The real world and the summer of Randy Lerner: Aston Villa 0 Chelsea 3

Did it deserve to be three yesterday? You could easily say no but at the same time, it was three and it is very difficult to argue with the facts.

Should Gabby have had a penalty, for sure, but should he have been blown up moments before for shirt pulling; absolutely. If you follow the rules of the game we should have had a penalty and they should have been down to ten men, if Gabby hadn't pulled the shirt.

It doesn't matter, we didn't get a penalty and there was no sending off and we lost three-nil. This is the real world.

These are the facts. Ask yourself this; did you think we would win yesterday? Can you honestly, hand on heart say, you thought we were going into this game and were going to end up in the final?

I have to admit that I didn't. Four seasons in and I don't see the football getting better and many will know I have resigned myself to the fact it probably won't under O'Neill, which is why this really is the summer of Randy Lerner.

Randy Lerner has a very big decision to make. His PR man told us all of the five year plan and because of this you have to assume O'Neill will get the fifth season; but will he get the money?

Lerner might not know much about football but he sure as hell will have people around him that do and you don't have to be a genius to see it isn't progressing and you don't have to have played the game for 20 years to know it shouldn't really take four seasons.

Personally and I've said this a few times, I'm all for O'Neill getting the money, because it might work and I want it to with him and it might. Given the money and the ability to bring in the quality of player that can make it happen; no more kids or nearly men - the finished article is needed and it could happen.

But, it is the last chance. We were told of the five year plan and while I accept O'Neill has told us he doesn't have one - when we were told of it, it could have been a five year plan the owner had - the manager didn't need to know about it. What I mean is, they're not going to sack O'Neill after saying they had a five year plan even if it wasn't true - how could they?

So, we have O'Neill for next season and we need to hope he gets the money and enough to bring in the £30mn player we were also told about or he changes his entire footballing philosophy about to bring it more up to date. It is possible, I have seen people change over much shorter periods than a summer break and if he does adapt, it could all fall into place.

But for the record and the last time; I want O'Neill at this club next season, but he needs money. If he doesn't get the money, he needs to develop his strategy on how Aston Villa are going to get better and as supporters there is nothing wrong with us wanting excellence for our club, in fact, I think we have to demand it.

It we don't demand the best we will never get the best. If we don't demand better, we will never get better.

So, the season isn't over but Wednesday is important. We need to win to stand any chance, in my opinion of finishing sixth. Lose it and we could find ourselves finishing 8th and that would be very hard to take.

Comments (114)

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Celtic_Villan said:

... damian can you just give me a yes or no answer to this question with no ifs and buts to this, and im merely looking for your raw opinion here if you had to power to sack o neill today, would you do it?

Comment 1, made on April 11, 2010 at 11.49 am

Damian said:

... Celtic_Villan you are asking me a question that someone would need much more information to be able to make that decision but if you want an answer. that answer would be no

Comment 2, made on April 11, 2010 at 11.51 am

mickey86 said:

... the people who now football are people like the pundits on bbc and sky sports and they all say that MON is doing a good job and its just some of the Villa fans thinking we are better than we are, so lets hope randy does listen to the people around him who do know about football and keep MON here next season. if it shouldnt take 4 seasons then why havnt arsenal won anything for 4 seasons?

Comment 3, made on April 11, 2010 at 11.52 am

Villa_Chris said:

... The start of another merry-go-round of 'ifs' and 'buts' bullshit. Enjoy.

Comment 4, made on April 11, 2010 at 11.58 am

AussieLion said:

... I honestly thought we could win today. But again we've seen our team quality deteriorate? in the second half of the season. We beat them 2 - 1 last year and I thought we could do it again. Regardong MON, if we dont finish 6th or better (hopefully) this season then I think Randy Lerner should begin looking for a top class manager and also give him a large amount of money for transfers. This manager would have to alter our playing style and also look for cheaper and foreign players to buy instead of spending large amounts of money on UK players such as 12m on Downing. Ready for Wednesday, hope we win it. It would be disgraceful if Everton finish above us because of their very poor start to the season. But this would show how Everton can win matches while we draw them.

Comment 5, made on April 11, 2010 at 11.59 am

Damian said:

... mickey86 arsenal are truly in the mix - we are truly not maybe next season when he gets some money to spend

Comment 6, made on April 11, 2010 at 11.59 am

rodders said:

... asking if you would sack oniel is the wrong question mate the question we shouuld be asking is if randy is gonna splash the cash this summer and get us a few high caliber players that we need, the gerrard and torres of liverpool, the lampard and drogba of chelsea, the rooney of manu, the messi of barca we need match winners, but they gonna cost some money, is randy gonna provide funds for match winners this summer? that is the QUESTION we should all be asking....

Comment 7, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.06 pm

vivavilla said:

... The thing is though, it's all well and good saying Lerner needs to stump up the cash, but when you're Martin O'Neill what are you going to spend it on? - Nobody from abroad - Nobody from our nearest rivals (too expensive and they won't sell) - Nobody from the teams in the "tier" below us, the Fulhams, Sunderlands etc (same reason as above) Which in my mind leaves only players from the following alternatives: - Backups and reserves from teams above/around us - Teams relegated or involved in a relegation battle - Teams in the lower leagues - Teams in Scotland - Blackburn Hardly inspiring is it?

Comment 8, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.07 pm

frem said:

... the five year plan, just what is it ment to do for aston villa. is it ment to just make us a top six club, is ment to make us win silverware or to finish fourth by the fith year. whatever it is oneill has one more season to do it. we might not even finish 6th this season. so next season can we win a trophy, can we finish 4th? if not, just what was the five year plan?

Comment 9, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.08 pm

AussieLion said:

... Mickey I agree with Damian. Even though Arsenal dont win anything they consistently qualify for the Champions League and make it past the group stages. This alone gives them alot of money and allows them to buy and keep world class players like Fabregas, Van Persie, Arshavin and also keeps their players happy. And they also have a pretty good manager too.

Comment 10, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.11 pm

Damian said:

... divine_islet i have no idea how that can be associated with this post so it has been removed

Comment 11, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.17 pm

divine_islet said:

... What I'm trying to say is that,i can understand why most fans on here hate MON.But,what i can't make head nor tail of is why the freak would arsenal fans want wenger out just as they lost to the best side in the world?Also,i found it funny that that "fan" prefers MON over wenger.

Comment 12, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.22 pm

vijayd said:

... MON has to stay, but he needs money to make the big step forward, its all in Lerner's hand, if he cannot trust mon with the money then he should get rid of him and get someone else in, i wouldnt do that, i want mon to have 40 million net to spend this summer, it wont happen ofcourse!!

Comment 13, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.26 pm

Damian said:

... divine_islet i dont think most fans on here do hate martin o'neill and i think if you were to ask 100 arsenal fans if they wanted wenger out i'd be very surprised if you found 1 that did - there are always stupid people and stupid comments

Comment 14, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.27 pm

divine_islet said:

... rodders said: 0 ... asking if you would sack oniel is the wrong question mate the question we shouuld be asking is if randy is gonna splash the cash this summer and get us a few high caliber players that we need, the gerrard and torres of liverpool, the lampard and drogba of chelsea, the rooney of manu, the messi of barca we need match winners, but they gonna cost some money, is randy gonna provide funds for match winners this summer? that is the QUESTION we should all be asking.... Even if Randy makes considerable amounts of funds available will MON spend it again on shitty english players? We are never going to get the kinds of players that you have mentioned above because 1.They cost unbelievable amounts of money. 2.They want to play for European giants. 3.They need regular CL football. 4.We can't afford to pay their wages. Now ,these things need to be taken into account.

Comment 15, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.31 pm

artball said:

... assuming MON would spend wisely, give him 40mil? for 2 players - a striker and playmaker - and the 5th year of the said 'plan'... and see what happens......

Comment 16, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.35 pm

divine_islet said:

... Or maybe Damian ,it perhaps was a Spurs fan posing as a gooner!!

Comment 17, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.35 pm

PaulMcGrathsGoneAWOL said:

... Which in my mind leaves only players from the following alternatives: - Backups and reserves from teams above/around us - Teams relegated or involved in a relegation battle - Teams in the lower leagues - Teams in Scotland - Blackburn It doesnt make a scrap of difference who we are buying players from, the only thing that matters is, are they good enough?

Comment 18, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.39 pm

arsene wenger said:

... i just watched the highlights,that ref is a joke,that terry challenge was terrible, if he'd have broke milners leg we would have all heard the he's a lovely lad tributes from every english man on earth and oneil would have been hung for his comments, obviously glad milner is still walking today though!

Comment 19, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.42 pm

vivavilla said:

... PaulMcGrathsGoneAWOL It doesnt make a scrap of difference who we are buying players from, the only thing that matters is, are they good enough? To me that's a complete contradiction, because if they are players from teams off that list, the answer is probably going to be a resounding no.

Comment 20, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.44 pm

Lew Chatterley's Lover said:

... I didn't expect us to win yesterday, Chelsea knew that our best chance of scoring was from a set play so they kept our target men quiet at corners and free kicks and there was little for Terry and Co to worry about from open play. Unfortunately except for Ash we don't have the players with the element of surprise or that bit of guile to make something out of nothing. I thought Downing was poor again, and the introduction of Heskey an admission of defeat. One nil, three nil ? doesn't really matter as we didn't have the nouse to react when going behind. As for next season ? The style of play won't change (we all know that) but we may improve by having a couple of better players in key positions. I'd like to see Gabby as the wide right midfielder with Doyle from Wolves next to Carew, would also like to see a bit of real competition for Petrov, Scott Parker would be a great option for 2 to 3 seasons and wouldn't cost the earth. MON should get another season and I think 90% of Villa fans want that. Finaly, I really hope we don't have to endure another season of Heskey, I'd sooner keep Harewood !!!

Comment 21, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.45 pm

frem said:

... divine islet by shitty englishplayers to you mean milner, young, warnock, delph and gabi or sidwell and davis. I agree he has wated money but not all of it.

Comment 22, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.46 pm

arsene wenger said:

... a lot of arsenal fans do hate on wenger,but they dont understand the success that wenger has had, transforming a club from a club on the way down to a club ready to make the next step, now the stadium situation is sorted (built by wenger), and the finances have become sorted (debts being paid by wengers ability to sell players and buy cheap), well nows the chance for him to take on the other managers rather than sort his own house out, he needs another 2 years before he deserves the sack lol, i wouldnt be suprised to see oneal at villa next season,unless the liverpool job comes up

Comment 23, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.47 pm

holteend paul said:

... damian.. lets hope we get a worth while sponsor this season which could also be put to a world class player, even tho the acorns thing was very decent indeed i think a 8 million per season sponsor will help pay the bills far better. i posted this on the last page but i would like to know what people on here think about the lack of sponsorship money?

Comment 24, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.50 pm

vijayd said:

... i want to sign Benayoun

Comment 25, made on April 11, 2010 at 12.52 pm

Damian said:

... holteend paul the lack of sponsorship money was a choice - the club basically didn't get what they wanted in terms of money or the type of company. yes, £8mn a season would be fantastic and it would go a long way to helping - surely lerner must know some people

Comment 26, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.06 pm

AV4EVER said:

... We simply do not play attractive football which worries me most, I'd rather watch us play the football we experienced under Big Ron than the average stuff we are playing now. We played okay yesterday but we never really looked like scoring. We need a striker with a brain who can play in their strike partner without trying to look for a penalty when he runs out of ideas. We've had good chances to win something this season, but as usual we have won nothing. We have been bleating on about needing a decent striker for 2 or 3 seasons now and nothings been done, I put this down to MON and no one else, the money wasted on Downing and Heskey would have got us a decent striker.

Comment 27, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.07 pm

turniptaylor said:

... given that MON has acheived 6th place in arguably the strongest division in the world in the last two seasons and in the current season the villa have struggled to a cup final and a semi final of another cup competition against the best team in the island, i would say that its time to sack him... the clubs that acheive the most success back their managers over a lengthy period - it hasnt always been plain sailing for certain clubs (eg everton, united (start of ferguson's tenure), arsenal). we have a good manager building slowly, it takes time. I am not sure why people think sid cowans (as much as i love him) could come him with no experience of managing a league club and take us onto the next level. i am not sure how changing the manager every 3-4 seasons will help long term growth either we were excellent in the first 60 mins yesterday but didnt get the rub of the green. chelsea broke the deadlock with a slice of luck and after that we chased the game and conceded.

Comment 28, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.07 pm

frem said:

... vijayd- benitez wont sell anyone to us but he does need money so........

Comment 29, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.08 pm

holteend paul said:

... how much do you think villa value their sponsorship.? it seems liverpool are in talks for £150 sponsorship with adidas for 10 years!and thats just to manufacture the kit.

