The Next Villa Manager Part 3

[misanthrope]

There are numerous things that don't add up here and should be enough reassurance for anybody.

1) We state the manner in which Hughes left Fulham was detrimental to his chance at the Villa job - McLeish's exit was worse.

2) We state we are after a manager that understands the principles of the club and can take us forward - To anybody of sound mind this does not constitute a two time relegation candidate.

3) We state we pulled out of McLaren because of supporter backlash - This has multiplied tenfold as a result of the McLeish rumours.

[barryod11]

ya randys plane arrived just over an hour ago....

http://www.bhxspotter.com/blog/?page_id=2000

[chrisp65]

.....the "fact" that the club are considering AM doesn't mean they will appoint him. I for example am considering doing Scarlett Johansen up the wrong 'un later.......

fair play, that genuinely made me 'lol' as the yoot would say

For my own part (it's worth nothing, but Pat Murphy might use me to fill a few seconds), I don't want the next manager to be AM. But if it is, I'll give it a bit of time before deciding if it's the worst thing since Pol Pot or the best thing since Pot Noodle.

[Kiwivillan]

Neil "I just make things up" Moxley's Daily Mail article

I’m going to borrow a phrase from my esteemed colleague, Richard Littlejohn, to introduce the theme of this week's column.

Aston Villa’s managerial situation… you couldn’t make it up, could you? (WELL YES BECAUSE YOU’RE JUST ABOUT TO)

It’s now 55 days and counting since Gerard Houllier suffered his heart scare. (SO WHAT??)

And, if anything, the club is now in a bigger mess than when the former France boss was admitted to hospital. (FINISHING 9TH IN THE BEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD – HARDLY A DISASTER)

I’m struggling to think of a more haphazard, fragmented and amateurish managerial appointment process.

It’s has been handled appallingly. (BUT YOU’VE NO CLUE AT ALL WHAT IS GOING MOXLEY YOU PLUM)

Right from the moment that the prognosis was delivered on Houllier’s problems, the writing was on the wall that a new manager would be on his way. (YES, AND….)

And now we are here. Two sets of supporters in Birmingham at each others’ throats and Villa fans in open revolt over the imminent arrival of Alex McLeish. (DRIVEN ENTIRELY BY THE PRESS)

It didn’t have to come to this. (TO WHAT????)

I don’t see Fulham’s supporters out on the streets of SW6 following Mark Hughes’ exit. (COULD CARE LESS)

Never mind 48 days, their decision-makers needed about 48 hours to bag their man. (GOOD FOR THEM)

I have applauded Villa owner Randy Lerner and chief executive Paul Faulkner plenty of times in this column.

I admire their respect for the club’s values and traditions. I think the re-building of the Holte pub was a grand gesture. The gold-leaf mosaic on the back of the Holte End a nice touch. Villa’s corporate entertaining? Excellent. (AND OLD BOSS TOLD ME EVERYTHING BEFORE BUT IS BULLSHIT….HERE IT COMES)

But they have tarnished this good work by their actions over the past week.

Where are the strong, clear lines of thought?

Let’s take it back a few stages, right back to April when news seeped out that Houllier had been admitted to hospital.

Within 48 hours of that happening, inquisitive hacks had been given the prognosis and asked a couple of friendly medics what it meant.

Answer?

It was clear to us (MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS!!!!) that at the age of 63, Houllier would be best advised to steer away from employment, let alone a high-pressure job such as management in the Barclays Premier League. (WHILST LERNER HAD THE BENEFIT OF DISCUSSING THE SITUATION WITH HOULLIER AND THE ACTUAL MEDICS INVOLVED RATHER THAN THE QUACKS YOU SPOKE TO)

That being the case, I think it is fair to assume that Lerner and Faulkner would have had an idea of what should happen next - irrespective of the fact that Houllier should have been binned after the home game against Sunderland.

Lerner has a duty of care to both his employee and the football club and, as such, had to terminate Houllier’s employment.

Fairly simple, you might think.

Oh no. We are treated to the unedifying example of Gary McAllister re-inforcing Houllier’s position by trotting out: ‘Gerard will be back,’ in quasi-parrot fashion, flagrantly ignoring the medical evidence in front of him. (And us.) (LOYALTY TO HIS BOSS – THE SHAME OF IT)

Villa’s dynamic duo - still wrestling with Martin O’Neill - decide that issue is far more important than the here and now. So they concentrate their efforts on settling with the Irishman, rather than sorting out Houllier. (EXCEPT YOU DON’T KNOW THAT – PERHAPS LERNER AND FAULKNER ARE ABLE TO DO TWO THINGS AT ONCE?)

(Personally, I’d have postponed O’Neill. He would have had to wait for his day.)

But here comes the tricky part. Instead of having a friendly chat with Mr Houllier - or an unfriendly one, come to that - and telling him that due to a duty of care to the club, his employment would have to be terminated, Villa make two major mistakes.

And their whole world comes crashing down around them.

