Confirmed: Houllier is the new Villa manager

[GaztonVilla]

Mmmmmmm, Houllier with Hamann and McAllister sounds like a nice set-up to me. I'm not sure about their coaching ability or if they have any experience, but if they can transmit some of their ability to Ireland, Petrov and NRC, that'll do for me.

Hamann is with MK dons at moment and McaAllister was at Coventry and Leeds so their is some experience there

I'm convinced then. Sign em up.

[Jez]

General Krulak's warning to Villa fans over anti-Houllier comments

Sep 8 2010 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

Aston Villa's board have warned the Villa Park pessimists to stop their Gerard Houllier hostility or risk driving away the manager elect.

Houllier’s impending appointment as Martin O’Neill’s replacement has been greeted with a mixed reception from fans.

And General Charles C Krulak has taken a swipe at negative supporters for writing off Houllier before he has even started.

Villa’s non-executive director hit out at the anti-Houllier feeling on fans’ internet messageboards and called for more respect.

“Take Mr H for example,” said Krulak. “Whatever anyone thinks of him he deserves respect from the fans of this club.

“He has a fine record with multiple clubs and deserves better for the amount of effort he has put into his chosen career than to be ridiculed by AVFC.

“And that is just one person, who has been taken apart on the sites I post on.”

Posting on fans’ site www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk, Krulak suggested the Houllier critics are sending out the wrong message to Villa’s next manager. And the Vietnam war veteran insists it could give the Frenchman an unfavourable view of the backing he can expect when he takes over at Villa Park.

“We are bigger than that,” added Krulak. “As I have said many times, we can disagree all we want but we should do it respectfully.

“It makes little sense to me to pick out one or two candidates and run threads on how much we don’t want them or how bad they would be for the club.

“Any manager worth their salt is going to do some due diligence on the club and that would probably include reading up on the fans and the type of support they might receive.”

Krulak also defended Randy Lerner’s spending policy amid criticism that the chairman’s investment has dried up.

“We realise we will not make everyone happy, but we must do what we feel is right under the circumstances – and we will,” he added.

“For those who are striking out at Randy for not spending money, that, too, is crazy.

“He has more than bought this club three times over, so saying he won’t spend money is absurd.”

Clicky

[JulieB]

Qu'est-ce que c'est (que ça) ?

= What is it/that?

Qu'est-ce qui se passe ?

= What's happening?... More like!!!

[MrWeedMcGrass]

Yeah , that will be fantastic.

I hope the his detractors will be happy with Curbishley , setting the PL on fire.

[Cracker1234]

Why are they printing old news, that was from a few days ago.

[villa89]

At least they credited the source.

[Neil]

Jez, isnt that a pretty old set of quotes from krulak? I think I read that last week already?

[villa89]

I would love if Hamann was involved.

Me too. It might be the one saving grace of this catastrophic affair.

Thats a bit OTT

Yes it is. You don't get enough hyperbole on the internet these days .

[Woodytom]

General Krulak's warning to Villa fans over anti-Houllier comments

Sep 8 2010 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

Aston Villa's board have warned the Villa Park pessimists to stop their Gerard Houllier hostility or risk driving away the manager elect.

Houllier’s impending appointment as Martin O’Neill’s replacement has been greeted with a mixed reception from fans.

And General Charles C Krulak has taken a swipe at negative supporters for writing off Houllier before he has even started.

Villa’s non-executive director hit out at the anti-Houllier feeling on fans’ internet messageboards and called for more respect.

“Take Mr H for example,” said Krulak. “Whatever anyone thinks of him he deserves respect from the fans of this club.

“He has a fine record with multiple clubs and deserves better for the amount of effort he has put into his chosen career than to be ridiculed by AVFC.

“And that is just one person, who has been taken apart on the sites I post on.”

Posting on fans’ site www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk, Krulak suggested the Houllier critics are sending out the wrong message to Villa’s next manager. And the Vietnam war veteran insists it could give the Frenchman an unfavourable view of the backing he can expect when he takes over at Villa Park.

“We are bigger than that,” added Krulak. “As I have said many times, we can disagree all we want but we should do it respectfully.

