The case for and against Martin O'Neill

OK. All sides get spanked sometimes, and when those spankings happen, it's usually a team of quite stunning ability which administers them. Villa were spanked by a superb Chelsea side yesterday, and we should take nothing away from Ancelotti and his men. They were quite ruthless in a second half which made us Villains look like part-timers.

I've been involved in the game for a long time, and I accept the odd thrashing as part of life. It happens.

But I don't think Villa got thrashed yesterday: I think this particular spanking has been built up in its probability over a series of weeks and months.

Before I start asking some difficult questions, let me first begin with some positives.

Transfers

I have no issue at all with Martin O'Neill's transfer policy. While I consider the sale of Gary Cahill a mistake, I think the £5-12m band in which Martin O'Neill has to operate has seen him bring in the best players he can. Within that range, he has taken the decision not to gamble on overseas players unused to the Premier League, but instead to focus on a) youth and b) players used to the pace and physicality of EPL football.

Warnock, Dunne, Collins, Milner, Young (both) and Downing are all good signings - as in my view are those of Delph, Sidwell and Reo-Coker. What's been missing is the coaching strategy which gets all these players involved in regular first team football.

Man Management

Here, again, I have no quibble. Many of the players mentioned above joined Villa because of the immense personal charisma of our manager. There can be little if any doubt that MON is a great man manager who is capable of getting the best out of his first team players - if he picks them. How happy his fringe players are every day when they turn up at Bodymoor is open to question.

Once we get beyond these points, though, I think some serious questions have got to be asked.

Rotation

I'm not a fan of squad rotation for the sake of it. I think that's nonsense. But I do think that a manager owes it to the players and indeed the fans to keep an eye on the fitness or weariness of his squad and plan accordingly. That's why I say this game wasn't surrendered this afternoon but many weeks ago.

As Martin O'Neill says, these are fit young men who want to play. But Steve Sidwell is a fit young man who wants to play, and Luke Young is a fit young man who wants to play. Would it not have been sensible to have fielded these players - and others - in many of our games over the winter...both to give our first choice players a welcome rest, to keep competition for places alive, and to ensure that when we do need replacements that they can actually join the side on the front foot.

When Sidwell came on against Sunderland at Villa Park, he actually looked the sharpest player on the field. When Delfouneso came on at Stamford Bridge, he actually made a thing or two happen. It isn't rocket science, surely.

Use the squad. Trust the players. By all means have your favourites, Martin, but for god's sake keep them fresh.

Many of you will have seen my comments after returning from Villa Park on Wednesday (Sunderland). The (neutral) mates I watched the game with both thought Petrov and Milner looked knackered after 20 minutes.

That's not good management.

Tactics

I guess this is linked to the transfer point above, but MON seems wedded to the idea of a bully centre forward. Or even two bully centre forwards treading on each others' toes.

Up front, we have both pace and height at our disposal, as well as power. But that too often means that we don't play the ball through midfield - and as a result we surrender possession far too quickly and end up playing too many games on the back foot.

Villa have fine defensive qualities (though it galls me to say that after a 7-1 defeat), but we have the players in our squad to play possession football and build pressure on the opposition through ball retention. Nobody is going to tell me that with the right coaching and the right game-plan Stewart Downing, James Milner and Ashley Young can't play Arsenal-style possession football.

They can. And they probably want to.

But O'Neill wants to play direct - and that means Carew and Heskey are always in the bloody channels picking up long balls from Dunne and Collins instead of being in the box waiting for crosses or through-balls from midfield.

I reckon O'Neill will want to keep playing that way, too.

At least he set up today with two holding midfielders in Petrov and Sidwell, which was the right move before he decided to play the entire second half with no cover on Villa's right. It's a tough call, but I don't believe Carew should have started today. If fit, I would have played Gabby up front on his own, with Downing and Young wide, Petrov and Sidwell holding the midfield and Delph given a free role in between. Milner should have been rested.

But MON has forgotten more than I know.

These just my thoughts, and I hope the debate continues intelligently.

Comments (138)

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holteend paul said:

... oh my god yesturday showed how far we are behind the big teams, do you ever see the big teams concede 7 goals in one game?. no never,

Comment 1, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.20 am

Damian said:

... Doc I like what you are trying to do - look for debate and not just MON out - which I agree with - but your points above are not new and while some will want him gone and some will say give him till the end of the season and some will say he needs next season - I am now of the mind that if he walked - I wouldn't be bothered. And yes, all sides get spanked sometimes - but when was the last time a team scored seven against us? Did you hear what John Terry said? I've not but apparently he said they studied us and know we get tired after 60 minutes. The simple truth is that O'Neill hasn't got the ability to get us higher than 6th. Yes, we will get the odd come run because of his ability to fire up his players for one off matches - but the football hasn't developed - we have no plan B and his retro tactics are not going to achieve anything in this century. It will get us so far, which he has, but no further. Post-mortem tomorrow.

Comment 2, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.21 am

djongrass said:

... Damian suggested The Jam's - That's Entertainment as his 'video of the day' before the game. Well the Chelski fans certainly got some entertainment but here's one especially for Martin O'Neil - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpN_TOP9hg8

Comment 3, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.28 am

odysseynumberfive said:

... Man City got drubbed by Boro in Sven's last game as manager. Wigan were drubbed 9-1 by Spurs and then beat Liverpool. It's football, these freakish things happen.

Comment 4, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.33 am

Paganini said:

... Old Trafford 1964... the last time Villa shipped 7 goals in the league. A bit of historical perspective for those that would suggest that yesterday's result was just "one of those drubbings" that come along every now and then. You'd have to be more than 50 years old to remember anything quite like yesterday's capitulation.

Comment 5, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.33 am

nik986 said:

... In my view all managers make mistakes. Even the best make mistakes, but importantly they learn from their mistakes and this is something that MoN is not doing. I find his stubborness frustrating, and with Del Boy the other day it felt as though he was spiteing the villa fans by not putting him on because they cheered him when he was warming up. I agree with you Doc that his transfer policy is sound and he has very few 'bad' buys. However, I would judge Beye, Sidwell etc as bad buys because he clearly doesnt trust them. What is the point in spending money on players if you do not trust them to actualy play? I think it has come to the point where many villa fans will accept our direct style as long as it gets results and we progress because we all hope that once we reach 'the promised land' we will buy that sneijder type player that will help our style. However, when i think some are now starting to doubt whether that will ever happen. Look at managers likes ol' welly face, 12 months (with investment admittedly) and he has put spurs in with a real shout of top 4, they may well fall short with games against big 3 and citeh to come, but they play football in the right way (mostly) and have exciting players that pass the ball around. Look at Moyes, he has built and exciting side with power and pace and creativity: Arteta, Pienaar etc are all quality players. And finally, yes we conceded seven and to be honest all teams get spanked sometimes, even the best, but we all knew this was coming. MoNs failing is that he did not, if you play 13 players all season, they will be tired by March and we'll fall away. Its only later this season as we arent travelling to transylvania to play in the LDV euro trophy. I do not consider progress in cups as signs of progress, we have not played anyone of note, and even against blackburn in semi second leg we could easily have conceded 6 or 7. We must finish 5th + for progress and even then fourth has been there for the taking and we have flopped again.

Comment 6, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.34 am

odysseynumberfive said:

... As for the John Terry comment about tiredness, I don't see how the Chelsea players can maintain their stamina for so long. I mean, with Terry shagging around, Ashley Cole shagging around, and Frank Lampard shagging Christine Bleakley, how the hell do they retain their sharpness?

