Houllier's presence

[eastie]

 don't think Liverpool fans would tolerate o neills style of football, he would be a huge flop if he went there and I'd be amazed if they wanted him- I'd heard it was hum , hodgson and dalglish who were the 3 interviewed which would mean dalglish wouldn't have wanted mon as he was after it himself- I think they will give woy at least a year in any case - if o neill goes anywhere I'd say it's more likely Newcastle.

[dave.woodhall]

I think it was Andy Gray who said that neither O'Neill nor Randy had come out and said he was staying. It's hindsight but there was an obvious problem.

[darren woolley]

But how long has woy got before he's sacked and mon become's there number one choice.

[PaulWinch again]

well in the brief time Houllier has been here I have seen enough to believe we will be much better off than we were under M'ON.

[eastie]

I think woy will have till the end of the season at least and I fully expect them and everton to be in the top 8 along with us and last years top 5.

[Jimbo]

I think it was Andy Gray who said that neither O'Neill nor Randy had come out and said he was staying. It's hindsight but there was an obvious problem.

Does that mean Randy had an idea he'd be off? Should he have lined up our Gezza sooner, saving crucial time, and possibly avoiding the Newcastle and Vienna debacles?

[SoccerHQ]

I still think this season is a bit of a write off in terms of being as close to the top 4 as in the previous two seasons if that remains some sort of target. Man. City are starting to click and Spurs are improving after a slow start and have a fantastic squad.

Good chance in the Carling cup but I feel we'll really start to see the Houllier effect in the league in a year's time.

[KevinGage]

don't think Liverpool fans would tolerate o neills style of football, he would be a huge flop if he went there and I'd be amazed if they wanted him- I'd heard it was hum , hodgson and dalglish who were the 3 interviewed which would mean dalglish wouldn't have wanted mon as he was after it himself- I think they will give woy at least a year in any case - if o neill goes anywhere I'd say it's more likely Newcastle.

KD only put himself forward for the role when his choice (MON) was declined.
I could be wrong but there might have even been an interview with Dalglish in print when he said as much last month.

I also don't think Liverpool fans can afford to be too fussy, truth be told. I'm aware that they probably think the rest of the league should give them a pass - that they should be automatic championship contenders every year based on what happened 20+ years ago and all the rest of it - but they hardly played scintillating football under Benitez.  And look like they're declining at a rate of knotts under Woy. There are limitations to MON's approach -as we know only too well, but there can be exciting aspects to it as well. Hitting teams on the counter at high speed and probably a fair bit more chance creation than they're managing at present.

I'd imagine the only dissent might be from some of the foreigners who might object to the bibs and cones Dog and Duck training methods and Robbo chugging around the pitch with a fag in his mouth. Could be a bit of an eye opener alright.

[eastie]

Agree with that soccerhq- the cups will be our main target I think and I think top 4 is not realistic having had no transfer window open to him- next season maybe though.

I think villa Liverpool and everton will be 6 th to 8th and hopefully in that order.

[Mac]

Nice to see GH wearing a Villa scarf, no number 31's here !

I thought that.  When I looked at the bench yesterday and saw Gary McAllister with Houllier I couldn't believe how well we'd done to dig us out of the whole that we'd been left in.

[Jimbo]

I think it might be where MON could finally be found out. Although I do think he'd find a suitable excuse to leave before the game was up.

[eastie]

I'd be more than happy to see o neill pitch up at anfield because it would mean more chance of us finishing above them in my opinion- I still think woy will turn it around and a couple of wins and they'd be right up the table- too early to panic yet, that have played almost all the top teams already as well.

[hawkeye]

my guess having just spent 300 mil on a football club you might ask for a reference of mon previous employer, lets hope Randy tells them he is a genius

[SashasGrandad]

A Liverpool fan just rang 5 live and said "we need martin o neill as Liverpool manager" to which alan green just scoffed at him "have you seen the way o neills teams play?"

says it all really- yes we had some good times and great memories under mon but it was time for a change and I'm glad he's gone , I'd be very surprised if he gets a better job than this one was, but I thank him for establishing us a top 6 club again.

I wonder what odds could you get for when we visit the bin dippers on Dec 4th - Gerard is up against MON?

[regular_john]

Got to say I'm really impressed with the Houllier and McAllister so far. Houllier seems like he really knows what he's doing regarding tactics, and in just a few weeks we've gone from hoofball merchants to a team playing some rather good 'pass and move' football, no doubt McAllister and Cowans have played a big role in this change. As many have said, I doubt we'll really see the Houllier effect until he has time to mould his own squad, which will probably be next season. I'm writing this season off as one of transition and will be relatively pleased with a top 8 finish given the disruption at the start of the season and the strength of the teams around us. Having said that though, if we're really going to push on under Houllier we'll need to be able to offer European football again next season, could be a big ask!