Transfer Speculation / Gossip

[pauliewalnuts]

One summer of Houllier and things could have been so different.

Looking back it seems Houllier's illness was a convenience. They were unwilling to fund his plans so getting rid of him and bringing in a bloke willing to do as he was told made the cuts easier and gave them a convenient scapegoat.

I think that when someone normally positive like you, Chris, believes this, then the club really has "lost it" in many ways.

[QBVILLA]

One summer of Houllier and things could have been so different.

Looking back it seems Houllier's illness was a convenience. They were unwilling to fund his plans so getting rid of him and bringing in a bloke willing to do as he was told made the cuts easier and gave them a convenient scapegoat.

How long was his contract and how much did he cost to pay off along with MacAllister?

[Toronto Villa]

One summer of Houllier and things could have been so different.

Agree entirely, and even if he couldn't much longer the next bloke should have been of the same type. Disastrously it wasn't. Who knows, very hypothetically speaking but had Houllier gone another year and stepped away, the next bloke in could very well have been Martinez given the timing of everything. How very, very different things would have looked.

The irony is, at the time when Martinez was mentioned, a lot of us - most of us, in fact - were extremely underwhelmed.

In our defence, if you'd told us who was going to get the job at the time of that Martinez link, I genuinely don't think a single person on here would have believed it.

Weeks after getting the job I didn't believe it

[LeeB]

One summer of Houllier and things could have been so different.

Looking back it seems Houllier's illness was a convenience. They were unwilling to fund his plans so getting rid of him and bringing in a bloke willing to do as he was told made the cuts easier and gave them a convenient scapegoat.

That's exactly how I see it Chris.

[dave.woodhall]

One summer of Houllier and things could have been so different.

Looking back it seems Houllier's illness was a convenience. They were unwilling to fund his plans so getting rid of him and bringing in a bloke willing to do as he was told made the cuts easier and gave them a convenient scapegoat.

That's not true.

[Clampy]

I'm surprised this thread has gone in the direction it has because the Stripeyfilth might be signing Lescott. If they do, then fair play to them but it also could be possible that they're trying to appease their fans after the response of the Irvine appointment. If Lescott goes to Hull for instance, well at least they tried St Jeremy will say.

[SamTheMouse]

I don't really know if we'd actually need Lescott now. Having signed Senderos, and with Okore coming back and assuming Vlaar stays, maybe we've got enough there.

I agree. It's the midfield that seriously needs addressing now.

[RussellC]

I'll never forget (or forgive) him for playing Heskey and hutton as wingers away at Spurs and then looking to shut-up-shop at 2-0 down.

This will sound like hyperbole, but I genuinely believe it, the way he set us up so negatively at Spurs made me more embarrassed to be a Villa fan than I have ever been before. I've seen plenty of shit Villa sides and terrible results, but the way we didn't even pretend we were going to try in that match was just humiliating.

I completely agree. I was late into the ground that night, and had been for a pint with a Spurs supporting mate beforehand, so had no idea of the line-up until they came out. I remember it getting to about 15 minutes in before it fully sunk in exactly how we were set-up.

The thing that struck me most was that Kyle Walker was rampaging forward (past Heskey) for them at right-back, and Younes Kaboul was winning absolutely every ball that we launched forward towards Gabby. It seemed to me like the most obvious thing in the world to switch them over but it never happened. Unfortunately that game will live long in the memory for me.

[SamTheMouse]

I'd love to know what was going through Randy's mind after Martinez opted to stay at Wigan. I know he's not exactly football-savvy, but I still can't believe what he went and did.

It's like popping down the off licence for a bottle of Nuits-Saint-Georges, then on being told they're out of stock, buying a six-pack of lime-flavoured Bacardi Breezers. And a packet of scratchings.

The only explanation is that our he must have been doing meth or something that weekend.

[RussellC]

I'd love to know what was going through Randy's mind after Martinez opted to stay at Wigan. I know he's not exactly football-savvy, but I still can't believe what he went and did.

Regardless of it being a poor football decision when supporters were so vocally (and artistically) against it it became a terrible business decision. It was made even more bizarre by the fact that the club were apparently scared-off holding talks with Steve McLaren because of supporter reaction, but then went ahead and appointment Mcleish regardless!

[supertom]

I'll never forget (or forgive) him for playing Heskey and hutton as wingers away at Spurs and then looking to shut-up-shop at 2-0 down.

This will sound like hyperbole, but I genuinely believe it, the way he set us up so negatively at Spurs made me more embarrassed to be a Villa fan than I have ever been before. I've seen plenty of shit Villa sides and terrible results, but the way we didn't even pretend we were going to try in that match was just humiliating.

I completely agree. I was late into the ground that night, and had been for a pint with a Spurs supporting mate beforehand, so had no idea of the line-up until they came out. I remember it getting to about 15 minutes in before it fully sunk in exactly how we were set-up.

The thing that struck me most was that Kyle Walker was rampaging forward (past Heskey) for them at right-back, and Younes Kaboul was winning absolutely every ball that we launched forward towards Gabby. It seemed to me like the most obvious thing in the world to switch them over but it never happened. Unfortunately that game will live long in the memory for me.

I'm undecided as to whether that game was the most painful, or the final day against Norwich. The weight of relegation had been lifted the previous week. We're at home. There's a chance to at the very least to come out positively and at least try to entertain the fans, maybe blood a few youngsters. But then I think McLeish played something like 7 defenders that day, more if you include Heskey, being as he's a defensive forward (a term undoubtedly coined for Emile himself).
It was one last middle finger to the fans by McLeish and as dire a send off to his Villa career as you could imagine. Horrible stuff.
Thoroughly beaten by an average Norwich, and firmly in damage limitation mode once again, as we had been for most of the season. If the club was a farm animal we'd have been taken to some quiet shed and put out of our misery that day.

[dave.woodhall]

I'd love to know what was going through Randy's mind after Martinez opted to stay at Wigan. I know he's not exactly football-savvy, but I still can't believe what he went and did.

Regardless of it being a poor football decision when supporters were so vocally (and artistically) against it it became a terrible business decision. It was made even more bizarre by the fact that the club were apparently scared-off holding talks with Steve McLaren because of supporter reaction, but then went ahead and appointment Mcleish regardless!

That's a bit of an urban myth as well. It's closer to say he talked himself out of the job.

[Toronto Villa]

I'd love to know what was going through Randy's mind after Martinez opted to stay at Wigan. I know he's not exactly football-savvy, but I still can't believe what he went and did.

It's like popping down the off licence for a bottle of Nuits-Saint-Georges, then on being told they're out of stock, buying a six-pack of lime-flavoured Bacardi Breezers. And a packet of scratchings.

The only explanation is that our he must have been doing meth or something that weekend.

He decided he owed Wigan, just the same as the decision he made when Liverpool came calling. In the end his patience was justified, he won the FA Cup and is now in a very good place at Everton. Sometimes doing what everyone else thinks is obvious isn't the right decision.

[RussellC]

I'd love to know what was going through Randy's mind after Martinez opted to stay at Wigan. I know he's not exactly football-savvy, but I still can't believe what he went and did.

Regardless of it being a poor football decision when supporters were so vocally (and artistically) against it it became a terrible business decision. It was made even more bizarre by the fact that the club were apparently scared-off holding talks with Steve McLaren because of supporter reaction, but then went ahead and appointment Mcleish regardless!

That's a bit of an urban myth as well. It's closer to say he talked himself out of the job.

You mean Mclaren talked himself out of the job?

[RussellC]

And if so, in which accent...?