Comment 7, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.35 am

SidCowanslovechild said:

... My question would be who better? As a matter of principal, loyalty and stability are qualities to pursue and which tend to bring success. The grass is always greener - but I understand why some would be asking the question at the moment, but who would come in and do a better job. Hodgson, Gullit? maybe, who knows

Comment 8, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.36 am

william mcgonagall said:

... I like Mon and wouldn't like to see him go but he has to earn his place on the team as well .. So far he has failed with quite a few tactical blunders and ongoing petty tiffs with players . I think a few people need to wake up to themselves if they think this is "one bad result" because we have been scraping through with lucky draws for quite a while against teams we should be beating .. I think the biggest problem yesterday was we looked under prepared and completely unorganized . Like i said I like Mon and wouldn't like to see him go but he cant keep on failing us forever

Comment 9, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.36 am

Damian said:

... odysseynumberfive is it really freakish though? are you really surprised that we lost yesterday yes - you are probably surprised by the result - but even the chelsea players were saying how they knew we would only last 60 minutes they set themselves up to deal with us for 60 mins and then move up a game. we know o'neill doesn't do much fitness work: http://www.thevillablog.co.uk/...h-of-that/ and we are not wigan or man city - we are aston villa - he is acting as if he is bigger than the club and like a manager from the 80's

Comment 10, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.36 am

nik986 said:

... odysseynumberfive is it really freakish though? are you really surprised that we lost yesterday I dont know how anyone can be surprised so much as its been on the cards for weeks. We have been poor for a very long time...

Comment 11, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.46 am

Chiefy said:

... I like MON but my allegiance is to the club and to the badge. Aston Villa is NOT a team that loses 7-1, we are not whipping boys, our team and our players are better than that even when tired, the only explanation has to be the set up we approached the game with, I would imagine tiredness did also play a part. Now I am not starting to bang the MON out drum nor i am for that matter going to protect him or argue a case for him. I am optimistic about what will happen now but not because MON is manager but because thats the way i am. MON it is now down you to fix this, you have embarrassed yourself, the team and our football club you now need to rectify this using what ever means necessary. Get us to the end of the season without letting us mess this up, do not let us slide to the point of no return and further embarrass yourself and the team. When the close season is here address what you need to address i dont need to tell you, you are the professional you should know. next season lets hope you have learnt rotation skills, subs and you have a squad you feel is adequate enough to do this. Next season is, I fear, the last season as the knives are being sharpened and the dogs are for now at bay. Lets hope revenge is taken against the Blues, god forbid we lose. UTV, SOTC

Comment 12, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.46 am

Luckynumber7 said:

... Damian, that's a poor post written in haste. Don't get me wrong, I read your stuff regularly so I'm well aware you aren't a big O'Neill fan. Yesterday was a bad result. We were punished by a very good, very expensive side. It's not the sort of result that requires yet more dull, ill thought out speculation about the gaffer. I ask you this - who takes his place? who comes in and keeps world class, young, English talent at the club and still moves it forward? Take a look around the league today, and provide an option? Someone who will keep us in with a chance of moving forward, without putting the club at risk? Martin has done all he could do in the time available and with the money available. Final Semi final 7th and still in touch with the CL. What do you want? If O'Neill is set objectives at work, like I am and I'm sure are many of you, would he not have achieved them? Would this season not have been deemed a success, even if things stay as they are and we don't progress to the FA final? I think it is. Back the gaffer, back the team.

Comment 13, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.50 am

holteend paul said:

... the only thing i can give in defence to the score, was that at no time was the second goal a penalty which sent us trailing at half time 2-1. some of the refereeing was shambolic. but still no excuse to be losing 7-1 tho,

Comment 14, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.51 am

Damian said:

... odysseynumberfive other players at other teams do more fitness work than us and more advanced fitness work than us. ours is "pretty standard" - we dont do enough work on it SidCowanslovechild it isn't about who we would bring in. it is about, do we need better or should we have better? if the answer is yes .. o'neill does the honourable thing and walks on monday. honourable so the club have plenty of time to bring in a new manager and give him the opportunity to get to know his squad and who he needs and who he should sell there are 50 managers throughout europe that could do better than o'neill - probably more the thing is we probably cant go for mourinho, unless lerner says he will make available £100mn for him to spend and while we would all like to think he might - the reality is he probably wouldn't and he'd not pay the salaries of the players we would need to bring in but - we actually dont know what lerner will make available, but as a 'successful businessman' he must have planned for this - because he wouldn't have being so stupid to think it would happen with o'neill and there must come a time where after all this money he wants a return and that return would surely have to be progress in the league pay me £500k and i'll produce that list - or i will say mourinho as to who is better and while you can say he wouldn't come - we simply don't know what lerner is willing to do, do we?

Comment 15, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.51 am

djongrass said:

... Anyone still going to bother going to Wembley?

Comment 16, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.53 am

artball said:

... i can remember MON going on and on pre-season about the need for a squad, which is partly why a lot of people are baffled by how the team has been used... the right-back situation for one is just bizzare...now this tiredness which is really obvious, playing the faves who are injured...i don't get it?? i'm not p'd off, i just don't get it... perhaps the loss will force MON into having a good look at what is going on, and how he might confront it...

Comment 17, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.53 am

martygra808 said:

... i think the best transfer we got has to be john carew (got rid of baros) and dunne (lucky that city went crazy) and probably brad guzan ( wow, super cheap and not english!) Ash/milner/downing we paid top dollar and dont count as shrewd buys The fact you wouldnt have started john carew is crazy, the man has always been class! Ill take leftover valencia players anyday of the week! Please understand that people with the credentials are not always up to the task......btw we are talking about leicester city and celtic! This is the mighty villa who have never been relegated since the epl! I cant believe I am saying it but martin oneil needs to go for these reasons: 1) Style of play- this isnt track and field...we need to play some damn football 2) 15 man season- really? Are we going to play the same 15 people except on the worlds stage that is the europa league (sending only kids to moscow) I know its not champions league but its still important! 3) The previous point makes the fact he wont rotate players just kills any chance of different rosters having different chemistry. Lack of faith in players is crazy and whats the point of paying them to sit on the bench? We could have just payed those 15 players and saved up to spend on super players in january. 4) Emile can drag as many defenders as he wants but the fact he doesnt score makes him useless.....please stop calling this guy a striker 5) this year is identical to last year with fitness.....seriously it is identical 6) other teams are getting better while we run our players to the ground....These guys careers wont last long if they are played hurt and never given a rest 7) more events like reo coker not agreeing with this ancient style of coaching will happen very soon! just tired of seeing the same old thing for the past 3 years.....not having faith is one thing but to know that the team sheet is going to be a carbon copy of itself every game wont cut it.... 9) chelsea knew that we were going to get tired in the 60th minute....that hurt more than the 7 goals

Comment 18, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.53 am

nik986 said:

... Damian, look at the job Hodgson has done at Fulham, on very little money. Could he do even better with a bit of money at a bigger club?

Comment 19, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.53 am

Chiefy said:

... Anyone still going to bother going to Wembley? Should we let our support for the team suffer because of one man's mistakes ?

Comment 20, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.54 am

nik986 said:

... Anyone still going to bother going to Wembley? Should we let our support for the team suffer because of one man's mistakes ? Im still behind the team week in week out, we are Aston Villa and we will never die. But i think rightly questions are now being asked about the man who has complete control at the club. I agree with Damian, what has he does to warrant full control?

