Davies4England

I dunno maybe he came here because he heard we had Vieira and Zidane. To be fair to Salifou he's a decent footballer, he just looks miles off the pace. Although he did have an excellent game in Prague, the one time he was given a decent chance!

listen again, 70 against. this guy is a nob. That is what I said

Pete Colley said we're 30/70 in his favour, I suggest he looks at the poll here :| Of course this won't be an accurate reflection but it is a massive difference.

Very pleased

Ha, just came in to post that myself. Excellently researched article, and so so true. I love the diagram about his media antics.

That Phil McNulty article was an excellent read.

It's amazing how people can perceive people to 'hate' Villa. So sensitive, just because Thompson has said we've played poorly or he doesn't think we'll finish top 6 etc doesn't mean he hates us. He was given the job at Sky for his opinion, and he gave it. All it does is question his judgement, I'm sure in the past he has given his views on Villa which have turned out to be wrong, we have all done it. I'm also sure it's occurred the opposite way. The guy may be Liverpool at heart, but that doesn't stop him from doing an excellent job at Villa, he is a professional who has worked in football for many years. If he has quit Sky and this rumour is true, it shows the commitment, after all a contract at Sky is probably very lucarative. Whilst in this job all he has to do is turn up on a Saturday each week and commentate on a game. By giving that up, he'd be back in football probably earning a similar salary working on the training ground and spending a great deal of time with the manager. At the end of the day, if Phil Thompson helps Aston Villa, that is all that matters, to not want him because you think he is a "prick" because of his punditry is wrong.

Not very attractive football at Liverpool. But to be fair I guess it is an advantage as our players have been used to it. Although at Lyon his teams dominated the leagues scoring a lot of goals, which shows he can play a more attacking brand of football if required.

Biscan was also highly rated at the time, he came in and couldn't dislodge a very good Liverpool midfield at the time. Therefore Houllier used him as a utility player, playing him in various positions, something which can make it very tough to sustain form when you don't know your role inside out. He also only cost around £5m IIRC which for a solid player isn't bad at all. He certainly played enough games in a variety of positions to justify his signing.

Phil Thompson is a very good assistant manager, regardless of what he is like as a person.

Remi Garde was his assistant at Lyon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9mi_Garde According to this was linked with a DOF role at Arsenal.

Yeah he did, however just like Gerrard people will say he was class anyway. Houllier had a good contribution to both players. I also remember someone saying that the board control the transfers at Lyon, I don't know if that is the case but if it is it works both ways. For one, he didn't sell Carew himself and he didn't bring in excellent talent such as Toulalan and Kallstrom. Either way the guy has a pro or a con. Meanwhile the guy now has great connections with the French FA and Blanc in particular, I am sure Houllier has in depth information about some of France's rising talents from his recent years doing work for the Clairefontaine academy. Of course we don't want him to bring a load of youngsters who could halt the progression of our home-grown but as Wenger has shown there is a lot of talent in France who can easily adapt to the English game. Although there is a big difference between Wenger and most managers when it comes to eyeing a player. People have brought up the bad signings and are right to, there are some absolute shockers in there, however there's also some excellent signings. Another minus point about Gerard is that at Lyon they were very successful before he came, well during his time there he helped them have their most impressive league campaigns (despite losing Essien). He later got sacked for poor Champions League performances (well there were massive arguments with the board that forced him to resign, but they practically made him). A common trend for Lyon is getting to the knockout round them being beaten by a better team, that was simply the case. He also lost more players such as Malouda (French player of the year), Abidal, Diarra and Tiago. My worry is his age and health, under him we certainly wouldn't have stability he'd be anything but a stop gap, but saying that he could develop us as a club, leave and them we could probably find a greater option. However he is not as bad as people make out, the people who say his style is boring, well I'd rather have results over the style of play. His style has brought success in the past and whenever he has left a club, it has been in decent shape.

The ginger bloke off SSN Pete Colley says Curbishley has been ruled out of the running, if you choose to believe him. Also says we've been impressed with Houllier, due to his work with youth development.

:notworthy: Donadoni makes Phil Brown look good.

Oh man Donadoni is another poor manager

It's the Daily Fail so I'll call bullshit for now. Sounds like he has been reading VT tbh.

Hopefully he'll bring in Smallsy and Tonka too. Guaranteed fourth place. More like Benson and Hedges with the way the media talks about our financial situation!

Say that IF he comes Just rumours at the moment. Whoever it is I will support them but I don't want somebody like AC or Koeman :oops:

Sorry for not being as old as you. However as someone mentioned you have probably taken it out of context. If he joins and you're through with Villa I guess that means you won't be supporting us again. (This is me taking it out of context myself.)

True Fan!

My problem with Houllier. 1) He's old and had health problems in the past. 2) He hasn't managed in a couple of years. 3) He has bought some duds such as Fred, Diouf, Diao, Heskey , Ziege, Barmby, Cheyrou and Kewell. However... 1) He has been working with the French youth development, so may know a few gems. 2) He has been successful in past. 3) Transfers that have been successful: Alou Diarra, Kallstrom, Toulalan, Hyypia, Riise and Finnan. The problem here is that his bad deals have been very bad with the money spent, but he has also picked up some bargains. I wouldn't mind him as manager though, I'd just prefer others, not that there are many.

That is weird... Every Spurs fan I know says Bale isn't even half the player at LB which everyone has seen, Modric isn't a LM which has been proven as he shines in the middle and you want to put him in a 4-4-2 diamond system which is barely used in modern day football for a reason. This would mean he'd have to play CM where he'd get simply overrun as he has never had defensive capabilities. Also when you say in a 4-4-2 off the striker that's a 4-5-1. The simply fact is, you have signed a player who can only play in a 4-5-1 system, when your side primarily plays 4-4-2. This meaning you either use the player to your disadvantage or you build the team around him. Of course you will probably try to undermine me now thinking you know all about him since he is suddenley a Tottenham player.

:shock: I would like to think that Phil Brown being interviewed was only rumours? Have I missed something tonight? This is just something that someone, allegedly ITK, stated on 606 this morning. Not seen any links though. If anything this gives more creedence to the Moyes rumours. Monday - Houllier interviewed Tuesday - Moyes interviewed Wednesday - Curbishley interviewed Thursday - Sven & KM interviewed Friday - Announcement Come on RL - do the right thing. Go get Moyes. Well that's already bollocks as you can't interview a manager without a clubs permission and if we had approached Everton there is no way it'd have been kept quiet.

Blackburn refused a work permit for Ivelin Popov due to lack of international appearances, despite being in the Bulgaria squad for a while and having 16 caps. On the other hand, in the past Ivanovic, Fabio and Rafael have got them with ease, despite not having any caps. Pathetic rule really, if your big four, you just say it's an exceptional talent and they lt you have him, as for the rest of the league we have to abide to the rules. Really needs sorting out.

I agree with this, he's also very inconsistent. This guy is no Wesley Sneijder and when it gets tough he goes hiding. He's a good player at what he does, on his day he can be brilliant but he doesn't show it enough. For the price though it is totally worth it in their position, even if he doesn't seem to fit into their system. The guy has to play behind the striker as he can't work in a four man midfield.