philthevillan

Martinez could well do a good job at Villa. But I'm not sure my trust in the board will quite be the same. Talk of aiming for the top four is starting to sound a bit cheap. Yes we spent a tonne of cash on Bent but was the timing of his arrival coincidental or because we stood to lose a lot more money if we got relegated? This appointment would say to me that we want to follow in Everton's footsteps. Aim for the Europa League and get some decent results in the league every season, maybe go on an occasional cup run too. The thing is why would Martinez be any better than O'Neill? I could see him getting us into Europe but again, like O'Neill, I can't see him attracting the one or two players that could give us that little extra. For me it would only be a matter of time before us fans become frustrated again. I wish we could just get a big name in and have one big go at cracking the top four but it looks like I'll just have to watch some pretty passing football instead.

Because the BBC deal in FACT and leave the gossip mongering to the papers and subscription tv channels. They have a public duty not to mislead, unlike other organisations which have no such responsibility. Sometimes they do get exclusives but very rarely get something wrong.

Wheres the proof? and by the way SSN is not proof. Strongly agree! If the newspapers quoted "a source" we wouldn't believe it so why should we believe it when it's on the telly. Especially when it's a channel owned by a newspaper magnate with a subscription based audience.

Is this sarcasm? Sky are not as accurate as the BBC at all. They have also said that Villa made a preliminary enquiry about Benitez and are making everyone believe it means he is definitely going to take charge. That's not their fault! What they are reporting re: preliminary enquiry is true! The latest development is classic Sky reporting. They may not tell you we are getting Benitez but they hint strongly that it will happen, then they have to backtrack when they get it wrong. I maintain they are no way near as accurate as the BBC. I am a sports journalist and spend far too much of my time noticing these things!

Is this sarcasm? Sky are not as accurate as the BBC at all. They have also said that Villa made a preliminary enquiry about Benitez and are making everyone believe it means he is definitely going to take charge. Well they don't know that do they? All they know is that he must be on our list of managers to sound out, doesn't even mean he is in the top two.

Which part of that ridiculus statement was 'like last season'? when did MON leave? when did houllier take over? during which time did the transfer window not expire? coincidence? Is this serious? Please tell me you are on the wind up, or 8 years old? not a wind up. they wound down the clock purposely. like it or not, tell me one FOOTBALL decision the board has got right. Ireland? MON didnt want him, he wanted the cash but the board wanted ireland to replace milner. houllier? after his initial presser he flew back to finish work with the fff leaving us still managerless. they released some money in january, and luckily houllier was allowed to chose his targets, only to protect their invesment. dont get me wrong off the field there has been far more good things done by the board, and i am still 100% behind randy but any football decisions they have had to make have been a disaster. lets just hope they redeem themselves this time. or maybe they'll appoint mcclaren. it really wouldnt suprise me. leave FOOTBALL decisions to FOOTBALL people. So who are these FOOTBALL people that should be making the decisions?

He's told the Beeb he's having a year off Looks as if they have gone back on that now as well. Um, no. They reported that Ancelotti was quoted in an Italian newspaper from the start. The BBC never said they knew 100% that is was fact.

These are rumours but I am passing on for you all to digest however you wish. 1. A journalist friend of mine says his mate spotted McClaren and Glenn Roeder in talks with some men in suits in Manchester today. It may not be Villa but if it is God help us. 2. Another journalist friend of mine is good mates with a football agent, who has claimed McClaren is our number one target. As I say this could well be just idle gossip. I hope the real contender has been kept under wraps and that none of the media are correct but I am not feeling confident about that at the mo. No to McClaren!

Well it boils down to who you believe. Mat Kendrick of the Birmingham Mail, who broke the Houllier story, said this morning that Villa are waiting to hear back from Ancelotti. The Guardian, who are based in London and didn't break the Houllier story, will have written this last night so it could well have been out of date by the time it was published. It was being mentioned by their editor on Twitter at about 5pm yesterday. Or Kendrick's contacts may purposely be trying to put both him and us off the scent. Who knows!

Yes

Someone comes up with a story that Ancelotti will be named manager and the negative comments start As for your 54% stat, I am pretty sure some of those people would be happy with Ancelotti instead. Just out of interest who would you go for? not being negative, i'd support Ancelotti 100% if he became our manager. in order, my preference would be: Jol Hughes Moyes Ancelotti Jol, Hughes and Moyes above Ancelotti?? Give me strength. With you brother!

Someone comes up with a story that Ancelotti will be named manager and the negative comments start As for your 54% stat, I am pretty sure some of those people would be happy with Ancelotti instead. Just out of interest who would you go for?

Massively disagree with this. He reports the facts as and when he has them and I think Mat Kendrick at the Brum Mail does the same. Don't tar all journalists with the same brush! If you listen to everything Pat Murphy says he very rarely speculates. He is not just some tabloid hack who is trying to sell papers. I think the info he has given us so far has been very intriguing and I firmly believe him when he says we weren't after Hughes last summer, he had already joined Fulham.

