What was MON's biggest mistake?

[sellyoakvilla]

Why is Gary Cahill an option? I wish people would stop going on about him saying we should have kept him, our defence is one of the best if not the best I've ever seen it since I've been going Villa and people STILL go on about Cahill. He's shit. Merely average.

[swaib2004]

You can understand the Uefa cup decision as where we were in the league.

Cahill wouldn't get in the side now... could be argued he would be 4th choice again.

I think he did focus on the cups the teams he put out should have at least got past the rounds we went out in.

4-4-2 you could argue with, but to me it is working this season so was he not right in sticking with it?

Heskey while i am not his biggest fan has being doing a fair enough job the past few games.

Who would begrudge Mellberg a good pay day and playing for Juventus, could have been argued he was past his best and maybe wouldn't have been first choice to play every game anyway.

All those players hardly featured apart from Carson who at the time got into the England team so wasn't exactly a bad keeper.

[bannedfromHandV]

I'd say his biggest mistake was agreeing to manage a club who's fans question what his biggest mistake was at a time when the club is riding high and are in the semi-finals of a cup.....that for me would be his biggest mistake.

Hmm. In his 3 and a half years at the club he's yet to achieve anything of note yet. So where the hell do you get the dont deserve him nonsense from?.

If you think he "he hasn't achieved anything" then you and I must have supported two very different clubs over the past few years........

[Maradona10]

Not strengthenin the the squad last January when it was needed, even though he tried think last year was an opportunity missed!

[bannedfromHandV]

... he decided to prioritise on the League, hoping to get that 4th spot. We didn't get 4th, but not all gambles pay off. At the time right decision...

I agree. Right decision at the time, and events turning out as they did doesn't make it otherwise. You can only decide on what you know at the time, not what later turns out to happen.

I thought it was the wrong decision then, and still do. Success breeds success, and you could see the players were pissed off by throwing away a tournament they'd worked so hard at. It was the turning point in the season, for all the wrong reasons, and you don't need hindsight to realise what a shit decision it was.

How could you "see the players were pissed off", were you privvy to spending time in the dressing room after the game or something?

And for the record I personally would have said the turning point of the season was the 92nd minute equaliser by Stoke, not the result in Moscow.

Particularly as hardly any of the first team actually played in Moscow so I can't imagine it took too much out of them.....

[FunkyMonkey]

What kind of poll is this?!

I personally have agreed with every single one of MONs decisions - the fact you call these 'mistakes' is laughable!!

Sure, he might have made decisions that didn't work out, but that doesn't mean that he made a mistake (ie: the wrong choice) and that the logic behind the decision wasn't right. Does everything turn out perfect in your world?

It really annoys me when you get cretins that dismiss the good decisions that work out well, and then start having a go about decisions that didn't work out. No-one has a crystal ball, and if you can't see why MON made certain choices over the last few years then you sure as hell aint got no place saying that it was a mistake.

Can't believe my reply will have put this dire poll back to the top of the thread list...

[Folski]

Not signing Arron Lennon when Ramos want rid for about 6million.

Not playing Jimy CM since start of season.

Not signing James Collins last January.

Signing Kiraly, should have went with that guy we sold to Falkirk.

Not putting a buy back clause in Cahills transfer.

Not signing an out and out goal scorer in his 3.5 years at the club.

[bannedfromHandV]

Not signing Arron Lennon when Ramos want rid for about 6million.

Not playing Jimy CM since start of season.

Not signing James Collins last January.

Signing Kiraly, should have went with that guy we sold to Falkirk.

Not putting a buy back clause in Cahills transfer.

Not signing an out and out goal scorer in his 3.5 years at the club.

Where to start, sometimes words fail me but I'll give it a go...

1. How on earth do you know Lennon was up for sale, and for £6m too. I would imagine had that been even a little bit true there would have been many more takers than just us - daft.

2. So who would you have played wide right then since the start of the season, Sidwell? Not sure if you have the capacity to have taken this in or not but Downing has only just returned from injury? Meaning Milner has been free'd up for this central role. Anyone following the club over the summer will have noted MoN's comments that Barry's replacement may well have already existed at the club (Milner), so it's fair to assume that it was always just a matter of time - unfounded.

3. Kiraly, ah okay, so you mean he should instead of played a guy we'd already sold, ummmmmm - far-fetched.

4. Why? Why? WHY? So we could re-sign a guy from BOLTON, who unless you haven't noticed are sitting somewhere near the relegation zone, oh and we currently have the best defence in the league too - unbelievable.

5. Name an "out-and-out" goalscorer we could have signed? Maybe Torres, or Drogba - perhaps they would have perfected your fantasy - dreamland.

Apologies, I had missed one out:

Collins - how do you know he was even available last January? Also I believe he was injured at that time and I'm sure that would have gone down just great on this board had we signed him....

[FunkyMonkey]

Are those mistakes Folski?

There's that crystal ball again - hindsight is a wonderful thing. I haven't the energy to explain just how wrong you are, but i'll have a go

Aaron lennon - crystall ball (cos he was RUBBISH last season)

Jimmy Milner - was not a CM when he came here, it takes time and training to learn a position

James Collins - the fact he spotted him at all was genius

Cahill - wouldn't get in the side, have you seen Bolton's defensive record?!