Comment 21, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.56 am

holteend paul said:

... nik986.. Damian, look at the job Hodgson has done at Fulham, on very little money. Could he do even better with a bit of money at a bigger club? i watched the game against spurs during the week, and to be honest they didnt deserve to lose as i really think they pissed all over them and the football played was very good.

Comment 22, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.58 am

oldnick said:

... Aston Villa dont lose 7-1 to anyone. On that result alone he should have the dignity to resign, it is nothing more than very poor management. we dont lose 7-1 to anyone.

Comment 23, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.00 am

nik986 said:

... holtendpaul - i think we have to be realistic, what do we want? as things stand we will not win the league. However, a decent run in cups with a sustained push at fourth whilst playing good expansive football has to be our aim?

Comment 24, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.00 am

Damian said:

... Roy Hodgson is a great manager - I was talking about him last season But he is 62 years old - he is too old for us now. Ideally our next manager will be a lot younger and willing to be part of something for a long time to come - or will be able to have the type of impact to get us to a place where age doesn't matter and Hodgson doesn't have that.

Comment 25, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.01 am

nik986 said:

... Damian, you are probably right he is too old. I know people probably wont agree, and will think im mad but i like sean o'driscoll.

Comment 26, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.03 am

Damian said:

... nik986 - too much of a risk. we are aston villa - we should be going for someone proven not just at winning, but at buying and delivering

Comment 27, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.08 am

holteend paul said:

... does age really matter as i will not ask the manager to play the games just be the tactician, if you know the game then age is not a problem, as he will not snuff it on the sidelines!!!

Comment 28, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.11 am

nik986 said:

... damian - who is there? I would love a moyes but feel he is waiting for a job like utd. Owen Coyle may well be a good choice but needs a coupe of years a bolton to prove himself, same with managers like martinez. Maybe someone like Dan petrescu if we are looking further afield. But i would love lerner to have a cheeky enquiry to mourinho, if he gives him what o'neill has spent in two years i fancy he'd be interested.

Comment 29, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.11 am

Damian said:

... nik986 there are loads of managers but it depends on what lerner wants and what he will make available and what he will pay. if he is going to pay £2mn a year and make available £20mn in the summer - we are limited and have to do a little more work to find the right man if he is going to pay the next manager £10mn a season and make available £100mn in the summer - there are more options a good chance we could win the league next season what is lerner going to make available?

Comment 30, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.18 am

nik986 said:

... Damian - if he makes 100mn available that will be debt loaded onto the club, are we sure thats the path we want to take? We need to increase our revenue streams before we can start throwing that sort of money about i think.

Comment 31, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.20 am

Damian said:

... nik986 thats the thing - if the club truly is a business for lerner and absolutely nothing else - then we might as well stick with o'neill and get the odd good cup run and the the odd europa league finish and hope for the best. what if though, lerner is really passionate for the club and he really wants success and he really wants to win things - why not do what the man city owner did - and transfer the £200Mn + he gave to the club into shares - no debt we dont know what lerner wants is basically what i am saying

Comment 32, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.28 am

nik986 said:

... I can understand what you are saying damian, and id love lerner to gift us that money, but i cant see it myself. Do we really want to play kick and rush for the next 10 years? wouldnt you rather a decent league finish with the odd cup runs and actually enjoying watching our style of football?

Comment 33, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.30 am

Damian said:

... nik986 i'd love our football to get better. had you heard of arsene wenger before he joined arsenal? my point is - just because we haven't heard of the manager doesn't mean he isn't out there

Comment 34, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.34 am

nik986 said:

... damian very true, we do need to unearth our wenger, do you trust our board to find that man?

Comment 35, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.36 am

nik986 said:

... just watching the game again, chelsea played some wonderful stuff and we were just never there. defence were all over the place and afforded little protection. lack of match practice affected sidders and lucas.

Comment 36, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.39 am

Damian said:

... nik986 i dont trust our board to do it no. but i trust they will accept that they cant and they will employ a firm to produce a list. but that list can only be produced when they know what is going to be made available - because we can all produce a list of 10 managers we would want but none of us know the basis for which they will be coming in

Comment 37, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.41 am

nik986 said:

... damian very true. however, i think deep down we all know that the manager will not be given 100mn, and will not be given 10mn a year. so we are in the position of trying to find a manager who can work with 30mn a year to build a side capable of competing at the top levels. This can only happen by focussing on youth and younge players who can be developed. I think if somehow we do finish fourth this year we will be embarassed in europe, kick and rush will not get us far.

Comment 38, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.44 am

r0bb0 said:

... There have been a number of posters talking about our 'predictable, unchanging style of play' over the past 3 years. Next time someone uses this phrase I'd be interested to know just what this means in your eyes. Can you define exactly what you mean, or is it just a stock phrase or shorthand to indicate that you're not happy with results?

Comment 39, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.48 am

Damian said:

... nik986 but, we dont know how much lerner will make available. i agree with you, that i dont think lerner will make the money available and i really do think for lerner - this is a business/vehicle to make money but we dont know but if it is, then we have to unearth the next arsene wenger - concentrate on the football - that is after all the business we are in and o'neill doesn't - clear as day

Comment 40, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.48 am

DanWilson82 said:

... I find myself being slowly drawn towards the dark side recently, not just as a knee jerk reaction from yesterdays terrible result but because the fact is our football has been poor for so very long now. We have a team of grafters who will work harder than any other team in the league, but players of this quality shouldn't have to rely on this style of football to win them matches. In Milner and Ashley Young we have 2 exceptional tallents, but something tells me that if they were playing at one of the top 3 their advancements in the game would be dramaticly quicker, because the style of play would allow them to show their stuff. Something needs to change, I've always been a big fan of mons, mostly because he comes accross as a decent human being, a true gent, but that doesn't make him infallible and the way we go out every week is never going to get us where we all want to be. I don't know what the answer is. I'd love to see Mourinho in but I don't think theres a cat in hells chance.

Comment 41, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.49 am

rocky5 said:

... people saying hodgson too old isnt redtwitch in his 60`s too.think we need to face reality here because MON will be here this time next season.

Comment 42, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.50 am

nik986 said:

... There have been a number of posters talking about our 'predictable, unchanging style of play' over the past 3 years. Next time someone uses this phrase I'd be interested to know just what this means in your eyes. Can you define exactly what you mean, or is it just a stock phrase or shorthand to indicate that you're not happy with results? Our style of play is percentage football, similar to stoke but with better players. we have even resorted to carlos' thurnderbolt throws. Hit the wings and hit the front men, negate the midfield.

