heystally!

Actually I think there's some truth in this. I think Randy Lerner does want Moyes as our manager. But so do a lot of clubs. Including Everton. So it'll never happen.

Has just joined Wolfsburg. Can't see him moving now, nor Villa paying the compensation that would be required.

He had consistency during the 08/09 campaign. It's just he had an injury and a new manager who bought loads of his own targets in. Give him a run of games and a manager who really supports him and we've got one hell of a player on our hands.

I didn't think much of him when he first joined, but since they've bounced back, he did very well last season. But I don't think he'd be the right man. Personally I'd need another season of him at Blues, so he can prove that it wasn't a fluke and that they are a top ten team. If he does that, then for me he's shown that he can manage. Even if he is a ginger bastard.

At least with Allardyce we wouldn't need to change our long-ball approach. But buying Ireland would be pointless. The only time he'd see the ball is when it's pumped over his head up to Heskey and Carew.

Sad but true. He'd do great at Villa, but I think he can still do great at Everton.

To be honest, some things in football are certainly about this. I can't believe that when Man Utd bought Park-Ji Sung, they didn't think "This lad is going to be South Korea's best player in a few years time, so our reputation over there will increase massively". I just really hope that the board wouldn't make such an important decision like a new manager based on global appeal.

Mancini will probably tell Ireland "Ok, you can stay if you want and we'll just pay straight cash for Milner. But you won't be in the 25-man squad. So you will not be able to play for us. Do yourself a favour. Move to Villa."

"You should have stayed on the tele" Shearer - couldn't even manage my apartment in Cyprus!! Now there's an advert if I ever saw one.

Fayed just sold Harrods and is richer than Lerner. I think he is looking forward to making a success of his new appointment and is not going to flog him off for a quick pound. Not initially. But like managers who have unhappy players *cough MILNER cough*, no owner wants a manager who has said he wants to leave. Should Hughes do that (personally I don't think he will) then Fayed may not want to take a stand. But he probably will. He's crazy.

I think Klinsmann is the best we can expect really, and other than the Jol the only one I'd really be happy with. When manager of Germany, he took a great interest in bringing through younger players to replace the old ones from the previous Euros, so we could count on him to keep faith with the academy. He took Germany to the World Cup semis despite huge criticism from the national press during the qualifying campaign, which shows he can handle pressure, get a system of playing in place and quickly identify his best team. And personally I think Bayern fired him prematurely. He may have been not getting the best of results, but towards the end of his reign the team were on the up, and I think taking over a project like Villa, where the aims are long-term, he'd be given the time to establish himself and produce future results. The more I think about it the more sense it makes. He's played here before, so he knows the football culture, he speaks decent English, and he's not afraid to really shake things up. Just what we need in my opinion.

Fulham might well accept it because we'd have to pay compensation which would effectively cover his contract. That's enough for at least one player if not two. Then they could easily get another unemployed manager (Zola, Curbs, Southgate) who would probably do an effective job at Fulham.

If I was Andy Gray, I would make a statement refusing to rule myself out of the Villa job. This would increase betting on him on Skybet, then when he doesn't take the job, he'll get a bonus for generating some extra income for the company.

Maybe those financial constraints only applied to MON after his waste in the transfer market, and a new guy = new conditions? Just a thought. There was a strong suggestion that the board wanted MON to sweat the assets he's aquired, so to speak. Either by making do and playing them more or giving him the freedom to trade them. In the end he wasn't up to it/ didn't fancy it and bailed. But those conditions wouldn't automatically apply to a new manager/ coach if he spotted a weakness at, say RB or CM and wanted a fair opportunity to strengthen that dept. Don't swallow the 'little Aston Villa' lined being peddled in the media by some of the more Pro MON elements. They always had more regard for him than they did us as a club. It was always an anomaly to them that he pitched up here in the first place. Don't be under the illusion that we aren't an attractive proposition to a high profile candidate either. The two previous managers were in that bracket (as much as DOL turned out to be a bellend) and took on the job with far less favourable conditions. Jol was very complimentary about us back in 2008 when we were drawn in the same group as Hamburg, has often stated his desire to return to England and -seeing as that's unlikely to be Chelsea/ United or even Citeh- a club who have been in contention for fourth for the past two seasons (and backed their previous manager to the tune of £120+ million) might hold some appeal. Realistically we are probably the best he could get if he wanted to return to England, and he probably knows that. It's all about just how keen he is to come back, to what extent is he prepared to burn his bridges at Ajax. He was also present at our greatest night in Rotterdam -in the Villa end of all places- so you can imagine how that would be spun if he pitched up. Sometimes we don't need the media to do us down -our own fans are more than capable of that- it seems. Don't worry, in the bigger picture I think Aston Villa is an attractive prospect. But four days before the season starts, there would be constraints on a new manager. Time left in the transfer window, the fact that the previous manager quit hints that there was a fractured relationship with the chairman. Maybe O'Neill wasn't willing to part with those players who were being paid and not played, but from outside the club it could look like the club is trying to save money. Especially when at the same time they're cashing in on one of their best players. All I'm saying is that Jol would be joining a club that appears to have the same issues he was complaining about a month ago at Ajax. I just think it's too short notice to get a manager that truly reflects our stature as a club. But that might not be a bad thing. Whoever does come in will get my full support, and I sincerely hope they do as well and better than O'Neill did.

