Who do you want as the next manager? New poll option.

[Merv]

Critically depends on who the new man is (in theory) and how he is presented to the fans, how he communicates in a wider sense through the club, and the decisions he makes in the first couple of months.

If we bring someone in who is recognised as having made progress with a previous club, cultivated an attractive footballing style of play, has a track record of thriving within a modest transfer budget, has shown he can work with and develop young players, has a wider knowledge of football outside of the UK, can demonstrate an ability to source new signings outside of the hugely-inflated PL market, and is willing to - and can cite examples of - ship out some of the dross in the squad, I don't think we'll have a problem getting on board with what could genuinely be a project for the next few years.

[Concrete John]

Verbeek (Rod Hull lookalike)

That'll do for me!

[Concrete John]

If we bring someone in who is recognised as having made progress with a previous club, cultivated an attractive footballing style of play, has a track record of thriving within a modest transfer budget, has shown he can work with and develop young players, has a wider knowledge of football outside of the UK, can demonstrate an ability to source new signings outside of the hugely-inflated PL market, and is willing to - and can cite examples of - ship out some of the dross in the squad, I don't think we'll have a problem getting on board with what could genuinely be a project for the next few years.

So, not a big list of requirements then!

[Merv]

Lets get one thing straight all those people saying we should appoint this man or that man because the football would be great ask yourself this, if we played a great passing game like Barcelona but were still 15th would people would still be moaning, its all about results

Nah, distance me from that. If we were still 15th but we were there as a result of losing three or four more games, while winning one or two more, if we were playing a more positive style of football (just actually trying to win games, not even playing remotely like Barcelona), if the manager had actually trusted the likes of Bannan, N'Zogbia, Clark (don't think he started a league game until December, still barely seen at CB all season), Albrighton, Agbonlahor to play in positions that suited them best, and actively encouraged them to play their natural games, if we tried to make the most of one of the most effective strikers in the league, if there was a genuine indication that foundations were being laid for advancement, and there were signs of positivity, then yes, I'd take 15th. Hand on heart.

[Merv]

If we bring someone in who is recognised as having made progress with a previous club, cultivated an attractive footballing style of play, has a track record of thriving within a modest transfer budget, has shown he can work with and develop young players, has a wider knowledge of football outside of the UK, can demonstrate an ability to source new signings outside of the hugely-inflated PL market, and is willing to - and can cite examples of - ship out some of the dross in the squad, I don't think we'll have a problem getting on board with what could genuinely be a project for the next few years.

So, not a big list of requirements then!

Not that big, really. Five or six qualities that I feel we need in a manager/coach. That's what we need to be aiming for. Certainly an improvement on: PL experience; won't ask any awkward questions; will say yes to the job.

[Concrete John]

If we bring someone in who is recognised as having made progress with a previous club, cultivated an attractive footballing style of play, has a track record of thriving within a modest transfer budget, has shown he can work with and develop young players, has a wider knowledge of football outside of the UK, can demonstrate an ability to source new signings outside of the hugely-inflated PL market, and is willing to - and can cite examples of - ship out some of the dross in the squad, I don't think we'll have a problem getting on board with what could genuinely be a project for the next few years.

So, not a big list of requirements then!

Not that big, really. Five or six qualities that I feel we need in a manager/coach. That's what we need to be aiming for. Certainly an improvement on: PL experience; won't ask any awkward questions; will say yes to the job.

But can you think of a manager who meets all seven criteria you layed out?

[Vanilla]

In MON's first season, although we were in the bottom half, we did play some attractive football and showed signs of potential for the coming seasons. We have been as far away from that as possible this season.

What we need is a manager who can develop talent and who has fresh outlook on the game. Also it would be nice if they could work in conjunction with a decent European scouting system that identifies affordable targets (not just youth players). I mean who were the last non-British players we bought, who hadn't played in the British Isles before, who then went on to flourish in the PL?.

[Irish villain]

In MON's first season, although we were in the bottom half, we did play some attractive football and showed signs of potential for the coming seasons. We have been as far away from that as possible this season.

What we need is a manager who can develop talent and who has fresh outlook on the game. Also it would be nice if they could work in conjunction with a decent European scouting system that identifies affordable targets (not just youth players). I mean who were the last non-British players we bought, who hadn't played in the British Isles before, who then went on to flourish in the PL?.

That year we played some of the best football of the MON era. Berger was on fire in the second half of that season. Shaun Maloney the following season was a beautiful player too. We became quite one dimensional in subsequent years.

