Next Villa manager (Poll added)

[Shoody]

Villas Boas

Hiddink

Van Gaal

Rikjaard

Deschamps

Loew

Moyes

Flores

Jol

----

Benitez

Hughes

Lambert

would be the managers I'd be looking at this summer, obviously some ones that are unlikely but hey ho, worth a shot. Thats probably the order I'd take them in aswell to be honest. With anything below the ----'s a last resort.

[Redman]

I could understand why you lot wouldn't be interested in Benitez after the whole Barry tapping-up saga etc... but I reckon it'd be a serious coup if you could get him.

Tactically, the guy is second to none. The British media did a proper hatchet job on the guy and convinced the masses he's a lesser manager than he is.

I think he'd be a good fit for you.

[juanpabloangel18]

Redman, I respectfully disagree. Liverpool were reknowned, as far as I can remember, for their boring 0-0 defensive football under Benitez. It may have won you the Champions League, fair play, but I think I speak for a lot of Villa fans when I say - we'd like to see some attractive football down at VP. It's been a while after all.

Benitez himself is such a detestable character, it would really sadden me if we got him in.

[OnlyOne]

but your and you're sound the same for all intents and purposes.

writing his instead of he's makes me wonder if your uncle is your brother

I normally also type OF instead of should HAVE and WHICH instead of THAT even though I know they're wrong. I shouldn't have to care on a football forum. I've seen loads of fair share spelling/grammar mistakes in this thread alone, but I don't give a toss to make a big deal out of it.

And Brumerican, believe what you want. Next you'll be thinking Gary Mac will us the last two games due to his masterful tactics.

First off you try and take the piss out of somebody because of their geographical knowledge (or lack thereof) even though you have the grammatical skills of a borderline idiot. Then you pull a completely irrelevant strawman argument about Gary MacAllister out of the hat to try and prove some ridiculous point about something I have never once mentioned .

I wouldn't have pulled you up in the first place as my own grammatical skills are not the greatest, but then again I don't go around slagging off others for their shortcomings .

If you're going to try and take the piss on here then it would be easier if you got your own shit in order first . You could start by not pointing out peoples weakness and concentrate on sorting out your own . It wouldn't hurt if you stopped being such a big headed git either . You keep trying to palm off your opinion as if it were fact and your general tone is just very unlikeable .

I wasn't even pisstaking the anonymous person. I actually tried to help at the time and not once did I insult or laugh back then. I was speaking generally that it wouldn't surprise me that the geographically knowledge has gone down when I discovered something like it on the board. You however brought up something that happened about a month ago that wasn't even that big of a deal. But still, it gave you fuel for the sake of this pointless argument.

Overall, I haven't really been anywhere close to insulting and I don't see how my general tone is very unlikeable just because I may express myself differently.

Oh, and before you rage over the picture, it was light-hearted. Don't take it seriously. :shock:

As for the GMac remark, it was tongue-in-cheek. If you really believe my grammar on a football forum is the same everywhere else, then I can make stuff up about you as well.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. :yawn:

[Redman]

Redman, I respectfully disagree. Liverpool were reknowned, as far as I can remember, for their boring 0-0 defensive football under Benitez. It may have won you the Champions League, fair play, but I think I speak for a lot of Villa fans when I say - we'd like to see some attractive football down at VP. It's been a while after all.

Benitez himself is such a detestable character, it would really sadden me if we got him in.

It's true - plenty of Liverpool supporters grew disillusioned with the football. However, I think it's a mistake to label Rafa as inherently defensive. After all, it was his Valencia side demolishing us in style home-and-away that led to his appointment in the first place.

The way I see it, he was forced into making compromises at Liverpool. Expected to challenge for the title and CL with a lower budget than our rivals, we ended up building a squad of cheaper, competitive players than expensive, stylish ones (Dirk Kuyt being the best example).

Give him control, give him a supportive board who don't bullshit him and I've no doubt he'd turn you into a force. It might not be the most positive football at first - the priority would be making you difficult to beat. But his ethos is based on continuous improvement so as long as everybody continued to buy into his vision, the fun times would follow.

As for his character, the guy is an absolute gent. As an example, he and his wife donated £96,000 to the Hillsborough Family Support Group when he left Liverpool and here he is at the Hillsborough memorial a month ago:

He is also fiercely loyal. At numerous points during his time with Liverpool he could have accepted approaches from Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern or Inter - and who could have blamed him considering the runaround the previous owners were giving him?

