Houllier - released from contract with FFF

[Derryvillan]

A blow Patrice Begues has rejected us!

Where has that been said ?

[Maradona10]

Daily Mail by Neil Moxley!

[Denis_B]

Aston Villa is not a club of the same level as Liverpool” he said. “Let’s be objective and honest, it is a club which, for me, finds itself between seventh and twelfth place. It is above all a historic club, which has won the European Cup. It is a club which a very good set up, a good team, and which demands just one thing: to progress year on year”. Why choose a mid table English club after having tasted a higher level in the past? “I had other offers, but this seemed to me the most interesting in terms of environment, of work conditions”

Where the **** in that statement does he say we are LOOKING to be betwee n7th and 12th?

FFS read what he actually said before bloody slating the bloke and believing illiterate journos

For those that actually speak French this is what he said

Aston Villa n’est pas un club du niveau de Liverpool, reconnait-t-il. Soyons objectifs et honnêtes… C’est un club qui se situe, pour moi, entre la septième et la douzième place. C’est surtout un club historique, qui a gagné la Ligue des Champions (Ndlr : en 1982). C’est un club qui a de très bonnes installations, une bonne équipe et qui ne demande qu’une chose : progresser d’année en année.

[Super-Villan]

I never claimed that Liverpool weren't on a different level to us. When DOL was at Leeds they were a level above us too. It doesn't mean there's any point banging on about them. GH mentioned that one of his priorities was for us to get better results against Pool at home. Why? Because they're his old club? Feck that, I don't want to give them special attention in that way just because he used to manage them. I just said I hope he cuts down on the Pool talk and concentrates on the Villa.

(And as I also said, I'm still generally pretty positive about his arrival. Some of his comments have given me reservations, that's all. I'm sorry if people think we should say nothing bad about him before he starts, but all I can do is comment on the situation as I see it.)

[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.

[Cracker1234]

Daily Mail by Neil Moxley!

I don't see how he would know, I just read an article by him on Houllier and he has copied what the Birmingham Mail posted 2 days ago and what SkySports posted today.

Even Houllier didn't know in the Press Conference so I don't know how Neil has got that info.

[markavfc40]

,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.

From a distance it certainly seems a little disorganised. He is unsure when he can actually start and unsure of who his back room staff will be. If he does know then why not get them in place now and get cracking.

If this was happening at any other club, especially down the road, we'd be laughing our bollocks off.

[YLN]

For those that actually speak French this is what he said

Aston Villa n’est pas un club du niveau de Liverpool, reconnait-t-il. Soyons objectifs et honnêtes… C’est un club qui se situe, pour moi, entre la septième et la douzième place. C’est surtout un club historique, qui a gagné la Ligue des Champions (Ndlr : en 1982). C’est un club qui a de très bonnes installations, une bonne équipe et qui ne demande qu’une chose : progresser d’année en année.

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.

[fran_villa]

,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.

From a distance it certainly seems a little disorganised. He is unsure when he can actually start and unsure of who his back room staff will be. If he does know then why not get them in place now and get cracking.

If this was happening at any other club, especially down the road, we'd be laughing our bollocks off.

indeed,i just dont understand why we couldnt just make a normal appointment,i was expecting the new management team to be infront of the press today,ready for the next game,now you're talking weeks before the man even sits in the dugout..

[NormandyVillan]

His english is great, never expected that really shocked..

He was an English teacher in a French secondary school (a long time ago).

[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.

[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..

[Super-Villan]

I agree on the farce thing too. We get the announcement, finally, that Houllier is confirmed. Then he's only actually shaken on it and he's not going to start for another couple of weeks. The backroom team situation isn't nearly in place...it has been poorly managed, the whole thing. I don't remember another managerial appointment by a Prem club done in such a shoddy way, I really don't. I accept that the timing of MON's departure played some part in that, but it doesn't excuse a lot of what happened afterwards.

Might it all work out anyway? Well, yeah, and I really, really hope it does, and Ged could end up being really really good for us...but I worry about some of the initial signs.

[Cracker1234]

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.

[fran_villa]

is this Paul Fulkner fella a bit of a gobshite,i mean since he's had a more hands job, things have went down hill in a way..

[Cracker1234]

is this Paul Fulkner fella a bit of a gobshite,i mean since he's had a more hands job, things have went down hill in a way..

I was a bit shocked that the press didn't ask Paul some questions today also...Not that he could say anything that would interest us, but they normally ask the other person questions who normally sits with the new manager.

[HolteExile]

* We're something like 5th in the all time Prem league

That doesn't matter that's over games played, he is talking about league positions. The avg since the prem started.

And you know that how?

Sorry, I didn't see that clarification in his comments as reported. You might wish it to be so to suit your argument, but he mentioned nothing about averages, median values or anything else.

At a stroke, he effectively labelled us as midtable fodder. On a par with Sunderland, Wigan, Bolton et.c

It's incorrect, for the reasons outlined above.

Why you do you think you're correct?

Why does any of this even matter? so what if he said that....Are you going to jump up and down until someone hears you screaming?

I just don't know why everyone is making a big deal about all this crap, if he takes us forward great...What he has said to the French press don't mean balls, we don't even know what questions he was asked for starters.

I don't need to scream chap, I'm not seven.

Judging by the calibre of your argument you might be though.

At best, his arguments were ill informed. At worst, it presents an insight into how he views the club.

His perception is 7th-12th, he was quite clear about that. It also ties in with his comments a few years ago when both ourselves and Lyon were looking to sign Milan Baros: "I can't understand why any ambitious player would join a mid-table club like Aston Villa."

Ultimately I won't care a jot if he delivers where it matters -on the pitch. I recall Richard Dunne referring to us as a "nice, family club" on joining, making us sound like some homely lower division outfit. In the final analysis, balanced against his contribution on the park it mattered little.

But you would prefer to see you manager, perhaps the most high profile figure at the club batting for you, not doing you down in print.

Sorry if that troubles you, but there it is.

[fran_villa]

is this Paul Fulkner fella a bit of a gobshite,i mean since he's had a more hands job, things have went down hill in a way..

I was a bit shocked that the press didn't ask Paul some questions today also...Not that he could say anything that would interest us, but they normally ask the other person questions who normally sits with the new manager.

yeah,thats what i would have though to.i mean i dont want the days of Doug sitting there talking bollox,but surly the people employing GH should have something to say..

and i dont mean to be nit picking here by the way,i'm just trying to get my head around things really..

[Ginko]

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!

[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 disregarding what was actually said in the press conference.

1)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.

2)He stated that he had commitments on Monday that he had to honour,but would be in the stands for the bolton game "at the very least".The rags interpret this as he wont be in charge till the Wolves game???

3)His aim this year was "european football and silverware" and in his 3 years the top 4

I prefer to hear things from the horses mouth, not believe whats printed by sensationalist lazy journalists!

onwards and upwards