MON the saviour

[Howaythelads]

tbf you needed some competition Mick

 

Vicky,

 

Try as much as you like but you'll never manage to compete against someone to whom it comes naturally.

[Guest BooBoo]

..thelads won 2006 Junior Poster of the Year, but he's up against plenty competition in 2007 to hold onto the title.

[Mick]

tbf you needed some competition Mick

 

Vicky,

 

Try as much as you like but you'll never manage to compete against someone to whom it comes naturally.

 

He wasn't trying to compete with you, you're safe.

[Taylor Swift]

tbf you needed some competition Mick

 

Vicky,

 

Try as much as you like but you'll never manage to compete against someone to whom it comes naturally.

 

He wasn't trying to compete with you, you're safe.

 

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

Villa can't even beat Everton, who are a far shitter club than Newcastle according to Stevie 

 

 

[NE5]

Villa can't even beat Everton, who are a far shitter club than Newcastle according to Stevie 

 

 

with that logic you'll be saying West Ham should be winning the league because they beat manure.

 

Oh, its you I should have guessed

 

mackems.gif

 

It IS quite canny to see the great Martin O'Neill not doing so well mind.

 

 

[brummie]

Villa can't even beat Everton, who are a far shitter club than Newcastle according to Stevie 

 

 

with that logic you'll be saying West Ham should be winning the league because they beat manure.

 

Oh, its you I should have guessed

 

mackems.gif

 

It IS quite canny to see the great Martin O'Neill not doing so well mind.

 

 

 

It might be canny to see him struggling at the moment, but it would also be sensible to judge him at the end of next season when he's had a season with his own squad rather than struggle with dross like Gavin McCann.

 

It makes me chuckle the people who said when he took the job, "oh, he's got a job on his hands to keep them up" then when he really does show he's got a job on his hands, express some kind of surprise.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

Villa can't even beat Everton, who are a far shitter club than Newcastle according to Stevie 

 

 

with that logic you'll be saying West Ham should be winning the league because they beat manure.

 

Oh, its you I should have guessed

 

mackems.gif

 

It IS quite canny to see the great Martin O'Neill not doing so well mind.

 

 

 

It might be canny to see him struggling at the moment, but it would also be sensible to judge him at the end of next season when he's had a season with his own squad rather than struggle with dross like Gavin McCann.

 

It makes me chuckle the people who said when he took the job, "oh, he's got a job on his hands to keep them up" then when he really does show he's got a job on his hands, express some kind of surprise.

 

but he did have his three new faces on show tonight...

 

glan only has three players donchanow

[Greg]

Villa can't even beat Everton, who are a far shitter club than Newcastle according to Stevie 

 

 

with that logic you'll be saying West Ham should be winning the league because they beat manure.

 

Oh, its you I should have guessed

 

mackems.gif

 

It IS quite canny to see the great Martin O'Neill not doing so well mind.

 

 

 

It might be canny to see him struggling at the moment, but it would also be sensible to judge him at the end of next season when he's had a season with his own squad rather than struggle with dross like Gavin McCann.

 

It makes me chuckle the people who said when he took the job, "oh, he's got a job on his hands to keep them up" then when he really does show he's got a job on his hands, express some kind of surprise.

 

but he did have his three new faces on show tonight...

 

glan only has three players donchanow

 

MON had 5 on show today tbh.

[Northern Monkey]

 

Still better than Roeder, by about a hundred billion gazillion miles.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

 

Still better than Roeder, by about a hundred billion gazillion miles.

 

evidently, I mean the situations are completely different aren't they?

 

[Northern Monkey]

 

Still better than Roeder, by about a hundred billion gazillion miles.

 

evidently, I mean the situations are completely different aren't they?

 

 

Yes, one includes a manager who is utter shite, and the other involved a decent manager called Martin.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

 

Still better than Roeder, by about a hundred billion gazillion miles.

 

evidently, I mean the situations are completely different aren't they?

 

 

Yes, one includes a manager who is utter shite, and the other involved a decent manager called Martin.

 

Is that why he's decent then, because he's called Martin?

 

[Northern Monkey]

 

Still better than Roeder, by about a hundred billion gazillion miles.

 

evidently, I mean the situations are completely different aren't they?

 

 

Yes, one includes a manager who is utter shite, and the other involved a decent manager called Martin.

 

Is that why he's decent then, because he's called Martin?

 

 

Nah, its an unrelated by-product that i used to differentiate in order to avoid "humerous" pseudo misunderstandings surrounding who was decent and who was utter shite.

