Gerard Houllier

[Block G Raptor]

According to Reder (I think it was he anyway) Finnan had a good relationship with Houllier and it was actually Houllier who signed him.

Did you see Finnan's interview in the Indo?

I'd take it at face value, body was getting tired and more injury prone and he was frustrated at being out of position etc.

Probably so. I just thought the timing was a bit strange, I don't believe in co-incidence

[geysir]

There is not one quote anywhere with Houllier saying he is not interested fullstop.

But it could all be a replay of when Delaney had high hopes and gambled everything on getting MON after a reported initial interest from him.
So Houllier could be getting back to France to pack a fresh suitcase of clothes, have a chat with Isabella, the FFA and come to Dublin to sign a contract.

What I don´t want is if Hodgson, Venables and Houllier rule themselves out then the FAI panic under pressure and appoint option Z instead of explaining thing and waiting longer.

[Noelys Guitar]

There is not one quote anywhere with Houllier saying he is not interested fullstop.

But it could all be a replay of when Delaney had high hopes and gambled everything on getting MON after a reported initial interest from him.
So Houllier could be getting back to France to pack a fresh suitcase of clothes, have a chat with Isabella, the FFA and come to Dublin to sign a contract.

What I don´t want is if Hodgson, Venables and Houllier rule themselves out then the FAI panic under pressure and appoint option Z instead of explaining thing and waiting longer.

The Billy and Lawrie show with Dave Beasant as goalkeeping coach, Dinny wise as internatonal consulant and Dave Bassett as chief Karoke singer.

[Jerry The Saint]

I don't believe in co-incidence

That's weird, I was just thinking the exact same thing :eek:

[Morbo]

I think Finnan had always intented to retire before the start of the next campaign, this is as good a time as any as he can make it look like the FAI is to blame for his retiriement

[cheifo]

The FAI are already getting bad reports over the lenght of "the process".
Can you imagine the fall out if they blow it with all the main contenders?

[superfrank]

The FAI are already getting bad reports over the lenght of "the process".
Can you imagine the fall out if they blow it with all the main contenders?
When you think about it, England, Scotland and the North all had to get new managers after the end of the qualifying campaign as well and, even though the FAI had a head start of a few weeks, the FAI still have noone in where as the FA moved quickly to get a top manager, the IFA decided to renew their managers contract and now the SFA look to have a pretty impresive appointment on the cards.

[zenokelly]

Sky Sports News are saying that first of all: the FFF had released a statement saying that Houllier is not going anywhere, and secondly that they were talking to him and confirmed: he was going to remain with the FFF.

[Noelys Guitar]

Sky Sports News are saying that first of all: the FFF had released a statement saying that Houllier is not going anywhere, and secondly that they were talking to him and confirmed: he was going to remain with the FFF.

Has this just happened on Skysports?

[geysir]

RTE sports referred to the FFF statement but it was a little different, to the effect of....
Hands off Houllier, he has a job with us, we are not letting him go.

Some feathers have been ruffled if that was an official statement. Could be just a response to all the journalists and desperate punters phoning them up.
"I put my mortgage on him let him go you +*?s"

[Noelys Guitar]

RTE sports referred to the FFF statement but it was a little different, to the effect of....
Hands off Houllier, he has a job with us, we are not letting him go.

Some feathers have been ruffled if that was an official statement. Could be just a response to all the journalists and desperate punters phoning them up.
"I put my mortgage on him let him go you +*?s"

How much is Houllier being payed at the FFF and how long is his contract? If this is the FFF playing hardball then how much money will the FAI have to stump up if Houllier is the preferred candidate?

[geysir]

I read that he is being paid €1.6m. don't know how long the contract is.

The FFF have a point, they need a good man in the job for a period not just a man who will use the job as a resting place until a proper football job comes along.

I'd imagine Houllier would have to be persuasive and a compromise compensation.

[eekers]

houllier's wife has some sort of illness at the moment and that is what actually holding up the process of his appointment, its the same reason he cant go to that conference in dundalk. its got nothing to do with money.

