Manchester City v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Houllier has to go regardless on whether we stay in the Premiership or not. The bloke did not move from the dug out last night what type of manager is he?

McAllister is no better isn't he supposed to be Houllier's right hand man? We have no management team.

So he should be sacked because he has a calm personality. That makes sense. Not everyone has to jump around and go mad.

Agree.
Touchline histrionics are meaningless.

[Merv]

Dunne is a mistake waiting to happen.

Can't agree with that; thought Dunne was one of better players last night, along with Bannan. Him squaring up to Yaya Toure, then clattering into him minutes later to win the ball, was about the only thing that made me smile all night.

[WikiVilla]

Sickening moment when baliotteli elbowed herd then stood laughing over him

******

[Rico]

I'm trying hard to pretend that what I saw last night, was Aston Villa in name only. A barely recognisable team, and playing in black - no, that can't have been Villa. Please tell me it wasn't!

[Rip Van We Go Again]

I'm trying hard to pretend that what I saw last night, was Aston Villa in name only. A barely recognisable team, and playing in black - no, that can't have been Villa. Please tell me it wasn't!

At least you can get over it by tootling away on your trombone.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

I'm trying hard to pretend that what I saw last night, was Aston Villa in name only. A barely recognisable team, and playing in black - no, that can't have been Villa. Please tell me it wasn't!

At least you can get over it by tootling away on your trombone.

A Message To You, Randy?

[5ft811st2 Durham]

Houllier has to go regardless on whether we stay in the Premiership or not. The bloke did not move from the dug out last night what type of manager is he?

McAllister is no better isn't he supposed to be Houllier's right hand man? We have no management team.

So he should be sacked because he has a calm personality. That makes sense. Not everyone has to jump around and go mad.

He should be sacked because he picked a side to deliberately lose  an FA Cup tie when the prize would have been our first home FA Cup QF for 51 years against bloody Reading!

Then to top it he insults our intelligence and particularly those who travelled to Manchester last night by  denying that it was a weakened side and declaring that he would do it all again.

Who the hell is this guy answerable to for such a  breathtaking combination of incompetence and arrogance?

[woo]

I was too angry to post last night & I haven't exactly calmed down this morning.GH totally confuses me. The last few weeks we've seen better performances, decent results and optimism again and it's been thrown away in one night. It was allways goign to be tough but to give up like that is unforgiveable.

I foolishly thought football was supposed to be about winning.Silly me.

[Oscar Arce]

Shockingly embarrassing, Houllier is a disgrace with his team selection just as we were getting a bit of momentum.
I have said all along he is not the man for us, he is taking us backwards and last night I was ashamed to go out of a competition that could have been our salvation, with merely a whimper.
Felt sorry for some of the young lads, especially Herd, like Delph, who has never played full back in his life and ended the game at centre half, Petrov and Heskey were a disgrace to the shirt.
I am absolutely fuming with this performance and Houllier's justification that he had a 'team full of internationals' won't wash, he threw in the white flag and we all know it.

[TimTheVillain]

Shockingly embarrassing, Houllier is a disgrace with his team selection just as we were getting a bit of momentum.
I have said all along he is not the man for us, he is taking us backwards and last night I was ashamed to go out of a competition that could have been our salvation, with merely a whimper.
Felt sorry for some of the young lads, especially Herd, like Delph, who has never played full back in his life and ended the game at centre half, Petrov and Heskey were a disgrace to the shirt.
I am absolutely fuming with this performance and Houllier's justification that he had a 'team full of internationals' won't wash, he threw in the white flag and we all know it.

The 'internationals' speech is really funny; America, Bulgaria, Under 21's .... get real GH, you picked the wrong team playing in the main, out of position.

[mozza]

Ah nothing like a H&V over reaction. Give the bloke some time and lets judge him next season. Strictly he is right, the players were all either full (most of them) or U21 international footballers, so rotation is something we have to get used to, and GH openly knew they are a better team with a much stronger squad. Think the over reaction is madness. Just agame of football, 50 odd years and we have not won it, calm down.

Can't agree with this - whilst it's possible that our neighbours' Wembley triumph was hard to swallow
and last night we were all hoping for at least a draw, I don't believe supporters should be criticised
for having a go at both manager and senior players for the inept performance at Eastlands.

I'm one of the more senior fans who have hoped every year for the past 54 that we would again
lift that famous trophy, but have had my hopes dashed the same number of times at various stages
of the competition.

Whilst I don't enjoy defeat, I can accept it if the other team is better on the day or bemoan our
luck if we hit the woodwork, or castigate the officials for poor decisions- but what I can't and
won't accept is the manner in which we approach a game in the FA Cup, or any competition
for that matter.

Both at the game last night and I believe on this thread many have compared last night
with the 'surrender' at Moscow. Arguably that team selection was the beginning of the end
for O'Neill. In Houllier's case, and in his short tenure at Villa Park, he has managed to upset
the fans on at least a couple of occasions.

It can be argued that Houllier disrespected the FA Cup and the considerable number who
made the trip to Eastlands with his selection and formation. Youngsters, in particular those
playing out of position could be excused but some seniors under performed and deserve
the abuse being vented in forums such as this.

Like many others I will be there at the Reebok on saturday and supporting the claret
and blue but it's nights like last night that can't be forgotten or forgiven and in my book
the main criticism is aimed at Gerard Houllier     

[Chico Hamilton III]

I'm still fucking fuming. Absolutely livid with that fucking chicken Houllier. The Cup might mean fuck all to him and his beloved Liverpool, but he's misjudged this one badly.

It's not as if Man City are fucking Barcelona. Albion and Blues have both drawn with them in the league, where City would have had a stronger side out than last night. Why we had to throw in the towel and surrender before a ball was kicked I'll never know 

[JUAN PABLO]

This was the team that went to Sheffield

Friedel,
Walker, Cuellar, Dunne, Clark;
Albrighton, Pires, Reo-Coker, Bannan;
Young;
Agbonlahor


so why play that team last night?         If you are not going to talke the cup seriously , then play last nights team against Sheff Utd..

[Monty]

Sickening moment when baliotteli elbowed herd then stood laughing over him

c***

He is genuinely worrying to see on a football field sometimes. The guy's unhinged.

Dunne is a mistake waiting to happen.

Can't agree with that; thought Dunne was one of better players last night, along with Bannan. Him squaring up to Yaya Toure, then clattering into him minutes later to win the ball, was about the only thing that made me smile all night.

Agreed, Dunne read the game superbly yesterday and was fearless in the tackle. Also agreed about Bannan, he did some things in the first half which, had Xavi or Scholes done them, would have caused the commentator to drown in his own sycophantic drooling. He faded, understandably, as being 2-0 behind to such a strong team who don't give you much of the ball will probably cause you to snatch at your throughballs and so on, but was better when Walker, Ash and Downing were on - unsurprisingly, as he's the type of player who needs good players to make his considerable talents count.

[pauliewalnuts]

Shockingly embarrassing, Houllier is a disgrace with his team selection just as we were getting a bit of momentum.
I have said all along he is not the man for us, he is taking us backwards and last night I was ashamed to go out of a competition that could have been our salvation, with merely a whimper.
Felt sorry for some of the young lads, especially Herd, like Delph, who has never played full back in his life and ended the game at centre half, Petrov and Heskey were a disgrace to the shirt.
I am absolutely fuming with this performance and Houllier's justification that he had a 'team full of internationals' won't wash, he threw in the white flag and we all know it.

The 'internationals' speech is really funny; America, Bulgaria, Under 21's .... get real GH, you picked the wrong team playing in the main, out of position.

And Salifou is an international, too.