“It makes little sense to me to pick out one or two candidates and run threads on how much we don’t want them or how bad they would be for the club.

“Any manager worth their salt is going to do some due diligence on the club and that would probably include reading up on the fans and the type of support they might receive.”

Krulak also defended Randy Lerner’s spending policy amid criticism that the chairman’s investment has dried up.

“We realise we will not make everyone happy, but we must do what we feel is right under the circumstances – and we will,” he added.

“For those who are striking out at Randy for not spending money, that, too, is crazy.

“He has more than bought this club three times over, so saying he won’t spend money is absurd.”

Clicky

BAD BAD BAD

[jimbojames]

Nice copy and paste journalism

[yemenal]

I'm very happy that its Houllier, I was having heart problems of my own regarding Bob Bradley and Alan Curbishley not too long ago. I'll feel even better about it when we sign up the pick of the French U-21s in January.

[daft]

There's something about English football and its fans. Sometimes we are our own clubs worst nightmare. It's one thing to be passionate about ones club, but being so passionate that no single person can ever be deemed good enough is downright harmful. The board have obviously talked to the man, yet we who in most cases haven't even seen him in the flesh write him off based on a record that, on paper, is pretty good. Insane and tragic and it certainly does effect the club negatively even if some people refuse to acknowledge that and claim that " it goes with the territory".

[chips'ngravy]

General Krulak's warning to Villa fans over anti-Houllier comments

Sep 8 2010 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail

Aston Villa's board have warned the Villa Park pessimists to stop their Gerard Houllier hostility or risk driving away the manager elect.

Houllier’s impending appointment as Martin O’Neill’s replacement has been greeted with a mixed reception from fans.

And General Charles C Krulak has taken a swipe at negative supporters for writing off Houllier before he has even started.

Villa’s non-executive director hit out at the anti-Houllier feeling on fans’ internet messageboards and called for more respect.

“Take Mr H for example,” said Krulak. “Whatever anyone thinks of him he deserves respect from the fans of this club.

“He has a fine record with multiple clubs and deserves better for the amount of effort he has put into his chosen career than to be ridiculed by AVFC.

“And that is just one person, who has been taken apart on the sites I post on.”

Posting on fans’ site www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk, Krulak suggested the Houllier critics are sending out the wrong message to Villa’s next manager. And the Vietnam war veteran insists it could give the Frenchman an unfavourable view of the backing he can expect when he takes over at Villa Park.

“We are bigger than that,” added Krulak. “As I have said many times, we can disagree all we want but we should do it respectfully.

“It makes little sense to me to pick out one or two candidates and run threads on how much we don’t want them or how bad they would be for the club.

“Any manager worth their salt is going to do some due diligence on the club and that would probably include reading up on the fans and the type of support they might receive.”

Krulak also defended Randy Lerner’s spending policy amid criticism that the chairman’s investment has dried up.

“We realise we will not make everyone happy, but we must do what we feel is right under the circumstances – and we will,” he added.

“For those who are striking out at Randy for not spending money, that, too, is crazy.

“He has more than bought this club three times over, so saying he won’t spend money is absurd.”

Clicky

Seems like the General is suffering a rather acute case of verbal diarrhea. I think for all concerned he'd be best advised to keep his mouth shut with regard to (over)reacting to every negative comment he reads on a message board. I would have thought that he would have realised by now that it's the negativity of football based forums that keeps the things alive. And as for Houllier getting scared off by a few negative online comments, if he does he's not the man for the job. Time to duck your head back below the parapet General, me thinks.

[jimbojames]

I'm very happy that its Houllier, I was having heart problems of my own regarding Bob Bradley and Alan Curbishley not too long ago. I'll feel even better about it when we sign up the pick of the French U-21s in January.

It would be nice if it was that straightforward but I doubt it is. I could be wrong but I would suspect that the cream of the french U21 squad are plying their trade at a decent level already.

[briny_ear]

Lets have a variation on "give us a wave..."

Gerard, Bonjour.

Gerard, Gerard, Bonjour.

