How far up MON's a*se is Rod Liddle?

[TimTheVillain]

I file him alongside Littlejohn, Clarkson, Laurie Penny, Alan Green; people in the media who hold views just in order to get a reaction.

Best ignored. Read the travel section.

What, and buy the nob a one way ticket to Bangkok ?

The man's a fucking clown - and re.MON, he took us as far as he could, and he (MON) knew it.

[hilts_coolerking]

I would ignore Laurie Penny but sadly there is no travel section in the New Statesman.  Maybe I'll have a go at the crossie.

[pauliewalnuts]

I find his articles thought provoking and interesting. I think a lot of his comments hit the mark and frankly the negative reaction here is because often the truth hurts.

Or maybe we've a little pride in our club?

[hilts_coolerking]

Reminds me of Animal House:

"He can't do that to our pledges!"

"Only we can do that to our pledges!"

[LeeB]

I find his articles thought provoking and interesting. I think a lot of his comments hit the mark and frankly the negative reaction here is because often the truth hurts.

Or maybe we've a little pride in our club?

And we've more reason to than any other club in this land.

[Desi]

Does anyone have a link to the article?

[Rip Van We Go Again]

How far is he up O'Neill's arse?

So far up that all he can see is Patrick Barclay's (Times) feet.

[pauliewalnuts]

Does anyone have a link to the article?

Fortunately The Times is behind a pay wall these days

[hilts_coolerking]

Does anyone have a link to the article?

Fortunately The Times is behind a pay wall these days

Built to keep Rod Liddle in, no doubt.

[pauliewalnuts]

I've added a poll.

[Salsa Party Animal]

MON is good manager but not a great manager. He is not the Brian Clough of 2000.

I would like to line up all the football and celebrity media journalists, and Fifa officials and some referees in a big ship and then it can sink in middle of Atlantic ocean to an area a full of sharks.

[ktvillan]

Never ceases to amaze me how a manager whose record with Leicester is perhaps most comparable with the likes of Allardyce at Bolton and McLaren at Boro, whose record in Scotland is little or no better than those of  McNeill, Walter Smith and Strachan, and whose best at Villa was not as good as Moyes's with Everton, is somehow regarded by large sections of the English media as Cloughie mk II.

There are several good reasons why no top club has come in for O'Neill, it's mainly because they know he isn't anywhere near as good as he or his cronies think he is. 

Ignore and file under lazy ill-informed journalism.

[lovejoy]

I find his articles thought provoking and interesting. I think a lot of his comments hit the mark and frankly the negative reaction here is because often the truth hurts.

I honestly don't understand what this means.

[Tony]

Martin O'Neill is a bloody good manager, however what he did to us was unforgiveable, he left at a time to do maximum damage having done sod all in the transfer market and knowing nobody else would have time to do anything.

[Steve R]

"If Martin O'Neill can't hoist them into the top four, who can"

At a guess, Graham Taylor, Ron Atkinson and Brian Little, plus of course Ron Saunders. Not to mention Tony Barton whose two pieces of silverware were each worth more than any number of 4th place league finishes.

Our problem is that for each manager that has got us into the 'top 4' and/or won silverware, there has been another who has done little more than thrash the bank balance in the name of mediocrity, and we have now had more than a decade of that.

O'Neill is not a member of the first group. His achievements sit more readily alongside those of Gregory and O'Leary.

Either way, the argument will soon be settled when Liverpool and Chelsea settle their tug of war for O'Neil's services and he takes one or the other to a level that has always been beyond Aston Villa.

I bet Ferguson and Wenger were glad they had a certain amount of kudos in the bank when O'Neil suddenly opted to put himself on the job market.