Hot off the press

[Richie]

I just don't get why Swansea are able to put together a squad that plays excellent passing football year in, year out, whilst we are consistently dull as ditch water and struggling to stay up.

We must have more resources than they do?

They don't seem to have spent tonnes of money.

I've been thinking exactly the same thing.

The difference being................. they have been well run.

[dave.woodhall]

BFR was a hugely popular manager and i loved him managing our club. As you yourself said in your book about Villa managers he gave us a Big club feel. However since March 1994 we had been having  a slow decline and then we started badly in the league the following season. 

Doug probably felt the fans would turn on him but BL arriving and him being a Villa legend did help. He was the last manager Doug sacked although i am sure DOL did not leave off his own making.

Going off-topic I think the decline started at the end of 1993 when from memory we had a run of home defeats against Wimbledon, Sheffield United and Matt le Tissier FC in front of sub-20,000 crowds. 

The week before he was sacked a Mail letters special had all but one in favour of getting rid of him. The week after he was sacked all but one letter was against it.

[Fred]

BFR was a hugely popular manager and i loved him managing our club. As you yourself said in your book about Villa managers he gave us a Big club feel. However since March 1994 we had been having  a slow decline and then we started badly in the league the following season. 

Doug probably felt the fans would turn on him but BL arriving and him being a Villa legend did help. He was the last manager Doug sacked although i am sure DOL did not leave off his own making.

Going off-topic I think the decline started at the end of 1993 when from memory we had a run of home defeats against Wimbledon, Sheffield United and Matt le Tissier FC in front of sub-20,000 crowds. 

The week before he was sacked a Mail letters special had all but one in favour of getting rid of him. The week after he was sacked all but one letter was against it.

True, I picked March 1994 because that is when we won the League Cup.

[dave.woodhall]

BFR was a hugely popular manager and i loved him managing our club. As you yourself said in your book about Villa managers he gave us a Big club feel. However since March 1994 we had been having  a slow decline and then we started badly in the league the following season. 

Doug probably felt the fans would turn on him but BL arriving and him being a Villa legend did help. He was the last manager Doug sacked although i am sure DOL did not leave off his own making.

Going off-topic I think the decline started at the end of 1993 when from memory we had a run of home defeats against Wimbledon, Sheffield United and Matt le Tissier FC in front of sub-20,000 crowds. 

The week before he was sacked a Mail letters special had all but one in favour of getting rid of him. The week after he was sacked all but one letter was against it.

True, I picked March 1994 because that is when we won the League Cup.

That's a fair point - the cup run masked our league form.

[Fred]

BFR was a hugely popular manager and i loved him managing our club. As you yourself said in your book about Villa managers he gave us a Big club feel. However since March 1994 we had been having  a slow decline and then we started badly in the league the following season. 

Doug probably felt the fans would turn on him but BL arriving and him being a Villa legend did help. He was the last manager Doug sacked although i am sure DOL did not leave off his own making.

Going off-topic I think the decline started at the end of 1993 when from memory we had a run of home defeats against Wimbledon, Sheffield United and Matt le Tissier FC in front of sub-20,000 crowds. 

The week before he was sacked a Mail letters special had all but one in favour of getting rid of him. The week after he was sacked all but one letter was against it.

True, I picked March 1994 because that is when we won the League Cup.

That's a fair point - the cup run masked our league form.

Off topic again and you are right but i also think that BFR going to the world cup and signging John Fashuna did not help his cause.

He was a big game manager and that is why we beat Inter Milan but threw away a lead at Wimbledon.

[dave.woodhall]

Off topic again and you are right but i also think that BFR going to the world cup and signging John Fashuna did not help his cause.

He was a big game manager and that is why we beat Inter Milan but threw away a lead at Wimbledon.

It certainly gave Doug the ammunition he wanted. I wonder if Beloved Leader had grown long-tired of the BFR persona and wanted to remind the world that there was only room for one Mr Aston Villa, so got rid at the first opportunity. Dennis Mortimer's comments about Tony Barton's sacking might provide a clue.

[rob_bridge]

And when he had to find one he went for Turner, McNeill, Venglos.

SGT, BFR, BL and JG just fell in his lap perfectly.

I suspect he had laid the foundations for the good recruits as well as the bad ones other than Venglos and McDuff a good while in advance.

[PeterWithesShin]

This was our results after beating Sheff Utd, we'd only lost 2 of the first 15.

