Gerard Houllier

[JUAN PABLO]

he might be off the mark Dave but Libellous?

Saying players want the manager sacked isn't far off that.

its probably not that far off the truth either, i havent seen many of the predictable and  inane "we are all behind the manager " quotes

Then it's the players who are an absolute disgrace and not the manager?

some of these players know , they are on the way out.  Maybe get rid of manager , they can get back in the comfort zone and take their obscene wages still for doing nothing...   

[Mac]

And that's why Houllier has to be given 12 months.

To get rid of the dross, and bring in his own players.  Which once again highlights the shitty situation we were left in by our previous manager when he walked out when he did.

[Concrete John]

What is deemed as "Gross Misconduct" for a professional footballer?
Does the term even exist in their world ?

The term is void of any meaning as long as Joey Barton still gets paid to play the game.

[levico]

And that's why Houllier has to be given 12 months.

Normally I would agree but given that means we will also be relegated, we just don't have that luxury. Or do you think relegation is a price worth paying to get rid of the dross?

[Breezeblock]

So many of you going into blind panic wanting to sack a manager who has only been in the job a few short months the entire duration of which the transfer window is closed and he has had an unprecedented number of injuries to deal with.

Im glad the ones calling for immediate sackings are not on the board. Villa has been a relatively stable club for 40 years because for the most part we have always given our managers time compared with some others clubs I could think of. 

May I respectfully suggest some of you change your nicknames to Mike Ashley.

Well said that man. It's like friday night at the wailing wall on this thread.

[kippaxvilla2]

What is deemed as "Gross Misconduct" for a professional footballer?
Does the term even exist in their world ?

The term is void of any meaning as long as Joey Barton still gets paid to play the game.

Normally if you stub a lighted cigar into someone's eye you would expect to receive an instant dismissal.  If your a professional footballer however you get 16 more chances and increase your salary on each occasion.

[JUAN PABLO]

And that's why Houllier has to be given 12 months.

Normally I would agree but given that means we will also be relegated, we just don't have that luxury. Or do you think relegation is a price worth paying to get rid of the dross?

This dross has got us there...     

[Concrete John]

And that's why Houllier has to be given 12 months.

To get rid of the dross, and bring in his own players.  Which once again highlights the shitty situation we were left in by our previous manager when he walked out when he did.

To be fair, of the players we most want out right now, who are Carew, Dunne and Ireland, one wasn't here under the last manager and the other two were valued players under him.  OK, Carew was running his contract down anyway, but it seems to me we have more 'dross' now than we did when he left. 

[Eigentor]

it seems to me we have more 'dross' now than we did when he left. 

It wouldn't be the first time in history that a person (suddenly) leaves his post. only for the successor to discover several skeletons in the cupboard afterwards.

[MarkM]

Looking at the results of the poll, and using industry standards the following can be confirmed

[The board should take note of these results]

Using industry levels we can be 95% certian that should we ask 25,000 season ticket holders the question, should we back or sack GH then the results would be:

Sack GH would be on top with between: 57.9% and 70.5% of the 25,000 asked. [using a confidence interval of 6.3%]

So to summarise between 57.9% and 70.5% of a potential 25,000 season ticket holders would with 95% confidence say:

Sack GH now

Mark

[Eigentor]

(Use the same method to ask the population if taxes should be raised or cut. The majority would, no doubt, vote for a tax cut. Taxes should be cut, and the government would be bankrupt within ten years.)

[cdward]

And that's why Houllier has to be given 12 months.

To get rid of the dross, and bring in his own players.  Which once again highlights the shitty situation we were left in by our previous manager when he walked out when he did.

The squad of players Houllier inherited had finished 6th for the 3 previous seasons, had one of the best defensive records in the PL and an excellent away record, combined with the fact half of that squad were unhappy under MON, Houllier has not shown he is a good manager or coach. We have seen more toothless, gutless performances from this squad in 4 months than in the previous 3 years, i don't buy it that all the players are to blame, the manager has the ultimate repsonsibility to get the players to perform and to get results. Houllier has done neither.  He looks totally out of his depth. If he cannot manage a group of over paid players, the he cannot manage in the PL end of. Every PL team is full of over paid over hyped greedy players, it's the nature of the beast these days.
I agree we need to give him until the end of the season and a transfer window or two, but i really don't think he has the fight in him. I would love him to prove me wrong as i do think he knows how he wants his team to play, but if he can't manage and motivate the players to achieve his aim, then he will fail. The basic skill of a football manager is to get the players to do what he wants, Houllier does not have this skill.
Our stat's and the league table does not lie, things need to improve quickly.

[Monty]

We're undoubtedly in a transition year, and the fixture list between 5th February and 14th May is cause for optimism. In that time, the only side we play who finished in last season's top 8 are Everton, and we may be playing them with new signings and a few wins under our belt. Arsenal away and Liverpool at home are a tough final two games to have, but I think we'll have enough to pick up momentum during that four-month period.

[Chris Smith]

From The Guardian:

Gérard Houllier retains the support of the Aston Villa owner, Randy Lerner, despite the club's slide towards the Premier League relegation zone, according to the Press Association.

Houllier will be backed in the January transfer window and is close to sealing a deal to sign France's Under-19 captain, Gueïda Fofana, from Le Havre for around £800,000.

Villa are only a point above the bottom three after the 4-0 defeat at Manchester City on Tuesday, with their next fixture Sunday's trip to the champions, Chelsea. But sources at Villa indicate Lerner and the chief executive, Paul Faulkner, remain confident Houllier will eventually revive Villa's fortunes.

Houllier took over in mid-September after the summer transfer window had closed and has presided over only three league wins since replacing Martin O'Neill.

He has been handicapped by a series of injuries to senior players including Stilian Petrov, Emile Heskey, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Nigel Reo-Coker, Steve Sidwell and Luke Young. In addition John Carew, Stephen Ireland and Richard Dunne appear likely to move on in January after falling out with Houllier.

Lerner recognises the seriousness of Villa's current plight, which contrasts with top-six finishes in their previous three campaigns. But speculation that he and Faulkner met Houllier in Manchester after the debacle at Eastlands is wide of the mark and the Villa manager travelled home on the team coach.

After the trip to Stamford Bridge, Villa entertain Sunderland next Wednesday ahead of an FA Cup tie at Sheffield United three days later.

Fofana is regarded as one of France's brightest prospects and led his country to European Under-19 Championship success during the summer. He is well known to Houllier from his previous role as France's technical director.

[Clampy]

And that's why Houllier has to be given 12 months.

To get rid of the dross, and bring in his own players.  Which once again highlights the shitty situation we were left in by our previous manager when he walked out when he did.

Is this the same dross that finished 6th last season, 1 point ahead of Liverpool, 3 points behind Money City and 6 points off 4th place, and a Cup Final appearance?

Some people need to get out of their heads that the last manager left a load of crap behind, he did'nt. He overpaid for a few of them yes, but they were decent players a few months ago, what's changed?