Past Managers, Love or Hate?

[Kevin Dawson]

I’m surprised there is less hate for O’Neill, the man who wasted our best chance in decades and flounced off at a time deliberately intended to fuck us over. He had shedloads of cash and spent most of it on utter shite.

It's almost summer, we're in the Champions League, we love all our players, our manager, loads of football to relax to over the next few weeks, life is good and moves on, most have vented on their feelings regarding the pubeheaded chancing, self loving, twat. Those that haven't will get there eventually.

Lots of people on this thread have him as decent, more good than bad etc. I thought he’d probably be the most hated.

He was a useless ****** and unprofessional charlatan who pissed a quarter of a billion quid up the wall and it’s all the more galling as I was all in on the project. The stuff that has come out from various ex players over the last few months has made my blood boil. We could at a bare minimum have been semi competitive in this league for the last 15 years if we’d appointed a half decent manager at that time but we got Mr Thought he was the new Clough and have had a decade of utter shite to show for it. He can fuck off, and when he gets to there he can fuck odd again the big pubeheaded wanker. God I’d forgotten how much I actually fucking hate him, what a total ****** who seems to get a pass from all his media lickspittles. ******.

This pretty much sums up my feelings as well.

[cdward]

Without wanting to rake over too many coals, MON did elevate us to a position where we were playing in Europe, challenging for silverware in cups, challenging for CL football and attracting good players at the top of their game (Milner, Young, Delph). There were some decent games in there too.
It wasn't all bad.
Don't hate him, don't love him either, in the middle for me.

[VillaTim]

From the ones in my supporting lifetime:

Total C-words: Gerrard, O'Leary
Clueless twat: Sherwood
Really rather bad: McLeish, Lambert, Garde, SGT Mk II, Houlier, Di Matteo, Bruce
Nearly, but not quite: O'Neill, Gregory
A nice idea, but no: Dr Jo
Some great football but I cannot forgive the choice of language: Atkinson
Heroes: SGT, Little, Smith
Divine: Emery

Pretty much my thoughts exactly.
My only caveat would be around Gerrard and Lambert.

Gerrard, I detested with every fibre of my being from the second we were linked with him.

Lambert had a terrible hand dealt to him. But he was still useless and I vividly remember my celebrations when he was sacked.

We absolutely destroyed Paul Lambert, back to back promotions at Norwich (like McKenna now), remember that game at Norwich under McLeish where the Villa fans were chanting for him. 

Emery is by far the best we have had since the BFR days.

At the time i found that complete cringe . It totally backfired.

[ChicagoLion]

Garde- no idea why he is vilified he had absolutely no chance.
O,Neil - absolute charlatan, it was all about hm and his ego.
Bruce, was just an idiot , but got by on the myth that he somehow  knew what he was doing.
Lambert - “I thought we were excellent “ should have been taken round the back of the barn and shot.
Gerrard- another O,Neil
Houlier than thou- the consultant, never got us and we never got him.
DOL- twat

Heroes

Smith
BFR-
Little
Saunders
Emery

[ChicagoLion]

Without wanting to rake over too many coals, MON did elevate us to a position where we were playing in Europe, challenging for silverware in cups, challenging for CL football and attracting good players at the top of their game (Milner, Young, Delph). There were some decent games in there too.
It wasn't all bad.
Don't hate him, don't love him either, in the middle for me.

But ultimately failed, left us in the most destructive way possible having emptied the bank account.
His legacy endured for years, from which we have only recently recovered.

[darren woolley]

Liked most Saunders
Disliked most Gerrard

[algy]

Gerrard is the only manager I've disliked more than David O'Leary. Gave him the benefit of the doubt for the first part-season, but it was clear he was less than useless by the first game of his first full season. Absolute charlatan and highly dislikeable individual.

Favourite: between the Brian Little manager/John Gregory assistant manager combo and Deano. I'd just about pick the former, but Deano ran them very very close.

Blotted copybooks: BFR was probably the best manager, but whilst I don't believe him to be a racist, his comment was atrocious and unforgivable. Still like him, mind, but I couldn't label him in that group following it.

Also Graham Taylor. It's hard because he's unable to defend himself, but the Barry Bennell stuff happened under his watch, he was told about it, and whilst his reported reaction was in some ways understandable, I don't think I could support someone who didn't stand up for (essentially) a child in such a situation.

Shit managers I've liked as people:

Steve Bruce - come across as a good bloke
Dr Jo - same
Big Eck - seems like a good sort

[Monty]

Garde, Lambert and to an extent McLeish fall into a different category for me, namely 'Shit, but I just feel a bit sorry for them.'

[Exeter 77]

Just reaIised I missed Josef Venglos as well. I liked him but it was probably a good appointment at the wrong time. 6 years later Wenger got the Arsenal job and revolutionised coaching in England which is what Venglos could have done if the game was ready in 1990. I blame Doug for pretty much everything wrong at Villa while he was chairman but giving Dr Jo the job could have been visionary  - add your own cliché about stopped clicks and right tines here though.

[Richard]

Without wanting to rake over too many coals, MON did elevate us to a position where we were playing in Europe, challenging for silverware in cups, challenging for CL football and attracting good players at the top of their game (Milner, Young, Delph). There were some decent games in there too.
It wasn't all bad.
Don't hate him, don't love him either, in the middle for me.

Exactly where I am, got us regularly in the top 6 and had some cracking games with him in charge regardless of the crap way it all ended.

[Jon Crofts]

Love
Saunders
BFR
Barton
Little
Smith
SGT

Hate
O’Dreary
Pube head
Gerrard
Lamberk
McLeish

Indifference
Sherwood
Gregory
Houllier
Dr Jo

Garde doesn’t even register on my give a shit-ometer.

[LeeB]

Garde was that inconsequential one night stand when you were at a low ebb that's best left buried deep in your own mind.

[Richard]

Garde was that inconsequential one night stand when you were at a low ebb that's best left buried deep in your own mind.

Just read  up on him, sacked by a MLS team in 2019, not managed since.

[Breezeblock]

Liked most - Saunders

Disliked most - McNeill

Honourable mentions: SGT, Barton, Sir Brian, Dean, Unai

Dishonourable mentions: DO'L, MON, Gerrard, Bruce.

This!

[brontebilly]

Garde was that inconsequential one night stand when you were at a low ebb that's best left buried deep in your own mind.

Just read  up on him, sacked by a MLS team in 2019, not managed since.

Villa Park is a managerial graveyard! It finished many upward trending careers. Sherwood never managed again bar twatting out cliches on SSN every other week. Gerrard couldn't even get a championship gig. RDM?