We're not fickle..

[Leighton]

David O'Dreary. I would still like to know who the fans he met at the petrol station were.

Pugged nosed prick!

[glasses]

It was yeah, but you missed out us beating Everton 1-0.

No recollection of that at all. Who scored? I thought our record, barring the obvious Newcastle anomoly, was decent up to the Wolves game when Houllier took over. K-Mac did a great job in the circumstances

[eastie]

It was yeah, but you missed out us beating Everton 1-0.

No recollection of that at all. Who scored? I thought our record, barring the obvious Newcastle anomoly, was decent up to the Wolves game when Houllier took over. K-Mac did a great job in the circumstances

Luke young in a game everton controlled.

[paul_e]

I view Houllier differently, to me, despite everything that went wrong, he had the right idea of what needed doing and, importantly, he was a good choice given the circumstances.  The season we really had to concentrate on looking at managers who weren't with a club and had the skills to come in and make a go of it without being able to add anything significant to the squad for 3-4months.  In that light I can understand his appointment and I'm slightly more forgiving towards him.  As I see it, at the time, we needed him more than he needed us, I can't think of another time where that has been the case.

I never quite got that argument.  We had just finished 6th, had a squad of internationals, some exciting young players and a chairman who had a reputation for backing his manager.  We needed to be more agressive in our recruitment and pursue the right man, regardless of whether he was in a job or not.

As for Houllier, I never really took to him and don't think he had any real feel for the club.  That having been said, he was getting it right and things were looking good going forward, until he had his health issues.  Which was one of the main concerns many of us raised when he got the job.

The about turn in then appointing TSM basically destroyed the groundwork he had laid, meaning Lambert had to start from scratch.  Lambert as the man after Houllier would have made a lot of sense.

Largely it comes down to character.  Would we really want a manager who was willing to walk out on their club that early in the season?  What would be to stop them doing it to us?  Is that really a situation you want to tempt having just had your manager walk out at the worst imaginable time.

[Concrete John]

I view Houllier differently, to me, despite everything that went wrong, he had the right idea of what needed doing and, importantly, he was a good choice given the circumstances.  The season we really had to concentrate on looking at managers who weren't with a club and had the skills to come in and make a go of it without being able to add anything significant to the squad for 3-4months.  In that light I can understand his appointment and I'm slightly more forgiving towards him.  As I see it, at the time, we needed him more than he needed us, I can't think of another time where that has been the case.

I never quite got that argument.  We had just finished 6th, had a squad of internationals, some exciting young players and a chairman who had a reputation for backing his manager.  We needed to be more agressive in our recruitment and pursue the right man, regardless of whether he was in a job or not.

As for Houllier, I never really took to him and don't think he had any real feel for the club.  That having been said, he was getting it right and things were looking good going forward, until he had his health issues.  Which was one of the main concerns many of us raised when he got the job.

The about turn in then appointing TSM basically destroyed the groundwork he had laid, meaning Lambert had to start from scratch.  Lambert as the man after Houllier would have made a lot of sense.

Largely it comes down to character.  Would we really want a manager who was willing to walk out on their club that early in the season?  What would be to stop them doing it to us?  Is that really a situation you want to tempt having just had your manager walk out at the worst imaginable time.

Didn't Lambert walk out of Colchester to join Norwich one game into the season?

[eastie]

I view Houllier differently, to me, despite everything that went wrong, he had the right idea of what needed doing and, importantly, he was a good choice given the circumstances.  The season we really had to concentrate on looking at managers who weren't with a club and had the skills to come in and make a go of it without being able to add anything significant to the squad for 3-4months.  In that light I can understand his appointment and I'm slightly more forgiving towards him.  As I see it, at the time, we needed him more than he needed us, I can't think of another time where that has been the case.

I never quite got that argument.  We had just finished 6th, had a squad of internationals, some exciting young players and a chairman who had a reputation for backing his manager.  We needed to be more agressive in our recruitment and pursue the right man, regardless of whether he was in a job or not.

As for Houllier, I never really took to him and don't think he had any real feel for the club.  That having been said, he was getting it right and things were looking good going forward, until he had his health issues.  Which was one of the main concerns many of us raised when he got the job.

