Gerard Houllier

[DeKuip]

It's no coincidence that in the last few weeks Petrov has returned to fitness, and all of a sudden we're defending better. He provides a layer of protection in front of the centre backs that is only really noticed when he's not there. He was injured in GH's 5th game at Sunderland and up to that point we'd played some decent stuff under the new manager and battled for points at Wolves and defended similarly to today when holding Chelsea at home, a game Petrov was outstanding in.
For all the problems we've had with injuries he's been the biggest miss. We defend much better with him in the side, and once you start defending better fortunes improve - as they are doing.

It was only ever going to be fair to judge GH when he had senior players like Petrov fit and available again. The previous manager would have struggled without him.

[Gazza1982]

Personally I havnt been this excited about a Villa team for a while.Its certainly a transition time and todays win was massive.
You cant argue with the 3 signings so far.Bent,Walker and I'm sure the African muscle in mid-field will see us well.

Manure will be the acid test,even a 2-1 kind of loss would tell us we are on the up.Wigan is a must win game to ensure some kind of momentum otherwise its doom and gloom again.

I like to think today was the start of a new Villa Folk Hero, our first 25+ goal a season man since the days of Gray/Little/Deehan. How on the pulse and brave is Randy to make that move, he must have paid off 5 million of that fee already.
Great stuff, the youngsters have been a little forgotten but with Bannan,Clark,Hogg,Lichaj,Delph in the wings,Im excited and hopeful again.We are gathering a squad of real quality with some very dangerous exciting players. If the defence can be as strong as today then we are going to really raise some eyebrows.I reckon we could do well in the FA Cup too, maybe even win the fucker.

[Dave Cooper please]

Good result but if we don't get a result at Wigan it will be completely worthless.

Bollocks.
It's worth three points totally regardless of what we do against Wigan.

You don't want to give Hotlips any credit do you?

[eastie]

A win at Wigan and we would be 2 points off 7th place , how can anyone say today's win will be worthless if we lose at Wigan? Today was great for confidence and 3 very good points, I really hope his critics get off his back and give houllier time and chance- he can achieve great things for our club .

Yes , Wigan is huge but given how tight the table is and the fact we have only 2 of our last 15 games against top 6 teams then we gave every chance to move up considerably in the coming weeks, we are at this moment 5 points off 7th and have everything still to play for.

[ROBBO]

What we all have to understand is that there will be more ups and downs before we have established ourselves again, that's why i said the poll would be interesting after yesterdays result. I am more confident of Villa challenging for a top position now than i was for the last two years of O'Neills tenure. The next item on GEDs agenda should be persuading AY to sign a new contract, that would convince most that we are back on track.

[Nev]

The difference in performance in the two games against MC is quite remarkable and while I have misgivings about GH's ability to improve on the previous managers achievments, he deserves enormous credit for the turnaround.

The backing from Lerner cannot be underestimated either, his vindication of his manager has seen positivity blow through the club like a hurricane. In the face of some utterly unjustified and disrespectful criticism the club, and in particular the manager, have acted with great dignity.

And the team selection last night was a brave move in a vital game that paid off.

Questions still remain about GH and his staff, but considering the staggering change in such a short space of time, Houllier has more than earned the right to continue in his role.

[Matt Collins]

It's no coincidence that in the last few weeks Petrov has returned to fitness, and all of a sudden we're defending better. He provides a layer of protection in front of the centre backs that is only really noticed when he's not there. He was injured in GH's 5th game at Sunderland and up to that point we'd played some decent stuff under the new manager and battled for points at Wolves and defended similarly to today when holding Chelsea at home, a game Petrov was outstanding in.
For all the problems we've had with injuries he's been the biggest miss. We defend much better with him in the side, and once you start defending better fortunes improve - as they are doing.

It was only ever going to be fair to judge GH when he had senior players like Petrov fit and available again. The previous manager would have struggled without him.

Petrov has his faults but he's our most under rated player (by our fans) by an absolute mile. He was the only vaguely defensive midfielder in a side that finished 6th and had one of the best defensive records in the league last year.

