steaknchips

I would actually put O'Neill up in the same bracket as Moyes. The only difference is that Moyes is prepared to put up with the rough as well as the smooth, which MON clearly wasn't. Shame really, and I wonder whether MON is regretting the day he left as he obviously hasn't found a similar project to the Villa one since he left. He did lift the club and players whilst he was here and although he was by no means perfect, managers with that kind of ability don't come round very often. Both are just average managers on the grand scale of things..I mean how many years has Moyes been at Everton? Plenty enough time to instill a winning system if he was a top drawer coach. We need a coach that can come in and change things, not just get by, allowing the big clubs to continue to dominate the league..We need a guy similar to what Poyet can do in the Championship..And thats come into the club a build a winning structure and side with a whole new playing style. Did he care that teams like Leceister, West Ham and co' were bigger and had bigger names? No he didnt, he believes in his team building and style and is in the competition to win it, not just get by.

A yea, A Young and S Downing He can coasch players to be world class = proven... Average......Viera, Henry, Ginola, Zidane .........the French team were far from average Where do you think that French team were trained? And who help set up this system and training to help these players become as good as they were? Err two of those mainly trained at Highbury. My nan could have trained Zidane and he would have been a good player and he **** Ginola off and he still turned out to be a great player.

tinker, Read this article http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/03/24/frances-clairefontaine-academy-rivals-barcelonas-la-masia/39378/

A yea, A Young and S Downing He can coasch players to be world class = proven... Average......Viera, Henry, Ginola, Zidane .........the French team were far from average

He is a top manager...Not a TV personality. I dont care that he makes blunders in the press..All I know is that behind the scenes he is a mastermind in his work. He can coasch players to be world class = proven...He can turn a average looking footballing nation into a world class footballing nation = proven. I dont give a monkey's toss how he comes accross on the TV or in the press...All I care about is Aston Villa being a top club again...This man was the closest thing we had...It may not come around again now for along time. You dont throw away an opportunity just because he isnt great in the media or on TV..

Paulo, That dosnt bother me mate...Im sure if Laursen one day manages a Danish side that plays Villa in the Europa Cup at Villa park, he too may wave at the Villa fans..And if we beat the Danish side, he too may say that if he was getting knocked out of the Europa cup by any team, he would rather it be Villa. I take it with a pinch of salt.. But is you are looking for a stick, yes you could us this I suppose...But I wasnt looking for a stick..I was just hoping he could turn Aston Villa intoo a great club again..And his reputation would have done that, he would never accepted mediocrity..He is a top football manager..

He isnt that type of manager though is he? I mean we appoint a guy that spends his life at the top of the game, so tip toe'ing around players just to get a result in a game of football wouldnt be his style..He gives out top class and professionalism with his work, so in return he expects his players to do the same...I suppose he has spent enough time at the top to know what is required, so he turns up at Villa and sets about achieving those standards..If he thinks "maybe I should ease off because Dunne and Collins are tempermental" it would filter down into the reserves and younger players coming through...So I suppose its a case of start qs you mean to go on, set the standards from day one...It will begin tough but as it becomes the norm(just like at most top 4 clubs) players then respond better.. He demands the best, it will upset some but at least the foundation is in place. The youngsters would have grown up surrounded by high levels of coaching/training..

To a man that never managed before, this may have substance...But unfortunately too many a great player and fellow managers, coaches, trainers, scouts that have been places have a different view.. I would rather put it, that maybe had Dunne and Collins acted like professionals, they may have benefited from the new techniques that were coming before their eyes. Instead I think they acted like spoilt brats, just because maybe their friend MON walked out, or maybe because their friend K'Mac didnt get the job, or because training was too hard for them..Whatever.. For Dunne to try and get a posse of players to go against the system was so childish..Why didnt he just go and have a quiet word with Houllier instead? Why didnt he just say he was 100% behind the new system but is finding it a bit difficult? Why just throw your toys out the pram and not accept it? Its a proven top tier system..

If we dont get rid of McLeish its going to cost the club millions.. Players like Delph, Albrighton, Bannan, Gardner will make no more progress under this system..Their value will plummet..Bent and N'Zogbia will also be worth less under this regime. The only player likely to increase in value is Ciaran Clark(if he gets a game).. We need a better manager that can add to our young player's game..A manager that understands movement, creativity, technical ability,passing techniques and tactical game plans. Otherwise our players will just end up like bog standard cloggers at higher Championship level at best.

I think last season was one of least pleasurable of watching Aston Villa since DOL’s last season or the return of GT. It was not an enjoyable experience. You were brainwashed mate because you only looked a poor performances by Dunne and Collins and the results it effected..What you should have done is look at the improvements in players like Downing, Reo, Albrighton, Bannan and how it complimented Darren Bent's game..We seen movement from "last season's reserve players" that ripped Man United and Chelsea appart at times. This would have grown and been bulit on..This was Houllier at the beginning, yet many fans like you just failed to notice it. As it is we now have a manager that knows naff all about how to improve our young players and their game play. You wont see movement like that this season. And its like I said in another post...Take a look at the whole of last season again on wikipedia and try to remember each game we played..Yet only a handfull you could seriously say where we were out played by the opossition..The majority of the games we played under Houllier, we either matched or dominated our opponanants..

