Martin O'Neill: Ten years on

[Mortimer's Bear]

Prick

[Deano's Mullet]

As good as they felt at the time the ONeill years feel like they pale in comparison to the 3 years we've had under Unai.

[AV82EC]

As good as they felt at the time the ONeill years feel like they pale in comparison to the 3 years we've had under Unai.

Strong agree.

[usav]

As good as they felt at the time the ONeill years feel like they pale in comparison to the 3 years we've had under Unai.

Strong agree.

Thirded, especially as at the time I didn't feel they were as good as some would make out....there was always an underlying something or other going on.

[dcdavecollett]

I'd say it was better because now we have a manager whose team can play in different ways.

Good though MO'N was, his was mainly a play-on-the-break side.

[rob_bridge]

As good as they felt at the time the ONeill years feel like they pale in comparison to the 3 years we've had under Unai.

Strong agree.

Thirded, especially as at the time I didn't feel they were as good as some would make out....there was always an underlying something or other going on.

Totally agree - it was hard to break into Top4 with MON but it is as hard to finish Top8 now.

And Emery has done it 3 seasons running. Including once when we gave everyone a 10 ame head start

[VILLA MOLE]

I feel both management and owners  are a completely different level of Professionalism to the previous incumbents .

[cdward]

Yet, MON, Tim Sherwood, John Gregory and Dean Smith have all got us closer to winning silverware than Unai, i.e they all got us to a final.

Something i hope will change very soon.

[rob_bridge]

Yet, MON, Tim Sherwood, John Gregory and Dean Smith have all got us closer to winning silverware than Unai, i.e they all got us to a final.

Something i hope will change very soon.

All 4 finals we never looked like we would win as game progressed.

2000 FA Cup looked as if we might not lose until they scored.

2010 Hit the wall at hour mark and they didn't even have to step up a gear to beat us.

Never really in 2015 and 2020 (although after being battered nearly got an equaliser).

[dcdavecollett]

Any such review must consider the Wembley Referee Factor:

2000, smiling tw*t Poll allowed Chelsea to kick the living shit out of George Boateng all match.

2010, the scandal of the non-red card in the early minutes. Phil Dowd may just be getting some regular sleep by now...

2015, we were crap and deserved nothing, but truly only Jonathan Moss could not have awarded a penalty at the end for the throat-high challenge on Grealish.

2020, Citeh115's second goal came from a corner that wasn't.

Quite a list really when you think about it. Not that there's any bias in favour of the rich clubs, oh no.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

'I thought I'd signed for a holiday club' - Warnock on O'Neill's management

Former Aston Villa defender Stephen Warnock has revealed training sessions and days off were "a bit of a free-for-all" during Martin O'Neill's time at Villa Park, adding that the situation created tension between the manager and current Brighton player James Milner.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Sacked in the Morning podcast, Warnock said: "I thought I'd signed for a holiday club. It was just incredible.

"If we had a Saturday to Saturday game schedule, we would be off Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. There would also be some weeks where he would say: ' We'll see you on Thursday and Friday, the game is on Saturday'.

"Gabby Agbonlahor - I'd never seen someone's passport with so many stamps in it. We're talking about New York, Las Vegas, Miami.

"[O'Neill] was the one asking as well. Ashley Young and Agbonlahor were his two golden boys. We would all be sat in the changing room after a win and we would tell them to ask for a few days off. They would be like: 'Off until Thursday?' and he would reply: 'Yeah, why not!'

"I had never seen anything like it. We were playing well though, so it was working at the start, but there is always a point where it's going to catch up on you."

Under O'Neill, Villa finished sixth for three straight seasons between 2008 and 2010 but were unable to get into the Champions League places.

Warnock, who arrived in 2009, potentially attributes that to a drop-off in Spring.

"It happened around March/April time because we weren't as fit as we should've been," he said. "We weren't training like we should've been. We were doing five-a-sides and we were in for 45 minutes to an hour.

"When we were in, it was a relaxed atmosphere and you were left to your own devices. If you wanted to get fit, you got fit on your own.

"I didn't like that. I liked someone telling me to do stuff. I found it a little bit difficult if I'm being completely honest. I didn't even move from the north west because we had that much time off.

"I remember us having a meeting about it once. James Milner wasn't very happy, he wanted us to be doing more work. Martin replied: 'Oh, you want to do more work? Do you not realise there's a treadmill in the gym? Get outside and do it yourself'. Let's just say, James got offended by that.

"It felt like it was a bit of a free for all, if I'm honest."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa