Doug Says "Liverpool Should Have Taken a Lesson From Villa"

[pestria]

Typical Doug.

A mix of sound (if conservative business sense), well meaning intent for the club set against a revision of history and self publicity.  What else does anyone expect?

On the plus side I'm quite getting to like his smug, paternal actions and quotes.  Loved seeing him shake Ambramovic's hand and now him telling the rest of the world how to run a club - and them not having a leg to stand on to say f**k off.   Keep 'em coming  ... lol

 

[Chico Hamilton III]

did you manage to glue the roof back on the north stand yet??

Not yet, although it's on my "to do" list.

It's only been broke for 6 years, give me a chance....

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

Come on lads Doug is in his eighties now. Lets just "pretend" he was in charge when we won the european cup. He is not hurting anyone ...................

[regular_john]

Can't help but like Doug. Even if he was a somewhat clueless chairman, he clearly loved the club and bailed us out financially in the 80s. His methods ensured we have had very limited success since but also that we have been incredibly financially stable. Hopefully his conservative nature has given us a stable enough platform to build on.

[damon loves JT]

There's an elderly gentleman on the P13 bus who will announce to anyone who will listen that it's his birthday and he's off to the seaside.

He says it every day, and the P13 goes to New Cross.

[Phil from the upper holte]

He invented the bicycle kick don't you know?

[stevenjos]

Oh doug, i miss your dougonomics. The man could make a Dairy mailk cost £1.4 million when you added on dougonomics.

Thing is it looks like his happy go lucky revised history of his tenure will stick thanks to meaning evil. nice.

[dave.woodhall]

You can either remain bitter and frothing at the mouth with every mention of his name or you can smile at the sight of Doug heading towards his tenth decade as egotistical and publicity-hungry as ever.   

I'm not sure whether that rather hyperbolic and melodramatic statement was aimed at me, Dave, but let me just set the record straight.

I'd be more than happy for Doug to enjoy his vast fortune until the age of 165. I just find it a little tiresome that his self-indulgent ramblings about how he did this or that for Aston Villa keep cropping up with such regularity. I can think of other people, far more deserving of the publicity, who might rattle on about how they did things for the benefit of Aston Villa and its fans, but most of them have the humility, modesty and good grace to keep a low profile. Randy Lerner is one of them.

No bitterness, no frothing, but when somebody accuses me of being jealous when I quite clearly am not, I'm going to put them back in their place.

It wasn't aimed at you, and phrases like "hyperbolic and melodramatic" don't put anyone back in their place.

[Leighton]

You just seem a bit bitter and twisted about him to me Jimbo.

[Jimbo]

Quite right, Dave, and if you read my post you'll see it wasn't you that I was referring to, but the person on a wind-up who accused me of being 'jealous'.

Legion, you can think what you like but you're well wide of the mark. I just don't buy into this 'cuddly old Doug' revisionism. I wonder how many people would be as forgiving to a certain pug-nosed Irishman if he continually popped up in the press spouting self-important rubbish in relation to our club. Just so you know for sure, I have no great liking for either of them, but bitter and twisted? Nah. 

[dave.woodhall]

The big difference is hindsight. It will never prove O'Leary as anything other than a self-obsessed incompetent. However, looking back at it, a fair chunk of what Doug did from the mid-nineties onwards proved correct.

[Jimbo]

Dave, I agree that in hindsight, some of the things he did were positive. As Chico pointed out earlier, he's often seen in black and white terms, but time has helped to blur the edges grey. I'm glad he didn't sell to those shysters who are now causing havoc up at Anfield. I'll even thank him for selling to Randy.

From a personal perspective, the past is done and dusted, but when it's brought up by someone and revised to suit their agenda, then I'm going to question it. Just like I'd question someone if they told me that Cuba won the second world war. 

[alanclare]

I agree that in hindsight, some of the things he did were positive. .... he's often seen in black and white terms, but time has helped to blur the edges grey. I'm glad he didn't sell to those shysters who are now causing havoc up at Anfield. I'll even thank him for selling to Randy.

Now, how do we reconcile this opinion of Cuddly Doug with one made at 8:36 this morning?

"Almost as toe-curlingly self-indulgent as the scousers themselves. But he's right: the day he fucked off his popularity soared."

By the way, there's a nice quote from General Krulak on the subject of Doug's article:

"Nice article from Doug.  As I have said many times, he and I get along very well.  His heart and soul remain Villa.  I am not sure the MON issue went down quite the way he said but that is a nothing.  He loves the Club and that is what counts."

[Jimbo]

I agree that in hindsight, some of the things he did were positive. .... he's often seen in black and white terms, but time has helped to blur the edges grey. I'm glad he didn't sell to those shysters who are now causing havoc up at Anfield. I'll even thank him for selling to Randy.

Now, how do we reconcile this opinion of Cuddly Doug with one made at 8:36 this morning?

"Almost as toe-curlingly self-indulgent as the scousers themselves. But he's right: the day he fucked off his popularity soared."

Both opinions stand, wind-up boy. Just because he got a couple of decisions right doesn't mean he isn't self-indulgent in that article, and more popular among fans as a direct result of his leaving the club. If you're going to come back again, you must do better than that.

[KevinGage]

What, sell their best players and budget for 11th as Aston Villa did under Herbert?

I'd very much like that to happen but I doubt the Redscouse will swallow it with the same relish as many of ours did, sadly.