Comment 30, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.12 pm

holteend paul said:

... £150 million that is

Comment 31, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.13 pm

divine_islet said:

... frem said: 0 ... divine islet by shitty englishplayers to you mean milner, young, warnock, delph and gabi or sidwell and davis. I agree he has wated money but not all of it. Yes,prety much all of those except for warnock,and delph.

Comment 32, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.13 pm

massive said:

... Damien - in answer to your 'hand on heart question' Yes I thought we were going to win yesterday. Maybe it was me getting caught up in the wembley atmosphere, but around the hour mark I REALLY thought we were going to win. Did anybody else think the Chelsea fans were utter dog shite?!

Comment 33, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.14 pm

Luckynumber7 said:

... holteendpaul - i thought the Acorns thing was fantastic. It showed that RL didn't just care about the cash, and he cared about making the club stand for the right things in the community. Much the same as he's done all the amazing gestures, like paying for travel, giving away tickets for league games when he'd promised euro tickets and we didn't get through... so on and so forth. I didn't think that any of this would impact who we could buy, I thought it was in addition to what we could have. If we need the money to get players in, get a sponsor. So yes - I agree. I'm looking to everton on wednesday, should be a cracker.

Comment 34, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.14 pm

dave burvill said:

... Why would any decent player want to play for villa??????

Comment 35, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.15 pm

divine_islet said:

... Vijay,i agree with you.I wanted us to sign Benayoun when he was at West Ham.But,he would have to be off his nut to sign for us now.By the way, are you an Indian too?

Comment 36, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.17 pm

Damian said:

... holteend paul liverpool are a massive brand in comparison to us and those type of things, these days, are difficult to grow organically chelsea have bought it and man city will buy it - it wont happen to us overnight and will take a long time if we are not going to buy it lvierpool have also just signed, i think, an £80mn 4 year new club sponsor deal also .. that is £20mn a season we'd be lucky to get £5mn and i mean that not just because we dont have the people to do the deal - but we dont act or think like a club able to get deals like that

Comment 37, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.26 pm

frem said:

... divine islet your saying that milner is crap?

Comment 38, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.27 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... But for the record and the last time; I want O'Neill at this club next season, but he needs money. If he doesn't get the money, he needs to develop his strategy on how Aston Villa are going to get better and as supporters there is nothing wrong with us wanting excellence for our club, in fact, I think we have to demand it. Damian At the moment reading your posts, it comes across as if you like many others - including myself are not happy with the way our football has not progressed in 4 years – what makes you think it will progress in the 5th year ? I can understand those who will follow O’Neil blindly, and have convinced themselves the football we are playing is good, and are happy to give him a contract for life – but I cannot understand your take on this as to why he should be given more money, and another season. So O’Neil is given more money – looking at his past record what kind of player do you think he is going to buy? Odds are that it will most likely by a player from the domestic league, and if were trying to improve the squad then we are talking about paying over the odds to get him – would we not be better served on getting someone who has better knowledge of the foreign market – to me number candidate has to be Hodgson, and yes I believe he is within out reach.

Comment 39, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.27 pm

vijayd said:

... benayoun, richards, pavylchenko, bentley in beye, sidwell, heskey out yes islet mate

Comment 40, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.31 pm

eoin1981 said:

... Damo - you constanly talk about how or football hasn't improved in 4 years, how all we have is runners and effort, how we dont give youth a chance, how we dont rest players/rotate, play players out of position etc.etc.etc. - all things that I completely agree with and say in practically every post i have made for about 2 years. All evidence is that MoN doesn't change or learn from mistakes - and we'll have groundhog season for as long as he stays. And in his time here he has spent 100m+, we spend more than Spurs, Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal - so I think Lerner has proved himself - if not in the uber rich league. So I dont understand your decision process in wanting him to remain?? Surely it defies logic?? You are saying give him enough money and he will win. So if he gets 500m and doesn't win - just give hime another 500m?? Doesn't all points made show he is not the man for the job - but a man to boss a club with medium to low ambitions - not Aston Villa for me.

Comment 41, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.35 pm

frem said:

... i have to say i was delighted when we got downing but he has been really poor. maybe next season he will shine. the type of players we should be looking at are babel ireland euardo sessegnon there not world class but there better than what we have

Comment 42, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.36 pm

Damian said:

... eoin1981 i dont want to say o'neill has to go i want it to happen with o'neill and there is a chance, a slim one i know, that he could make it happen with more money i basically want him to have that chance if he has that chance and fails again - f&*k him off if lerner can't afford to give him the money - f&*k him off if lerner doesn't want to give him the money - then lerner has to f&*k him off

Comment 43, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.44 pm

Clarkamus said:

... how you can say there is no progression is beyond me all we have done since MON came is progress, il agree that our style of play isnt the greatest and nearly gives me a heart attack everytime i watch the games but its improved us and is part of the progression and as far as i could see yesterday we outplayed chelsea for the most part and really looked like a decent side but just didnt get the luck and decisions but that is football sometimes its hard to take but to say we are not progressing is ludicrous

Comment 44, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.45 pm

Damian said:

... mon 4-5-1 i am not convinced it will progress but i think o'neill should be given the opportunity if lerner got rid of o'neill now, which he cant do because he PR monkey has told everyone of the secret five year plan, it would be 'he never got the five years' basically - o'neill needs to get the five years because even if there was no secret plan because a secret plan was once mentioned by a club executive - it will always be referenced and if o'neill doesn't get the five years it will be 'he didn't get enough time' well - it shouldn't take five years for the football to improve - so i guess if it doesn't next season - o'neill can go - but i suspect he will walk. the most important thing is that we dont just accept medicority with his replacement

Comment 45, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.49 pm

PaulMcGrathsGoneAWOL said:

... To me that's a complete contradiction, because if they are players from teams off that list, the answer is probably going to be a resounding no Bad teams have good players though dont they? Look at some of our best players in the last 20 years, where'd they come from? Barry, Yorke, Platt, even Milner and Young. Using that same reasoning why would ManU or any of the "bigger teams" want our players? Liverpool wanted Barry, Man U want Milner, who knows there could be truth in the Webcam to Spain rumours. Why would they want players from a "lesser" team? A players either good enough or he isn't, it makes no difference what team he plays for.

