CrackpotForeigner

Bob Bradley is holidaying with his family on the outskirts of Turin.

the "mon haters" as you so childishly call them just wanted him to play the other half of said squad occassionally.

I'm pleased that you didn't see yourself as a MON hater. There are those who came close, and plenty of people whose criticism went beyond wanting him to "play the other half of the squad".

Don't forget: It's never too late to have a happy childhood.

Did O'Neill put us in the shit? I'm pretty sure I saw a talented squad dismantle West Ham with ease a couple of days ago. Was I dreaming?

'Zackly. Randy Lerner is very lucky that the West Ham game went the way it did, or the mood on here would be quite different.

Anyone is entitled to leave their job if their boss doesn't treat them the way they feel they should be.

The MON haters will say that any successes now are due to using subs/different formations, etc. but try not to forget that MON built the squad. We'll see how things go in the next few games.

Hopefully the MON haters are right, and we've been sitting on a poorly-used goldmine of talent

The only bad thing about Clark is that he's a cockney Man U fan.

:evil:

Make him sign a 12 year contract, the ****.

Hitzfeld has undeniable ability, but he is 61. I'd rather we went for someone younger, who could realistically give Villa five to ten years if things work out well.

Agree. It's clear we need to build slowly, so would rather have someone who's going to stick around. A lot of us thought MON would be that someone, but the search for our Bill Shankly goes on.

Anyone making any banners for tomorrows game? Try to give randy a nudge in the right direction.

Hmmm, dunno. If everyone waves a banner saying "Get us Jol" or whatever, it's a bit of a slap in the face for KM.

Maybe a nice, negative sort of one, like "Bob Bradley get ****" might be jolly, though.

I had the pleasure of meeting Barton after a mid week game.... had an hour with him in a hotel on the Hagley road.....

Lucky you were able to find a hotel with hourly rates, eh?

( :oops: gets coat )

Sven fills me with horror - his recent managerial track record is pretty disastrous -and most of the other suggestions are for mid-table managers.

I've not followed Sven all that closely, but wasn't Man City the last club he managed? I don't think you can draw conclusions from international management of minor football countries, even though his record recently has indeed been bad.

I'm guessing you'd rather have Sven than, say Bob Bradley, though.

Sven would be a terrible appointment.

Well, we're in a terrible situation.

Sven has a pretty decent record managing football clubs tbh.

Most of us would probably have Jol or Hiddink, but we're not going to get 'em as far as I can see.

Sven has a point to prove. He is an intelligent bloke, and probably the best of the ones who are actually a possibility.

The list of candidates offered by the bookies is pretty mediocre but I'm most disappointed by the complete lack of inspiring and interesting suggestions from the longterm anti-O'Neill brigade. C'mon boys - this is your time to shine!

So just because people dont like O'Neill doesnt automatically mean they have a direct replacement in line.

If someone bangs on about a problem for long enough, I don't think it's unreasonable for others to expect some kind of solution to be suggested. Otherwise you're just part of a bigger problem.

Martin Jol for me. Much better manager than O'Neill on every single level. Better coach, better tactics, better in the transfer market, better knowledge of European football, and less likely to behave like a teenage girl with PMT.

Even if you're right about all that, there's still the tricky problem of him staying exactly where he is.

The list of candidates offered by the bookies is pretty mediocre but I'm most disappointed by the complete lack of inspiring and interesting suggestions from the longterm anti-O'Neill brigade. C'mon boys - this is your time to shine!

Well, exactly. Unfortunately I think we're about to find out that the anti-O'Neill brigade are just a clueless wunch of bankers.

I'd love to be wrong now, though.

Martin Jol.... please, if there's a God!

There isn't.

Paul McGrath doesn't exist!? I may have to end it all!

Fair point, but I think to be strictly accurate McGrath is "God" rather than "A God".

Martin Jol.... please, if there's a God!

There isn't.

Steve McLaren anyone?

(This is a serious suggestion from someone who is now fixing a tin hat to his crust.)

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

:oops: Oh, and there was me thinking he was still at Twente. Would rather rob Wolfsberg for SM than Fulham for MH, anyway.

Steve McLaren anyone?

(This is a serious suggestion from someone who is now fixing a tin hat to his crust.)

Martin Jol has been made favourite by William Hill.

He's my choice as well. It'll be nice to see some entertaining football at VP.

Not anymore, hes now 7/1 everyone else is at 6/1 and Bob Bradley is 11/4.

Dear god we are ****.

Sadly, this.

MON-OUTers know not what they do.

My opinion: Try to make him change his mind.

Probably is time to move on now. Milner doesn't apear to be the kind of guy to kick up a fuss if he stays. I'm sure he will enjoy his football at Villa next season as much as he did last although there is no guarantee he will be as good this year. Not worth anywhere near the money you lot reckon. Sure he had a very solid season last year but he's no better than Ireland who had the same sort of season the year before.

How much would Ireland have cost after 2008/2009?

