Return of O'Neill - divided opinion

[pauliewalnuts]

O'Neill should have been potted 5 seconds after walking through the door to ask for the funds to buy Marlon Harewood. 

Ha ha.

I know it was horrific at the time, but looking back, days like the day we signed Marlon were utter gold on here.

[russon]

If I were there I'd want to do the same as I did the last time these two shared the Villa Park dugout - shake MON firmly by the hand while simultaneously shaking McLeish firmly by the throat.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

O'Neill should have been potted 5 seconds after walking through the door to ask for the funds to buy Marlon Harewood. 

Ha ha.

I know it was horrific at the time, but looking back, days like the day we signed Marlon were utter gold on here.

Up to a point.
I remember it well and it was volte faces ahoy, mere days after people were taking the piss and laughing when it seemed he might join the Blues.
When it became apparent he was coming here, there were a hell of a lot of posters saying how good he was.

[TonyD]

Shout abuse until the back of your knees ache.

[Shoody]

I hope any applause are swiftly drowned out by almost-(almost!)-Kean-esque abuse.

[pauliewalnuts]

O'Neill should have been potted 5 seconds after walking through the door to ask for the funds to buy Marlon Harewood. 

Ha ha.

I know it was horrific at the time, but looking back, days like the day we signed Marlon were utter gold on here.

Up to a point.
I remember it well and it was volte faces ahoy, mere days after people were taking the piss and laughing when it seemed he might join the Blues.
When it became apparent he was coming here, there were a hell of a lot of posters saying how good he was.

That's largely what I was referring to, the volte face thing, plus the slow dawning realisation of what he'd done.

I don't even think it was days, by the way - didn't we get wind of Marlon going to see Wigan in the morning ("ha ha, he's shit and he's chosen Wigan ahead of Blues"), then the next thing we knew, he was turning around and heading for Bodymoor Heath?

At the time, not massively funny, but looking back far more so.

What would really stick in the craw now would be if, having to buy strikers for Sunderland this summer, MON suddenly developed a hitherto undiscovered flair for uncovering really good ones, really cheaply.

[Ger Regan]

Can someone answer me this question, as I've never seen a satisfactory reply to it. If, as many (with justification in hindsight) say that Randy should have taken more control of the financial side of the transfers that O'Neill was involved in, what do you think the reaction would have been when he would have walked due to perceived interference? And he would have done that, make no mistake. Personally, I think that all hell would have broken loose, and the same people would be slagging off Randy for holding the club back. As I said before, lose-lose.

[Villanation]

I do not believe he planned to quit at the time he did to cause maximum damage.

Fully agree.

I just can't see him sitting in his office in early June checking the calendar as saying "Yep, that'll be about the right time - 5 days to go and that'll really screw 'em up!"

What I blame for the timing was the inability of the three men involved, MON, Randy and Faulkner, not te realise the situation wasn't going to work earlier and acting in the best interests of the club.  OK, you could argue they tried to make it work, but ultimately it was a mess that cost us.

As to his record while here, the money will always be the sticking point.  Should he have done more with it?  Maybe, but my own criticism, once you can analyse it after the event, is that he could have done the same with less, as evidenced by the amount of players not getting a game and the youth hardly featuring.

A good manager with faults.  I'll be joining the applause for him.

Wasn't the story that he kept trying to have a face-to-face with RL but kept getting one of the stooges? The fact AV paid him a hefty out of court settlement shows there is still much we don't know went on, or didn't go on behind the scenes.

Not sure about the story but one thing is for sure, judgement passed in favour of one, to the cost of the other, and although both parties said it was amicable it seemed to me that MON came out feeling fully vindicated, even to the point of congratulating his legal team on the great job they had done.

As you say we simply don't know what went on, the arbitration board did and they made there decision based on the evidence put in front of them, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that if MON had been 100% wrong he would have been found in breach of contract on top of which Villa could have gone after him for massive damages in view of the critical time he left, as far as I'm aware this did not happen, so why didn't it happen because I seem to remember massive vitriol being spewed out by the top dogs at the club like that general bloke and Lerners No2 he really waded into MON getting huge fan support behind them, if they felt that strongly why wouldn't you go after him.

The rumour I heard was this (and I stress rumour) MON demanded a severance pay based on the fact that he had been shown the door, the board in turn demanded compensation, it went to arbitration and MON got the money, you make your own minds up as to who won and why.

