Aston Villa appoint Alex McLeish as new manager

[Mick]

 

Look, who appointed o'Neill? And why did he do it? Because Lerner thought he was the best guy to approach at the time, and it wasn't too bad a move. I'd say his biggest mistake - especially if the money really has dried up, which I'm under the impression it hasn't - was showing too much loyalty when he first got disturbed by o'Neill's inadequacies, especially in spending the huge pots of money Lerner was apparently positively asking him to spend. Appointing managers isn't easy, but Lerner's short track record suggest he'll go about it in the right way, and even more to the point, everything else he'll do will be totally conducive to the success of that appointee. Our failure, along with that of other clubs/chairmen, is not so much found in picking the wrong CV from the application pile as from asking any new/prospective manager to work in f***ing nightmarish conditions.

 

Moyes should go for it if he gets offered the chance, that's someone who deserves a chance at the big time and I think it could be a nice match. I don't know enough about the manager market and Aston Villa's position just now, so I don't know if they could make an obviously better appointment.

 

Wasn't he at Villa before the club was taken over?

[80]

 

Look, who appointed o'Neill? And why did he do it? Because Lerner thought he was the best guy to approach at the time, and it wasn't too bad a move. I'd say his biggest mistake - especially if the money really has dried up, which I'm under the impression it hasn't - was showing too much loyalty when he first got disturbed by o'Neill's inadequacies, especially in spending the huge pots of money Lerner was apparently positively asking him to spend. Appointing managers isn't easy, but Lerner's short track record suggest he'll go about it in the right way, and even more to the point, everything else he'll do will be totally conducive to the success of that appointee. Our failure, along with that of other clubs/chairmen, is not so much found in picking the wrong CV from the application pile as from asking any new/prospective manager to work in f***ing nightmarish conditions.

 

Moyes should go for it if he gets offered the chance, that's someone who deserves a chance at the big time and I think it could be a nice match. I don't know enough about the manager market and Aston Villa's position just now, so I don't know if they could make an obviously better appointment.

 

Wasn't he at Villa before the club was taken over?

 

It was all pre-takeover negotiations. o'Neill joined on the condition that Lerner was coming, and Lerner told Ellis who to appoint.

[STM]

Fuking mental, poor Villa.

 

Can we have him please?

 

I was going to ask if you were joking, but I've just had to remind myself how far we've fallen since I was pointing out o'Neill's was totally unproven as a top quality manager. I do think he's someone who can consistently achieve that top ten/UEFA hole with virtually any club, and that combined with his particular style as a manager mean it might not actually be a bad move for us just now. Still don't like him and don't much want him, though - would be happier to press on with Hughton.

 

Hope the vile c*** supporters are devastated.

 

Same!

 

Been waiting for something to laugh at Villa about since the horrible c***s acted like small time c***s about us going down. Hopefully they flog all of their best players and plummet.

 

Don't count your chickens - unless Lerner's lost interest, which he hasn't really so far as I'm aware, I'd be over the moon if I were them and this could be the best thing to happen to them since o'Neill was appointed. The timing's pretty horrible of course... but nevertheless.

 

Why the f*** would you be over the moon ? Are you insane ? The bloke totally transformed a strugglling prem club into one of the top clubs 8 clubs in the country, there's nothing better out there available for Villa right now.

 

Randy Lerner transformed them. Any manager in the league could take a team that changes from one of the lowest budgets in the league to one of the highest in Europe from the bottom half to the top. He's still finished no higher than every Villa manager I can remember and looked clueless has to how to take them further. What is this nonsense about Liverpool ffs  His tactics and transfer policy (What is it, 3 foreign signings ever?) belong in the bottom half.

 

He barely bought anyone as he was brought in just before or after the window had closed, took over a team that had finished just above the relegation spots and suddenly they were top half of the table. He's worked wonders with the likes of Agbolohar (sp?), Milner and Barry. Lerner had a part to play in all that of course, but it's his manager that's transformed thm. As a side note, Lerner's Cleveland Browns have been one of the worst franchises in the NFL for as long as Lerner has been in charge, he's not thought of in great light on this side of the pond.

 

Lerner is the man who has done most to transform the club, far far more than MON has.

 

Anyone who thinks otherwise is talking nonsense, I'm afraid.

 

 

Or appreciates the influence on the team on the pitch better. Look at us, we were backed to the hilt and probably beyond our means by Freddy, put a crappy manager in there like Souness and your strggling at the wrong end of the table. Have fun without O'Neill, you'll miss him more than you think, if Lerner doesn't get the appointment right, and trust me he doesn't always hit a home run with his appointments at other organisations.