Personaly i'd say about £15M-£18M.

To buy him off a reluctant seller?

Probably is time to move on now. Milner doesn't apear to be the kind of guy to kick up a fuss if he stays. I'm sure he will enjoy his football at Villa next season as much as he did last although there is no guarantee he will be as good this year. Not worth anywhere near the money you lot reckon. Sure he had a very solid season last year but he's no better than Ireland who had the same sort of season the year before.

How much would Ireland have cost after 2008/2009?

What's with all the Downing bashing?

He provided a brilliant assist for our only goal, and was very close to scoring one himself. Two bad giveaways at the start of the game was all I saw him do wrong. Nice that the bashers have moved on from Cuellar at least, I s'pose.

Warnock can be a bit of a loose cannon imo. Not the first time he's made a monumental mistake after being skinned. Quite good going forward, at least. Friedel good, but maybe at fault for the second goal. Third goal was just a result of us trying to get back into the game. Collins had a great game as well, but was out of position for the third goal, although understandably.

Friedel 6

Cuellar 8

Warnock 4

Collins 8

Dunne 7

Downing 7

Young 7

Milner 6

Petrov 6

Carew 7

Gabby 6

I spoke to a guy at the bus stop earlier. He was head to toe in villa kit and I do genuinely thgink he was telling the truth when he said he works in the warehouse at villa village. He helps out voluntary now apparently and originally started helping out there as some part of benefit/back to work programme.

He told me "on the quiet" that Cadbury's were going to be our new sponsor. Anyway, seeing as I'd love this to be true, I was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. He did see a bit simple tho to be fair. Anyway, seeing as it is now in American hands thru Kraft I didn't actually think Cadbury's being our sponsor was that far fetched. I suppose it would be a good marketing exercise for a Birmingham based company to sponsor a local Birmingham football club.

HOWEVER, I think I'll have to dismiss it as total nonsense from this chap. Why??? Not long after he informed me MON is looking at bringing Juan Pablo Angel and Milan Baros back!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:

Cadbury's would be a dream sponsor. However, if that means getting Milan Baros back, I'd rather be sponsored by Goldman Sachs, or Halliburton, or Blackwater.

Interesting how someone can be intelligent enough to know we're getting a new sponsor, and bonkers enough to think we'd be getting those ageing non-scoring strikers back in. Takes all sorts, eh?

no-one can say whether it would OR INDEED wouldn't have enabled us to make fourth spot.

No, but some people will try to say that anyway.

Ultimately we can only judge over a whole season. ALL managers suffer setbacks in individual matches. As fans we need to TRY to be supportive when that happens and not call for heads to roll straight away.

Shows that the manager does tend to know best!

It really, really doesn't.

He signed Dunne becasue Distin chose Everton.

Don't forget he only signed Milner becuase Bentley chose to go to spurs.

Great signings granted, but lets not get ahead of oursleves.

People really do think he is a genius don't they? :shock:

No mate, not a genius, just a very capable bloke who is the manager of our football club and therefore deserves our support while the team improves. And he's definitely a genius compared to the people who have a go at him every time they sit down at a computer.

Last season we completely went to pieces from February onwards and serious questions had to be asked. This season THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED. We have learnt from (some of) our mistakes and have improved, which is why with just three Premiership games left we are STILL in with a realistic chance of 4th or 5th place. Yes, we have tired in the last couple of months, but considering how far we've got in both cup competitions this season, I think that makes our League position even more commendable. It's been a good season on the whole and I don't see why people persist with their moaning to be frank.

This is simply one of the best comments I have read on VT in some months - shows you can be a moaner (sorry VandL) and STILL give credit where it's due.

Well yeah, although personally I most respect the posts that manage to be positive after a defeat more than after a win.

Clearly V&L isn't one of the posters with an actual AGENDA, anyway.

Also, this:

just got back, here are my thoughts:

1. paul mcshane is the worst player i have ever seen play football

Made me laugh. He is pretty shocking, old Shazza.

1. We have played a million games in the last few weeks.

2. No manager can pull quality players out of his arse. We had two realistic options for rotating the squad in midfield: Sidwell played, and Delph was injured. What more could MON or any manager do?

3. The defence was made to look poor, but Dunne and Collins have been two of our best players this season. Were we going to leave them out of the game against Chelsea???

4. The critics of MON have FINALLY got their wish to see Luke Young at RB at the expense of Cuellar. So what's your verdict there?

5. Chelsea scored from just about every chance they created. "On another night"...we would still have lost, but more like a 3-1. You don't win at SB these days unless you are well-rested and in top form. We were neither and that is NOT the fault of the manager, or anyone except the Financial Engineering billionairs and glory-hunting fans around the world who keep buying tickets and merchandise from the winning clubs.

6. We are a very long shot for 4th place, but still not out of it.

7. We finally have a week's rest.

8. We will be the team who WANTS to win at Wembley.

Other than that, shit-a-rama