sellyoakvilla Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 For me, Sunderland game isnt about the result. It's about the performance. If the players go back to looking like they couldnt give a shit... then we're in big trouble. But if we get that feeling of togetherness which was there at the Chelsea match then we'll be fine. This says it all for me too, the turning point of our season is, IMO of course, Clark's goal against Chelsea If we had lost that game after playing so well all game then the team would be so dejected and I don't believe we could have come back from that and relegation may still have been a genuine possibility. However, to come back so late on after losing two goals in the last six minutes we showed an incredible fight back and more important what so many people have been saying is missing - TEAM SPIRIT. Even the celebration with the pile on at the end proved that to me, the team spirit is back. A good performance against Sunderland shows we've made our turning point, now let's build on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 The bottomline is Houllier and Martin O'Neill have different footballing philosophies and methods to take them there.... there will be transition and for some players/fans it will be nice and for some it won't be and a bit of resentment may come in to play. Right now, Houlliers case ain't strong, due to results, but what the future holds who knows he could go on to eclipse everything O'Neill has done with us ....what then, do we send an apology saying we reacted too hastily. Some fans on here could be right it might be just a matter of time before he goes....I don't know.What i do know is a manager with such a big task of transforming the playing style needs time to do so. Some may say but why does he need to change it, for one he is not Martin O'Neill and two maybe he doesn't believe in it. Martin O'Neills tenure wasn't everone's cup of tea( it wasn't mine, but i did wholeheatedly applaud some of his results i.e Man U away) 6-6-6 was very commendable but 7-7-10-8 wasn't and prompted a few season ticket holders like me to think again....hoof football was not my kind of entertainment and counter attacking football is one thing but being overrun in midfield constantly was not easy on my eye and resulting in breakaway goal to win a match was not my idea of development.....hey ho would'nt do for all of us to think the same. Gerard Houllier has acheived some success elsewhere he has credentials to support he fact that he may be able to repeat it again.... he needs a reasonable amount of time and the support O'Neill enjoyed to help him acheive it. I don't know which camp is right or wrong for or anti..... what i do believe in is fair play PS I accept managers will make mistakes, they all do including the best and they may saying things in their defence that is best not said.... but hey they are only human. PPS... WE NEED TO GET BEHIND HIM This is perhaps one of the best reasoned comments I have seen in a long time. It would seem to me that MON's "achievements" were achieved almost by stealth ... it was always clear that Villa fell away in the second (and most crucial) half of the season. To my mind, MON could only have been more successful at Villa by spending huge amounts of money, but even that may have failed as buying the very best players to play his style would seem to be contradictory in terms. GH, on the other hand, may well have the genius to evolve long term success, and that is what we all would like to see, I'm sure. Whether he can do it? We have to give him the chance. I vote for TRO's view. Thanks John I can tell you i would have posted that even if we had of been beaten 3-2 at Chelsea. That team had more balance and experience about it....lets just hope we can build on it.... but confidence is brittle, there may well be some setbacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellyoakvilla Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 The defence is still a major issue for me, how can we concede 3 against Chelsea and Friedel still be man of the match? We still could have conceded 5 or 6 even with us playing very well and Chelsea not playing very well at all, we need to tighten up, but I do believe Houllier got the tactics and defence spot on for what it's worth. I hope he plays the same team against Sunderland.It's no coincidence that up until we were leading Chelsea had very few chances and Friedel didn't have to make that many saves. I guess the old "sit back and counter attack mentality" kicked in. Of course, we did that too many times under MON and this is something we should never do against any team, we need to carry on attacking. I hope Houllier changes this mentality and we can stop the late goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 We need to and should beat Sunderland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 A loss with fighting spirit shown from our team will encourage me we will be safe but it will do nothin to encourage me that houllier in future seasons can improve us from what MON did and ultimately that has to be why he was given the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracker1234 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Watch out, Gerard Houllier, Randy Lerner's in sacking mood. He's just fired Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini That was just posted on Twitter....Randy in a sacking mood huh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 it will do nothin to encourage me that houllier in future seasons can improve us from what MON did and ultimately that has to be why he was given the job. None of us can honestly say he can.. it's just that some are willing to give him that chance whilst some aren't. We'll see in this window if he brings anyone in and what he will do in the summer, I expect huge changes in the summer if im honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 A loss with fighting spirit shown from our team will encourage me we will be safe but it will do nothin to encourage me that houllier in future seasons can improve us from what MON did and ultimately that has to be why he was given the job. Still think GH is only here until the end of the season - we will then make a serious bid bid for moyes/coyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3te Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 We need to and should beat Sunderland no team "should" beat sunderland, theyre a bloody good team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellyoakvilla Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 A loss with fighting spirit shown from our team will encourage me we will be safe but it will do nothin to encourage me that houllier in future seasons can improve us from what MON did and ultimately that has to be why he was given the job. Still think GH is only here until the end of the season - we will then make a serious bid bid for moyes/coyle I don't, he's not the Allardyce type and his job at the FFF is no longer available for him as they are looking for a successor as of January 1 Houllier is long term should he turn all of this around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginko Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Watch out, Gerard Houllier, Randy Lerner's in sacking mood. He's just fired Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini That was just posted on Twitter....Randy in a sacking mood huh Difference being, the Brown's season is now over after not making the playoffs, and Mangini had 2 seasons in charge, both of which were 