Comment 46, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.53 pm

Chiefy said:

... The Villa Blog, Very Proudly Spouting the same tired old bull shit that we have been for 4 seasons some could say much like MON it isnt getting any better. BORING BORING BORING

Comment 47, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.54 pm

divine_islet said:

... Where in India you from,Vijay?I'm from Mumbai.I thought i was the only villan from India.

Comment 48, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.57 pm

frem said:

... babel would be great. hes a good player and would do well at villa. four players i would love to buy and who are all possible to buy would be noble, sessegnon or ireland, euardo and cole.

Comment 49, made on April 11, 2010 at 1.59 pm

Villa_Chris said:

... If anyone wants to see poor football, you should have watched the Wolves v Stoke game. We are nowhere near as bad as some make out.

Comment 50, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.03 pm

astonmichaeldevilla said:

... i'm a bit perplexed by some of the comments about yesterday. yes we lost the game but the penalty incident was so important to us . the villa players were immense in the 1st half and were still trying to get something from the game even after the third goal went in. that shows me that the players have character. they never stopped going yesterday. you can tell me to shut up about the penalty decision but the fact remains that a decision like that cost us the chance to go on and win the game. look at the way we dominated chelsea in the first half yesterday, it was great to see milner and petrov running the center of the field. i think we as villa fans have gotten carried away with it all. yes, O'Neill has spent a lot of money but compared to what the clubs around us are spending it's a drop in the ocean. Citeh can spend what they like b'cos money is no object. liverpool are an established top4 side, for how many yrs? Spurs seem to have an bottomless pit of money to spend aswell, how? i can't answer that!!! Ok, so we are taking too long to get there and the football isn't always great but from what i saw in the 1st half yesterday we are on the right track. we have to be realistic about what we can achieve on our yearly budget. i have been guilty of frustration and anger towards O'Neill and Lerner this season but it's a spur of the moment thing and what gets said in the heat of the moment, well. I love my club, it's in the air i breathe but i have to be realistic. we are going to struggle to make the top 4 every yr unless we spend on average 50mil every season. the fact is we can't afford that. the reason i say 50mil every season is b'cos we are way off the pace as far as the other teams going for 4th. they spend huge sums every yr, we don't. that's a fact. In todays game success equates to how much you are willing to spend. now i'm pretty sure if we had Roman Obramivich's money to spend on buying a squad then success would come much quicker than it is. we don't so we have to be patient. There is one thing that most fans would like to see more regularly and that is passing football. i want to see more of the 1st half performance from yesterday. Our players seem to have it ingrained in them to boot aimless balls from the back to no-one. just kick it long. when we kept the ball yesterday we actually looked like a team who were playing in the champs lge. we were controling the pace of the game aswell and in turn we were making chelsea do the chasing. we have to learn that retaining possession will keep the players from tiring in games. you'd think that was just common sense, wouldn't you. we have players capable of keeping the ball for long periods in games and it's common sense that if you have the ball more than the opposition then you can do more damage than them. that's something i want to see improved by the manager for next season, it has to improve. there is no more room for excuses, possession of the ball should be a given with the players we have. it's cost us far too often this season and it has to change. that's the main reason for our players looking so tired at the back end of the last 2 seasons. One more thing, i'm proud to be a villan. I'm proud of the players. they give everything they have for the cause and that showed right up until the final whistle blew, they were still trying. with a couple of really good signings in the close season we can breach the gap to the 4, i have no doubts........that was 2 things? ha!ha!

Comment 51, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.19 pm

Devon Villan said:

... The big question of the day is surely..... Is John Doyle still in the Wembley car park?

Comment 52, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.20 pm

oscars arse said:

... Yesterday is consigned to the history books and it's time to move on and get ready for a big game with Everton on Wednesday. Yes it is the summer of Randy Lerner and we need major surgery. My view on RL I have stated on here before and that is he should make a choice, Villa or the Browns. Sell one and concentrate entirely on the other. That way one of us is going to get all the money. I can't see it happening though. I have a feeling MoN will walk in the summer the way he swept aside the 5 year plan in his interview before the game yesterday gave me the impression this may occur. either way like this season the summer will be another roller coster ride with all the ins and outs. Could be very interesting.

Comment 53, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.20 pm

Class of 82 said:

... Damian, following on from Celtic_Villan are you actually a Villa fan at all?? Because its not often that there are any positive posts from yourself and it really is no surprise that the club don't respond to your site in the same way as they do to others. Constructive criticism is one thing, this is just rubbish day after day!

Comment 54, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.20 pm

Damian said:

... Class of 82 sorry - is that something you heard on a news programme and thought you would try and use it? following on from .. because how does it follow on from his question? you wouldn't have read many positive posts the past few months because barring a few lucky games we haven;t really and that many positive things two write about - you are right. last season there were quite a few positive things, the season before that loads and the season before that - loads of blind hope and faith but not recently and i winder why. as for how the club respond to this site - you wouldn't actually know would you. as for wanting to have PR people on here spinning PR - we do our best to make sure that doesn't happen. thanks for your kinds words though and seeing as the 'metamorphosis of prime intellect' suggests you must be super smart - yeah, i just read that and wanted to use it and i know it doesn't make sense. but you'll know all about that what i dont understand is why people just happily accept what we are getting served up with a big smile on their faces - why cant we ask for better, demand better

Comment 55, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.29 pm

bobvillian said:

... sorry but cant have MON wasting more money on average players.must get rid now and bring in proper football manager.he has wasted at leased 75% of money given to him by randy.

Comment 56, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.36 pm

Magic Nick said:

... The criticism that has being coming out of the press, and supposedly rrepresents the feelings of the Villa fans is him spending £179 million, recouping about £25million(estimate) with little reward. I was thinking about this, and I think it's unfair. Yes, we've spent money on levels that are comparable to Man U, Liverpool, Tottenham, but look at the amount of players we've had to buy. O'neil has replaced the entire Villa squad. Here is yesterday's team sheet, annotated to highlight MON's purchases: Friedel -MON Cuellar - MON Dunne - MON Collins -MON Warnock -MON Young - MON Downing -MON Petrov -MON Milner - MON Carew- MON Agbonlahor. SUBS Guzan - MON Young -MON Delph - MON Beye - MON Sidwell - MON Heskey - MON Delfouneso. Other MON signings who did not make the squad due to form or fitness: Reo-Cocker Davies Salifu. So in 4 years MON has signed 19 players, at a cost of approximately £8 million each. Have a look at the squads of the top 4, have a look at the squads of Tottenham, Man City, even Everton. How many of them have players in them worth less than £8million. The truth of the matter is this, we have a very strong first 11. We don't have a good bench, we have an ok bench. Now, MON is not entirely blamless for this situation. Perhaps, if he was not so reticent in playing Delph, Albrighton, The Fonz, then maybe those three players could have been the high-quality impact substitutes, that were required. But when you look to your bench, and all you see is Heskey, a lack of substitutions in a game is understandable. It's not tactical naievity on MON's part, it's a lack of options. So on to this summer and what needs to happen. I'm with Damian here, keep MON and back him with some money. We need, in my opinion, just two players; a high quality striker, and a high quality midfielder. Neither of these are easy aquisitions. But I think a £20 million pound striker, and a £12 million midfielder, would not be breaking the bank. Our team is young, and fit. It doesn't look like we have to replace anyone, so this summer is one for building. I will add to this, by saying, that I like the style of football we play - I find it nice to watch. No, it is not Arsenal, or Barcelona - but let's remain realistic. Finally, if MON does go, who replaces him? Speculation would suggest that it is either Steve Mclaren, or Mark Hughes, while the fans choice is Roy Hodgson. Again, let's be honest - will any of them do a considerably better job than Martin. We may not even be able to get them! And end up setting for some up-and-comer. I remember after the Wigan game people screaming for Martinez to be appointed. Anyone still want him?

Comment 57, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.42 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... well - it shouldn't take five years for the football to improve - so i guess if it doesn't next season - o'neill can go - but i suspect he will walk. the most important thing is that we dont just accept medicority with his replacement Damian - Agreed but we will never know what is medicoricy is to a certain degree, until they have been appointed - what we do know is that we are going to get more change from someone new -than another season just so O'Neil can see out is 5 year plan,and then walk out on the club, with the usual excuses - Fans - Chairman - Blogs - the whole planet except himself. Someone does not change there football philosphy of 20 years, over the summer period. We played Chealsea a few weeks ago and got humliated 7-1 , and yesterday it was the team line with one scape goat L.Young - Same tactics and the obvious substitute, Chelsea must have been quacking in there boots. I guess against Everton same line up - tactics,and the obvious substitute(s) - Heskey and Sidwell.

Comment 58, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.43 pm

Class of 82 said:

... Damian, Who said I don't want things to improve and as for the rubbish about me reading stuff on a news program I believe it was actually from you, not recently but quite a while ago. Unfortunately I have a memory if this doesn't quite suit you when you roll out the same rubbish week after week then I'm sorry. You can't keep writing the same old Randy needs to invest and MON needs to learn how to manage the team every week! Maybe a bit of variety in your posts and it might be a bit more interesting

Comment 59, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.45 pm

Damian said:

... Class of 82 i still fail to see how your question followed on from the first question on this page - however, i will make a mental note to try and make the post tomorrow a little more interesting for you

Comment 60, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.48 pm

Magic Nick said:

... I know I just made a mammoth post but I just saw this. Habib Beye recieves £40,000 a week. What! I don't believe MON is responsible for contract negotiations. If the club want to keep costs down, then surely they should impose sensible wage spending policies. I think we should work hard to get that back under control, we've all seen what happened to Portsmouth. Maybe if we did this, it would free up the "kitty" for some players?

Comment 61, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.48 pm

MON said:

... This is the first time ive ever posted on this site but often read the blogs as it is a brilliant forum 4discusion. Must say that i totally agree with the last pasragraph from astonmichaeldevilla, despite the loss yesterday I felt immensly proud to be Villa supporter, the noise which we made at wembley was unbelivable. I had the ITV coverage recorded on Sky + n when they showed Martin O Neil's past n also his interview it just goes to show what a truly great manager he is. He is 1 in a million, football pundits and experts realise this the world over hence the links of MON to clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool. I just think we should all be proud of the the boys yesterday, they gave it their all, n whilst yes maybe we didnt utilise the substitutions effectively, its time for us villa fans to get behind them for the remainder of the season. When you witness the villa fans singing in harmony at such a grand stage at Wembley you realise that all the ifs and buts go out the window, were all a family who love the Villa through thick n thin. Lets get behind our team and be untited rather than divided.

Comment 62, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.51 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... Magic Nick said: ... I know I just made a mammoth post but I just saw this. Habib Beye recieves £40,000 a week. What! I don't believe Magic Nick you can include Hokey Cokey and Sidwell, and we complain that our bench is not good enough.

Comment 63, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.52 pm

holteend paul said:

... i would love to know how much salifou is on a week!!

Comment 64, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.54 pm

Damian said:

... Magic Nick if that is true - then it answers the question why players want to play for o'neill - £40k a week - that is over £2mn a year or to put things in black and white over £6mn for a third choice right back - okay at the time he couldn't have been third choice, but surely 2nd choice. and we already had a 2nd choice right back at the club had o'neill wanted it and a central defender that had played plenty of games at right back under o'neill i dont believe it is tru. i'd say he was on £10k maybe £15k a week .. no way £40k

Comment 65, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.54 pm

Magic Nick said:

... http://www.mirrorfootball.co.u...45237.html

Comment 66, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.56 pm

Class of 82 said:

... Damian, That would be great thanks! As for yesterday yes you are right on quite a few points, but we need to get rid of the dead wood players now as well as bringing in new players, if our wages really are running at 85% or thereabouts then players need to go as well as new ones brought in. Trouble is we need to carry on trying to bring in better first team players as well as youngsters otherwise the wage bit will just keep going up and in less than two years we won't even be allowed to play in Europe! Yet another idea to maintain the status quo and to stop anyone else upsetting the big boys

Comment 67, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.56 pm

Damian said:

... Magic Nick they got length of contract and fee right, so i guess it is only fair to assume they got weekly salary right - and that isn't right, if you know what i mean ..

Comment 68, made on April 11, 2010 at 2.58 pm

Celtic_Villan said:

... iv seen a lot of fool on this site, but divine_islet takes the biscuit

Comment 69, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.01 pm

Magic Nick said:

... The question is; whose responsibility is this? I can't imagine Martin is the one who decides who earns what.

