Man City

[NE5]

You appear to think that because Villa are currently higher in the table and a manager has turned down Man City, it makes them the "bigger" of the two.

 

Dear God alive. NO, I do *not* believe a manager turning down city for villa makes villa a bigger club, or vice versa. In fact, I am pointing out precisely the opposite.

 

It was Stevie who implied that a manager opting for one job rather than the other makes the club he opted for the bigger club.

 

My "irony" point was to show that this argument is rubbish, and to point out the irony in what Stevie was saying, re MON / Villa / Newcastle.

 

If you're going to put words into my mouth to fit your own argument though, go ahead

 

I can understand you defending your club, in fact I'd expect you to, I'm sure MON had his reasons for accepting the offer to manage Villa, but whatever they were, I'd be surprised if it was because he thinks Villa have bigger and better support

 

 

[Guest kingdawson]

A real desire to prove Liverpool wrong and do what he tried to do there, win the league which has always been a big ambition of his? Any club that can realistically offer such carrots to GH would stand a very good chance of getting him, whether City can who knows. Ranieir I like but agree with Baggio, good manager but he's the kind who could easily backfire, even if he starts well, as he's a bit hot and cold for me.

 

I wasn't referring to the unfinished business thing - I agree entirely on that part - I was referring to the bit after re the top four or Newcastle part.

Well what's to disagree with??  f****** hell.  You think he would turn Man City down and go somewhere like Villa?  I seriously doubt it.  Whereas on the other hand on more than one occasion he's indirectly registered an interest in the toon job.

 

What's your problem exactly?

 

This is one of the most informed, entertaining and honest sites around for football chat, but you always seem one step away from an enormous argument and just look to provoke it.

 

Turn Man City down and go somewhere like Villa? There's an enormous irony in that that I'd trust even you to work out.

 

sorry, but I think Man City are a bigger fanbase club with better supporters than Villa too. Absolutely no question.

 

I'll spell out the point you've managed to miss.

 

Turn down Man City to go to Villa, he questioned. Well, forgetting Citeh, who is our current manager widely considered to have turned down?

 

I haven't missed it at all. I said that I agree with the point Stevie appears to be making, which is that Man City have a bigger and better fanbase than Villa and are the bigger potential club.

 

The fact that you are at the moment better off than city and they are in limbo and possibly about to undergo a change of owners, doesn't change that one iota

 

 

 

Actually, you have entirely missed the point i was making, and focused on some other point of your choice which I didn't even mention. I never even mentioned the relative merits of Citeh and Villa.

 

Stevie suggested that a manager would not turn down Citeh to go to Villa, and that this in itself is somehow proof that City are a bigger club than Villa (which, incidentally, by any measure other than recent attendances, they are not).

 

I pointed out the irony that he (and subsequently you) had entirely missed the fact that MON turned down Newcastle and took the Villa job. If Stevie's original assertion is in any way valid, then he is effectively saying Villa are a bigger club than Newcastle.

 

Can i make it any clearer than that?

How the f*** do you know he turned the toon job down??  f****** hell, why would he come out and say this.

 

The same way you 'know' Gerrard Houllier was begging for the Newcastle Job

Alan Oliver said MON was interested in the job via his Glasgow connections that was February but said we never even spoke to him, so it's not the same way.

 

Leave this board you, you're a idiot, and waste of bandwidth, I could tell you more about Tottenham in 5 fuckin minutes than you know, never talking about other fuckin clubs.

 

Edit**  kingdawson you mong don't quote if you can't do it

 

 

 

You could tell me more about Tottenham in 5 minutes?? probably with all the lies and alterations you would make up in the story.

[brummie]

NE5 they've never ever brung 3,000 here in my life time.  They normally get three blocks at the most.

 

The true measure of a club is in how many fans they take to SJP, is it? You're obsessed, man, obsessed.

Obsessed by what?  Villa are inconsequential to me, but the fact is MO'N clearly states we're a bigger club than Villa, but stating the fact that, that's what where he wants Villa to be, howay it doesn't take a genious to work out.

 

I mean you're obsessed with "bigness" of clubs (when the 'bigness' is measured only by criteria which you yourself decide on), when this wasn't even a discussion of it.

 

I asked you what you based your opinion that Houllier would only come back to England for the big four plus Newcastle (or whicherver group of clubs it was) and you predictably went off on one like some kind of ritalin-starved ADD parrot.

 

I never even mentioned Villa, you did. And then you mentioned Spurs as well, just to get another of your favourite rants back off the ground.

 

Chill the fuck out, mate, you'll have a heart attack or something.

[Baggio]

It is widely considered that he did have the opportunity to take the Toon job and didn't take it.

