Confirmed: Houllier is the new Villa manager

[steaknchips]

If money is the problem,is Houllier the answer? Would you not prefer the younger up and coming Klinsmann? He too has loads of connections with quality youth players in Germany..And is also very well respected..Available and would surely work alongside KMac?

Good post by the way Chindie

[Houlston]

Fascinating how theories, rumours and conjecture get people so worked up and push them to look at the possible negatives instead of any possible positives.

[Richard]

But the General specifically said that, in terms of being honourable, he was speaking as a fan, and not as a board member. He also then later said that we're looking at currently employed managers.

And also - what is evidence that you mention? How have you concluded that this is a straight up lie? Based on what solid evidence?

I wouldn't use the General as a great source of information any more.

Every name that has been consistently linked has been out of work or easily removed from said job. We've not been solidly linked to anyone that is in work. There was a brief link to Jol that quickly died a death. Moyes rumours appeared to be based on pretty much nothing (asides from which, if we genuinely did want Moyes, I think we're barking up the wrong tree entirely - we offer him nothing that could tempt him). Asides from that, all unemployed/in tentative roles (Houllier atm is in a back room role with the French national side IIRC, a director of something or other).

And I don't believe we're the sealed vessel we have gained a reputation for anymore. Inklings of our intentions come out, in this debacle it seems to have become more than inklings and instead turned into open secrets. The man that arrives in our manager's seat will be cheap.

I arrive at this conclusion based on this - we seemed exceptionally loathe to spend money this summer. Sell to buy was the word that then was spun into something that tried to make out it wasn't sell to buy when it was.

Then we had a good manager simply walk out. I don't buy the Great Satan O'Neill line, spun by the club with Krulak's pathetic digs seemingly. I maintain a belief that something changed that forced O'Neills hand, and I'm fairly sure it was money orientated, given that O'Neill appeared resigned to letting Milner go and was already sanctioning the sale of other players, like Shorey... I think something changed that made him jack it in.

It seems that we just don't want to spend anything. But just saying 'we're skint' is bad for business, so we wrap it up in other phrases. Krulak simply cannot speak solely as a fan. He's a board member. He has to reflect what the board would like. Make no mistake, his thread here is PR, it's a line spinner for us./ Sometimes it's nice and it's useful to the odd few, and gets Nicky Keye a few more calls a week. But it is PR at the end of the day and for whatever Krulak may say as a fan, he's reflecting the board as well imo.

I'd love to see us pick up a good manager in work.

Can't see it though. And imo, from what we've seen this summer, it'll be because we're not opening the wallet anymore.

Which is fair enough. But they have to realise they severely threaten the use of any investment by Randy thus far by cocking this appointment up monumentally.

Not everyone will agree with me but hey, it's what the sites for.

Absolutely 100% agree with every single word of that and have done for a while

The PR spin from the club is immensely annoying and derogatory to the fans but I would say that Krulaks last few posts have been nothing short of disgraceful to be honest in a "say nice things about me or I'm going home" type of way. He has also said far more worse things about the fans than Oleary ever did

[Rodders]

no he hasn't. If anything he's been spot on. DoL was right about the fickleness though he made that comment at the exact wrong time iirc, after that Wycombe match wasn't it when we were 3-1 down at HT.

There is still not one shred of evidence that justifies the Board are lying to us type scenarios. Even 'inferences' seem to rather selectively ignore context as and when the argument suits.

But nevermind.

We shall see.

[Mantis]

Why do people always have to take one side? Since MON resigned VT has been firmly split into two camps -the anti-Lerner camp and the anti-MON camp. We don't know why MON left (and I doubt we ever will) so I think it's unfair to judge either Randy or MON on that. As for the manager, no one has been appointed yet so it's also unfair to judge Randy on something which we only know speculation.

[Houlston]

The PR spin from the club is immensely annoying and derogatory to the fans but I would say that Krulaks last few posts have been nothing short of disgraceful to be honest in a "say nice things about me or I'm going home" type of way. He has also said far more worse things about the fans than Oleary ever did

Bit like the spin on here, and all Krulak has done is voice an opinion much like we all do. Its ironic that the reaction he is getting is similar to that which is levelled at him of spitting his dummy out.

[Ulver]

He has also said far more worse things about the fans than Oleary ever did

As someone who reads the General's posts all the time i'd love to know what these 'worse things than O'Leary ever did' were

?

He's never said one thing that i've took as offensive in all his time here

[Cracker1234]

Ulver, Richard has issues with the board for some reason and he will take any oppotunity to have a pop at them.

[Denis_B]

Many posts on here are more insulting and derogatory to the club and cause me much more emabarrasment than ever the General could muster.

[Demitri_C]

The PR spin from the club is immensely annoying and derogatory to the fans but I would say that Krulaks last few posts have been nothing short of disgraceful to be honest in a "say nice things about me or I'm going home" type of way. He has also said far more worse things about the fans than Oleary ever did

sorry rich i cannot agree with that. that cretin dol took any dig he could get at fans. i havent seen the gen call us fickle like dol did

[smokingzen]

Please let us put to bed this totally pathetic talk of the club trying to get a manger on the cheap. Now I'm not quite sure of the financial difference between a “cheap option” and an “expensive one”, £2 million, £5 million, £10 million? At the end of the day do you really think a man that has ploughed a couple of hundred million pounds worth of investment into the club would risk much of that investment by trying to save a few million on a manager? It should be perfectly obvious to anyone with half a brain that the right manager will pay for themselves at the end of the day and that Randy has enough common sense and nous to try and get the best person for the job regardless of cost.

