cannot work with Thompson then we'll lose an ageing goalkeeper, we should be able to replace him with someone just as good.
I've not heard any other whispers about Thompson being difficult to work with so maybe they just clashed.