dukes

Get over Moyes, he isn't coming. That's not even realistic.

Don't know why everyone's heart is set on Moyes when Hughton is available. He's a perfectly good manager with a good transfer record. Got Newcastle promoted and then kept them mid-table. Why would Lerner even consider shite like McLeish when Hughton is available?

Do me a favour mate and **** OFF.

X 2

So we discount a manager who hands in a month's notice when his contract expires but will give the job to someone who quits by email.

Hmmmm, interesting?!?!?!?!?

If it does happen Randy will have a lot of questions to answer.

My thoughts exactly, this does not seem to be our style at all.

Now unless Randy has also flown Martinez out to Corsica

maybe he's flown out all the candidates and he is going to set them a challenge and then one of them will be hired in the boardroom

Yeah, it's the judges homes bit so he can pick his final 3.

I've had it now, no one ever listens on here! we have had two posts about next manager speculations and still banging our heads like Ozzy Osbourne (let alone taking his medication just too keep us calm). FFS avfc board and Mr Lerner just tell us when you intend to announce the new manager or TELL US anything! "I would love to hear!" Randy Lerner is due to announce who will take over the vacant managers job on Friday 10/06/2011 or 15/06/2011 following much speculation he feels he deserves to at least aknowledge too the Villa fans he is working on it. Any such statement from the board or Randy would keep us quiet and the bookies and journalists can DO THE JOB THEY ARE PAYED FOR.

Past your bed time I think. Need some bitty ?

Is there a reason why we haven't been linked to Quique Sanchez Flores and Louis van Gaal. Are the board that limited in vision?

I'm not sure whether you are joking or not but we have been liked with Sanchez Flores..

Where? It can't be that strong seeing as he's 200/1 on betfair.

How do links in the media (or lack of) have any bearing on what our board are doing ? The media in general have no More of an idea about the manager situation than you or I do, that's why so many journo's read these forums.

Don't believe everything you read or discount what you don't read, and give the board some credit.

I've just been told today that whatever names have been thrown into the hat - CA has been to BH in the last few days.

Of course the talks with Ancelotti may have come to nothing and he's said "No thanks", but I don't think things are as negative as people

are making out.

Then why did CA issue that statement saying he was taking a year off ?

Would seem a bit odd to go to all that trouble for nothing

Exactly! Surely his statement rules him out??

It wasn't a statement, and could easily have been a journalist in Italy reading this article from the Mirror (not the best source).

http://bit.ly/jUE7C4

Has anyone actually heard an interview with Ancelotti where he say's he is taking 12 months off ? Until I do, i'm keeping an open mind.

Mclaren, Rafa - or if we are very lucky Hughes. How this club has fallen in little over a year.

Not really, McLaren and Rafa have achieved more than MON (you can't count the two horse race that is the SPL).

If we get McClaren the board have failed yet again.

Yet again ?

What do you mean ?

Dunno about anybody else but im sick to death of the constant faffing around. I thought that trait had gone out of the window when MoN left but obviously not.

Faffing around ? Houllier has only been gone for a week, what do you expect a scenario where we approach a manager, offer him a salary, and he signs ?

Get real, these things take time, have you never been interviewed for a job ? These things all take time for ordinary people, i've been involved in negotiations that have taken months, as have i'm sure many others on here.

I actually want our board to get the right man, while I understand the public demands action I think we should all have some patience, and trust in the board.

If Ancellotti is not interested, is that really the boards fault ?

No. I was referring to the fact that the board knew ages ago about houlliers bad health and looking at how houllier eventually left (lets not forget he actually wanted to carry on) the board were looking to get rid anyway, so surely would have sounded out a replacement some time ago.

How do you know they didn't ?

You can sounds somebody out, but until there's a vacancy you don't have anything to offer.

Dunno about anybody else but im sick to death of the constant faffing around. I thought that trait had gone out of the window when MoN left but obviously not.

Faffing around ? Houllier has only been gone for a week, what do you expect a scenario where we approach a manager, offer him a salary, and he signs ?

Get real, these things take time, have you never been interviewed for a job ? These things all take time for ordinary people, i've been involved in negotiations that have taken months, as have i'm sure many others on here.

I actually want our board to get the right man, while I understand the public demands action I think we should all have some patience, and trust in the board.

If Ancellotti is not interested, is that really the boards fault ?

MatKendrick

I know for a fact #avfc did sound out Ancelotti's advisors (despite his no contact/fantasy comments), but he's said 'no'

Hmmmmm who to believe, the man himself or a man who makes his living off writing stories.

Actually, technically you only have a choice of 'a man who makes his living off writing stories' and 'a man who make his living off writing stories'.

Unless you have seena spoken interview with Ancelotti ?

Why does no-one realise they can both be true? Villa have spoken to representatives of Ancelotti's, as Kendrick said, but have not spoken directly to Ancelotti, only to his advisors, as Ancelotti has said. It's not that complex.

That's got nothing to do with my comment.

My comment was based on the OP's assumption that Matt Kendrick's comments shouldn't be believed because he's a 'hack' whereas the comments from Italy which also appear in a newspaper, somehow hold more credibility because they are attributed to Ancelotti.

MatKendrick

I know for a fact #avfc did sound out Ancelotti's advisors (despite his no contact/fantasy comments), but he's said 'no'

Hmmmmm who to believe, the man himself or a man who makes his living off writing stories.

