Not the General Krulak Thread

[Legion]

Yes, but I think there's something special there which means he will be with us for quite a while yet.

[Villa'Zawg]

Amongst all the who did what and why there are a few indisputable facts. MON had employed players for Aston Villa that he never used, it was costing an enormous amount of money to have them sit idle, no business can sustain that and be successful.
Whatever the reason for Martin leaving he would have known it was the worst possible time for the club.
If i were the chairman of a soccer club looking for a new manager i would look at what he did to Villa and look elsewhere.
Randy Lerner has been the best owner/chairman we've ever had.

OK so now Houllier is here, the players have not sat idle, but the wage bill is the same (give or take),  but are we actually worse off now, lower attendances, more first team players to pay (Clark, Bannan, Albrighton, Hogg all on new contracts), reduced shirt sales, looking less and less like a CL team. So it will be interesting to see what the board decide next, financially nothing has changed, and i agree no business can sustain losses, so will we have to sell to buy first, and if we do does that mean MON was right?

Well you could argue that -Sidwell apart- the outcasts have featured more this year and Davies (in part or in total) is off the wage bill at present as he's at Leicester.

So if they're not idle, there is more justification in keeping them on the wage bill. I also doubt with the sheer volume of injuries we've had to endure this year that there will  be any more departures until we get some fresh faces in.

but surely we needed them on the wage bill in order that we could use them in a situation like this? If I'm reading you right, the implication is that we should have dropped Milner/Petrov for NRC/Sidwell at times in order to justify having them on the wage bill.

[KevinGage]

At times, yes.

The dreaded 'r' word.

Not so much Sidwell, but NRC and a few of the others certainly.
These arguments were done to death at the time, but prevention can be better than cure. Rather than running our best players into the ground.

If MON didn't trust these fringe players to come in and do a job, that would illustrate that he had blind spots when it came transfers, would it not? I know he didn't necessarily sign them as fringe players. But the financial commitment he made in both transfer fee and wages indicated that he had a degree of faith in their ability at one point. But not -seemingly- enough to play them when other players were fatigued or to head off that possibility in the first place.  So do we accept that his judgement might have been flawed in this area?

Wouldn't having the farcical situation of two right-backs on 40k a week not getting a game (or being played at left back) whilst a CB plays there instead also indicate a weakness in that regard?

Should the board (more specifically RL) have just kept on throwing money at the thing and watched a whole host of assets constantly sitting on the bench or in the stands depreciating in value and not raise a murmur?  I'd suggest that might be just a tad unrealistic.

RL might be relatively benevolent as far as owners of major football clubs go.
But the above sounds more like a business plan borrowed from the plot of Brewster's Millions. Only without the cash windfall at the end, obv.

[jb91]

I've heard the theory that Houllier is merely a stopgap, to keep the club in a saleable position whilst Randy touts for potential buyers. Why not?

[dave.woodhall]

I've heard the theory that Houllier is merely a stopgap, to keep the club in a saleable position whilst Randy touts for potential buyers. Why not?

Because this is your first post and anyone whose first post is something like this will be treated with a great deal of suspicion.

[ROBBO]

When we started to struggle in the latter half of last season many wanted underperforming players rested and others given a chance, MON was immovable and just kept picking the same players. I still support GH in his effort to give everyone a chance to prove themselves even if injuries probably forced his hand somewhat.

[Tezmond]

Dear Not The General,

now that the original 5 year plan is surely going to have missed it's original targets of CL football and the additional revenues entailed, what is the new 5 year plan in order that the club can be profitable in time to repay the original loan notes in 2016?

Not exactly sure how much of the original investment has actually been converted into shares, but there is certainly a timebomb ticking.

[TimTheVillain]

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2010/12/11/aston-villa-gerard-houllier-issues-a-rallying-call-after-worst-week-of-his-claret-and-blue-career-97319-27806440/

What's Matt Kendrick's agenda ?

'Controversial' ?

I'd say 'communicative' myself.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Doug was right when he said that when we are winning the manager and players got the praise, and when we were losing he would get the blame. Its much the same now.

[sfx412]

I've heard the theory that Houllier is merely a stopgap, to keep the club in a saleable position whilst Randy touts for potential buyers. Why not?

Because this is your first post and anyone whose first post is something like this will be treated with a great deal of suspicion.

In fairness Dave it is a theory some have propagated elsewhere, hence my unanswered question to General K 2 weeks back 
Not the best of conspiracy theories, but not an impossible scenario.

[Mac]

And more likely to complete bollocks than true.

[Toronto Villa]

I've heard the theory that Houllier is merely a stopgap, to keep the club in a saleable position whilst Randy touts for potential buyers. Why not?

Because this is your first post and anyone whose first post is something like this will be treated with a great deal of suspicion.

In fairness Dave it is a theory some have propagated elsewhere, hence my unanswered question to General K 2 weeks back 
Not the best of conspiracy theories, but not an impossible scenario.

It's a theory born in the depths of the murky underworld, where the the members all subscribe to The Onion, and have frame prints of the fake moon landing, Bush dining with Bin Laden planning 9/11, and white suited blokes enjoying yet another new years bash down at Area 51.

[dave.woodhall]

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2010/12/11/aston-villa-gerard-houllier-issues-a-rallying-call-after-worst-week-of-his-claret-and-blue-career-97319-27806440/

What's Matt Kendrick's agenda ?

'Controversial' ?

I'd say 'communicative' myself.

Mat's agenda is to write about the Villa, as it has been since he started writing about the Villa in H&V some 15 years ago.

[TimTheVillain]

If there was a Questions to The Genera Thread, I' d ask him this question.

A mate of mine with whom I was having dinner last night keeps getting non solicited emails from AVFC with invitations / promotions to go to games etc.

Before the ManUre game, he got one.

He called the ticket office to buy 2 tickets who asked him if he had a record of buying tickets.

He said 'no' ( he usually goes the corporate route), and was refused 2 tickets !

His disquiet is based on the fact that he's receiving emails informing him about an upcoming game and that tickets were available etc., only to not be able to buy tickets !

In the end, the ManUre game wasn't a sell out, so Villa are, in effect,  turning money down here ...

[sfx412]

And more likely to complete bollocks than true.

Couldn't agree more .