 

Look, who appointed o'Neill? And why did he do it? Because Lerner thought he was the best guy to approach at the time, and it wasn't too bad a move. I'd say his biggest mistake - especially if the money really has dried up, which I'm under the impression it hasn't - was showing too much loyalty when he first got disturbed by o'Neill's inadequacies, especially in spending the huge pots of money Lerner was apparently positively asking him to spend. Appointing managers isn't easy, but Lerner's short track record suggest he'll go about it in the right way, and even more to the point, everything else he'll do will be totally conducive to the success of that appointee. Our failure, along with that of other clubs/chairmen, is not so much found in picking the wrong CV from the application pile as from asking any new/prospective manager to work in f***ing nightmarish conditions.

 

Moyes should go for it if he gets offered the chance, that's someone who deserves a chance at the big time and I think it could be a nice match. I don't know enough about the manager market and Aston Villa's position just now, so I don't know if they could make an obviously better appointment.

 

Moyes has got better things going on at Everton, Villa would be a sideways step in my book (apart from having some money to spend, not alot).

[oldtype]

Is there anyone halfway decent out there for them to pick up? O'Neil has picked up a page from the Kevin Keegan playbook of resigning at the worst possible time.

[Guest neesy111]

Does this give us a good chance v villa at home now?

[SUPERTOON]

Does this give us a good chance v villa at home now?

 

We had a good chance anyway, also depends if they bring someone in before then.

[Mick]

Does this give us a good chance v villa at home now?

 

It will if we replace Hughton with O'Neill.

[80]

Fuking mental, poor Villa.

 

Can we have him please?

 

I was going to ask if you were joking, but I've just had to remind myself how far we've fallen since I was pointing out o'Neill's was totally unproven as a top quality manager. I do think he's someone who can consistently achieve that top ten/UEFA hole with virtually any club, and that combined with his particular style as a manager mean it might not actually be a bad move for us just now. Still don't like him and don't much want him, though - would be happier to press on with Hughton.

 

Hope the vile c*** supporters are devastated.

 

Same!

 

Been waiting for something to laugh at Villa about since the horrible c***s acted like small time c***s about us going down. Hopefully they flog all of their best players and plummet.

 

Don't count your chickens - unless Lerner's lost interest, which he hasn't really so far as I'm aware, I'd be over the moon if I were them and this could be the best thing to happen to them since o'Neill was appointed. The timing's pretty horrible of course... but nevertheless.

 

Why the f*** would you be over the moon ? Are you insane ? The bloke totally transformed a strugglling prem club into one of the top clubs 8 clubs in the country, there's nothing better out there available for Villa right now.

 

Randy Lerner transformed them. Any manager in the league could take a team that changes from one of the lowest budgets in the league to one of the highest in Europe from the bottom half to the top. He's still finished no higher than every Villa manager I can remember and looked clueless has to how to take them further. What is this nonsense about Liverpool ffs  His tactics and transfer policy (What is it, 3 foreign signings ever?) belong in the bottom half.

 

He barely bought anyone as he was brought in just before or after the window had closed, took over a team that had finished just above the relegation spots and suddenly they were top half of the table. He's worked wonders with the likes of Agbolohar (sp?), Milner and Barry. Lerner had a part to play in all that of course, but it's his manager that's transformed thm. As a side note, Lerner's Cleveland Browns have been one of the worst franchises in the NFL for as long as Lerner has been in charge, he's not thought of in great light on this side of the pond.

 

Lerner is the man who has done most to transform the club, far far more than MON has.

 

Anyone who thinks otherwise is talking nonsense, I'm afraid.

 

 

Or appreciates the influence on the team on the pitch better. Look at us, we were backed to the hilt and probably beyond our means by Freddy, put a crappy manager in there like Souness and your strggling at the wrong end of the table. Have fun without O'Neill, you'll miss him more than you think, if Lerner doesn't get the appointment right, and trust me he doesn't always hit a home run with his appointments at other organisations.

