Aston Villa need to resolve issue once and for all
Will Martin O’Neill wave goodbye to Aston Villa at the end of the season? More importantly, if he does depart, would it be a foolish judgment by Villa owner Randy Lerner?
The two have had an irregular relationship following disagreements over O’Neill’s transfer budget for this and next season. It is undetermined whether the Irishman will remain at Villa Park after the summer. The villains seem purely governed by owner Randy Lerner and the club’s chief executive Paul Faulkner, leaving Martin O’Neill to feel unproductive as a ‘manager’.
O’Neill attended Aston Villa’s award night this past Wednesday. He was allocated to sit on the top table, where he had two empty seats placed either side of him. 500 Villa supporters were present to show their tribute and support for this season’s campaign, but the absences of Randy Lerner and Paul Faulkner would have increased further apprehension between the two parties. As ‘St. Martin’ sat there contemplating his future, A fan felt the need to cry out the biggest and most important question that everybody involved with the club wants to know:
“Are you staying Martin, or not?”
The astute O’Neill took the microphone and simply replied:
“All I can say is that Randy Lerner has no need to ring Mark Hughes”
O’Neill is known to never give a straight answer, and evidently, didn’t present one back to this fans query. His answer seems to give a strong indication that he wants to stay, but much confusion is still in attendance.
Should O’Neill decide to leave under the current circumstances, he and the fans are uncertain who his replacement would be. The Birmingham based club have reached new heights whilst O’Neill has taken charge. The villains have become more of a respected side in the premier league these days thanks to O’Neill. Season after season they end up in the top half of the table, competing for European competitions, which has cemented their status as Euro-chasers. With this all being said, would it be thoughtless of the owner to get rid of him? Does Lerner see O’Neill as a piece of chewing gum that has lost it’s flavour? Many fans will want this issue resolved sooner rather than later. Fans appear to be pleased with what the Irishman has, and what he currently is doing for the club, so why fix something that appears not to be broken?
No one knows what is fabricating behind the scenes. We don’t know the full story. But it appears to us that O’Neill is the Hero and Lerner is the villain (excuse the pun).
Martin O’Neill did invest heavily last summer and brought in the likes of Stephen Warnock, Richard Dunne, Fabian Delph, and Habib Beye. All these signing were helped with the recuperation of Gareth Barry’s £12 million move to Manchester City.
In January, O’Neil admitted that he had to work with a ‘sell to buy’ policy. With this in mind the Villa boss didn’t add to his squad in the January transfer window.
Aston Villa and O’Neill have had a great season. He managed to lead his side to the carling cup final, as well as see his team reach the F.A. cup semi-finals. Villa also battled long and to try and secure the fourth spot, but failed to achieve this, instead, they will have to settle for the Europa league football next season. Despite all this, the scenario involving the manager and owner would have eclipsed the team’s achievements this season. Instead of noticing the accomplishments of what the team have achieved this year, many will be more concerned about the manager’s future.
O’Neill at some stage will have to craft ‘showdown talks’ with Lerner. Both will need to come to an agreement and clear up the puzzlement that Villa and the fans face at present.
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I don’t think O’Neill wants to leave Villa, but he has seemed at odds with Lerner.
With Rafa Benitez’ future in the balance at Liverpool, surely O’Neill would be on a shortlist to replace him and I think that would be the only club he’d leave Villa for at the moment.
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i hope he doesn’t leave. villa and him work well together.
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Martin has done a splendid job since taking over 4-5 years ago. He has made them a top team who qualify for European football every season. If he does go then he will only go to Liverpool. I hope they resolve the issue quick so that we can challenge and succeed in getting fourth.
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Lerner is a moron, he should give MO the money he requires for next season so they can mount a serious 4th place challenge once again. MO has done wonders for villa since he has been there.
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He has certainly done a great job Catz and has raised the expectations of the club. Would be foolish for Lerner to upset him too much.
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Martin O’neill should just leave if he feels he is not getting the support from his chairman. A manager needs to be in cohesion wiv his chairman or there will be chaos as this case shows. I think if he does leave then players may follow.
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Whilst I think O’Neill will remain, I kind of get the feeling he may have taken Villa as far as possible. It’s going to be really hard to break into that top four with Man City and Tottenham on the rise.
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Yep, totally agree with Zarif, although if he can get the funds he requires and the players he wants then you never know. MO taken them far as they can? i’m not too sure, I think he can still take them a step further, they have a good bunch of home-grown talent and they are all still young, yet they are gelling into a good team which is good to see.
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O’Neill should definately stay at Villa, the fans love him and I’m sure the players respect him.
If the board are not plaesed with him then they are stupid, I remember when O’Neill wasn’t there they were struggling to stay in the league.
They have been a successful and constant team under O’Neill, but if the board are unhappy with this then I don’t know whats wrong with them
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