 

But he didn't reject Newcastle for Villa though, did he?

 

As I said, he is widely considered to have done so, although the absolute truth is not known

 

Widely considered by who?

 

I don't doubt he turned the Newcastle job down, however it was well reported at the time he was holding out for the England job, we waited for him for so long while the FA dragged out the whole process but in the end we had to move on so we appointed Roeder.

 

After that O'Neill failed to get the England job and made it known he was ready to step back into management, later that summer Villa were as good as taken over and O'Leary was swapped for O'Neill.

 

Not once was he ever put in the position where he had to chose between Newcastle and Villa as both job opportunities came months apart, it would be fair to say he rejected the Newcastle job in the hope of him landing the England job though, would he have accepted the Villa job if the circumstances were the same as when he rejected the Newcastle job? My personal opinion is he wouldn't of but we'll never know.

[Stevie]

It is widely considered that he did have the opportunity to take the Toon job and didn't take it.

 

But he didn't reject Newcastle for Villa though, did he?

 

As I said, he is widely considered to have done so, although the absolute truth is not known

 

Widely considered by who?

 

I don't doubt he turned the Newcastle job down, however it was well reported at the time he was holding out for the England job, we waited for him for so long while the FA dragged out the whole process but in the end we had to move on so we appointed Roeder.

 

After that O'Neill failed to get the England job and made it known he was ready to step back into management, later that summer Villa were as good as taken over and O'Leary was swapped for O'Neill.

 

Not once was he ever put in the position where he had to chose between Newcastle and Villa as both job opportunities came months apart, it would be fair to say he rejected the Newcastle job in the hope of him landing the England job though, would he have accepted the Villa job if the circumstances were the same as when he rejected the Newcastle job? My personal opinion is he wouldn't of but we'll never know.

Is there ANY proof MON was offered the toon job at ANY stage?  No there isn't, and I don't care what anyone says if he has a choice between the Toon and Villa, why would he go there?  Honestly? 

[Guest SLK]

NE5 they've never ever brung 3,000 here in my life time.  They normally get three blocks at the most.

 

The true measure of a club is in how many fans they take to SJP, is it? You're obsessed, man, obsessed.

Obsessed by what?  Villa are inconsequential to me, but the fact is MO'N clearly states we're a bigger club than Villa, but stating the fact that, that's what where he wants Villa to be, howay it doesn't take a genious to work out.

NUFC has bigger fan base than Villa, Bigger Stadium hence, More money (i'm not sure after Villa's takeover)...In terms of prestige, I'm not sure which club is considered bigger in terms of achievments...I wouldn't say NUFC has achieved a lot...but I don't know how much compared to Villa...

[brummie]

You appear to think that because Villa are currently higher in the table and a manager has turned down Man City, it makes them the "bigger" of the two.

 

Dear God alive. NO, I do *not* believe a manager turning down city for villa makes villa a bigger club, or vice versa. In fact, I am pointing out precisely the opposite.

 

It was Stevie who implied that a manager opting for one job rather than the other makes the club he opted for the bigger club.

 

My "irony" point was to show that this argument is rubbish, and to point out the irony in what Stevie was saying, re MON / Villa / Newcastle.

 

If you're going to put words into my mouth to fit your own argument though, go ahead

 

I can understand you defending your club, in fact I'd expect you to, I'm sure MON had his reasons for accepting the offer to manage Villa, but whatever they were, I'd be surprised if it was because he thinks Villa have bigger and better support

 

 

As I said, mate, I never even mentioned anything about whether one club was bigger than the other. I was pointing out the flaw in Stevie's argument.

 

I'm not bothered about whether one has bigger or "better" support, I don't care.

 

I'm just happy I've seen us win some fantastic stuff in the past and hope we win some more in the future. I've got a few clubs I have a spot for, and Newcastle are one of them, and I've got some clubs I particularly dislike, but I'm not obssessed with measuring the "stature" of my club against them, and I'm even less interested in coming onto their websites and starting arguing about it, I can't be bothered for one thing, and it would be disrespectful for another.

 

Stevie seems to be determind to bring it up all the time, though, witness the launching of his tirade earlier in this thread when all I did was ask how he knew under which conditions Houllier would return to England.

[Baggio]

It is widely considered that he did have the opportunity to take the Toon job and didn't take it.

 

But he didn't reject Newcastle for Villa though, did he?

 

As I said, he is widely considered to have done so, although the absolute truth is not known

 

Widely considered by who?

 

I don't doubt he turned the Newcastle job down, however it was well reported at the time he was holding out for the England job, we waited for him for so long while the FA dragged out the whole process but in the end we had to move on so we appointed Roeder.