Anyone that thinks otherwise really just can't see the wood for the trees and IMO has an underlying agenda against the board.

[avfc89]

We haven't even appointed a manager yet and people are stating the club are going for the cheap option, I think we need to delay our views until we have a manager in the hot seat.

[villan-scott]

Please let us put to bed this totally pathetic talk of the club trying to get a manger on the cheap. Now I'm not quite sure of the financial difference between a “cheap option” and an “expensive one”, £2 million, £5 million, £10 million? At the end of the day do you really think a man that has ploughed a couple of hundred million pounds worth of investment into the club would risk much of that investment by trying to save a few million on a manager? It should be perfectly obvious to anyone with half a brain that the right manager will pay for themselves at the end of the day and that Randy has enough common sense and nous to try and get the best person for the job regardless of cost.

Anyone that thinks otherwise really just can't see the wood for the trees and IMO has an underlying agenda against the board.

This. This. This. I'm sick to death of people coming on here and digging and digging at RL and the running of our club. He has done a fantastic job getting us to where we are now. The value of Aston Villa has more than likely trebled or even quadrupled in his tenure, down to TV money, but also down to his running and investments in the club.

I'm 110% confident that RL will get the best man he deems possible for Villa, at whatever cost. I don't see him skimping out and getting the 'cheap' option, he will get the best realistic candidate that wants to manage Villa. If it's Houllier then so be it, we all need to get behind him, and the team, and do our job, support Aston Villa. And FWIW I don't imagine Houllier will be all that cheap, as he has earnt the right to earn good money for what he does. A manager who has won as much as he has, and achieved at what he has at clubs more world renowned than ours deserves to earn good money, and I'm sure he won't come cheaply.

So all you cynical so and so's who fail to see the positives, and tend to focus all their energies on slating the club and RL, and homing in on every slight negative there may be. For me the positives of the last 4 years heavily outweigh the negatives, and feel RL is striving to keep it that way.

[smokingzen]

Deleted, please confine you comments to peoples opinions and not making posts about other posters - Bicks

[C4rvillan]

FFS we are appointing a Prem proven manager who has won things, BIG things and yet he isn't good enough. IMO he is exactly what we need at the moment. Someone who will utilise the squad that we have in a different way, someone that is willing to pick up bargain players from around the globe as well as promoting youth. Let's just enjoy the ride shall we becasue the last time I looked into a crystal ball, I couldn't see **** all apart from the table the otherside.

[Morley_crosses_to_Withe]

I'd love to see us pick up a good manager in work.

Chindie, I don't agree with a lot of what you've written, but staying on topic - who would you like us to try and get then? (given what you've said there).

[stourvilla]

We haven't even appointed a manager yet and people are stating the club are going for the cheap option, I think we need to delay our views until we have a manager in the hot seat.

exactly

[gabbygabbygabbygabbygabby]

FFS we are appointing a Prem proven manager who has won things, BIG things and yet he isn't good enough.

This should not be overlooked. He has finished 2nd in the league and won a treble in England. He has made some stunning signings along with some terrible ones but every manager does that.

He deserves a chance.

[AntD]

General said O'Neil was aware of constraints for some time and then just left - why do some assume he is lying about that and that there has to be more to it? We must spend more on wages than most and the position looked to me like it got way out of control. We have a small squad but zero options on the bench considering what we spent. I think they were trying to reign MON in for ages and timing aside it could be a relief I think. If I were Randy and saw Shorey, Beye, Salifu, Davis, Reo, Ginger and some of the other turning up day after day with no real prospect of a game or being moved on I think I would quickly come to see it as a releif as well.

Apart from not giving me any decent food in the Upper Witton the transformation in the Club has been amazing. Commercially we are miles ahead of where we were. Of course there is not a bottomless pit but I think they are happy for a decent % of turnover to go an wages, if that turnover increases then great, the % we spend goes up too. You can't go on forever with a deficit, it makes no sense.

I honestly don't get the negativity around the manger search. Just because the press write it like it is fact it does not mean it is. Even if they have been spot on what is really wrong with the approach. People have started saying we are skint in the media and on here and it seems to be taken now as fact.

Maybe the search has included all the names we want it to. Maybe one of them will agree. Maybe the press don't actually know every detail, Maybe we have some money. Maybe RL the lawyer, finance expert, Villa Tattoed Chairman is actually not a numb nuts and has a clue. Maybe the General is just getting pissed off having to defend every position on a subject he can obviously never win on or talk about fully while ongoing. Maybe Houillier will get appointed, steady the ship, sign some french people and we might win more games than we did last year.

Or maybe the hole situation is hopeless, RL bought the club as part of a remake of Brewsters Millions where instead of buying a Baseball Team he has 5 years to spend $150 million. Maybe I should give more of a toss than I do and am worn out by it.

[JulieB]

David Moyes would be barmy to leave Everton for Villa. Some fans really need to open their eyes to reality.

Villa aren't a small club akin to the likes of Blackburn or Wigan - we're easily as big if not bigger than Everton, so why shouldn't we go out and get a manager from that club if we choose to?

We have to show some ambition in life.

Because he doesn't want to come, ffs.

That could well be true, but in reality you're guessing as much as I am.

It's not true from what I've been told...

However there is the question of morals, principles & deserting one's comrades........... not to mention the current employer's take on matters!!