Comment 43, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.50 am

nik986 said:

... damian the search then must be on for the next arsene wenger, someone who will revolutionise the club, and who overtime will prove that he should have full control of the club. arsene was educated in france and japan, we could do worse than look at a laurent blanc (although id imagine he is looking for a club with more money)

Comment 44, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.52 am

Damian said:

... r0bb0 i'll give you my opinion on it. but before i do - let me show you what a former player of o'neills said I didn’t do any pattern play under him [O'Neill]. We didn’t really do much by way of work on set-pieces either, although people will find that difficult to believe. The fitness work was pretty standard. Most of our play was off the cuff. However, Martin knows what he wants: centre halves, defend; full backs, stop crosses and defend; midfielders, help out at either end of the pitch and create goals; and strikers, score them. As long as you are prepared to give him what he wants, then Martin O’Neill will stand by you morning, noon and night. for me, its very much about the football. it really isn't very different to how we have played for a number of years basically we hit it long too often, we often dont actually know where the ball is going and often lose the ball. i dont think we focus on keeping the ball and basically it is very much focused on direct counter attacking football apparently john terry said something on match of the day last night about how they has studied us and knew that after an hour that was our lot - when players at other clubs tell you the game is predictable and every fan can see the style is very one dimensional - surely, that is evidence itself

Comment 45, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.54 am

Nanwasafan said:

... I've woken in a strange mood today. I am actually considering life without MON. Do I want him to go? Possibly, yes. I am so tired of the certainty of his knockers. I can no longer enjoy Aston Villa football club under his leadership. I said it was a strange mood. Let me expalin...If we win the the FA Cup, it will mean nothing, it will be called a long ball fluke. Should be finish 4th it will just expose us to defeat in the CL, etc etc etc. The only brightness I can see is if MON is replaced by a popular choice. Then I imagine we will play a different form of football. We will get similar results and points. The odd trophy, knock on the door of the top 4 and everyone will be happier. I am not on a wind up her, I genuinely think Villa will now be an unhappy football club until MON departs. I feel sad. An era is coming to an end. An era I enjoyed. Thank you Martin.

Comment 46, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.55 am

Damian said:

... nik986 i wouldn't be surprised if lerner and his people are already looking Nanwasafan you honestly didn't think lerner would get it right first time - lerner is learning all the time. he will now know better what the club needs to move forward

Comment 47, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.56 am

nik986 said:

... damian i think if you are CEO of a business as big as a premier league football club you would have had plans drawn up a long time ago, you would just need to tweak them now and again. Now would just been the time to step up the search and seek interest.

Comment 48, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.59 am

holteend paul said:

... i remember brian little taking us as far as he could, then he went to the chairman to ask for some help and got sacked!!but i really miss the entertaining football he played.

Comment 49, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.00 am

nik986 said:

... a couple of months ago i would have been annoyed with myself for questioning MoN, but he has shown that he has not learnt, so why should we just accept that this is it. I want to go to VP and be entertained, isnt that what football is all about?

Comment 50, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.01 am

Damian said:

... nik986 to an extent. but like i suggested above - it all depends on what lerner wants. if lerner is happy taking his £10mn a season out of the club and actually doesn't want to invest any more in climbing the table and can get his return from finishing 6th most of the time and hopes for the odd cup run - they will have a plan in place if o'neill walked - but it might not be the type of plan we would like it all depends on what lerner wants and how much he wants it and football is about winning first, entertainment second

Comment 51, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.03 am

nik986 said:

... i remember brian little taking us as far as he could, then he went to the chairman to ask for some help and got sacked!!but i really miss the entertaining football he played. I also miss entertaining football, we have some of the most exciting young english talent. The question you have to ask is what would other managers like wellyface do with this talent? get them to play the 'direct' ball or play it around and attack teams?

Comment 52, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.03 am

nik986 said:

... and football is about winning first, entertainment second but i also think we need to be realistic, and you play pragmatically sometimes to win games, but on the whole if oyu go out attack teams and play football, a team like villa will win more points than we lose. Lets be honest we didnt lose fourth yesterday, we lost it by drawing too many games.

Comment 53, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.07 am

Vijayd said:

... mon will still be here this time next season, so lets get behind him! and are u guys mad, 100 million?? no way!

Comment 54, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.11 am

GGGG said:

... I've been following Villa for over 30 years and I can't remember us ever shipping 7 goals before. Six on a couple of horrendous occasions, but never 7. I think it's only 1 short of our all-time record defeat. This is a major wake-up call to Martin O'Neill. I can't believe people are actually calling for his head, but it's clear the 2nd half collapse was a result of tiredness & playing-despite-knocks in the case of our regulars, and lack of match practice in the case of others. It's poor management not to have addressed the signs of tiredness over the last three games, and also poor management not to keep your squad players sharp by giving them match practice. There's also the fact that Ancelotti reads the game brilliantly. They could have murdered us at Villa Park from the amount of chances they missed that day, so he clearly had our number tactically (i.e. we leave huge holes in midfield and rely far too much on our back four to plug the gaps). True, he finally dropped Downing and brought someone in to help Petrov out, and in the first half it was working but it's an awful lot to ask players to strike up a perfect understanding against the likes of Chelsea when one's knackered and the other's not been playing. I have to say these last three months have been the first time I've doubted MON's judgment. Maybe not buying a striker in January was just down to non-availability, so you have to make do with what you've got. But his selection policy finally reaped its rewards yesterday, and he doesn't appear to have seen it coming... and that's more worrying than the scoreline. This is probably the biggest test of his managerial career - can he turn it around for the semi-final, or is a second season running going to fizzle out completely?

Comment 55, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.12 am

mon 4-5-1 said:

... Doc Bowles, OK. All sides get spanked sometimes, and when those spankings happen, it's usually a team of quite stunning ability which administers them. Villa were spanked by a superb Chelsea side yesterday, and we should take nothing away from Ancelotti and his men. They were quite ruthless in a second half which made us Villains look like part-timers Doc Bowles Yes Chelsea did play well yesterday but they are far from invincible at there ground. You just need to look at the last month were both Man City & Inter took maximum points. A spanking is if you get beat 4-1 or maybe 5-1. 7-1 to me is a humiliation and it was the way we lost it. This should not be acceptable for us as supporters for a manager who is now in his 4th season. Trying to get 4th spot must be the first bench mark. This is what brings in an extra 35-45 million extra in revenue. It also attracts the top class players we require if are then seriously going to consider attacking the League title. It’s all about setting your bench marks and unfortunately the way :- . We play the game. . Squad Rotate . Do not invest in foreign talent . Pay over the odds for most of our players . Play percentage football We have cats in hell chance of getting 4th with O’Neil. Why wait for another summer when 4 years have told us that he is not the man ? What is the purpose of wasting another season and possibly more money ? . Why not give it to a new manager so that he has the capital to help us progress our football and move us to the next level. We all know and accept this is the way O’Neil has worked through his career so why would he all of a sudden change.

Comment 56, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.13 am

nik986 said:

... GGGG Its not necessarily calling for MoNs head, its acceptance of the fact that in 4 seasons he has not learnt from his mistakes.

Comment 57, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.15 am

r0bb0 said:

... It feels strange to say that I am pleased I was at the game yesterday, that it was my daughter's first away game and that it cost....well let's not talk about the cost. Supporting your team is surely about intensity of emotions...the highs of winning when you don't expect to and the lows of, well, we all know about the lows just now. Yesterday leaves me with abiding and intense memories that a 2.1 defeat or a draw simply cannot match. The sadness of seeing my son turn to the wall behind us when their 6th goal went in. Seeing the Chelsea fans all turn towards us laughing and pointing their fingers and waving cheerio as a minority of Villa fans left early. It also leaves memories of the Villa fans chanting ever more loudly even as the 7th goal went in. The ashamed Villa players and manager walking to the Villa fans at the end of the match applauding their unswerving support. If supporting your team is about enduring the lows so that you can gain the euphoria of the highs, then yesterday will make our next success all the more intense. My most enduring memory will be of the man in a Villa shirt with his arms stretched out wide and his young son on his shoulders walking down the Kings Road surrounded by bemused Chelsea fans chanting at the top of his lungs 'Villa till I die'. You are a true fan and fully deserve every last nerve tingling ounce of pleasure you'll gain when we next go out and win when it's least expected.

Comment 58, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.16 am

Damian said:

... r0bb0 do you expect us to beat bolton?