From the team and club perspective I can see where MON is wrong, he did leave at a very critical time, but nobody on this planet would make me believe that for someone to do this they had to have felt they had reached the very end of the line, I seem seem to remember that in the Jan transfer window prior to MON leaving MON wanted to sign Robbie Keane, the rumour was that MON went and met Keane at B'ham Airport just hours before the deadline, everything was set and Lerner pulled the rug.

But again this is all stories and rumours and above all history, one thing I do agree with as mentioned on here, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see some of our better players go over to Sunderland and MON turn them into playing heroes.

MON won't get any applause from me, but he certainly won't get any vengeance dished out to him either.

[Legion]

They're welcome to Heskey.

[Ger Regan]

Not sure about the story but one thing is for sure, judgement passed in favour of one, to the cost of the other, and although both parties said it was amicable it seemed to me that MON came out feeling fully vindicated, even to the point of congratulating his legal team on the great job they had done.

As you say we simply don't know what went on, the arbitration board did and they made there decision based on the evidence put in front of them, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that if MON had been 100% wrong he would have been found in breach of contract on top of which Villa could have gone after him for massive damages in view of the critical time he left, as far as I'm aware this did not happen, so why didn't it happen because I seem to remember massive vitriol being spewed out by the top dogs at the club like that general bloke and Lerners No2 he really waded into MON getting huge fan support behind them, if they felt that strongly why wouldn't you go after him.

The rumour I heard was this (and I stress rumour) MON demanded a severance pay based on the fact that he had been shown the door, the board in turn demanded compensation, it went to arbitration and MON got the money, you make your own minds up as to who won and why.

One slight flaw in that theory, there was no tribunal decision.

[Villanation]

Not sure about the story but one thing is for sure, judgement passed in favour of one, to the cost of the other, and although both parties said it was amicable it seemed to me that MON came out feeling fully vindicated, even to the point of congratulating his legal team on the great job they had done.

As you say we simply don't know what went on, the arbitration board did and they made there decision based on the evidence put in front of them, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that if MON had been 100% wrong he would have been found in breach of contract on top of which Villa could have gone after him for massive damages in view of the critical time he left, as far as I'm aware this did not happen, so why didn't it happen because I seem to remember massive vitriol being spewed out by the top dogs at the club like that general bloke and Lerners No2 he really waded into MON getting huge fan support behind them, if they felt that strongly why wouldn't you go after him.

The rumour I heard was this (and I stress rumour) MON demanded a severance pay based on the fact that he had been shown the door, the board in turn demanded compensation, it went to arbitration and MON got the money, you make your own minds up as to who won and why.

One slight flaw in that theory, there was no tribunal decision.

So it went to Arbitration and they made no decision, which caused MON to emerge from the hearing thanking his legal team for doing nothing.

Lets assume nothing was done and at the very very least the board did not find in favour of either, MON won, so why is everybody blaming MON, they are both right and both wrong, think you will find its not the case though, MON got a payout from this, simply that, and in any litigation that's the measure of right and wrong in the eyes of civil law.

[KevinGage]

O'Neill should have been potted 5 seconds after walking through the door to ask for the funds to buy Marlon Harewood. 

Ha ha.

I know it was horrific at the time, but looking back, days like the day we signed Marlon were utter gold on here.

Up to a point.
I remember it well and it was volte faces ahoy, mere days after people were taking the piss and laughing when it seemed he might join the Blues.
When it became apparent he was coming here, there were a hell of a lot of posters saying how good he was.

That's largely what I was referring to, the volte face thing, plus the slow dawning realisation of what he'd done.

I don't even think it was days, by the way - didn't we get wind of Marlon going to see Wigan in the morning ("ha ha, he's shit and he's chosen Wigan ahead of Blues"), then the next thing we knew, he was turning around and heading for Bodymoor Heath?

At the time, not massively funny, but looking back far more so.

Ah, the bright new era. 

New badge, new Nike kit and the big name new signing modelling it...Marlon Harewood. 
And taking the no.9 shirt, no less.

Looking back, probably the first real indication that Martin wasn't so magic after all.

[Steve kirk]

Is the Sunderland game the one match this season when we could just unite a little bit behind our manager, just a crazy thought, I wait with bated breath.   

[PeterWithe]

Was Harewood that bad a signing? Yes he was shit but £4m wasn't a particularly big fee for an established PL striker. He didn't work out, it happens.

[ez]

Well i expect we'll win the same amount of trophies under McLeish as we did under O'Neil for much less money