barry'sboots

Coverage is great. Game might not be if we play like we have under K-Mac. Hoping for a big improvement!!

That front 6 is fine when we are in possession, as we were for much of the first half, BUT is hopeless when we do not have the ball. It is screaming out for NRC's inclusion.

I agree that DJ can play inside but we desperately need some energy and drive in our CM and that requires NRC for me.

Team set out yesterday - Petrov and SI in CM - was similar to that for the last half of 08/09. Similar results as well! You can't play with a low energy CM pairing like that.

He possibly could if he had someone with more energy than Stan behind him?

Shocking performance driven by a very poor caretaker manager. How he can go into a game against Bolton with Stan and SI in CM is beyond me. There is so little energy and impetus in there it is embarrassing. Great going forward BUT absolutely pants when we haven't got the ball. I saw a post above that said that you can't really say Petrov did anything wrong today. That's probably true on the basis that he did nothing at all!! And he certainly is not a leader. And then K-Mac goes down the MON bizarre tactical subbing route with his Carew for SI and a 4-1-5 and that 1 being the ever so energetic in the last 15 minutes Petrov. It really is laughable. Bolton are crap and we made them look good today. Compare that to the stuffing that we gave them last year with NRC in CM and then tell me he shouldn't be starting at the minute. Its about balance and we haven't got it!

Yes we've never played well without NRC in the team and against Stoke we were excellent! Good point. Another excellent performance against a crap team without NRC in the side!! I don't think he is the best player in the world BUT, IMO, he is the only player that we have that is capable of playing with energy in CM. We need that desparately. I suppose that you will do your norm and tell me that Stan is a much better player in there. Watch today's game!

Maybe they are hoping that the Pope will get here early and sort it all out.

I just hope that K-Mac will recognise if/when we need freshening up as we did on Monday night and make the necessary changes. I haven't seen anything in his games so far (a bit like MON) that suggests he has this tactical capability? A win today and 9 points out of 15 is a decent platform for Ged to start with. Fingers crossed.

Speed management this time. Anger management instead of the Chelski game??

More importantly, is she available tomorrow??

I would like to see him get some decent opportunities, say 30 minutes today for SI who is just back from injury (game permitting) but I wouldn't disagree, especially with Gary Gardner coming through.

This is exactly the type of game that we do need Coker in. Did you not watch the Bolton game last year and then watch the crap against Wet Spam, Wolves, Wigan last year? I find it amazing how those that consistently slag of NRC conveniently ignore the difference in performance with him in the team compared to without him.

Would love to but would struggle with the pay cut!

I can see a decent win. -------------- Friedel ------------------ Luke --- Carlos --- Collins --- Warnock -------- NRC --------- Stan ----------- DJ ------------- SI --------------- Ash --------------- Gab ------------------ With Bannan and Albie coming of the bench for the last 30 in an ideal world.

Based on what? Very strange Probably based on that age old philosophy that it makes sense to play players in the position that they have played all of their career. I know that this could seem strange after MON's reign!

Bannan, Gardner & Ireland - plenty of excellent options for the ACM to play behind Gabby. Just need to sort the holding role(s) out.

Lovin' that from the team with "nil poins" as Ged would say. tbf they have played Chelski and Spurs so tough start and they did murder Shrewsbury 2-1 at home in the Carling Cup! Would love us to stuff them as I hate the way that they play (if that's right word) footy and I'm hoping they get found out this season.

probably not believing his luck when every pundit and rag in the country is putting him forward for the england job I have just had a letter from Birmingham City Council Benefit Service regarding a flat that I let out and it has the name "Martin O'Neill, Head of Benefits" at the bottom!! Given the amount that Heskey and Sidwell have been on for the last couple of years I think you could say that this is a role that our MON has been primed for!!

