Troglodyte

We've not appointed him yet; people are jumping to conclusions (for a change). However, if it were Martínez, I'd welcome him to the club and so should everyone else. He's an exciting, young, ambitious manager and should be given a chance and our full support. I'd be worried about the defence quite a lot, and would see him as a gamble, but there's no way I'd jump on his back as some already seem to be doing, just at potential interview stage.

I'm sorry but when you support a team you support a team regardless of the manager. I'd still go and watch Villa even if we were in the conference and Dowie was our manager and I'm sure the very large majority of people on here would too. I'm sorry that your sorry, I'd have an easier time watching us in lower leagues than watching us under either of them. If the misses didn't want a baby and all then I would probably put up with them, circumstances dictate that it aint worth it as I despise the pair of them. Way to support Aston Villa.

Definitely not Rafa then according to anyone ITK?

I would welcome Rafa.

I think it's going to have to be Napoli. Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik is such a great attack.

Good signing for Gladbach. Agree re: "**** Schalke". Not that that will come as a surprise!

Replace 'van Gaal' with 'McClaren' and 'AZ Alkmaar' with 'FC Twente'.

Hasn't he just got a big job as the head of English youth development? Plus, I remember reading that he unsuccessfully applied last time. So, for both those reasons... I'm out.

I agree with Stevo on Laursen. I'd love to see him back at some point, but certainly not now. We don't know what his tactical knowledge is like, what his connections and ideas are, etc. He hasn't got a coaching badge yet, either. He was playing alongside some of our current players not so long ago; it would probably be an uncomfortable situation for both parties if Laursen were to be suddenly managing his former team-mates. I can't imagine him earning the same respect and implementing the same levels of discipline as a more experienced manager.

So a bin dipper can just come on here and call Villa fans "**** mugs" and expect a welcome party ? Give over . Well, I hadn't seen that. If it was in response to some of the rubbish he's had to put up with on here though then I'm not surprised. If otherwise, fair enough - not a very good introduction to make.

Jesus guys, lay off Redman! He's allowed an opinion, and is also trying to offer information (which you can choose to believe or not at your own leisure).

Who's Simon Morley? (Not saying it's not a credible source, just don't know who he is).

Maybe Villa have 'leaked' that they are considering McClaren to make the fans a little less annoyed about us getting Rafa? Some of the hatred for Benítez earlier in this thread was incredible, but since McClaren's been mentioned it's died down a lot!

So remind me when did Chelsea name their new manager? You know, that tiny club from London who've been without a manager since the end of the season? Exactly. And they clearly knew that they were going to sack Ancelotti for quite a while before they did.

I'm quite aware that Klopp won't be a contender. He's doing a great job at Dortmund and will be managing a Champions League side next year (woo!). However, I would say that of the two, Villas-Boas is definitely more out of reach!

Right, that's two of us, we can push on from here!

Some people on here are making absolutely ridiculous comments. Then again, I suppose I shouldn't expect any less on here.

Right, I think we should bring in Jürgen Klopp. He's the man!

Hmm, I think I'm still leaning towards Napoli. Are their fans known for hooliganism (at least any more so than most Italian clubs) though? As for Lazio, I don't really want to follow a team with fans like this:

I've put £5 on it not being McClaren. Should cover for the £5 I managed to get on Hughes just as it was coming out that he'd resigned from Fulham.

Might have to have a closer look at Udinese; I hadn't really considered them until now. Are they likely to continue bringing through good players? I'm not necessarily bothered about winning things in the near future, I'd just like a team that is exciting (or at least interesting), has good fans, brings through good players and is run properly. If the kit and home city/town are appealing too, then all the better.

So, last year I decided to start following German football. I asked on here which team I should support and, after considering all arguments and doing my own research, I decided to follow Borussia Dortmund. Almost a year on, and they're German champions. Fantastic season, great team, amazing fans, awesome manager, brilliant spirit - I definitely made the right choice, and managed to watch many games (and highlights of those I didn't catch) on ESPN or online. Now, whilst I'll still follow Dortmund (as well as Barcelona, as I have done for a while, and of course Villa) I'd like to start following Italian football. It looks pretty bland and boring at times, but I enjoy watching any kind of football really, looking at different approaches and broadening my own knowledge of the game. I want to follow a team to help me with this, but I know very little about most Italian sides, particularly in terms of their history, what they stand for, what the fans are like, etc. So, if anyone who follows Italian football wants to offer advice, or simply argue why the team you follow is the best, then go ahead! At the moment I'm leaning towards Napoli. I really like Edinson Cavani from what I've seen (also he was a monster for me at Villa on a previous FM game!) and they do look like an exciting team to watch. Naples looks beautiful too, in terms of somewhere to potentially visit and watch a game. Other options include Fiorentina, mainly because I've been to Florence and really like it, and used to really like Batistuta when I was younger. That goal against Man Utd in the Champions League past Bosnich was incredible! I like Milan too (a lot of their players are legends, but I don't like Berlusconi); Juventus are another option (I have an old Juve shirt, Mellberg and Nedved played for them); but I want to get an understanding of all the teams!

I don't like him, but I think Benítez would be a good appointment and I'd be fully behind him. He had a lot to deal with at Liverpool, and was operating under pressure and a lot of broken promises at Inter. Other than Ancelotti, I think he's actually the best appointment we could realistically make (and that said, maybe Ancelotti is unrealistic).

I'm glad I'm not listening to that pair of idiots on Talksport.