First, they don’t have the above talk. If they did and it became mired in legality as Houllier is protected by a nonsensically-large pay-off clause, then they would have another battle on their hands. (The Frenchman would have settled eventually, he wouldn’t have wanted to go through all the strife of that, believe me.) (SORRY NOT SURE WHAT YOUR POINT IS HERE???)

Secondly, why didn’t Villa draw up a shortlist for the vacant job in the meantime and carry out their due diligence on the quiet? (….THEY DID!!!)

Why is it that Fulham were able to line up Martin Jol effectively within 48 hours? (‘COS THEY WANTED JOL AND HE WAS AVAILABLE)

Villa have had the best part of two months - and still they fumble about like a teenager groping in the dark for a bra-strap. (NOT HAD TWO MONTHS AT ALL – WANTED TO SEE HOW HOULLIER SITUATION PANNED OUT)

Just to take you through the events of the last seven days…it’s painful, but bear with me because it underlines the magnitude of the errors. (YOU HAVN’T HIGHLIGHTED ANY YET?)

We’ve seen Villa distancing themselves from the outstanding candidate by a country mile - Mark Hughes - because, we are told, of some personal relationship that Lerner has with Mohamed Al Fayed. (YOU DON’T KNOW WHETHER WE’VE DISTANCED OURSELVES OR NOT)

Then, they miss out on another name on the shortlist (I THOUGHT THERE WASN’T A SHORT LIST???) - Jol - because, presumably, of chronic indecision. David Moyes doesn’t want to come, either, apparently because he can read the signs from Merseyside that he is better-placed staying put. (AGAIN YOU DON’T KNOW THAT)

Next, they offer Steve McClaren an interview - then refuse to carry through with it because of adverse criticism on web-site message boards. (AGAIN YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE OF THAT)

Third, they write to Wigan and ask for permission to speak to Roberto Martinez, who turns them down. (MARTINEZ WHO MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SPOKEN TO AND WHO MAY WELL ALREADY HAVE SIGNED A 5 YEAR CONTRACT)

(Since when has the manager of Wigan Athletic turned down the chance to be Aston Villa’s next boss? Incredible.) (SINCE HE HAD A NEW FIVE YEQAR CONTRACT)

Next, we understand that Alex McLeish has resigned three miles away at St Andrew’s, initiating the mother of all supporter backlashes. (SO……)

Notwithstanding that, somehow Birmingham City now have the high ground. (WTF!!!!LMFAO!!!)

Let’s face it, if McLeish turns up at Villa Park, not only will it fly in the face of web-site message board anger (see Martinez above) but it also smashes their lofty moral position of ‘doing things by the book’ into one million tiny pieces. (IF….)

So, Lerner won’t risk upsetting his big pal Al Fayed over Hughes but will risk the wrath of half of the Second City in England by chasing McLeish? (YOU’RE MAKING IT UP NOW ARN’T YOU)

(I’m not even getting into an argument about whether McLeish is a fit manager for Aston Villa, although the evidence of two relegations in three seasons in the Barclays Premier League suggests he shouldn‘t be, irrespective of a Carling Cup triumph.) (AS HE’S NOT COMING THAT MOOT)

Wigan owner Dave Whelan has heaped further scorn on those at B6 by admitting he was surprised that Villa didn’t go for Steve McClaren - as he would have - in the event of Martinez’s exit. (RANDOM!!!!)

And all the while in the background, Mark Hughes is jumping up and down, screaming, ‘Take me, take me.’ (IS HE???? I’VE NOT SEEN IT)

I ask again: Why not?

It’s a sorry mess. And I have to say it’s been symptomatic of everything that has gone wrong with the football side since H.D. Ellis and Steve Stride relinquished control. (HAHAHAHAHAHA)

Off the field, the corporate areas are fantastic.

But it’s on the field where Villa are struggling. (6TH, 6TH,6TH AND 9TH IN THE TOUGHEST LEAGUE IN THE WORLD…HARDLY STRUGGLING)

Too much money has been wasted by too many bad choices. Player contracts, in particular, are way in excess of what they should be.

You know, the media who enquired were told that the reason why a couple of chief executives left the club (Michael Cunnah, Richard Fitzgerald) was because Lerner knew how to run a sporting organisation.

That may be true as far as Cleveland Browns are concerned.

But don’t try to tell me he couldn’t have had better value for his £200m investment. I’m sorry, I don’t believe it.

No matter how this turns out from now on, it looks like a botch job. (YOU WISH…..LERNER NOT PUT A FOOT WRONG YET…YOUR MATE DAVE WHELAN SAID IF EVERY CLUB OPERATED LIKE VILLA THE LEAGUE WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE)

As for McLeish, Villa’s owners have put themselves in a needlessly difficult position and a rightly coming under increasing criticism for the thoroughly unprofessional manner in which this whole episode has been handled. (WE’VE GOT NO INFLUENCE OVER WHAT MCLEISH DOES AND HAVEN’T EVER COMMENTED ON HIS SITUATION)

Charles Krulak’s role within the organisation seems to be the guardian of the message boards. (GOOD, PITY MORE CLUBS DON’T COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR SUPPORTERS)

Here’s one for you Charles: Randy and Paul have messed up - massive time. (MESSED UP “MASSIVE TIME”…IS THAT EVEN ENGLISH???

