danceoftheshamen

So Gazton do you know anything?

Hmmn well obviously this is gonna get some intense reactions etc but trying to just look at the real picture for a moment the guy has won plenty of silverware including performing the impossible in getting SHA a cup. Ok they of course got relegated bla bla bla & played very defensive football. The thing is he said himself he had to play that style due to the strengths of his team being defensive though ideally he would like to play a more attacking style if he had the players to do so. Also you have got to admit he has a pair of balls the size of pillows to quit & in the same breath say he would like the Villa job... That for me is what we have needed for years.. a pair of balls at the club to lead us & many on here have said we needed a strong manager... Well he is certainly that although it would be easy to allow the whiff of sha to cloud ones judgement i appreciate If he came i would applaud his courage & the boards for that matter & support their decision.

SSN stating McCleish would welcome chance to manage arch rivals Villa!!

SSN stating McCleish would welcome chance to manage arch rivals Villa!!

Maybe McLeish has had a plan for a good while starting with his connection to MON up in Glasgow. He could've had a grudge against Martin from their Rangers Celtic days. Maybe after realising he was yet again on the rough end of the deal down here he said "Martin i want your job coz it's pants over here at St Andrews" "so do one boy else i will give ye a Glasgow kiss!" then MON decides he'd better quit so leaves.. Then McLeish thinks "Right well thats him gone, but i'd better leave it to cool off a bit so if i spend this seasonm, get SHA relegated to give us complete control of the city & then go next summer?!"

I also disagree about MON style football not breaking into the top 4. Are you forgetting we very nearly made it 2 seasons in a row? If MON had been a little bit more tactful with his transfer budget and not played the same 11 players every single game where possible there is absolutely every chance we would of made it using the style of play he used. It was effective... love it or hate...

Can't help feeling pretty down & sad about all this at the moment. As each day passes we seem to be dropping lower & lower down the scale & getting linked with less & less inspiring names which in turn affects the clubs image. Only a few days ago an exciting new era appeared to be dawning where today excitement has long since evaporated & been replaced by feelings of very depressing realisation that the club is on a road to nowhere & we are viewed as some kind of insignificant stepping stone by the media, players & managers alike. At least that is the impression given by the said media & fans of other teams have absorbed these opinions & are now repeating them in their posts on various websites including this one. We are at a major crossroads for me & never has there been such a desperate & urgent need for this football club to make a real statement of intent. Over to you Mr Lerner & i don't envy you such a massive task as this will shape the Aston Villa of the next decade at least.

1st time i've looked at proceedings today ............ how pleased i am about that! So looks like a different ball game now if the like of Martinez are turning us down in favour of remaining at the mighty Wigan. I think the disrespectful treatment of Maclaren & others has kind of sent out a "KEEP WELL CLEAR" message around management circles. Lets not forget Houllier suffered the same barracking during his tenure & i think now the Villa managers job has become something of a poisoned chalice..

So lets get this right: Carlo Ancelotti- Not interested - X Mark Hughes - Randy doesn't want him - X Steve Maclaren - Chances riuned by the fans reaction X Martin Jol - Went to Fulham X David Moyes - Not interested in Villa X Rafa Benitez - Club wouldn't match his demands X Roberto Martinez - Prefered to stay at Wigan :shock: X So ... Who's left exactly?

Having read this topic through i'd say there would be a backlash no matter who was appointed.. It's just with varying levels of intensity dependant on who. No wonder we don't interest someone of Ancelotti's pedigree Never has the saying... "you can't please all of the people all of the time" been so appropriate & for me Randy should just appoint who he & his contacts know to be the best candidate & ignore the impossible to please on here.

Good post! Sums this thread up perfectly

So, if as stated in earlier posts which kind of tie up with SSN reports that Rafa wanted 60m to spend on the squad, do we take that as Rafa was being ridiculous? or do we see it as a top manager is saying we are 60m away from a squad which can challenge & the club are not willing to go to that level? Just interested to see peoples thoughts on that really?! :?

Well i think we are maybe seeing the real picture somewhat now are we not? Don't get me wrong i do like Martinez & i was very impressed with his class during torrid times at Wigan. He was as solid as a rock and that spread throughout his players which is ultimately what kept them up. Well that shows true leadership & he did it whilst personally oozing class too & playing very good football so fair play to him i say. Is he ready for Aston Villa? Well i guess there is only one way to find out isn't there? Is it a risk? well erm yeah! but it could also prove to be a master stroke... The dice are rolling it seems. Just stated on SSN that preliminary talks were held with Rafa & his representatives where Rafa told Villa what he would require including transfer budget & that this was turned down by Villa. Says Wigan refusing to comment on Martinez!?

Coyle? I'd be happy enough, maybe not ecstatic but happy enough for sure.... Worked minor miracles in getting Burnley up, & competetively up at that. Then again in getting Bolton to an FA cup final & also challenging for a top 4 place for a while or 3 quarters of the season (doesn't that sound scarily familiar? reaching a final & challenging for top 4 for 3 quarters of a season?). Also he could possibly do even better at a bigger club such as ours so it would be an exciting appointment with risk for me.