[koreanmeatballs]

Good result but if we don't get a result at Wigan it will be completely worthless.

Bollocks.
It's worth three points totally regardless of what we do against Wigan.

You don't want to give Hotlips any credit do you?

I said it was a good result surely that's credit, no? I'm just not pissing my pants with excitement as we have won one game! We didn't exactly batter them did we, infact we played like a (and whisper it quietly) MON team, get a goal and defend/counter with a direct approach. The system that clearly suits this set of players, why has he not had us playing like this for the past 4 months?

We now have a cushion between us and the shit at the bottom if we lose to Wigan we lose that cushion with a difficult tie at Manchester United coming up. So it is imperative we get a result at Wigan to ensure nobody has the chance to close the gap. A loss at Wigan would undo the good work yesterday.

On a side note why do you call him Hotlips?

[Shrek]

Good result but if we don't get a result at Wigan it will be completely worthless.

Bollocks.
It's worth three points totally regardless of what we do against Wigan.

You don't want to give Hotlips any credit do you?

I agree, but I think he means we were all expecting 3 points from Man city and the Wigan game, so if we lose to Wigan, Man City was for nothing.

But I've very confident of beating Wigan, Caldwell suspended aswell.

[wif]

On a side note why do you call him Hotlips?

Houllier sounds a bit like Houlihan?

[Jimbo]

The jury is still out. We've seen a gradual improvement, but it needs to be sustained in order for it to make any difference to our plight. What I will say is that Houllier fully understands the power of a transfer, which is something MON just never got. Here we are, a full week before the end of January, and we've got a record-signing striker who's already scored in the claret and blue, a good midfield signing waiting to make his debut, and an exciting full-back on loan.

The Bent transfer is so much more than just a player. It's a symbol. It's a statement of intent, proof for the fans and other clubs that we're serious; proof to our players that we're committed to climbing the table. It's lifted the whole club. Where MON would have signed three nobodies on high wages, Houllier has understood the impact of at least one huge and timely signing, and look at the results. I hope it continues.   

[sfx412]

Good result but if we don't get a result at Wigan it will be completely worthless.

Bollocks.
It's worth three points totally regardless of what we do against Wigan.

You don't want to give Hotlips any credit do you?

In a nutshell Dave, some are finding it hard to put away their sharpened knives.
He's had a full squad for 3-4 games, brought in 3 players 2 of whom have played and the performances have improved.
The limitations of Mons squad have been obvious for some time, the dependence on kids due to injuries means a bottom 3 placing, wonder what Gen K's view on that is.
Now the full squad is back, they are getting there, they can do it as Utd, Chelsea, and now Man City have shown, they just have to keep doing it because some of those below us are improving too.

What difference will Makoun make, I wonder.

[Irreverent ad]

I have got to say Houllier is really impressing me at the moment. I have always been a fan of his appointment. But I mentioned he needed to shake off the cushy role and mentality at the FFF he was used to.

Since the Man City away game (0-4) he seems to have a real fire in his belly and a real passion for the club. His press conferences show this.

Keep it up!

[Concrete John]

People talk about having the injured players back and bringing a few of his own in, but I don't think that's the total difference.

What I've seen of late is a much better mentality from the players, evidenced when we went behind at the Sty and when we were up against it in the 2nd half on Saturday.  They were fighting for each other and looked like a team, which I think has been the biggest flaw since Gezza took over.

If it continues, along with the quality in the side, we'll climb the table and then be a force next year.

[Walmley_Villa]

I have got to say Houllier is really impressing me at the moment. I have always been a fan of his appointment. But I mentioned he needed to shake off the cushy role and mentality at the FFF he was used to.

Since the Man City away game (0-4) he seems to have a real fire in his belly and a real passion for the club. His press conferences show this.

Keep it up!

I have to agree. The stick he has been getting from Elephant Man and Gollum seems to have stoked the fire and together with the backing from Randy I think he really fancies the job now. Onwards and upwards.