 

After that O'Neill failed to get the England job and made it known he was ready to step back into management, later that summer Villa were as good as taken over and O'Leary was swapped for O'Neill.

 

Not once was he ever put in the position where he had to chose between Newcastle and Villa as both job opportunities came months apart, it would be fair to say he rejected the Newcastle job in the hope of him landing the England job though, would he have accepted the Villa job if the circumstances were the same as when he rejected the Newcastle job? My personal opinion is he wouldn't of but we'll never know.

Is there ANY proof MON was offered the toon job at ANY stage?  No there isn't, and I don't care what anyone says if he has a choice between the Toon and Villa, why would he go there?  Honestly? 

 

The same bloke who said Houllier was on the phone trying to get the Newcastle job said it.

[Stevie]

NE5 they've never ever brung 3,000 here in my life time.  They normally get three blocks at the most.

 

The true measure of a club is in how many fans they take to SJP, is it? You're obsessed, man, obsessed.

Obsessed by what?  Villa are inconsequential to me, but the fact is MO'N clearly states we're a bigger club than Villa, but stating the fact that, that's what where he wants Villa to be, howay it doesn't take a genious to work out.

NUFC has bigger fan base than Villa, Bigger Stadium hence, More money (i'm not sure after Villa's takeover)...In terms of prestige, I'm not sure which club is considered bigger in terms of achievments...I wouldn't say NUFC has achieved a lot...but I don't know how much compared to Villa...

There was a bloke on Talksport the other day, I know, I know, full of mongs.  However, this bloke was an articulate QPR fan arguing that the toon were indeed a big club, he said just being in Newcastle on a match day as an away fan had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, and he said he could understand why the vast majority of footballers would love to play for the club.  That's just one point of view. 

 

Whenever I've been to Villa, I've often wondered if they would actually fill their ground if they were a CL club, there's no vibe about the place at all, like there is when you go to Anfield, or even when you go to somewhere like Rangers.

[Stevie]

It is widely considered that he did have the opportunity to take the Toon job and didn't take it.

 

But he didn't reject Newcastle for Villa though, did he?

 

As I said, he is widely considered to have done so, although the absolute truth is not known

 

Widely considered by who?

 

I don't doubt he turned the Newcastle job down, however it was well reported at the time he was holding out for the England job, we waited for him for so long while the FA dragged out the whole process but in the end we had to move on so we appointed Roeder.

 

After that O'Neill failed to get the England job and made it known he was ready to step back into management, later that summer Villa were as good as taken over and O'Leary was swapped for O'Neill.

 

Not once was he ever put in the position where he had to chose between Newcastle and Villa as both job opportunities came months apart, it would be fair to say he rejected the Newcastle job in the hope of him landing the England job though, would he have accepted the Villa job if the circumstances were the same as when he rejected the Newcastle job? My personal opinion is he wouldn't of but we'll never know.

Is there ANY proof MON was offered the toon job at ANY stage?  No there isn't, and I don't care what anyone says if he has a choice between the Toon and Villa, why would he go there?  Honestly? 

 

The same bloke who said Houllier was on the phone trying to get the Newcastle job said it.

Can't recall that.

[Guest kingdawson]

It is widely considered that he did have the opportunity to take the Toon job and didn't take it.

 

But he didn't reject Newcastle for Villa though, did he?

 

As I said, he is widely considered to have done so, although the absolute truth is not known

 

Widely considered by who?

 

I don't doubt he turned the Newcastle job down, however it was well reported at the time he was holding out for the England job, we waited for him for so long while the FA dragged out the whole process but in the end we had to move on so we appointed Roeder.

 

After that O'Neill failed to get the England job and made it known he was ready to step back into management, later that summer Villa were as good as taken over and O'Leary was swapped for O'Neill.

 

Not once was he ever put in the position where he had to chose between Newcastle and Villa as both job opportunities came months apart, it would be fair to say he rejected the Newcastle job in the hope of him landing the England job though, would he have accepted the Villa job if the circumstances were the same as when he rejected the Newcastle job? My personal opinion is he wouldn't of but we'll never know.

Is there ANY proof MON was offered the toon job at ANY stage?  No there isn't, and I don't care what anyone says if he has a choice between the Toon and Villa, why would he go there?  Honestly? 

 

The same bloke who said Houllier was on the phone trying to get the Newcastle job said it.

 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH BAGGIO.

Stevie you plonker, thers just as much "proof" as there is Houllier begging for the Newcastle job. Get it into your thick head you deluded waste of space.

[Guest SLK]

NE5 they've never ever brung 3,000 here in my life time.  They normally get three blocks at the most.

 

The true measure of a club is in how many fans they take to SJP, is it? You're obsessed, man, obsessed.

