The future of Houllier and McAllister?

[brontebilly]

AF will have a huge say on who will be next, anyway I don't give a toss. For us, I want the best man for the job, being British is irrelavent.

big time it is the kind of xenophobic nonsense Jamie Redknapp or Martin Samuel would come up with.

[Concrete John]

My question would be then "Why is it that British mangers rarely get the top jobs?"

The current fashion is for overseas managers, and when you're a CL club you have a world of choice.  If you look at last years top 10, then you'll see:-     
Chelsea - Foreign
Man Utd - British
Arsenal - Foreign
Tottenham - British
Manchester City - Foreign
Aston Villa - British
Liverpool - Foreign
Everton - British
Birmingham - British
Blackburn - British

So that's 6 out of 10 with British managers.  It's just that when those truely top jobs become available they seem to get overlooked.

Personally, I have no issue with the nationality of our next manager, I just want the best man and I'm unconvinced that going overseas is the best way to do that.

[Summers]

People saying Rafa - because of his previous honours - are wrong. He was at clubs who were in a position to win things

Does that include Valencia?

Yes, it does. They were one of the top clubs in Spain at the end of the 90s, and had a very successful year in 99 - he didn't join them til 2001. He stepped into yet another job that was set up for success.

[Rick_avfc]

People saying Rafa - because of his previous honours - are wrong. He was at clubs who were in a position to win things

Does that include Valencia?

Yes, it does. They were one of the top clubs in Spain at the end of the 90s, and had a very successful year in 99 - he didn't join them til 2001. He stepped into yet another job that was set up for success.

Thats exactly why he wouldnt be successful at villa

[Summers]

Exactly, that's my point. He's done well at clubs who should always be doing well. Valencia was on the rise and winning things and he joined during that. Liverpool he did an okay job at a club that should have been challenging for honours every season. His time at Inter was a shambles and is to me - a more realistic representation of his ability.

[Merv]

Extending that logic, then, and I suppose SAF has only done what's expected of Manchester United, and no more.

Big clubs, big players, big budgets - it goes without saying that they have a greater chance of winning and being successful than smaller clubs. But we can only judge Benitez on what he's done at the clubs he's managed, otherwise.... what's left? Valencia haven't done much since, and although they're a good club, any Spanish team which cracks the top two has achieved; at Liverpool, he did as well as any manager there in the last 20 years.

Inter didn't work out: he was there for, what? Six months of the season?

[VillaZogmariner]

People saying Rafa - because of his previous honours - are wrong. He was at clubs who were in a position to win things

Does that include Valencia?

Yes, it does. They were one of the top clubs in Spain at the end of the 90s, and had a very successful year in 99 - he didn't join them til 2001. He stepped into yet another job that was set up for success.

Thats exactly why he wouldnt be successful at villa

Why wouldn't he be a success here? We've the basis of a strong squad with a board that doesn't interfere with what is happening and some very good youth players coming through. Add to that the first class training facilities etc and there is a very good base to work from there to become successful here.

[Damo70]

In our situation, trying to trouble the established top clubs with an owner obviously prepared to spend but not prepared to throw good money after bad our best bet is Moyes, Jol or Allardyce. I never saw why two trophies and one serious title challenge in seven years impressed the Liverpool fans so much when it came the Benitez.

[VillaZogmariner]

In our situation, trying to trouble the established top clubs with an owner obviously prepared to spend but not prepared to throw good money after bad our best bet is Moyes, Jol or Allardyce. I never saw why two trophies and one serious title challenge in seven years impressed the Liverpool fans so much when it came the Benitez.

Perhaps one of them trophies was the European Cup, and then two years later he led them back to the European Cup Final again, had something to do with it.

[Rick_avfc]

People saying Rafa - because of his previous honours - are wrong. He was at clubs who were in a position to win things

Does that include Valencia?

Yes, it does. They were one of the top clubs in Spain at the end of the 90s, and had a very successful year in 99 - he didn't join them til 2001. He stepped into yet another job that was set up for success.

Thats exactly why he wouldnt be successful at villa

Why wouldn't he be a success here? We've the basis of a strong squad with a board that doesn't interfere with what is happening and some very good youth players coming through. Add to that the first class training facilities etc and there is a very good base to work from there to become successful here.

how many youth players did rafa bring through at Liverpool? Ask any liverpool fan, he ruined their youth policy and he will do the same at villa.  the likes of Bannan, Albrighton will not get a look in.  I wouldnt be happy with Rafa as manager but would support him as all I want is for the villa to do well and be succesful and there wouldnt be no point in being negative from the start.

[Percy McCarthy]

Ta VS. So who's the original Ailsa?

From Home and Away.

Ah thanks. Haven't seen it for years.

[VillaZogmariner]

Reading a lot of your posts Rick I don't think other than bringing Hitz back to Villa Park would make you happy.

Have you thought that the reason Rafa didn't play any of the youth players was because they weren't good enough?

[Rick_avfc]

Reading a lot of your posts Rick I don't think other than bringing Hitz back to Villa Park would make you happy.

Have you thought that the reason Rafa didn't play any of the youth players was because they weren't good enough?

I rate Hitz and feel he will do much better than NRC and Petrov IMO.

Not good enough? So why has Kenny taken a gamble with them? Jay Spearing, Selvy, Flannagan, all seem like they are going to be top draw liverpool players.

I could say the same about you in that the only thing that will make you happy is if Rafa was manager.

[TheSandman]

how many youth players did rafa bring through at Liverpool? Ask any liverpool fan, he ruined their youth policy and he will do the same at villa.  the likes of Bannan, Albrighton will not get a look in.  I wouldnt be happy with Rafa as manager but would support him as all I want is for the villa to do well and be succesful and there wouldnt be no point in being negative from the start.

Rafa reshaped their youth system during his time at the club. If you look now you can see a few young players finally starting to break through at Liverpool. These players did not magically appear when Kenny Dalglish took over. Admittedly, not many came through during his period in charge BUT how many young players really break through at big clubs? Not many. By wide opinion we have one of the best youth set-ups in the country and we have only brought through a handful of players in the last few years. Maybe the youth set up needed a lot of work that Benitez has done that they are now reaping the rewards of? How many of the young players who did not come through under Benitez have gone on to have decent careers and break through at big clubs?

[Merv]

How did Benitez ruin Liverpool's youth policy? These lads who have started making a few appearances this season - Spearing, Shelvey, Flanagan and that right-back whose name escapes me (they all look fairly ordinary to me) - did they sign for the club after Benitez left?