Comment 59, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.19 am

nik986 said:

... I have to say this is a much better debate around MoN and the team that has been had for a while

Comment 60, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.22 am

Vijayd said:

... i expect us to beat bolton and get back into the race for top 4

Comment 61, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.24 am

GGGG said:

... It feels strange to say that I am pleased I was at the game yesterday, that it was my daughter's first away game and that it cost....well let's not talk about the cost. Supporting your team is surely about intensity of emotions...the highs of winning when you don't expect to and the lows of, well, we all know about the lows just now. Yesterday leaves me with abiding and intense memories that a 2.1 defeat or a draw simply cannot match. The sadness of seeing my son turn to the wall behind us when their 6th goal went in. Seeing the Chelsea fans all turn towards us laughing and pointing their fingers and waving cheerio as a minority of Villa fans left early. It also leaves memories of the Villa fans chanting ever more loudly even as the 7th goal went in. The ashamed Villa players and manager walking to the Villa fans at the end of the match applauding their unswerving support.... Best post on here today.

Comment 62, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.27 am

Craig84 said:

... I have to admit i was delighted when we got o'neil, but i do think we have gone as far as we can don't get me wrong he can still do a good job but we'll never see good football at villa park.

Comment 63, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.29 am

roy said:

... that was a sh time for a change the man has not got a clue and dont say he has done good the money he has spent he is the bigest con man on the planet that was the worst villa i have seen in fifty years his record this year is rubbish

Comment 64, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.34 am

r0bb0 said:

... Damian: apparently john terry said something on match of the day last night about how they has studied us and knew that after an hour that was our lot - when players at other clubs tell you the game is predictable and every fan can see the style is very one dimensional - surely, that is evidence itself Just because someone with the foresight and intelligence of John Terry says that we tire after 60 mins doesn't mean that it's true. How did he define our style? Did he actually describe us as one dimensional? Didn't we recently come from behind against both Wolves and Wigan and turn round the results of both games after the 60 minute mark?

Comment 65, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.34 am

leight said:

... lets face it this has been coming for a while, we scraped the poins against wigan, should of lost 2 wolves, we are tactically inept and if he keeps buying shite like warnock & heskey were gonna struggle 2 progress. if heskey is a villa player come august i will not be renewing my season ticket.... sorry people but thats how P****d off and frustrated i feel... i think mon's days could be numbered, we had 2 8th place finishes before mon came in and that was without randys cheque book....

Comment 66, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.34 am

frem said:

... GGGG- hart warming post

Comment 67, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.35 am

leight said:

... rotate, rotate, rotate (and stop playin peole out of position) villa till i die

Comment 68, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.36 am

djongrass said:

... Most of us here on this site were clear back in January that MoN had two choices if he wanted to avoid the previous years' March madness that we've all had to suffer: - Buy some more players or - rest some key players. In the end he did neither and didn't learn anything from the previous two seasons? MoN continuously bemones tiredness as a reason for poor results towards the end of the season and yet does nothing to solve the problem, so really he only has himself to blame. ...and now thanks to John Terry's little speech at the end of MotD last night even Alex McLeish will be able to figure out a game-plan to beat us!

Comment 69, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.37 am

frem said:

... r0bbo- great post

Comment 70, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.37 am

Vijayd said:

... benayoun, pavlychencko and bentley in for next season and top 4 no problems

Comment 71, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.38 am

Nanwasafan said:

... Robbo, you need to expand that post into something for Damian to publish. It is really moving. Best thing I've read on here for months, if not years. Thank you. In hard times, these small offerings can keep hope alive.

Comment 72, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.41 am

frem said:

... what do we do against bolton ? Do we play are normail elevn or do we rest them and give sidwell, davis, young and fonz a run out ? Its a hard one to call. WE need to win or we will end up finishing 8th or 9th. I just hope the chelsea game gave the players and oneill a kick up the backside.

Comment 73, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.44 am

Damian said:

... r0bb0 just becasue john terry says it doesn't make it true, you are right - but many on here have been saying it for months and months john terry saying it just goes to show we are not mad and others see it too

Comment 74, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.45 am

r0bb0 said:

... ... r0bb0 do you expect us to beat bolton? Damian, The Bolton game will be a real test of character for both sides. We've both just suffered bad defeats at the hands of two of the very best teams in the world. Bolton had been coming back into form with 3 home wins in their previous 4 games. Despite that though, yes I do think we'll win. Right now we feel how we felt after the opening Wigan game, and the players will feel just the same. We have some proud players at our club and I believe they'll want to try and erase some of yesterday's shame as soon as possible. Yes, Bolton will do too, but I believe that our greater quality will win the day.

Comment 75, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.46 am

leight said:

... im watchin the blackburn burnley game now and can here them northern shandy drinking plebs singing our song, shit support my lord shit support, cheeky bas****s

Comment 76, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.47 am

r0bb0 said:

... Damian: when players at other clubs tell you the game is predictable Which players have actually said that our game is predictable? Do you have their quotes and are they players whose opinions we should respect?

Comment 77, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.50 am

Damian said:

... r0bb0 and the rest might do us well and we might win. i also expect us to win. but i wouldn't be surprised if it were a draw or we lost and even if we own 8-1 my view on o'neill wouldn't change. the only thing that can change my view on o'neill is if we finish 5th or above and even if that happened, i think it would be more down to luck and i really don't expect to see anything develop under him i actually think it inevitable that he will leave now - it is just a case of when but i love what you posted above - the support will always be there regardless of who the players and manager are

Comment 78, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.51 am

Damian said:

... r0bb0 i didn't see the interview - i am only going on what a couple of people have commented on - but if it is true .. actually, it doesn't matter if it is true or not. i'm going ot pretend he never actually said it. we dont need john terry saying after an hour we lose steam - it just happens anyway becasue o'neills retro management doesn't work these days foret about what john terry said - we dont need him saying anything we dont need ex players telling us oneill does no pattern play or fitness work we dont need football pundits telling us we are 1 dimensional it is clear as day

Comment 79, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.54 am

Vijayd said:

... if mon leaves we are in really deep trouble

Comment 80, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.54 am

nik986 said:

... if mon leaves we are in really deep trouble Im still not sure if i want him to leave, but why would we be in deep trouble?

Comment 81, made on March 28, 2010 at 11.57 am

Damian said:

... if arsene wenger just left arsenal - i suspect they would be in trouble if sir alex just up and left united, i suspect they might be in trouble if o'neill left villa - we'd not be in trouble both arsenal and man utd would take what happened in their stride and they would be back much like aston villa would. martin o'neill isn't bigger than aston villa - we have had better managers leave and we will have better managers leave

Comment 82, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.01 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... Nice post r0bbo support will never waver for AVFC. R0bb0 so why do you think we lost yesterday ?

Comment 83, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.01 pm

r0bb0 said:

... Nan, not sure I have it in me to write a whole posting, but thanks for the thought! At the end of the match, when the players came down and stood applauding our end of the ground, the fans were all still chanting and clapping with arms raised high. At that point I'm embarrassed to admit I had tears in my eyes. The thought then suddenly came to me..... oh bugger...just imagine the stick I'd get if the cameras turned on me to show some middle aged bloke getting over emotional at a football match!

