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

[CorkVilla]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

[not3bad]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

To be fair, we made a profit on Zat Knight.  Unlike Curtis Davies.

[Holte L2]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

To be fair, we made a profit on Zat Knight.  Unlike Curtis Davies.

I'd have Curtis Davies in our back four quite happily now.

[pauliewalnuts]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

To be fair, we made a profit on Zat Knight.  Unlike Curtis Davies.

I'd have Curtis Davies in our back four quite happily now.

To be honest, you could probably add Curtis Stigers to our back four these days and it'd improve it.

[saunders_heroes]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

3 top 6 finishes? Yes please!

[mr underhill]

exactly the best Villa  manager of the last eight years bar none.

[Villa in Denmark]

The problem with MON's time here was not the top six finishes, it was the cost of achieving them, relative to how much a slightly better coach would have needed, or how much better we'd have done with the same investment.

Too little reward for too much investment.

The need to address the out of kilter finances was inevitable, and should probably have been started 12 months earlier (saving approx. £30M on a second new back 4)
That the following retrenchment has been carried out at a suicidal pace is another matter.

MONs family moto:

Veni, feci, non vincere

[Gareth]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

3 top 6 finishes? Yes please!

We all liked top 6 finishes....not so much the gutless, running away & quitting when challenged to work within means!

He was both good and bad for the club....the memories would be far better if his actions hadn't led to a complete tailspin.

He wasn't as bad as Billy McNeill but neither was he anything like as good as Sir Graham etc

[N'ZMAV]

On the pitch - great... mostly - however, off it, we all knew it was unsustainable and we was never going to get top 4 - the style of play and lack of plan B made that obvious.

[pauliewalnuts]

exactly the best Villa  manager of the last eight years bar none.

Talk about damning with faint praise.

[Villa in Denmark]

exactly the best Villa  manager of the last eight years bar none.

Just because he finished highest, doesn't make him the best manager. None of the last 6 managers have exactly shone as glittering examples.

Gregory - vastly overspent relative to what he achieved.
SGT II - just a mistake, but at least he was decent enough to admit it.
DOL - the missing member from The Italian Job.
MON see Gregory, with further deductions for being a spineless, whinging little shit who couldn't be bothered to sort out a mess he'd helped to make.
GED. Right ideas, wrong man/time. Bonus points for at least trying to move our football into the current decade, and trying to deal with the poison in the dressing room.
McLeish. Just wrong in every way.
Lambert. Even allowing for the differences in budget, see MON and Gregory for achievement v budget.

[saunders_heroes]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

3 top 6 finishes? Yes please!

We all liked top 6 finishes....not so much the gutless, running away & quitting when challenged to work within means!

He was both good and bad for the club....the memories would be far better if his actions hadn't led to a complete tailspin.

He wasn't as bad as Billy McNeill but neither was he anything like as good as Sir Graham etc

The O'Neill era was basically the only bright spot in the last 12 or so years, and even then it ended in tears.

[LeeB]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

To be fair, we made a profit on Zat Knight.  Unlike Curtis Davies.

I'd have Curtis Davies in our back four quite happily now.

To be honest, you could probably add Curtis Stigers to our back four these days and it'd improve it.

"And I wonder why we go down, with tears in our eyes"

[cdward]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

Consistent top 6 finishes, cup final and semi final appearances, european football, buying players and selling them for massive profit, having several Villa players playing for England, never losing to our local rivals, were all good for the club. He was certainly better for the club than Lambert, McLeish or Houllier.

[dave.woodhall]

I still can't believe that there are Villa fans out there that still think O'Neill was good for the club.

This is the guy who sold Gary Cahill for pittance and then replaced him with Zat Knight ffs.

Consistent top 6 finishes, cup final and semi final appearances, european football, buying players and selling them for massive profit, having several Villa players playing for England, never losing to our local rivals, were all good for the club. He was certainly better for the club than Lambert, McLeish or Houllier.

Give them what he had and see.