[Delima]

Gotta love the sparrings amongst NE5, Stevie, Northern Monkey and Invicta Toon.

 

The winner can be crowned as N-O troll of the year.

[Delima]

http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=4356

 

O’Neill must deliver after Villa’s season of transition

 

"Among the positives that O’Neill can take from this season are the first-team experience gained by the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gary Cahill, Isaiah Osbourne and Craig Gardner"

With just two victories in 18 Premiership matches, and even those coming at home to the current basement duo of West Ham United and Watford, Aston Villa go into Monday night’s game with Everton just four-points above the drop-zone and with their Premiership status for next season suddenly looking far from assured.

 

Had such a poor run of results been achieved under the stewardship of Doug Ellis and David O’Leary, it isn’t difficult to envisage that the reaction from the Villa crowd would have been far less patient than has been the case. The big difference is that while O’Leary’s stock has plummeted alarmingly in recent years, Martin O’Neill comes with more goodwill than almost any other manager in the game and will be given every chance to change the club’s fortunes round.

 

The squad still strongly resembles that inherited from O’Leary, with O’Neill still needing to address the same lack of depth that was apparent at the time of his appointment. He did invest heavily in January but, although the signings of Ashley Young, John Carew and Shaun Maloney brought in more attacking options, there is still a need for further strengthening throughout.

 

After a bright start that saw them remain unbeaten until late October, Villa has slowly tumbled down the table. Too many matches have been drawn (13 from 30), while a tally of just 29 goals scored gives a good indication as to why they have only mustered seven victories this season to date. No Villa striker has scored more than five Premiership goals this term, with the ever-dependable Gareth Barry the club’s leading marksman with eight. Stilian Petrov, such a reliable source of goals at Celtic, has provided just one for Villa to date.

 

Among the positives that O’Neill can take from this season are the first-team experience gained by the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gary Cahill, Isaiah Osbourne and Craig Gardner and the fact that, despite the lack of success and the absence of any local derbies this term, average home attendances are actually up a couple of thousand on last season.

 

The true test for O’Neill will come next season and it has long seemed apparent that he is already focused on events beyond this term. It could be a busy summer of comings and goings at Villa Park, with Jlloyd Samuel, Chris Sutton, Mark Delaney, Lee Hendrie and Patrik Berger all out of contract, while the likes of Eric Djemba-Djemba, Liam Ridgewell, Aaron Hughes, Luke Moore and Juan Pablo Angel could all be deemed surplus to requirements.

 

In addition to the incoming revenue from player departures, owner Randy Lerner is sure to provide his manager with a significant transfer budget. That’s probably just as well, given that O’Neill is supposedly seeking to strengthen his squad in pretty much every area, with speculation surrounding the addition of a new goalkeeper (which would seem a tad harsh on Thomas Sorensen), another central defender, a couple of midfielders and another striker.

 

A couple of names have been regularly put forward as potential transfer targets, with Craig Bellamy, probably based largely on O’Neill’s penchant for those that have served under him previously, frequently cropping up as a possible future strike partner for Carew. Reading’s Steve Sidwell, one of the few at the Madejski Stadium yet to sign a new deal over recent months, could provide the extra drive required in midfield.

 

O’Neill has been a success at every club he has managed to date and there is little reason to believe that he won’t be able to instigate an upturn in fortunes at Villa Park. Even so, such are the expectations in football these days that anything less than a top six finish or a Wembley cup final appearance next season will probably be looked upon as failure. Before any of that, there is the small task of steering the club to safety over the remainder of the current campaign. Defeat against Everton on Monday and there could be some unexpectedly anxious times ahead.

 

David Hulott

31 March 2007

[Northern Monkey]

Gotta love the sparrings amongst NE5, Stevie, Northern Monkey and Invicta Toon.

 

The winner can be crowned as N-O troll of the year.

 

Ooh, cutting. Did someone key your Smart car or something??

[madras]

http://www.squarefootball.net/article/article.asp?aid=4356

 

O’Neill must deliver after Villa’s season of transition

 

"Among the positives that O’Neill can take from this season are the first-team experience gained by the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gary Cahill, Isaiah Osbourne and Craig Gardner"

With just two victories in 18 Premiership matches, and even those coming at home to the current basement duo of West Ham United and Watford, Aston Villa go into Monday night’s game with Everton just four-points above the drop-zone and with their Premiership status for next season suddenly looking far from assured.

