Christian Purslow - Resigned

[Pat McMahon]

MON definitely was the right man at that time. True, he didn’t get a higher finish than O’Leary but he did manage to maintain the 6th place finish for 3 consecutive seasons, which I can’t recall us doing in my lifetime ( and I ain’t young).

If he’d left at the end of the 2009-10 season most of these occasional debates would not be appearing on here. The problem was that his style was never going to feature the players with stardust in their boots who win big games with the moments of brilliance to haul a team into the top 4.

[eamonn]

Enough MON circular arguments. Purslow still talking a good game. Scary to think how close we were to the edge this time last year. Bankruptcy would have meant...what? Villa Park sold off to pay creditors and the club starting in League Two (or lower) as 1874 Villa?

[Damo70]

MON definitely was the right man at that time. True, he didn’t get a higher finish than O’Leary but he did manage to maintain the 6th place finish for 3 consecutive seasons, which I can’t recall us doing in my lifetime ( and I ain’t young).

If he’d left at the end of the 2009-10 season most of these occasional debates would not be appearing on here. The problem was that his style was never going to feature the players with stardust in their boots who win big games with the moments of brilliance to haul a team into the top 4.

Absolutely the right man at the right time and his appointment was a massive boost at the time ranking alongside the appointments of SGT and BFR, who were also badly needed morale boosts at the time of their appointments. I enjoyed the MON years and think he qualifies as a success based on his league finishes and cup runs. I would like to think the timing of his exit was because the club called his bluff rather than premeditated sabotage but what was inexcusable was the tailspin the club went into in the following years under Lerner.

[Sexual Ealing]

MON definitely was the right man at that time. True, he didn’t get a higher finish than O’Leary but he did manage to maintain the 6th place finish for 3 consecutive seasons, which I can’t recall us doing in my lifetime ( and I ain’t young).

If he’d left at the end of the 2009-10 season most of these occasional debates would not be appearing on here. The problem was that his style was never going to feature the players with stardust in their boots who win big games with the moments of brilliance to haul a team into the top 4.

Absolutely the right man at the right time and his appointment was a massive boost at the time ranking alongside the appointments of SGT and BFR, who were also badly needed morale boosts at the time of their appointments. I enjoyed the MON years and think he qualifies as a success based on his league finishes and cup runs. I would like to think the timing of his exit was because the club called his bluff rather than premeditated sabotage but what was inexcusable was the tailspin the club went into in the following years under Lerner.

I endorse this message.

[eamonn]

Fine but stop quoting and talking about the cnut.

[AsTallAsLions]

Martin O'Neill was a failure at Villa, and history has shown him to be every bit as talented a con man as the worst of our managers over the past few years - I can't believe there are still Villa fans who would describe his tenure as a success. Baffling.

[ChicagoLion]

Martin O'Neill was a failure at Villa, and history has shown him to be every bit as talented a con man as the worst of our managers over the past few years - I can't believe there are still Villa fans who would describe his tenure as a success. Baffling.

Agree.

[Monty]

He was good enough for sixth - which was a fuck of a lot better than we were aiming for when he came in - but he was never a top level manager and despite having everything going for him, he couldn't make it to that level.

[Sexual Ealing]

He was good enough for sixth - which was a fuck of a lot better than we were aiming for when he came in - but he was never a top level manager and despite having everything going for him, he couldn't make it to that level.

Yep. He was the best we were going to get given the lack of imagination above him. Their biggest failure of imagination was the failure to imagine that he had the power to fuck us on a whim, and then to acquiesce to that possibility by not fucking well imagining it.

[Chipsticks]

He was good enough for sixth - which was a fuck of a lot better than we were aiming for when he came in - but he was never a top level manager and despite having everything going for him, he couldn't make it to that level.

Yep. He was the best we were going to get given the lack of imagination above him. Their biggest failure of imagination was the failure to imagine that he had the power to fuck us on a whim, and then to acquiesce to that possibility by not fucking well imagining it.

I think these hit the nail pretty much on the head.

If anyone's listened to the recent Villa View podcast with Petrov, he discussed behind-the-scenes of the MoN era, and it sounds like there was very little tactical preparation involved, but more a case of motivating decent players to play the same game consistently every week.

That style of football is woefully outdated and is why he's struggled since 2010. Just compare him to a coach like Smith.

It's the same reason why managers like Bruce and Pardew can't cut the mustard anymore.

[Chris Smith]

Football regularly evolves and the best managers are able to adapt and move with the times, Ferguson being the best example, but many don’t. I think if Lerner and MON had taken over a couple of years earlier then things might have been different but by the end of his time he struggled to adapt and his subsequent career shows that he is unsuited to the way the game currently is.

[West Derby Villan]

MON definitely was the right man at that time. True, he didn’t get a higher finish than O’Leary but he did manage to maintain the 6th place finish for 3 consecutive seasons, which I can’t recall us doing in my lifetime ( and I ain’t young).

If he’d left at the end of the 2009-10 season most of these occasional debates would not be appearing on here. The problem was that his style was never going to feature the players with stardust in their boots who win big games with the moments of brilliance to haul a team into the top 4.

Absolutely the right man at the right time and his appointment was a massive boost at the time ranking alongside the appointments of SGT and BFR, who were also badly needed morale boosts at the time of their appointments. I enjoyed the MON years and think he qualifies as a success based on his league finishes and cup runs. I would like to think the timing of his exit was because the club called his bluff rather than premeditated sabotage but what was inexcusable was the tailspin the club went into in the following years under Lerner.

I endorse this message.

Definitely the right man at the right time. When he first arrived he gave the club a huge boost. If he had left at the start of the 2010 close season then most people would have said " fair play, he'd taken us as far as he could" instead he trounced off a couple of days before the opening match and tarnished his time here forever.

[garyshawsknee]

First couple of years were a success, he gave us our identity back, European football, we'd go to the top four teams and not fear them and get results, then after Moscow it turned sour, teams found us out and we became predictable. Took us years to recover and his career never did.

[not3bad]

Fantastic interview with Christian Purslow here:

https://underagaslitlamp.com/2019/07/17/christian-purslow-there-are-two-or-three-more-to-add/

[Damo70]

Football regularly evolves and the best managers are able to adapt and move with the times, Ferguson being the best example, but many don’t. I think if Lerner and MON had taken over a couple of years earlier then things might have been different but by the end of his time he struggled to adapt and his subsequent career shows that he is unsuited to the way the game currently is.

Ferguson not only constantly refreshed his playing squad but also his backroom team. Brian Kidd, Walter Smith, Rene Mulensteen (can't be bothered to check the spelling), Mike Phelan. MON, and his favoured coaches moved from club to club with him as so often happens with managers stuck in their ways. Same with Bruce.