Comment 84, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.01 pm

Vijayd said:

... nik986 mate, no one has mentionned a replacement yet that excites me, and im more worried that maybe players like Milner and Young who love mon would leave, a new manager would mean total uncertainty for atleast 2 years, we need continuity, lets give mon one more season, but the bottom line is that lerner needs to give at 40 million this summer to spend

Comment 85, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.02 pm

jrhvilla said:

... Chelsea 7 Villa 1 - we all have blips, but not seven goal blips. Totally and utterly unacceptable at any level, let alone the top. Let's be realistic. Friedel is starting to look vulnerable. We have no pace at the back. Apart from Gabby, no pace up front. The team fail to play as a unit. Just look how far Gabby is away from Carew/Heskey, and look at how far the rest of the midfield is from Petrov, which perhaps wouldn't be a problem if he passed more than 5 yards more often. We have two or three good wingers, but how often do they put in a decent cross? Does Ashley Young just sling it in, or does he look up and tries to pick someone out? Given the way we have been playing, especially at the back, it's no surprise, this result has been on the cards. There are so many holes in our side you don't have to be Chelsea to find them, let's face it, Sunderland and Wolves didn't have much trouble, did they? I can admire the way Mr. O'Neill and Mr. Lerner have dragged The Villa from a bottom half side to one that is knocking on the door or Europe and a trophy. But we are going to continue to struggle if, during the summer, we don't go back to the drawing board. Teams are starting to work out how to play the Villa. We struggle against pace, and struggle against any movement from the opposition midfield and attack. I'm not advocating sacking the manager, far from it. There are few managerial candidates out there good enough for Villa, so sacking is not an option. But it's time for the managerial staff to take a step back, work out where we are going wrong and try anything, anything to put it right, because if we carry on the same vein, it won't be trying hang onto Redscouse's tails, we'll be looking at Bluescouse's arse in the distance, and that would be unforgiveable, no matter how much the media sucks Moyes arse.

Comment 86, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.03 pm

Vijayd said:

... we cannot compare ourselves to man u or arsenal, nor club wise nor team wise nor money wise, if sir alex left mourinho would come, if wenger left they would have a queue of top managers around the world wanting to join, we are not in that category, i cant believe we want hodgson!

Comment 87, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.06 pm

r0bb0 said:

... Damian, you may remember that I have also been saying from very early in the season that I hoped MoN would use the squad more effectively this season. I believe that if you care to analyse the stats you'll find that he has improved slightly this year, but in my view still not enough. Yes I think we are showing some tiredness but I think we are in danger of overplaying it. I think that Ashley Young has played as many games as anyone this season but if anything (yesterday excepted) has been improving over recent weeks.

Comment 88, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.09 pm

cyprusvilla said:

... o neill is a great manager but he has to learn to use all of his players so even if randy does give him 100 million and he does buy players but still uses only 11 or 12 of them for 90% of the games then its not worth randy giving him more money

Comment 89, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.10 pm

Dave J said:

... Vijay - if you were Lerner would you be keen to hand over more millions for mon to spend on players who sit in the stands or on the bench? The sad fact is that a decent slice of those funds have been wasted.

Comment 90, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.11 pm

Damian said:

... r0bb0 i also think we are in danger of over playing it. after all, how tired can they get? but if he doesn't do much work on fitness either .. but that isn't really it for me. its the football and the football isn't developing squad/tiredness are just other things. the football is still average

Comment 91, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.13 pm

r0bb0 said:

... mon 451. so why do you think we lost yesterday ? I am not convinced it was down to tiredness. If that was the whole story, how come we came back against both Wolves and Wigan in the second halves of those games? The penalty just before half time was a sickener as we'd been competing well until then. We actually came out well at the start of the second half and I felt we may take the lead but then they scored their third. I reckon that was the turning point. The players kept trying, but they were trying hard to get even and in so doing left holes in midfield and defence. Basically they lost their discipline and against a team like Chelsea on form, you can't afford that. I think they had twice as many shots as us, but scored from 7 times as many. The result was appalling, the team is still (in my opinion) much much better than that result.

Comment 92, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.16 pm

mickey86 said:

... cant get rid of MON after one really bad result. its obvioulsy a one off or we would have lost all 6 games 7-1 against the top 3, this season we've only lost 2 of the 6 games against the 3 teams challenging for the title. its no suprise that spurs are above us as they have been spending big for the past 10 years, and its easy for man city to be above us as they have spent big in the last 2 years. villa only started to re-build 4 years ago on a much smaller budget so to call for MON out is ridiculous. Its easy to say there are 50 managers in england who are better than MON but its always best to back that up by nameing more than just Mourinho who has the choice of any team in the world. i cant think of any managers who villa could get who would play better football and take us higher than we are. curbishley? hughes? sven? or lets give cowans a shot - i doubt any of these could do a better job than MON is doing.

Comment 93, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.18 pm

nik986 said:

... or lets give cowans a shot - i doubt any of these could do a better job than MON is doing. Is giving cowans a shot ridiculous? Or even a more recent ex-player like mark delaney?

Comment 94, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.24 pm

DanWilson82 said:

... i cant think of any managers who villa could get who would play better football and take us higher than we are. curbishley? hughes? sven? or lets give cowans a shot - i doubt any of these could do a better job than MON is doing. The football we play and have played for quite some time is pretty dire. Obviously it works on occasions but a large percentage of our wins come from sheer graft and determination rather than playing the other team off the park. You could compare our starting 11 + bench with any team in the premiership and quite honestly I'd say there isn't a huge difference in ability eg compare the two teams that lined up for the carling cup final, we equalled United in virtually every department with the exception of Rooney who is world class right now. Yet we just don't seem to play to our potential, that surely has something to do with the way we set our to play. I'd bet money that if our exact swad got air lifted to old trafford and played under SAF for a year they would make top 3...

Comment 95, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.42 pm

Lol said:

... Your manager shot himself in foot big time with his 'too tired' statements. No top 10 team should be beaten by the margin you lot got thumped yesterday. Embarrassing or what!

Comment 96, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.48 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... r0bb0, i think certain players physical and mental condition will differ through a season. As you mentioned Ash did not look tired were as Petrov, Milner,Gabby and few others looked leggy or unfit. I also think this is determined by were they play on the pitch. Centre midifield is crucial and requires a lot of leg work so would not expect players to play there week in week out. This is the manager’s responsibility to determine if he feels a player should play or not. Gabby definitely looked unfit as did Milner. If O’Neil in his press conference earlier in the week had said Dunne was doubtful then why did he not play Cueller instead ? Tactically we player a 4-5-1 in the first half and were in with a shout. Why did we change to 4-4-2 with a already leggy midfield which eventually got over run and we imploded. These decisions are not down to the players but purely the manger. This is were he earns his crust and to be honest this is not the first time these questions have been asked. Some of us have been asking them all season. I think the most disturbing thing I found about the game yesterday was at the point when we were trying to bring on Beye and Milner had the ball. Robertson and O’Neil were screaming at him to kick the ball into touch. He totally ignored it and sprayed the ball wide. The point I am trying to make is mentally I think we are shot as well as physically. We’ll do well to recover from this. It may be a easy defeat to take if you’re a Wigan and you know your fighting for relegation but not when you supposed to be one of the pretenders to the so called top4 and you loose like this at this late stage it’s a bitter blow to confidence. Analagy : like a boxer being knocked down in the first round he still has enough to try and come back. Being knocked down in the 11th round he is most likely to stay down. UTV…

Comment 97, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.49 pm

Damian said:

... mickey86 had you heard of arsene wenger before he joined arsenal? you might have - some did, but not many had. my point is, you are only mentioning managers that you know of and that have been unsuccessful it is a big world and there are many football managers we haven't heard of right now that will, one day, become the next sir alex or arsene wenger but, we do not know what randy lerner wants or is willing to make available - so if o'neill does walk, it could be that that was a. part fo the plan and b. a blessing in disguise o'neill has never spent more than 5 years at a club - maybe the plan was ' give us another five years and make us stable and then help find us a new manager - we just dont know it could be that what lerner has invested to date is just his first round of funding. it could be that he has a lotmore that he is willing to offer up the next manager

Comment 98, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.52 pm

VillaDude said:

... MON only knows kick and rush football. He will probably blame the players to take flack off his arrogant shoulders. He won't change our style of football, transfers or use of squad. He's been like this for years.

