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

[Legion]

I thought Carson was pretty good right up until that England match.

I'd even managed to get over the fact that he looks like a thin Chris Moyles (controversial, what with Chris Moyles being a c***).

Carson was never a good keeper for us. The England Croatia game merely brought his ineptitude to the masses. I never had any confidence in him. I'd go further and say he's the worst Villa goalkeeper of the last 40 years.

Gabor Kiraly?

[Dave]

That daft brain-freeze against ManYoo aside, I can't remember much that Kiraly did wrong.

I remember in particular a save he made against Crystal Palace which I thought was one of the best saves I'd ever seen.

I'd have him over Carson.

[SoccerHQ]

Kiraly was better than Carson imo.

I think the bizarre way he dressed makes it easy for people to link that with joke keeper but he wasn't, game before he kept a clean sheet against Chelsea for example.

Carson started off o.k (and is still probably the best keeper I've seen kicking the ball) but that was his only real strength as he was a mediocre shot stopper and stayed rooted to his line. It's saying something when Given comes off his line more than Carson did.

Also worth remembering that Carson was the only villa keeper who had the luxury of playing behind Laursen for a full season and still we went months without keeping a clean sheet.

He really wasn't very good and wasn't much better at WBA afterwards.

[KevinGage]

Didn't look too well today, apparently. 

Rumours of his wife being ill again  (hopefully not true).

Only been up in Sunderland two days a week for the past few weeks.

[eastie]

Didn't look too well today, apparently. 

Rumours of his wife being ill again  (hopefully not true).

Only been up in Sunderland two days a week for the past few weeks.

Wouldn't read too much into mon being there only 2 days a week, often at villa he wasn't there at training , similar to cloughie in that respect , Martin has never really been hands on regarding training and lets his staff run things - I hope that rumours regarding his wife being ill are false , but if true I would expect him to leave Sunderland pretty soon.

I think at villa he believed he could crack the top four and move onto better things but he seems to have lost that spark and looks as if knows Sunderland and mid table will be as good as it gets for him- I would be surprised if he was there in a years time.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Didn't look too well today, apparently. 

Rumours of his wife being ill again  (hopefully not true).

Only been up in Sunderland two days a week for the past few weeks.

He was having a shitfit at the ref at the end of the Everton game, don't know what it was about.

[LeeB]

Didn't look too well today, apparently. 

Rumours of his wife being ill again  (hopefully not true).

Only been up in Sunderland two days a week for the past few weeks.

He was having a shitfit at the ref at the end of the Everton game, don't know what it was about.

The ref had given Everton a free-kick and Danny Rose a yellow card for trying to dribble past two Everton defenders and apparently running too fast into the back of them.

That's two of the harshest yellows I've ever seen for Rosé in the space of a few weeks.

[jeowje]

I thought Carson was pretty good right up until that England match.

I'd even managed to get over the fact that he looks like a thin Chris Moyles (controversial, what with Chris Moyles being a c***).

Carson was never a good keeper for us. The England Croatia game merely brought his ineptitude to the masses. I never had any confidence in him. I'd go further and say he's the worst Villa goalkeeper of the last 40 years.

Gabor Kiraly?

Kiraly made that one bluder in the FA cup, other than that I didnt think he was that bad for us in his very limited time

[jeowje]

having said that, he is definitely up there with Oakes, Enkleman and Guzan Mk 1 (not the current Guzan I hasten to add)

[kippaxvilla2]

The problem with Sunderland is that it is just so far away if you aren't enjoying a job.  Celtic entirely different of course, it felt right, it was made for him.  If his wife is ill again, there will be no contest between Sunderland and that and quite rightly so - one of the good few things I have admired about him over the years.

[brian green]

Worst goalie for 40 years?   I think he edges it over Budgie who at least was a blinding shot stopper but like a fart in a colander at everything else.

Outside the 40 year bracket the worst I have ever seen between the sticks for Villa was Mike Pinner who was an amateur and came to us from Pegasus the combined Oxford and Cambridge University sides.   If this factette is a bit untrue it is because I work without a safety net.   He was truly useless.   What kind of a student he was I have no idea.

Incompetent but in an entirely excusable way was Con Martin who was a centre half and a very good Irish international to boot.   He used to go in goal when we had an injured keeper and was very good.   Villa being skint and run by Bull Ring costermongers he got picked as keeper for a number of games.    Again all from my dementia threatened memory so apologies all round if it is bollocks.

[kippaxvilla2]

When did Jim Cumbes play for us, he was pretty crap by all accounts.

[oldtimernow]

71-75 I think....don't think he was that bad ...my memory is as good as Brian's though!...but he has good reasons for his

[Steve R]

Jim Cumbes wasn't a brilliant cat-like keeper, but was perfectly competent. Had a hell of a kick on him.

The player he replaced, Tommy Hughes, had more than one 'mare. The Notts County game was his finest hour and a half. Dropped everything that came near him but saved a penalty. His other cliam to fame was cominge to blows with skipper Harry Gregory on a league cup match at Wrexham

[Sleeuwenhoek]

Thought Budgie was great to begin with, certainly better than Jake Findlay, and they were the keepers in 76-77 so couldn't have been that bad.