Who cares about that, the players that dont play ball would have been replaced..Houllier isnt scared of players, he dosnt live in a world where they are indispensable..If one dont play, their is another that will play..He would have built the squad and club up..There is no room for spoilt little slackers that think Aston Villa is just a push over..He wants professionals that take the role seriously, not guys that want 10 pts a lager on a Sat night and laugh and joke in training. Thats what last season was all about...Sorting the realists from the slackers..He was building and teaching..Those that didnt want to know,he didnt have time for..Why teach players that dont take role seriously enough, or that think they know best? Houllier HAS coached and had major imput in world class players that are still playing football at the top of todays game. He knew exactly the levels he wanted to achieve in player training..And he knew exactly which players would make the grade and which wouldnt.. He played every single outfield player that was available to him in the 1st team squad last season....Which is manager testing his squad and giving players the opportunity to shine..This included players like Carew, Sidwell, Ireland, Warnock etc..The slate was fair and clean and it was up to the players to impress...

Houllier had 1/2 the squad out injured at one stage. Yet not once did he moan about resources, every single time he just got on with it and still put out a side that had a go..This was despite him joining the club when the team looked out of sorts after a 6-0 thrashing against Newcastle.And never having a pre-season with the players..McLeish has the land of luxury compared to the situation Houllier had when he joined. So even with all these players hating Houllier, he still put out a good side and gave us a game of football. Man United, Chelsea, Man City plus loads more we had great games to watch with good football and tactics.. Yet McLeish with supposedly all the players on his side, cant muster up a footballing performance...Its poor tactics and crap football.

Flores or Poyet would be my 1st port of call. Flores is available(I think)...

Whoops.......so's Zog, ;-) My point is there aint a great deal of difference. AM has his hands tied, its painful to see tbh. We have been asset stripped to the core, the only players that are left are mainly over paid and under used, our star players have been shipped out so we can continue to pay their inflated wages, its enough to make me......... What do mean he has his hands tied? We have a better squad than half the Premiership, yet playing the worst football in the Premiership...We are one of a very small group of teams sitting back allowing teams to come onto us and not giving it a go. We deserve at this rate, to finish in the bottom 6 because teams like Norwich, Swansea and QPR have come into this league and are at least making a go of it..McLeish is a clueless coward who is affraid(or not intelligent enough) to set a team up to go out and "try" to win a game of football. Fans will not put up with it and he will be forced out...Its only a matter of time...

Yes we can afford to get rid of him. It would be madness not to. Gates are down, morale amongst the fans is rock bottom...The team are playing extremely poor and McLeish is clueless.

Forget Hughes... This is the man we should get http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Aston-Villa-news-Quique-Sanchez-Flores-who-lead-Atletico-Madrid-to-Europa-League-triumph-2010-wants-job-if-fan-anger-keeps-Alex-McLeish-out-article747872.html I think the 4th place in the league is still anybodies..Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs are catchable this season under the right manager..Positives are we have a top quality striker, winger and Keeper..We also have some good young talented players..This guy could instill good winning football and in Jan may have connections to bring in a couple of technical gifted players from overseas on the loan, or on the cheap.

Has to be young(or seriously up to date with the modern game globally) and well known too..Even Jol, Sven etc, are now struggling with how the game has evolved.

Completely non related as I don't disagree hugely .. Why Deschamps? He's doing a really poor job? :?: So is Wenger atm...But it dont mean he is a bad manager...Yet he, along with Deschamps will still come good as the season progresses. If we could get Deschamps, it would be a younger, maybe better and a more up date version of Wenger. I remember Wenger coming from Monaco, he bought his vision and style into the British game..French coaching has been pretty top drawer over the last decade and it would be nice if we could get some of that into our club.

The thing with Houllier is that you could see progression..Just in a short space of time you could see the training was having an impact on the players(those willing to get on). Just by the passing they were making..OK it wasnt world class, but it was still very early days..Bannan, Albrighton, Reo Coker etc, they were all looking up and using vision and movement..There was no useless balls just lobbed forward, it all had to have a purpose.. You could see it was hapening in training and this would have been filtered down the club. 2-3 years from now and we could have been a very decent side.

I'd rather this thread just be closed tbh..For a start, Houllier aint coming back...Secondly, just about every Villa fan was against the appointment of McLeish...I suppose the higher votes McLeish has, is just because they want to back our "current" manager.. If you asked the same poll when McLeish got Relegated and was still Blues manager...And Houller finished 9th as still Villa manager the results would be in favour of Houllier.

Sounds like we need a player like Makoun, who can thread the passing from the midfield to the strikers..I dont think I have ever seen Makoun just lob the ball forward.

Any chance someone posting up the team news please?

10m quid and about 50/60k per week in wages.. Yet for 6m quid and around 40k per week in wages we could have signed Jérémy Menez from Roma..

Not quite that young but one to watch is 23 year old Garry Bocaly, who currently plays RB for Monpellier..He has played all 6 games so far this season and already has 2 assists..Makes you wonder why we bought Hutton, with players like this on the circuit.