O'Leary verlässt Aston Villa

[themanwho]

O'Leary parts company with Villa

Aston Villa have announced that manager David O'Leary has left the Premiership club by mutual consent. His departure follows an inquiry by the Villa board into a statement criticising chairman Doug Ellis that was supposedly issued by the squad.

"Although no misconduct by O'Leary was uncovered, it has been agreed that an amicable parting was in the best interests," said a Villa statement. The 48-year-old Irishman was in charge of Villa for three years. The club's statement continued: "It has been mutually agreed to terminate the contract of David O'Leary, with immediate effect.

"A compensation package reflecting the situation has been established." O'Leary took charge of Villa in June 2003 and took the Midlands side to sixth in the Premiership in his first season. But fortunes on the pitch took a tumble for the Irishman, with the club finishing 10th in the 2004/2005 season and 16th in 2005/2006.

"There was no chemistry between O'Leary and his fans and it's questionable how much of a relationship there was between himself and the players," said BBC Radio Five Live's Pat Murphy. "He underachieved last season. They were boring and tactically dull. It was a terrible season at Villa Park. The season-ticket sales during the summer have been absolutely appalling. Fundamentally, the Villa supporters will be glad that O'Leary has gone. But Villa cannot rely on Doug Ellis penny-pinching. They need a major hitter to bring Villa into an area where they feel they should be."

Fans cheered and clapped as former Leeds boss O'Leary left Villa Park at 2200 BST on Wednesday following a six-hour meeting. Leaving the stadium, O'Leary said: "Look, we've just had a chat, that's it." Former Villa left-back Colin Gibson, who played for the club from 1978-85, told Five Live Ellis should also quit the club.

"I think most fans would like to see him go too now, it's going rapidly downhill," said Gibson. "As a chairman Ellis is meticulous, very shrewd. He's nobody's fool but he's getting old and we need someone who can steer the club back on course. O'Leary never had the club at heart but there are a lot of people who'd love the challenge of being Aston Villa manager."

BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/5196872.stm)

Bezeichnend, dass die Fans jubeln dass er den Verein verlassen hat.

[Cormega]

auch wenn ich ihn eigentlich ziemlich sympathisch finde, kann ich diese Entscheidung schon nachvollziehen. Was ein ambitionierter Club wie Villa in der letzten Saison zusammengespielt hat war ja teilweise echt nimmer schön. Naja, abwarten wer sein Nachfolger wird.

Baros soll übrigens bei den Villans bleiben. Der Verein hat ein 9.5 Mio Euro Angebot des HSV abgelehnt.

[Bretwalda]

Verwundert irgendwie nicht, die wollten doch letztes Jahr in den UEFA-Cup, oder nicht?

[FuziMcC]

Wie schon gesagt verlässt damit ein sympathischer Trainer den Verein. Weltklasse auch, wieviele junge Spieler den Sprung unter ihm geschafft haben, aber der Erfolg bei Villa spricht gegen ihm. Ich hoffe Milner kommt doch noch, Wäre mit O'Leary narürlich einfacher, aber der Duff Transfer macht mir wieder ein bisschen Hoffnung.

Schade aber trotzdem nachvollziehbar

[CarolusMagnus]

Nicht ganz passend, aber nachdems keinen Villa-Fred gibt, stells ichs mal hier rein:

Billionaire Randy Lerner is believed to be preparing to enter the race to buy Aston Villa Football Club.

Chairman and major shareholder Doug Ellis put the Midlanders up for sale at the end of last year.

And Lerner, who is is chairman of credit card giants MBNA, is thought to be about to make an offer for Villa when Ellis returns from holiday later this week.

The 44-year-old already owns Cleveland Browns in the USA having taken over the NFL club's franchise following the death of his father in October 2002.

Solihull businessman Michael Neville, a life-long Villa fan, has been expected to renew interest in buying the men from Villa Park having failed in a previous attempt.

It is believed that Neville has new backers after the previous consortium he was linked with failed in its attempt to buy the club last year - it is unclear at this juncture if those backers include Lerner.

Neville was quoted as saying: "It is true to say that I have accelerated my efforts to make a bid for Aston Villa.

"I believe I have backers but cannot reveal any more than that. The timescale is short. If anything is going to happen, it would have to happen soon."

An unnamed Saudi Arabia-based consortium is also understood to be considering the possibility of attempting to buy into Villa, who are desperately in need of a massive cash injection.

Villa Shareholders' Association chairman Jonathan Fear said: "We can't obviously hang our hats on anyone interested in buying Villa until they come in and it is seen what they have to offer.

"But the fact there now appears to be interest in buying Aston Villa is excellent and it seems obvious the reign of Doug Ellis could be coming to an end."

The Midlanders are also looking for a new manager after parting company with David O'Leary last week and Neville believes it would be "fantastic" if Martin O'Neill took over the Villa Park hotseat.

The likes of Claudio Ranieri and Alan Curbishley have also been linked with the vacancy, but Neville said: "As for Martin O'Neill, it would be fantastic to have him. Any club that has him on board would be very fortunate. He is top of the tree."

Werden sowieso absteigen, mit oder ohne O'Leary, mit oder ohne Verfranchisisierung ( ). Zumindest sinds für mich ein heißer Tipp. Kennt jemand gute Quoten?

[vantheman10]

In Birmingham, bei Villa redet man jedes Jahr vom UEFA Cup also Realisten sind das nicht gerade! Mit diesem Team bist du höchstens im Mittelfeld!

Der Nachfolger von O'Leary wirds erneut schwer haben.

[Interisti]

Als Nachfolger wird auf der Insel mal wieder Sven Gören Eriksson gehandelt.

Wie titelt die Sun diese Woche so schön...

Asven Villa

[FuziMcC]

Bitte ned der Schwede. Da wäre mir Martin O'Neill viel lieber

[Cormega]

is mir eigentlich ziemlich egal wer die Villans trainieren wird. Schließe mich meinen Vorrednern an: Viel mehr als ein Platz im Mittelfeld wird auch dieses Jahr nicht für den Traditionsverein aus Birmingham rausspringen.

[Keyser Soze]

wär ja nun irgendwie zeit irgendwo in london einen trainertausch vorzunehmen, zu ein bis ein clubs tät er ja da doch recht gut passen

[Gampern]

wär ja nun irgendwie zeit irgendwo in london einen trainertausch vorzunehmen, zu ein bis ein clubs tät er ja da doch recht gut passen 

1161624[/snapback]

Ja, wär eh nett, wenn besagter Klub endlich mal irgendwo im Mittelfeld herumgrundeln würde.

Nein Joki, Charlton ist nicht gemeint.

[moasta]

super fulham ole

[themanwho]

Martin O'Neill ist wie erwartet neuer Coach von Aston Villa.

[Austrian Hammer]

bin gespannt was er in birmingham ausrichtet. ist ein großartiger trainer/manager.

[CarolusMagnus]

Gut, dass ich meine Abstiegswette noch nicht platziert hab. Wenns jemand richten kann, dann O'Neill.