We've not had a Martin O'Neill argument in ages...

[passport1]

I guess some on here hated top six finishes, getting to Wembley, playing in Europe and being a club that actually mattered.

That must account for the MON vitriol.

That's a bit like your wife or husband maxing out the credit card, remortgaging the house and spending the kids' birthday money on foreign holidays.  Still, at least Magaluf was nice.

I guess some on here hated top six finishes, getting to Wembley, playing in Europe and being a club that actually mattered.

That must account for the MON vitriol.

Yes - that'll be the reason - not the overpriced signings we are still lumbered with and shite home form.
Oh and the way he left - that's the one - you recall the way he left?

I wonder do you actually believe that tripe or whether you have to keep repeating it to justify what has happened in the interim.

And no I don't rate Lerner.

[dave.woodhall]

I guess some on here hated top six finishes, getting to Wembley, playing in Europe and being a club that actually mattered.

That must account for the MON vitriol.

That's a bit like your wife or husband maxing out the credit card, remortgaging the house and spending the kids' birthday money on foreign holidays.  Still, at least Magaluf was nice.

I guess some on here hated top six finishes, getting to Wembley, playing in Europe and being a club that actually mattered.

That must account for the MON vitriol.

Yes - that'll be the reason - not the overpriced signings we are still lumbered with and shite home form.
Oh and the way he left - that's the one - you recall the way he left?

I wonder do you actually believe that tripe or whether you have to keep repeating it to justify what has happened in the interim.

And no I don't rate Lerner.

You mean you don't like top six finishes, trips to Wembley and getting into Europe?

[cdbearsfan]

Scotland are on a massive high at present and will come out of the traps buzzing . When did they last beat us ? 77 ?

The last competitive meeting, 1999.

[passport1]

I guess some on here hated top six finishes, getting to Wembley, playing in Europe and being a club that actually mattered.

That must account for the MON vitriol.

That's a bit like your wife or husband maxing out the credit card, remortgaging the house and spending the kids' birthday money on foreign holidays.  Still, at least Magaluf was nice.

I guess some on here hated top six finishes, getting to Wembley, playing in Europe and being a club that actually mattered.

That must account for the MON vitriol.

Yes - that'll be the reason - not the overpriced signings we are still lumbered with and shite home form.
Oh and the way he left - that's the one - you recall the way he left?

I wonder do you actually believe that tripe or whether you have to keep repeating it to justify what has happened in the interim.

And no I don't rate Lerner.

You mean you don't like top six finishes, trips to Wembley and getting into Europe?

Odd... very odd .


He didnt appoint MON. He did however appoint Houlier, McLeish and Lambert. Do you rate him and stand behind the vitriol aimed at MON?

It diminishes our club and makes us look Mickey Mouse in my opinion.

[Ads]

O'Neill failed. He did no better than Gregory, but spent more than any manager in our history, bringing the club to it's knees financially, which is also Lerner's fault for handing the cretin the cash so readily. The summer he said hang on, the bellend walked out on us to cause maximum damage.

Wrong manager, wrong time. Somebody with a more progressive approach to football would have won us the home games needed to qualify for the champions league. The home form under O'Neill was disproportionately poor compared to our peers because we were so one dimensional. Now we're lacking dimensions of any sort when we attack, so of course the O'Neill years look attractive.

What a wasted opportunity.

[Lastfootstamper]

What a wasted opportunity.

Sadly, an all-to-often rued recurrence over the last 32 years. We'll get another. Just hope I live to see one taken!

[passport1]

O'Neill failed. He did no better than Gregory, but spent more than any manager in our history, bringing the club to it's knees financially, which is also Lerner's fault for handing the cretin the cash so readily. The summer he said hang on, the bellend walked out on us to cause maximum damage.

Wrong manager, wrong time. Somebody with a more progressive approach to football would have won us the home games needed to qualify for the champions league. The home form under O'Neill was disproportion8ately 5poor compared to our peers because we were so one dimensional. Now we're lacking dimensions of any sort when we attack, so of course the O'Neill years look attractive.

