Aston Villa News 24/7Gérard Houllier has signed the contract he said he would. It’s a three year deal. Really pretty simple, not sure why it’s such huge news, but it seems to be lighting up the wires at the moment, so to speak.
Previously, Emile Heskey was dominating the headlines, for the right reasons for once, following the impact he made against Blackburn midweek. A welcome change, but not a sustainable one I suspect. Hopefully I’m way off the mark because Houllier has said that strengthening the strike force is not top of his pops: “We have got three strikers in Agbonlahor, Carew and Emile. I don’t think we have to sign another. If we have to sign a player now, it won’t be in that area.”
Hopefully Delfouneso and Weimman were included in his rationale, even if they weren’t included in the quote.
Speaking of strikers,Gabby’s battling for fitness ahead of Sunday’s game at Molineux, although I’m sure I read earlier that he was going to be OK. Personally, I don’t think he’s looked anywhere close to 100% so far this season and almost every time he’s declared fit and available, he seems to pick up something else. I’d like to see him rested until he’s tip top again, it’s a long season ahead.
Perhaps another reason for Houllier’s lack of interest in procuring further striking talent is that he sees Ashley Young’s future playing, as he has done frequently this season, in a central position, just behind the main striker. Asked whether Houllier shared MON’s opinion that Ash could be one of Europe’s best wingers, he had an alternative view:-
Gerard Houllier
As a left-winger? No. He can play on the wing. Whether he can be one of the best in the world in that position … I think he can be one of the best in another position.I told him I thought he could be a leader, not only in terms of quality but in terms of effort. He can be a star but a star as a team player. And his input must not be only making goals and scoring goals.
It’s his work rate and his attitude that can improve the rest of the team. Ideally I would like him to step up a bit more but he’s got everything it takes to reach the very top.
And finally, for this splash and dash post, Gérard Houllier has reiterated his desire to make installing a winning mentality on the squad his priority as he’s still getting to know the players. That’s music to my ears, I always say that winning is habitual and going into games expecting to win is half the battle. We do have quality, if we can get a little swagger and confidence to our game, we’ll definitely be back on the right track I think.
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6 Comments to “Houllier Signs The Paperwork, Heskey Grabs Headlines And Ash Holds The Future”
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Splash and dash
That’s a new one on me.
I never doubted for one second that Houllier would sign and as you say, I couldn’t see what the big deal was.
It’s great to hear that Ash wants to sign a new contract.
Let’s hope it’s not just what we want to hear and he actually does it.
As much as I’d like to think it was some kind of turning point for Heskey, I very much doubt it.
Hopefully Houllier will realise he’s useless as a striker and we’ll get a new one in.
So, he’s basically saying to Ash what I’d have liked to say a while ago- track back and tackle like Milner, want the ball, play for the team and for F**** sake stop falling over and moaning at the ref.
For a wimpy “I’ll just fall over” type of player, I actually don’t have a major problem with his tracking back, nan.
I’ve always thought that although he simply isn’t the tackling type, he does try.
With me being only a bit bigger than him (think Sid Cowans, without any skill whatsoever
), I know what it’s like.
The slightest shove or shoulder charge has you over, simple.
It’s more about distraction than being effective imo.
Totally agree about the moaning bit though, no need.
something i’ve been pondering lately and might look into for a future post… ash’s “dip in form” coincided reasonably closely with milner’s arrival. his resurgence, give or take, follows his exit, or at least the racing certainty of his exit.
before i go digging, am i alone in thinking this? worth further examination?
I’ve never thought about that, but any further examination is always welcome Dan.
So you’re thinking that James hogged the limelight?
I’m thinking they’re totally different players and don’t see it, but any analysis is welcome to me mate.
He did highlight Young’s weaknesses. I guess if you’re a midfield player with precious ball (and let’s face it, the way we played when we finally got it, it was precious) you’d probably more often give to Milner knowing you’re likely to get it back.