Comment 70, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.02 pm

Stan Balaban said:

... The reaction, on the last thread especially, was exactly the kind of knee-jerk reaction that saw the Spuds get rid of Martin Jol to bring in Juande Ramos. MON works in his own mysterious way for sure and I too get annoyed by the lack of subs at times, but its his cock on the block at the end of the day, and if he saw something on the bench that would improve our game then I'm sure he's not so stubborn not to bring him on (I hope lol). At the end of the day, he's guided us to Wembley twice and we're still looking at a top 6 finish. With the run that Spuds have got, I wouldn't be surprised if we finished above them, Everton too but you can be sure their fans aren't screaming for Ballbag Face and Moyes to be sacked. Let MON sort out the bench and compliment the first XI next season and get right behind the team (including the manager) for the run-in!!!! UTV

Comment 71, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.08 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... At the end of the day, he's guided us to Wembley twice and we're still looking at a top 6 finish. Stan Balaban yesterday was only a semi-final, yes a nice day trip to wembley, but in the general scheme of things did not mean diddly squat.

Comment 72, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.13 pm

Doc Bowles said:

... We outplayed United for 30 minutes at Wembley, having already beaten them at Old Trafford. We outplayed Chelsea for 30 minutes at Wembley, having already beaten them at Villa Park. We are not a bad side. We are a very fine side. But we desperately need a cutting edge and some ruthlessness in the opposition box. Our crossing, and our striking options, are not Big 4 quality. I feel sorry for Petrov, Milner, Warnock and Cuellar. I thought all four were immense yesterday.

Comment 73, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.15 pm

Magic Nick said:

... Oh, and our wage bill rose from £50.5 million to £70 million - 84% of turnover. Everton's is £50 million, we need to sort this out. The problem is player's like Habib Beye have set a precedent, everyplayer in our squad could realisitically expect £40,000 a week. You have to pay people what they our worth, not introduce partity across the squad. Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t...082095.ece

Comment 74, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.16 pm

DanWilson82 said:

... 40k a week for Beye rings a bell, too much for a guy that never gets a game, we have lots of dead wood to ship out this summer and I hope the cash we get is invested in the team. Yesterday I was happy with the way we played, great first half which we bossed. Once Chelsea took the lead we had to push on, it was a cup tie after all and there was no point sitting back. The two late goals only came as a result of doing this. 1-0 would have been a fair score and I think we would be wrong to feel cheated or dismayed after a loss to one of the worlds best club sides. Yesterday for me has no relation to the rest of the season, we lost, time to move on. I'm not a huge fan of how Mon works for the many reasons stated on here recently but I'm not going to call for his head over yesterday. He has the remaining 5 games to show us what he's all about, if we carry on in the same vane then maybe it's time to part company, but not just yet. We really could snatch top 4 considering Man City and Spurs run ins. We just have to win the rest of our fixtures. It's time to prove ourselves.

Comment 75, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.16 pm

Celtic_Villan said:

... odc in fairness you can understand that people are sceptical when o neill has never bought players that give cutting egde and ruthlessness. he buys workers

Comment 76, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.19 pm

Celtic_Villan said:

... doc i meant!

Comment 77, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.19 pm

Pace said:

... anybody up for a full on 'MON out' campaign? It would add a bit of interest for the rest of season if nothing else.

Comment 78, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.23 pm

Damian said:

... Magic Nick habib beye is laughing all the way to the bank. £40k a week to do so little. no wonder lerner is taking so much - this whole thing is just set up to take money out for nothing

Comment 79, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.25 pm

davevilla said:

... Has anyone contemplated the idea that rumours have been started by the club that weve got no money to spend in order to make sure we are not getting ripped off in the summer for the 2nd rate slightly above average players that would come to us. It would also lower the expectations of the fans that become obsessed with signing as many players as fast as we can as soon as we hit July 1st. There is work to be done in the summer shifting out some dead wood, i think we are only 2 strikers and a quality centre midfielder who dominates teams away from really challenging the top four. After all we wont be a million miles away. As for yesterday we couldnt ask for more from our team, they really put there bollocks on the plate in my eyes and with a bit of luck we could have took it.

Comment 80, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.25 pm

Doc Bowles said:

... Celtic_Villan He has bought players that give cutting edge and ruthlessness. But he hasn't bought strikers that give cutting edge and ruthlessness.

Comment 81, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.27 pm

McParland said:

... All i am concerned with right now is taking as many points as we can in the remaining games ,especialy against blues in two weeks time; DO NOT LET US DOWN LADS in this vital game; to both sets of fans its another cup final so lets make it 3rd time lucky UP THE VILLA.

Comment 82, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.28 pm

Simeon said:

... O'Neill will be here for next season unless he decides to walk. He will be here for the season after that unless he decides to walk. Lerner is not going to get rid of him. Why would he? He's happy with the way O'Neill does things. O'Neill isn't going to change the way he does things. Why would Lerner suddenly be unhappy with something he's happy with? The results are, in one sense, irrelevant. So we gradually fall down the table. There will be all kind of reasons given/excuses made for this. Other teams have got more money. Other teams are based in London. Other teams aren't based in Birmingham. We were unlucky. Etc. In Lerner World - and, to be fair, in Villa Fan World - O'Neill is a quality manager. This is an indisputable fact. You can quibble about the minor details (signings, tactics, team selection), and there might be cause for criticism, but at the bottom of it, O'Neill is a quality manager, and so the standard of management he provides will be quality. If we brought in an inferior manager, the results would be inferior. O'Neill is the best we can get, so why would we get rid of him? O'Neill will be here as long as he wants to be here. That is the simple truth.

Comment 83, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.49 pm

Doc Bowles said:

... Pace No Childish, pathetic, misinformed, unnecessary and - frankly - not very bright. The "O'Neill out" campaign that is, of course, not you. Not at all.

Comment 84, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.51 pm

VillaDude said:

... MON has wasted a lot of money, here are a list of players who never start or come on as subs, and guess what? they are all MON signnings. MON doesn't even trust his own players... Harewood - 30k a week? Salifou - 10k a week? Shorey - 25k a week? Sidwell - 50k a week! Guzan - 10k a week? L Young - 40k a week? Beye - 40k a week? Delph - 20k a week? Reo Coker - 45k a week? The only player who is on the bench guranteed to come is HESKEY!!! MON has major management flaws in squad use, transfer signins from foreign clubs, and style of play. But the big thing is, he will NEVER change, he has the same flaws through out his career.

Comment 85, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.53 pm

VillaDude said:

... Now lets see how Adam Johnson play for man city... A player who was half the price of Downing and probably has a better chance of getting into the england squad.. Birmingham also play 3 CB's in a back 4, must be an spl thing..