 

Had such a poor run of results been achieved under the stewardship of Doug Ellis and David O’Leary, it isn’t difficult to envisage that the reaction from the Villa crowd would have been far less patient than has been the case. The big difference is that while O’Leary’s stock has plummeted alarmingly in recent years, Martin O’Neill comes with more goodwill than almost any other manager in the game and will be given every chance to change the club’s fortunes round.

 

The squad still strongly resembles that inherited from O’Leary, with O’Neill still needing to address the same lack of depth that was apparent at the time of his appointment. He did invest heavily in January but, although the signings of Ashley Young, John Carew and Shaun Maloney brought in more attacking options, there is still a need for further strengthening throughout.

 

After a bright start that saw them remain unbeaten until late October, Villa has slowly tumbled down the table. Too many matches have been drawn (13 from 30), while a tally of just 29 goals scored gives a good indication as to why they have only mustered seven victories this season to date. No Villa striker has scored more than five Premiership goals this term, with the ever-dependable Gareth Barry the club’s leading marksman with eight. Stilian Petrov, such a reliable source of goals at Celtic, has provided just one for Villa to date.

 

Among the positives that O’Neill can take from this season are the first-team experience gained by the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gary Cahill, Isaiah Osbourne and Craig Gardner and the fact that, despite the lack of success and the absence of any local derbies this term, average home attendances are actually up a couple of thousand on last season.

 

The true test for O’Neill will come next season and it has long seemed apparent that he is already focused on events beyond this term. It could be a busy summer of comings and goings at Villa Park, with Jlloyd Samuel, Chris Sutton, Mark Delaney, Lee Hendrie and Patrik Berger all out of contract, while the likes of Eric Djemba-Djemba, Liam Ridgewell, Aaron Hughes, Luke Moore and Juan Pablo Angel could all be deemed surplus to requirements.

 

In addition to the incoming revenue from player departures, owner Randy Lerner is sure to provide his manager with a significant transfer budget. That’s probably just as well, given that O’Neill is supposedly seeking to strengthen his squad in pretty much every area, with speculation surrounding the addition of a new goalkeeper (which would seem a tad harsh on Thomas Sorensen), another central defender, a couple of midfielders and another striker.

 

A couple of names have been regularly put forward as potential transfer targets, with Craig Bellamy, probably based largely on O’Neill’s penchant for those that have served under him previously, frequently cropping up as a possible future strike partner for Carew. Reading’s Steve Sidwell, one of the few at the Madejski Stadium yet to sign a new deal over recent months, could provide the extra drive required in midfield.

 

O’Neill has been a success at every club he has managed to date and there is little reason to believe that he won’t be able to instigate an upturn in fortunes at Villa Park. Even so, such are the expectations in football these days that anything less than a top six finish or a Wembley cup final appearance next season will probably be looked upon as failure. Before any of that, there is the small task of steering the club to safety over the remainder of the current campaign. Defeat against Everton on Monday and there could be some unexpectedly anxious times ahead.

 

David Hulott

31 March 2007

norwich

[Mowen]

I don't really know the point of this thread. Is there anyone who wouldn't swap MON for Glenn right now?

[merlin]

I've said this before - judge O'Neill NEXT season ; he didn't get to Villa quick enough to make major changes before the season started.

Roeder, on the other hand, had a FULL Close Season to get 'his' signings bedded-in, but despite 15m being spent, NUFC are only 7 points from a relegation place...

 

If Villa are in the same position as NUFC this time NEXT season, then yes, I'll hold my hands up and say O'Neill isn't a top-notcher - as the article says, he has been successful at the vast majority of clubs he has managed.

Roeder could yet get into the Guinness Book of Records as the first manager to finish 7th in his first season with 3 different clubs, then get them relegated in the following season...!!

 

If anyone is trying to take some comfort from Villa's position now because the got MON and we didn't, my advice is DON'T - wait until next season. Remember the saying - 'He who laughs last laughs longest'.....

[Guest alex]

I don't really know the point of this thread. Is there anyone who wouldn't swap MON for Glenn right now?

Some people trying to say I told you so tbh. So, not a lot of point.

[Guest Invicta_Toon]

I've said this before - judge O'Neill NEXT season ; he didn't get to Villa quick enough to make major changes before the season started.

Roeder, on the other hand, had a FULL Close Season to get 'his' signings bedded-in, but despite 15m being spent, NUFC are only 7 points from a relegation place...

 

If Villa are in the same position as NUFC this time NEXT season, then yes, I'll hold my hands up and say O'Neill isn't a top-notcher - as the article says, he has been successful at the vast majority of clubs he has managed.

