Bottler to manage grief merchants?

[dave.woodhall]

We might have done if we had spent twice as much (gross and net) on our squad in the last four years, which is what Spurs did.

Are there border guards when you enter the realms of fantasy,  or is it like driving into Scotland and there's just a big sign saying "WELCOME TO LA-LA LAND"?

[KevinGage]

  Just wonder how long it will take all the experts on here to suggest the Hou is tactically naive, like apparently MON was. 

I dunno, probably as soon as he sends teams out with very little movement off the ball,  or awareness of  teammates and becomes over reliant on the big punt up front. Or tries to shoe-horn his favourites into formations even if it unbalances the side.

Nobody can say for certain the above definitely won't happen, but his experience and previous success rate hopefully make it a lot less likely.


   

I believe if MON had the starting squad that HR inherited, and the money to spend that HR had, then he could have got that team into the top 4.

  If MON had been able to buy Keane, Onohua, McGeady + 1 other, like he apparently wanted to do with the Milner money, then i don't think we would have been far off the top 4 this season.
 

Sounds like someone is still pining for him.

Perhaps you should take your own advice:

He's gone, get over it, and move on.

[Chris Smith]

 not every manager is good enough to get a team into the top 4, we will never know if MON was at VP.

 

We already know, he failed to do it and had 4 seasons to try. 'Arry did it in two.

He wouldn't have done it in two with squad MON inherited so it's not a like for like comparison.

[VillaAlways]

MON will not be next liverpool manager. I reckon he will be managing Milner and Barry in the not too distant future

I'm presuming this is a joke

[Rip Van We Go Again]

 not every manager is good enough to get a team into the top 4, we will never know if MON was at VP.

 

We already know, he failed to do it and had 4 seasons to try. 'Arry did it in two.

He wouldn't have done it in two with squad MON inherited so it's not a like for like comparison.

Like for like is by the by.
He had 4 seasons, 'Arry had 2. It's all about results, MON failed to deliver and due to his over reliance on the same basic 11, never would.
If you'd put MON in 'Arry's position at Spurs, they would never have made the top 4, for the simple reason that MON would never have signed the same players 'Arry did.

If we'd kept MON and thrown more money at him, we still wouldn't be any closer to the top 4, the wage bill would go into outer space and we'd have the likes of Jenas at £8m + sitting on the bench.

[barrysleftfoot]

  To be fair KG, i went down on saturday, and all we did when Carew came on was hoof the ball.


  I thought MON did a reasonable job, i agree about the lack of movement, and inflexibility, that is why i would have loved a Hiddink down there, tactically astute, and very knowledgable.Maybe Hou will turn out to be as good, heres hopeing.

  I think MON built a very good squad down there, that with a bit of tinkering, is not far off as good as any in the league.I'm over him, and looking foward to Hou, or whoever , in charge, because with Gabby, AYoung, Delph, Ireland etc, we have the basis of a very good team.

  What does get on my nerves, is the constan snipeing at MON. We will look back in 10 yrs, and think what a good time it was, can't say that very often being a Villa fan.

[TheSandman]

I can see him managing Newcastle. I wouldn't bet against him managing Liverpool as I think the knives have started to come out (somewhat undeservedly I must say) for Roy.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Woy Hodgson was insane to take the Liverpool job, such a thankless task and he'll be booted out the minute new owners take over.

[Chris Smith]

 not every manager is good enough to get a team into the top 4, we will never know if MON was at VP.

 

We already know, he failed to do it and had 4 seasons to try. 'Arry did it in two.

He wouldn't have done it in two with squad MON inherited so it's not a like for like comparison.

Like for like is by the by.
He had 4 seasons, 'Arry had 2. It's all about results, MON failed to deliver and due to his over reliance on the same basic 11, never would.
If you'd put MON in 'Arry's position at Spurs, they would never have made the top 4, for the simple reason that MON would never have signed the same players 'Arry did.

If we'd kept MON and thrown more money at him, we still wouldn't be any closer to the top 4, the wage bill would go into outer space and we'd have the likes of Jenas at £8m + sitting on the bench.

Spurs paid £7m for Jenas and he's regularly on their bench.

It's a pointless and irrelevant argument, he's done a good job at Spurs but it's a different one to what was required at Villa.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

I don't think it's pointless and irrelevant to say that MON could not do what 'Arry did, even if MON had took over Spurs instead of him.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I can see him managing Newcastle. I wouldn't bet against him managing Liverpool as I think the knives have started to come out (somewhat undeservedly I must say) for Roy.

As long as he takes his coaching staff with him, I don't care where he goes. I still think Sunderland are a more likely bet with Newcastle not far behind.

In PR terms, MON will ride the "the club I supported as a boy" excuse to justify his move there. None of the big clubs will touch him.

