stan_boy

Had high hopes for Ireland, what exactly is going on with him.??

If he actually applied himself over the last few months and made more of an effort he could have played behind Bent with Young and Downing on the wings, which in my opinion is a more balanced team to tthe one we put out against Man City.

Houllier he has a lot to deal with since arriving at the Villa.

- By the time he was appointed it was too late to buy some much needed new players.

- Our best player Milner was long gone to Man City.

- Houllier is trying to change our style of play to something a bit easier on the eye. Lets face it Martin's football wasn't too pretty to watch. I wouldnt say its too easy converting some of our player to a more attractive style of football.

- He has been very unlucky with regard to injuries, we have been riding our luck with regard to squad size for years. We were found out this year!

- Hasn't had a chance to bring in any of his own players.

However

- Houllier has had a string of absolutely shocking results. His record at the Villa is absolutely woeful.

- Possible relegation

- Has fallen out with several players at the club.

- Insulted the fans when playing against Liverpool etc. Not very media savy!

So does Randy, sack him? If he is sacked we are back to square one, weeks trying to get a new manager. New baclground staff. Months to adopt new managers ways. The new manager may miss the transfer window again, wont have enough time to assess the squad in order to work out what players he needs to bring in if the the window is open.

Does Randy give Houllier more time? If so we may risk relegation going on current form? Its a tricky decision!

To be honest I don't know what to do! Roll on next season!!

General,

Two quick question and I would appreciate if you could take time at some point to reply:

1. I live in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I have ordered the new home shirt. However the offer of free printing of a name and number wasn't offered on the website. I understand that it is offered in both club shops in Birmingham. Why is this offer not on the website for loyal fans like myself who live across the water?

2. How long does the Nike deal run for?

Thank you in advance.

I had the same problem being from Dublin, Ireland. But I ordered my Villa away shirt today and although the free name and numbering isn't available to online orders. There is the offer of 5 pounds off your order and free worldwide delivery if your are on the Villa mailing list. This offer more thatn makes up for the lack of free name and numbering for online orders. Great offer!

Hi General,

Im an Irish Villa fan and have an order for the Villa Away jersey lodged since July. Recently I saw there was an offer for free name and number printing on the back of jerseys. However when I rang customer service to amend my order to include the free name and numbering of my shirt they informed me that the offer is only available in store. Is there any chance this offer could be made available for online/overseas orders? Was looking forward to wearing it down to my 7-a-side game and getting stuck into some United fans!!

Keep up the good work!!

we cant even get a touch of the ball now!

A shot on target would be nice!!

Ireland is one of the fittest footballers at the club he is a fitness freak!

Ireland's best position is playing in the hole, where Ashley is playing now. Our only option is to drop Albrighton and put Ashley out right!

I think that the formation we are playing isnt exactly suited to the midfielders we have, both Reo and Petrov are not by nature holding midfielders and there lies the problem.

If we had a proper holding midfielder we might be able to squeeze Ireland into the midfield and drop Reo or Petrov. But until we get that type of player either Albrighton or Ireland will unfortunately have to keep the bench warm!

The best manager that was available, and I reckon he cannot be underestimated. Has a very good cv. Im happy!

Here is a list of players Houllier signed while at Liverpool, doesn't make nice reading apart from a few. However it doesn't mean he will buy a load of crap if he arrives at the Villa. But u never know!

Sami Hyypiä,

Dietmar Hamann,

Stéphane Henchoz

Vladimír Šmicer

Sander Westerveld

Titi Camara

Eric Meijer

Djimi Traoré

Markus Babbel

Nicky Barmby

Pegguy Arphexad

Grégory Vignal

Emile Heskey

Gary McAllister

El Hadji Diouf (Lens, £10 million),

Salif Diao (Sedan, £5 million)

Bruno Cheyrou (Lille, £4 million)

Igor Bišćan

Christian Ziege

Djibril Cissé (14 million)

Most of the managers in contention all have good and bad points.

The worry with Houllier would be the style of play he adopts.

When he managed Liverpool they were so boring to watch and not very adventurous in their style of play.

My other worry would be the signings he made at Liverpool, yes all managers sign some bad players but Houllier seems to have signed more than his fair share.

Of the managers who might be available I would love to see Claudio Raniere arrive in for the Villa job. Signed a 2 year contract in 2009 at Roma (probably wouldnt be interested in the Villa)

I also finding myself warming to the idea of Sven, I think he could be a good appointment and seems to be the best option of the names Ive heard floating around. Presuming and Jol and Moyes are no goers!

I reckon Randy is waiting to see if Ajax qualify for the Champions League and if they dont we might stand a good chance of signing Martin Jol up. Ajax drew with Dynamo Kiev 1-1 away from home. 2nd leg is played on the 25th of August.

Im off to bed hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. It can't be much worse than today!

PLEASE LET IT BE MARTIN JOL

Jurgen Klinsman is useless, he didnt't even manage Germany, the team ran itself!!!

Are only decent option is Martin Jol end of!! Plays nice football and has lots of Premiership experience!!

Hi General,

Martin O'Neill has resigned and we have to move on as the season and transfer window closure is fast appraoching.

All I ask as a Villa fan is that the club communicate with the fans and reassure the fans of Aston Villa FC ambition and intentions for the future. If Champions League is no long a realistic ambition for the club in this econmic climate maybe this should be communicated to the fans. If not we will all fight on!

Chris

Chris

Hi General,

I would just like to say how great it was to see Randy Lerner at the villa bohemians game over the weekend. Great to see that a busy man like Randy has not only time to come to preseason game in Dublin but also took the time to meet and greet the fans. The atmosphere both at the ground and the Villa bar (Murray's on O'connell street) was fantastic and it was great to see the mighty Villa back in the emerald isle. I would hope that the short trip over would become a regular occurance in preseason but I understand this may not be possible. Thanks for all the great work done by the Villa staff over the three days and of course the Irish Lions supporters club who did a great job too .

villa89

Genaral I want to second this. It really made my day to get a photo with Randy.

I totally agree it was great to see Randy at the game and to see him spending a considerable amount of time signing autographs, posing for pictures and talking to the fans. I think it made the day for a lot of us Irish Villa fans!

I hope this isn't going to be happening every summer. It will drag on and on as MON is tryiing to get the best possible price for Milner. I don't have a problem with that but it's a very frustrating summer so far!

Guys we all have to accept that money talks in football and no matter how loyal u think a player is there is every chance they can have their head turned. It's all part of the modern game. All our expectations are too high. It's not nice but it's the reality!

Ill take him back for 5m and he can have half his wages. He is going to be on the City bench all season, along with Milner I'd say!

I think the best part of 20m and Ireland would be a great deal for the Villa. Ireland offers way more going forward and is exactly what Villa needs and have needed for a long time, a bit of flair in the centre midfield. However this is taking for granted you can get Ireland motivated! In MON we have one of the best motivators in the game!

So Ireland would more than replace Milner and we could have the best part of 20m to spend on other players like a good right back and or a striker!

The future is bright!!

I think he was very solid today and I think he is settled at the club and is going to get better and better.

Carew and Heskey should never play up front together, we need another striker!

Here here, well said