Aston Villa News 24/7Writer: J P Fear 
Date:Wednesday April 25 2007
Time: 11:45AM
UK time is: 11:12:40
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
O'Neill - Villa Survival Was Aim
Martin O'Neill is ready for phase two of the big plan at Villa following Randy Lerner's arrival.
The Villa boss said:
'Mr Lerner is over here and we will have talks. We are pretty well aware of what we want to do and something a bit more specific should come to mind at the end of the season. I am hoping we would all want to do okay. We want to take it onto the next step. Mr Lerner is looking at a five or six-year plan. But I know this season what he wanted was for us to stay up and then have a chance to look at things.'
'While Mr Lerner's own expectations at some stage will get very high, his own belief for this season was making sure we remained in this division. That was way back in October when we were winning games and in the top six. Never at any stage did he say finishing in the top half or achieving European football was a target for this season. I genuinely mean that. He had seen how things had gone the season before and knew we weren't able to make that many signings before the August transfer window closed.'
'If he had been here for four or five months before a ball had been kicked, that might have been a different issue but I think he realised by the time he got in here we were unable to do anything. I know we had some money set aside for one transfer, which was Stiliyan Petrov, but he realised it was going to be four months before we could do anything much.'
At least with the close of season approaching, they can all settle down and really assess what is needed next season and for the seasons to follow. Exciting times.
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Spain
Your Comments
god damn it i love randy lerner !!!!!!!
Stig
3rd season is the one we could really take off, next season I'd love to see us in the top 8 and challenging for Europe.
The Fear
Looks like Randy is a bit more realistic about the Club he bought and players he inherited than some of the fans who expect instant success.
Hoss The Villain
I think nobody other than villa fans relised how serious a mess the club was in and how we looked certain for relegation while doug and dave were still here.It seems that the general attitude from the media and other people who were ignorant to this think MoN has failed this season,this combined with empty seats at some of the televised games have given the impression that we'll always struggle.Im sick of it and were going to suprise a few people next season.Up the Villa!
Pking
Im also afraid of too much pressure being put on the manager next season.
Pking
MON will be used to the pressure though, just because celtic won everything doesn't mean he wasn't under it.
the crowds will go up purley as a% of people who would have bought a season ticket spent the money on something else when they thought we'd have doug 'n' dave again. i expect next season we'll be up there with spurs and bolton pushing for some uefa action!!
bobbyfett
I don`t believe the MON hype,sorry but his comments just cover his @ss for the fact we`ve been generally dire and under-prepared/motivated in many games this season,you can tell me that it will be all ok next season but i won`t hold my breath-lets give him 40m and buy 5 Ashley Youngs when we need a centre half and we still can`t deliver a decent corner,by all means live in dream land ( where are the missing thousands??? )
ASPINALL
ASPINALL - if your old enough - you'd be one of those who thought Saunder's sucked! We were very poor at times this season but if you expected anything else then it is you who is in dreamland. Look where we finished last year with less injurys than this year! Come on get on the wagon or feck off!
myleftfoot
If we cant do anything under a boss like O Neill then we never will.
Pking
I`m sick of hearing that everything will be supremely wonderful next season, i can`t see it and by the looks of it a number of Villa fans stay away for the same reason,have Blackburn,Pompey,Reading,Everton or Bolton got better squads ?? If it makes you feel better then yes,we are great/youngsters and MON will come good blah,blah,blah i bet same people all thought O`Leary was the greatest thing since sliced bread aswell - watch the games.
ASPINALL
I HAVE SAY THAT ASPINALL IS SAYING WHAT MANY, MANY THOUSANDS OF VILLA FANS ARE THINKING. THE FANS EXPECTED MUCH BETTER FROM O'NEILL THAN THEY GOT FROM O'LEARY, BUT HE'S NOT BEEN ABLE TO. MANY ARE SAYING LET'S WAIT AND SEE WHO HE BRINGS IN NEXT SEASON. I'M NOT HOLDING MY BREATH ON THIS AND I WILL BE AMAZED IF WE FINISH 8TH NEXT SEASON. THE QUESTION IS - "HOW LONG WILL FITZGERALD GIVE HIM TO GET A TOP 6 SPOT?
villacross
I've watched most games this season whether on the TV or at VP. I'll admit to not being particularly astute at football tactics as I never really played football above the school playground level. However I think the displays have been a vast improvement from what went on under DOL. I believe that we WILL bring in some quality new players and I personally am very excited about the summer transfer window and 07-08 season. We were looking like a team that would go down this season after last seasons debacle. If you can't be optimistic about the future now (which is kind of important when supporting a football club) then when can you be? To say that you are sick of people saying everything will be wonderful is quite frankly mind boggling. Would you rather everyone was predicting relegation?
Adam Deuce
Has everyone read the article? Were we all on the same planet last August? You cannot turn around the disaster that was Aston Villa in a few months. Those that expected miracles this year were, quite frankly, in their own little world. Mid table was the prediction for the more educated fans, and mid table is where we will finish. I will be the first to admit that if this time next year we haven't improved again then MON is not the man for the job, but to judge now is ridiculous. The football is better - much better. just look at the number of attempts on goal - even in the matches we have lost. Give it time, then make your mind up.
