Bottler to manage grief merchants?

[dave.woodhall]

My belief - he knew he'd blown his chance of ever getting us top four and the only way was down. This way, he could say he'd have done better if only...... Randy told him the gravy train had hit a red light and he walked out at a time designed to cause maximum inconvenience.

[peter w]

My belief - he knew he'd blown his chance of ever getting us top four and the only way was down. This way, he could say he'd have done better if only...... Randy told him the gravy train had hit a red light and he walked out at a time designed to cause maximum inconvenience.

Maybe, but as much as I go along with most of that I don't see why it would be exactly when he did walk. WEhy not 1 day if it was pre-designed to cause maximum effect? There must have been a catalyst for everything to breakdown when it did.

Managers put their ego above most things in football andif MON thought he wasn't going to be able to achieve what he wanted to, then he wouldnt that 'failure' on his cv.

But still, this is his job, surely he can't be that conniving as to want to go merely to score points? To disrupt? Most clubs he's left all still speak highly of him, so do the fans, so why risk his reputation?

[hilts_coolerking]

My belief - he knew he'd blown his chance of ever getting us top four and the only way was down. This way, he could say he'd have done better if only...... Randy told him the gravy train had hit a red light and he walked out at a time designed to cause maximum inconvenience.

The only thing I disagree with there is the very last part.  I don't think there's any evidence of vindictive intent on his part; I think it's more that he knew what effect the timing of his departure would have but didn't care enough to stay.  Regardless, the net result was the same and he doesn't emerge from the sorry business with any credit at all.

[sfx412]

Mon did what he's always done. When he found out he wasn't doing a good enough job and the money he'd wasted was about to come and kick him hard up the rear end he quit.
Difference with Villa was that he didn't find a convenient enough excuse.

[Dave]

Difference with Villa was that he didn't find a convenient enough excuse.

Yes Malcolm, because that is all his wife's lymphoma was. A convenient excuse.

[Toronto Villa]

Different spin on things. Let's say he didn't quit when he did. Instead, we have the same players, thus same transfer window. There's tension with the board but things look good after a cracking win vs West Ham. Then things start to slide. Eliminated from Europe, battered at Newcastle, discontent in the camp quelled only by a jammy win vs Everton (yes, I know Luke Young played in that game). Things come to a head at the weekend where Bolton nearly beat us. Randy calls MON into his office and says enough is enough and fires him. Randy quickly moves to appoint Houllier who starts today. Would we be any better or worse off, and would the dislike/appeal of MON be any different? Same end situation, same points on the board, same old Europe exit..

[PeterWithe]

Thing is under MON we wouldn't have been battered at Newcastle and would have scraped a win against Bolton due to the fact there was no way he would have picked such an adventurous team in either game, if we want the games to be more entertaining we need to accept that there may be one or two poor results on the way.

[Toronto Villa]

Thing is under MON we wouldn't have been battered at Newcastle and would have scraped a win against Bolton due to the fact there was no way he would have picked such an adventurous team in either game, if we want the games to be more entertaining we need to accept that there may be one or two poor results on the way.

]

while I agree with you, I'm saying the end result is the same. It's Sept 20th, and he just got fired. Does it change anything from a perception standpoint?

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Mon did what he's always done. When he found out he wasn't doing a good enough job and the money he'd wasted was about to come and kick him hard up the rear end he quit.
Difference with Villa was that he didn't find a convenient enough excuse.

Maybe that's why he never phoned Randy to tell him he was resigning.

[Olneythelonely]

Difference with Villa was that he didn't find a convenient enough excuse.

Is this a reference to his wife falling ill.

[WarszaVillan]

Difference with Villa was that he didn't find a convenient enough excuse.

Is this a reference to his wife falling ill.

Things have really hit rock bottom when we start criticising Martin for looking after his sick wife. Fact is that MON had no history of walking away (apart from the Norwich fiasco) which makes all this very strange. There seems to be a real need by some to demonise MON and criticise anyone has retains any sympathy or respect towards him. The oh so very witty names of Doh'Neil, bottler, etc are being used against someone who the majority of fans had strong affinity with. Dave's theory about him wanting to inflict maximum damage maybe right but it doesn't sit well with me. Something happened that caused this breakdown - it was obviously a culmination of events but there was some catalyst. My belief is that the futher away we get from MON's period as Villa manager the more he will be positively remembered.

[Nev]

You can only judge people on how you find them. MON came across as intelligent, measured and above all, principled. Belligerent, stubborn and pigheaded as well, but the one description I would never have attributed to him was vindictive. Maybe that would fit O'Leary, but not O'Neil.

This alone feeds my desire to find out just why he walked and why at such an important time for our club. It also stops me from condemning the man outright and doing an about turn on his ability as a manager or totally ignoring the four years of progress, as has been so prelevent on here. A revision of history on a par with the conversion of Doug from the subject of protest marches to cuddly old man on the Holte.

The chance for MON to prove himself as a top manager with a big club has gone now, thrown away by the man himself. More important for us is the timing of his departure for which he'd better have a bloody good reason.

[Chris Smith]

Mon did what he's always done. When he found out he wasn't doing a good enough job and the money he'd wasted was about to come and kick him hard up the rear end he quit.
Difference with Villa was that he didn't find a convenient enough excuse.

That's just pure bullshit.

Like any ambitious manager he left a small club, Leicester, after giving them their best success in decades to join a bigger club. He left Celtic due to his wife being seriously ill. There are no similarities with what happened at Villa.

Do you actually believe any of the the crap you post?

[PaulTheVillan]

I thought it was something like this...

Money was being wasted on wages on players that wern't getting a look in.
Randy wanted to address this issue and MON didn't.

He threw a strop and walked.

Prick.

[Chris Smith]

I thought it was something like this...

Money was being wasted on wages on players that wern't getting a look in.
Randy wanted to address this issue and MON didn't.

He threw a strop and walked.

Prick.

Not according to The General and Pelty.

They both said he had agreed to try to reduce the wage bill but then something changed.

My guess is as that he decided we needed players even though they'd failed to sell and was told no so he chucked in the towell. However, for some reason they don't want us to know what happened so all any of us can do is speculate.