Why are the Media so Anti-Villa?

[Dave Cooper please]

The Winter article is daft but he clearly likes the man and the last time I checked being liked wasn't a crime. However it's his opinion and he's perfectly entitled to say it.

With freedom of speech comes responsibility.

Responsibility not to sound like a lovestruck teenager who has been jilted on his second date.

[The Situation]

Guess who was on the Sunday Supplement this morning?

"He did it for the money"

"Why didn't Randy Lerner give that money to Martin O'Neill"

"It was a panic buy"

etc...

[Chris Smith]

The Winter article is daft but he clearly likes the man and the last time I checked being liked wasn't a crime. However it's his opinion and he's perfectly entitled to say it.

With freedom of speech comes responsibility.
Responsibility not to sound like a lovestruck teenager who has been jilted on his second date.

You sound like a Tory MP attacking the BBC and this whole thread is verging on paranoia. If he was waxing on like that about Houllier you wouldn't have an issue with it.

The bottom line is we didn't spend any money last year and although there are mitigating circumstances you are only going to go backwards in this league without it. I think the board have now realised that it was a mistake hence the recent signings. So there is some validity to the sections of the press defending MON, even if they're not getting the full story.

[Billy Walker]

Winter is a twat of the highest order
 
I remember writing a vitriolic letter of complaint to him years ago when he wrote about us in very derogatory terms when it looked as if Brian Little might go from Villa to Newcastle to be their manager. He did, in fairness, write a letter of apology to me
 
My solution is just not to read or listen to any of it. I don't watch Sunday Supplement, never read the after match reports in the paper, never watch any pre- or post-match analysis and I go to the loo at half-time and catch up on here. H and V and, to a lesser extent, VT are the only sources of anything I read about the Villa and, in the case of the former, are about 1000% more reliable, informed and intelligent...

When was this?!  Please say it wasn't so!

[richard moore]

Winter is a twat of the highest order
 
I remember writing a vitriolic letter of complaint to him years ago when he wrote about us in very derogatory terms when it looked as if Brian Little might go from Villa to Newcastle to be their manager. He did, in fairness, write a letter of apology to me
 
My solution is just not to read or listen to any of it. I don't watch Sunday Supplement, never read the after match reports in the paper, never watch any pre- or post-match analysis and I go to the loo at half-time and catch up on here. H and V and, to a lesser extent, VT are the only sources of anything I read about the Villa and, in the case of the former, are about 1000% more reliable, informed and intelligent...

When was this?!  Please say it wasn't so!

Back in the 90s when Little's stock was high and Newcassle were searching for a new manager

Winter wrote about us as if we were Barnsley or some such other club and about Newcassle as they were some sort of equivalent to the modern day Barcelona

[Villa'Zawg]

"Why didn't Randy Lerner give that money to Martin O'Neill

That's the crux of the issue for these journalists and like it or not it is still an interesting topic for them when discussing the Villa.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

"Why didn't Randy Lerner give that money to Martin O'Neill

That's the crux of the issue for these journalists and like it or not it is still an interesting topic for them when discussing the Villa.

The old boy in front of me last night wanted to know that*.
His supporters, fans and journalists alike, seem to have an almost religious zeal towards him.
The old boy said to me

'He was the BEST manager we ever had, we should have done more to keep him, the sun rose and set with him as far as I was concerned.'


*The answer is '£10m outlay for Habib Beye, how many more players could we afford to take on like that and never use?'

[curiousorange]

I think when it comes to O'Neill some people find it difficult to separate the good points from the bad. He was a good manager for some, bad for others but ultimately he left. I think you can appreciate the strides we made under his tenure while also recognising it was a shitty way to end things.

[The Situation]

Nah.

They're meant to be journalists. I'm sure they know this, it's purposely being ignorant to feed their ego's.

Oliver Holt is just throwing his toys out the pram because he's seething after Darren Bent scored on his debut.

[Dave Cooper please]

You sound like a Tory MP attacking the BBC and this whole thread is verging on paranoia. If he was waxing on like that about Houllier you wouldn't have an issue with it.

If you took any notice of my usual posts regarding the media (but why would you!) you would know that I usually stick up for them regarding anti-Villa bias (Pro-Villa - great journalism....anti-Villa - utter garbage etc. etc.), but the Winter article is just awful, he, like so many others in the last few days, just can't get his head around Villa and Hotlips pulling off a transfer coup, targeting a player they needed and getting him without fuss.
He can't bring himself to think that Villa really are a better prospect than Sunderland for a ambitious player hitting his peak, and he just can't see past his MON tinted glasses, he wants Hotlips to fail so he can say "told you so", a bit like some posters on here (not you Chris!).

It's a terrible article from a journalist I actually quite like.

[Dan England]

Holt was an absolute twat this morning. Is that difficult to understand ... Randy wouldn't give MON money cos he'd spunked millions on shit players who never made it close to the first 11. IT IS NOT COMPLICATED YOU FUCKWIT!

[The Situation]

Holt was an absolute twat this morning. Is that difficult to understand ... Randy wouldn't give MON money cos he'd spunked millions on shit players who never made it close to the first 11. IT IS NOT COMPLICATED YOU FUCKWIT!

There was this other snidey, little **** backing up everything Holt was saying.

It's a disgrace they're journalists.

[Chris Smith]

Dave, it is because I know that you're usually one of the more level headed when it comes to the press that I was surprised by your post above. I don't agree with what Winter has said but I fully accept that it his opinion and that he's entitled to it. I used to get really wound up by Bill Howell in the Mail but in the end he's just a bloke who sees things differently to me. Some of the stuff on here is getting near to Tom Ross phone in level.

[Chris Smith]

Holt was an absolute twat this morning. Is that difficult to understand ... Randy wouldn't give MON money cos he'd spunked millions on shit players who never made it close to the first 11. IT IS NOT COMPLICATED YOU FUCKWIT!

We all have our own opinions about what caused MON to walk out but none of us know for certain. What we do know was that our failure to invest in the squad last year has had a real impact and we've struggled badly this season and have had to try to spend our way out of it. I understand that Randy wanted to sort out the wage bill but there's no denying that we've suffered for it.

[SteveD]

Randy wouldn't give MON money cos he'd spunked millions on shit players who never made it close to the first 11.

We don't know that, and the media don't know that. That's part of the problem, we can only guess or speculate as silence is usually golden around Villa Park and the departing manager after he goes. The big four also sign "shit" players or pay over the top for signings who don't make it. MON made mistakes, he also signed Young, Milner (both for sums some people on here moaned about at the time), Collins, Cuellar, Dunne etc.  Some of the media suspend their critical faculties when it comes to MON but some of the vitriol coming his way and re-writing of history from fans is nearly as bad.