Houllier confirmed as new manager. Press Conference p22

[Brend'Watkins]

So he's going from 20K to 200K.  I have a fair idea where his allegiance should be.

Get your arse into the job that you are so handsomely being paid for and stop fucking the fans and club about. 

[Villa'Zawg]

So what could they do that's any different? Keep quiet and get blamed for that?

If I were the billionaire (more or less) owner of Aston Villa, I'd have kept Milner and given the manager £20m to spend on a new striker and midfield general.

[Risso]

Yes, it's that easy.

Of course it's that easy.  When was the last time a new manager stayed behind at his old job to sort things out? It is that easy if you have football people who know what they're doing.

What exactly is it keeping Houllier from starting?  What is it that the almighty FFF can do that no other football organisation in the world can do, ie stop a manager leaving and starting immediately in a new job?

[dave.woodhall]

So what could they do that's any different? Keep quiet and get blamed for that?

If I were the billionaire (more or less) owner of Aston Villa, I'd have kept Milner and given the manager £20m to spend on a new striker and midfield general.

Of course you would. You'd handcuff a player who wanted to leave and regularly handed over tens of millions of pounds on demand. Meanwhile, on this planet......

[dave.woodhall]

Yes, it's that easy.

Of course it's that easy.  When was the last time a new manager stayed behind at his old job to sort things out? It is that easy if you have football people who know what they're doing.

What exactly is it keeping Houllier from starting?  What is it that the almighty FFF can do that no other football organisation in the world can do, ie stop a manager leaving and starting immediately in a new job?

I don't know, and neither does anyone else. But something is, and sadly, the world doesn't revolve around Aston Villa FC.

[Somniloquism]

Strange, but after the conference the general feeling was that it went well. It was only when some reporter (weren't they all supposed to be "lazy journalists" with an anti-Villa agenda?) called it a farce that it was described as such.  And would this be the press conference that came after days of people asking when the press conference was going to happen?

I didn't see the conference as I was at work but most of the comments were based on his pro Villa rhetoric. it seems (similar to the Budget) that although the bad news was announced most did not realise until the papers summarised the conference to its main parts.

And as I've said before - for years we've dismissed criticism. Now we seem to be revelling in it.

Again the first time I knew of the starting situation was these threads, not any newspaper.
It isn't revelling in criticism. All the papers apparently did was state the basic facts as they were told them. I'm sure if the papers had come out and said Houllier is a wanker and will be shit at Villa most respected posters would have jumped on the papers as you are now suggesting. Those same posters are looking at the current situation and calling it a farce.

You are coming across very ChrisSmithical in the defence of the board in these situations. Yes they have had a difficult job in replacing the runaway but for the first time in 4 years they have become very amateurish and naive and when the fall is from such normally high level of standards it stands out massively.

[dave.woodhall]

You are coming across very ChrisSmithical in the defence of the board in these situations. Yes they have had a difficult job in replacing the runaway but for the first time in 4 years they have become very amateurish and naive and when the fall is from such normally high level of standards it stands out massively.

I'll defend anyone I think is being uunfairly criticised, and while there are a few problems I think the level of abuse that's being levelled is massively disproprtionate.

[Reality]

Not blaming it squarely on one person, but does anyone else find it funny that things start to go downhill and questionable board decisions are made, once Paul Faulkner is ascended into his glorious role?

I might also add that the prick constantly looks bored whenever we play, whether we're playing well, winning or whatever. It is clear to anyone he has no interest in this club, so why should he really care about his actions?

In my mind he is to blame for a lot of this bullshit dragging on. How he is qualified to be given such a job in the first place is beyond me. A degree in history, doesn't give you the business acumen to run a football club like Aston Villa successfully. Time after time he has tried to pull some stunt and it has backfired - his choice of words in statements, the manager situation, lack of information given to fans, and back to the managerial situation again.

Yadda, yadda.

[Risso]

I don't know, and neither does anyone else. But something is, and sadly, the world doesn't revolve around Aston Villa FC.

For the board it should.  And if we can't get Houllier to start straight away, it rather backs up what I've said in that the board have been acting with hopeless naivety and a dismal lack of football knowledge.  They're a multi million pound entity being run like a corner shop at the moment.  Who out of Lerner, Krulak or Faulkner has any grounding in football whatsoever?

[dave.woodhall]

Not blaming it squarely on one person, but does anyone else find it funny that things start to go downhill and questionable board decisions are made, once Paul Faulkner is ascended into his glorious role?

I might also add that the prick constantly looks bored whenever we play, whether we're playing well, winning or whatever. It is clear to anyone he has no interest in this club, so why should he really care about his actions?

In my mind he is to blame for a lot of this bullshit dragging on. How he is qualified to be given such a job in the first place is beyond me. A degree in history, doesn't give you the business acumen to run a football club like Aston Villa successfully. Time after time he has tried to pull some stunt and it has backfired - his choice of words in statements, the manager situation, lack of information given to fans, and back to the managerial situation again.

Yadda, yadda.

You can comment on someone without the sort of abuse you're using.

[SoccerHQ]

Could the board not pay the compensation to get the FFF to release him immediately so he's in the dugout for the Bolton game?

Must say I'm very pro Randy and the rest of the directors but I'm not sure how anyone can argue this appointment process hasn't been a bit of a shambles?

Remember there was a delay last week in even appointing GH and we still can't get him properly in acharge.

[dave.woodhall]

I don't know, and neither does anyone else. But something is, and sadly, the world doesn't revolve around Aston Villa FC.

For the board it should.  And if we can't get Houllier to start straight away, it rather backs up what I've said in that the board have been acting with hopeless naivety and a dismal lack of football knowledge.  They're a multi million pound entity being run like a corner shop at the moment.  Who out of Lerner, Krulak or Faulkner has any grounding in football whatsoever?

What's your opinion of Martin O'Neill's departure now?

[Somniloquism]

Yes, it's that easy.

Of course it's that easy.  When was the last time a new manager stayed behind at his old job to sort things out? It is that easy if you have football people who know what they're doing.

What exactly is it keeping Houllier from starting?  What is it that the almighty FFF can do that no other football organisation in the world can do, ie stop a manager leaving and starting immediately in a new job?

I don't know, and neither does anyone else. But something is, and sadly, the world doesn't revolve around Aston Villa FC.

I could only assume that they threatened to get Uefa involved somehow to ban him as manager at another club if he left them now. Especially as Platini is in charge.

As an aside. I have always worked my notice periods when leaving employments but someone at work resigned last week, should work a 2 month period but said she was leaving in two weeks instead. They are allowing it as she has forsaken payments!?!. What is the legal requirement to work your notice?

[dave.woodhall]

I could only assume that they threatened to get Uefa involved somehow to ban him as manager at another club if he left them now. Especially as Platini is in charge.

As an aside. I have always worked my notice periods when leaving employments but someone at work resigned last week, should work a 2 month period but said she was leaving in two weeks instead. They are allowing it as she has forsaken payments!?!. What is the legal requirement to work your notice?

You could have something there. I think the main problem is that this is the first time (certainly that I can remember) when a club has appointed a manager who was working for a major FA during the season. It's not like taking a manager from another club, who themselves want the deal done quickly so they can appoint a replacement. I can also see the French FA (maybe with the connivence of Platini) doing their best to annoy one of those all-powerful Premier League clubs. 

[Risso]

Of course I still think that O'Neill is a twat for leaving us in the lurch.  But you can only go on using that as an excuse for so long, before you have to roll your sleeves up and get on with it.  The board have made a hash of the appointment every step of the way.  This summer has been an absolute disaster on just about every level.