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

[danlanza]

The next big thing could be fatal.

[pauliewalnuts]

Isn't "see,I told you he'd be a great manager, he finished above McLeish" the faintest of praise?

Almost everyone finished above McLeish, and Martinez is going to finish only just above him, in any case.

And what's more, people didn't want Martinez - you are acting as if people didn't want him because they preferred McLeish, which is nonsense, as at that point nobody thought Lerner would dream of beng stupid enough to approach McLeish.

[PeterWithesShin]

Tony Pulis finished has above AM 2 seasons running. Maybe we should get him?

[Greg N'Ash]

I'm starting to think we're going to have to be relegated for any manager to have a decent go at things. Reading the mail today and there was fans at the protest who thought this team would have been chasing europe and in the top6 if Mcleish wasn't here.. If thats the level of expectation from our fans then we might as well give up looking for a new guy. He'd laugh his bollocks off if the board set that as a target before swiftly turning us down

[rob_bridge]

Martinez worries me because he spends most of the season in the bottom 3 only to reemerge in the last month or so

Well if we keep the current incumbnet we will be spending the season in the bottom 3 without the late rally.

[Risso]

Isn't "see,I told you he'd be a great manager, he finished above McLeish" the faintest of praise?

Almost everyone finished above McLeish, and Martinez is going to finish only just above him, in any case.

And what's more, people didn't want Martinez - you are acting as if people didn't want him because they preferred McLeish, which is nonsense, as at that point nobody thought Lerner would dream of beng stupid enough to approach McLeish.

One of the worst things about this season is that on top of making me cheer for West Brom and Spurs while they've been playing our relegation rivals, I now see Curbishley as a realistic managerial candidate and better than the current incumbent.  Fookin' marvellous!

[rob_bridge]

Martinez worries me because he spends most of the season in the bottom 3 only to reemerge in the last month or so

Wigan are going to finish above us lol

And what's funny about that?

Nothing Dave from a Villa perpective is funny about that. Happened under O'Dreary. They have a better manager. Much better.

[hawkeye]

2 of our most succesfull periods have followed relegation but the situation has changed now. For every Newcastle there is a Sheff Wednesday, Forest and a whole bunch of YOYO clubs

[rob_bridge]

Martinez worries me because he spends most of the season in the bottom 3 only to reemerge in the last month or so

Wigan are going to finish above us lol

And what's fun
ny about that?

Because too many of our fans got on their high horses claiming Martinez wasn't good enough and the team which is managed by someone who wasn't good enough is now going to finish above us. Oh and that same team cost 1/5 of what ours cost. Wigans players believe in the Roberto Martinez, no one believes in McLeish lol.

I said at the time to my friends and work colleagues of various Midlands clubs (I ignore the Glory Hunters) that Martinez was a punt but at least progressive punt. We ended up with a hugely regressive punt. Nothing this season points towards it being any different.
mcLeish has been a disaster.
He should go but he won't. He'll be replaced in November at huge expense and we'll end up with another 'big name ' - maybe Venables based on Faulkner's football knowledge

[Chipsticks]

Lambert joined Norwich after his Colchester side gave them a battering on the opening day. Maybe he'll join the Villa after his Norwich side give us a battering on the final day?

[Ian.]

If McLeish goes or in that matter if anyone is looking for a new manager how can some like Curbishley who has been out of the game so long now ever be considered?
Wasn't his last job poorly managing West Ham?

[ozzjim]

Lets all hope and pray he is right

Lambert, Martinez, Poyet, Rogers. Any of them would be great. Young, ambitious and done it with players far less fancied than ours.

I'm really, really wary of Next Big Thing managers. I can't remember the last one to do well on the back of moving to a better job after promotion and staying up.

It is a very decent point. Moyes was probably the last one, or DiMatteo who got Albion up playing good football and then got dumped for Hodgson, but is doing ok now somewhere or another.

But Jewell, Brown, Burley off the top of my head have failed to live up to early promise. Which is why Curbishley is not the horror thought he was BAM (I feel we need to define all our managerial wants to before and after Alex McLeish).

I was a big advocate of Houllier and wanted Benitez last summer due to their track record of winning things mainly, and that Houllier was clearly right with his assessment of the squad. My hope is that one of the young managers brings something more fresh to Villa, and after this season it is a perfect platform for one to do what Moyes has at Everton in fairness.

[PeterWithe]

I seem to recall Curbishly leaving West Ham when the board started selling players he wanted to keep.

[Ian.]

Well maybe that will put off our Randy.

[dave.woodhall]

Lets all hope and pray he is right

Lambert, Martinez, Poyet, Rogers. Any of them would be great. Young, ambitious and done it with players far less fancied than ours.

I'm really, really wary of Next Big Thing managers. I can't remember the last one to do well on the back of moving to a better job after promotion and staying up.

It is a very decent point. Moyes was probably the last one, or DiMatteo who got Albion up playing good football and then got dumped for Hodgson, but is doing ok now somewhere or another.

But Jewell, Brown, Burley off the top of my head have failed to live up to early promise. Which is why Curbishley is not the horror thought he was BAM (I feel we need to define all our managerial wants to before and after Alex McLeish).

I was a big advocate of Houllier and wanted Benitez last summer due to their track record of winning things mainly, and that Houllier was clearly right with his assessment of the squad. My hope is that one of the young managers brings something more fresh to Villa, and after this season it is a perfect platform for one to do what Moyes has at Everton in fairness.

Even Moyes didn't do the usual NBT thing of promotion to the Premier League one season and staying up the next; he was a lower divisions gamble which paid off. None of us know what Lambert is really capable of, and I think there are potentially better managers out there who would bring a better worldview.