ThornburyVilla

This I dont know how true this is... for e.g if a lot of senior players wernt bothered would he just bring through a load of youngsters ? However i do like the sound of it. He made many references to changing the culture of the squad, and i guess we all appreciate who these players are!!! He also asked for patience from the fans for the youngsters that he said will now be trying to express themselves through attacking football - because that are going to make mistakes sometimes and he wants us to give them the leeway to do this.

:? An 11 old lad asked him if he had a 5 year plan, like we have always heard. he said he is not a big planner in that sense, and asked the boy if he had a 5 year plan of where he would be at 16. The boy said, i want to be playing for Villa - which of course drew good crowd support. He basically said that he cant count on what happens tomorrow, and always approaches each day one at a time and aims to win. I am sure that his team do have plans for many things, but i guess i can understand his lack of commitment to forecasting where we will be in 1 or 2 or 3 years. He did laugh and suggest that if he did fall short of any quoted expectations that it would of course be Paul Faulkners fault!!!!

I was there, and although all very PC, is was ok. General points 1. Wouldn't recognise Makoun if he was stood in front of him, and as reported said 'if you put Makoun into a sat nav it wouldnt find him 2. Kept re-iterating that all he knows is to try and win, and at no point will he not try and beat anybody. 3. Made many references to his desire to get the crowd on side 4. Made many references to villa being a very big club 5. Said there was good morale amongst the players 6. Said Brett Holman was incredibly quiet and that Chris Herd should leave barmen alone 7. Said that Delia had never cooked for him 8. He once inherited a player at Norwich that was so bad he genuinely googled him to see if he was actually a footballer!!! 9. Said Ciaran Clark is never a midfielder, emphasised several times, but he is a very good centre half. and would work really well with Vlaar. 10. Laughed rather uncomfortably when someone made reference to the fact that he had worked out Hutton and Warnock were not good enough! 11. Said he would be happy to go into the season with the squad he has - as he would do 12. He just wants hungry players who care and want to run for the club 13. Has banned all mobiles, tablets, etc from the training ground - they are there to play football and that is all that matters 14. Asked about Grant Holt he said he would not be allowed to buy fresh air from Norwich, and that they would probably price Holt at £100m if he asked about him. Also referenced his age of 31 not being a worthy investment, before back tracking a little on that. 15. If he could buy any player it would be Messi 16. Asked about Snodgrass he said that not every player that would have been right for Norwich is the right fit for Villa 17. Said he is very influenced by MON, as he is the best motivator he has ever worked under 18. Said there are a few options on captain but still a few days to decide 19. Was very appreciative of the support for Stan, as very close friends, and very pleased to hear 19minute applause will continue 20. He felt very uncomfortable when away fans chanted 'Paul Lambert's Claret and Blue army' at Norwich match, and felt very sorry for McLeish 21. he has changed the dugout, as right hand dugout is where linesman comes to, so he get in his ear - whilst also being nearer Holte end 22. He said he would retire if he won the Champions League for us 23. He hasn't got a plan for the future, he doesn't work to plans, he just aims to give his best everyday and win - he doesn't know what could happen tomorrow This is all i can remember of the top of my head at the moment

That would have to include Solskjær somehow since he's the only name we know. Some temporary appointment then Solskjær comes in january or next season? This has crossed my mind. A friend of mine was a in box with some senior Norwegian businessmen and odd ex-Norwegian players at the weekend, and one of them phoned Solskjaer whilst he was there. The story was that he WAS offered the job, and asked for 4 days to think it over. Then he was allegedly offered a significant sum of money (region of £5m to stay for the next 12 months), to continue building Molde, so that they were more attractive to new players and the new manager. Solskjaer said he wanted to come to England in 12 months time. Who knows.....

Thats what he has actually said tonight. Whether it is a cover story for net being offered the job or whether he feels obligated to molde i dont suppose we will find out.

