philthevillan

to be fair Barry Bannan thought O'Neill was off to Liverpool so there may have been some truth in that rumour!

He does ? What about the bit about being a winner ? If the criteria is mid table obscurity then yes he fits the bill. This appointment will either underline or weaken the fans' respect for the board. Curbs fir me would massively weaken it.

This x 100 Curbishley's record is of mediocrity. He has never managed a club that has ambitions of winning trophies or breaking into the top four. I don't understand why he keeps being touted as 'highly qualified' and a 'good benchmark'. He is not. If we appoint him we will go backwards. Mark my words.

Curbs has never reached a cup final. My mistake. There is no way he as good as O'Neill so this appointment would only take us backwards. Plus anyone in the media that mentions him being a former Villa player should bear in mind that he played far more games for the noses!

Here are my thoughts on the Villa candidates. Enjoy. Curbishley - will take us back to the dark days of long ball uninventive football. I for one don't want him in charge. Promotion and a cup final, not enough in my opinion. Sven - could be good but I'd like to see KMac working with him. Has won plenty of trophies at club level. Houllier - lost it at Liverpool and blew a lot of cash on rubbish players but wouldn't be the worst and he has a record of winning trophies. Koeman - should not be ruled out. Three Dutch league titles, one Dutch Cup, two Dutch Super Cups, one Portuguese Super Cup and a Copa Del Rey. McLeish - would cause ructions in the Midlands and would be a good appointment in my opinion. Would be great to get one over the noses and firmly put them in their place! Klinsmann - great job with the German national team and not given much time to impress at Bayern (less than a year). His personality would certainly give the club a lift in terms of the media and I think the fans would like him, to start with at least! Jol - would be happy with him but I can't see him leaving Ajax. Moyes - great record at Everton although lacking in silverware but could prove to be a great appointment if given a little money. Southgate - a thoroughly nice bloke but his next job should be in the lower leagues. Relegating Middlesbrough is not enough to be given the Villa job and I haven't totally forgiven him for leaving for 'Champions League football' to end up at the Riverside. Hoddle - no way. I have heard to many stories to make me 100% sure he would be a disaster. If he becomes manager I will not be setting foot into Villa Park until he leaves.

I think we have to accept that the board are going to take a patient approach whatever we think. MacDonald has confirmed he has to make his decision on whether he wants to be considered for the job on Sunday. That doesn't mean he is the board's number one choice though. Personally I can't help being disappointed because a new manager, whoever he is, is more than likely to miss out on bringing anyone in during this window. Randy has done wonders for this club but right now we need urgency for once because otherwise this season is going to end before it starts.

The Villa presser doesn't take place until 12.30. That rumour was utter BS. If only people could stick to backing the team and only telling us something when they honestly believe it to be true.

Well if they do he still wasn't on Skybet's list and then it wasn't anywhere on their site 15 mins later.

20 minutes ago I started checking the odds on Hitzfeld, I found the Villa manager special on Skybet and Hitxfeld's name was not on their list, then 15 minutes later I go back and the page has been taken off. Oddschecker only have two bookies listed as taking bets and having looked at William Hill as well I could not find any book on the next Villa boss. Something is definitely going on, lets just hope the bookies haven't shot wide of the mark!

Is this a joke? Just ask Wolves fans what they think of Hoddle.

General, I understand the club will have reasons for not giving the fans the details of O'Neill's departure. But as fans, all of the people who use this site need to have an idea of what might be the reason. I worry that if the board remain silent it will only alienate them from the fans, which is something I would hate to see happen. UTV Philthevillan

What is the point in spending £45 on a shirt that will be out of date within 10 months of buying it? Not that I am buying it as I think it's the worst kit we've had from Nike, a mish-mash of ideas resulting in a dog's dinner.

Briggaman - this thread is about the kit and we are all entitled to our opinions. You're right that's it not particularly important but nothing will change my mind in thinking that it is by far the worst kit we have had under Nike. The idea is good but I loathe the collar as it makes it look like a bloody vest. Also the away kit has no originality whatsoever and that's what really disappoints me. It's just the home kit in black and the sponsor is horrendous. Whoever designed it must have spent at lest 23 seconds coming up with that one. I was expecting something brilliant from Nike this summer like their fantastic World Cup kits and I am thoroughly underwhelmed. And I hate the fact we are no longer on the moral highground. FX Pro on the front of our shirts looks awful, not exactly a sponsor the fans can associate with is it? Now, for only the second time in a decade, I am not buying a Villa shirt this season.