[mrfuse]

Lets get one thing straight all those people saying we should appoint this man or that man because the football would be great ask yourself this, if we played a great passing game like Barcelona but were still 15th would people would still be moaning, its all about results

Fully agree.

I remember us all laughing as WBA passed their way into the Championship.

Total rubbish if we were playing a great passing game we wouldn't be finishing 15th! Its the only way to go long term if you want to succeed you either throw loads of money at a team or you play proper football and as we haven't got loads of money theirs only one option.

WBA didn't play a great passing game but they attempted too and maybe if they had stuck at it they would have been a better team for it in any case are you still laughing at them now?

Yes it is all about results but long term results not a few wins here and their. Swansea and Norwich may get found out next season who knows but currently who would you want to watch and play for us or them?

I hope they stick to their guns and play the same next year and I hope many more teams adopt the same attitude rather than the anti football we play.

[Stu]

If we bring someone in who is recognised as having made progress with a previous club, cultivated an attractive footballing style of play, has a track record of thriving within a modest transfer budget, has shown he can work with and develop young players, has a wider knowledge of football outside of the UK, can demonstrate an ability to source new signings outside of the hugely-inflated PL market, and is willing to - and can cite examples of - ship out some of the dross in the squad, I don't think we'll have a problem getting on board with what could genuinely be a project for the next few years.

So, not a big list of requirements then!

Not that big, really. Five or six qualities that I feel we need in a manager/coach. That's what we need to be aiming for. Certainly an improvement on: PL experience; won't ask any awkward questions; will say yes to the job.

But can you think of a manager who meets all seven criteria you layed out?

I counted 8 because of this bit: "is willing to - and can cite examples of - ship out some of the dross in the squad..."

So not only does the new guy have to be willing to ship players out, but he must also have displayed a prior willingness to do this.

I don't think there are going to be too many managers that meet all of the above criteria to be honest, but it is only an opinion of what a new manager should be like.

[Concrete John]

Total rubbish if we were playing a great passing game we wouldn't be finishing 15th! Its the only way to go long term if you want to succeed you either throw loads of money at a team or you play proper football and as we haven't got loads of money theirs only one option.

WBA didn't play a great passing game but they attempted too and maybe if they had stuck at it they would have been a better team for it in any case are you still laughing at them now?

Yes it is all about results but long term results not a few wins here and their. Swansea and Norwich may get found out next season who knows but currently who would you want to watch and play for us or them?

I hope they stick to their guns and play the same next year and I hope many more teams adopt the same attitude rather than the anti football we play.

You can pass the ball around brilliantly and no nothing with it.  Wigan have been near bottom all season, despite passing it well, and Swansea play the best football bar Arsenal, yet only sit a little above us in the table.  So it's not total rubbish.

I'm not knocking the possession based game - it's something I'd like to see at Villa - but I dispute the theory that it's the solution to all our problems.  You get a good passing system going, but fail to deliver a good final ball or consistently fuck up at the back or lack a goal scorer and you'll still end up where we are now, more or less. 

[VILLA MOLE]

you want  a balance  and a mix.  quick counter attack football is just as exciting as any other .  but you want excitement

[brontebilly]

I think its time for another reminder.

Chris Hughton is our man.

All we need now is someone like Ferguson to recommend him

[NiiLamptey]

This thread seems to imply McLeish is only 5 games away from the sack...

Randy is not going to pay the Blues 2m in compensation

Having paid him 2m for this season

and then sack him resulting in giving him a further 4m in compensation (or whatever they agree) as he still has 2 years left on his 4mil a year - 3 year deal.

Just cant see it happening...

This thread feels like a tease!

[pauliewalnuts]

Lets get one thing straight all those people saying we should appoint this man or that man because the football would be great ask yourself this, if we played a great passing game like Barcelona but were still 15th would people would still be moaning, its all about results, if we had won 10 of our 14 draws then we would be on 55 and knocking on the door of the champions league.

Well, if we were playing a great passing game "like Barcelona", we wouldn't be 15th, would we?

It's also not all about results in my opinion. It is also about entertainment - and it has been ever more so since the years in which football ticket prices started bearing no relation to reality.

Even if you take your asssertion that if we'd won 10 of our 14 draws etc, we would have found it far easier to get those wins, had we not had fewer shots on goal than pretty much anyone in the league this season we'd have had a much better chance of getting those wins, so even the process of getting results implies a higher level of entertainment anyway.