Actually, technically you only have a choice of 'a man who makes his living off writing stories' and 'a man who make his living off writing stories'.

Unless you have seena spoken interview with Ancelotti ?

Just like Young was!

He's not gone anywhere yet...

That is kinda the point, he meant Luke not Ashley I suspect.

Oh yeah - forgot about that dodged bullet.

Downing deal might not happen. I'm just passing on what I've heard. I would have thought there's a desire to push it through while you're without a manager.

And exactly how do Liverpool 'push' a deal through for our player when we don't have a manager ?

That depends on your CEO, doesn't it? As long as you don't have a manager, that's one less person who might try to block any deal.

Yes, because we have a track record of selling players we want to keep to Liverpool. Our board have never been strong armed by other clubs, and with us practically powerless to keep Ashley Young I think selling Downing before we get a manager in is a long shot to say the least.

Next you'll be telling us you heard Downing to Liverpool for a fee of £12M.

Just like Young was!

He's not gone anywhere yet...

That is kinda the point, he meant Luke not Ashley I suspect.

Oh yeah - forgot about that dodged bullet.

Downing deal might not happen. I'm just passing on what I've heard. I would have thought there's a desire to push it through while you're without a manager.

And exactly how do Liverpool 'push' a deal through for our player when we don't have a manager ?

Does Laursen even want to go into coaching?

Kevin MacDonald would be ideal no.2 imo but he doesnt want to do it - the fool

On what are you basing this ? Kevin MacDonald was a fish out of water with the first team (apart form the fact they liked having him around), and has no relationship whatsoever with Ancelotti, and i guess does not speak Italian.

I think the Op was declaring Laursen as an option for No. 2 as he has a relationship with Villa and Ancelotti, which kind of makes sense to me.

I am not sure Ancelotti suits us that well.

Our squad needs a lot of additions and a remoulding of the squad. I cannot remember too many great signings he has made. Torres and Luiz were bought by the owner. And alot of the signings in Italy are made by technical directors.

Good coach, just not sure he is right for the job we have.

Perhaps then it makes a lot of sense to appoint Ancelotti, with Houllier upstairs identifying players ?

Thing is, if you appoint Ancelotti, how long will he be here for?

Sooner or later, a champions league club from Italy will come calling, and he would be off.

Managers like him, are i think, out of our reach for the moment.

True, but if he wants to stay in England, and prove a point his options will be limited, probably to QPR, West Ham or Us.

A sit happens i can't see it happening either, I was just responding to irevverentad.

Yeah im sure Ancelotti would be well up for that

Not.

They're supposedly friends, and how would it be different to any continental clubs setup ?

Even I can realise Liverpool are a bigger club than us. If that's where Downing wants to go then what's stopping him? It's not exactly gonna be our powerless board is it?

That's a bit harsh, football isn't run by club chairmen any longer, all the power is with players, and ultimately if a player decides he wants to leave then the power is with them.

It doesn't mean we can't get good money for a player that wants to go, and I think our board have proven in the past (Barry and Milner) that they will only sell when the right offer comes in. I would expect no different should Downing decide he wants to go.

Inferring that the board would just standby and wave him off is imo unjust.

I am not sure Ancelotti suits us that well.

Our squad needs a lot of additions and a remoulding of the squad. I cannot remember too many great signings he has made. Torres and Luiz were bought by the owner. And alot of the signings in Italy are made by technical directors.

Good coach, just not sure he is right for the job we have.

Perhaps then it makes a lot of sense to appoint Ancelotti, with Houllier upstairs identifying players ?

Hopefully Lerner knows by now that if he keeps GH and GM, the team is sunk. Any glimmer of hope that Ashley might stay would be gone, Downing would demand out, and once Downing demands out, the whole thing will be shot to hell..

Here's some news, Ashley Young would be leaving no matter who was manager, and even if we'd finished 6th this season, anyone who thinks there's even a glimmer of hope of him staying is obviously deluded.

As for the rest of your comments, interest in Downing will inevitably be high in the summer, but his position is very different from that of Young.

Actually, none of your post makes sense, because none of us know what could happen next season under Houllier/GMAC, i'm of the opinion that even if MON had stayed we'd still have struggled to finish top 10 this season, and I think that has something to do with why he left.

How about this, why not wait and see what happens, but WHOEVER is manager get behind the team ? After all we're Aston Villa fans, we don't have to be Gerard Houllier fans, but if he's manager next season it would be better for all of us if he were a success, and fans being negative will not help that happen.

If Houllier goes i think we should go all out for Moyes

+1

We really do play football the way its meant to be played at the moment (granted though results haven't been there), to see us go back to a direct game would deeply sadden me.

We're just a defense short of being a very good team. Ok, that's quite a major part of the team, but the football Houllier wants us to play is light years from the style of MON's teams, and the defense in particular has shown it's limitations in this respect.

It's almost as if Houllier is folliwing an instruction from the board as far as footballing style is concerned, I don't remember his Liverpool team being that nice to watch, but since January we've looked ver compac and tidy in our play, especially going forward. Maybe the board had tired (as many of us had) of one dimensional counter attacking football, this would explain why they have remained so patient to Houllier, if together they had drawn up a master plan.

Everton look shaky now

Harsh yellow card

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