Obsessed by what?  Villa are inconsequential to me, but the fact is MO'N clearly states we're a bigger club than Villa, but stating the fact that, that's what where he wants Villa to be, howay it doesn't take a genious to work out.

NUFC has bigger fan base than Villa, Bigger Stadium hence, More money (i'm not sure after Villa's takeover)...In terms of prestige, I'm not sure which club is considered bigger in terms of achievments...I wouldn't say NUFC has achieved a lot...but I don't know how much compared to Villa...

There was a bloke on Talksport the other day, I know, I know, full of mongs.  However, this bloke was an articulate QPR fan arguing that the toon were indeed a big club, he said just being in Newcastle on a match day as an away fan had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, and he said he could understand why the vast majority of footballers would love to play for the club.  That's just one point of view. 

 

Whenever I've been to Villa, I've often wondered if they would actually fill their ground if they were a CL club, there's no vibe about the place at all, like there is when you go to Anfield, or even when you go to somewhere like Rangers.

I understand what you are saying...Their fan base is not as big as NUFC...But that can be the case for more than the reason of being less successful...Could it be they are not the only big club in their city as opposite to how it is in Newcastle !!!

[brummie]

NE5 they've never ever brung 3,000 here in my life time.  They normally get three blocks at the most.

 

The true measure of a club is in how many fans they take to SJP, is it? You're obsessed, man, obsessed.

Obsessed by what?  Villa are inconsequential to me, but the fact is MO'N clearly states we're a bigger club than Villa, but stating the fact that, that's what where he wants Villa to be, howay it doesn't take a genious to work out.

NUFC has bigger fan base than Villa, Bigger Stadium hence, More money (i'm not sure after Villa's takeover)...In terms of prestige, I'm not sure which club is considered bigger in terms of achievments...I wouldn't say NUFC has achieved a lot...but I don't know how much compared to Villa...

There was a bloke on Talksport the other day, I know, I know, full of mongs.  However, this bloke was an articulate QPR fan arguing that the toon were indeed a big club, he said just being in Newcastle on a match day as an away fan had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, and he said he could understand why the vast majority of footballers would love to play for the club.  That's just one point of view. 

 

Whenever I've been to Villa, I've often wondered if they would actually fill their ground if they were a CL club, there's no vibe about the place at all, like there is when you go to Anfield, or even when you go to somewhere like Rangers.

 

A few points to consider re differing matchday experiences ....

 

1. Newcastle is a much smaller city than Brum, miles smaller. The club is bound to form a bigger part of it.

 

2. Stop someone in the streets in Newcastle and ask them who they support, and you know with almost certainty what the answer will be. Stop someone in Brum and ask them and they could be Villa, Blues, Albion, Walsall, Coventry, Wolves .... there are three clubs within the city, let alone within the conurbation.

 

3. Villa Park is in a suburb of the city. SJP is right in the centre of the city. That makes a difference. Walk around Newcastle city centre on a matchday doing your shopping and you'll see loads of fans - because a. the ground is IN the city centre and b. the city centre is smaller in the first place. Walk around Brum centre on a match day and you will see far fewer for the opposite of the reasons above.

 

4. No vibe around Villa Park? What about history? There aren't many venues with more history than VP, even if the oldest of the stands is now only 30 years old (and itself to be demolished soon), the location oozes history. The ground is built in the grounds of a stately home, as if to emphasise it.

 

That's why the matchday experiences are different.

 

Oh, and as for hairs on the back of the neck standing up, the matchday experience *everywhere* these days is utter, utter shite compared to years gone by, including SJP

[brummie]

It is widely considered that he did have the opportunity to take the Toon job and didn't take it.

 

But he didn't reject Newcastle for Villa though, did he?

 

As I said, he is widely considered to have done so, although the absolute truth is not known

 

Widely considered by who?

 

I don't doubt he turned the Newcastle job down, however it was well reported at the time he was holding out for the England job, we waited for him for so long while the FA dragged out the whole process but in the end we had to move on so we appointed Roeder.

 

After that O'Neill failed to get the England job and made it known he was ready to step back into management, later that summer Villa were as good as taken over and O'Leary was swapped for O'Neill.

 

Not once was he ever put in the position where he had to chose between Newcastle and Villa as both job opportunities came months apart, it would be fair to say he rejected the Newcastle job in the hope of him landing the England job though, would he have accepted the Villa job if the circumstances were the same as when he rejected the Newcastle job? My personal opinion is he wouldn't of but we'll never know.

Is there ANY proof MON was offered the toon job at ANY stage?  No there isn't, and I don't care what anyone says if he has a choice between the Toon and Villa, why would he go there?  Honestly? 

