Daholteend

I am feeling like a poor deluded fan. There I was talking about the great opportunity the club had to make an appointment like Ancellotti or Rijkaard and then I woke up from the dream and realised this is Aston Villa we are talking about. I have often stated that I think that somewhere in the dim and distant past that Aston Villa was cursed by a Gypsy. I blame Doug Ellis for that. He should have bought those wooden clothes pegs from the gypsy woman when Tommy Docherty wanted to hang out the washing on Tuesday afternoons!

If it is there should be some realism about it.. What? Realism? Oh please don't spoil the fun of outrageous illogical speculation. I loved having Rijkaard on the list just so I can at least have a couple of weeks of good Villa day dreams before settling down to the ordinariness of what we are likely to get.

Consolidation may not be what the fans are looking for, but there is a lingering question as to whether it may be what Randy Lerner is opting for in the immediate future. As previously posted, Randy keeps his cards close to his chest and this exposes Aston Villa to media speculation which is probably so far off the radar of actuality it becomes laughable. We need only to look at the fiasco over Martinez to understand that. I am not expecting a decision from Lerner until after July 1st, in the meantime, the press, the bookies and the fans can enjoy playing the wild speculation game and feel free to vent any untouched vitriol left over from last season at whichever candidate comes to mind that doesn't suit their view of whom the next Villa Manager will be. I have a feeling that the reason for the strange Moyes for Manager movement is fuelled more by the fact that a serious number of people have placed a lot of money with the bookies on Moyes and their vainglorious desire is to NOT lose that money even at the expense of continuing to argue for Moyes when several sources have indicated that he isn't in the picture.

I understand your reservations VillaLion. I actually think that Ancellotti would be a greater risk of leaving if a club like Roma came along with an attractive offer than say Rijkaard would. Rijkaard was at Barca for 5 years and I don't blame any European wanting to leave a Turkish Club. Surviving at Barca for 5 seasons is quite a feat. Clubs like Barca and Real Madrid have a rabid fan base and if you don't win every game they want you gone. It doesn't matter who Villa appoint. If they are relatively successful they will always be at risk of another club wanting to lure them away. If I was Randy I wouldn't let that fear stop me from hiring the best available manager to do the job. The risks go with the territory.

I am well aware that Barca's system of football has been around for many years before Rijkaard was appointed coach. Total football was developed in Holland with people like Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff and arrived at Barcelona some time after 1973 when Cruyff transferred from Ajax. Rijkaard learned the system from Cruyff when Rijkaard played for Cruyff at Ajax. Rijkaard started coaching at Barcelona in 2003 and had 5 mostly successful years with them. He did well at Barca because the system they used was the same one taught him by Cruyff. I am not discrediting Sid and the other youth coaches at Villa. I think that they have done a great job and have been on record saying that the Academy was one of the best things that HDE created at B6. However, no system is the finished article. I believe that a coach like Rijkaard can help the Academy become even better because of his previous playing and managing experiences at Ajax and Barca in a way that perhaps MON and DOL before him could not. The object for any team should be to get better with every passing season. I believe that Cowans and Macdonald would be valuable assets for Rijkaard if he were to come to B6. In his playing days Rijkaard was a stylish central defender and world class holding midfielder. I can think of several young players at B6 who would benefit enormously from being coached by a coach of Rijkaard's pedigree.

The Martinez situation only became a two ring circus because Whelan chose to shine his own ego and unprofessionally revealed the contents of a private and confidential letter. It's old unimportant news and I doubt that anyone really gives a rat's ass about it. The media of course love sensationalising dross, but on a scale of importance from one to ten, the events of last week rated a zero. Eventually Villa will have a new manager. It might take until the middle of July, but why would a business make a snap decision over something as important as the Manager? Do Major Corporations replace their Chief Executives within minutes of losing the outgoing one? Only in the football business do we see hasty appointments and we have all seen what happens to a club that does that. The middle of July will still give an incoming manager time to be involved with a pre season of training and assessment. I am sure that Paul Faulkner has G-Mac, K-Mac and Sid organised and continuing the managerial responsibilities and I wouldn't be surprised to find them looking at a few new players despite the uncertainty of who will be the next manager. As fans the best service we can offer the club is to let them get on with their selection without us pressuring them into making a horrible choice.