 

Look, who appointed o'Neill? And why did he do it? Because Lerner thought he was the best guy to approach at the time, and it wasn't too bad a move. I'd say his biggest mistake - especially if the money really has dried up, which I'm under the impression it hasn't - was showing too much loyalty when he first got disturbed by o'Neill's inadequacies, especially in spending the huge pots of money Lerner was apparently positively asking him to spend. Appointing managers isn't easy, but Lerner's short track record suggest he'll go about it in the right way, and even more to the point, everything else he'll do will be totally conducive to the success of that appointee. Our failure, along with that of other clubs/chairmen, is not so much found in picking the wrong CV from the application pile as from asking any new/prospective manager to work in f***ing nightmarish conditions.

 

Moyes should go for it if he gets offered the chance, that's someone who deserves a chance at the big time and I think it could be a nice match. I don't know enough about the manager market and Aston Villa's position just now, so I don't know if they could make an obviously better appointment.

 

Moyes has got better things going on at Everton, Villa would be a sideways step in my book (apart from having some money to spend, not alot).

 

I'd disagree, with money being the single biggest factor. Like I say, I'm unclear about Villa's financial position just now, but I'm pretty confident they've still got a lot more around than Everton and even more flexibility. Also, as I was sort of saying about, the general atmosphere that Lerner has created seems to be great - intelligent management and ambition. Unless things will change at Everton any time soon, I think Moyes has taken them as far as anyone could, given the rest of the league (Man City, Spurs, Villa all spending big alongside the usual). I think he's shown he can spend big money, little money, can be tactically flexible, get the best out of players and generally keep all this going in very difficult circumstances for many many years. If Everton hadn't been in a mess overall, I think he would have had them in the Champions' League at least twice, and obviously quite probably far more afterwards as once you're in it's hard to get you out. Only bad fortune saw them drawn against a good Spanish team which was able to beat his unimproved team of over-achievers in the qualifiers after they finished 4th a few years back.

[STM]

Yer but you reffered to Villa as the "big time", it's hardly any bigger time than Everton. They just have little more money. Unless they throw Man City sums of money at it, they won't finish in the top four anyway.

[S.S.R.]

Blimey.

[Guest gggg]

Is there anyone halfway decent out there for them to pick up? O'Neil has picked up a page from the Kevin Keegan playbook of resigning at the worst possible time.

 

Doesn't really matter this season if they're selling their best players, They will finish somewhere in mid table whatever.

[Tooj]

Does this give us a good chance v villa at home now?

 

It will if we replace Hughton with O'Neill.

 

[80]

Yer but you reffered to Villa as the "big time", it's hardly any bigger time than Everton. They just have little more money. Unless they throw Man City sums of money at it, they won't finish in the top four anyway.

 

'Chance at the big time', I think he'd have a chance at the big time with Aston Villa, and that he has no chance with Everton. In pure prestige terms, I'd agree Villa would be a sideways step at best - probably slightly backwards in my view, even. But it doesn't have to stay that way forever and I know which club is more likely to add to its reputation in the vaguely near future. I also don't think there's a more established English team that will appoint him any time soon... though maybe Man United or Arsenal want to prove me wrong on that. Redknapp's ensconced at Spurs, Chelsea want superstar managers, Man City are mental and Liverpool are also from Liverpool. His only other option would be to go abroad, which is something Brits rarely do... although I do seem to remember something from a year or two back about him learning Spanish or something.

 

I think Villa might well have missed their moment because of developments at Man City and Spurs - a better manager a couple of years ago and things could have been very different, I feel.

[STM]

Yer but you reffered to Villa as the "big time", it's hardly any bigger time than Everton. They just have little more money. Unless they throw Man City sums of money at it, they won't finish in the top four anyway.

 

'Chance at the big time', I think he'd have a chance at the big time with Aston Villa, and that he has no chance with Everton. I also don't think there's a more established English team that will appoint him any time soon... though maybe Man United or Arsenal want to prove me wrong on that. Redknapp's ensconced at Spurs, Chelsea want superstar managers, Man City are mental and Liverpool are also from Liverpool. His only other option would be to go abroad, which is something Brits rarely do... although I do seem to remember something from a year or two back about him learning Spanish or something.

 

I think Villa might well have missed their moment because of developments at Man City and Spurs - a better manager a couple of years ago and things could have been very different, I feel.

When Man City break into the top four (which is inevitable), Spurs, Liverpool, Villa and Everton will all belong to the same bracket and the only chance of them joining the "big four" will be if they spend the money Man City have.

 

Spurs have been fortunate this year that Liverpool were shite but they won't remain their long IMO (unless Arsenal slip, which i doubt).

[mrmojorisin75]

Villa will go foreign now IMO. Be interesting to see what Lerner does now, from some posts here you'd think he was a wise fucking sage with decades experience appointing managers who drove them to success.

