Houllier - released from contract with FFF

[Maradona10]

I'd love to bring back JG and give him the assistant manager role!

[fran_villa]

A blow Patrice Begues has rejected us!

Where has that been said ?

if this is the case,i dont think GH gave this job enough thought,i mean Thompson now the very man that worked with GH for years.something just doesnt seem right to me.

Reading fran_villa's last post and all the fuss over the 7th-12th issue makes me think people are making something over very little. 'Mountains out of mole hills' as I read earlier on the thread.

say what you like,but thats how it seems to me..fair enough,if you're happy thats grand by me i just think its turning into a bit of a farce..the company that Randy paid money to bring in GH should have known what lay ahead with this..

You're correct Randy paid the company, Randy is happy for this to happen the way it is or it wouldn't be happening.

It's 2 games, it's not life or death.

Well, I kind of agree, but then again if we find ourselves in a position at the end of the season where a single point matters, we might all think a bit differently. It is the strangest managerial appointment concerning how lengthy and drawn out the process has been and continues to be, but I guess Randy could have gone for an easier option and appointed someone out of work straight away, but he;s obviously gone for who he thinks is the best man for the job and if that means having to wait for him to tie up loose ends then so be it. It's a decision made with the long term in mind I feel, hopefully the team can get some positive results without him and it will give him an opportunity to more closesly assess the team and hopefully bring in an assistant manager although it seems everyone thinks that position is cursed or something with how many are supposedly turning it down!

i think he should go for Brian Little as assistant manager ,it would be like when he got Thompson at liverpool eh,Villa at heart and all that.

[fran_villa]

I'd love to bring back JG and give him the assistant manager role!

or him even for me.

[HolteExile]

Litigation being what it is today I don't think newspapers would make up direct quotes.

Take them out of context perhaps, or if you see cop outs such as 'a source said..' you can question the accuracy.

But direct quotes? No. Or 'Non,' to keep it current.

[brommy]

A blow Patrice Begues has rejected us!

Where has that been said ?

if this is the case,i dont think GH gave this job enough thought,i mean Thompson now the very man that worked with GH for years.something just doesnt seem right to me.

Reading fran_villa's last post and all the fuss over the 7th-12th issue makes me think people are making something over very little. 'Mountains out of mole hills' as I read earlier on the thread.

say what you like,but thats how it seems to me..fair enough,if you're happy thats grand by me i just think its turning into a bit of a farce..the company that Randy paid money to bring in GH should have known what lay ahead with this..

I never said I was 'happy', just that it's no big deal. It doesn't surpise me that GH was head and shoulders above anyone else willing or available. The fact that GH is very willing but not readily available for a week or three shouldn't detract from this. An assistant will be found in time. It means KMac takes charge at Stoke and GH works harder for a few weeks until he finds his assistant, so what. I don't see it as the big issue you do. :|

I'm also shocked that anyone familiar with the British media is suckered in by the likes of the Daily Mail shit stirring.

[Super-Villan]

If GH can't get his first, second and third choice assistants to come and work here...if...then I think that is a big issue, yes. So he gets his fourth choice pick? How confident will he be with the guy? How much worse is he than pick 1? That's nothing to do with being suckered in by the Mail (this is being widely reported, by the way) just looking at a situation as it is being reported and wondering what the consequences are for my football club.

[HolteExile]

I think whoever he selects will hopefully understand and will be grateful for the chance to work for one of the biggest sides in one of the best leagues in the world.

[Super-Villan]

Yes, I agree, but how good will they be at their job of being assistant manager of Aston Villa? They might be fine, but when your down to 4th choice it's probably time to stop getting excited and start asking questions.

[TheDon]

The 7th to 12th position thing was NEVER mentioned in the PC! It comes from a french paper and our rags decided to print as if it was said in the PC.

It doesn't matter where he said it, the fact remains he said it. Or do we just ignore things that people say in anything but the British press?

The past 3 seasons we've finished 6th. That is hardly the form of a club that "finds itself between the 7th and 12th positions".

It's a statement that is not based on fact.

[snowychap]

Here's my stab at a translation:

Aston Villa is not a club at the same level as Liverpool. Let's be honest and objective, it's a club which is, for me, between the seventh and twelfth positions. It's especially a historic club which has won the Champions League. It's a club with very good facilities, a good team and it only needs one thing: To progress year on year.

That doesn't look far wrong. 'Finds itself' from the previous translation looks a little clumsy. Wouldn't that be se trouve, anyway?

[ChrisNichollsToe]

Yes, I agree, but how good will they be at their job of being assistant manager of Aston Villa? They might be fine, but when your down to 4th choice it's probably time to stop getting excited and start asking questions.

The three assistants whom turned us down are:-

1. Macca, which Houllier admitted during the conferance

2. Thompson, whom turned it down for family reasons

3. The french guy, whom is under contract?

This is being completely blown out of proportion by Oniels media mates. Macca will be happy to act as assistant until another guy is appointed.

If anybody wants to blame anybody, then they should look no further than the yellow livered four eyed traitor.

Could the club have handled things better?

Possibly. But we have to remember that they found themselves plunged head first into this situation. Its hard when you lose a manager and his coaches at any time, but with 5 days before the start of a season?

