Why are the Media so Anti-Villa?

[The Situation]

Every non-Chelsea fan joined united in there hate for John Terry after what he (alledgely) did. Same for Rooney and Ronaldo etc...

Did Man Utd fans dislike John Terry more than anyone else beforehand?

I didn't think anyone other than Chelsea fans had ever liked him.

It went up as #3856 reason to dislike John Terry for United fans - they always seem to 'have it in' for Terry, the Ferdinand vs Terry debate adds fuel to fire too.

And reason #3856 for the rest of us as well then?

True, but for whatever reason United fans try and make out their hate for scumbag Terry is more 'personal'.

Ask any United fan which player they hate the most, old Tezza comes out trumps.

[Dave]

Every non-Chelsea fan joined united in there hate for John Terry after what he (alledgely) did. Same for Rooney and Ronaldo etc...

Did Man Utd fans dislike John Terry more than anyone else beforehand?

I didn't think anyone other than Chelsea fans had ever liked him.

It went up as #3856 reason to dislike John Terry for United fans - they always seem to 'have it in' for Terry, the Ferdinand vs Terry debate adds fuel to fire too.

And reason #3856 for the rest of us as well then?

True, but for whatever reason United fans try and make out their hate for scumbag Terry is more 'personal'.

Most Man Utd fans tends to be dicks.

[Michel Sibble]

Sky News Radio reports a "shock defeat to Man Citeh".

[Stu]

Sky News Radio reports a "shock defeat to Man Citeh".

It kind of is really though. With their outlay on players and league position, any neutral would have expected a City win.

[damon loves JT]

Perhaps John Terry once used the word `Munich' without observing a minute's silence afterwards

[hawkeye]

John Terry is a Man Utd fan

[midnite]

With today's result i couldn't resist emailing Oliver holt with a picture of todays programme.

[Stu]

With today's result i couldn't resist emailing Oliver holt with a picture of todays programme.

What was the pic? Could you post it up here?

[midnite]

Dont know how to. I've tried (plus I'm doing this from my mobile)

Just a picture of DB's mug on the front of our match day programme with the title
"A picture says a thousand words"

[phantom limb]

With today's result i couldn't resist emailing Oliver holt with a picture of todays programme.

Excellent. He really is a bellend.

[pauliewalnuts]

This one is absolutely beyond belief.

Unlikely lads Holloway, Martin O'Neill and Owen Coyle earn all managerial plaudits

This has been the Premier League season of the managerial unlikely lads, three of them in particular, and one of them hasn't even overseen a game.

Just as the reputations of Ian Holloway and Owen Coyle have been enhanced this season, so has Martin O'Neill's.
Before a ball was kicked in anger, O'Neill was roundly criticised for leaving Aston Villa on the eve of battle. His flightiness was slated, his ability to work when a chairman tightened the purse-strings was questioned.

Yet as Villa struggled under Gérard Houllier, O'Neill's stock began returning to its summer valuation, rising again when said chairman, Randy Lerner, opened his wallet in an attempt to halt the team's slide.

People began to empathise more with O'Neill's pre-season stance as Houllier spent £18 million on Darren Bent, rising to £24 million if he turns into Alan Shearer, and £5 million on Jean Makoun, plus the loan move of Kyle Walker.
A penny – or £29 million – for O'Neill's thoughts.

His view that Villa needed strengthening was vindicated. Quitting the club was not a hissy-fit, but a decision rooted in frustration at Lerner's now-changed policy.

Villa boast fine, emerging young players like Ciaran Clark and Marc Albrighton, but a balance of young guns and old howitzers is required.

For Villa to continue improving, and competing against wealthier clubs, they needed to invest. Belatedly, the cavalry has arrived, at an inflated cost.

O'Neill is enjoying a particularly good start to the New Year. All the bizarre, embarrassing and tawdry events at Upton Park have seen O'Neill's index soaring. First, people were saying – with some justification – that O'Neill's Midas touch would rescue a team labouring under Avram Grant.