 

The same bloke who said Houllier was on the phone trying to get the Newcastle job said it.

Can't recall that.

 

How convenient!

[Stevie]

NE5 they've never ever brung 3,000 here in my life time.  They normally get three blocks at the most.

 

The true measure of a club is in how many fans they take to SJP, is it? You're obsessed, man, obsessed.

Obsessed by what?  Villa are inconsequential to me, but the fact is MO'N clearly states we're a bigger club than Villa, but stating the fact that, that's what where he wants Villa to be, howay it doesn't take a genious to work out.

NUFC has bigger fan base than Villa, Bigger Stadium hence, More money (i'm not sure after Villa's takeover)...In terms of prestige, I'm not sure which club is considered bigger in terms of achievments...I wouldn't say NUFC has achieved a lot...but I don't know how much compared to Villa...

There was a bloke on Talksport the other day, I know, I know, full of mongs.  However, this bloke was an articulate QPR fan arguing that the toon were indeed a big club, he said just being in Newcastle on a match day as an away fan had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, and he said he could understand why the vast majority of footballers would love to play for the club.  That's just one point of view. 

 

Whenever I've been to Villa, I've often wondered if they would actually fill their ground if they were a CL club, there's no vibe about the place at all, like there is when you go to Anfield, or even when you go to somewhere like Rangers.

 

A few points to consider re differing matchday experiences ....

 

1. Newcastle is a much smaller city than Brum, miles smaller. The club is bound to form a bigger part of it.

 

2. Stop someone in the streets in Newcastle and ask them who they support, and you know with almost certainty what the answer will be. Stop someone in Brum and ask them and they could be Villa, Blues, Albion, Walsall, Coventry, Wolves .... there are three clubs within the city, let alone within the conurbation.

 

3. Villa Park is in a suburb of the city. SJP is right in the centre of the city. That makes a difference. Walk around Newcastle city centre on a matchday doing your shopping and you'll see loads of fans - because a. the ground is IN the city centre and b. the city centre is smaller in the first place. Walk around Brum centre on a match day and you will see far fewer for the opposite of the reasons above.

 

4. No vibe around Villa Park? What about history? There aren't many venues with more history than VP, even if the oldest of the stands is now only 30 years old (and itself to be demolished soon), the location oozes history. The ground is built in the grounds of a stately home, as if to emphasise it.

 

That's why the matchday experiences are different.

 

Oh, and as for hairs on the back of the neck standing up, the matchday experience *everywhere* these days is utter, utter s**** compared to years gone by, including SJP

I'd agree in general but the lad was on about his experience of the city and the walk up seeing the ground on the hill.  First time I went to Villa Park the Holte End was still standing, WAS 100% better then, and it was nearly full, I remember the scoreboard in the corner of the old stand would say "VILLA!" and everyone would chant "VILLA!" "VILLA!" "VILLA!".

[Taylor Swift]

My dad's got a bigger one..

[NE5]

You appear to think that because Villa are currently higher in the table and a manager has turned down Man City, it makes them the "bigger" of the two.

 

Dear God alive. NO, I do *not* believe a manager turning down city for villa makes villa a bigger club, or vice versa. In fact, I am pointing out precisely the opposite.

 

It was Stevie who implied that a manager opting for one job rather than the other makes the club he opted for the bigger club.

 

My "irony" point was to show that this argument is rubbish, and to point out the irony in what Stevie was saying, re MON / Villa / Newcastle.

 

If you're going to put words into my mouth to fit your own argument though, go ahead

 

I can understand you defending your club, in fact I'd expect you to, I'm sure MON had his reasons for accepting the offer to manage Villa, but whatever they were, I'd be surprised if it was because he thinks Villa have bigger and better support

 

 

As I said, mate, I never even mentioned anything about whether one club was bigger than the other. I was pointing out the flaw in Stevie's argument.

 

I'm not bothered about whether one has bigger or "better" support, I don't care.

 

I'm just happy I've seen us win some fantastic stuff in the past and hope we win some more in the future. I've got a few clubs I have a spot for, and Newcastle are one of them, and I've got some clubs I particularly dislike, but I'm not obssessed with measuring the "stature" of my club against them, and I'm even less interested in coming onto their websites and starting arguing about it, I can't be bothered for one thing, and it would be disrespectful for another.

 

Stevie seems to be determind to bring it up all the time, though, witness the launching of his tirade earlier in this thread when all I did was ask how he knew under which conditions Houllier would return to England.

 

OK, no probs, its not my intention to bicker, you're a good poster.

 

The fact that Newcastle is a one city club is a huge advantage though, rather than the Birmingham area havig load of clubs, it contributes to the whole atmosphere within the city, where everyone supports Newcastle.