Roeder could yet get into the Guinness Book of Records as the first manager to finish 7th in his first season with 3 different clubs, then get them relegated in the following season...!!

 

If anyone is trying to take some comfort from Villa's position now because the got MON and we didn't, my advice is DON'T - wait until next season. Remember the saying - 'He who laughs last laughs longest'.....

 

 

absolute tosh

 

MON has brought in more players than Roeder FFS

 

have a look at MON's career. He is the fucking definition of the 'wait till next year' man

[brummie]

I've said this before - judge O'Neill NEXT season ; he didn't get to Villa quick enough to make major changes before the season started.

Roeder, on the other hand, had a FULL Close Season to get 'his' signings bedded-in, but despite 15m being spent, NUFC are only 7 points from a relegation place...

 

If Villa are in the same position as NUFC this time NEXT season, then yes, I'll hold my hands up and say O'Neill isn't a top-notcher - as the article says, he has been successful at the vast majority of clubs he has managed.

Roeder could yet get into the Guinness Book of Records as the first manager to finish 7th in his first season with 3 different clubs, then get them relegated in the following season...!!

 

If anyone is trying to take some comfort from Villa's position now because the got MON and we didn't, my advice is DON'T - wait until next season. Remember the saying - 'He who laughs last laughs longest'.....

 

 

absolute tosh

 

MON has brought in more players than Roeder FFS

 

have a look at MON's career. He is the f****** definition of the 'wait till next year' man

 

MON has brought in Petrov at the start of the season. He then brought in Agathe and Sutton on short deals, purely because the transfer window had closed and he could only sign unattached players, and we needed bodies. Sutton has been injured since October, Agathe is long gone.

 

So that's one permanent signing pre-season.

 

Then in January, he swapped Carew for Baros, bought Maloney and Young. Maloney has only played three times and not played a complete match due to lack of match fitness (at least initially). Carew has played 5 or 6 times as has Young. Since we played you on the last day of the transfer window we have only played 5 matches. He's not really had much of a chance to make his signings count.

 

So that's 3 players in in January, one in in August. 4 players in, and Milner and De La Cruz out. Oh, and Baros out, too.

 

As for wait till next year, there wasn't a huge amount of waiting till next year required at Celtic, was there?

[brummie]

Incidentally, Vic, as an addition to the above post, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We're incredibly optimistic and really looking forward to next season, despite this season.

 

I think that says it all, really.

[NE5]

I've said this before - judge O'Neill NEXT season ; he didn't get to Villa quick enough to make major changes before the season started.

Roeder, on the other hand, had a FULL Close Season to get 'his' signings bedded-in, but despite 15m being spent, NUFC are only 7 points from a relegation place...

 

If Villa are in the same position as NUFC this time NEXT season, then yes, I'll hold my hands up and say O'Neill isn't a top-notcher - as the article says, he has been successful at the vast majority of clubs he has managed.

Roeder could yet get into the Guinness Book of Records as the first manager to finish 7th in his first season with 3 different clubs, then get them relegated in the following season...!!

 

If anyone is trying to take some comfort from Villa's position now because the got MON and we didn't, my advice is DON'T - wait until next season. Remember the saying - 'He who laughs last laughs longest'.....

 

 

absolute tosh

 

MON has brought in more players than Roeder FFS

 

have a look at MON's career. He is the fucking definition of the 'wait till next year' man

 

must admit, I agree with Vicky's sentiment here if not his style.

 

O'Neill = hyped up as the  new "Brian Clough" ever since he started out as a manager, on the basis that he played for him and is outspoken/good in front of the camera.

 

He's about as much a clone of Brian Clough, on that basis, that Stuart Pearce is. In fact, MO has something in common with Pearce, they both behave like idiots running up and down the touchline, kicking water bottles for show.

 

Cue all the title winning managers of Celtic who are "great managers" for winning the title with Celtic, or even Rangers, such as ... ahem... Billy McNeill. Walter Smith. Jock Wallace. Graeme fuckpig. Gordon Strachan, etc etc etc.

 

Yeah right. FFS, I could win the Scottish title if I managed Celtic or Rangers.

 

O'Neill has proved absolutely nothing, in fact, this job is his big test. What standards would you say he should reach with Villa - being such a BIG club with 30,000 fans - and this yank billionaire - to qualify him as the quality manager he is hyped up to be ?

 

Top 4 ? Top 5 ? Top 6 ? I doubt very much that he will break into the top 4. Considering he was touted to be the man lots of people wanted, in my view, Allardyce is by far a better bet and I've said so since Robson went.