Confirmed: Houllier is the new Villa manager

[JPAngel]

I was all up for Staunton to come on board but then it was mentioned that he has a drink issue? In that he does.......a lot........

Well he is Irish :winkold:

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

I'm offended.

[JPAngel]

Haha I'm only messing, I'm a quarter Irish myself!

[smetrov]

Not thrilled about GH - Could we not poach Stuart Pearce as coach - that may up the ratings of this appointment.

[SoccerHQ]

Well 2 year deal hardly suggests long term does it?

I still maintain it will be GH for this season then we'll go for either Jol or Moyes next summer.

Cool with that.

[CVByrne]

Are people STILL banging on about jol. Nice chap, decent manager

but whats he done in his career to warrant such acclaim

He was successful at Spurs, Hamburg and is doing well at Ajax. So basically he's a successful manager. Trophies are not simply the measure of how good a manager is. For me league placement is the real proof of the pudding, cup runs require luck, a full league season requires consistency.

So would you rather we finished 5th this season without a cup, or 10th with winning a cup? I know which I would prefer...

I didn't say that at all did I? I said the measure of a manager is not simply down to the silverware he has won. A manager can do a great job with a team that's not good enough to win silverware and a poor manager can win silverware with a good team.

How well he's done with Ajax last season has been very impressive. He's done well in the league for Spurs, Hamburg and Ajax and he will win silverware in his career. Remember he only got his forst real job in 2004 with Spurs.

[paulanddonya]

Some of this makes me laugh - talk about contradictions.

You have a load of people on here basically saying "Kevin McDonald is clearly a good coach, but is no way a manager - he should stick to what he does best"

Then, you have a lot of the same people saying "Staunton, gobshite, worst manager in Irish history, did you see his record as manager of Darlington".

Well excuse me, if, and it is IF it is Staunton - hell the hell do you know how good a coach he is !.

There are MANY MANY MANY No.2's, great No.2's who have tried their luck at management and couldn't hack it. From Peter Taylor in the 70's , TONY BARTON in the 80's to Brian Kidd in the 90's to (in England) Steve McClaren in the 2000's.

The guy was the best left back we have had in 30 yrs, he played for us for 10yrs, he loved the Villa and never wanted to leave (FACT, I / my wife ran into him daily in Walmley and chatted most days, even after he had left !).

For god sake lay off him and if it is him, get behind him. Personally, I cannot wait - I loved it when my heroes (Evans, Little etc..) were running the club - it felt like OUR club, and if Staunton brings that back - I for one am happy. If he fails, he fails, he may do - Peter Withe but at least give him the chance first

By the way, I didn't see John "Benson and Hedges" Robertson have the bottle to try his hand at management !

[thejoker]

Well 2 year deal hardly suggests long term does it?

I still maintain it will be GH for this season then we'll go for either Jol or Moyes next summer.

Cool with that.

3 year deal according to Neil Moxley on twitter, says Sky have got this wrong..

[KT3AVFC]

Would you have accepted Houllier in that temporary role? After all if he's only getting a 2 year contract as reported it'd cost us feck all to sack him at the end of the season should a better candidate come along.

He would be the best option for the temporary role in my opinion. He's a good manager who's only major flaw in my eyes are his transfer record. So a season as manager with no activity in January would be the best option. Then Jol, Moyes or Hughes to take over in May.

But I'm sure Houllier will get the full 2 years and be given money to spend next summer.

A manager in a temporary role wouldn't work. Why would players respect someone who they knew wouldn't be around for very long?

We can't afford just to write off the season. Let's say for instance we were to finish bottom half what's to say that a Moyes or Jol would want to come. We have to appoint the best manager we can do at the present time and I think that's what we've done in extremely difficult circumstances.

[bickster]

Its an interesting point that, with all the talk of creating dynasties etc, Houllier is only signing a 2 year contract. Now he may get a little money in January but we all know it is notoriously difficult to spend money in January and get good value, So onto next summer. How much money would you give a manager to spend who was only going to be around another year? Do we think he'll sign an extension next year? If he might, who exactly is on trial here, the club or Houllier?

[TheSufferingVilla]

To be fair to Staunton's record as Irish coach I blame the FAI more than him. Staunton had f-all experience when he was hired. The FAI thought he'd learn the ropes working alongside Bobby Robson. Bobby sadly got sick and instead of doing the intelligent thing and hiring another highly experienced manager to mentor Staunton the goons let him run things solo which lead to disaster.

[smetrov]

Well 2 year deal hardly suggests long term does it?

I still maintain it will be GH for this season then we'll go for either Jol or Moyes next summer.

Cool with that.

Depends what you mean by go for - I can't see them poaching Jol or Moyes - this would be no easier next summer then it was a few weeks ago. The clubs won't want to let them go - and demand compensation, which we don't want to pay.

I think the club will spin KMAC learning his trade - and promote at the end of houlliers reign.

[SoccerHQ]

Its an interesting point that, with all the talk of creating dynasties etc, Houllier is only signing a 2 year contract. Now he may get a little money in January but we all know it is notoriously difficult to spend money in January and get good value, So onto next summer. How much money would you give a manager to spend who was only going to be around another year? Do we think he'll sign an extension next year? If he might, who exactly is on trial here, the club or Houllier?

Houllier won't be here in a years time....unless he wins us a cup or gets top 4 imo.

[CVByrne]

Can people please read all my posts rather than just one random one from a conversation and reply to just that.