 

 

[brummie]

The fact that Newcastle is a one city club is a huge advantage though, rather than the Birmingham area havig load of clubs, it contributes to the whole atmosphere within the city, where everyone supports Newcastle.

 

 

Yep, it does make a difference, everyone (well, you know what I mean) supporting the same team develops a different kind of spirit. We don't even support the same club in my family, I have Albion supporting uncles and a Bluenose for a dad.

 

I don't wear football shirts as leisure wear, but if i did, i would never wear one in the centre of Brum for fear some twat would have a go.  It is definitely different.

[brummie]

I'd agree in general but the lad was on about his experience of the city and the walk up seeing the ground on the hill.  First time I went to Villa Park the Holte End was still standing, WAS 100% better then, and it was nearly full, I remember the scoreboard in the corner of the old stand would say "VILLA!" and everyone would chant "VILLA!" "VILLA!" "VILLA!".

 

My fondest memory of football as a kid is seeing the old floodlights which spelt out A V across the city. That and the Victorian splendour of the steps up to the old Trinity Road stand, which was genuinely one of the monuments of the old game. Gone, like the old Holte End holding 23,000 standing.  Kids today don't know the half of it.

 

The hideous scoreboard episode you refer to was one of Ellis' more out of touch ideas. And there were plenty of them, believe me. If you ever wonder why we seem so optimistic of late, just think what it must have been like having that c**t run your club for 30 years.

[Stevie]

I'd agree in general but the lad was on about his experience of the city and the walk up seeing the ground on the hill.  First time I went to Villa Park the Holte End was still standing, WAS 100% better then, and it was nearly full, I remember the scoreboard in the corner of the old stand would say "VILLA!" and everyone would chant "VILLA!" "VILLA!" "VILLA!".

 

My fondest memory of football as a kid is seeing the old floodlights which spelt out A V across the city. That and the Victorian splendour of the steps up to the old Trinity Road stand, which was genuinely one of the monuments of the old game. Gone, like the old Holte End holding 23,000 standing.  Kids today don't know the half of it.

 

The hideous scoreboard episode you refer to was one of Ellis' more out of touch ideas. And there were plenty of them, believe me. If you ever wonder why we seem so optimistic of late, just think what it must have been like having that c**t run your club for 30 years.

I never understood the abuse Deadly Doug got.  For starters if Shepherd delivers the CL one day, I'm sure he'll have a statue, which will cost fuckin loads mind the size of the cunt.  Ellis won the EC during his first season as manager. 

 

You came second twice, and in 1989 to 1998, he always gave great financial backing along the way, and also giving you a secure financial footing.  I remember reading Villa were never in debt with him at the helm, would you prefer if you'd had a chairman like Peter Ridsdale?

[brummie]

I'd agree in general but the lad was on about his experience of the city and the walk up seeing the ground on the hill.  First time I went to Villa Park the Holte End was still standing, WAS 100% better then, and it was nearly full, I remember the scoreboard in the corner of the old stand would say "VILLA!" and everyone would chant "VILLA!" "VILLA!" "VILLA!".

 

My fondest memory of football as a kid is seeing the old floodlights which spelt out A V across the city. That and the Victorian splendour of the steps up to the old Trinity Road stand, which was genuinely one of the monuments of the old game. Gone, like the old Holte End holding 23,000 standing.  Kids today don't know the half of it.

 

The hideous scoreboard episode you refer to was one of Ellis' more out of touch ideas. And there were plenty of them, believe me. If you ever wonder why we seem so optimistic of late, just think what it must have been like having that c**t run your club for 30 years.

I never understood the abuse Deadly Doug got.  For starters if Shepherd delivers the CL one day, I'm sure he'll have a statue, which will cost fuckin loads mind the size of the cunt.  Ellis won the EC during his first season as manager. 

 

You came second twice, and in 1989 to 1998, he always gave great financial backing along the way, and also giving you a secure financial footing.  I remember reading Villa were never in debt with him at the helm, would you prefer if you'd had a chairman like Peter Ridsdale?

 

I'm not one of the people who thinks he was an unmitigated bad thing. He saved the club from bankruptcy in 1968, that is a fact. His first spell there was largely successful. He appointed Ron Saunders who built two championship winning quality sides, one which did win it, one which didn't.

 

However, your post gets one thing seriously wrong. Ellis was not at the club when we won the league in 81 and the EC in 82. That was during the spell when he had been ousted (79-82).

 

Since then, there has been barely any recognition around the ground that we were European champions. Purely because the chairman wasnt there at the time. Can you imagine any other club doing that? No pictures even, nothing.

