The Martin O'Neill thread (with added sacking #2188)

[pauliewalnuts]

I hope nobody now mentions what happened when Rangers got to the UEFA Cup final and how their fans were in Manchester, thus setting off the Auld Firm nonsense which always ends up in thread lockage.

[damon loves JT]

Oh, ok. Better stop beating this huge orange drum I guess.

[Percy McCarthy]

Yes, apart from there being no mindless violence and wanton vandalism, it was just like when that club who they just as bad as, Rangers, played in Manchester.

EDIT: sorry paulie, saw your post too late.

It's those who promote the ridiculous notion that 'they're both as bad as each other' who get the threads locked.

Surely no-one will be daft enough to suggest that after the two clubs' respective UEFA Cup finals have been mentioned, although you never know, as most of them seem to have even forgotten the Villa Park friendly in '76 as well.

[pauliewalnuts]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Rudy Can't Fail]

No massive disrespect to Sunderland, who are a decent historic club, but really, I bet he didn't for a moment consider he'd be making what could - at the very best - be described a sideways move.

It was his dream move - to manage his boyhood supporting club - oh and the fact they have a billionaire owner with lots of money to spend. I do wonder however how long Ellis Short's patience will last. The man has thrown a lot of money at the club already and I'd imagine he's expecting to see some return. I'd imagine having to lower ticket prices to £10 against us wasn't part of the plan.

[pauliewalnuts]

Sunderland also give away thousands of tickets to local schools most matches, too, I have heard.

[pauliewalnuts]

Interesting match report from Mat K on Saturday's game.

I imagine he'll be off MON's christmas card list now.

http://www.birminghammail.net/sport/football/match-reports/sunderland-0-aston-villa-1-287042

[Percy McCarthy]

Excellent report, I read it in the shop this morning. Insight and/or bottle all too rare from a journalist these days.

[Irish villain]

Interesting match report from Mat K on Saturday's game.

I imagine he'll be off MON's christmas card list now.

http://www.birminghammail.net/sport/football/match-reports/sunderland-0-aston-villa-1-287042

I don't think he was on it!

[Legion]

Sunderland also give away thousands of tickets to local schools most matches, too, I have heard.

So do Aston Villa.

[pauliewalnuts]

Sunderland also give away thousands of tickets to local schools most matches, too, I have heard.

So do Aston Villa.

Thousands, though, every home game?

[Legion]

Hundreds. Tickets for Schools initiative.

[pauliewalnuts]

Tell you what, take a look at the argument here:

http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=740612

and think back to the stuff being discussed on this thread, how we were here with the whole happy clapper / doom merchant thing. Uncanny the degree to which their forum mirrors this one!

[cheltenhamlion]

Matts report is crashing my internet at work. Can someone post the details of the article. Ta.

[pauliewalnuts]

Matts report is crashing my internet at work. Can someone post the details of the article. Ta.

“MARTIN, Martin, what’s the score?” chanted the away fans mischievously.

Well, unless someone has been “re-writing history” again, it was Sunderland 0 Villa 1.

Hopefully this result was closure for the claret and blues because they really do need to move on and move up – they are embarking on a new chapter under Paul Lambert now.

Villa’s current boss has so much respect for his former Celtic chief that he still calls him ‘the gaffer’ and he has a lot to live up to if he is to one day emulate his managerial mentor’s achievements at Villa Park.

But, forget the tracksuits, touchline demeanour and autocratic approach, of all the things O’Neill has passed down to Lambert, the biggest burden is trying to restore this club to the level it was at just over two years ago. 

O’Neill, who is struggling to sustain his amazing early impact at shot-shy Sunderland, used his programme notes to labour the point that he doesn’t feel he gets the credit he deserves for his time at Villa, accusing his critics of re-writing history to demean him.

When will he realise that his reign will forever be defined by the shameful way he left the club in the lurch five days before the start of a season rather than the impressive progress he was making during his four-year tenure?