The about turn in then appointing TSM basically destroyed the groundwork he had laid, meaning Lambert had to start from scratch.  Lambert as the man after Houllier would have made a lot of sense.

Largely it comes down to character.  Would we really want a manager who was willing to walk out on their club that early in the season?  What would be to stop them doing it to us?  Is that really a situation you want to tempt having just had your manager walk out at the worst imaginable time.

Didn't Lambert walk out of Colchester to join Norwich one game into the season?

Yes , he did indeed - after a 7-1 with Colchester i believe.

[Dr Butler]

Blimey I thought Lambert joined Narrrrich the following season....

[glasses]

It was yeah, but you missed out us beating Everton 1-0.

No recollection of that at all. Who scored? I thought our record, barring the obvious Newcastle anomoly, was decent up to the Wolves game when Houllier took over. K-Mac did a great job in the circumstances

Luke young in a game everton controlled.

Remember it now. Spot on too. Baines and Peinnar tore LY a new one all game. It mattered little though, thankfully. 

[eastie]

Blimey I thought Lambert joined Narrrrich the following season....

Colchester United are manageress this morning after Paul Lambert sensationally resigned yesterday, with a view to coaching the team he recently thrashed 7-1. His appointment at Norwich City was confirmed this morning.

U`s Chairman, Robbie Cowling, has issued a statement in which he explained City`s approach for Lambert came hours after Saturday`s assured league home win over Yeovil Town.

Vital Colchester began reporting the intense speculation over his future last night but Cowling revealed Lambert quit the club while they were busy haggling for his compensation package.

Read more: http://www.colchester.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=166350#ixzz2l0mFoBQj

http://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/colchester-united/history_suggests_paul_lambert_will_move_on_again_1_1379309

[paul_e]

Well I look a bit of a tit there don't I.  I still maintain that was the reasoning behind it at the time though, and given those that criteria I think Houllier was a decent choice, it didn't work out so in hindsight it's easy to call it a bad appointment but I think the path of the club wouldn't have seen us down in the bottom half for 2 seasons if he'd been fit to carry on.

[eastie]

I liked the football houllier was trying to play but I have doubts about his man management - he ruffled a few feathers no doubt but perhaps tried to do too much too soon - i also found his behaviour at anfield a bit shabby as he turned to applaud the Liverpool fans rather than villa fans - and his team selection at man city in the cup left me furious in much the same way as mons Moscow fiasco.

[Ads]

I was at the Liverpool game, so I didn’t see Houllier and his antics in respect of Liverpool. I do remember it being bloody freezing and a thoroughly depressing affair mind.

It was always a pity that Makoun and Bradley didn’t work out. You would have thought that on paper at least, those two sitting with Young in the hole feeding Bent was equally as good as what we produced under O’Neill, especially with Downing and Gabby adding width.

Houllier lacked the iron will of Lambert. The laters whole demeanour screams steely determination, while Dave’s description of the former as a consultant is just about the best description I can think of to describe him.

[eastie]

If we had gone down the director of football route then houllier may have been ideal with a coach dealing with the first team .

[eamonn]

Michael Bradley is playing for a Roma team who have started like a train in Serie A. Cabaye has rediscovered his class, Makoun showing lately with Cameroon that there was something to work with there. Walker obviously is number one for Spurs (and England, I think? Don't really watch them). There's no doubting GHou's eye for a player. He also got the best out of Marc Albrighton and arguably Barry Bannan too.

As Mr Woodhall has describe him on here - Houllier was a fine management consultant. Saw what was wrong, went about fixing it professionally with little regard as to player morale and the style of the previous regime all without getting bogged down in the history and spirit of the club and in the process giving himself an unnecessary stick for supporters to beat him with. I think the switch from MON to him was just too marked. If we'd had someone in between both men's tenures who had some of Houllier's double-sessions-and-no-doughnuts-diet continental approach while retaining O'Neill's ability to keep a team competitive and hard to beat, maybe things would have worked out better.

The swing from O'Neill to Houllier to McLeish though was scarily naive, though.

[Percy McCarthy]

O'Leary was dreadful, yet in his first season we almost qualified for the Champions League. Another case of inheriting a team, yet on his final appearance at Villa Park the person who built that team was booed by sections of the Holte end.

Gregory?