Comment 86, made on April 11, 2010 at 3.56 pm

Pace said:

... Doc Bowles Go on - it will be fun! Joking apart I actually think that a Carling cup final, an FA semi and finishing 6th/7th is as far as MON can take villa, with or without major investment. This will be MONs most succesful season with Villa even though we won't win anything or qualify for CL.

Comment 87, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.00 pm

HOOLY said:

... might might, could could,you dont have any real faith do you.you want oneil for next season but your not really expecting anything better than we have already acheived.

Comment 88, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.00 pm

vivavilla said:

... Hope City give the Scum a good spanking here!

Comment 89, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.01 pm

VillaDude said:

... Wouldn't you prefer man city to drop some points? or you think we have no chance of top 4 finish?

Comment 90, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.03 pm

john doyle said:

... all this about wages for players who never play should be enough for Randy to say good buy to martin in the summer. martin rules villa park all the wages are sorted out by him he is the god at the club and he says who gets what arcording to him no one else. why do we spend 8 mill every yeay on our accamady to get some of the best young players in europe to come to the club then not give them a chance why is clark not given another game an england captain at is age group one game then left in the 2nd team we all know about the fonz and allbrighton there are half a dozen more who at any other club even manure would have been given a game and looked at by now but not here we are run by a dictator every thing at the club is down to martin the wages ,who plays the transfers everything he ansers to no one he has a free hand. and i think that it is that old saying if you give a man enough rope he will hang himself . and i think that martin has now done that 85% of our income goes in wages on over paid players meny of which dont even play can any one blame Randy if martin dont go that he says there is no more of his money to be waisted on martins whims. do you think we would not have done better buying 3 good players for good money and having a bit of flair than all the avarage lot we have. the time tas come for change and the quicker the better

Comment 91, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.03 pm

Simeon said:

... Pace There is no appetite for an O'Neill Out campaign. The vast majority of Villa fans either believe in Martin O'Neill and his methods, or have reservations but are generally satisfied with cup runs and upper-mid table finishes, and the prospect of European football that brings. As I said, O'Neill will walk long before he's outstayed his welcome.

Comment 92, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.05 pm

vivavilla said:

... VillaDude Realistically, no, I don't think we'll finish 4th. I'm backing City today because I don't want Spurs to finish 4th. However, looking at the fixtures left, I'm almost convinced Liverpool will sneak it.

Comment 93, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.11 pm

VillaDude said:

... Man City are the best club equipped to do well in Champions League.. What if we did make it? Do you think we would do well? do you think MON could attract any big names? how about the use of squad and our style of play? Even if we ever made it to champions league with MON, I just hope its not as embarassing as our Europa cup runs...

Comment 94, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.16 pm

Magic Nick said:

... John Doyle, let me introduce you to my friends; , . and capital letter. It's hard work reading your posts. I honestly don't believe MON will be dictating the wage bill. And if he is, then he needs to have someone pushing on him - saying no, you can't do that. I mentioned the wage bill - not to fuel an idiotic MON out campaign, but to highlight the other management issues surrounding our club.

Comment 95, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.17 pm

Pace said:

... Simeon You're right there isn't an appetite for an 'MON Out' campaign. I've just never been convinced by MON as a Manager. Leicester - Ok. Celtic - OK. Turn Villa into a top four side - no I don't think so.

Comment 96, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.19 pm

vivavilla said:

... If we finished 4th there's every chance we'd be drawn against a Valencia or a Juventus in just the qualifying round. We wouldn't get any further than that.

Comment 97, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.22 pm

taglor said:

... Yeah, totally agree you couldn't ask for more from our millionairre professional athletes than 3 shots on target in 90+ minutes of football. Ourtstanding. I'm so proud to have conceded 10 goals in 2 games to Chelsea, we really are snapping at the heels of the top 4 now 4 years on from MON taking control. His decision to bring Heskey on was a masterstroke, did you see how well he held the ball up, it was inspiring. The top 4 managers are all simpletons, MoON has proven that you don't need to make substitutions in a game, why even haveit in the rules that you can sub? MON is light years ahead and just wait till his other inspired signings start playing well, routledge, salifou, harewood, shorey, davies. ON a serious note, I stood by Barry and I hope that some people can now see why he made the move, he would have just wasted more time staying here in the mud.

Comment 98, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.25 pm

VillaDude said:

... When you watch Champions league football, and see teams like man utd get beat and the best passing team in the country Arsenal look like amateurs you see that it's totally different level... Man City have the style and players to actually compete on that level, but for all the kick and rush football we play, we wouldnt even reach the 2nd round... But you never know..

Comment 99, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.27 pm

Simeon said:

... VillaDude For every Barcelona, there are three dozen teams who would struggle to get into the top half of the Premiership. I've seen Fulham play Roma, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Shakthar Donetsk. The latter were the best of these sides, and even they were only arguably better than Fulham. The rest of them simply weren't as good as Fulham. We might be a pretty average team with an archaic brand of football, but we're better than all of the sides I've mentioned above. We might be embarrassing to watch in the Champions League, but we'd almost certainly make the knockout stages. Pace I'm not saying it's right. If it was up to me, O'Neill would have gone last summer. But the reality is that O'Neill's job is safe. I appreciate most of what Lerner has done at Villa. Putting his faith in O'Neill however is proving to be a mistake, albeit an entirely understandable one given that Lerner clearly doesn't have an instinct for football.

Comment 100, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.57 pm

Stan Balaban said:

... However, looking at the fixtures left, I'm almost convinced Liverpool will sneak it. Liverpool 0-0 Fulham, they'll be going some to get forth Viva. 2 points ahead of us, having played 2 more games! We're still within a shout. The game against Citeh will decide it methinks.

Comment 101, made on April 11, 2010 at 4.59 pm

Simeon said:

... taglor Completely agree with you about Barry. As much as I'm sure it was a wrench for him to leave after nearly 12 years, I don't think he has any regrets about the decision he made. I too hope that some Villa fans will come to understand his decision, but I suspect there will always be those who will never forgive him.

