Manchester City v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[kippaxvilla2]

I felt we were losing ground to Spuds and Citeh even before MO'N left, however, Houllier has managed to cleverly turn it into a juggernaut going down a 2:1 hill at breakneck speed with no sign of any control ahead.

[eastie]

Time to say the buck stops with randy Lerner- he had 5 weeks to get a manager and has got it badly wrong- whether it's about cutting costs or what who knows , but it's fine for the general to shake hands and say Lerner is passionate about the club- actions speak louder than words- in the final year of the 5 yr plan we look like we are heading down.

Show some balls tonight Lerner and get rid of the manager and get martin jol asap- if not we will go down!

[TheSandman]

It's easy to snipe when you've got a perfect view of the whole pitch, but in every match this season I look at Villa's movement and passing ability and wonder how these players can suddenly be so bad.

They never were good at it. We just had a system under MoN that utterly masked their deficiencies.

This 'system' of MoN's. If it's true that he can get players who are otherwise capable of nothing more than relegation form fighting for a top 4 place and into cup finals, surely he must be some sort of genius?

Donyou not read this website? MON was the devil incarnate. He got more abuse during a game against Reading, which we won, than Houllier is getting today

I'm not giving him abuse or calling him the devil incarnate. I'm just saying that the teams never really passed or moved much under MoN. He had a system where Stan, Barry or Milner (depending on the season would) do a quick release ball to Young who would cross to one of our strikers and there would be a goal. The players were motivated and would run through a brick wall. MoN's departure and replacement with Andre Maginot coupled with injuries has resulted in this. It's more praise of how his system (albeit not the most entertaining worked) and his managerial skills saw us in the top six. We're a fucking disaster now and not all of that is MoN's fault.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Chelsea's 'slump' will end 1 minute after they kick off against us.

We're the team you'd want to play if you're having a bad trot.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

We can only blame MON up to a point.

Houllier and co. are responsible for the absolute travesty of a defence.

[Shrek]

I'm speechless.

[Jimbo]

We're the team any team would want to play next. We gifted it to Liverpool when they needed it most, we'll do it again with Chelsea.

[PaulMcGrathsNo5Shirt]

Mr Lerner...

Get rid of this twat of a manager before he gets us relegated. We have a lot of promising young players coming through, thanks to the work of Sid Cowans, Tony McAndrew, Steve Burns and Kevin MacDonald. Houllier is ruining the confidence of these young players - without them we will have no 'bright future'. Get rid now. Please.

[andyh]

We can only blame MON up to a point.

Houllier and co. are responsible for the absolute travesty of a defence.

its more than the defence though isn't mate.
Its all over the pitch, but most worrying is the attitude of the players, from front to back.

[tarzansbrother]

'We played better in the second half but the 4th goal killed us' Thats what the french twat will come out with. To think our Chief exec came out saying Houllier is here for the long haul before the game. Utter shambles

[Rudy Can't Fail]

What a load of bollocks.

From back to front we were useless but Nigel Reo Coker managed to achieve a level of uselessness that I didn't think possible.

We seem to be lacking any heart for the battle.

I'd say Petrov ran him close today. The pair of them utter gash.

Something is obviously not right behind the scenes and the rant Dunne had at Gary McCallister may go a long way to explain it. With MON we had a great motivator that knew fuck all about football. Now we appear to have a manager that knows his football but fuck all about motivation.

Wankers, the lot of them.

[mrfuse]

Chelsea's 'slump' will end 1 minute after they kick off against us.

We're the team you'd want to play if you're having a bad trot.

Yeah agreed I was saying that on the city match thread any team or player whose going through a bad spell loves playing us. Top tip for those playing fantasy football put Drogba in your team as captain

[lovejoy]

The blame of MON has been massively overstated on this site. Even with an inherited squad we've been terrible this season ynder GH. Even with a transfer window he'd only be able to get 3/4 first teamers therefore he's going to have to work with 8/9 existing players. Clearly they don't want to play for him. Its been a throw of the dice and its not worked. But its now time to be decisive and not dither. I worry that Randy has the inclination to dwell over decision when required. If GH survives this week they were relying on there being 3 worse teams than us.

[damon loves JT]

About five people have walked up to my desk and seemed about to say something, then saw the look on my face and fucked off again.

[The Moose]

It would help if we had a midfield that put a tackle in now and again, Petrov and NRC just step forward a couple of yards, then retreat, inviting the opposition on.
Houllier's 6 years out of the Premier is being exposed badly.