24.11-H Southampton 0-2
28.11-A Liverpool 1-2
04.12-A Queen's PR 2-2
08.12-H Sheffield W 2-2
11.12-H Wimbledon 0-1
19.12-A Manchester U 1-3
29.12-A Norwich 2-1
01.01-H Blackburn 0-1
15.01-H West Ham 3-1
22.01-A Chelsea 1-1
06.02-H Leeds 1-0
12.02-H Swindon 5-0
22.02-H Manchester C 0-0
02.03-A Tottenham 1-1
06.03-A Coventry 1-0
12.03-H Ipswich 0-1
16.03-A Leeds 0-2
19.03-H Oldham 1-2
30.03-H Everton 0-0
02.04-A Manchester C 0-3
04.04-H Norwich 0-0
11.04-A Blackburn 0-1
16.04-A Sheffield U 2-1
23.04-H Arsenal 1-2
27.04-A Newcastle 1-5
30.04-A Southampton 1-4
07.05-H Liverpool 2-1

And then the following season
20.08-A Everton 2-2
24.08-H Southampton 1-1
27.08-H Crystal P 1-1
29.08-A Coventry 1-0
10.09-H Ipswich 2-0
17.09-A West Ham 0-1
24.09-A Blackburn 1-3
01.10-H Newcastle 0-2
08.10-A Liverpool 2-3
15.10-H Norwich 1-1
22.10-H Nottingham 0-2
29.10-A Queen's PR 0-2
06.11-H Manchester U 1-2
09.11-A Wimbledon 3-4

[dave.woodhall]

And when he had to find one he went for Turner, McNeill, Venglos.

SGT, BFR, BL and JG just fell in his lap perfectly.

I suspect he had laid the foundations for the good recruits as well as the bad ones other than Venglos and McDuff a good while in advance.

No way on earth did he do anything to get Sir Graham, for a start. That one was down to a fresh challenge needed and his best friend in football working round the corner from Villa Park. BFR was always going to manage us one day, and decided that it was now or never. Brian Little was destiny and John Gregory a short-term fix suggested by Steve Stride that was in hindsight a bad appointment.

[rob_bridge]

That Southampton game was one of the coldest ever. I think 16,000 is a ground of nearly 50k didn't help.

[dave.woodhall]

That Southampton game was one of the coldest ever. I think 16,000 is a ground of nearly 50k didn't help.

Some of the gates that season home and away were incredible. A certain team in London got 17,452 against us. Without looking it up, guess who.

[Fred]

Off topic again and you are right but i also think that BFR going to the world cup and signging John Fashuna did not help his cause.

He was a big game manager and that is why we beat Inter Milan but threw away a lead at Wimbledon.

It certainly gave Doug the ammunition he wanted. I wonder if Beloved Leader had grown long-tired of the BFR persona and wanted to remind the world that there was only room for one Mr Aston Villa, so got rid at the first opportunity. Dennis Mortimer's comments about Tony Barton's sacking might provide a clue.

I think that is right. The results of the team helped him in sacking him. He did not front to the camera's that evening if i remember rightly giving the impresion that he knew it was a gamble on his part as the manager was a popular figure.

[Clampy]

And when he had to find one he went for Turner, McNeill, Venglos.

SGT, BFR, BL and JG just fell in his lap perfectly.

I suspect he had laid the foundations for the good recruits as well as the bad ones other than Venglos and McDuff a good while in advance.

No way on earth did he do anything to get Sir Graham, for a start. That one was down to a fresh challenge needed and his best friend in football working round the corner from Villa Park. BFR was always going to manage us one day, and decided that it was now or never. Brian Little was destiny and John Gregory a short-term fix suggested by Steve Stride that was in hindsight a bad appointment.

I don't think Gregory did that bad a job bearing in mind we'd plucked him from Wycombe.

[PeterWithesShin]

That Southampton game was one of the coldest ever. I think 16,000 is a ground of nearly 50k didn't help.

Some of the gates that season home and away were incredible. A certain team in London got 17,452 against us. Without looking it up, guess who.

Spuds. Chavski and Arsenal had sub 20K against us as well late 80s early 90s.

[dave.woodhall]

And when he had to find one he went for Turner, McNeill, Venglos.

SGT, BFR, BL and JG just fell in his lap perfectly.

I suspect he had laid the foundations for the good recruits as well as the bad ones other than Venglos and McDuff a good while in advance.

No way on earth did he do anything to get Sir Graham, for a start. That one was down to a fresh challenge needed and his best friend in football working round the corner from Villa Park. BFR was always going to manage us one day, and decided that it was now or never. Brian Little was destiny and John Gregory a short-term fix suggested by Steve Stride that was in hindsight a bad appointment.

I don't think Gregory did that bad a job bearing in mind we'd plucked him from Wycombe.

Exactly - a top appointment then, given the players we had and the money that was to come in over the next five years, could have got us to the top. Instead we trod water.