To be fair Steve Mac has had his name tarnished by the Media more than anything with their standard England manager kicking sessions. Those "wally with a brolly" comments came directly from newspaper articles lest we forget. It's actually quite ironic that now some fans have picked up on those very unfair comments it is the self same media who have got the gaul to criticise those fans for spouting the nonsense which they originated! For the record Steve Maclaren is no doubt a superb coach & manager.. you don't get Middlesborough winning trophies if you are not nor do you win a championship abroad with a team like Twente! All these copycat comments about wally's etc do indeed sound very childish though you can in a way understand the disappointment of many including myself at the apparent snub from Ancelotti to then refocussing & seeing a "Wally with a brolly" stood in his place! I think a lot of the negativity is more down to that than really directed at the man himself. A bit like being told you were being given an Aston Martin only to then go to pick it up from the showroom to be told they had changed their mind & the Aston Martin was no longer avaliable but it was ok coz you could have the BMW instead.

Removed as already posted!..Your PC must be faster than mine Maradonna 10

I would of course have voted for Nanny McPhee though sadly there was no option for her. I just think with her ability to deal with a bunch of spoilt kids & work a bit of magic into the bargain she would have fitted in perfectly with our squad.

I voted for Martinez.. Don't quite know why really but just thought out of all those listed he seems to prefer a nice playing style, He handled the pressure of a relegation dogfight superbly & with plenty of class & well he's young, has bags of time to create a legacy & is also an unknown quantity who could just suprise a few people with the extra potential here at Villa than he is used to.......................... Having said all that he could also be a big risk & may fall flat on his face

Lets hope so hey Mazrim.. just there are also conflicting reports also saying we are going to take time as in weeks.. Lets hope the "interviewing today" rumours are correct.. Having said that i do trust the board to sort this out for the best so maybe panicking over nothing really... I guess with the compounding effect of last summers problems, the troubles all through last season & now this manager search yet again have made me somewhat concerned that it needs sorting rapido as we have one heck of a lot to sort out this summer.

Have to say it is somewhat startling that Fulham lose their manager with no warning really AFTER we lose ours with around 2 months pre warning & yet they have filled the vacancy whilst we are seemingly nowhere near!?

Sorry if already posted only just come on but it's deffo NOT Martin Jol! LINK: http://tinyurl.com/5sf237z Martin Jol has been confirmed as Fulham’s new manager. The 55-year-old former Tottenham boss has agreed an initial two-year contract at Craven Cottage with the option of a further 12 months. The Dutchman replaces Mark Hughes, who resigned as Fulham manager last Thursday after one season at the helm. Jol, who was sacked by Spurs in 2007, was linked with the Fulham role last year but Ajax refused to release him from his post as head coach at the Amsterdam ArenA. He has been out of work since quitting the Dutch club last December and has now spoken of his excitement at returning to the Barclays Premier League. “I am very happy to join Fulham Football Club, a wonderful traditional club,” he told www.fulhamfc.com. “It is a club with good, solid foundations and a great fan base. “I am looking forward to being part of the Fulham family and thank the chairman for the trust he’s shown in me.”

Just found this: http://tinyurl.com/6jo25tp Kinda ties up with the delay needed if it's Hughes? Aston Villa will not be rushed into making a decision over who will replace Gerard Houllier as manager. Club owner Randy Lerner is an admirer of former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti but the Italian's announcement that he plans to take a year's sabbatical from the game has scuppered any hope of him taking charge at Villa Park. Former England coach Steve McClaren, one-time Tottenham boss Martin Jol and Bolton manager Owen Coyle are believed to be among the candidates under consideration, but sources close to the club have indicated to Press Association Sport that there is nothing imminent on the horizon. It could be the end of this week or even into next week before there are any developments. Villa striker Darren Bent admits the players have no idea who will replace Houllier after he stood down for health reasons, but the England international believes the Villa fans will give the new man time to stamp his mark on the club. Bent said: "Every day I am checking on television and speaking to people to see who it's going to be be but you just don't know. "Mark Hughes was supposed to be in the running but he has gone out now and I couldn't tell you who it's going to be. "I couldn't even tell you who is in the frame now because it's so up in the air. "But I'm sure, whoever the new manager, the fans will give him time. "It's a big, big job to take and I'm sure the fans will be behind him whoever he is. "It's been a difficult season, but we still finished ninth.

Benitez over Jol, Martinez and Rijkaard....hmmmmm ok then Yep! Because Rijkaard would be an out & out gamble & hasn't the best track record either. Martinez i do like though he only just kept Wigan up by the skin of his teeth which worries me & Jol? Well i do like him though am not sure whether he could really take us any further as he showed with Spurs who for me are a similar sized club to us. Rafa on the other hand has a more proven track record, knows the country & Premiership well, still lives here & has bags of experience plus a point to prove after his Inter debacle & of course his run in with the Liverpool heirachy who did not help his cause by all accounts. Sounds like you disagree which is fine just my opinion.

Well i did vote for Carlo though if all this is true about us approaching him...him thinking about it over the weekend..... him saying he's not interested.... then well quite frankly i'm glad he's not coming as he is obviously nothing more than a cheque book manager & hasn't the bottle to take on what must surely be a more exciting though much bigger challenge than his previous jobs. So now i would like to see any from: A: Moyes, Hughes, Rafa, B: Jol, Martinez, C: Ranieri, Rikjaard. D: McLaren, Dr Spock, Orinoco or Bob the builder.

I reckon Randy should keep everybody guessing.. call a press conference to be shown live on Sky or something & then simply say.... "Ladies & Gentlemen.... I would like to introduce the new Aston Villa manager....... then drum roll .lights flashing. Strobe on out walks ........................................ .> CARLO ANCELOTTI Who announces the new manager is Steve Mclaren