Comment 99, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.52 pm

SCOTT1 said:

... good analogy about the boxing mon451.first off i just want to say if any of my comments were o.t.t yesterday i apologize.i was upset and bladdered! ive had a good sleep and am buoyed because frank mir got knocked the f**k out in the ufc. anyway i digress.what mons done for the club has been brilliant but i think its the end of the road.his decisions and stubborness are having a detrimental effect on the team and i cant see us getting top6,i really cant.who do we get in though,thats the question?answers on a postcard please

Comment 100, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.55 pm

r0bb0 said:

... mon451...some interesting points in there and would like to respond, but have to take my son to play now...hoping for a better result today!

Comment 101, made on March 28, 2010 at 12.56 pm

Doc Bowles said:

... Damian, I'm not sure I was trying to make points that haven't been made before. Don't we all have the right to think about things, and perhaps gradually come round to a differing view? You did. Or would you prefer me to simply say: "Damian was right all along". In fact, I think there isa balanced argument, and there is a debate. And it's certainly preferable to a monotonous tirade with a single point to make.

Comment 102, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.08 pm

Monkeywrench said:

... Question: If, as a manager, you had realised (based on the past couple of seasons if not every season you've been at the Villa) that your players tire so much by March due to poor squad rotation, lack of depth in the team or simply poor preparation wouldn't you try and fix it? If you don't and you end up watching your squad fade badly once again, what lessons can you learn from it after this problem has been evident so many times (and given you're lucky enough to have that parashoot of the "5 year plan" and an owner who's not trigger happy with managers)?

Comment 103, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.10 pm

nik986 said:

... i think the important thing to remember is that most agreed this is MoNs most important season. We said the summer gone was his most important. Hes had 4 years, and we have spent upwards of 150mn. The question is have we made any progress this year? If you think we have then MoN has to stay and be given more time. If you feel we havnt then maybe its time to think again. However we all love aston villa and we all want the best for them and are entitled to our opinion, a healthy debate weighing up pros and cons is what is needed.

Comment 104, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.11 pm

wicklow villa said:

... who do we get in though Maybe Martin Jol

Comment 105, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.21 pm

SidCowanslovechild said:

... Damo, 100% disagree. MON should do better than a 7-1 loss obviously but its all relative, if he goes we to have replace him and if we can't get anyone who can do better I think Chiefy was right, we all support the team not the manager but we need to think carefully before looking to replace MON who in my eyes has doen plenty more good than bad. If Wenger or Ferguson are coming in, great. If Kinnear or Tony Adams, not. If Gullit or Hodgson, maybe But in general, don't panic after one tonking - in my eyes the 2 home draws against Sunderland and Wolves were the real killers for top 4 not yesterday - although the semi is now going to be an unbelievable challenge

Comment 106, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.27 pm

Rich Clark said:

... this is who i want as manager... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q33sNrncVmI

Comment 107, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.38 pm

FatKevs said:

... There is no way I can see Randy Getting rid of MoN he & his board would not have a clue what to do & it will cost money he will not spend. MoN is wrapped up in his own importance to even contemplate walking. Who would we get to replace MoN we are not attractive other than to people with some sort of relationship as we do not have a board looking to take us forward So lets all get behind MoN & the boys & accept the shit football because it is the best we can get

Comment 108, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.44 pm

wicklow villa said:

... Lads this team is going to be burnt out again dis season the same startin 11 as thursday and it will be the same team wednesday nite,wats the point in havin a bigger squad when he wont use it.Really need a striker. JANUARY 17 6;29PM· A comment i left on my facebook page after the draw with west ham everyone could see it coming except o neill.

Comment 109, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.46 pm

Rich Clark said:

... or...martin jol. he'd be a good shout, knows the prem, did very very well with a tottenham side that was not to different to ours is now...and he got them playing pretty football, with a few young english players...the only difference is...he used the squad available to him AND got some foreign flair in there for technique. which is clearly what we are lacking

Comment 110, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.46 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... FatKevs There is no way I can see Randy Getting rid of MoN he & his board would not have a clue what to do & it will cost money he will not spend. Why would it cost money ? Is O'Neil not on a rolling contract ?

Comment 111, made on March 28, 2010 at 1.59 pm

RVilla said:

... You really do talk sense Doc, agree with most of what you said. Incidentally do you think we should have been playing the last couple of games with a RB (Young/Beye) at RB instead of Cuellar? I wish Cuellar would be played at CB with Dunne and drop Collins. Collins would make a very decent CB to bring in when rotation is needed or an injury occurs. I mean when Cuellar was played at CB he was mentioned as heading to South Africa with Spain and of a move to Real. Haven't heard much of that lately.

Comment 112, made on March 28, 2010 at 2.10 pm

Nigel said:

... Just to put a little perspective on things, does anyone remember Man Utd getting beat 6-2 by Southampton and Fergy blaming the grey kit for it? He's come a long way since then!

Comment 113, made on March 28, 2010 at 2.19 pm

Damian said:

... Nigel Out of interest, how many league titles had Ferguson won for united by then?

Comment 114, made on March 28, 2010 at 2.23 pm

Nigel said:

... Dmaian Please don't qoute me, but I think one or two! But I suppose it shows how it can happen to any team. Don't get me wrong though, I am on the fence when it comes to continuing with MON, as some of his transfers, tactics and decisions are very baffling to say the least.

Comment 115, made on March 28, 2010 at 2.34 pm

Celtic_Villan said:

... what evidence is there that mon HAS to operate with purchases between this bracket? he has been give huge amounts of money, and if decided to splash out on one big signing as opposed to 3 reasonable ones, im not sure lerner would object - he seems to trust his judgement its more a case, i would argue, that he doesnt like any one big fish in his squad, and like full control over a small squad, with no unruly players. if they act up, he punishes them. maybe he feels big signings would disrupt his control if you want to look at spending that works, look no further than harry redknapp. he has spent very well at spurs and it seems to be holding up. it is not his responsibility to spend prudently, it is the chairmans. we can only hope spurs mess us the run in and the finances are shambolic behind the scenes...

Comment 116, made on March 28, 2010 at 2.41 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... Nigel, Just to put a little perspective on things, does anyone remember Man Utd getting beat 6-2 by Southampton and Fergy blaming the grey kit for it? He's come a long way since then Actually it was 6-3 and United went on to win the title that season. So you could say United supporters quite rightly forgave Fergie.

Comment 117, made on March 28, 2010 at 2.56 pm

Nigel said:

... Would MON be forgiven if we managed to scrape fourth? Big if!

Comment 118, made on March 28, 2010 at 3.02 pm

Steveo said:

... i think it was the 89 season and we beat man u 3-0 and the holte chanting "fergie on the dole, fergie fergie on the dole !" a very lucky manager back then indeed

Comment 119, made on March 28, 2010 at 3.08 pm

Vijayd said:

... ive said it earlier and will say it again, mon will still be at villa this time next year so lets get behind him and hope lerner gives him the cash in the summer.