Decent enough squad with fantastic players, but under O'Neill. Milner is pretty much gone, O'Neill was the main reason Ashley Young hasn't seeked taking up a better option, and then we're two of our best players down. Our keeper isn't going to be around forever (or even this season if the rumour of Randy trying to offload him is true). A new man comes in, maybe thinks some players are better than others. Sure, it could mean that we see more of the fringe players that most think deserve a chance (Reo-Coker, Luke Young, youngsters like Delfouneso and Albrighton), but if some of those players who played week in week out under O'Neill lost their places for a while, they may not be too happy about it. I think most managers will always have a problem with a few disgruntled players no matter who they are. Whoever comes in will probably use this season to set their base of attack and then really look at progressing again from next year. But I just think the likes of Jol and Moyes for example are too far out of our current reach, four days before the season starts. Maybe if this had happened at the end of last season, maybe... Personally though, I'm kind of excited. It's going to be a really strange feeling seeing a new man taking control of the team. Who knows, maybe they'll get us playing football on the ground, using the strikers as more than just lumps up front to score from crosses, bring in a creative attacking midfielder. I'm definitely going to be looking at it positively, because we have to. But I just think that the person coming in will be someone taking a step up, as opposed to across or down.

Another fan that fails to give the club the credit it deserves. We're a top 6 club because we've finished there 3 years on the trot. Was it all down to MON? Get a grip. And that is coming from a MON fan himself. Jol nearly went to Fulham, therefore he'd definitely come to Villa. There is a difference in stature and standing between the two clubs. I'm one of the people who do give the club the credit deserves. It's just thinking logically here. Whenever a new manager comes in, they are going to want their own people in the backroom, they have their own training methods, their own style of play, their own transfer targets, etc, etc. It's a massive overhaul of the way the team is run. Not only does it take time for the manager to feel that things are comfortably running his way, it then takes the players time to adapt to the new regime. The only real situation I can see where change has been pretty smooth almost immediately was when Mourinho joined Chelsea, and that was because they went spending like crazy. A manager joining Villa would not be able to spend like crazy, not until the wage budget is sorted it would seem. So the manager would have to figure out how to mold the existing team to his way of thinking. And I just cannot believe that that'll happen in enough time to get ourselves into Europe this year, particularly with the amount that Man City have spent, the fact Liverpool have a manager with a brain, and that Everton look pretty much injury free in their key areas. So at this moment in time, Villa would be a backwards step for Jol. Our most likely manager will be either one who is out of work, or one who is looking for a step up in their career. And that's why the favourites are Bradley, Curbs and Southgate.

Hiddink has just started his role as manager of Turkey. And I'm pretty sure he has said in the past the only English team he'd ever manage is/was Chelsea.

Why are people still saying we're a top-six club? With O'Neill leaving it's going to set us back this year. We will be lucky to be a top-half club come May, and any incoming manager will know it's going to be so difficult to live up to the fans expectations of a fourth-straight European place finish. So I don't think Jol will be interested. He almost went to Fulham, was convinced to stay with Ajax and so will have spent the last few weeks focusing on the start of their campaign. He won't want to think about a move now. If O'Neill had left when Fulham were also looking for a manager, I think Jol would have come here for certain. But not this close to the start of the season.

beause he virtually states in every single interview that he wants to come back to the prem Right, but to a club who are doing exactly what he was moaning about less than a month ago? Why not just wait until a better job comes along? If he wins this season with Ajax, he'll be up for the Man City job when Mancini doesn't get top four.

THis one question why on earth would he come to us If this statement was a Facebook status, I would like it.

Martin Jol is too much of a long shot. He almost left Ajax to join Fulham, because the Ajax ownership wanted to sell the best players, and wouldn't provide adequate funds to push forward. Why would he then join a team where the owners are selling the best players and there isn't much money to spend?

Fabio Capello.

It's actually spelt Moat, and he went a few weeks ago.

Martin Jol? He nearly joined Fulham because Ajax weren't giving him enough money, and because he was worried that his best players would be sold. He stayed at Ajax, presumably because they agreed to his wishes. Why would he then join a club that aren't giving the manager money, and are selling their best players? I can't even think of a realistic manager who I would want. The closest I can get is a manager who is yet to be the finished article, and I think hiring him would be too soon, like Paul Ince was for Blackburn. But one I think could go on to be great. And that's Nigel Clough. But for the right here, right now, there is no one who would actually join that I would want.

Hi General, Who and where do I apply to when applying to be manager of Aston Villa?