Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I want Gerard Houllier to succeed so much as it also means my football club succeeds. Maybe it’s because he looks like my granddad (only French), and I can’t just hate my French granddad, or maybe I am still lost in a fog of young love – after all he’s only had one (very successful) transfer window, and about 8 months at the helm. However, I genuinely hope our current manager will be given this summer to take stock, regroup and then take this club forward.
Any time I see him interviewed he always comes across as a genuinely likeable, affable and somewhat anodyne man (quintessential Gallic nonchalance should not be wrongly interpreted as something different or perceived a negative) although nothing could be further from the truth. Some would have you believe – every pantomime needs its Villain (no pun intended) and for a lot of Villa fans, and some players, Houllier fits just about right.
The man, the reasons
A cerebral and discerning student of the game, he has an impressive track record – a proven winner elsewhere, respected, fantastic contacts and a record of accomplishment with the youth football set-up at Clairefontaine. He may not exhibit the wild Tasmanian devil antics of his predecessor, but that doesn’t mean he cares any less. I genuinely believe Houllier is hurting deeply at what has transpired this season – he looks on occasion stung by the ferocity of the attacks and the lack of patience on our, the fans, part, and probably finds this incomprehensible given the length of his tenure and the task at hand. He has only begun the moulding of ‘his’ Aston Villa, a very different Aston Villa, a new style of playing that doesn’t fit well with our currently very limited squad.
Haunted by O’Neill’s Team
There was very little wrong (on the outside at least) with life under O’Neill. We were sailing along just fine – on the cusp of Champions League football, cruelly denied Cup glory – yet as we now know, everything was not quite as it seemed and it culminated with O’Neill’s very sudden departure. It shook this club more than people imagine; he was that integral to the setup, the fabric of Lerner’s Villa, we mirrored his ethics of hard work, industry, and determination on the pitch – no? Look at how we’ve coped since. It is not down to Houllier that we limped (allowing the transfer window to slam shut) along for a few weeks. That was down to Kevin MacDonald – incidentally a man who was never ever the answer. It is not down to Houllier either that he inherited another man’s squad and had no time to get in anyone new to the playing staff until January. That’s circumstances fault if we are apportioning blame, and that the bunch he inherited were (bar a few) technically deficient for the game they were being asked to play. A clash of style’s let’s say to be kind. Add to that attitude of some of the players – uncooperative and unhelpful at best.
Not that Houllier is absolved of any blame, he has made mistakes along the way – I still even today sit and wonder ‘what are you thinking?’ when I recall his selection in the cup tie at City – but that is only the tip. I also think Gary McAllister seems a figure who wants to be known as ‘someone’ around the club and I’m sure has clashed when pulling rank on some as I’d imagine he’d be want to do, but then maybe he’s bad cop to Mr. Houllier’s good cop in this drama as it plays in my head. I would imagine there are times when Houllier would have wanted to say much more but I imagine he understands irony and has been displaying a controlled reserve, but when players move this summer we will get it all splashed across the papers: ‘Warnocks’s Villa Nightmare, ‘Dunne –I’m no Villain’ or similar. You get the picture, and the quiet things no-one ever knows get aired with daily second by second 24 hour SKY ‘this just in from ‘Villa Park’ coverage. Stephen Ireland’s headline should scream ‘Caveat Emptor’ – either that or he have it tattooed on his face – in Neon pink – just to keep it classy, like.
If Not Hou, then Who?
For the rebuilding project we are going to see – and there will be a complete overhaul in the summer – I think whatever his faults, Houllier is no bad manager and I truly believe he can bring in the quality (a la Bent and Makoun not to mention Walker and Bradley), this club needs and build the squad to drive us forward. If only we give him the chance and the time. He’s trying to get us playing football, of passing the ball, of imposing our game on opponents, he’s ultimately looking to build a team that wins with a certain style – and don’t we want better football? It wasn’t enough for most fans that we were winning under O’Neill, the football was bad they said – we were too one-dimensional.
Certainly what makes anyone believe that, of the names being thrown around – Moyes, Jol, Coyle, McLaren, Benitez etc, are they any better qualified than Houllier for the job? What guarantee do they bring? We fans have a huge role in this also – if those who want him removed shout loud enough for long enough then at some point our Board will blink. If the Board are behind him as they say ( Houllier might be better asking to have them in front – at least that way he will see the knife coming) then they must give him the necessary backing in the summer to make the sweeping changes he needs to make.
I accept I am in the minority, wanting and hoping we keep our Gallic master. I just fear failure to do so will simply prove another ‘faux-pas’.
The Author