For what it is worth.... A friend of mine is over in norway for the match tomorrow with an ex footballer who is friends with solskjaer. He called him whilst there to ask what happened and he said he owner had paid him shitloads more and asked him to stay one more year, but that then he is coming to england. By the sounds of it he really wanted tocome to villa.

Have the club done this on purpose to increase renewals. My corporate renewal is back on hold now. Gutted

Have the club done this on purpose to increase renewals. My corporate renewal is back on hold now. Gutted

I was told by another norwegian player that southampton approached solskjaer and he turned them down, together with blackburn!

This is pretty much what I thought when I first heard the rumour. Then I actually WATCHED the video...Then I read this thread with posts written by Norwegians and other followers of OGS's career, which were universally complimentary of him...Then I had a look at what people were saying in Norway about him...Then I read what OGS himself said about Aston Villa...And by then I'd changed my mind completely. This is NOT "Some muppet" we're talking about here. This is a man who inspires almost unanimous admiration wherever he goes and whatever he does in football, a man referred to by some in Norway as a "national treasure". If Aston Villa is ever going to inspire anybody ever again, we need to be taking a chance on somebody before the CL clubs come calling. The person to take a chance on is somebody with impeccable football pedigree, likeable personality, winning record, knowledge of the transfer market, and perhaps most importantly, ability to read a game of football from the touchline. OGS is exactly this man, imo. This, big time! If ever there was something that needed publishing on the back of the Evening Mail, it is this (the CrackpotForeigner response that is!)

In response to previous comments about other clubs he was approached by i have been told by ex norwegian footballer that we do business with that the clubs are blackburn and southampton. For the record would love OGS as manager

Care to elaborate on those views re: N'Zogbia? I like Martinez and would love to see him in the home dugout. He was bemused as to why NZogbia was being played deeper on the left, when he did not want or enjoy playing there. He said the only place to play him was on the right pushed up the field behind the front man. It was just fascinating to her what we were doing wrong from the man who got so much out of him.

I sat next to Martinez at the Liverpool home match, and he only turned us down as he had promised Whelan he would stay for three years, and he had been so good to him that he would honour that. he said that Villa were a big club, a top 8 Club without question, and he would be delighted to manage us. He seemed like a really great knowledgeable guy, and had very clear views on why NZogbia was struggling to fit in.

just to clarify the position regarding Martinez and what happened. I sat next to him at the Liverpool match, as he was scouting Liverpool for his next match. I discussed the approach to him, amongst other things, and he said he had always promised that he would stay at Wigan until the end of this season, and given how good Dave Whelan had been to him over the years he would not go back on this. He also said that he felt Villa were a massive club, with excellent players, and that we are clearly top 8 material. Him not coming to Villa was nothing to do with him not wanting to manage villa, it was just timing. He seemed a very loyal and likeable man, and i felt he would jump at the chance of managing our great club come the end of the season. I know he may not be everyone's cup of tea, but with the resources he has available at Wigan he has done a remarkable job, and with our Club and quality of players he could achieve a lot more!!

He spent most the day watching the ball launched over his head to Heskey on the right wing, and then watched as Man City won said ball and began another attack. he played some composed passes and controlled the ball well in the most, but my excitement at seeing what he could do was destroyed by the tactics (discussed in many places!)

As i said in the McLeish tactics thread i sat next to Roberto Martinez yesterday, and he was quite clear about what was wrong with N'Zogbia, he is just being played in the wrong position! He got the best out of him at Wigan and he said he should be playing much further up field on the right, not deep on the left. He said he doesn't carry the ball from deep - that isn't his game. He should be playing the role Downing played last year, cutting in from the right and running on to the ball - so its no wonder he is getting frustrated.