 

He has as much chance to screw the pooch here as Ashley did tbh.

 

Not saying he will, just has the chance.  He might go sentimental like Ashkey did, bring back Graham Taylor. Or DOL. Ahem.

[80]

Yer but you reffered to Villa as the "big time", it's hardly any bigger time than Everton. They just have little more money. Unless they throw Man City sums of money at it, they won't finish in the top four anyway.

 

'Chance at the big time', I think he'd have a chance at the big time with Aston Villa, and that he has no chance with Everton. I also don't think there's a more established English team that will appoint him any time soon... though maybe Man United or Arsenal want to prove me wrong on that. Redknapp's ensconced at Spurs, Chelsea want superstar managers, Man City are mental and Liverpool are also from Liverpool. His only other option would be to go abroad, which is something Brits rarely do... although I do seem to remember something from a year or two back about him learning Spanish or something.

 

I think Villa might well have missed their moment because of developments at Man City and Spurs - a better manager a couple of years ago and things could have been very different, I feel.

When Man City break into the top four (which is inevitable), Spurs, Liverpool, Villa and Everton will all belong to the same bracket and the only chance of them joining the "big four" will be if they spend the money Man City have.

 

Spurs have been fortunate this year that Liverpool were shite but they won't remain their long IMO (unless Arsenal slip, which i doubt).

 

I don't entirely agree. Someone's always weak, there's always a chance. It could be Wenger's eventual departure from Arsenal, same goes for Ferguson if the debt-chickens come home to roost at the same time. It could be Man City just continuing to show no sense and getting far less bang for their buck than they ought to. It's hard to imagine them being a properly established member of any cartel at the moment. Aston Villa are literally ten times more likely to take advantage of that than Everton, in my view.

[mrmojorisin75]

Yer but you reffered to Villa as the "big time", it's hardly any bigger time than Everton. They just have little more money. Unless they throw Man City sums of money at it, they won't finish in the top four anyway.

 

 

'Chance at the big time', I think he'd have a chance at the big time with Aston Villa, and that he has no chance with Everton. I also don't think there's a more established English team that will appoint him any time soon... though maybe Man United or Arsenal want to prove me wrong on that. Redknapp's ensconced at Spurs, Chelsea want superstar managers, Man City are mental and Liverpool are also from Liverpool. His only other option would be to go abroad, which is something Brits rarely do... although I do seem to remember something from a year or two back about him learning Spanish or something.

 

I think Villa might well have missed their moment because of developments at Man City and Spurs - a better manager a couple of years ago and things could have been very different, I feel.

When Man City break into the top four (which is inevitable), Spurs, Liverpool, Villa and Everton will all belong to the same bracket and the only chance of them joining the "big four" will be if they spend the money Man City have.

 

Spurs have been fortunate this year that Liverpool were shite but they won't remain their long IMO (unless Arsenal slip, which i doubt).

Wrong thread but yeah, spurs should really make the most of this.

[Guest Stephen927]

Good manager but incredibly short-sighted in the transfer market. Worked wonders for them when he first took over but he had taken them as far as he could without being bankrolled again.

[Guest BooBoo]

Sob in the Shithole

[mrmojorisin75]

Good manager but incredibly short-sighted in the transfer market. Worked wonders for them when he first took over but he had taken them as far as he could without being bankrolled again.

Somebody mentioned Keegan, parallels are there for me.  Sort the basics out, motivate the players to a new level and a few key signings. 

 

He never took it on though (MON not KK)

[Conjo]

This will no doubt make Villa a stronger team in the future. It's just so not-newcastle-like that they appoint a real class manager who will get them challenging for the last CL spot.

[Dogmatix]

Well, remembering the glee that the villa fans showed at our relegation and the banners they had, I can only say,  Haha ha ha fucking ha.

[afar]

Fuking mental, poor Villa.

 

Can we have him please?

 

I was going to ask if you were joking, but I've just had to remind myself how far we've fallen since I was pointing out o'Neill's was totally unproven as a top quality manager. I do think he's someone who can consistently achieve that top ten/UEFA hole with virtually any club, and that combined with his particular style as a manager mean it might not actually be a bad move for us just now. Still don't like him and don't much want him, though - would be happier to press on with Hughton.

 

Hope the vile c*** supporters are devastated.

 

Same!

 

Been waiting for something to laugh at Villa about since the horrible c***s acted like small time c***s about us going down. Hopefully they flog all of their best players and plummet.

