Houllier confirmed as new manager. Press Conference p22

[pmk1981]

but thompson aint joining now is he ?

Hardly the point is it? You said you'd support the appointment all the way, but clearly you wouldn't have if Thompson was appointed. In fact you would have booed him, which would have really helped, wouldn't it?

i would just boo thompson for self satisfaction,  one boo out of 39,000 aint gonna be heard

[Concrete John]

Yes, I have been watching for the last 12 months, I just don't read things in the way you do.

If MON was in some way responsible for Milner wanting to leave, would the same not be true of SAF (Tevez) or Wenger (Adebayor) or Moyes (Lescott)?  No, I think that money talks in all these cases and find it odd that only in our case did the manager have something to do with it.

And you can't in one hand argue about the overpaif unused players and in the other say these players are good enough and should be used more.  If we had sold them we couldn't use them!

I think Clark had a job to get in as we were so well covered at CB.  Not so with albrighton, but then he's looked a LOT better now than when he did get his chances last season, so maybe this is just his time?

I wouldn't argue that everything was right under MON, but I would argue that most things were and there was no rot.  We hear these rumours about player unrest, such as Warnock, but why focus on that instead of Ashley Young (our best player) saying during pre-season he wants to stay and sign a new contract?

Any manager who takes over a club that finished 6th and reached a cup final has a LOT to work with and is coming in at a good time.

I said that MoN's ability to push us further than 6th MAY have played a part in Milner's move to Eastlands. I acknowledged that it was probably mostly to do with money. But there wasn't a great deal that Villa could offer over Man City was there? MoN included.

As for the players, can I argue that they're overpaid yet good enough? Of course I can! If they're not being used, they're over-paid. If they have the ability to offer something, then perhaps they aren't. Simple. MoN wasn't going to give them a chance to prove this, hence, they were a waste of resources. This has been gone over time and time again.

I think everyone could see that rot was setting in. I suspect even MoN knew it in the end, hence the silence from him. I'm sure, given his record of voicing his opinion, that if he felt he'd was completely in the wrong, something would have been said by now.

Oh there was rot alright. It took a lot of people (happy clappers like me) a long time to realise it but it was there. And it wasn't getting any better.

I think we best leave it here and agree to disagree otherwise a thread on our new manager will get dragged down with repetitive arguments about the old one.

[lordmcgrath5]

i am pretty disturbed by that Paulie, why the fuck would he say that? i did a google translation, my only hope is the context under which the questions were asked, if this gets publicised i can see trouble

Only on the internet would a throwaway line by a new manager raise even the slightest of eyebrows.

Would this be the same Dave Woodhall who was making a very strong (and plausible) case on here last week for appointing a man who recognised the stature of Aston Villa football club?
As mentioned above, the quote from the French newspaper is a considered opinion, not a throwaway line. Sounds like he's setting his sights low - above 12th could be seen as OK by these standards.

[Olneythelonely]

i would just boo thompson for self satisfaction,  one boo out of 39,000 aint gonna be heard

If a plank boos a scouser, does it really make a sound?

[Chris Smith]

7th-12th has really pissed me off. And it is day 1.

He ia really an arse.  Saying 7 to 12  for a club that sits in  5th position  in the overall points tally since Sky invented football is a disgrace.  In terms of  since  Will McG invented football we are 3rd behind Manu and Lpool for overall honours.  I do hope he clears this up otherwise .... I am equally pissed off...do not want another DOL.

Our average league finish in the PL is 8th, he's spot on. Overall points tally is meaningless.

Wasn't one of the main planks of your argument for O'Neill that he increased our points total last season?

A points total in a particular sesason is obviously important, a cumulative points total compared to other clubs some of who were not in the league for the whole time tells you little.

[Ger Regan]

but thompson aint joining now is he ?

Hardly the point is it? You said you'd support the appointment all the way, but clearly you wouldn't have if Thompson was appointed. In fact you would have booed him, which would have really helped, wouldn't it?

i would just boo thompson for self satisfaction,  one boo out of 39,000 aint gonna be heard

A well-reasoned and cogent argument. Well done.

[BannedUserIAT]

Just to continue the semi-private discussion...

Troy, I can also see where you're coming from, but the issue I have is that MON was accused of under-utilising the squad. Not that the majority of players he brought in weren't up to better.

If Gerard's "coaching ability, man-management, player knowledge, tactical knowledge" are all superior to MON's, then I would expect to see immediate rewards. I don't think a season of transition is therefore necessary. It just feels a bit to me like those that disliked MON so much are getting their excuses ready for Gerard in advance, rather than judging him on his own merits.

I thought the whole point of getting a really decent manager in is because they would be able to work with what they've got instead of relying so heavily on the transfer window. In fact, I can even see a benefit in the window now being closed because it gives everyone in the squad a clear 3-month period in which to impress the manager and justify their continued employment.

I don't think the squad requires a widespread overhaul. Just a tweak here or there. I hope and expect therefore for us still to be sitting in the top 8 at least by the turn of the year (which is actually slightly less than what I'd have wanted and expected from MON) before GH has the opportunity to freshen things up if he deems fit.

Strangely, in spite of yesterday's indifference, I am now much more likely to go to Stoke on Monday. Even if it is on the tellie, there'll be a lot to learn about how the team react to the manager and the appointment by actually seeing them in person.

Again, I see your point. The sticking point for me is that most managers do better with some kind of squad depth. They manage their season accordingly. It's no coincidence that we seem to fade and die at the end of the season. Had MoN done the honourable thing and handed in his resignation with plenty of time left in the window, a new manager may have been able to bring in some new players. As it is, even if Houllier is everything that his fans say he is, I just can't see him being able to milk a quality performance over a long season with what is still a squad with limited depth.

Enjoy Stoke if you go!

[pauliewalnuts]

We seem to all be missing the important question.

What are we going to refer to him as? Obviously, the previous two managers both had names that made three letter acronyms quite handy, but what about Houllier?

"Houllier" - bit disrespectful
"GH" - dull. Two letters seem a bit too sparse after DOL and MON's three.
"Gezza" - twattish. Wasn't there a local radio idiot called that till recently?
"Ged" - sounds a bit southern states USA to me.
"Mr H" - used by the General. Bit formal, maybe?
"Gerard Houillier" - too much to type.

I think we need to clear this up now. If I could be arsed, I'd set a poll up.

[BannedUserIAT]

'H'. Just 'H'.
James Bond had 'M', we'll have 'H'.

[pauliewalnuts]

'H'. Just 'H'.
James Bond had 'M', we'll have 'H'.

It does have a certain panache to it ....

[Irreverent ad]

Gerry?

[Concrete John]

What are we going to refer to him as?

I'm up for MAM (manager after Martin)

[Irreverent ad]

Take the Salifou chant and change it to....Gerry Houll

[Monty]

'Gerard' will do fine by me. Might be a bit familiar, but at least it's not a nickname.

[VillaAlways]

Ged is what most already seem to be using