Comment 102, made on April 11, 2010 at 5.01 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... VillaDude said: ... MON has wasted a lot of money, here are a list of players who never start or come on as subs, and guess what? they are all MON signnings. MON doesn't even trust his own players... Harewood - 30k a week? Salifou - 10k a week? Shorey - 25k a week? Sidwell - 50k a week! Guzan - 10k a week? L Young - 40k a week? Beye - 40k a week? Delph - 20k a week? Reo Coker - 45k a week? The only player who is on the bench guranteed to come is HESKEY!!! MON has major management flaws in squad use, transfer signins from foreign clubs, and style of play. But the big thing is, he will NEVER change, he has the same flaws through out his career But looking at the wage bill, and all the people who constantly say - O'Neil does not use subs because our bench is not good enough - do they think the above wages are acceptable for players that have hardly figured this season ?

Comment 103, made on April 11, 2010 at 5.01 pm

holteend paul said:

... However, looking at the fixtures left, I'm almost convinced Liverpool will sneak it. do you still think so after today?

Comment 104, made on April 11, 2010 at 5.02 pm

astonmichaeldevilla said:

... i wanna say something important now. WE ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE TOP FOUR THIS SEASON. That has shown in the results we've had in our last 10 games. Now we as supporters can blame Martin O'Neill or Randy Lerner for supposedly giving him cart blanche at our club but if the majority of our fans are willing to put up with the current situation then what is going to change. Do we want to be known as one of those clubs who gets rid of it's manager by whatever means neccessary or a club that gives it managers the time to turn things around. O'Neill has had 4 yrs now and we seem to be stagnating in and around 6th or 7th place. Do we go to games and voice our discontent with the regime? Personally, i think this will be O'neills last season if the money dries up. We can't afford to sell our best players. If we sell milner, who do we replace him with? there are good young players out there but we will be competing with the likes of chelsea, the manure and the arses, etc. for them. Are they going to chose us over the teams mentioned? No they are not. We can't offer top european competition(champs lge). We have to cut our cloth and hope the fact that we are in europe every yr in the europa cup will attract a decent type of player with us getting lucky on occasions to find a gem now and again. AM I TALKING TOTAL BOLLOCKS? PROBABLY!!! I think we are stuck with a man in Lerner who is not willing to buy the best. He is not willing to give the money to buy real top players. We are going to have to accept that and be realistic about our chances every year from now on. I was happy when Lerner bought the club b'cos i knew that we would never have to suffer the humiliation of another relegation threatened season but i found my expectations rising every yr. I, for my own sanity, am going to just enjoy the games we win from now on and try to forget the ones like the 7-1 a couple of wks ago. We were given false hope at the beginning of the Lerner/ O'Neill journey and now it's .............i don't really know what more i can say except i'm disappointed. not in the players though, never the players!

Comment 105, made on April 11, 2010 at 5.39 pm

john doyle said:

... macic nick how can you say tht martin dont set the wages he sets everthing at villa he has a free hand. thats why he wont drop his pets or change the side everthing he does he belives is right if you ask him he never makes a wrong choice he is always right thats the trouble with all dictators who have a free hand. its like going back 400 years in time well the football we play is that must be why he brought a mule

Comment 106, made on April 11, 2010 at 5.46 pm

john doyle said:

... astonmicheldevilla i do not belive for one minute that Randy would not buy better players just look at the likes of any player who would cost 30mill his wages would be 100k per week i am sure that Randy would pay that for a proper player put sidwell and hesky together and we pay that every weekfor rubbish. put baye an ncr together another 90k i am sure it is martin who wants to shop at aldi every week but pays ouy avarage players to much thats why randy wont give no more money until the likes of above are stoped and there is only one man whos fault it is MARTIN

Comment 107, made on April 11, 2010 at 5.54 pm

FatKevs said:

... No Way should MoN be given another shed load of money. He has sqandered enough on Marlon Curtis NRC Sidwell Downing & Carlos. Downing & Heskey have both had negative effects on the team. We Need something left after next season when he has been given the 5Yrs. Hopefully he can have some of the money from the sale of Milner & Ashley. I would not give him anymore as he thinks we play good football when most can see it is very poor but effective for a mid table team

Comment 108, made on April 11, 2010 at 6.22 pm

PaulMcGrathsGoneAWOL said:

... Just to add a bit of meat to the bones an otherwise dull arguement... Barca played with a right back up front yesterday. A centreback at full back and someone else was out of place too but I cant remember who it was off the top of my head. Guardiola must have been watching Villa!

Comment 109, made on April 11, 2010 at 6.28 pm

matt.wilko said:

... However Randy Lerner looks at it, we're gonna be stuck in this sixth position, dipping at the end of the season until we buy some class players, such as Stephane Sessegnon. We need to spend cash. Even if Randy splashes out, O'Niels only gonna spend it on loads of little insignificant players such as Habib Beye, who I think is good, but not compared to Luke Young and Carlos Cuellar. We need to buy impact players, not Habib Beye and Emile Heskey (I do have a problem with Heskey). We need to spend 20m on one fantastic, team player who's going to help us battle our end of season form and challenge for a champions league place. If Lerner doesn't splash out, we are stuck in sixth.

Comment 110, made on April 11, 2010 at 6.30 pm

john doyle said:

... just look at what a proper manager can do look at portsmouth beat spuds who played us off the park twice. a proper manager does make a big diffrence its called motavition and martin ait got it

Comment 111, made on April 11, 2010 at 6.42 pm

FatKevs said:

... When you think MoN has spent what £110m, then you look how we play the game. Randy must of been close to tears looking at our squad after that outlay. I wonder if was even there yesterday it goes to prove a fool & his money is easily parted though. Lets hope he sells up to someone than has an incline on how to run a club

Comment 112, made on April 11, 2010 at 7.19 pm

lucky4 said:

... To be honest even if mon was given 40 million to spend on 3 players i dont think he would because he likes to buy average players who he can make better or english players who wont cost more than 12 million like milner or downing or young! If he was offered someone like modric for 19m i honestly think he would prefer to go for a cheaper alternative from scotland!

Comment 113, made on April 11, 2010 at 7.46 pm

Doc Bowles said:

... One thing makes me happy. It's perfectly clear why Martin O'Neill has the highly-paid and responsible job of managing this football club and you guys don't. Re-read your comments. And in them read a pathetic teenage petulance which I hope Martin O'Neill will completely ignore. The comment thread on this post doesn't reflect the views of most Villa fans (I hate to say supporters, because many of you aren't). Think - if you can - before you post. Get your iPod headphones out of your ears before you try and write anything sensible. Get your hands off your PS3 controller and work out what's really going on before you decide to slag our manager and players off. The quality of debate on this site has gone down. Like, ya know wadda mean, man?

Comment 114, made on April 11, 2010 at 10.54 pm