Given the length of time they have had to sort out the managerial situation, the amount of money that’s been thrown at it and the inherent quality of a club like Aston Villa, there is only one question remaining. (RL WILL APPOINT THE RIGHT MAN AT THE RIGHT TIME)

Can the mess get any worse? (WHAT MESS???)

I sincerely hope not. (REALLY???) WHAT A clearing in the woods YOU ARE!!!!!!

But then, given the events of the past few days, I’m not holding my breath.

First Class post.

My nominee for POTY

[wiganvillain]

Don't shoot the messenger who asked a legitimate question and GK reponded how he did.

Not the messenger, whoever did the copy and paste needs shooting

[Woodytom]

Big John, the only fact in what you've said here is that Martinez turned down the chance to talk to us about the job.

The rest is speculation and you've chosen to frame it in a way that fits your view.

You don't think we look shambolic in the press and you don't think we're interested in Mcleish?

I dont understand why anyone gives a shit about the press and how we look in it. If your that bothered about people takin the piss out of your club - get out of football. Part n parcel of the game and happens to everyone daily.

Bottom line is, even those who are reportedly laughing at us - deep down dont give a shit and if they do, they need to get a life

[wildwood]

Randys plane flew back to the UK today...empty apparently.

It's okay... he had to go deal with something to do with Rescuing some Internationals...

Thunderbird 2 will bring him home when he's ready.

[Big_John_10]

It's not really like Chelsea is it? Chelsea haven't been publicly rejected by the manager of wigan and Chelsea aren't getting publicly slated by board members of their rivals for appearing to be after a manager that got relegated last season.

it also seems to be nailed on that hiddink will get the job and it's just a matter of sorting things out. Maybe Chelsea gave a bit of info to the press which then meant there was no need for weeks of speculation and gossip.

I have no doubt the people saying they don't care about our image in the press would feel differently if doug was still in charge.

[Eames]

Moxley is a Bluenose right?!

[Mazrim]

His plane was empty? Spooky. Like an aviation version of the Marie Celeste.

[Wes]

Randys plane flew back to the UK today...empty apparently.

Lerner been spending all the transfer kitty on an amazing auto-pilot?

[Big_John_10]

It's not really like Chelsea is it? Chelsea haven't been publicly rejected by the manager of wigan and Chelsea aren't getting publicly slated by board members of their rivals for appearing to be after a manager that got relegated last season.

it also seems to be nailed on that hiddink will get the job and it's just a matter of sorting things out. Maybe Chelsea gave a bit of info to the press which then meant there was no need for weeks of speculation and gossip.

I have no doubt the people saying they don't care about our image in the press would feel differently if doug was still in charge.

[Guest av1]

Neil "I just make things up" Moxley's Daily Mail article

I’m going to borrow a phrase from my esteemed colleague, Richard Littlejohn, to introduce the theme of this week's column.

Aston Villa’s managerial situation… you couldn’t make it up, could you?

Ironic, given that the vast majority of what he writes is made up.

[jebsen]

Randys plane flew back to the UK today...empty apparently.

I've just read this.

My God I hope he knows what he's doing.

One word: Cosa Nostra (ok... that's actually 2 words)

He's getting help in making Rijkaard an offer he can't refuse.

[villa4europe]

Randys plane flew back to the UK today...empty apparently.

Lerner been spending all the transfer kitty on an amazing auto-pilot?

god damn it this thread moves too fast! nobody better beat me to it...

[bigjust33]

randy was back yesterday, and today is in london.. fact

[wedge]

Never was going to be McLeish, we have to make it look like we are speaking to other managers so when Mark Hughes is un-veiled as manager in July we don't get done for tapping him up which we blatantly did.

[HackneyVillain]

It's not really like Chelsea is it? Chelsea haven't been publicly rejected by the manager of wigan and Chelsea aren't getting publicly slated by board members of their rivals for appearing to be after a manager that got relegated last season.

it also seems to be nailed on that hiddink will get the job and it's just a matter of sorting things out. Maybe Chelsea gave a bit of info to the press which then meant there was no need for weeks of speculation and gossip.

I have no doubt the people saying they don't care about our image in the press would feel differently if doug was still in charge.

I don't think its that people don't care about our image but rather many of us aren't getting worked up by the press. They have a job to do and need to get the copy in on time, when nothing comes out of VP its easier and more sensationalist to say its a shambles rather than publish something along the lines of 'no word from the club but I bet they are quietly and efficiently going about their business'. We know how the club works and rightly or wrongly that won't change.

I'd prefer the media to report more positively but it won't happen until we appoint someone.... and then maybe it still won't happen. Such is life.

[jamdog]

I thought The General was against torture? This qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. We don't need a protest - we need a human rights lawyer.

[jimbojames]

randy was back yesterday, and today is in london.. fact

Any idea what he is doing in London?