 

He never gave great backing, either, that's another myth. We were the experts at "almost signing" people, we'd be linked with everyone, but not sign them as he'd quibble over small change (we missed out on Robbie Keane from Cov over 100k).

 

He was happy for us to finish top 6 (pre CL days), but almost never prepared to spend the extra to make the final push, hence the second - sixth places. There was one occasion when he did back the manager with real cash, sadly that was John Gregory who spent 5m on players like Steve Stone. Oh, and our very own Albert Luque, Bosko Balaban (7m, 8 appearances, 0 goals).

 

One thing he did do is ensure that we remained debt free, which given the reasonable results achieved in the premiership (until the last 3 or 4 years), was an achievement. He also sold to Lerner and appointed MON, two of the best things he did for us.

 

He ran the club like a corner shop, a personal fiefdom, though. Put it into perspective - when you were signing Michael Owen, we were sending Erik Bakke back to Leeds as we couldnt afford his wages. You might be in debt, but at least you took a punt and had a go.

 

He held the club back for far too long, and I'm just relieved he has gone.

[Stevie]

I'd agree in general but the lad was on about his experience of the city and the walk up seeing the ground on the hill.  First time I went to Villa Park the Holte End was still standing, WAS 100% better then, and it was nearly full, I remember the scoreboard in the corner of the old stand would say "VILLA!" and everyone would chant "VILLA!" "VILLA!" "VILLA!".

 

My fondest memory of football as a kid is seeing the old floodlights which spelt out A V across the city. That and the Victorian splendour of the steps up to the old Trinity Road stand, which was genuinely one of the monuments of the old game. Gone, like the old Holte End holding 23,000 standing.  Kids today don't know the half of it.

 

The hideous scoreboard episode you refer to was one of Ellis' more out of touch ideas. And there were plenty of them, believe me. If you ever wonder why we seem so optimistic of late, just think what it must have been like having that c**t run your club for 30 years.

I never understood the abuse Deadly Doug got.  For starters if Shepherd delivers the CL one day, I'm sure he'll have a statue, which will cost fuckin loads mind the size of the c***.  Ellis won the EC during his first season as manager. 

 

You came second twice, and in 1989 to 1998, he always gave great financial backing along the way, and also giving you a secure financial footing.  I remember reading Villa were never in debt with him at the helm, would you prefer if you'd had a chairman like Peter Ridsdale?

 

I'm not one of the people who thinks he was an unmitigated bad thing. He saved the club from bankruptcy in 1968, that is a fact. His first spell there was largely successful. He appointed Ron Saunders who built two championship winning quality sides, one which did win it, one which didn't.

 

However, your post gets one thing seriously wrong. Ellis was not at the club when we won the league in 81 and the EC in 82. That was during the spell when he had been ousted (79-82).

 

Since then, there has been barely any recognition around the ground that we were European champions. Purely because the chairman wasnt there at the time. Can you imagine any other club doing that? No pictures even, nothing.

 

He never gave great backing, either, that's another myth. We were the experts at "almost signing" people, we'd be linked with everyone, but not sign them as he'd quibble over small change (we missed out on Robbie Keane from Cov over 100k).

 

He was happy for us to finish top 6 (pre CL days), but almost never prepared to spend the extra to make the final push, hence the second - sixth places. There was one occasion when he did back the manager with real cash, sadly that was John Gregory who spent 5m on players like Steve Stone. Oh, and our very own Albert Luque, Bosko Balaban (7m, 8 appearances, 0 goals).

 

One thing he did do is ensure that we remained debt free, which given the reasonable results achieved in the premiership (until the last 3 or 4 years), was an achievement. He also sold to Lerner and appointed MON, two of the best things he did for us.

 

He ran the club like a corner shop, a personal fiefdom, though. Put it into perspective - when you were signing Michael Owen, we were sending Erik Bakke back to Leeds as we couldnt afford his wages. You might be in debt, but at least you took a punt and had a go.

 

He held the club back for far too long, and I'm just relieved he has gone.

Fair enough.  The not having pictures of 1982 thing is a disgrace.  However, the key thing I disagree with is with regard to financial backing.  Look at your 1996 side.  Southgate cost a small fortune, Milosevic was about £3.5m etc...etc... Merson £6.5m at 31 afew years later... etc... you can't say he didn't give decent backing.  You certainly spent more than the likes of City and Everton.

[brummie]

Fair enough.  The not having pictures of 1982 thing is a disgrace.  However, the key thing I disagree with is with regard to financial backing.  Look at your 1996 side.  Southgate cost a small fortune, Milosevic was about £3.5m etc...etc... Merson £6.5m at 31 afew years later... etc... you can't say he didn't give decent backing.  You certainly spent more than the likes of City and Everton.