Okay, so he had no time for the press and he wasn't afraid to unsettle players from other clubs. But that was just him protecting the interests of his own club.

Anyway, I've made my case for Rafa - I'll shut up now.

[bose]

Redman, I respectfully disagree. Liverpool were reknowned, as far as I can remember, for their boring 0-0 defensive football under Benitez. It may have won you the Champions League, fair play, but I think I speak for a lot of Villa fans when I say - we'd like to see some attractive football down at VP. It's been a while after all.

Benitez himself is such a detestable character, it would really sadden me if we got him in.

Seriously though I couldn't give a **** about attractive football now, I just want us winning games and being up there in the top six and challenging for trophies.

Doesn't matter if next manager is Benitez, Hughes, Rikjaard, Moyes or Bobby McFerrin as long as they get us up the table, I'll be happy.

[NowDoINotLikeThat]

@ Redman

Benitez would be another bad fit for us.

No denying he has pedigree but just look how many players he went through at Liverpool . The amount of players he bought only to sell on the next season or not even play was ridiculous.

His transfer record was botched at best (id make a list but it would be just too long) and the football was pretty dour too and he seems to have lost the plot in past 2 years - just look what happened at Inter Milan . Admitedly that was always going to be difficult after what Mourinho did there but even so.

Another ex-Liverpool manager is not the way to go.

Benitez would give Houllier a good run for his money in talking about how great they are also.

[MrDuck]

I see that Hughes apparently has a get-out clause in his Fulham contract? Hmmm.

[Redman]

@ Redman

Benitez would be another bad fit for us.

No denying he has pedigree but just look how many players he went through at Liverpool . The amount of players he bought only to sell on the next season or not even play was ridiculous.

His transfer record was botched at best (id make a list but it would be just too long) and the football was pretty dour too and he seems to have lost the plot in past 2 years - just look what happened at Inter Milan . Admitedly that was always going to be difficult after what Mourinho did there but even so.

Another ex-Liverpool manager is not the way to go.

Benitez would give Houllier a good run for his money in talking about how great they are also.

Plenty of Liverpool fans would agree with you.

But I'll speak for myself and say that having followed the daily narrative of what went on at Liverpool during the Benitez regime, my view is completely different.

There was a high turnover of players - that came from having to rebuild the squad but also having to rebuild it on a budget. I remember signing players like Crouch, Pennant, Bellamy, Riera, Sissoko, Voronin. All underwhelming signings at the time - players we knew would prove not good enough to compete for major honours but all players we signed anyway to make up the numbers and most of whom were sold on for a profit. This is what I mean about having to make compromises. No player on that list would be first choice for a club challenging for titles.

I'm not saying Rafa didn't make mistakes (like all managers do) but for some reason, all mitigation is ignored in his case (and there is a shitload of mitigation).

He definitely lost his way at the end but the amazing thing is that he didn't lose it sooner. He was the one man driving Liverpool in something like the right direction when the club was at war. But how long could it realistically last? There'd been an impending sense of doom hanging over Anfield since early 2008 - it was a matter of time before the shit hit the fan but that wasn't until late 2009.

And about Inter. Read this: http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2010/09/11/2111938/calcio-debate-will-inter-regret-not-making-any-summer

Last summer, Moratti broke the habit of a lifetime and bought no players. Then when the injuries started to mount (did you see how many?) he was happy to let Rafa carry the can for the results. It was just more of the same bullshit he'd escaped from at Liverpool - no wonder he walked.

[MrDuck]

I don't think Benitez is a bad manager, just not right for Villa. Houllier made it abundantly clear just how much he still loved Liverpool when he first joined us here, and managed to alienate a large portion of Villa fans as a result - most of which he'll struggle to ever get back on side. I don't have a problem with GH having a fondness for a former club, but ramming it down our throats was not a clever thing to do.

So the idea of Benitez coming in... someone else who ended his time at Anfield on a low note, someone else who still openly professes his love for all things Anfield, someone who still lives in the area (I think?) and who has recently been quoted as saying he'd love to go back and manage Liverpool again.... please no, keep him away from Villa Park.

[Cracker1234]

BRIGHTON boss Gus Poyet is on the list as a possible successor to Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier.

The Sun

Not much of a story at all, but that's another on the list.

[TrentVilla]

BRIGHTON boss Gus Poyet is on the list as a possible successor to Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier.

The Sun

Not much of a story at all, but that's another on the list.

