Too late for what though rintintin? If Aston Villa had kept Young or whatever they would have finished about sixth. If they let him go they might finish about ninth. Is it really that important? Either way theyâd be mid to top half. They arenât going to get top four and they arenât going to be relegated. Like so many EPL clubs they have precious little to play for domestically.
This is a disaster for Villa. OâNeill is a top, top manager and they were improving every year under him. Letâs not forget when he took over they were a total shambles after the OâLeary era and were teetering just above the relegation zone. He had built a fine team based around probably the best of young English players in the likes of Young, Milner and Agbonlahor. Villa will go backwards over this.
And btw what a call from the King of the Dutch bet. 
Early favourites to replace OâNeill:
- Jol
- Curbishley
- Eriksson
The Aston Villa supporters can rest assured that the club is in safe hands with Kevin MacDonald, Stan Stauntonâs former assistant with Ireland.
goal.comâs take on OâNeill leaving below. The US coach, Bob Bradley, is also getting a few mentions online as a possible candidate for the job. I guess the American owner makes this a possibility perhaps.
[b]Revealed: The Full Extent Of The Power Struggle That Provoked Martin OâNeill To Quit Aston Villa
- Milner fee would not have been reinvested in squad
- Manager told friends in April he would leave this season
- Appointment of new chief executive reduced his decision-making power
- Lerner unhappy at spending level and wants to rein in costs[/b]
EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief correspondent
Martin OâNeill quit as Aston Villa manager only five days before the start of the season because he feels he has not been given the funds this summer to challenge for honours, Goal.com UK can reveal.
The tipping point for the Northern Irishman came when he was told by Villa owner Randy Lerner that he would not be given any of the proceeds from the sale of James Milner to use in the transfer market.
It is understood that the ÂŁ15 million down payment that Villa have agreed with Manchester City for Milnerâs services will go straight to the clubâs coffers.
Lerner felt that makeweight Stephen Ireland, whose market value has proved the sticking point for the transfer, will suffice as an adequate replacement for the England attacking midfielder.
OâNeillâs relationship with Lerner had become increasingly fraught over the last 12 months as the American tightened the purse strings at Villa Park.
Lerner is believed to have become perplexed that, after being heavily backed in the transfer market in the summers of 2008 and 2009, when the club spent ÂŁ48.4m and ÂŁ35m respectively, OâNeill has not been able to make the final push beyond three consecutive top-six placings in the Premier League.
âIt has been boiling for a while,â a Villa source said tonight of OâNeillâs departure. âIn April, when he had a meeting with Lerner in which he was told he wouldnât have the same money to spend as in the two previous summers, he told friends that he wasnât going to be at the club next season.
âOâNeill wants to win trophies, not have to settle for top six. The timing is surprising but he will have known for a while he was leaving.â
The former Celtic manager had also become frustrated that his power at the club had declined over the last 18 months after Paul Faulkner, who has recently been promoted from chief operating officer to chief executive, was given full responsibility for negotiating transfers and contracts.
âFor his first few years at the club, OâNeill had an unusually big say in day-to-day business for a modern Premier League manager,â added another source. âHis decision-making powers included a role in negotiations and how much players should earn but Lerner wanted checks and balances on his power.â
OâNeill cut an increasingly unhappy and divisive figure at Villa Park last season. He became increasingly tetchy in his dealings with the media and minor disagreements frequently spilled over into rows.
Lerner is understood to have become increasingly disappointed at Villaâs failure to break into the top four. There have been question marks at boardroom level over why OâNeill did not utilise his full squad after their form fell away in the final months of the season in two consecutive years.
âThere were four players on the bench earning ÂŁ40,000-a-week â Steve Sidwell, Habib Beye, Luke Young and Nicky Shorey,â explained the second source. âLerner gave OâNeill the money to buy players but felt he didnât use them. Over the last two seasons, it came to March and they were twice within a short distance of the top four but the manager didnât freshen things up.â
Although there is no indication that Lerner wants to sell the club, sources close to the American say he wants to rein in his spending for 12-18 months.
Since OâNeill took over at Villa in 2006, the Midlands club have the third biggest net spend on transfers â averaging ÂŁ16.5m per season â behind only Manchester City and Tottenham.
Winning an F.A. cup league cup or Europa league Larry.
I donât understand the kudos NCC is getting on this thread.
His thread title couldnât be further from the truth.
i dont understand how a celtic fan could idolise an Irishman who has taken an OBE
Good to see thereâs someone awake.
he should have been knighted for what he achieved with Celtic.
