AstonMartin82

How odd, you appear to be saying that football managers should be judged on the future alone? Can you explain to me how that works? And if we're in decline, you come we keep getting more points season on season with (imo of course) increased competition in our section of the league. If that is indeed decline then I think we should decline some more so where does the continuing arguments about dol fit into that then? why does the fact mon took a team that had finished 6th and then 16th prior to his arrival and got them to finish er... 6th again mean that four years later he is the man to take us higher up the league. i didnt say mon should be judged on the future because that is well - you're just posting for effect really arent you? i said lets agree that he has done up to now a decent job - because he has, but what he achieved in the last four seasons wont give us any more points this coming season. if he doesnt sign a single new player but reduces the squad by a few bodies probably will. i also didnt say we are IN decline - i said in my opinion the answer to the question "what does the future hold?" is decline - not exactly the same is it? i dont believe he has any squad building strategy, i dont believe he has this summers transfer activity under control and therefore i dont think he is in a position to take us any further. your reply wasnt actually a reply to what i wrote... So is it in MON we trust or do not trust? If it is not, then can you change your signature and advise when your mind changed as I don't see many failures in MON when it comes to someone being a custodian of our football club - which is what you are basing your argument on. Tactically, yes I see flaws but not in our future potential.

Absolutely no way that's true. 2003 - 2006: 2003 David Bellion - FAIL Eric Djemba-Djemba - FAIL Tim Howard - FAIL Cristiano Ronaldo - SUCCESS Kleberson - FAIL 2004 Louis Saha - SUCCESS Alan Smith - FAIL Gabriel Heinze - SUCCESS Wayne Rooney - SUCCESS 2005 Edwin van der Sar - SUCCESS Park Ji-Sung - ? 2006 John Obi Mikel - FAIL Nemanja Vidic - SUCCESS Patrice Evra - SUCCESS Michael Carrick - SUCCESS Tomasz Kuszczak - FAIL Perhaps a slight over-exageration but I had to use the figures given in the previous posters post. Although it isn't horrundous amounts of failures, it is probably easily over 30% and not as good as most people remember. Especially when you consider the amount of money spent on a lot of these players. I put Howard down as a failure as they shipped him out... turned out to be excellent but in Fergusons era I feel it should be deemed as a failure. What a truly desperate post. Why stop at 2006 for a start? As for Mikel, he never actually really signed for Man U did, he, and certainly never played a game. Park Ji-Sung has obviously been a success as well. Tomasz Kuszczak was signed as a back up player for about £2m, and as he's still there as a back up player, how is that in anyway a failure? Even if Ferguson has bought players that haven't turned out to as well as hoped, a) he normally already has a player in that position who is just as good, he's not working under the financial constraints that O'Neill is, c) it hasn't stopped him winning things, and d) it hasn't stopped him from signing other players. None of those true are for O'Neill. I stopped at 2006 becuase MON has been here 4 years and the website I took the stats from only had upto 2006. I don't really understand the point you are trying to make. My point is, that every manager buys rubbish from time to time and MON is no different and is certainly no worse than the top managers in the success of purchases department. End of debate.

Absolutely no way that's true. 2003 - 2006: 2003 David Bellion - FAIL Eric Djemba-Djemba - FAIL Tim Howard - FAIL Cristiano Ronaldo - SUCCESS Kleberson - FAIL 2004 Louis Saha - SUCCESS Alan Smith - FAIL Gabriel Heinze - SUCCESS Wayne Rooney - SUCCESS 2005 Edwin van der Sar - SUCCESS Park Ji-Sung - ? 2006 John Obi Mikel - FAIL Nemanja Vidic - SUCCESS Patrice Evra - SUCCESS Michael Carrick - SUCCESS Tomasz Kuszczak - FAIL Perhaps a slight over-exageration but I had to use the figures given in the previous posters post. Although it isn't horrundous amounts of failures, it is probably easily over 30% and not as good as most people remember. Especially when you consider the amount of money spent on a lot of these players. I put Howard down as a failure as they shipped him out... turned out to be excellent but in Fergusons era I feel it should be deemed as a failure.

It is also funny how say, a small heath fan will laugh at us and call us fickle which 90% of us will deny. Possibly even yourself? However, your post is against MON in every sense, and your signature is pro MON in every sense. Fickle indeed some of us are... perhaps without even realising it. How would Ferguson do with Villa? It is difficult to say, but there is a chance he wouldn't get us into Champions League given the resources of other teams. Let's accept the facts... 5th place is our Premiership title. 6th place is a runners up position. Only Mourinho gets sacked for finishing runners up and Chelsea will know better than most what a huge mistake that was.