That situation is a nightmare for the most experienced board, so im not suprised we seem to have handled things the way we have.

I happpen to think they have done the best they could have done, and are proberly a lot wiser now, after learning from this experience.

Onwards and upwards 8)

[brommy]

I'm not saying an assistant is unimportant but I did not realise how much importance some people put on a number 2. I read that MON was quite 'hands-off' and left the majority of coaching to his two assistants. Do we know that GH is like that? Do we know that GH won't cope with a month or so (which is outside of the transfer window) of 'hands-on coaching'. He won't be short of existing Villa staff who are able to help out at some level. It would appear that GH has not got his favourite first choice assistants but with all the contacts and experience GH has, I find it hard to believe GH doesn't know of a couple of other more than capable candidates. Good things come to those who wait.

[brommy]

Yes, I agree, but how good will they be at their job of being assistant manager of Aston Villa? They might be fine, but when your down to 4th choice it's probably time to stop getting excited and start asking questions.

Why would anyone get excited about a first, fourth or fortieth assistant?

What questions are important to you in this regard?

[murfee]

The 7th to 12th position thing was NEVER mentioned in the PC! It comes from a french paper and our rags decided to print as if it was said in the PC.

It doesn't matter where he said it, the fact remains he said it. Or do we just ignore things that people say in anything but the British press?

The past 3 seasons we've finished 6th. That is hardly the form of a club that "finds itself between the 7th and 12th positions".

It's a statement that is not based on fact.

I agree we are a top 6 club.

The point i am making is, it wasnt a great thing to say,its in print ,from at least a week ago, not from todays press conference.So why are the press making out he said it today??

[Ulver]

FFS !!! I'm sick of all this shite!! Too many people here are believing what is being written in the daily rags and totally disre

garding what was actually said in the press conference.

You sir are a DISGRACE.

Fancy coming on here and talking common **** sense. What kind of supporter are you?

I don't want to hear from fans who actually listen to whats being said, I want to hear from people who take their Gospel from the tabloids thank you very much.

I bet you're one of these old school fans who go down VP week in week out and support the team good or bad.

SHAMEFUL!

[ChrisNichollsToe]

The 7th to 12th position thing was NEVER mentioned in the PC! It comes from a french paper and our rags decided to print as if it was said in the PC.

It doesn't matter where he said it, the fact remains he said it. Or do we just ignore things that people say in anything but the British press?

The past 3 seasons we've finished 6th. That is hardly the form of a club that "finds itself between the 7th and 12th positions".

It's a statement that is not based on fact.

I agree we are a top 6 club.

The point i am making is, it wasnt a great thing to say,its in print ,from at least a week ago, not from todays press conference.So why are the press making out he said it today??

I think we are just everybodies fave bunch bag at the moment. Ive spent so much time listenting to the media twisting things and even inventing things these last two days, that im beginning to wondor about what agenda they have.

Once weve won three on the trot with Houlllier at the helm, things will turn quickly, but if we dont, then expect even more bullshit from our media enemies.

[murfee]

FFS !!! I'm sick of all this shite!! Too many people here are believing what is being written in the daily rags and totally disre

garding what was actually said in the press conference.

You sir are a DISGRACE.

Fancy coming on here and talking common **** sense. What kind of supporter are you?

I don't want to hear from fans who actually listen to whats being said, I want to hear from people who take their Gospel from the tabloids thank you very much.

I bet you're one of these old school fans who go down VP week in week out and support the team good or bad.

SHAMEFUL!

Yea old school the left side

[snowychap]

The point i am making is, it wasnt a great thing to say,its in print ,from at least a week ago, not from todays press conference.

If it would help: link.

I think the interview is the second one down.

So why are the press making out he said it today??

Arse from elbow, probably.

[HolteExile]

FFS !!! I'm sick of all this shite!! Too many people here are believing what is being written in the daily rags and totally disre

garding what was actually said in the press conference.

You sir are a DISGRACE.

Fancy coming on here and talking common **** sense. What kind of supporter are you?

I don't want to hear from fans who actually listen to whats being said, I want to hear from people who take their Gospel from the tabloids thank you very much.

I bet you're one of these old school fans who go down VP week in week out and support the team good or bad.

SHAMEFUL!

It's a unique form of common sense that ignores direct quotes from the horses mouth.

How do you reconcile the two?

"I have more common sense because I choose to be ignorant of the facts and applaud anyone else who does likewise." Is that it?

Curious.

And I guess anyone else who doesn't fit this narrow 'ignorance is bliss' criteria isn't a true Villa fan? Or not 'old school.'

I see.

[Super-Villan]

I don't really care if the press are making out he said the 7th-12th thing today. I know he didn't and I still think it's important.

Some people don't think the assistant manager is an important position to get a good man in for? Well, I can't disagree strongly enough on that. Patrice Bergues was highly rated as a coach. Phil Thompson...not my cup of tea, but he did a good job at Pool, especially when in sole charge. Kmac...well, at least he knows the players. Who will the 4th choice be? How far down a list do we get before we have to worry? Staunton?

And I will reiterate ONCE AGAIN that I still feel on the whole positive about Houllier taking over. There are plenty of plusses. But the way all this has been handled over the last few days has been far from ideal and has left me with a few doubts. And I don't think that's an unreasonable position at all.