If apprentice Lambert is to take any inspiration from his master then it should be to learn from O’Neill’s mistakes, make the most of his opportunity at Villa Park and fully appreciate the privilege because the grass may never be greener elsewhere. There may never be a better opportunity.

Lambert needs to look no further than the Villa away fans every other week to remind him what he has got at this football club.

Forgive me for my fortnightly update on the travelling claret and blue army, but the Villa supporters were magnificent again and thoroughly deserved to witness the club’s first victory on the road since the January win at Wolves.

Having travelled 200 miles to Wearside they probably thought they couldn’t get any further north, but like at Newcastle they were situated at the very top of the stand.

Yet the 1,165 of them still made themselves heard among a crowd of 41,515.

By the final whistle they were sky high as Gabby Agbonlahor’s winner sparked jubilant scenes of celebration and prompted a repertoire of cheeky chants, from fruitless requests for O’Neill to give them a wave to ‘Is there a fire drill?’ taunts as many Sunderland fans trudged away prematurely.

Although, to their credit, the Stadium of Light faithful tried to roar the Mackems players out of their malaise, Villa easily won the battle of the long-suffering fanbases eager to enjoy themselves, with O’Neill’s Black Cats booed off at the end.

With Darren Bent missing a hostile return to his former club because of an injury – to his ankle and his pride – the Agbonlahor and Benteke double act continued to top the bill as the Brummie drew level with the Belgian on four goals for the season.

The breakthrough came on 57 minutes when Agbonlahor pulled away from former Villa favourite Carlos Cuellar to volley in Christian Benteke’s back-post nod-down following Matthew Lowton’s inviting cross from the right.

It was Agbonlahor’s first Premier League goal since a year ago today – in a 3-2 Villa Park win over Lambert’s Norwich – but added to his three strikes in Villa’s Capital One Cup campaign. As the goal went in, Lambert was hopping up and down on the touchline.

So too, minutes later, was O’Neill when referee Mike Jones denied his side their best chance of an equaliser by waving away their penalty appeals after John O’Shea’s header from Adam Johnson’s cross appeared to strike Benteke on both arms, although, in fairness, the powerhouse striker knew very little about it.

Sunderland substitutes Louis Saha and Fraizer Campbell headed chances off target late on, and Brad Guzan bravely saved Lee Cattermole’s edge-of-the-area strike as Steven Fletcher piled in, the Scottish striker having put the ball in the net in the opening exchanges, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.

But the Black Cats, the Premier League’s lowest scorers with six goals, would have been better off sending on Newcastle forward Demba Ba, who is their second-highest league scorer behind five-goal Fletcher after his own goal in the Tyne and Wear derby.

It is no surprise Sunderland can’t find the net with Johnson, Stephane Sessegnon and James McClean again unable to live up to their past reputations.

For Villa, after the goal, Agbonlahor hit the crossbar when Stephen Ireland capitalised upon a poor clearance from Simon Mignolet, but the flag was already up, and the Sunderland keeper saved from Andi Weimann following a slick counter attack having already frustrated the Austrian striker in the first half.

Villa made four changes from the cup win at Swindon with Guzan, Joe Bennett, Ciaran Clark and Ashley Westwood replacing Shay Given, Eric Lichaj, Chris Herd and Karim El Ahmadi.

Having heard O’Neill eulogise about Ashley Young in recent seasons it was encouraging to hear Lambert heap praise on a young Ashley, who made an impressive full Premier League debut for the claret and blues.

Considering his previous first-team run-out was a nervy cameo as a second-half substitute in the defeat at Southampton, Westwood showed great composure.

The former Crewe midfielder was careful to retain possession and keep Villa moving and although it is early days with highs and lows only to be expected of Premier League rookies, he epitomises how Lambert’s ethos differs from O’Neill’s.

It is a project all Villa fans wish him well with as their club continues to play catch-up from the events of August 9 2010.

It’s not about re-writing history, it is about righting wrongs.