With my rather clunky French, I can only get something like

"Gerard, Gerard, fais nous un signe de le main"

Which isn't very snappy. I'm sure the French must have an expression that would fit better into a chant.

[C4rvillan]

They have printed it now for maximum effect. The **** snakes were waiting for the right time to stir up a shit storm, the day he is about to be unveiled. It causes a stir and lets us look like we are in even more turmoil. This whole thing has been handled very badly from everyone concerned and if General K can't contain his emotion, he needs to stay away because all the negativity about the club's situation have followed on from his posts.

As for Houllier, if this doesn't give him the 'I want to prove you wrong!' then nothing will.

For me, I am happy about this appointment and have been since hsi name was mentioned. When was the last time AVFC have been able to attract a manager with a CV like that. Not even Big Fat Ron had a CV close to Houllier's. The guy is successful and too many people have let their hatred of other teams cloud their judgement about the potential this appointment has.

[BG_Villa_Fan]

Seems like the General is suffering a rather acute case of verbal diarrhea. I think for all concerned he'd be best advised to keep his mouth shut with regard to (over)reacting to every negative comment he reads on a message board. I would have thought that he would have realised by now that it's the negativity of football based forums that keeps the things alive. And as for Houllier getting scared off by a few negative online comments, if he does he's not the man for the job. Time to duck your head back below the parapet General, me thinks.

Agreed. This is embarrassing.

[Jez]

Tom Ross gives his verdict on Gerard Houllier for Aston Villa

Sep 8 2010

APPOINTING Gerard Houllier as manager of Villa is the biggest decision Randy Lerner has had to make since buying the club from Doug Ellis.

No-one can guarantee success, no matter who is appointed as boss, so it’s understandable that chairmen will opt not only for experience of management but also for a man with experience of winning.

My first thought on hearing that Randy was appointing Houllier as manager was: Are you sure?

That was based on my memory of the reaction of Liverpool fans towards the end of his managership at Anfield.

They complained about his one-dimensional, unattractive way of playing and in the end this forced him out.

I decided to investigate his CV and found that, despite suffering at the end of his reign at Anfield, it was quite impressive and that he achieved a lot of success as a manager at club level.

He got unfashionable Lens promoted to the top tier of French football and into the UEFA Cup.

At Liverpool he turned the club around after taking over from Roy Evans following a period when they were joint managers.

He brought in players like Sami Hyypia, Didi Haaman, Stephane Henchoz, Vladimir Smicer, Markus Babbel, Gary McAllister, Igor Biscan, Emile Heskey, Gregory Vignal and Christian Ziege to name but a few.

That 2000/01 season they won the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and finished third in the Premier League.

They then added the FA Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup.

He added another League Cup win in 2003 but failed to satisfy the expectations of the Liverpool board and fans.

It’s worth remembering that Liverpool had won everything in the 70s and 80s so the expectation level and pressure on any manager was immense and highly unrealistic – especially after what was a relatively barren 90s

At his next club, Lyon, he won the league twice and the French Champions Trophy twice before stepping down as manager.

So after being out of the direct firing line for some time, having been technical director of the French Football Federation, he may just arrive at Villa Park refreshed and relishing the new challenge of steering them to success.

As I said, no-one can guarantee that any manager will be successful but just maybe Randy may have pulled off a very shrewd signing.

I just hope Villa supporters make him feel at home because he comes in at a difficult time.

Ideally, he would have had a pre-season to sort everything out.

Sadly, Martin O’Neill’s timing means he will not have that luxury

Clicky

[MrWeedMcGrass]

There's something about English football and its fans. Sometimes we are our own clubs worst nightmare. It's one thing to be passionate about ones club, but being so passionate that no single person can ever be deemed good enough is downright harmful. The board have obviously talked to the man, yet we who in most cases haven't even seen him in the flesh write him off based on a record that, on paper, is pretty good. Insane and tragic and it certainly does effect the club negatively even if some people refuse to acknowledge that and claim that " it goes with the territory".

THIS

[West]

Haven't been around this morning so can someone fill me in, is the announcement likely to be today or tomorrow?