Martin O'Neill has resigned

[WYNESS101]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/8898993.stm

Never saw this coming

[Libero]

http://news.bbc.co.u...lla/8898993.stm

Never saw this coming

I dont think anyone did

Wonder whats behind it

[WYNESS101]

http://news.bbc.co.u...lla/8898993.stm

Never saw this coming

I dont think anyone did

Wonder whats behind it

Maybe something to do with the James Milner transfer?

[Yngwie]

So is that a former Caley player in charge (temporarily) of a Premiership side?

[Caley Mad In Berks]

Wasn't he on the brink of resigning several months ago? I think things started to turn sour for him with the long drawn our Gareth Batty transfer saga, and now that Milner seems set to be off too was probably the final straw.

[SMEE]

So is that a former Caley player in charge (temporarily) of a Premiership side?

It sure does!

To those who say they didnt see this coming.....cast your mind back about 4-5 months. Its no shock to me!

Edited August 9, 2010 by SMEE

[starchief]

The timing's a shock. My guess would be that he wasn't getting the full Milner transfer fee to spend.

[Johnboy]

That is astonishing....

Hope he comes back to Scotland.... might even be a managerial vacancy at Parkhead as from this Saturday night.

[RiG]

Probably a combination of the "impending" Milner transfer to City and also the rumoured sale of Young to Spurs I guess. Would be hard to take losing two of your best players especially to clubs in the case of Spurs, not that much better than you.

[TopSix]

He'll be back at Celtic by next week.

[Yngwie]

Don't think so.

[AJS]

He has probably taken Villa as far as he can and was told not long ago that he would have to sell players in order to buy in. And having lost Barry last year and being about to lose Milner as well it dosen't suprise me he has gone. Tbh im suprised he didn't go sooner.

[starchief]

The fact that he didn't go earlier, when the Liverpool and Celtic jobs were free, probably suggests something more recent happened than just the sell-to-buy.

[Tichy_Blacks_Back]

Not too surprised as he has been hinting that it may be coming for quite a while now....on his way to Gold Trafford....? :_wink:

[tm4tj]

Ex-Dalneigh player now in temp charge. :_thumbup:

[+old caley girl]

kevin seems to be highly thought of as a coach in the premiership according to the pundits on sky sports news. Trying to convince my boys that Kevin was a prefect at the high school when I started there and that I knew him when he played for Caley.

[robbylad]

He'll be back at Celtic by next week.

i wouldn't be surprised if he was offered a place on the parkhead board. perfectly placed for when it goes t**ts up for neil leprachaun.

[WYNESS101]

on his way to Gold Trafford....? :_wink:

My brother always said he would manage Man Utd but i think he could be the new england manager as i cant see capello staying with england much longer

[ictchris]

When you consider how much money he spent the fact that Villa haven't got into the Champions League is a big disappointment. Only Manchester City have spent more money in the last few seasons than Villa. Here is an interesting link on net spend and position for Premiership clubs. Celtic also spent heavily when he was there - Strachan won as many titles in less time with fewer resources.

Gabriel Marcotti has a good article on MON here.

[Caley Stan]

When you consider how much money he spent the fact that Villa haven't got into the Champions League is a big disappointment. Only Manchester City have spent more money in the last few seasons than Villa. Here is an interesting link on net spend and position for Premiership clubs. Celtic also spent heavily when he was there - Strachan won as many titles in less time with fewer resources.

Gabriel Marcotti has a good article on MON here.

Those figures will look very different once Milner and Young are sold. I'm not sure that net spend on transfer fees is the best way to form expectations anyway - what about wage bills? Surely that's what has kept the top 3/4 so far ahead of the rest for the past few years. Randy Lerner backed O'Neill with substantial funds but he didn't count on City and Spurs doing the same. The result was 3 consecutive 6th place finishes. It might not look spectacular but plenty of Premiership teams have spunked money and achieved less. Marcotti says "O'Neill strikes me, ultimately, as someone who does the job to the level you would expect, given the resources at his disposal. Nothing less, nothing more". That may be true, and he rightly points out that Moyes and Redknapp have exceeded expectations at their clubs, but not many managers can do that. I have feeling that in a few years time Villa fans will look back on the O'Neill years with misty eyes.

When appraising O'Neill's career overall, it's important not to forget the successive promotions he achieved at Wycombe, or his time at Leicester where he won 2 League Cups and finished in the top half of the table for 4 consecutive seasons.

[Yngwie]

what about wage bills?

Wage bills were apparently the cause of the conflict between him and the board, not transfers.

[lukemackay]

?140 million i heard today buti would say no more than 20-30 million now 110-120 million on players is an outrageous amount of money to spend if i was a villa fan i would be happy with the board or martin o'neill

[tm4tj]

My brother always said he would manage Man Utd but i think he could be the new england manager as i cant see capello staying with england much longer

Wow, I never knew your brother was that good?

[kilda]

Wow, I never knew your brother was that good?

Class

[jonnyf95]

Sorry if this has already been a topic or is in a topic , i couldnt be bothered looking.

anyway, do you think he should be the manager?