I'm not liking these links to Steve Mclaren. Pat Murphy has mentioned him as a possible appointment. I think I speak on behalf of most Villa fans by saying he would be a terrible choice. We need someone to inspire the fans, those players considering their futures and players at other clubs looking for an exciting move. Mclaren is just a wally with a brolly.

No!

As a sport journalist for a well known organisation I can confirm I have no idea who our manager will be. But I do know that the best person to listen to is Pat Murphy, he is always right and as that is the case for now we can rule out Hughes. He is suggesting Moyes could be under consideration despite being under contract but also admits he has no clue who the number one target is as the club won't tell him. No second guessing from Murphy, just hard facts. http://bbc.in/m0tb0S Also big credit must go to Mat Kendrick, he is definitely another one to keep an eye on. The rest are all just speculating. Anyway for the record, Moyes or Ancelotti and I'm happy! Will update you with my professional opinion on media speculation as it happens.

If anyone has one ticket going I would be very grateful. It is my mate's birthday but he has only managed to get one himself. I'm willing to make a decent offer so please PM me.

Have we paid over the odds? Not if he scores regularly. That is what we have been pretty much missing since Yorkie left. No-one will be able to bring me down today, I am a very, very happy Villa fan. Well done Mr Lerner and well done Mr Houllier. Maybe I will sleep better tonight now the waiting game is over. Up the Villa!

The only places reporting that are the Mirror and Caught Offside, which is about as reliable as the electrics on an Italian car. I really wouldn't worry.

Interesting to see that the Newcastle Chronicle reckon an offer has been accepted and that Bent is now in talks.

A goal every other game, the third highest scorer in the Premier League since 2005 behind Rooney and Drogba. You obviously don't know a good striker when you see one, who would sign in instead?

According to my Sunderland source, who works at the club, I have been told: "I would guess something's in the pipeline but from here on there's still lots to do in the deal." Let's hope it's done quickly, then we can move on to Charlie Adam. It would be great if we had three new players in to face Man City! Up the Villa.

Hi General, I know you and the board are taking a bashing at the moment and I want you to know that I have been very impressed with the way the club has been run... until this season. I can accept ticket prices having to go up, I can accept the major balls up with the delay over the new shirts (which I wouldn't buy anyway because they look awful) and I can accept us having to give up promoting Acorns on the front of our shirts for the sake of generating extra funds. But I can no longer accept the current situation. I don't blame the board for the mess at the start of this season and I can see the logic in appointing Gerard Houllier, but the man obviously doesn't realise how big this club is or the fact that there is more than one big club in this country. We have been the biggest before and I will always believe that we can be again. Whether it is true or not, it appears to us fans that Houllier's heart is not in the job and that he would walk to Anfield right now if Liverpool offered him his old position back. That is not good enough for Aston Villa. This is a club that has won 21 major trophies, the fourth most successful club in English football of all time, and our manager seems more bothered about being nostalgic about his favourite English club than doing what he's paid to do and fixing problems that blatantly need sorting such as bringing in Carlos Cuellar at centre-half and permanently dropping Stephen Ireland. As I have just mentioned Stephen Ireland, could I just ask who it was who decided to sign him? He has been awful and to bring him in as our only replacement for Milner is disgraceful. Spurs get Van der Vaart and we get a guy who has proven he has a bad attitude in the past by lying to his national team boss and has only had one decent season in a team that finished mid-table. This mess needs sorting out now and I still have a lot of faith in you and Randy to get it right. I'm not necessarily asking you to sack our manager but you need to accept that poor results coupled with his comments about Liverpool are seriously alienating him from the fans at a time when he and the team need our support. Plus his first signing, Pires, hasn't helped either! I hope you and the board will take the current situation very, very seriously because I am in no doubt that we have gone miles in the wrong direction so far this season and it will take a lot more than one win to paper over the cracks. Up the Villa and season's greetings to both you and the family. Philthevillan

I am concerned that he doesn't realise the expectation we fans have. I am also concerned he hasn't done his homework. While he was at Liverpool we finished sixth twice and our overall Premier League record has seen us finish top six 50% of the time. But to say we are not at the same level as Liverpool is true. When was the last time we signed a player of the calibre of Torres? Do we have the same global appeal? No. When have we been in the Champions League in it's current format? Never. We need to accept that we have some catching up to do and I believe finishing above Liverpool should be one of our targets this year. Houllier may be wrong about our natural position but he is right to point out that it will take a big effort to put ourselves ahead of the Scousers.

I wasn't a big fan of Houllier but then he did used to manage Liverplop. I thought it was a bit harsh to blame Ginola for that goal, if you look at the video on YouTube just look at how crap the rest of the France team are in reacting to the Bulgarian team's breakaway. However, having read a blog by the BBC's Phil McNulty I am definitely warming to the idea of him being our new boss. Houllier obviously believes he can achieve success with us and that is a good thing. He may be 63 but I don't doubt he is still ambitious and wants to prove a point in the Premier League. I believe this could be a very shrewd appointment. And out of the candidates we know were in the running, he is by far the best one available. Bring on the French revolution!