Not happy, M. Houllier

[TheSandman]

Would MON had stood for Dunne putting on so much weight?

It was under MoN that happened. Dunne has been overweight and ponderous from season start. Of course GHou should have handcuffed him to an exercise bike as soon as he came in IMHO.

[PeterWithe]

I've already posted that the attitude of the team, coaches etc was unacceptable but I dont want him sacked tomorrow.

We all say some fucking stupid things after a defeat like that, just look at most of the threads tonight, he should be given the chance to explain himself.

[VillaAlways]

I've already posted that the attitude of the team, coaches etc was unacceptable but I dont want him sacked tomorrow.

We all say some fucking stupid things after a defeat like that, just look at most of the threads tonight, he should be given the chance to explain himself.

He won't explain himself because I truly believe he felt his behaviour was completely acceptable.He's banged on about lplop from day one

[PeterWithe]

It is a bit galling but he has to put himself up for interviews, in those interviews the journos are going to steer him toward speaking about LFC as they sell more papers than we do. He's been very naive tonight, I hope he learns from it.

[curiousorange]

It is a bit galling but he has to put himself up for interviews, in those interviews the journos are going to steer him toward speaking about LFC as they sell more papers than we do. He's been very naive tonight, I hope he learns from it.

The man's in his sixties. He's been a football manager for three decades. I don't give a fuck if he does a hundred interviews a day, he can't honestly always be tricked into talking about Liverpool. The reason he does is because he likes to.

[hawkeye]

I've already posted that the attitude of the team, coaches etc was unacceptable but I dont want him sacked tomorrow.

We all say some fucking stupid things after a defeat like that, just look at most of the threads tonight, he should be given the chance to explain himself.

I can write the script "  am very pleased  to be the manager of Aston Villa but I am also very proud to have managed the greatest club in  the world which is Liverpool Football Club"

[Dante Lavelli]

This has probably been said in the preceding 7 pages but most of what I have read so far is drivel.  My tuppence worth:

MON's greatest attribute was to get the most out of his players, making the the teams value greater than the sum of its parts.  For example it is rare that a player moves away from MON and improves (unless he's been frozen out by MON).

Houllier on the flip side lacks this motivational acumen but is a better tactician and may be better at spotting players, building a club etc.

Therefore I am not surprised to see the form of the team decrease as I think a Houllier team needs players with more finesse than a MON team.  At the moment it is literally MON squad with 10 injuries.

My worry is that the Villa faithful and indeed Houllier will not have the patients to wait the required 2 transfer windows to see any improvement.

Patience is a virtue but you have to get a balance between giving a guy a fair crack of the whip and just coasting/ procrastinating for the sake of it.

Does this patience extend all the way to the Championship, is that genuinely a price worth paying to make sure the guy has two transfer windows?

I don't actually think we will go down, but the situation needs to be monitored.  If there are no obvious improvements, if we're seeing the same lack of effort and nous from the senior pros a decision would have to come sooner rather than later. Rather than just fobbing it off and saying it's all down to injuries et.c. Injuries do play a part, of course. But the players who are available are capable of far better than what they've delivered to date.

We've largely had a first choice back four to pick from all season, for example.

A good manager would - in my opinion - get the whole squad in a room and deliver a few home truths to the under performing players.  Get it all out in the open and start again. 

I'm not sure whether Houllier has the hunger to make himself unpopular as it will/could mean that a few of the experienced players throw their toys out.  IF he is in it for the long term and wanting to rebuild the club then he would do this without blinking.  (Again) My hunch is that the Villa Manager position is just be an ego thing and he will let things drift.

I'm not at the Houllier out stage - far from it - but I do want to see some pro-active management.

[hawkeye]

He has shown utter contempt to Aston Villa, I have made my feelings on this subject known to The General, if he got fired tomorrow for his actions today I would not cry one tear,

[Macho Man Randy Savage]

From LFCs os;

He told his post-match press conference: "The fans were good. I appreciated the fact that they chanted my name at the end. It shows they can remember.

"There was also a banner at the start of the game. I was not emotional but I was extremely touched by that."

He added: "It's difficult to say but I prefer to lose 3-0 to Liverpool because I like Liverpool.

