Jonas

The shortlist couldn't have been sounder last time. Emery, Howe. But suspect the people that drew that up aren't there now.

That was the plan, as reported at the time. Bring in an understudy of Sir Bobby's choice for a year to eventually take over which was to be Mourinho. As he was an unknown it was a bit dubious sounding prior to winning the CL that next season. Mourinho has mentioned (in his book for one) that he didn't think Sir Bobby would step aside. The choice to sack him so early in the season wasn't sound but arguably neither was the choice to stick with him alone for one last year (the year prior Southampton's form had dropped after Strachan announced he was leaving at the end of the season) but the choice of Souness was insane.

Each to their own but to me, he'll always be the man that turned this club from being a second division also ran on their way to the third with a half empty stadium into one of the biggest in Europe playing the best football I've seen in a black and white shirt and going close to winning the title playing that way.

Ridiculously spiteful

Aye its well beyond blaming external things for this consistently unimpressive performances. It has knocked a couple of percent of anything we were going to do this season but losing a top player shouldn't have caused a decline with no signs of a uptick like this. Lot of managers have that to put up with.

He's here until the end of the season at least anyway and is thus going to get time to show something better this season. Just going to have to ride the rest of this shit out. We felt a little assuaged at the end of a horrible season under Sir Bobby by playing well against Arsenal and comfortably being Villa in the final two games and then followed it up with a few much needed transfers in the summer so anything can happen still. Got some nice fixtures at the end to achieve that assuegment in

Keegan in December/January 96/97 vibes.

At least surely to goodness were at the point where we can just accept the reality that we've been naff this season. Its been a long time coming I feel. We can debate what to do now from that point, but that is the point were at. Not 'one or two players needed in the summer' or 'we played okay for half' before and after being tonked. Wish we could give him the rest of this season off to recharge and refresh because I think that's more important than changing the playing staff (I doubt we'll get either the quality or quantity needed in the summer), rather than severing ties completely. We play like the coach is knackered, which he probably is.

Were not a good team anymore. Probably dipping into being shit if anything.

The rules themselves are a cheat.

It was hardly an emotional reaction like. There's no evidence were turning this season around so we'll enter the summer with over a year of underwhelming performances behind us at a point where he either does turn it around for next season or doesn't. Think if anything its boringly rational to have doubts in that circumstance, the alternative is to be convinced he will turn it around or convinced he wont which nobody can know.

Starting to have my doubts now after always defending him before - not that that's a brave thing as he's over-achieved if anything (as the financial charts on here last week backed up. if there were any doubt before). But we've gone all season now (and some of the end of last) with the same problems not being rectified but consolidated - almost universal average performances, blunt in attack, considerably weaker feeling than in previous seasons at the back and going ahead signalling a decline in performance.

What if they're not all that and we've been beaten easily in the end? Better than us obviously, as legislated for, but we don't win 4-1 easily in the end against teams were better than who can give us the run around for a bit. Just feel playing well for 45minutes there is a lower bar than we should be okay with. West Ham I presume could have said the same thing today and they're likely getting relegated.

Were going for second rung, under the radar players, that either have promise or are flawed somehow. There's a much higher chance they wont work out than the sure things. All of the signings fell into those categories, none moved the dial. I felt we we'd strengthened the squad but not the team. My contention is that were stuck indefinitely doing that trying to compete with sides that are stuck indefinitely spending vast sums on proven players and even on unproven players we've correctly identiifed and that nothing is going to change because of it and as a result of these bullshit rules.

So Eddie should have made the subs earlier and it cost us the game, yet the substitues have been shit since coming on, one's been shit since he's been here, one is not good enough for this level.

Yeah I remember it being springy weather the day of some of those games here, if not technically spring (mid March), feels nowhere near that currently. One game/a shit ref in Milan from the quarter finals.

Thought he was a sure fire Dalglish signing that summer (Collins). Scottish, grew up a Newcastle fan I've read, left sided but more pragmatic and reliable (to a Dalglish) than Ginola. Likewise Colin Hendry. Instead Hamilton and Pistone.

At the time could only imagine there was some ruling where he was instructed to check on the potential Miley handball only, and by regulation had to disregard the prior handball by the attacker and the fact that it lead to the Miley "handball" - in much the same way as he could have used a flamethrower on Miley and it would have to be dismissed as not being the incident he's been called over to view. But the rest of the performance didn't have technocalities as cop outs and followed suit.

Scored more goals in the Champions League against elite tier Paris Saint Germain than they've scored in Europe ever.

....and Frank Dumas from their starting XI Barthez, Henry, Blondeau, Collins, Legwinski, Dumas, Bernarbia, Petit, Grimandi - all fetched up in the PL within a couple years

Rob Lee up front by himself at home. Tino by himself away. Iirc. Two rotten performances but mitigating circumstances as you say. It was the season after we got the rotten performances by design.

Monaco would continue, for us, the retour theme of this European campaign (everyone bar USG being a retread), maybe it depends on whether Paris fancy a trek to Asia (not that it matters to their league) and the easiest fixture or an interesting dust up with Monaco.

Didn't Villa get Club Brugge last season after already playing them, presume they've changed it then

Very commendable. Nearly got the optimum out of this last round. European champions cannot beat us. Even with their referee chums.