I have said, appoint a permanent manager who knows he has to prove himself this season to keep the job ie 3 year contract with the option of his contract being cancelled in May with a nominal pay off of say 1mil. While at the same time line up Jol or someone else in March to take over in the summer in the likely event the manager isn't good enough.

[TRO]

Some of this makes me laugh - talk about contradictions.

You have a load of people on here basically saying "Kevin McDonald is clearly a good coach, but is no way a manager - he should stick to what he does best"

Then, you have a lot of the same people saying "Staunton, gobshite, worst manager in Irish history, did you see his record as manager of Darlington".

Well excuse me, if, and it is IF it is Staunton - hell the hell do you know how good a coach he is !.

There are MANY MANY MANY No.2's, great No.2's who have tried their luck at management and couldn't hack it. From Peter Taylor in the 70's , TONY BARTON in the 80's to Brian Kidd in the 90's to (in England) Steve McClaren in the 2000's.

The guy was the best left back we have had in 30 yrs, he played for us for 10yrs, he loved the Villa and never wanted to leave (FACT, I / my wife ran into him daily in Walmley and chatted most days, even after he had left !).

For god sake lay off him and if it is him, get behind him. Personally, I cannot wait - I loved it when my heroes (Evans, Little etc..) were running the club - it felt like OUR club, and if Staunton brings that back - I for one am happy. If he fails, he fails, he may do - Peter Withe but at least give him the chance first

By the way, I didn't see John "Benson and Hedges" Robertson have the bottle to try his hand at management !

JR was just a pair of eyes.

[PompeyVillan]

Some of this makes me laugh - talk about contradictions.

You have a load of people on here basically saying "Kevin McDonald is clearly a good coach, but is no way a manager - he should stick to what he does best"

Then, you have a lot of the same people saying "Staunton, gobshite, worst manager in Irish history, did you see his record as manager of Darlington".

Well excuse me, if, and it is IF it is Staunton - hell the hell do you know how good a coach he is !.

There are MANY MANY MANY No.2's, great No.2's who have tried their luck at management and couldn't hack it. From Peter Taylor in the 70's , TONY BARTON in the 80's to Brian Kidd in the 90's to (in England) Steve McClaren in the 2000's.

The guy was the best left back we have had in 30 yrs, he played for us for 10yrs, he loved the Villa and never wanted to leave (FACT, I / my wife ran into him daily in Walmley and chatted most days, even after he had left !).

For god sake lay off him and if it is him, get behind him. Personally, I cannot wait - I loved it when my heroes (Evans, Little etc..) were running the club - it felt like OUR club, and if Staunton brings that back - I for one am happy. If he fails, he fails, he may do - Peter Withe but at least give him the chance first

By the way, I didn't see John "Benson and Hedges" Robertson have the bottle to try his hand at management !

Aye, but Staunton's record as a manager isn't even average, it's appalling.

[Super-Villan]

Can people please read all my posts rather than just one random one from a conversation and reply to just that.

I have said, appoint a permanent manager who knows he has to prove himself this season to keep the job ie 3 year contract with the option of his contract being cancelled in May with a nominal pay off of say 1mil. While at the same time line up Jol or someone else in March to take over in the summer in the likely event the manager isn't good enough.

And as has been said, no decent manager is going to take the job on terms like that.

Hire a manager. If he's been awful, sack him in the summer and see if Jol or Moyes is available. None of this sneaky masterplan bullshit which has absolutely no basis in how decent managers are actually treated.

[CVByrne]

To be fair to Staunton's record as Irish coach I blame the FAI more than him. Staunton had f-all experience when he was hired. The FAI thought he'd learn the ropes working alongside Bobby Robson. Bobby sadly got sick and instead of doing the intelligent thing and hiring another highly experienced manager to mentor Staunton the goons let him run things solo which lead to disaster.

What I'm hoping for is that it's a trial period for Houllier. That at the end of the season we can all reassess the season we had. That There can be an amicable split if it's not working out with say half the remaining contract being paid up. Then someone else can be approached.

Maybe the club realise that there isn't any way the can get a manager they really want at the beginning of a season like this, and Houllier has the potential to be either a success or failure.

[CVByrne]

And as has been said, no decent manager is going to take the job on terms like that.

Hire a manager. If he's been awful, sack him in the summer and see if Jol or Moyes is available. None of this sneaky masterplan bullshit which has absolutely no basis in how decent managers are actually treated.

Sven would take that job in a heartbeat under those circumstances. He has a decent club record to boot.

If there is a similar plan afoot with Houllier I'd be very happy and have muchos respect for Lerner. Signing a 2 year contract means paying him off for the remaining year if the season doesn't go well would hardly be costly.

And I'm sure Houllier, being a very nice man in his 60's wouldn't be too bothered if he didn't have it anymore.

[smetrov]

To be fair to Staunton's record as Irish coach I blame the FAI more than him. Staunton had f-all experience when he was hired. The FAI thought he'd learn the ropes working alongside Bobby Robson. Bobby sadly got sick and instead of doing the intelligent thing and hiring another highly experienced manager to mentor Staunton the goons let him run things solo which lead to disaster.

What I'm hoping for is that it's a trial period for Houllier. That at the end of the season we can all reassess the season we had. That There can be an amicable split if it's not working out with say half the remaining contract being paid up. Then someone else can be approached.

Maybe the club realise that there isn't any way the can get a manager they really want at the beginning of a season like this, and Houllier has the potential to be either a success or failure.

Does anyone remember when Dr Joe got us knocked out of Europe ? - in an Act of defiance Ellis exteneded Dr Joes contract within days.....then sacked him at the end of the season !