30 - 50% on shite is probably better than Ferguson's return and a hundred times better than Benitez's. A gauge of a successful manager? Probably not. Pretty much the rest of your argument is un-measureable. I personally still enjoy MON's style of football more than DOL's... at the very worst it has more potential than the previous 6 managers as we have had patches of really entertaining football. I would also say that should MON of been in charge in the Gregory era then there is a very good chance he could of gone further than Gregory (remember MON's Leicester City outwitted Gregory's Villa team every single time. Hell, we won about 1 game against MON in about 20 attempts!). You have to remember that was back in the day when there were no sugar-daddies - perhaps 6th place today is the equivilent of 2nd place back then? (It's a rhetorical question... do not answer). To try and measure the past with the present is uncomparible and fundamentally flawed. Also, your coffee, physiotherapists etc comments are all from DOL. Try and understand the source. He knew he was on his way out and would do anything to protect his dwindling reputation. I think the whole football world understands that he doesn't really know what he is talking about hence his lack of job opportunities after his sacking... and that includes pundit roles. No one believes a word he says... No manager has ever gone 6 games in a row of beating Birmingham. MON has done this for us. DOL nearly gave that record to Birmingham!! Has DOL been hanging around in Jamica since his forced retirement from football? Are you DOL?

Putting him in the shop window perhaps Walsall will take him? Failing that we will send him to the knackers yard. To be fair only Friedel, Carew, and possibly Collins (if that is James senior), are the only 1st teamers so if anything it's a sign he is with the kids in terms of how close to the first team he is.

Good shout. He played well against Ghana. (Feilhaber, I mean) Dempsey has to be the single most selfish player ever to have graced the game. He never passes the ball and will shoot on every single occassion, even if he is 35 yards out and has 3 better options. He scores a few goals, and gets publicity because of this, but if he learnt to pass he would set up so many more than he scored. Basically, he is not a team player... next time you watch Fulham make a note and see how he plays... I would not like him in the Villa team. Far too selfish.

Isnt Joe Cole related to Redknapp in some obscure way? I know Lampard is and obviously Jamie Redknapp is but i think Cole is related also. Could be wrong but thats where he'll end up anyway He used to manage him through the West Ham youth setup, and might have had a crush on him, but thats as far as it goes... the West Ham family if you like.

I'll sell my left bollock if Moyes lets him go on a free He might not have a choice, apparently theres a cock up with his contract. If he is younger than 23 then there is no such thing as free. Tribunal will settle a fee if one cant be agreed.

Different. England is full of shooters and aggressive players. World class, but lacking in technical ability. That's why they failed, IMO. But Citeh this year have Johnson, Silva, Robinho etc AND they have English style players as well - Ireland for example. They have everything, from an attacking standpoint. I'm sure you know Ireland is not English but he is not an English style player either and is likely leaving. His name should really give that away. lol

You havent watched much of Villa this season then. Cuellar was possibly our best player at the beginning of the season when he was playing center back. So good there were a number of rumours going round that Real Madrid were interested in signing him. Playing him at RB has made him look stupid and the team less effective. I agree fully with the opening poster.

Away trips to Barcelona, Inter and Bayern Munich could be quite good fun days out as well! And the Everton point has been done to death. It's as ridiculous as not wanting to win the FA Cup because Portsmouth are in the shit now. Getting knocked out to Rapid Vienna equivilent in the qualifiers is much more likely than going to Barcelona, Inter and Bayern. Apologies if the Everton point has been done to death... I don't read many posts/topics on here and so am totally ignorant of that fact.

very much this, although i think we may be in the minority fella. this also. would love to land the FA Cup. but i think getting 4th denotes us as a bigger club, and moves us further forward I used to think like this for a number of years... now I'm firmly on the dark side. I just want to have a good day out on a day which I will never forget. Getting into the top 4 wouldn't do that... winning the FA Cup would. However, I appreciate the long term benefit from finishing top 4, but it doesn't automatically mean success. Didn't Everton nearly get relegated the year after they finished top 4?

I hate stupid posts like this.

I'm sure this information is on the web somewhere but I can't for the life of me find it. Now we are going back to Wembley (YAY!), I would assume there is going to be a mad rush for Wembley tickets once again as the distribution is likely to be similar to the Carling Cup Final. I managed to get a singlular ticket to the final even though whenever I have gone to VP I have bought 3 tickets all under my client reference number. Is there anyway I can get the 2nd and 3rd tickets on my client reference number transfered onto another reference number for past games so I will be able to get more than one ticket when we go back to our second home (ie Wembley!)?? Que sara sara...

Carew must get the FA Cup golden boot now 2 against Palace, 3 against Reading... is there even such a thing?

We never do things the easy way. First Blackburn then this. I don't think I can take much more.

Wasnt someone putting a 4-2 bet on at half time?

YES!

Why the **** are we hoofing it!? Why the **** do we still have 2 strikers on the pitch? Why the **** are Reading getting all these chances?

Indeed. I truly hate ITV coverage, makes Five look professional in comparison. This, then again ITV as a channel in general is utter tosh.... Lets face it, Sky are shit, BBC are shit, ITV are shit, Setanta were shit, ESPN are shit, life is shit... OR there is something wrong with us?

Keep possesion please lads. This is a Championship team.

To be fair it was a very good save from the keeper. Agbonlahor wouldn't have scored it... lol

Worst first half performance I've seen in a long time. Second half we must improve a thousand fold.

Here is one of the world's most intriging questions: 26 yards to goal and a slow center back is in a race with the fastest striker. 15 yards from goal the slow center back is in front of the fastest striker. How did this happen? Answers on a postcard.