 

The new (opened last week) training centre apparently has massive pics of them pretty much everywhere. Doug's biggest failing was that he thought he was "Mr Aston Villa", and anything else was essentially second in importance to his role and peoples perception of him.

 

Southgate cost 2.5m. Hardly a small fortune. The spending was sporadic (Collymore, for example, Angel too), but the backing was never consistent enough to go the extra mile.

 

His biggest fault was his failure to realise football had changed, and he was clearly stuck in the past. If he'd gone five years ago, I'd have a different opinion. The last five years we fell so much so quickly, it was frightening.

 

I will stress, however, that he handled the eventual sale absolutely perfectly. Got the manager on board that all the bidding parties wanted. Didnt panic and sell to shysters like Ranson. Realised George Gillette couldnt match Lerner for money or commitment. Sold to pretty much the perfect owner. For that, I'll always be grateful.

 

Love him or hate him, he was the very last of the old dynasty of local, provincial businessmen in top flight football, he certainly was a character. Oh, and he won in the end - he only really left because he was so ill, he left when HE chose, and not a minute earlier, the old bugger.

[geordie2000]

iirc, during the World Cup when the pundits were talking about the England managers job, Shearer said to MON 'you didn't get the other job you were interviewed for either.'

 

indicating that he was interviewed for the Toon job, but the board decided against offering him the job.

[Dr Spectrum]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1007/1007256_ranieri_poised_to_thaiup_city_deal_.html

 

CLAUDIO Ranieri is almost certain to be the next City manager.

 

The former Chelsea boss is the No 1 choice of prospective new owner Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

And despite noises to the contrary, Ranieri will quit Parma after their last game against Empoli in a fortnight's time to front what it is hoped will be the Blues' new golden era.

 

As predicted first in Monday's M.E.N. Sport, should the £120m takeover by the former Thai Prime Minister go through smoothly then Ranieri will become the Blues' first foreign manager and have a £50m transfer pot.

 

Ranieri is currently engaged in a relegation battle with Parma and understandably did not want to rock the boat before they were safe but members of Shinawatra's inner circle have privately confirmed that they have identified him as the man for the Blues.

 

Unfinished business

 

Even when the 55-year-old denied anyone from City had contacted him - the truth given that the current Blues board have not been the prime movers - Ranieri could not hide the fact that he feels he has unfinished business in England after taking Chelsea to the brink of glory.

 

"I love the mentality and atmosphere of English football and want to work there again one day," he declared.

 

"There are a lot of champions, a lot of good teams and the fans are fantastic."

 

Ranieri has not collected an overwhelming amount of silverware on his managerial travels through Europe but he has the great habit of leaving clubs in a far better condition than when he joined.

 

As a talent spotter he has been amongst the best around, he likes to bring young players through a club and is not afraid to spend big on quality.

 

Born in Rome, Ranieri played for AS Roma, Catanzaro and Catania during his career as a defender.

 

He began his managerial stint at Napoli where he launched Gianfranco Zola on to the big stage.

 

He then coached Fiorentina to the Serie B promotion and the Italian Cup in a four-year stint that ended with him heading for Valencia.

 

Like City, they had experienced a long trophy drought - 19 years in their case - before Ranieri steered them to Spanish cup glory in 1999.

 

He became a hero in Valencia and Hector Cuper inherited a team that he then took to the Champions League final.

 

It was in September 2000 that the Italian moved to England for the first time to manage Chelsea where he soon became known as the `Tinkerman' for his constant changing of tactics and personnel.

 

Popular

 

Nevertheless he was a popular coach, signing the likes of Frank Lampard, Emmanuel Petit, William Gallas, Damien Duff, Wayne Bridge, Joe Cole, Glenn Johnson, Claude Makelele, Petr Cech, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Arjen Robben and spending more than £120m in the process.

 

He guided Chelsea to the Champions League semi final and to runners up spot in the Premiership before he handed over the basis of the squad that Jose Mourinho inherited and took on to greater glory.

 

In his four years at Chelsea, Ranieri was in charge for 199 games winning 107 and drawing 46. They improved each season in terms of points accumulated.

 

From Stamford Bridge, the Italian moved back to Valencia to He won the European Super Cup against Porto but it was downhill from there on as some of his signings - including Bernardo Corradi - failed to hit it off.

 

He was sacked in February 2005 when Valencia were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Steaua Bucharest.

 

Ranieri then replaced Stefano Poli at Parma taking a short-term contract until the end of June 2007.

 

They were in relegation trouble when he arrived but now have their futures in their own hands.

 

 

Altho we might have to settle for Van Gaal or Magath if todays conflicting reports are to believed.

 

I hope to god this takeover doesn't fall thru and we're left with some muppet