Not happy, M. Houllier

[Irish villain]

I am eating humble pie re MON.

[Dante Lavelli]

I hate to say it (and I think that Villa would look bad if they did do this) BUT its a very convenient time for Jol to be looking for work.

The rumours previously suggest that Randy and the board are a fan.

[KevinGage]

I gave the example of BFR in another thread and it's a decent enough comparison.

Everytime he returned with Cov and even much later in 1998 with an already relegated Forest he got a good reception from our lot. In particular the game in Feb 1995 v Cov just a few months after he was sacked.

You could tell he was chuffed, there is a picture of it in a match programme. But he wasn't milking the adulation, effectively mocking his current employer. We turned Cov over a few times (not in that game early in 1995 though) yet there was no "If I had to lose to anyone I'm glad it's Villa" type bollocks. Nor would we as fans of his ex club expect it.

[KevinGage]

I hate to say it (and I think that Villa would look bad if they did do this) BUT its a very convenient time for Jol to be looking for work.

The rumours previously suggest that Randy and the board are a fan.

Could it be that GH knew something was afoot and that's why he dished out such fawning praise of our opponents tonight?

It's just about the only thing that would go some way to excusing his behaviour.

Doubt it though.

[Dante Lavelli]

Found this comment on the Guardian website about Houllier.  It's (moderately) interesting as Houllier's comments do generally seem to undervalue what he has, for example saying Villa are a 12-7th club and not to mention what he said tonight:

"I have a lot of time for Houllier, but he didn't prepare us to be winners, and we still struggle from the after effects of that. The team that won that won the treble and the next season looked like challenging for the title had been forged as a team of underdogs. When Gerard came back from his surgery and declared the team 'ten games from greatness' the team just weren't mentally prepared for that abrupt shift from cunning underdogs to potential champions."

[Pat McMahon]

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.

Toronto Villain,

I agree with your last paragraph and have made similar comments on another thread today. The irony is that MON would be the perfect manager for the position we are in now.

I think we still need to give Houllier time now – the man has not had a chance to sign a player of his own choosing yet.

[willywombat]

I am eating humble pie re MON.

I'm not, he can go and F#$@ himself with a stick of dynamite for all I care. He's one of the main reasons we're in this position now

[taylorsworkrate]

I am eating humble pie re MON.

I'm not, he can go and F#$@ himself with a stick of dynamite for all I care. He's one of the main reasons we're in this position now

We can't keep telling ourselves that.

Whilst he did leave us in a state leaving so close to the start of the season, 16 league games have been played since then. 
Its not MON's fault that we are so poor defensively (the same defence under MON were largely excellent last season).  It's not MON's fault that a no of senior players are showing such a lack of fight.

[Holtenderinthesky]

I am eating humble pie re MON.

I'm not, he can go and F#$@ himself with a stick of dynamite for all I care. He's one of the main reasons we're in this position now

We can't keep telling ourselves that.

Whilst he did leave us in a state leaving so close to the start of the season, 16 league games have been played since then. 
Its not MON's fault that we are so poor defensively (the same defence under MON were largely excellent last season).  It's not MON's fault that a no of senior players are showing such a lack of fight.

I agree entirely and it's about time people started to realise that far from MON being the Villain in all this he was one of the best managers the club has had in recent years and we are not likely to get anyone remotely near to that for a long while.  GH couldn't clean O'Neill's boots yet for some reason there are so many people on this site determined to denounce MON's achievements at the Villa and blame him for this mess.  The board got the wrong man in GH and that is so blatantly obvious.

[TimTheVillain]

He's been here 3 months tomorrow, I think his probation period has been quite revealing.

He's not the man we need.

Get on the phone to Martin Jol now Randy.

[Nev]

There is a marked difference with the return of Taylor to Villa Park with Watford.

He had achieved at both clubs.

GH has achieved nothing at Villa, and after last night is not likely to.

I said after the Small Heath game that we would be in the bottom three by Christmas. I stand by that but what galls me even more is that is it plainly obvious that the manager doesn't give a fuck.

[Legion]

I just cannot believe he said what he did.

[adam#1]

We're a few games away from "'Cherar 'Oully-eh" declaring football fans fickle. This feels like DOL mk 2. Get rid now. We all now its not going to last.

[FrankyH]

How many times has Houllier said "we are in this together".He's comments last night just make that statement sound really hollow.

[Chris Harte]

I am eating humble pie re MON.

I'm not, he can go and F#$@ himself with a stick of dynamite for all I care. He's one of the main reasons we're in this position now

I'll hand him the lighter.