Prediction for the rest of the season and the close season

[Eigentor]

For all Houllier's faults (and there are a lot of them), I do think he cares.

He (and most of the squad) only seemed interested when relegation became a possibility. Then there was a challenge. Before that, he was very philosophical about our performances.

[dave.woodhall]

I am convinced we're going to get relegated

Would you like a bet then?

[Exeter 77]

I think 2005/06 was worse. If we survive this season there is an expectation things will be better next season, back then we were more or less expecting to go down in 2007. It seemed like a downward spiral similar to that between 1984 and 1987.

[Villa'Zawg]

I think we can all pinpoint your gigantic about turn (which followed your previous gigantic about turn a few years before) to the exact day it happened.

We spent 30 million pounds in the January window, and still you're banging on about a failure to invest.

We can pinpoint it to day the board said we needed to focus on reducing wages, 22nd July 2010.

The £30m (or perhaps £23m, who knows?) spent in January was raised in sales last year.  That isn't investment, it's trading.

[Irish villain]

I have a question for people who remember us getting relegated. I was only 9 when we survived in 1994/95, so not all that in the know how poor we were that time, this has been the worst season since we last went down, surely?

It was just painful from start to finish, I found it very hard to take. Everythign about the club has been so stale and listless.

I said yesterday to the chap that sits next to me that this season reminds me of 86-87, but then I was thinking about it later last night, and it's not really as bad.

For all Houllier's faults (and there are a lot of them), I do think he cares. Billy McNeill never gave a flying fuck for Aston Villa, he didn't want to be here, and that permeated everything.

I think the difference this time is that the staleness and listlessness of this season is accentuated by the fact that over the last few years, everything has been so positive.

You're right. It probably has been accentuated by the feeling of togetherness/optimism that permeated the club for the previous few seasons. Under DO'L or GT mark 2 I don't think we were this bad? It's  just dire, there's no togetherness, no fight, just going through the motions and hoping for the best.

Cheers for the feedback guys, appreciated it. Glad I was spared Turner/McNeill for sure!

[Irish villain]

I am really tired and half asleep here but who knows, maybe 20 years from now we'll look back at this season as a turning point as we beat Man U's tally of PL titles  with two games to go

[dave.woodhall]

I think we can all pinpoint your gigantic about turn (which followed your previous gigantic about turn a few years before) to the exact day it happened.

We spent 30 million pounds in the January window, and still you're banging on about a failure to invest.

We can pinpoint it to day the board said we needed to focus on reducing wages, 22nd July 2010.

The £30m (or perhaps £23m, who knows?) spent in January was raised in sales last year.  That isn't investment, it's trading.

Remind me again, who and what was said on that day?

And again, who did we sell for £30 million last year?

[ROBBO]

You can make the argument that all our problems stem from the previous management. Buying Brithish, paying wages well over the skill level of the players bought, playing one dimensional football that the players were comfortable with,ability to get players to play above themselves that led supporters to believe we was better than we actually were, i could go on.
Having seen GM in control of the squad for the last couple of weeks however i get the distinct impression that the man is a pillock (love that word) and with a more competant head coach we would not be in the position we are. The fact that he was Houlliers third choice speaks volumes, even then it was so late in the day that Houllier was starting to look in the situations wanted.
Don't mind Houllier at all but for the good of the club his health should end his stint. Whatever happens i want a top head coach at the club next year and GM out the door.

[pauliewalnuts]

I think we can all pinpoint your gigantic about turn (which followed your previous gigantic about turn a few years before) to the exact day it happened.

We spent 30 million pounds in the January window, and still you're banging on about a failure to invest.

We can pinpoint it to day the board said we needed to focus on reducing wages, 22nd July 2010.

The £30m (or perhaps £23m, who knows?) spent in January was raised in sales last year.  That isn't investment, it's trading.

Oh, sorry, it's just that you'd told us till January how it was all about him raking back the cash and so on.

Even when people pointed out that Ireland was part of the Milner deal rather than pure cash and this flew against this argument, this was ignored, as it didn't suit your argument.  He could have pocketed the money from the Milner sale, but he didn't. But that's just trading.

What do you think he should have done that he didn't? How much money should he have ponied up? Who should we have moved on? Who should we have signed?

This assumes you at least accept that we don't have a bottomless pit of money

[Villa'Zawg]

I think we can all pinpoint your gigantic about turn (which followed your previous gigantic about turn a few years before) to the exact day it happened.

We spent 30 million pounds in the January window, and still you're banging on about a failure to invest.

We can pinpoint it to day the board said we needed to focus on reducing wages, 22nd July 2010.

The £30m (or perhaps £23m, who knows?) spent in January was raised in sales last year.  That isn't investment, it's trading.

Remind me again, who and what was said on that day?

And again, who did we sell for £30 million last year?

I think you know what was said and I think you know what players we've bought and sold since the start of last year.

[Toronto Villa]

considering that you are the only person left on planet Earth with the viewpoint that Randy hasn't invested in the club, is pocketing the cash and slashing wages in an attempt to rob the club blind in front of everyone, that makes you officially mental and ludicrously paranoid.

[dave.woodhall]

I think we can all pinpoint your gigantic about turn (which followed your previous gigantic about turn a few years before) to the exact day it happened.

We spent 30 million pounds in the January window, and still you're banging on about a failure to invest.

We can pinpoint it to day the board said we needed to focus on reducing wages, 22nd July 2010.

The £30m (or perhaps £23m, who knows?) spent in January was raised in sales last year.  That isn't investment, it's trading.

Remind me again, who and what was said on that day?

And again, who did we sell for £30 million last year?

I think you know what was said and I think you know what players we've bought and sold since the start of last year.

No I don't know what was said, and I'd love to see you spinning your supposedly sacred facts to show that all the money spent this year came from sales.

[Villa'Zawg]

...

Oh, sorry, it's just that you'd told us till January how it was all about him raking back the cash and so on.

Even when people pointed out that Ireland was part of the Milner deal rather than pure cash and this flew against this argument, this was ignored, as it didn't suit your argument.  He could have pocketed the money from the Milner sale, but he didn't. But that's just trading.

What do you think he should have done that he didn't? How much money should he have ponied up? Who should we have moved on? Who should we have signed?

This assumes you at least accept that we don't have a bottomless pit of money

I never said it was about raking cash in, I understood we would spend the money raised in sales. I said I disagreed with adopting a sell-to-buy and wage reduction strategy.

I said at the time...

..

I'd expect that contentment  to continue as long as we keep improving the squad and investing to catch up with whichever teams are ahead of us.

Villa and Man City were separated only by 3 points in the league last season, we both had the same issue, too many draws. We are reducing the gap between ourselves and the 4th/3rd placed teams, we had our highest points total since the league was reduced to 20 teams and you have to go back nearly a hundred years for a season where Villa had so few defeats.

We can all see what Man City are doing about it.

I'm concerned that our board appears to think the imperative right now is “getting a handle on the wage side of the house”, rather than having a squad capable of turning those draws into wins.

This feels to me very much like those times when there were complaints that the old board failed to make the required investment when we seemed close to making a breakthrough.

Which is somewhat different from the rabid interpretations that people like you choose to put on my posts.

[Villa'Zawg]

considering that you are the only person left on planet Earth with the viewpoint that Randy hasn't invested in the club, is pocketing the cash and slashing wages in an attempt to rob the club blind in front of everyone, that makes you officially mental and ludicrously paranoid.

You really are an insufferable prick. Find one post where I have said any of those things.

[Hoppo]

Why cant we have a debate? Mr Woodhall speaks and all the usual suspects treat him like Royalty.. Its possible 'fans' have different opinions.