No New Manager Please – Not Yet!

No New Manager Thank You.

The press aren’t now talking about whether David O’Leary will be sacked, they are talking about WHEN David O’Leary will be sacked.

Relations between Doug and the manager have been stretched to breaking point and if not for a lack of funds, it seems highly likely Doug’s axe would have fallen at the end of the season.

Now David O’Leary has made many mistakes, as Pat Murphy said in an article today, It’s never worked out for O’Leary at Villa. The chemistry just isn’t there….. Now I fully agree with that, he has never ‘felt’ like a Villa man and has done little or nothing to ingratiate himself with the fans.

BUT and it is a big but……. do you really trust Doug Ellis to chose another manager?

I’m no great fan of David O’Leary, I feel the same way as the majority of fans seem to that he has talked the club down, moaned at the fans and talked up the relationship with Doug Ellis. Calling us fickle and sugarbags was never going to be a good move. So why am I not clamouring for his dismissal and jumping for joy at the prospect?

Simple answer is that the Menace of B6 would once again escape the lions share of the blame, the fans would once again be promised ‘the next golden era’ and I’m sorry to say many would fall for it.

YES, I wouldn’t mind seeing David O’Leary leave BUT I want Ellis to go first, then we get a new consortium who can choose ‘their’ man and we get a clean sweep throughout Villa. Anyone coming in whilst Ellis is still there takes the risk of being tarnished like most of our other ex (and present) managers have been with the Ellis restrictions.

The bookies have installed Martin O’Neil and Alan Curbishley as favourites to take over from O’Leary. Hey, I’d personally walk to wherever O’Neil lived and beg him to come to Villa Park, he is THE MAN that would build an empire at Villa Park, but please, not until Ellis has left.

The players statement – and no matter what semantics you try to use, some senior players have released that statement – point the finger of blame to the right person, the man at the top. O’Leary has done himself no favours in his behaviour, especially last season, but Ellis is the cancer eating at the heart of this club and until he goes, nothing will change, NOTHING WILL CHANGE.

You also have to ask yourself why Curbishley – who said he wanted a year off from football – or Martin O’Neil – whose reputation is second to none – would want to come to a club in crisis? Why would they want to work with Doug Ellis when all others have failed? How could they re-build the team with no money to spend and little prospect of money without sales?

So – Martin O’Neil – YES PLEASE – but lets see Ellis out first.