CLVilla
What made MON become such a god in managers terms? He turned a poor leicester side average. And won a few things in Scotland but up there he has a 50/50 chance of winning things. Long ball tactics employed with Carew as his new Hartson/Heskey. I'm not convinced he's as good as his reputation MON. When Carew plays we just seem to lump the ball in the air to him yes he's big and strong but its not getting results. We get more points when he wasn't playing.
iomvilla
I agree CLVilla and thanks for the back-up VillaCross,yes-let`s not judge him too harshly but in the same argument let`s not kid ourselves he is the messiah and success is on the horizon,i`m just saying what i`ve seen this season,he didn`t inherit a "disaster" for gods sake!! There was a half-decent squad / good Acadaemy set-up but previous manager had lost interest yet is there a great improvement? slight improvement but MON has had more money than DOL ever had.Ha ha - i was told to get on the Wagon or F.off - what the bleep does that mean? I go home / away and support/love em,but let me have my view on what i see!
ASPINALL
Like most, I expected something a little better this season; have been disappointed with much of the play and tactics at times. But I feel there's a bit more there this season compared to last. MON has had one season and that's all. Let's get off his back for the moment and see what happens. It's far too early to judge, especially if there is a bigger plan in place. Give it some time and then make a judgement. There's certainly a lot going on behind the scenes and that should not be underestimated. But as someone here said, most expected mid-table this season, and something higher next. Before we all get too excited either way, let's see how the plan pans out.
Beovilla
Come this time next season I wonder which of the above supporters will be eating humble pie following the opinions and comments they have offered? Must admit I remain very firmly in the MON corner, and believe that this guy is the right manager to get this club thoroughly back on track. Do I agree with every team selection he makes or his tactics in some game? No of course not, and that would be the case with no matter who we had at the helm. He has the full and complete respect of the players though, he has the pedigree, and has succeeded in halting the ten year rot and decline that had set in at the club. In my opinion he's done virtually everything that could be expected of him, and more, in his nine short months at the club. A messiah or miracle worker he is not, nor has he ever professed to be. Whats more, there's no one out there who fits into that category.
glensider
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
Pre Season Takes Shape (Friday May 17 2013)
Something For The Weekend (424) (Friday May 17 2013)
Lambert Sticking To His Policy - No Big Signings (Friday May 17 2013)
Shaun Maloney Speaks To Vital Wigan About Stan (Friday May 17 2013)
Mystic Mug Sits On Fence To Beat Lawro! (Friday May 17 2013)
Clark Ruled Out Of Wigan Match (Thursday May 16 2013)
An Interview With A Wigan Fan (Thursday May 16 2013)
Lambert Tips Gabby For England Recall (Thursday May 16 2013)
I'm Sure It's A Healthier Place Now (Thursday May 16 2013)
Lambert - We Got The Job Done (Thursday May 16 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | Pride of Lions | 799 |
| 2. | The Fear | 639 |
| 3. | BodyButter | 377 |
| 4. | kefkat | 318 |
| 5. | CDX_EIRE | 243 |
| 6. | Villan57 | 226 |
| 7. | thefacehead | 212 |
| 8. | ClivetheVillan | 207 |
| 9. | DeanoVilla | 191 |
| 10. | mike_field | 157 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 2 | Chelsea |
| Norwich | 1 | - | 2 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 6 | - | 1 | Sunderland |
| Man Utd | 3 | - | 0 | Aston Villa |
| Aston Villa | 1 | - | 1 | Fulham |
| Stoke | 1 | - | 3 | Aston Villa |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 13. Newcastle | 37 | 11 | 8 | 18 | -22 | 41 |
| 14. Southampton | 37 | 9 | 13 | 15 | -11 | 40 |
| 15. Fulham | 37 | 10 | 10 | 17 | -13 | 40 |
| 16. Aston Villa | 37 | 10 | 10 | 17 | -22 | 40 |
| 17. Sunderland | 37 | 9 | 12 | 16 | -12 | 39 |
| 18. Wigan | 37 | 9 | 8 | 20 | -26 | 35 |
| 19. Reading | 37 | 6 | 10 | 21 | -28 | 28 |
Breaking League News
| Tottenham Hotspur Preview (A) - May 19
» Sunderland : 18/05/2013 10:54:00
|
| The Citizens versus The Canaries
» Man City : 18/05/2013 10:18:00
|
| Premier Preview: Liverpool vs. QPR
» Liverpool : 18/05/2013 10:11:00
|
| Royals boss reviews his tenure
» Reading : 18/05/2013 10:00:00
|
| Balotelli: I'm Glad I Left England
» Man City : 18/05/2013 08:00:00
|
| The Connections - Latics to Villa
» Wigan : 18/05/2013 07:00:00
|
| Liverpool: Trio In U20 World Cup Squad
» Liverpool : 17/05/2013 21:59:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|
1 © - All content copyright Vital Network Ltd, not to be reproduced without explicit permission Copyright Issues
Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.