Just back from the game, and obviously very disappointed, but wanted to add something - slightly off topic but not sure where to put it. I sat next to Roberto Martinez for most of the match, he was here watching Liverpool before their match on Wednesday. Apart from being a really nice approachable guy he said that he though Aston Villa was an incredible Club, a BIG club, and that it was the wrong time for him to come. He said Dave Whelan had been brilliant to him and he had always promised to stay at Wigan for 3 years, and would always honour that. He said we will NOT be anywhere near relegation and thought even though we are not performing as well as we should that we will still finish in the top 8. I asked him about CNZ and he said he was being played in the wrong position, quite simply. Charles needs to play much further forward and he would always play him coming in off the right up supporting the striker, where Mcleish is playing him deep on the left. Tactically he is clearly a clever guy, and someone i personally would love to see given the chance at a big club like ours. He was clear that he thought we were in a transitional period, but that we are a special club, and who knows what may happen in the future.

Summary of my view 1. MON got team of overpaid prima donna players playing well by massaging their ego's, whilst ignoring the fantastic kids and sticking to his favourites 2. MON left at the time that damaged us the most, because he was told he couldnt sign a player no one wanted - McGeady! 3. Houllier came in with no option to buy any of his own style players 4. Houllier has suffered a 'crazy set of injuries than no team could cope with 5. Houllier wants to change us from hoof, counter attaching MON team into passing attacking 'top four' side, without the overpaid ego's 6. The Club will buy in January IF the right players come along, but will loan players that haven't got the ego's to supplement the great non ego players that are left and the fantastic youth players (that have been developed post MON), in readiness for a COMPLETE overhaul in the summer where we will see a completely new type of player signed to really turn us into a successful club. In my eyes Houllier has made two major mistakes - 1. Alienating fans over the Liverpool comments 2. Trying to change things too quickly - upsetting the ego's straight from the start so that the injuries decimated a team that was allready divided, as MON's ego had the hump at his change in style. These errors have turned a large percentage of the fan base against him, and yes the position in the league is precarious. Rest assured no one wants Villa to go down, especially me, but screaming blue murder at the players and manager is not going to achieve anything positive. Only positive attitudes and support is going to get us back where we belong.

Not a fan.... but it is fascinating to see how this debate has grown. it still frustrates me to see what he cant do, though i understand what people argue he does do. Could it be Petrov's fault that he ends up in positions he shouldn't be, Is it be the manager's fault for not stopping him playing forward, and for picking him and Petrov together, or is the coaching team's fault for not teaching him how to shoot or hit a decent pass when the goals is gaping? He would make a great movie villain with such a fascinating split following

Just back to bristol from the match, looking for heart medication after that effort. Pissed me off to hear Alan Green saying Everton should have won comfortably. I know they had a few chances but we should have scored 3 or 4 in the second half, and with the referee wearing blue we did pretty well. Defence were excellent Ashley played well and looked dangerous Downing should get a break, let Ashley back to the left with Ireland up front Albrighton definately should be in side ahead of Downing - as he can actually cross the ball!! Carew worked hard, chased back and held up the ball quite well all things considered Now this is my concern Both petrov and reo coker worked hard defensively and put in a good shift, but both of them lack the real skill to take us any further. I lost track of the times reo coker did all the hard work, broke up the play, surged forward, but then made a terrible pass! It is these little things that make a difference. If reo coker had more ability going forward today we would have score at least another one, and the pressure would have eased. The same to a lesser degree with petrov, pretty good player, fought hard, but not quite the quality to make us consistently successful. I was pretty pleased with the performance today but these couple, and Downing, stop us being really great. If i see Downing cross the ball over everyone and out for a goal kick again i may cry! We are not far from being a really good side!

Collins and Dunne are definately our best pairing at the back, as Collins distribution is of the higest quality, and it helps us retain the ball so much more effectively than Cueller, who although really solid plays hoof more than most. Agree Luke should be right back, but guess MON is playing the diplomat and phasing him back out slowly, as he knows he wont be terrible at right back.

Zola playing for the draw with five in midfield - these are the games that we need to sep up our creativity and break down the brick wall. Cant see them scoring.

Can we invent a quick Europa Cup rule that states teams can only qualify if they play the same formation and style in two consecutive matches, otherwise we will be back to 442 on Monday!