These comments really seem like the sort of thing the manager of a newly promoted team would say after playing title contenders. Does Houllier know that we finished above Liverpool last season?

[VillaAlways]

From LFCs os;

He told his post-match press conference: "The fans were good. I appreciated the fact that they chanted my name at the end. It shows they can remember.

"There was also a banner at the start of the game. I was not emotional but I was extremely touched by that."

He added: "It's difficult to say but I prefer to lose 3-0 to Liverpool because I like Liverpool.

These comments really seem like the sort of thing the manager of a newly promoted team would say after playing title contenders. Does Houllier know that we finished above Liverpool last season?

I'm getting angrier and angrier by the minute

[pauliewalnuts]

It is a bit galling but he has to put himself up for interviews, in those interviews the journos are going to steer him toward speaking about LFC as they sell more papers than we do. He's been very naive tonight, I hope he learns from it.

The man's in his sixties. He's been a football manager for three decades. I don't give a fuck if he does a hundred interviews a day, he can't honestly always be tricked into talking about Liverpool. The reason he does is because he likes to.

He's operated at the very highest level in football, he's not some wet behind the ears Johnny Foreigner who has just arrived over here, either. He speaks better English than most of us do.

I like what GH is trying to do, I thought he was a good appointment at the time, and he has been cursed by wretched injury luck. However, I can't get away from a feeling that he's not going to be here very long, that things will conspire against him.

When he says things like this, though, it is absolutely fucking infuriating.

Firstly because it is so very, very tactless (had I travelled 100 miles each way and stood in the freezing cold to watch that tonight, then got home and heard those comments, I'd be very angry indeed).

Secondly, because it is somewhat belittling to the club and it is not the first time he's done it -  the 7th-12th place, not a club on the level of Liverpool stuff.

Thirdly, because he is contending with enough bad luck and factors conspiring against him at the moment that this kind of thing just needlessly adds more pressure, and that is the last thing we need right now.

It is all a bit worrying.

[ROBBO]

I have had a go at Houllier and now i'll defend him. As someone said earlier he inherited a certain brand of defensive footballer one who plays with ruggedness but little finesse and has tried to get them playing a different style of football. That's why Carlos cannot get a look in, great defender but a hoofer. The main cause of our problems is the injury list, i cannot remember when we had so many players unavailable, does anyone believe that with a full squad to pick from we would be in this position? my main concern is how long before NRC,Heskey are ready to play.

[hawkeye]

I agree with Paulie, we are on the back of a gut wrenching defeat from the other lot, in a precarious league position and in desperate need of points and a performance. So he treats what is a critical match as a nice day out to visit a favourite relative, and totally disrespecting his employer our club and the supporters, Sorry I find his behaviour dispicable particylarly coming on the back of the many comments he has made in the past.

[eastie]

Clampy , I'm not blaming houllier as such as this is not his team but I think his style of play would mean he'd have to totally rebuild and I don't think that randy will fund the amount of spending required.

I have serious doubts now as to whether randy feels we gave gone as far as we can under him and he is cutting back on the spending- nobody could foresee man city having this money and the top 4 looks further away now than when randy arrived.

Yes houllier can improve on mon but it would take time and Lots of money- is that available? I don't think so!

[Toronto Villa]

When he was appointed I wanted to give him every opportunity to succeed. I simply couldn't buy into being strongly against the appointment until I saw what he had in mind. What his plans were, the results of a transfer window or two. We might not get that far given the fact that a few months in he seems to lack the passion and desire for the job. I wanted him to be angry tonight and he wasn't. I wanted him to be really disappointed that "his" team, be it suffering from injuries and illness didn't want to be there, and that they had let Villa fans down everywhere. Certainly those loyal followers who spent money to be there. Then to find out about comments he may have made, coupled with his body language. How do you defend after that?

It was always said that MON teams played above themselves for him. While his football may not have been that pretty at home, he created one of the most resolute sides on the road. Aside from a couple of instances, we saw a team that didn't know when it was beaten, and we had a remarkable record of coming back when we trailed in games. That's a great trait for any team to have. I cannot see any evidence at the moment that this team has the fight or confidence, let alone ability to dig deep and find something when the chips are down. And they needn't look to the bench for inspiration as it's not coming from there right now.