DOL was dead jammy at Leeds because he simply inherited a great foundation that was put there by George Graham.
He was an appalling Villa manager who was totally & completely out of touch with the feel & heart beat of the Club & it is no coincidence that his managerial career crashed & burned when his inadequacies were laid bear for all to see during his ignominious Villa park tenure.
No I wouldn't say Dolly was a appalling Villa manager. The first season went way ahead of expectations and he had to manage that from there on afterwards. On a small budget he got a 6th place finish and if I remember, we were in the hunt for a top 4 right til the last game. The second season was a mid table 10th, but we never looked liked being in a relegation battle and occasionally dabbled in a UEFA cup hunt. I think most Villa fans would take a 10th this year. The last season was poor but I think the general malaise in the background with Ellis got to O'Leary. He was given some money to spend and did not deliver at all, coming 16th. I still dont know what happened with all those villa player press releases after the season, very strange. I would say at the best times under O'Leary the Villa played better passing football than under the direct 442 of O'Neill, who had miles more money to spend.
The main problem in this era of 24 media, was his personality. He never seem to take to the club. He always went on about his Leeds or Arsenal days. He always talked down the club, and when we had the bad year in 2005-2006, he had no fan support.He was ruined after Villa after being seen as a bright young manager just 3 years before. Take note Paul.