I can't imagine for one second that Moyes would leave Everton. Why would he ? At Everton he almost has security of tenure, he likes the club and the club likes him. If Lerner and Faulkner have plans for Hughes why would they have gone through the Martinez exercise ? Wouldn't make any sense. I would like to think that they would at least consider interviewing Rijkaard. If we are to improve the quality of our football, who better to build our organisation from top to bottom than a qualified player and manager whose roots are deeply based in Total Football. We are not going to be able to compete with Chelsea, Spuds, Arse, Plop and the Mancs teams unless we upgrade from the over achieving MON tactics and continue on from where Mr H left us. It would make sense to me to bring in Rijkaard and have him install a Barca system in the Academy and the Club as a whole. Randy must not make the mistake of settling for the mediocrity that lurks in the list of potential managers. Managers like Hughes, Moyes and Benitez will keep you in the Premiership but between them apart from a couple of pieces of silverware that Benitez accumulated none of them have had the success that Rijkaard had at Barcelona.

It might not be up to Martinez. It is possible that Villa left the meetings saying that they will make an announcement at 1.30 pm. We will just have to wait and see.

hahaha you obviously weren't here after we lost to Doncaster and DOL had failed to get HDE to cough up money for crocks like Bakke. Oh and then we had the summer where the Comers were supposed to be buying Doug out.... and then there was the DOL/Sorenson and the lost dressing room era... NO ! there have been plenty of worse days than this. This is more like a walk in the park on a spring day compared to the Days of Deadly Doug. Come to think of it Doug never had these problems with Managers, he sacked most of them before they could blink an eye and usually had a replacement lined up ready to go within a few days... One or two weren't much good mind you. Old Doug didn't dither over managers. Where is Steve Stride these days by the way ?

More will be revealed concerning Martinez some time after 1.30 pm today if you can believe the things that Whelan has been saying to the media. If Whelan succeeds in keeping Martinez by improving his contract then that will narrow the field. In reality how many candidates do we think or even know that Randy and Faulkner have contacted about the job ? One thing is certain that the Board just as in the Bent signing have done a good job at keeping their cards close to the chest. We probably would not have known about the Martinez meeting had it not been for Whelan. I have a feeling that we won't have a result until July 1st or even later. By that time I am willing to bet that the Board will have heard from a lot of supporters venting their feelings.

So this is how exciting it must be being in the Papal Conclave awaiting the results of the vote for a new Pope? So far all we have seen is dark smoke and a few smokescreens. We do realise don't we that if it is Hughes we are going to be waiting until July 1st!

.H ???? Arnold Rimmer ? Could be worse I suppose, better than being snubbed by Wigan !

So it's Manuel from Fawlty Towers? " Si, I know nothing!"

Is it me or is this thread showing serious symptoms of A D .H D ? and before you ask it stands for A Deliberate .H Distraction

Three out of four isn't bad! What a wonderful source of adult further education VT is. LMAO. With information like this the bookies will just get richer. They ought to pay Randy Lerner to keep the soap running a few more weeks.

I don't want to burst anyone's balloon but Corsica is a French Region and 87% of the population is French born. There are more French holidaymakers there than any other nationality and IIRC Gerard Houllier and Randy have had meetings there in the past. I wouldn't read too much of an Italian connection if Randy indeed is headed to Corsica.Raymond Domenech however may be another kettle of fish. To be perfectly honest I wouldn't read too much into anything that Randy does. He is so cloaked in silence and keeps his cards so close to his chest it will do your head in trying to second guess him. As far as the Martinez interview is concerned I would be surprised if Martinez leaves Wigan at this stage. All I think we have done in that respect is increase the pay raise that Whelan will be paying Martinez for next season's work. RIjkaard anyone ?