Comment 120, made on March 28, 2010 at 3.11 pm

Vijayd said:

... id bring in bellamy and pavlychevko, get rid of heskey and send delfouneso on loan

Comment 121, made on March 28, 2010 at 3.25 pm

jodieavfc said:

... come on people surely the players have to take some of the blame there was players on the pitch yesterday who hardly ever play and they should be playing there socks off to claim there place in the team. o'neil is not perfect but what manager is ?????????

Comment 122, made on March 28, 2010 at 3.42 pm

VillaDude said:

... Liverpool showing how poor Sunderland really are. It's been the worst 2 weeks in MONs villa career.

Comment 123, made on March 28, 2010 at 3.48 pm

Vijayd said:

... lets plan for the summera, is mon doing bbc work in sa?

Comment 124, made on March 28, 2010 at 3.50 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... Steveo said: ... i think it was the 89 season and we beat man u 3-0 and the holte chanting "fergie on the dole, fergie fergie on the dole !" a very lucky manager back then indeed We really are clutching at straws... VillaDude said: ... Liverpool showing how poor Sunderland really are. It's been the worst 2 weeks in MONs villa career. They just know how to turn it on at the business end of the season. I would not go as far to say it the worst 2 weeks of O'Neil's reign but more a expected March slump..

Comment 125, made on March 28, 2010 at 3.59 pm

bobvillian said:

... if randy gives mon 20-30million to spend do you trust him to spend it wisely i for one hope he resighs.look at his transfers over the years;heskey;harewood;sidwell;saliflo;sutton;savage;rou tlege;petrov;izzet;davies;thats only 10players who are totally useless?so please MON go now and let randy bring in a proper football manager.someone who puts players in there proper positions.please go???/?//////?/??????////

Comment 126, made on March 28, 2010 at 4.02 pm

Steveo said:

... imagine if he had started out now, losing as often as he did then ? he would have been out of a job ! 4-5-1 it was just a memory of mine thats all pal ! being in the holte that day watching fergie nervously chew his gum, i think it was gage, platt and daley that scored ? might be wrong tho oh and still behind oneill ! utv

Comment 127, made on March 28, 2010 at 4.06 pm

G villa said:

... to go to the next level i.e.top 4 we need a change in stlyle of football i mean do any of the top 4 play kick an run or spurs or man city or everton all of who we will finish below.give mon his 5th year as he has done a decent job and after we see the same season an no progression i think he will walk as he will have lost the fans and the clubs big players will seek a move to further there career.id agree that jol could be a decent option still think moyes could be enticed with the right package

Comment 128, made on March 28, 2010 at 4.32 pm

mickey86 said:

... arsene wenger - how many arsene wengers have there been in the premiership? for every arsene wenger there are 10 christian gross's. Mon left leicester after 5 years because celtic came along and then he left celtic after 5 years because his wife was ill. if we won 7-1 yesterday MON would not be getting the equivelent praise from villa fans as he is criiticism from same fans for losing 7-1.

Comment 129, made on March 28, 2010 at 4.43 pm

mon 4-5-1 said:

... Interview with O'Neil on the size of the squad last season http://www.dailymotion.com/vid...is-as_news So what has changed this season according to his interview last season ? Interesting bit to the interview last season was he said you cannot compete with 21 to 22 players at the top level.. And what will change next season ??????

Comment 130, made on March 28, 2010 at 5.13 pm

EJ_AVFC said:

... What about Slaven Bilic? Croatia failed to qualify for the World Cup, he's young and would probably get us playing nice football. I'm sure he's always wanted to manage in the Premier League, and I don't think he would get a better club than Villa. Give him money and let him get on with it.

Comment 131, made on March 28, 2010 at 7.19 pm

Sasa said:

... 7-1 was humiliating, but I don't think I've seen such a disgraceful result whilst we've been in a decent league position, hence in a way, it makes the result a lot more bearable. I also watched the game last night and quite enjoyed some of our play, especially Delfouneso taking on players with a direct style, something the donkey would never have the guts to do. I'm actually proud that our lads ran forward when we were 5-1 down, the question for MON is, why don't we run forward like that at 0-0? I could've told you in 2006 that MON would probably not be the messiah people thought he would go on to be. If you watched Celtic and Leiciester, you'd know that he is kick and rush. However if he decided to have his spats with Heskey and Petrov rather than Carew and NRC I think we'd have a few more points on the board, or at least enjoyed some more attacking football. Anyway, Everton lost 7-0 to Arsenal and finished 4th in 2005 so it's not the worst result in the world!

Comment 132, made on March 28, 2010 at 9.49 pm

CP said:

... I don't know what to say. I can stomach the 7-1, but I can't stomach this nonsense. I was as gutted as anyone, but if this fickle and frankly embarrassing behaviour continues then I'll have to give serious consideration to my ongoing support of Aston Villa Football Club. And that won't have ANYTHING to do with Martin O'Neill's tactics, being beaten by Chelsea, or missing out on Champions League again. What sort of a club are we if we force MON out? You fools can't even see past one, or two bad results, one or two disappointing seasons. Building REAL clubs responsibly takes years and years. We can't expect to go up EVERY season. There's up and downs over the course of years. If you're in this for the long haul, then remove the noose from around MON's neck. If you supported any other club in England you'd realise how ridiculously lucky we are to have a manager of his quality in charge. But go on, continue your tantrums. And don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, because I do. And don't for a second give me that "oh but we're entitled to vent our frustration" rubbish. So am I, and you don't hear me complaining about one loss and losing my focus and support for a team. If you're willing to give in now, this club never stands a chance at greatness. I give you all a couple of days' grace but if this whinging continues I'm through with the forum. And that's not a shot at you Damo or Doc, etc, because I love reading this blog. But enough's enough. Show your REAL character as Villa supporters. For god sake's, we all have our health and we're not battling poverty and violence in our lives every day so get some god damn perspective. There's a lot bigger problems in the world than Fat Frank sneaking four past the mighty claret and blue. Champions are made when you can't get up, but you do anyway.

Comment 133, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.23 pm

Jeezy said:

... ^^^ Well said

Comment 134, made on March 28, 2010 at 10.43 pm

Aston.Villain said:

... hear hear!

Comment 135, made on March 29, 2010 at 1.34 am

Pauluus said:

... Well Said CP!

Comment 136, made on March 29, 2010 at 7.22 am

rocky5 said:

... CP,people aren`t losing their support for the team their losing their support for MON

Comment 137, made on March 29, 2010 at 9.08 am

Tarturuga said:

... Spurs fan here, apologies for intruding, but I just want to say you'd be mad to get rid of O'Neill. I'll make three quick points: Who're Villa better than? They're worse than three, they're equal to four others and better than the rest, by my reckoning that makes places 4 to 8 up for grabs and last I saw you were well in the race for any of them. On the Lerner millions thing. Spurs are owned mainly by a billionaire, but he's never splashed the cash (not a single pound other than through Rights Issue), we live or die via player dealing, TV money, gate receipts, sponsorship and merchandising (accounts published each year). So do Arsenal. So do Villa (I assume). How much better to do it that way than have it bought for you by a sugar daddy? How irrelevant are you when he does? Lastly, I had reservations about Redknapp when he came, he didn't care for fitness training, didn't strategise, had no attention to detail. Sound familiar?

Comment 138, made on March 29, 2010 at 9.18 pm