Martin O'Neill, Gerard Houllier and Tottenham Hotspur

As I write this it's the afternoon after Boxing Day and a very disappointing result against Tottenham. Over the past few weeks I have seen a lot of backlash against Randy Lerner, Gerard Houllier and the players, which is fair enough considering the results we have had. But if you are deciding to read this post I ask that you push a little bit of perspective to the forefront for a short while.

Martin O'Neill 

Whilst we got results under him, the football was not pretty. But then again I think everyone would rather have his style of football at the moment as we got results. What a lot of people don't know is the goings on behind the scenes and his poor man management. Martin was a very stubborn man, he would not let other people get their own way and ruined a lot of players (Harewood, Shorey, Davies) - and whilst they were not great players they gave their all and would have done better at their respective teams they have all moved on to, a lot sooner. This brings me on to his transfer dealings. He purchased poor players and paid them ridiculously high wages (Dunne - 52k, Beye - 40k, Sidwell - 45k, Heskey - 65k) and ran our wage bill up to over 70% of our turnover. I could go on all day about him and how he should have rotated players, should have been more shrewd with transfer dealings and should have not been so stubborn but at the end of the day, he left us in the lurch leaving so soon before the season started and the way he left did not surprise me. We had no manager and therefore could not sign any players in time. Obviously the departures of Barry and Milner assisted this but when a player wants to go there's not much you can do to make them stay - particularly when Manchester City come calling.

Gerard Houllier

There are a hell of a lot of fans on his back at the moment and I'll admit I was one for a while after the Liverpool debacle, but he is our manager. He was not my first choice but I was relatively pleased when he was appointed after some of the names floating around (Curbishley!) and felt he would do a decent enough job for us. Anyone following on from Martin O'Neill was always going to be a near-impossible task due to his timing. Although I was quietly confident, Gerard has got us playing a passing game instead of a long ball/counter attacking game and it's just not working. There are certain players who have made it clear they are not interested anymore, and for those who don't know; Dunne, Warnock, Beye, Sidwell, Carew - to name a few - won't be with us for much longer. It's refreshing that we are playing an attractive game but with no end product it becomes fairly frustrating.Whilst I agree that three wins in fourteen is not good enough, he has only been here three months, we've been plagued with injuries due to Martin O'Neill not giving the players a proper training session for four years and yes, this has been evident on results. Perspective is the key word as we come into January with the opportunity to clear out some of the players who aren't interested and it's a real chance for Gerard to make his mark on the team for the first time. Whether we will make any quality additions is to be seen but I can see a few decent signings to make the team a little more how Gerard would like it to be.

I'm not pleased with the performances and if I'm honest it's a little depressing the way we are going but unless it was Mourinho, anyone replacing O'Neill was always going to have a difficult task on their hands.

Tottenham Hotspur

My views on the game are pretty much the same as everyone's all over the internet. We played well but had no end product and this often leaves the modern-day fan more frustrated due to the lack of finishing in the team. We had 22 shots and 63% possession, yet lost to a side with a lot more skill (Van Der Vaart) and ten men which suited them more than us in a way. One positive from this game and the others over the past three months is that we do have some young players who will be very valuable to us in the future as long as we don't sell them. Albrighton, Clark, Bannan, Hogg, Lichaj, Delfouneso - all players who will have an integral role to play and who could all even be first teamers after the next couple of years.

We should not be too disheartened by this result as Tottenham are a class side and this has been proven by their ability to come down from 2-0 down at the Emirates to win 3-2 and to stay in the Champions League after coming from 4-0 down at Inter Milan to lose marginally 4-3.

They have spent a lot of money on their side, some would say just as much as we have but it's pertinent their money has been spent a lot more wisely than us. If we are to compete at any level near to Tottenham we must appoint someone who can market and attract players to this club, as we have never been able to for years. Tottenham's wage bill is also lower than ours so we must do something about this too.

With our next six games including Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd and Birmingham all away, aswell as Man City at home, we will do well to not be in a relegation battle through January. But I do believe we will pull through and that Houllier will eventually be the man to help us out of this mess as we are currently in a (very) rough patch. Every team has them - Everton, Newcastle, even Chelsea, but we must have the spirit, endeavour and passion to pull ourselves out of this. The players are there, the fans are there, the manager is there, the board is there - they all realise the trouble we are in, but do the players have the guts to pull us out of this? Only time will tell. I for one think if we were to get relegated it would be the biggest disaster the club has ever seen given the current state of football but I think we will pull through. This is a tough time but we need the fans more than ever.


Keep the faith, keep supporting the players and most importantly keep following the club you love.


Up the Villa.