Poll - Sherwood - got rid

[Risso]

Lerner does not even select the manager, so relax. Merely because they can say "Lerner,"and thus  think that they have attained the Holy Grail of polysyllabism, all the nitwits who criticize the owner on this point just like to think of themselves as saying something meaningful. Trust me when I tell you that you have not. We get it; you think Lerner's appointments have sucked. In the case of McLeish, you are right, but the others are defensible and were never Lerner's alone anyway. You are boring; please stop wasting people's time with your drivel.

I'll tell you what's boring, pelty. Five straight years of relegation battles. And only one man has presided over them all. But perhaps you can tell us, if it isn't Lerner who chooses the managers, who does? Is it Fox alone - a former commercial officer with limited knowledge of the actual game of football? Are we still writing letters to Sir Alex Ferguson? Which football expert helps us consistently appoint crap managers? Why do we keep on gambling with our Premier League status?

Well said Jimbo. Perhaps the nitwits might have more of an idea what's going on if our absentee owner made more of an effort to communicate? 

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I don't see how the Lambert appointment was shit. It was almost universally well received. That it turned into shit doesn't make it a shit appointment.

Lambert was a shit appointment because the board wanted him to bring in talented, young players and develop them. For the strategy to work it needed somebody with far more technical and tactical knowledge than Lambert.

[Matt C]

I can't fault the appointment of Lambert. The fault lies in the amount of time it took to dispense of him.

[Monty]

I thought the Lambert appointment was a bad one. His record at Norwich was pretty good, but it was mostly achieved with a front two of Grant Holt and Steve Morison - not exactly the progressive, modern football our rivals were going for.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

The fault lies in the amount of time it took to dispense of him.

Absolutely and if we are to believe that Faulkner wanted rid of him in May 2014, then Lerner on this point, has to take the blame.

[Hookeysmith]

To add some fairness

When we endured the end of Doug we could only dream of a buyer to be an enthusiastic multi Billionairre. Everything about the Lerner early years was class, MON appointment, investment in club, team and facilities. Local interests and the Acorns deals meant we really did have a bright future. The along came Man CiŁy and the landscape not only changed with them but it provoked Chelski and Man U to start spending huge amounts to keep up and the landscape was changed. In those early years if Randy was to be blamed for anything it was putting all his trust in MON. When the money started to run a lot quicker than any visible success he appointed some backroom teams to question what was going on - as we know the toys came out and it went from bad to worse.
As soon as the tide turned against Lerner he felt it and a hint turned into a reality he put the club up for sale. A mixture of FFP, family and bad debts turned it all sour and a buyer has not been sourced. He dropped the price by Ł50 mil - Ł50 mil!!!!! and still no buyer

Not sure what he can do other than give it away to the first charlatan that comes along - its a credit to hi m that he does not do just that to stop himself feeling heat

Randy was our hope - a culmination of a lot of things has resulted in where we are now. He is not a Villan.

I for one have only seen TSM as a bizarre appointment

[KevinGage]

Lerner does not even select the manager, so relax. Merely because they can say "Lerner,"and thus  think that they have attained the Holy Grail of polysyllabism, all the nitwits who criticize the owner on this point just like to think of themselves as saying something meaningful. Trust me when I tell you that you have not. We get it; you think Lerner's appointments have sucked. In the case of McLeish, you are right, but the others are defensible and were never Lerner's alone anyway. You are boring; please stop wasting people's time with your drivel.

I'll tell you what's boring, pelty. Five straight years of relegation battles. And only one man has presided over them all. But perhaps you can tell us, if it isn't Lerner who chooses the managers, who does? Is it Fox alone - a former commercial officer with limited knowledge of the actual game of football? Are we still writing letters to Sir Alex Ferguson? Which football expert helps us consistently appoint crap managers? Why do we keep on gambling with our Premier League status?

Well said Jimbo. Perhaps the nitwits might have more of an idea what's going on if our absentee owner made more of an effort to communicate? 

Considering some of the surreal missives we've had from him on the odd occasion he does bother to communicate, I'd say it's probably best if he holds off.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Everything about the Lerner early years was class, MON appointment

No credit to Ellis for this appointment?

[Hookeysmith]

Ok I hear you

But would MON have entertained us if he did not see a sugar daddy ready to support him?

[KevinGage]

To add some fairness

When we endured the end of Doug we could only dream of a buyer to be an enthusiastic multi Billionairre. Everything about the Lerner early years was class, MON appointment, investment in club, team and facilities. Local interests and the Acorns deals meant we really did have a bright future. The along came Man CiŁy...

I have seen this defence used a lot, not only from Villa fans, but from Lerner himself IIRC.

I don't buy it, as he would have been naive in the extreme to think he was going to be the last billionaire to buy into English football.

The petrodollars thrown about at Man Citeh meant it was always going to be harder to crack the top four, granted.

But how do you go from aiming for top 4 to being content just to stay in the division.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Ok I hear you

But would MON have entertained us if he did not see a sugar daddy ready to support him?

Knowing what we know about O'Neill now, probably not. But that says more about O'Neill being able to smell easy transfer money than Lerner being a shrewd businessman. A pair of rats

[curiousorange]

Hindsight is ace, but at the time Lerner and O'Neill came in, there was no other manager I wanted to spend that money. In fact, I'm probably in the minority but I was genuinely gutted when he left, and not just because of the timing. That's not to say I still want him, just how I felt at the time.

Since that time Lambert is the only time I thought we made a decent appointment. He wasn't my first choice but it made loads of sense. Houllier didn't - it was as if we'd phoned loads of experienced bosses and he was the only one who picked up.

As for McLeish? Sagas will be written about the leap of imagination it took for that plot twist.

[Clark W Griswold]

Houllier - Mediocre appointment but wasn't much choice at the time.
McLeish - Utterly bizarre
Lambert - Decent at the time, surprised it went so bad.
Sherwood - See Houllier

[Villa in Denmark]

Houllier - Mediocre appointment but wasn't much choice at the time.
McLeish - Utterly bizarre
Lambert - Decent at the time, surprised it went so bad.
Sherwood - See Houllier McLeish

[aj2k77]

I don't see how the Lambert appointment was shit. It was almost universally well received. That it turned into shit doesn't make it a shit appointment.

Because we were still a respected club with a hell of a lot going for it and we decided to employ a manager who had almost exclusively worked in the lower leagues. For me, for how I still see my club it's a poor decision and that's not with hindsight. Even today I would still consider any manager who's biggest gig is Norwich and achievement is coming 11th or whatever it was not suitable for this job.