 

Don't count your chickens - unless Lerner's lost interest, which he hasn't really so far as I'm aware, I'd be over the moon if I were them and this could be the best thing to happen to them since o'Neill was appointed. The timing's pretty horrible of course... but nevertheless.

 

Why the f*** would you be over the moon ? Are you insane ? The bloke totally transformed a strugglling prem club into one of the top clubs 8 clubs in the country, there's nothing better out there available for Villa right now.

 

Randy Lerner transformed them. Any manager in the league could take a team that changes from one of the lowest budgets in the league to one of the highest in Europe from the bottom half to the top. He's still finished no higher than every Villa manager I can remember and looked clueless has to how to take them further. What is this nonsense about Liverpool ffs  His tactics and transfer policy (What is it, 3 foreign signings ever?) belong in the bottom half.

 

He barely bought anyone as he was brought in just before or after the window had closed, took over a team that had finished just above the relegation spots and suddenly they were top half of the table. He's worked wonders with the likes of Agbolohar (sp?), Milner and Barry. Lerner had a part to play in all that of course, but it's his manager that's transformed thm. As a side note, Lerner's Cleveland Browns have been one of the worst franchises in the NFL for as long as Lerner has been in charge, he's not thought of in great light on this side of the pond.

 

Lerner is the man who has done most to transform the club, far far more than MON has.

 

Anyone who thinks otherwise is talking nonsense, I'm afraid.

 

 

Or appreciates the influence on the team on the pitch better. Look at us, we were backed to the hilt and probably beyond our means by Freddy, put a crappy manager in there like Souness and your strggling at the wrong end of the table. Have fun without O'Neill, you'll miss him more than you think, if Lerner doesn't get the appointment right, and trust me he doesn't always hit a home run with his appointments at other organisations.

 

Look, who appointed o'Neill? And why did he do it? Because Lerner thought he was the best guy to approach at the time, and it wasn't too bad a move. I'd say his biggest mistake - especially if the money really has dried up, which I'm under the impression it hasn't - was showing too much loyalty when he first got disturbed by o'Neill's inadequacies, especially in spending the huge pots of money Lerner was apparently positively asking him to spend. Appointing managers isn't easy, but Lerner's short track record suggest he'll go about it in the right way, and even more to the point, everything else he'll do will be totally conducive to the success of that appointee. Our failure, along with that of other clubs/chairmen, is not so much found in picking the wrong CV from the application pile as from asking any new/prospective manager to work in f***ing nightmarish conditions.

 

Moyes should go for it if he gets offered the chance, that's someone who deserves a chance at the big time and I think it could be a nice match. I don't know enough about the manager market and Aston Villa's position just now, so I don't know if they could make an obviously better appointment.

 

Moyes has got better things going on at Everton, Villa would be a sideways step in my book (apart from having some money to spend, not alot).

 

I'd disagree, with money being the single biggest factor. Like I say, I'm unclear about Villa's financial position just now, but I'm pretty confident they've still got a lot more around than Everton and even more flexibility. Also, as I was sort of saying about, the general atmosphere that Lerner has created seems to be great - intelligent management and ambition. Unless things will change at Everton any time soon, I think Moyes has taken them as far as anyone could, given the rest of the league (Man City, Spurs, Villa all spending big alongside the usual). I think he's shown he can spend big money, little money, can be tactically flexible, get the best out of players and generally keep all this going in very difficult circumstances for many many years. If Everton hadn't been in a mess overall, I think he would have had them in the Champions' League at least twice, and obviously quite probably far more afterwards as once you're in it's hard to get you out. Only bad fortune saw them drawn against a good Spanish team which was able to beat his unimproved team of over-achievers in the qualifiers after they finished 4th a few years back.

 

LOL Lerner did not appoint O'Neill, it was the guy before him Ellis.

 

Oh and Moyes, the big time You're kidding right ? Everton are just as big if not bigger than Villa, why would he move from the place where he's built up that is short on cash, to another that he hasn't built up, that are also short on cash.

[Guest Ebolarama]

Very surprised by this. Don't feel any desire to laugh at Villa fans to be honest, just surprise and a wonder at what must have gone on behind the scenes.

[gazza ladra]

Good for Villa.

 

Better it happens now then during the season-- and everyone could see it coming.

 

Sell Milner; bring in Ireland; hire a decent manager and they'll be in better shape then they would've been with MON.  They'll probably land Hitzfeld.