Blandy, there has to be a role for you in the club's PR department. General, if you are back on the site, make a note. The board have clearly been through a process. Whether it was a good process or not and whether it had the right criteria only time will tell IMO. Ged came out of left field and, like many on here, I am gradually warming to the idea but, again like many, I also recognise this appointment as somewhat of a gamble. Houllier is not an instantly exciting prospect in the way that MON was when he was first appointed, although for some, including me, a number of MON's characteristics eventually took the gloss of his appointment, thus proving that what would appear to be a fantastic appointment at first glance doesn't always deliver that outcome. Others would probably argue that it did though! I think the no. 2 role is now critical. A good manager can look great with the right no. 2 and poor with the wrong one. Even Fergie has had poor times at Man U when he has lost his no. 2's - Kidd, McLaren & Queroz - but he has managed to keep finding suitable replacements. Gerard's French compatriot seems to have a good record and much respect although I am not sure he is a no. 2 (not sure exactly what capacity he does fill?). I would like, from an idealistic position, to see K Mac get the job BUT only if he is the right man for the job and this has a couple of criteria for me - he needs to obviously be a good coach but also to have a personality that will integrate with Ged, in the way that Pat Rice does with Wenger I guess. I am enthused though. At last I will be turning up at Parc du Villa trying to guess what tactics we will employ for the opposition we are facing and what the team will look like without knowing - and if we are thinking this way then it will also hopefully give the opposition something more to think about!

Come back General. You are missing the Ged Lovefest. We need to be careful or we will be getting a reputation as a bunch of very positive fans! I can't see the nationals reporting on this thread, unfortunately! Loving the positivity. Hoping Ged can deliver what we are all speculating on here.

Maybe Stan's not so sure about automatic selection every game for 90 minutes any longer. I hope so.

Good appointment. Would have liked Jol or Hughes but can understand that circumstances didn't facilitate either of these coming to Parc du Villa. Lets get behind GH and look forward to anticipating tactics before a game for a change.

I think a lot will depend upon the structure that he puts around him. If he/Randy gets this right, it could be interesting. At least the opposition will have to think about what team they might be facing and what tactics we will be using.