Goalscorer - well, it's not like we can't find the back of the net now is it

UEFA cup last year - correct decision at the time as we were going for the chumps league

Carson/Harewood et al - you need squad players to build a side, they were never anything more

[Risso]

... he decided to prioritise on the League, hoping to get that 4th spot. We didn't get 4th, but not all gambles pay off. At the time right decision...

I agree. Right decision at the time, and events turning out as they did doesn't make it otherwise. You can only decide on what you know at the time, not what later turns out to happen.

I thought it was the wrong decision then, and still do. Success breeds success, and you could see the players were pissed off by throwing away a tournament they'd worked so hard at. It was the turning point in the season, for all the wrong reasons, and you don't need hindsight to realise what a shit decision it was.

How could you "see the players were pissed off", were you privvy to spending time in the dressing room after the game or something?

You can't be "privy to" spending time in the dressing room. But grammatical stupidity aside, I think it's clear that the players just didn't seem as motivated from then on. Man City away for example, was an absolute disgrace of a performance.

[bannedfromHandV]

... he decided to prioritise on the League, hoping to get that 4th spot. We didn't get 4th, but not all gambles pay off. At the time right decision...

I agree. Right decision at the time, and events turning out as they did doesn't make it otherwise. You can only decide on what you know at the time, not what later turns out to happen.

I thought it was the wrong decision then, and still do. Success breeds success, and you could see the players were pissed off by throwing away a tournament they'd worked so hard at. It was the turning point in the season, for all the wrong reasons, and you don't need hindsight to realise what a shit decision it was.

How could you "see the players were pissed off", were you privvy to spending time in the dressing room after the game or something?

You can't be "privy to" spending time in the dressing room. But grammatical stupidity aside, I think it's clear that the players just didn't seem as motivated from then on. Man City away for example, was an absolute disgrace of a performance.

But to directly attribute that to Moscow is a bit far-fetched isn't it Risso?

Oh annd sorrry foor douuble-tappping a keey, itt wonn't happpen agggain siiiiirrrr....

[DanishVillan]

"This is not a time for point-scoring"

[billy_loes]

Not signing Arron Lennon when Ramos want rid for about 6million.

Not playing Jimy CM since start of season.

Not signing James Collins last January.

Signing Kiraly, should have went with that guy we sold to Falkirk.

Not putting a buy back clause in Cahills transfer.

Not signing an out and out goal scorer in his 3.5 years at the club.

I wouldn't have Lennon now. Way too small and one dimensional.

Milner, Collins and Kiraly things are hindsight in the extreme.

The one that suggests you didnt see the Bolton game recently is Cahill.

He played like a pissed Apache and I wouldnt want him back ever. Nice lad thast he is.

[HongKongVillan]

Selling Gary Cahill is not a MON mistake, it is a Gary Cahill mistake, thats why he is partnering Zat Knight now a days.

[Risso]

Oh annd sorrry foor douuble-tappping a keey, itt wonn't happpen agggain siiiiirrrr....

I was actually referring to the incorrect usage of the word, but crack on.

[Reality]

Not coming here soon enough.

[bannedfromHandV]

Oh annd sorrry foor douuble-tappping a keey, itt wonn't happpen agggain siiiiirrrr....

I was actually referring to the incorrect usage of the word, but crack on.

You have intrigued me, I thought I had used it correctly?

[Folski]

Not signing Arron Lennon when Ramos want rid for about 6million.

Not playing Jimy CM since start of season.

Not signing James Collins last January.

Signing Kiraly, should have went with that guy we sold to Falkirk.

Not putting a buy back clause in Cahills transfer.

Not signing an out and out goal scorer in his 3.5 years at the club.

I wouldn't have Lennon now. Way too small and one dimensional.

Milner, Collins and Kiraly things are hindsight in the extreme.

The one that suggests you didnt see the Bolton game recently is Cahill.

He played like a pissed Apache and I wouldnt want him back ever. Nice lad thast he is.

Are you kidding me?

Have you seen that Valencia Madrid game where Carew turns up and makes shit of Cannavaro? Think he was ballon d'or winner that year! Doesn't mean I wouldn't have taken him for Villa 4 weeks later. Gary Cahill has a great future in the game, even if he is at Bolton now! I understand that at the time the 6mil we got was an enormous few but we could well have done with him after Xmas last year. Can you blame him for wanting out o'Neill had just paid over 20mil on 3 centre halves pushing him way down the pecking order.

The same Aaron with 8 assists and 3 goals this year? All I'm saying is he would have proved a lot better than shelling out £1.5mil for Routledge. Which at the time would have been seen as a bit of a gamble, Imagine what JR & SW could have done with him.

And well the goalscorer. . . That is his biggest mistake!

[DanishVillan]

Are you really sure Lennon would have even considered joining us back then?

[bannedfromHandV]

Why mention Routledge and Lennon in the same sentence???

Routledge was a £1.5M 'punt-to-nothing', it didn't work out but who cares.

Lennon would have cost a lot more than £1.5M and whoever said he was up for sale anyway? The way you're talking it's as if we had Lennon and Routledge both here for medicals and chose the latter - which is far from the truth I would imagine!!