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

[unclefabio]

He did a pretty good job with Albion, was rather harshly sacked there.

[itbrvilla]

Think I'd going by DW comment that it could be Rodgers. Maybe I miss u derstood it but think that he may take some persuading compared to Lambert to buy into the 'clubs vision', but will be convinced.


Probably all fantasy mind!

[ozzjim]

Unless we really want Martinez and have to wait it out to see what Liverpool do first.

[cdbearsfan]

There seems to be a lot of weight behind the rumours of a Director of Football coming in. This makes me think we might get someone very raw into work alongside him. Someone like Laursen. He would make sense in that I reckon he'd be happy to keep Cowans etc (which I think Randy wants to), and wouldn't have such a big ego as to not want to work with a DoF. The Board would also guess that, as an ex-player, he would be popular. I reckon, after Alex, popularity will be a key factor in the next appointment.

I'm not saying I want Laursen as manager. You should have to prove yourself elsewhere first. I reckon the Board might go for him though.

[ozzjim]

&sns=tw


Got to feel for Blackburn fans!


If a DOF is on the way in, and we are going for it, then it could be a manager from abroad with a DOF that knows England, like Comoli.

[Mazrim]

Unless we really want Martinez and have to wait it out to see what Liverpool do first.

They're not going to be after Martinez.

[ozzjim]

Telegraph have a link with Germany manager. Interesting pairing if you got Klinnsman as DOF and Low as manager. It would certainly raise the profile.

[dave.woodhall]

&sns=tw


Got to feel for Blackburn fans!

Whoever filmed that is a grade A wanker. The manager had the decency to talk to them and this is how he's repaid.

[Greg N'Ash]

Unless we really want Martinez and have to wait it out to see what Liverpool do first.

thing is Martinez was hardly greeted with enthusiasm on here when we approached him last year. I know our expectations have dropped a bit since then (just look at the shortlist), but again i think he's gonna have to do a bit better than at wigan even if we don't give him funds. Down in the bottom third come November and the knives will be out like last season and the season before. So a long wait and Lerner presents..... Martinez. Can't see it myself

[LeeB]

Inflate they £12m to today's prices and you're talking £20m

You say 'price' like it's a case of going to the player supermarket and asking how much it would cost to buy a good midfielder.

Was Cabaye 'today's price' at £4.3m? Jelavic at £6m? Ben Arfa at £4.7m? Vorm at £1.5m?

Or are their clubs just not as incompetent as we have been for the last decade?

Very true.

I'm not excluding the possibility of signing a player like that, just stressing the unlikelihood of a whole defence of them during one summer.

Certainly if we keep up the policies of the O'Neill/McLeish tenure.  And to be honest, people taking the attitude of "we can't try and compete unless we throw a fuck-load of money at it" is just a bit saddening.

Because it's not true and just breeds laziness. 

Well said Dave

[not3bad]

So a long wait and Lerner presents..... Martinez. Can't see it myself

Don't think it will be a long wait this time.

[ozzjim]

&sns=tw


Got to feel for Blackburn fans!

Whoever filmed that is a grade A wanker. The manager had the decency to talk to them and this is how he's repaid.

No doubt the guy that filmed it is a pratt, but the manager is too for talking so candidly to "fans".


Back to the buying of players, Dave is spot on. We have just taken the attitude you buy the obvious available player and you pay through the nose for them. Others have clearly scouted the right ones and negotiated a price.

[N'Zimidy]

I would be personally very excited to get Rodgers as manager (I'd take anyone to be honest). It's been said all season long that players like Bannan, Ireland and N'Zogbia are playing on a different wavelength to everybody else. Just imagine if we play to our players strengths, have Makoun come back and have Bent play on his own up top with us threading balls in for him. Mmm. 

--------------Given----------------
Herd-----CB------Clark-------LB
--------------Makoun-------------
---------Bannan----Ireland-----
N'Zogbia-----------------------LW
----------------Bent---------------

Sure, we'd have to get rid of all the cloggers, but who will miss Dunne, Collins, Hutton, Warnock, Cuellar, Heskey, Jenas, Guzan or The Fonz? Under any expansive manager like Rodgers or Martinez we have the building blocks of a very good side.

[King of the Nørth]

I don't understand the negative feeling to Martinez, it smacks of a complete misreading of the situation.

He himself recently said "I did not turn down Aston Villa for football reasons". He felt he had work still to do at Wigan and owed them a debt of gratitude. It's not like he's done a Mark Hughes, is it? To say that he should have instantly dropped all obligations he felt towards anyone else and jumped straight to Villa is Liverpool-esque arrogance. We all got angry when Downing jumped ship with so little gratitude, but we're annoyed Martinez didn't do the same to come to us? That's a blatant double standard.

If anything, his actions last year make him precisely the kind of man I do want at Aston Villa. He's professional, he's honourable, he feels a sense of obligation towards people other than himself. Frankly, compare that to Lambert who has a career history of jumping ship at the first opportunity (I'm not blaming him as such, just saying that he's acted less honourably than Martinez).

Well said mate, my thoughts exactly. Although as someone mentioned before you, maybe this time we should wait to be approached first rather than the other way around. To save any unnecessary embarrassment.

[eamonn]

Interesting that that Steve Kean video has only surfaced now. Calling Fat Sam ''a fucking crook'' was quite funny.

Actually this must have been the pre-season tournament in the Far East when they played us while taking breaks for filming Venkys chicken adverts.