Good article on the BBC site that puts a very positive spin on Gerard's appointment: "Why Houllier is right for Aston Villa Phil McNulty | 11:03 UK time, Tuesday, 7 September 2010 General Charles Krulak called on all his years as a US Marine commander to defend Gerard Houllier - and this was even before the Frenchman walked through the doors at Villa Park as the club's new boss. Krulak's colourful intervention on behalf of the man he has already christened "Mr H" was, however, a clear indicator that Houllier's expected announcement as Aston Villa manager has not exactly been a cause for rejoicing among the regulars. And yet Krulak, who revels in his image as a straight shooter in his dealings with Villa supporters as owner Randy Lerner's right-hand man, hit the nail on the head when he said: "Whatever anyone thinks of him, he deserves respect from the fans of this club." Houllier does not only deserve respect as a person, he has a record in football that also deserves respect - and this is why Lerner is in the process of making a sound choice by attempting to appoint the former Liverpool manager as successor to Martin O'Neill. Out of those linked with the job, such as Alan Curbishley, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Ronald Koeman and Villa reserve team coach Kevin MacDonald, Houllier's record of success in England, as well as his experience and vast contacts, make him the outstanding candidate from those Lerner has targeted. I should declare some past history here. I got to know Houllier very well during his time at Liverpool and respected his occasionally complex but always fiercely driven and totally professional approach and personality. And, with his appointment expected to be officially confirmed on Thursday, it is worth setting the record straight as history is in danger of delivering a flawed judgement on Houllier's time at Liverpool. In the desire to paint him as a failure at Anfield, it is worth recalling he rebuilt the entire culture and philosophy of the club after the excess - and in a football context pure waste - of the so-called 'Spice Boys' era. How could a team of such natural talents only have a Coca Cola Cup win against Bolton in 1995 to show for their gifts? This was acknowledged by then chief executive Rick Parry on the day Houllier left Anfield in May 2004, when he said: "Gerard changed things off the pitch as well as on it, bringing back both our pride and self-respect and instilling discipline and professionalism throughout the club.". Houllier knew a fresh approach was needed and, after the inevitable break-up of his arranged footballing marriage with Roy Evans, he provided it. Out went those he regarded as having outlived their usefulness, such as Paul Ince, in came a new, more pragmatic approach - and one that brought serious success back to Liverpool. He was accused of building a functional as opposed to flamboyant team but the ends justified his means. Houllier's transfer record is often criticised and even he would struggle to make a case to defend the failures of players such as El-Hadji Diouf, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou at Liverpool. Indeed, those three players are often paraded as the symbols of the beginning of the end of the Houllier era at Anfield - perhaps with some justification. But the critics may care to remember masterstrokes, such as the signing of Sami Hyypia, a snip at £2.5m from Willem II (helped by a glowing reference from a Dutch television cameraman on a visit to Anfield), who went on to become one of the finest players and servants of the modern Liverpool era. Stephane Henchoz was another inspirational addition to the spine of the team Houllier rebuilt. Then there was Didi Hamman, goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek and Gary McAllister. If Houllier can recapture some of that magic in the market - and his knowledge of players has always been encyclopaedic - then the worries of the Villa faithful might just disappear. Jamie Carragher's admiration for Houllier was evident in his presence alongside current boss Roy Hodgson on the Liverpool bench for his testimonial against Everton at Anfield on Saturday. Carragher, regarded by most as a manager of the future, revealed he would hope to model his approach on Houllier, such was his influence over his career. And Steven Gerrard, the man Houllier appointed as Liverpool captain, also spoke glowingly about him while on England duty in Basle on Monday. Danny Murphy was another who saw a career on the drift revitalised by Houllier to such an extent that he still flourishes for Fulham today. It is too easy to recall Houllier's failures while conveniently forgetting his successes. Those players will also remember how Houllier fought back from the brink of death and major heart surgery in 2001 to return to Liverpool and resume his duties. How easy it would have been for him to walk away to a quiet life in France. Instead, he accepted he could not live without the game. On another significant operational note, he also oversaw the complete overhaul of Liverpool's Melwood training base into the ulta-modern complex it is today - even helping design dressing rooms without pillars so no-one could "hide". Houllier was happy to conduct tours personally for journalists, such was his pride in the new home for his "family", as he referred to the club and his players. And last but not least, he dealt in a currency Liverpool understands very well - success. Liverpool fans, even those who choose not to regard his reign with affection these days, will never forget 2001 and the treble capture of the Worthington Cup against Birmingham City, the FA Cup against Arsenal and the Uefa Cup against Alaves in Dortmund. Again, Houllier's detractors pointed at "the Lucky Treble" - and admittedly the victory against Arsenal almost ranked as grand larceny when Michael Owen won an FA Cup final dominated overwhelmingly by Arsene Wenger's team - but you do not have success like that on the back of a hot streak of good fortune. He added the Worthington Cup again in 2003 with Liverpool's win against Manchester United in Cardiff but there was a growing sense his tenure had lost momentum after six years in charge by the time he made an amicable departure from Anfield at the end of the following season. Houllier had become overburdened by pressure and criticism in his final season. Too many signings, such as Harry Kewell, did not come off and Liverpool were too far adrift of the title challengers for him to survive. Kewell's free transfer arrival from Leeds United in the face of competition from Manchester United and Arsenal was greeted with the same elation as Joe Cole's recent signing by Roy Hodgson. Instead, the Australian was a desperate failure at Anfield. This does not mean Houllier himself should be regarded as a failure. Many of the same players won the Champions League against AC Milan the following year, although no-one can deny Rafael Benitez also brilliantly plotted a course through that campaign. And there is even a case to be made that he left a better side for Benitez than Benitez subsequently left for Hodgson. Villa fans might show some understandable concern that these achievements were a lifetime ago in Premier League terms but Houllier has hardly been a man with his finger away from football's pulse. He won the French title twice at Lyon before stepping down in May 2007 and has since travelled all over the world watching the game in his role with the French Football Federation. Houllier is in good health and his interest in Villa confirms he retains the desire to succeed in club management even though he has just celebrated his 63rd birthday. His great friends Hodgson and England coach Fabio Capello are 63 and 64 respectively and no-one can question their enduring passion for the game. He will bring meticulous planning and an almost slavish attention to the details of tactics and preparation to Villa Park should he arrive. After once asking Houllier to help with a rundown of teams for the 2002 World Cup in Japan, I arrived at his Melwood office to find him armed with pages of notes detailing his thoughts on the qualities or otherwise of each side in the tournament. Lack of preparation was not an option. Villa's players will want for nothing in the pursuit of success, although they must buy into Houllier's team ethic and approach or there will be no future for them. Houllier must also be in full control of football matters. Sitting in the directors' box watching others exert authority in the dugout will not be for him. He has had plenty of approaches in recent years. He has been linked with jobs at club and international level and remains a hugely respected figure within football's worldwide community. Houllier always wanted a club that could satisfy his ambitions, which are aimed firmly at success, and he clearly believes Villa is a club that can match those aspirations. An insight into Houllier's approach to football came when he was advised by some to retire from football after his serious illness, responding: "Football is my life and my oxygen and I don't want to live without it." Now it looks like his next mission will be to breathe fresh life into Aston Villa."