I agree villaajax. Lerner made a move in the right direction when he appointed Houllier to replace MON. Sadly for Houllier his health and age amongst other things worked against him. MON's pathway was a dead end. The logical thing for Lerner and Faulkner is to continue what Houllier started and who really would be better than some one like Rijkaard? Rijkaard can be counted as one of the "originals" a generation removed, when it comes to Total Football. He continued the revitalisation of Barcelona with Cruyff and the grooming of their Academy and won a couple of pieces of useful silverware in the process. This concept of 'premier league experience" only when it comes to appointing a new manager will only serve to keep Villa where they have been for too many years, occasionally bubbling on the edge of modest success. If Villa is to rise above it's perennial shortcomings, only an appointment like Rijkaard or Ancellotti will show a desire to be better than we have been recently. That said, an appointment like Martinez would not be a disaster as some seem to think. Martinez has a football philosophy which might be described as a hybrid of Total Football and has IMHO done well at Wigan with very limited resources. How many of us VTers kept an eye on what Maclaren was doing at FC Twente before he left to the Bundesliga ? My Ajax and FC Twente friends actually rate him very highly. Not to worry though, I am sure the relentless onslaught from a select minority to the General and Randy have discouraged their pursuit in that direction. The real problem for Aston Villa is that the extreme ignorance of "some" of the fans and their pernicious invective against certain candidates only serves to deter the better candidates from being considered. The best course for Aston Villa is to let the Board find the right man for the job and for us fans to wait patiently while that decision gets made. Luckily for my preferred choice, Rijkaard is well used to dealing with rabid fans for possibly none are as fierce as the Catalans, except perhaps for Villains!

That's the pillow you silly bugger An easy mistake to make. I assume it's a "continental" pillow. I've got one and I wake up feeling jolly every morning. Are you sue that your not mistaking Martin for either of his two brothers Cock and Dick?

X2 Really!? He is a big name, but has done absolutely nothing in management other than fail everywhere he has gone. I think that is a gross exagerration V-L. You can search through the wiki to check your facts but in simple terms his overall winning percentage for all teams that he has managed is 52.78 % and at Barca it was 58.61%. Rijkaard has been credited with the continuation of Cruyff's Total Football with his own modifications. A typical Rijkaard format for example would be a 4-1-2-2-1 which puts a lot of emphasis on an attacking style of football with a defence in a high position. I would hope that Randy Lerner and his team of headhunters would at least think to enquire and perhaps interview Rijkaard. Earlier in the year several media outlets rumoured that Rijkaard might be interested in a Premiership job...well here it is Frank... send your agent in to see Paul Faulkner asap

The odds makers seem to have Hughes at evens favourite, Benitez at 11/8, Moyes at 3/1 and Maclaren at 7/1. Ancelloti is at 10/1 and Rijkaard 16/1 . Looks like the could we play like Barca dream is fading fast

I would like to think that Ancellotti would be interested in the job at AVFC if Houllier and Villa part company, especially if Wilkins was part of the deal. At the beginning of May various newspapers rumoured that Frank Rijkaard might be in the picture. This too would be good news. Failing that we would be left with "the rest" and of that group Moyes seems to have the majority of fans vote. I would be hesitant simply because after nine years at Everton his experience has been dealing with mediocrity and when fans are asked to name the most exciting teams they have watched in the Prem year in year out, Everton is an afterthought. It might be that managers like Moyes and Hughes etc are already at their pinnacle and may not have the vision to advance much beyond that. On the other hand Ancellotti and Rijkaard's experience has been at the very top with World Class experiences. I would hope that Randy and the Villa Board explore the possibility of interviewing my first two choices before making a final decision. The circumstances surrounding M. Houllier are very sad. I would have loved to have seen him get one more season and a full summer of transfer dealings and training. However, despite his possible courage to be willing to fight on for Aston Villa, it really isn't worth losing your life over a job, but it is commendable even if a little foolish. I wouldn't do it. Life is too short to lose over a game of football. Whatever Mr H chooses, I wish him well. Even though watching Villa struggle this season was a head banging experience, it was truly a pleasure to see them try to play football, and when Bent and Makoun arrived it actually looked very promising. Thanks for that Mr H.

I like the fact that 62% of those that voted in the Poll were right but probably for all the wrong reasons. It would be interesting to take a poll today before the dust has even settled on this season just to see what we can predict for next season. It hasn't escaped my attention that Mr H. predicted that we were a 7th to 12th Club. However now we know that not even he could have predicted how arduous a task the achievement of 9th place would prove to be.

So the day after the rapture, the bluenoses get relegated....the chosen ones Houliier predicted that we were a 7 - 12th team ..... seems more like a self fulfilling prophesy. In the end it is a perfect day. We end up beating the arse and the scousers and restore a little dignity. A great team effort. Downing my MOTM . Well Done Lads. UTV

that must have been Ivanhoe

Mr H's comment about the first half being even if you ignore the 2 goals is about as daft as the dart player who told me that if his opponent hadn't taken the game out with a double he would have won it!