No

Could have been better seems to be the general consensus here. I hope someone at Villa is reading this. Did any fans get consulted on the new designs? If not that is very disappointing.

I don't mind the checks but the lack of any type of collar makes it look awful. It looks like they forgot to put one on. I buy a shirt every year but not this season. Sorry Villa but the new kit is a massive let down.

The home really does look like that Hummell kit and the away must have taken about 3 seconds to design. A really, really poor show by Nike in my opinion. Also why have we got a V neck again? If anyone at Villa is reading this, you need to do a lot better next year.

It is only a kit but having just been to the launch I feel pretty uninspired. It dragged on for ages, I got deafened by some middle of the road Stereophonics tribute band and then I found out Brad Friedel is going to have to dress up as a tiger and Nike have handed us the home shirt from 2005/06 - the last dreadful days of O'Leary - and the away kit from 2000/01. Some of Nike's World Cup kits were fantastic but our new shirts, in my opinion, are dull and unoriginal. I really don't see why we bothered to bring out a new shirt.

Why is there an ongoing discussion about the possibility of a white away kit when our third kit will be last season's white change shirt? It will be a different colour.

Thanks General, you are a legend. I have arranged to speak to Lee on Monday.

Hi General, I would like to make the club aware of a fund raising challenge that I, a Villa season ticket holder, am taking part in. Next week our team of young farmers will be setting off on a mission to travel from John O'Groats to Land's End on quad bikes in the hope of raising more than £10,000 for Acorns and Diabetes UK. If the club could help in anyway to promote our cause I would be very grateful. For any Villatalk posters who are feeling gererous, you can donate to our cause at www.toptobottom.org.uk Phil

The most pointless thread I have ever seen. Why should a manager who has taken this club to Wembley at least twice this season, and for the first time in a decade, have to leave because we might finish a place or two behind where we ended up last season? This Villa team is progressing, whether the league table states so or not. As if we could find a decent replacement anyway. Martin Jol is no better, Klinsmann is just a big name who has been crap as a manager, Gullit - wtf?! He was awful at Newcastle. As for the others on this list - you honestly think any of them would do better than O'Neill? Give me strength. Stop these pointless discussions and get on with supporting the team.

Pathetic. We have now resulted to analysing whether we were lucky in games last season. Of course we **** were! Every team scrapes lucky wins from time to time and you know what? They're the most satisfying of all. The fact we can have an off day and still snatch three points is very satisfying. I don't remember that happening under O'Leary. As for bringing in a big time Charlie as manager. What a stupid idea. We can't buy success now as most Prem clubs have massive pots of cash available. We have to be successful by being clever and outwitting other teams. MON can and will do that. Remember 4-4 at Chelsea? 2-0 at Arsenal. The 'lucky' 3-2 win at Everton. All examples of what our boss is good at creating. Forget last season. A lot of that was to do with starting in July. Just be patient folks. MON can give us the success we crave.

i can't believe the amount of negativity being spouted after yesterday's game. Yes, we were terrible and deserved to lose. Yes, we look under-prepared for the new season. And yes, the end of last season was a big disappointment. But MON has done wonders for this club and to lose him due to a few wingeing idiots expecting success on a plate would be a disaster and knock us back massively. MON is stubborn, eccentric but a bloody genius as well. He may frustrate us in the transfer market and with team selection but we have to look at the bigger picture. We've played some fantastic football in the last three years. We're expected to compete for a top six place and we will compete for the top four. But not if we change our manager. Who would do a better job than MON that we could attract? No-one. To do well in the Premier League we need a maverick in charge not some big talking idiot like O'Leary or Hoddle. Everyone, back MON and please stop moaning. I watch football for enjoyment, not to act like some spoilt child when things aren't going my team's way. Supporters need to support not boo. Save that for if we ever get lumped with another O'Leary in charge. For now back the team and keep the faith. Up the Villa!

Trust me on this one as it comes from a very reputable source... Liverpool HAVE offered £15m but with no add-ons. It is NOT a take it or leave it bid. Now in my opinion I think O'Neill will hold out for his asking price (allegedly £18m) and if he doesn't get it there'll be no deal. If that happens imagine O'Neill making Barry publicly apologise! Stranger things have happened.