Who Should be Aston Villa Manager ? Now with new, revised poll

[pauliewalnuts]

What on earth does the way the media treat Harry Redknapp have to do with us?

If the media hate us so much, why make it easy for them?

People argue with you because you're the poster who more than anyone continually posts incomprehensible nonsense.

[Nev]

As much as it pains me to say it, the Express article is correct in one thing and that is the criticism of Lerner with regards to the post of Chief Exec.

Lerner needs a capable and experienced right hand man to translate his ideas into positive and effective action. As I have posted before, I have a long held belief that Faulkner is at the centre of a lot of what has gone wrong at Villa Park in the last 12 months. Not through any deliberate action or lack of effort but from the fact that he has no real experience or contacts in the game.

Although it would be churlish to lay the blame at the door of the CE for MON's departure, it's a situation that, by all accounts, wasn't handled particularly well behind the scenes and mystery still surrounds the issues at the heart of that story.

While the hyperbole around the two attempts to appoint a manager have distorted the facts, it can't be denied that, on both occasions, things have not been handled very well.

It certainly wasn't easy for the club last summer with the timing of O'Neil's walkout, and they can be forgiven for certain elements of the pursuit of a replacement but this year the situation is very different. In any business succession planning is vital and with the events since April the club can hardly claim not to have been given any warning this time around.

Would this have been handled better by the likes of Steve Stride?

Someone of that ilk, yes.

[holtepaul]

Paulbeanie - I'm not arguing mate - if you can't read my post and understand the meaning - you really do need to go back to college.

Sorry.

[olaftab]

I am sorry but you can not "half-manage" news. On the one hand we are saying that Villa will stay quiet till we have our man on the other hand we came out and made a comment when news broke yesterday that Martinez was not interested.  The statement did not effectively   countermand Whelan and made our  position clear.
This is what we should have said:
Aston Villa football club are  pursuing a number of options to appoint a new Manager. In that regard contact had been made with a number of Clubs and Agents to seek permission  to speak to candidates. We asked Wigan  football club for permission to talk to Mr Martinez. This permission was granted however  Mr Martinez informed his Club  last (insert day) that he will not be  following up on  enquiry from Aston Villa. Aston Villa respect both Wigan FC and Mr Martinez position. For record we confirm that no  discussions  took place between  us and Mr Martinez and no offer was made or rejected.  We continue our discussions with a number of candidates  in seeking to appoint a Manager of the highest calibre to move the Club forward.

[PeterWithe]

Has Peter Reid got a job?

If you pay peanuts.....

[maidstonevillain]

I don't know how these things work, but it's not uninmaginable that this story limits our choices as other candidates now will be portrayed as second-choice (after Martinez) by the media.

The thing with Martinez how could he have done anything other than turn us down once it was public?

It wasn't a job offer, it was an invitation for an interview.  If it hadn't worked out he'd have stayed at Wigan, but by making it public he'd have lost the Wigan fans if this happened.  Therefore Whelan backed him into a corner where, unless he thought he was definitely going to get the job, it was too big a risk to do anything other than politely decline and go back to Wigan as a hero.

Very smart (and underhanded) from Whelan but Lerner won't be impressed and I doubt Martinez is all that happy about things either.

I was a very smart move by Whelan, and once Whelan went public, there was not much that Villa could do. I don't think it will affect Martinez's standing with Randy. But I am sure Randy won't forget what Whelan did, and there will be some payback sometime.
Wouldn't it be nice if we play them on the last day of next season, and they need a point to stay up.

[holtepaul]

Aftab its said everything.

a) We had to come out and say something because DW had appeared on national telly airing dirty linen in public

b) It said Martinez was near the top of our shortlist (not THE top - near the top) and the reasons why we thought of him, young hungry, potential.

c) It said we are pursing the other targets

d) It said, when we have something official to say - we will say them

EDIT

e) Forgot - it also, in the nicest way possible, calls Dave Whelan a liar, it states that RM and DW talked earlier this week and notified the Villa that he was signing a new contract - thus, saying that this DW media stunt, was in fact that - a stunt.



What more did you think it was going to say ?.

[olaftab]

holtepaul
It left too much for Journo's to "fill in" and as you can gather from reaction out there we are looking  ineffective and desperate. We did half a job.

[Jimbo]

Verbal diarrhoea is a common phrase, but is there a message board version of the phrase? Cyber dysentery, or something. 

[holtepaul]

holtepaul
It left too much for Journo's to "fill in" and as you can gather from reaction out there we are looking  ineffective and desperate. We did half a job.

That is what the press "want" to print because it makes a better story. Think of it this way, what was the better story, Wayne Rooney's agent negotiating a new contract with Man U , or, Wayne Rooney threatens to walk out of Man Utd to join Man City.

Which one did they print ? - just let it ride. They will get sick of us by Monday. I bet your bottom dollar, now the press have realised the Villa won't play their silly game, they turn their attentions to Arsenal come Monday

[Steve Z]

I am sorry but you can not "half-manage" news. On the one hand we are saying that Villa will stay quiet till we have our man on the other hand we came out and made a comment when news broke yesterday that Martinez was not interested.  The statement did not effectively   countermand Whelan and made our  position clear.
This is what we should have said:
Aston Villa football club are  pursuing a number of options to appoint a new Manager. In that regard contact had been made with a number of Clubs and Agents to seek permission  to speak to candidates. We asked Wigan  football club for permission to talk to Mr Martinez. This permission was granted however  Mr Martinez informed his Club  last (insert day) that he will not be  following up on  enquiry from Aston Villa. Aston Villa respect both Wigan FC and Mr Martinez position. For record we confirm that no  discussions  took place between  us and Mr Martinez and no offer was made or rejected.  We continue our discussions with a number of candidates  in seeking to appoint a Manager of the highest calibre to move the Club forward.

Is the correct answer,
It's so simply really, this sort of statement would stop the media from making us look a club who can't get a manager and would have poked Whelan in the eye for adding his load of bollocks.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I've supported Randy from day one, and he has had some harsh criticism in the past, but this is about more than putting money in, it is about putting together a team to manage the club properly. Right now, on and off the pitch we are looking like a club going backwards.

That may be the case today but it can change overnight.

[Dave]

I bet your bottom dollar, now the press have realised the Villa won't play their silly game, they turn their attentions to Arsenal come Monday

I'll take that bet.

[maidstonevillain]

On the pitch, we have at best half a squad having released ten players.

You are starting to sound like a member of the press.

By my reckoning, from the squad that did actually play/or even get on the bench last season, we have lost one ageing GK who needed replacing anyhow, and one Defensive midfielder, who half the fans did not rate.

[Matt Collins]

All this short term media stuff will fade away quickly if we get in a good manager. If we don't, we'll look like amateurs no matter what we say.

The only exception to that I can think of is Hughes. That might look like we'd done so out of desperation