The future of Houllier and McAllister?

[Toronto Villa]

Am I the only one that thinks GH will still be our manager next season?

not at all. And if he's fit enough to do it, and granted the IF is several feet tall, then in my opinion he deserves a full summer and season to manage the club.

[NeilH]

Whatever the improvements made during the last month or so, I fear that there is a whiff of spoiled goods around Houllier and the regime. Even if the quacks declare him fitter than a butchers dog, the board are going to have to take the feelings of the fans into consideration as whether they like it or not, there are many fans that are hoping the illness leads to a dignified exit and closure of a rather depressing season.  If nothing is done and he is back at the helm come July then I really fear that there is going to be a vociferous backlash from a small but vocal group.

If they make a change then another small but gobby group will be on the new bloke's back in 5 minutes flat if he doesn't make a good start. The club have to do what they think is right, not be swayed by over exciteable fans.

Totally agree with you and the same time I'm equally depressed by the fact that if we replace the manager with someone else and don't get off to a flyer we'll get a repeat of this season. Its all about modern football and frankly its a pile of sh**

[adrenachrome]

Am I the only one that thinks GH will still be our manager next season?

Nope - I'm also finding it increasingly likely given what we're hearing and the longer it goes without the club taking action the more likely that is due to him staying. 

Me neither.

From The Express article yesterday, which was linked in relation to the Hitz issue:

But there are concerns within Villa for Houllier’s health and doubts about whether he should return to the stresses of football management. But our source is adamant that there are no medical reasons why Houllier cannot return over the summer. “People think Gerard has a heart problem,” he said. “His heart is strong. This is about the aorta. Once it heals, he’ll be fine. This has nothing to do with stress; this could happen in any job.”

GERARD HOULLIER MAKING A DATE FOR RETURN

[Nev]

If the club were to part company with GH, I think it would've been done by now. Once the clean bill of health comes in I think he will resume.

If so, I hope he repays the faith of the club and those on here, but  I maintain that he's not the man for Villa, I thought that last summer and I've seen nothing to change my mind. In fact my view has hardened given the season we had. And I also think the board will have to put the inevitable spin on what will be undoubtedly poor season ticket sales.

[eastie]

I'd like to see what transfers we do this summer and then give him at least until Xmas and see where we are, I too believe from the noises we are hearing that houllier will continue as boss, maybe randy feels uncomfortable about axing him so soon after his illness.

[Eigentor]

Am I the only one that thinks GH will still be our manager next season?

I'm 60-40 that he will leave, but if he hasn't left by mid-June, I think he'll stay.
I like GH and think that he has got some unwarranted stick, but if he stays, it will be a naive decision by the board.

[Damo70]

I think we need to accept (fans and RL) that we need to change the manager or give him next season. I can't see a mid-season change being great. So if anyone is in the 'lets give him till Christmas' camp if think it's time to do the old Mike Reed's Runaround and stand on one spot or the other. I'm for a change now personally.

[TimTheVillain]

Too much Tweeting going on about him returning for my liking.

I wanted him out before the aorta problem, and still want him out.

We don't get much luck do we - he's holding us up as far as I can see.

[Concrete John]

I think we need to accept (fans and RL) that we need to change the manager or give him next season. I can't see a mid-season change being great. So if anyone is in the 'lets give him till Christmas' camp if think it's time to do the old Mike Reed's Runaround and stand on one spot or the other. I'm for a change now personally.

Hard to disagree with that.

Whether it's due to health issues or beacuse he's not doing well enough, Gezza going now is much preferrable to mid season and having a third spell in 2 seasons of a caretaker manager.

[Jimbo]

I can't see that it matters whether or not the stress of football management will affect his health. It's the fact that he's got a recurring illness, and a serious one at that, that might keep him away from his job for weeks or months at a time that causes problems. If it happens again, and there's a good chance it might, it affects his ability to do his job properly, which will hamper our progress. Randy may think he's doing the honourable thing by welcoming him back, but the true gentlemanly act would be to save him from a very unpleasant situation should this ever happen again, especially if we're having another poor season.

It would be a mistake to keep him if we're expecting anything more than uncertainty and mediocrity next season, but if we're looking to win karma points instead of Premier League ones then maybe we'll be onto something.

[nick harper]

I'm probably in a minority on here but if he is fit enough to return, I would like to see what he does to re-shape the squad as he wants it this summer. I saw enough after Xmas to see that his philosophy was beginning to show signs on the pitch - and the players and management held things together to the end of the season when he was absent.

A new manager in the next few weeks would mean starting again and a close season lost given the new man would have to assess the squad.

However, we need to do the transfer business as early in the summer as possible. Move Young on if he's going, keep Downing and do the deals that Houllier seems to have lined up. Let's go into the season stable and ready to go.

[adrenachrome]

I believe that it was always the plan to move GH into a more executive role concerned with the overall strategic direction of the club and that this will still happen now, as long as he gets the go-ahead from the medics. I know this raises the question of who would work under him, but in the words of the flop heard fop singer from ABC,  I don't know the answer to that question.

[citizenDJ]

I'm pretty sure he'll be staying now, and that's fine by me. I'm assuming (I know, I know.....) that he'll be bringing in a good few new players (a few good new players?), as well as getting rid of some, and with that in mind I'm more than happy to see what he can do.

I don't think you can forget some of daft things he did, but......well, he got us to finish ninth in the league in the end, beating Arsenal and Liverpool along the way. If the table doesn't lie when we're sitting at the bottom of it, I think you have to accept it's validity when we're halfway up it, too. So, if he's healthy enough to carry on, he deserves a shot at it.

[PaulWinch again]

Whatever happens it needs to be confirmed quickly.

[Damo70]

I'm not in favour of moving him 'upstairs' either. Firstly I think it's fudging the issue and secondly I don't think it works. A chief executive running the business side fine, but once it's a director of football thrown in too, not for me. It doesn't seem to be going swimmingly with Mancini, Cook and Marwood and I don't think it will be long before Dalglish and old Charlie Corroli fall out at Liverpool either.