What a wasted opportunity.


Lets deal in facts;

1)Gregory inherited a decent Villa team , MON did not.

2)MON worked to the budget and plan provided, he didnt set it.

3) The club settled out of court with him when he left. If they were in the right they would not have settled.

4) Every manager has a style of play he favours.Its usually to get the most out of the personal he has at his disposal.We had tremendous pace in that team, it made sence to play the way we did.

MON is held in high regard in the game, there are however a small minority of Villa fans who continue to peddle nonsence about his time at the club.

A wasted opportunity ? We have form for that as a club and usually it involves a talented manager walking out the door in dubious circumstances followed by years of  mediocrity. Thats the wasted opportunity.

[Meanwood Villa]

Scotland are on a massive high at present and will come out of the traps buzzing . When did they last beat us ? 77 ?

The last competitive meeting, 1999.

That's a bit like saying we beat Bradford. A hollow victory.

[Monty]

Lets deal in facts;

1)Gregory inherited a decent Villa team , MON did not.

2)MON worked to the budget and plan provided, he didnt set it.

3) The club settled out of court with him when he left. If they were in the right they would not have settled.

4) Every manager has a style of play he favours.Its usually to get the most out of the personal he has at his disposal.We had tremendous pace in that team, it made sence to play the way we did.

MON is held in high regard in the game, there are however a small minority of Villa fans who continue to peddle nonsence about his time at the club.

A wasted opportunity ? We have form for that as a club and usually it involves a talented manager walking out the door in dubious circumstances followed by years of  mediocrity. Thats the wasted opportunity.

1) Yes, and he made it better, but he did so by paying extraordinary amounts of money for plodding British mediocrities while everyone else was busy looking everywhere for players. His BNP-like transfer policy was humiliating for the club.

2) Indeed, but Lerner trusted him and what did he do with the money? See 1).

3) We have no idea why they settled or what went on in court, but we do know that MON walked out five days before the season started even though the transfer policy had been set at the beginning of the summer. That is the action of a colossal, sulking man-child.

4) Why does 'pace' mean 4-4-fucking-2 every match? Why does 'pace' mean we couldn't pass the ball quickly? Why does 'pace' mean we couldn't move off the ball? Why does 'pace' mean we lost the ball from every throw-in? Why does 'pace' mean that a team assembled for that much money should still lump the ball long like Wimbledon? Every manager does indeed have his style, and some of those styles are shit.

Let me let you in on a secret: MON is not 'held in high regard' in the game. All of the foreign journalists working in England, who weren't blinded by the Clough connections, the apparent charm or the shared assumption that kick-and-rush 4-4-2 was somehow a valid style in the modern game, all though he was bollocks. I don't care if Shearer and Lawrenson and Savage like him - ask Marcotti, Honigstein, Bandini, etc (oh, and Sunderland fans) if they think he's any good. They don't.

Your last sentence, that we as a club are just too dysfunctional to be worthy of such a pure and innocent gift such as MON gave us, is just intensely silly.

[passport1]

Right a somewhat wordy answer, but when quoting the likes of Gabriel Marcotti an intense O'Neill hater as someone in the game whose opinion counts it  it all falls apart somewhat.

Silly? Extremely.

[Monty]

Yep, one name and all of the points on which you're wrong vanish. By the way, Marcotti is right to dislike O'Neill. I know he dislikes O'Neill - that's why I brought it up.

[passport1]

I'm wrong, Marcottis right, your right.

As long as we keep ignoring the facts.

[Monty]

Facts such as...what? Paying £8.5m for Nigel Reo-Coker? Consistently scoring very few goals at home compared to the rest of the top ten? Come on, drop your blind, puppyish love for Saint Martin and actually try and argue a cogent case in his defence. Or, you could continue to be snide, sarcastic and sulky.

[silhillvilla]

Belgium v Wales today at 5pm, hopefully it's on TV
Benteke 5/1 first goal

[dave.woodhall]

I'm wrong, Marcottis right, your right.

As long as we keep ignoring the facts.

You certainly do ignore them.