1) Do you think David O’Leary is the right man to take a club like Villa on to better things?
No, I think only David O’Leary thinks he is the right man these days, the majority of Villa fans seem to have turned and as they said on Match of the Day, once the banners start, there isn’t usually a way back. The only way I can see David O’Leary being able to stay is if we do finally get a takeover, then if the new group decide – wrongly in my opinion – to keep him, I’d have thought most fans will begrudgingly accept that. Trouble is, unlike Robson and Bruce, O’Leary will rarely take any of the blame. If it is something good that happens then he always takes the credit with the ‘I, I, I’ talk. If something is wrotten it will be ‘we’ or ‘they’. He came to prove he wasn’t a cheque book manager and in my opinion has proved the opposite.
2) Is now the time for Deadly Doug to step down?
10 years ago was the time Doug should have stepped down, seriously. We finished 2nd in the inaugral year of the Prem and then failed to push on. Following the league cup win in 96 (and to a lesser extent 94) he also promised to push on and didn’t. He has run the club like a corner shop! The press always say that ‘he’ has backed his managers but a) they never take the sales away from the purchases, even in John Gregorys day, when money was spent, we still sold prize assets like Dwight Yorke to fund it. JG himself said after sales he still only ran the team on £4-5million a season and yet Doug expects Champions League football. I think he gets confused with Championship football in all honesty.
3) What happened to Juan Pablo Angel, last season he couldn’t stop scoring, this season he can’t even get in the side?
It was the season before last that he did well, last season he had too many injuries and this season…….. goodness only knows with this season! The main problem for Villa is we don’t get the supply to the strikers. O’Leary will have you believe we play slick, passing and attacking football. But quite honestly we don’t, the majority of the time we hoof the ball forward to our small strikers who have their backs to the defenders. Van Nistelrooy would struggle to score in a Villa team purely because of the style of play. I don’t think Angel has become a bad player, I think he is quality who needs quality around him. None of our strikers look good in the current set up.
4) Was Milan Baros worth the £6 million you paid for him and would you let him go in the summer?
Another player who is quality but needs quality around him. He is our highest scorer with just 10 goals this year and he has missed a few good chances recently, but on the other hand, at least he got into the right place to get a chance. Some fans say Angel and Baros are lazy, but I think that is bull. They just don’t get the supply they need and we aren’t set up to play to their strengths. With this hoofing of the ball, we should have bought a big lad – or even kept Crouch. If the right offer comes in, whether fans want it or not, Baros will be sold.
5) Where did it all go wrong for Villa, not long ago you were pushing for Europe and now your struggling at the wrong end of the league?
Doug Ellis….next question!
6) Who would you rather see stay up, Albion or Blues?
You have to ask!? Albion, never had a problem with the Baggies, like the rivalry and enjoy the games as they are usually played in the right spirit.
7) Who in the Baggies side do you fear most?
Jonathan Greening because he looks like the second coming and I get scared! Also Steve Watson, I’m sure he’d love to score against his old team on Sunday.
8) If you could have any Albion player in the Villa side who would you have and why?
Kanu. We need a big player and if he found his goalscoring touch he would be a major asset.
9) Why do you think all of the Midland sides in the Premier League are struggling?
Beyond me, it is depressing isn’t it?! There is no reason why any of us should be struggling. The Blues have probably got the smallest of the fan bases as they aren’t a club with history ;-)) but even they should be able to sustain their Premiership status. There are certainly enough fans about in the Midlands as well. I know the finger of blame at Villa points squarely at Ellis. Sir Alex Ferguson has Villa down as who he thought would be Man Utd’s main rivals in the 90’s, only one man blocked any chance of that.
10) Come on then, score prediction for the game on Sunday?
I am really struggling with this. I fear a loss because I’ve watched the boing boings playing a few times recently and you have battled, but I’ll sit on the fence and say 1-1, no doubt with an injury time goal for the Baggies to deny us the 3 points! I hope it is a real blood and thunder derby game though, although I would imagine both sides will be pretty nervous!
You can see the answers to my questions at astonvilla.vitalfootball
Share this article
Related Articles