Then, as word filtered out that West Ham's board were making covetous eyes towards O'Neill, he was praised for his sagacity for refusing to do business with them.

Even in the cut-throat world of management, O'Neill seemed that rare creature, a man of principle, seemingly withdrawing from contention because of the demeaning way Grant was being treated.

If the West Ham board had simply dismissed Grant, waited a couple of days, letting the decree nisi go through, the dust settle, and then contacted O'Neill they might have got their man.

Boards admire O'Neill because he inspires teams. He might even collect a few "if only" votes when Manager of the Year is polled.
The Manager of the Year, in Sir Alex Ferguson's eyes, is Holloway and it is hard to dispute such a verdict, although trophies are not given out in January as Ferguson has often observed.

Holloway's success has been in transferring his own prodigious energy to others. For all the one-dimensional perception of "Ollie", he has a fascinating hinterland, helping explain his drive.

After a recent Blackpool game, Holloway was heading back to the main stand after the press conference, huffing and puffing to himself over a perceived sleight in a newspaper.

I caught up with him for a brief chat and his anger was astonishing. Even though the criticism had been mild, and set against the waves of praise that have rolled down Fleet Street towards him this season, Holloway was seething.

Good managers like Holloway and O'Neill invariably draw on others' negative comments to fuel their fire.

In person, Holloway has a real physical presence, almost a boxer's build, and it is easy to see why players like David Vaughan, Ian Evatt and DJ Campbell respond so readily to his passionate entreaties.

Don't be fooled by the stream-of-consciousness mutterings, some of it bordering on the comic, in interviews. The substance is undeniable.

It is also impossible to escape the view that Holloway has so little time for any prima donna players or precious officials because he faces more real-life issues at home.

"Yes, our children have a severe disability," Holloway once remarked about his three deaf daughters, "but it's an invisible disability and in every other way, they're perfect, and so we're thankful for that.

"To experience the sheer trust and love of a deaf child is amazing. The girls' deafness has touched and enhanced our lives. We're better people because of it."

Another good man, Coyle, also marches to his own beat. Strictly teetotal, a rarity in management, Coyle's impact on Bolton Wanderers has been remarkable, driving them up the table with modest outlay, simply through setting up the players well, tactically and temperamentally.

Johan Elmander has been revitalised while Stuart Holden has been a revelation through the middle. Monday's test against Chelsea will be a challenge Bolton will relish, particularly with all the emotion gripping the Reebok as the club pays tribute to the late, great Nat Lofthouse.

When inspected closely, Coyle's record at Bolton is not particularly impressive, comprising 18 defeats, 12 draws and only 13 wins, but the overall feeling is of a club and players re-energised by the quietly charismatic Scot. An incredibly friendly individual, Coyle exudes an aura of real authority.

Coyle gives the impression of a man it would be dangerous to cross just like Holloway and O'Neill, the season's other unlikely lads.

Whatever we do, clearly MON is going to be the wronged party, he'll cop the credit for the good stuff, and the bad stuff will make him look even better.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/blackpool/8275992/Henry-Winter-unlikely-lads-Holloway-Martin-ONeill-and-Owen-Coyle-earn-all-managerial-plaudits.html

[dave.woodhall]

It's absofuckinglutely unreal.

He walks out at a time that meant we couldn't buy new players, we're finally able to buy them and when we do so, it somehow makes him a better manager.

[kippaxvilla2]

Lets see how many of this lot are still great at the end of the season.

[Ian.]

Bloody hell. Two of these "good guys" have walked out of jobs into new jobs leaving their old clubs in the shit. MON walks out on us when he did. What ever have these especially MON done to get such good press?

[Jimbo]

I'm shocked, genuinely shocked, by that crock of T-Rex shit masquerading as a story by Henry Winter. Really shocked. I can't even bring myself to list where and why it's so thoroughly, unequivocally wrong. It would take me hours.