[KevinGage]

  To be fair KG, i went down on saturday, and all we did when Carew came on was hoof the ball.


  I thought MON did a reasonable job, i agree about the lack of movement, and inflexibility, that is why i would have loved a Hiddink down there, tactically astute, and very knowledgable.Maybe Hou will turn out to be as good, heres hopeing.

  I think MON built a very good squad down there, that with a bit of tinkering, is not far off as good as any in the league.I'm over him, and looking foward to Hou, or whoever , in charge, because with Gabby, AYoung, Delph, Ireland etc, we have the basis of a very good team.

  What does get on my nerves, is the constan snipeing at MON. We will look back in 10 yrs, and think what a good time it was, can't say that very often being a Villa fan.

It depends what we do from this point onwards.

If we go through a rake of managers and struggle at the arse end of the table then, yes, the relative security of top 6 and occasional dreams of top 4 may seem like glory days in a few years.

At the moment though, it's more on a par with the JG era. I accept that it's harder to finish 6th now that it was then, but whichever way you care to dress it up 6th shouldn't be cause for celebration, or lionizing a manager for such a rare achievement. Unless you''re a small club on tight resources.

The MON era also helped to erode the importance of European football at VP, something which I never thought I'd see. Forget talk of CL, which -although it remains a target- shouldn't be demanded/ expected as of right. But a club of Villa's size should be competing in Europe, at least taking the UEFA Cup seriously.

Where is the incentive now to finish 5th or 6th if we're not going to even bother?
That practically puts us on a par with sides like Wigan, Bolton et al who've stated that they'd rather not even qualify as they'd much prefer to concentrate on staying in the Prem. Suddenly football becomes much greyer - and it was plenty grey enough under O'Neill.

I say none of this in a triumphant or provocative manner. I had my doubts about the bloke from about April 2008 onwards but I wanted so badly to be wrong. Recalling the hope and feeling around the club when he pulled into the North Stand carpark in August 2006 and reconciling that with the actual reality of his time with us is a hard thing to do.

There were good moments, and good players signed. But his leaving above all else will frame how many remember him. And it's not as if he has even a measure of success in his four years with us to counter that. Despite operating under more favourable conditions than any other Villa manager. Despite spending more than traditional big hitters like Man U, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Opportunity wasted in my book, primarily by him.

[Chico Hamilton III]

I still think Sunderland are a more likely bet with Newcastle not far behind.

well, if he's a man of honour ( and that's a 50-page thread in itself) he'll never manage Newcastle.

Sunderland, maybe......

long link, soz

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/he-was-martin-oneills-boyhood-hero-now-admiration-is-on-the-other-foot-466336.html

[Villa'Zawg]

We might have done if we had spent twice as much (gross and net) on our squad in the last four years, which is what Spurs did.

Are there border guards when you enter the realms of fantasy,  or is it like driving into Scotland and there's just a big sign saying "WELCOME TO LA-LA LAND"?

Villa transfer balance sheet - clicky

Spurs transfer balance sheet - clicky


Villa 2006/2007 through 2010/2011 - Transfer spend £148, 500,000 Transfer Revenue £65,605,500 Transfer Total £82, 894,500

Spurs 2006/2007 through 2010/2011 - Transfer Spend £316,395,000 Transfer Revenue £156,735,000 Transfer Total £159,660,000

I don't suppose the people who run that website have any particular axe to grind. They don't care one way or another about Martin O'Neill or Randy Lerner. I'm sure they've made mistakes in some places (they haven't added Ireland's fee to the Milner fee for example) but that looks about the best researched set of figures I know of on the internet, perhaps you have a more definite source?

[dave.woodhall]

We might have done if we had spent twice as much (gross and net) on our squad in the last four years, which is what Spurs did.

Are there border guards when you enter the realms of fantasy,  or is it like driving into Scotland and there's just a big sign saying "WELCOME TO LA-LA LAND"?

Villa transfer balance sheet - clicky

Spurs transfer balance sheet - clicky


Villa 2006/2007 through 2010/2011 - Transfer spend £148, 500,000 Transfer Revenue £65,605,500 Transfer Total £82, 894,500

Spurs 2006/2007 through 2010/2011 - Transfer Spend £316,395,000 Transfer Revenue £156,735,000 Transfer Total £159,660,000

I don't suppose the people who run that website have any particular axe to grind. They don't care one way or another about Martin O'Neill or Randy Lerner. I'm sure they've made mistakes in some places (they haven't added Ireland's fee to the Milner fee for example) but that looks about the best researched set of figures I know of on the internet, perhaps you have a more definite source?

You mean apart from figures plucked out of thin air, which is what these seem to be? Nigel Reo Coker £11.25 million? Collymore £9.5 million? I think not.