5-11, not impressive and showing no real progress. Not to mention that they were humiliated by the Steelers this week. Completely different situation, not that I think you're being particularly serious though Cracker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Lerwill Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 It would seem to me that MON's "achievements" were achieved almost by stealth ... it was always clear that Villa fell away in the second (and most crucial) half of the season. To my mind, MON could only have been more successful at Villa by spending huge amounts of money, but even that may have failed as buying the very best players to play his style would seem to be contradictory in terms. GH, on the other hand, may well have the genius to evolve long term success, and that is what we all would like to see, I'm sure. Whether he can do it? We have to give him the chance. I vote for TRO's view. Thanks John I can tell you i would have posted that even if we had of been beaten 3-2 at Chelsea. That team had more balance and experience about it....lets just hope we can build on it.... but confidence is brittle, there may well be some setbacks. If Villa had lost 2-3 but in a different way - i.e. by not conceding two goals in the last few minutes - then providing the performance had been good, Villa's spirit would not have been greatly dented. As someone has already commented - if that last-gasp equaliser (after conceding such late goals) had not arrived then getting the team spirit back up again might have been beyond GH. It was, perhaps, the defining moment of Houllier's season. But my feelings about GH have been consistent - like you. I have not been able to see the logic of the calls for GH's head after just 4 months and inheriting what he did. He may have 'gaffed' a couple of times, but nothing to suggest that he is not worth his salt and cannot lead Villa out of the mire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 But my feelings about GH have been consistent - like you. I have not been able to see the logic of the calls for GH's head after just 4 months and inheriting what he did. Well IMO he didn't inherit a squad that should be in a relegation battle, losing games with no fight and having the worst goal difference in the league. I except it was a perfect scenario he was coming into but IMO nothing justified what's been shown so far under houllier. The Chelsea game showed fight and passion and for the first time we got something out of a game when we went behind. It's a start but that's all it is, he still has a long way to show he's the right man to progress this club, randy and the general said our ambitions are the same then Houllier needs to show he can get us challenging for those ambitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Lerwill Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 But my feelings about GH have been consistent - like you. I have not been able to see the logic of the calls for GH's head after just 4 months and inheriting what he did. Well IMO he didn't inherit a squad that should be in a relegation battle, losing games with no fight and having the worst goal difference in the league. I except it was a perfect scenario he was coming into but IMO nothing justified what's been shown so far under houllier. The Chelsea game showed fight and passion and for the first time we got something out of a game when we went behind. It's a start but that's all it is, he still has a long way to show he's the right man to progress this club, randy and the general said our ambitions are the same then Houllier needs to show he can get us challenging for those ambitions. GH's "inheritence", BigJohn, was hit by a serious flow of injuries. That's been the main issue of the past few months. The Chelsea result is a "start", yes, and I have been constantly saying that we have to see how it goes over the next month. And the "spirit" issue may have been the players' reaction to McDonald not getting the job at VP and one or two being pampered by O'Neill. That, therefore, would not be GH's fault. But GH has got very good credentials ... there's nothing to suggest he cannot re-build successfully. We wait and we shall see ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudley_villa Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Watch out, Gerard Houllier, Randy Lerner's in sacking mood. He's just fired Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini That was just posted on Twitter....Randy in a sacking mood huh Difference being, the Brown's season is now over after not making the playoffs, and Mangini had 2 seasons in charge, both of which were 5-11, not impressive and showing no real progress. Not to mention that they were humiliated by the Steelers this week. Completely different situation, not that I think you're being particularly serious though Cracker Thats two clubs in the shite and he aint got a pot to piss in!.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuintonK6 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I'm one of the Houllier out brigade I'm afraid. But being one the the supporters who attend every home and away game feel I had more than the right to express my frustration and anger towards the man (especially after the Liverpool game). But I'm big enough to hold my hands up and say I'm going to back track and get behind him from here on in. I think yesterdays performance showed me he can get the players motivated and once he's cleared the dead wood and keeps those who want to play for the shirt along with his own additions, we could in fact start to build a new regime under Houllier and get back up the table where we belong. UTV & VTID !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Lerwill Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I'm one of the Houllier out brigade I'm afraid. But being one the the supporters who attend every home and away game feel I had more than the right to express my frustration and anger towards the man (especially after the Liverpool game). But I'm big enough to hold my hands up and say I'm going to back track and get behind him from here on in. I think yesterdays performance showed me he can get the players motivated and once he's cleared the dead wood and keeps those who want to play for the shirt along with his own additions, we could in fact start to build a new regime under Houllier and get back up the table where we belong. UTV & VTID !! There speaks another great sportsman! 8) Yes, I'm mostly an armchair supporter these days and therefore it's probably easier for me to look on and give views; when you experience the emotion (and cost!) on a match-by-match basis then you do feel it, and in a big way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 It was, perhaps, the defining moment of Houllier's season. Far too early to say that. You may as well say the 4-0 at money citeh was the defining moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu_The_Villan Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 One very interesting fact is that our wage bill is 7 mill lager than Spurs! Slightly off topic but i just cannot believe that. Have you seen the size of their squad?? Yeah, we have a few players on silly wages but surely to god they have more?!?! Not having a dig at you mate but where has this 'fact' come from just out of interest?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 It's quite a well known fact and has been done 1000x times on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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