The future of Houllier and McAllister?

[JUAN PABLO]

The thing I found strange about Benitez , as liverpool scored their fifth goal , he would always get his note pad out without no emotion at all...

[JUAN PABLO]

p.s  not that Im complaining about Villa scoring 5 goals....

[Nev]

I have the same feeling about Benitez as I had about Stephen Ireland and Gerard Houlier.

No.

[JUAN PABLO]

Benitez has got a bit of a habit of making bizarre substitutions which would worry me.  Can you imagine the uproar if he took off Bent whilst we were chasing a game, like he did on numerous occasions with Torres?

he was bout right there with Torres thou ;-)

[JUAN PABLO]

Benitez  v moyes   ...       still not sure for me

[eastie]

I'd take moyes ahead of Benitez as he seems more loyal- rafa is a bit volatile and may see us as a stopgap until a bigger fish came for him, although I think he would do well during his tenure.

[JUAN PABLO]

I would only want Benitez If he bought villa and reina with him , which isnt going to happen....

[Neil Hawkes]

From listening to the pod it seemed that Rafa Benitez to Villa is on.

That's my gut feeling, too. I'm going to have to find a way to accept a bloke who has always irritated the fuck out of me. Fact.

You and me both. I still think it will be Moyes though, with Houllier retained in some capacity..

Times 3. (Benitez that is)

[Shrek]

The pod?

[Eigentor]

The pod?

It's a Ween album from 1991. It's somewhat surprising that it contains information about who the next Villa manager will be.

[Sexual Ealing]

Benitez  v moyes   ...       still not sure for me

1 European Cup, 1 UEFA cup, 2 La Liga Championships, 1 FA Cup, 1 World Club Championship

Vs

1 Champions League preliminary qualification tie (lost)

[JUAN PABLO]

Benitez  v moyes   ...       still not sure for me

1 European Cup, 1 UEFA cup, 2 La Liga Championships, 1 FA Cup, 1 World Club Championship

Vs

1 Champions League preliminary qualification tie (lost)

ok you have convinced me . Mcclaren it is then ..

[gerags]

Please - not the Fat Spanish Waiter !!!

[Sexual Ealing]

Benitez  v moyes   ...       still not sure for me

1 European Cup, 1 UEFA cup, 2 La Liga Championships, 1 FA Cup, 1 World Club Championship

Vs

1 Champions League preliminary qualification tie (lost)

ok you have convinced me . Mcclaren it is then ..

1 European Cup, 1 UEFA cup, 2 La Liga Championships, 1 FA Cup, 1 World Club Championship

Vs

1 Eredivisie, 1 League Cup, 1 Correspondence Course in Modern European Languages, Only Man in History to be Bald Twice, Nice New Teeth

[KevinGage]

Benitez  v moyes   ...       still not sure for me

1 European Cup, 1 UEFA cup, 2 La Liga Championships, 1 FA Cup, 1 World Club Championship

Vs

1 Champions League preliminary qualification tie (lost)

It would be great if he brought those trophies to us and they were automatically added to our honours list.

Unfortunately, the process of recruiting a top flight manager isn't that straightforward.  Past record obviously counts for a lot but of equal importance is when  you recruit them. Are they on the way up, or on the way down?

Benitez is younger than Houllier, so he has that in his favour. But is he likely to match or get close to previous achievements? If he continues some of the erratic behaviour he exhibited at Liverpool in the latter years, I'd say it's unlikely.

In contrast, someone like a Moyes or Hughes might be capable of having the best years of their career with us, rather than trading on former glories or reminiscing about their ex.