Please come home Martin
:lol:
For winning a few SPL titlesâŚWalter Smith would be far more desrving of a knighthood
eh, he was knighted
as would WGS
think youâll find he wasnât
he has an obe
but heâs not a Sir in the eyes of Lizzie
The man is a fucking cunt of epic proportions and can go fuck himself.
Leaving the club a week before the season starts. What a prick.
We need a manager in quickly - Martin Jol would surely come. We will need to pay compensation but fuck it. I wanted Steve McClaren at the end of last season but the market is smaller now. We need someone who will relish a challenge and be innovative. money might be in short supply but none of the traditional big 4 have spent in recent times. We have a very good youth academy and there are plenty of reason to be positive. MON wasnt going to take us any further and clubs will run a mile from him now thankfully.
He did take Villa out of the doom and gloom to the relative safety/success of 6th place finishes. Still no higher than DOL or Gregory managed or Little who took us to fourth. Add in the fact he spent 90m net in four years and was sixth place good enough? His dinosaur tactics and approach to squad rotation fucked up the best chance we ever had of reaching the champions league - 08/09. He did make some very good signings - Young and Milner looked overpriced when first bought but turned out really well. Collins, Dunne, Carew, Petrov to some extent good signings but the list of shame is cutting and the reason he has left imo. Villa made a significant loss last season paying crazy wages to players that he bought not ones he inherited. Shorey, Davies, Cuellar, L Young, Sidwell, Beye, Reo Coker, Downing, Heskey, Harewood. Now we are having trouble shifting them and he fucks off. What a cunt - good riddance to the prick.
Imperative that a manager comes in quickly and keeps Ashley Young. In a way Lerner will be forced to open the cheque book to attract someone who wont be a bad thing in the short term.
All wrongâŚ
I saw Dalian Atkinson larging it up at Chester Racecourse in May, he could be the man to lead the claret and blues out of mediocrity.
[quote=âKIB man, post: 502752â]
The man is a fucking cunt of epic proportions and can go fuck himself.
Leaving the club a week before the season starts. What a prick.
We need a manager in quickly - Martin Jol would surely come. We will need to pay compensation but fuck it. I wanted Steve McClaren at the end of last season but the market is smaller now. We need someone who will relish a challenge and be innovative. money might be in short supply but none of the traditional big 4 have spent in recent times. We have a very good youth academy and there are plenty of reason to be positive. MON wasnt going to take us any further and clubs will run a mile from him now thankfully.
He did take Villa out of the doom and gloom to the relative safety/success of 6th place finishes. Still no higher than DOL or Gregory managed or Little who took us to fourth. Add in the fact he spent 90m net in four years and was sixth place good enough? His dinosaur tactics and approach to squad rotation fucked up the best chance we ever had of reaching the champions league - 08/09. He did make some very good signings - Young and Milner looked overpriced when first bought but turned out really well. Collins, Dunne, Carew, Petrov to some extent good signings but the list of shame is cutting and the reason he has left imo. Villa made a significant loss last season paying crazy wages to players that he bought not ones he inherited. Shorey, Davies, Cuellar, L Young, Sidwell, Beye, Reo Coker, Downing, Heskey, Harewood. Now we are having trouble shifting them and he fucks off. What a cunt - good riddance to the prick.
Imperative that a manager comes in quickly and keeps Ashley Young. In a way Lerner will be forced to open the cheque book to attract someone who wont be a bad thing in the short term.
[/quote] :rolleyes: Villa are a shit club Kib,simple as and you should be thankful for the time and effort he put(wasted) in trying to shine shit.Typical inane response from a âfanâ .And to those putting Martin down for his role at Celtic he turned a near decade of hun dominance on itâs head reaching a Uefa cup final in the process.Fucking doughnuts. 
effort he was more than compensated for. shine shit - players he bought pretty muchâŚetc etc
you would want to check you history you tard. wim jansen was the one who ended the dominance of glasgow rangers. Alex Mcleish and gordon strachan got their respective SPL clubs further in Europe without anywhere near the backing of MONOBE. He left Leicester and Glasgow Celtic in the shit needing to reduce wage bills etc so it aint a surprise Villa need to cut an aging squad on high salaries, is it?
Reaching the final of Europeâs secondary competition was a fine achievement but Walter Smith, Steve McClaren, Roy Hodgson all brought their sides to the final and there wasnt the same deal made of it.
In conclusion, MON reputation is more based on his stint alongside hansen and shearer on the bbc couch than anything he has achieved as a manager in the game. Lets be honest it hasnt been much out of the ordinary.