Villa And Ex Villa Gossip?! Owen & Martin O'Neill

Little bit of Villa and ex Villa gossip today.

The Daily Star says that two of the potential consortiums looking to buy Liverpool want Martin O'Neill as boss. Straight choice between Roy Hodgson and MON I'd go Hodgson unless the Liverpool fans are big fans of long ball!?

Shame the report falls down when it says MON left because he was fed up with the cost cutting. The situation was the same when he walked five days before the start of the season as they were when they met and he could have made a more measured decision in May. Losing the dressing was more the info that was doing the rounds in the press when he walked, forget which report it was but the quote that resonates is him in training saying to the players they looked like they hated him. Will be interesting if we ever get MON's reasons?

The other gossip ... actually, it isn't gossip it is fact as it is a direct quote from Manchester United boss Sir Alex Chewalot saying that Villa can forget getting Owen in January:

'He's (Houllier) wasting his time there. I understand Michael's frustration - he's exactly right - but it's because Berbatov started the season so well, then the international break came. It's difficult. We've got this Carling Cup game on Wednesday (at Scunthorpe) and he'll start that. He'll get enough football, Michael. It's just the early season with the internationals that disrupt you - there are four games over two two-week spells now since the start of the season. I agree he probably thinks it's passing him by but he's doing well in training, never misses a session. I brought him on for the last 20 minutes the other night but I could have brought on three centre-forwards and we would not have made a chance the way Rangers set out.'

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