I rate Poyet more than Lambert but either of the two would in my view be a risk we can't afford to take at this time.

[Cracker1234]

BRIGHTON boss Gus Poyet is on the list as a possible successor to Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier.

The Sun

Not much of a story at all, but that's another on the list.

I rate Poyet more than Lambert but either of the two would in my view be a risk we can't afford to take at this time.

I agree, I like Poyet, but the prem is a big jump from where he is at now.

[Houlston]

If the board was competent enough, we wouldn't be in this situation.

What a very simplistic view point. If only eveything were so black and white, life would be a piece of piss.

It seems like you're trying to counter-attack everything for the sake of it.

Is this a tribute to Alanis Morissette?

They haven't done a good job at all and appear to be out of their depth since they took full control at August. Even the general has said it wasn't what they were expecting this season.

I must of missed something, they only took full control last August? Who was in control prior to that then? The general has admitted the season hasnt gone to plan, well thats obvious but again how does that make them incompetent. They made a decision that at this time looks like it hasnt worked out but that doesnt make them incompetent it makes them human. I take it you werent around much for a lot of Dougs era? Randy has been brilliant for this club and right now is a very difficult, complex and sensitive period perhaps you should give him the benefit of the doubt for all the good he has done. Like someone else said your manner is unlikeable and you seem to make points without any real prior thought or knowledge.

[Maradona10]

Trent why can't we take the risk? I'm just hoping that after such a shit season we have a similar bounce back to DOL's first season, or have an even better one like Little's season.

[Big_John_10]

Randy has been brilliant for this club

He's also made decisions in the last 12 months that have seen us drop back to the same position we were in when he took over.

I'm no business expert but it can't be a good thing if you buy a company that is performing badly and spend millions and millions investing in it and then 5 years later you're back in the same position.

[Maradona10]

BG-10, I'd say we're not in the same position at all. In my opinion we are in a false position due to inept management and certain players not performing. The squad we have is 10 times better than the one he inherited.

[Houlston]

Randy has been brilliant for this club

He's also made decisions in the last 12 months that have seen us drop back to the same position we were in when he took over.

I'm no business expert but it can't be a good thing if you buy a company that is performing badly and spend millions and millions investing in it and then 5 years later you're back in the same position.

I'm not a business expert either but I am imagine for the price he paid for Villa its worth a lot more now. Also the property that is attributed to Villa Park in the surrounding area is worth a small fortune in itself and wasnt reflected in the price he paid for it. Furthermore the difference in finishing 6th and 14th is around 7m, if the wage bill has been reduced by 100k per week this season and with average high earning players like Beye and Warnock leaving in the summer then this loss of income wont be as hard felt.

Big John I know you are on a downer and go on and on about how bad Houllier is but just because this season has been poor it doesnt mean Randy has suddenly become a poor Chairman or incompetent. Our league position is poor but player wise we have some great players, some great young players, an unbelievably good youth system and training facilities. There will be money to spend in the summer. Just because we are mirroring a league position of 5 years ago doesnt mean the club is in the same place it has moved on loads and again its so simplistic to think it hasnt moved on. I guess a mod may say OT anytime soon.

[Big_John_10]

BG-10, I'd say we're not in the same position at all. In my opinion we are in a false position due to inept management and certain players not performing. The squad we have is 10 times better than the one he inherited.

Oh I 100% agree.

But randy has to take some blame for MoN leaving and has to take all the blame for hiring houllier and sticking with him. My point is that although he's been great for this club his decisions have led to us finishing on a similar points total to when he first took over us. Like I said surely in any business coming in, investing loads over years and then performing at the same poor level can't be considered a success.

[Big_John_10]

Big John I know you are on a downer and go on and on about how bad Houllier is but just because this season has been poor it doesnt mean Randy has suddenly become a poor Chairman or incompetent. Our league position is poor but player wise we have some great players, some great young players, an unbelievably good youth system and training facilities. There will be money to spend in the summer. Just because we are mirroring a league position of 5 years ago doesnt mean the club is in the same place it has moved on loads and again its so simplistic to think it hasnt moved on. I guess a mod may say OT anytime soon.

Maybe I am being a bit harsh on randy. I'm very grateful for the good things we've done and I'm confident if we get the right man we'll improve massively next season, I'm not that confident randy will appoint that man though.

There have clearly been improvements but the main things in football will always be results, points totals and league position. Unfortunatley its those things that are as bad as when DOL and doug were running the show and I believe randy's decisions over the last 12 months have played a big part in this.