[Block G Raptor]

houllier's wife has some sort of illness at the moment and that is what actually holding up the process of his appointment, its the same reason he cant go to that conference in dundalk. its got nothing to do with money.

Oh christ is it going to Turn into FAI/Mrs Martin O'Neil death watch 2 ?

[eekers]

Oh christ is it going to Turn into FAI/Mrs Martin O'Neil death watch 2 ?

from what i've heard the decision will be in a week either way from Houllier

[Stuttgart88]

From what you've heard, is The Examiner correct, i.e., Houllier wants it but is facing obstruction from the FFF?

[Jerry The Saint]

Oh christ is it going to Turn into FAI/Mrs Martin O'Neil death watch 2 ?

That was one of the least tasteful moments in FAI history - what was the comment "He's currently unavailable but circumstances can change"? :eek:

[eekers]

From what you've heard, is The Examiner correct, i.e., Houllier wants it but is facing obstruction from the FFF?

its all down to his wife's situation, houllier wants it idealy but isnt sure whether its the right time to take this on. The fai can buy him out of his contract with the fff at any time.

[redgav]

According to Reder (I think it was he anyway) Finnan had a good relationship with Houllier and it was actually Houllier who signed him.

Did you see Finnan's interview in the Indo?

I'd take it at face value, body was getting tired and more injury prone and he was frustrated at being out of position etc.

Finnan had a terrible relationship with Houllier.GH spent 12 months trying to change Finnans natural attacking side,forcing a not past the halfway line type of chain on him .It affected Finnans form so badly that when Benitez took over Liverpool ,He went and bought a Full Back (josemi) as a Temporary replacement for Finnan.Yes Houllier signed him ,but that was no great Scouting,sure the guy had been in the "premiership Team" the season before and With Babbels illness he needed top class cover .Finnan was definatly the best available but Houllier nearly destroyed his career by taking away a huge part of his game.Look at when Benitez first joined Liverpool,Finnan spent the first 3 months behind Josemi ,one of the worst full backs I've ever seen

As regards to his Retirement .I think it may be his club managers policy at the moment as a few players have retired recently and are all up for contract talks.

[jmurphyc]

As regards to his Retirement .I think it may be his club managers policy at the moment as a few players have retired recently and are all up for contract talks.

Finnan got a new 3 year contract last summer if I remember correctly.

[Deckydee]

Looks likes Houllier no more

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3074955,00.html

[Block G Raptor]

Have Sky got some agenda against Houllier getting the job, thats the second spurious "Exclusive" they've come out of nowhere with this week, no other media outlet is picking up on these "stories" so I don't give them much credance

[Stuttgart88]

Surely the FFF are powerless to stop him leaving? He may have a contract but surely employment law allows him to leave?

The FFF source says the speculation is rubbish. How can that be the case if he has interviewed for the job?

Sounds like the usual "X is our player and will remain so" and then a day later is sold for a nice price.

I've no doubt that the FAI want him but are now struggling to close the deal.

[Wolfie]

Surely the FFF are powerless to stop him leaving? He may have a contract but surely employment law allows him to leave?

That's what occurred to me. If the will is there on both sides (Houllier really wants the job and FAI are willing to buy out the contract) - surely he can walk away from the FFF?

[eekers]

someone in the fff is trying to make some money on betfair :D

[Deckydee]

I am just praying very hard

[zenokelly]

Have Sky got some agenda against Houllier getting the job, thats the second spurious "Exclusive" they've come out of nowhere with this week, no other media outlet is picking up on these "stories" so I don't give them much credance

No other media outlet is as big/well known as sky, don't mind have a specialised news channel for only sport. I would presume that Sky have possibly 50 to 80 times more poeple covering sport than RTE, this realises many more sources, interviews etc.

[soccerc]

Have Sky got some agenda against Houllier getting the job, thats the second spurious "Exclusive" they've come out of nowhere with this week, no other media outlet is picking up on these "stories" so I don't give them much credance

No, Sky picked it up from todays Irish Star as did BBC. RTE radio had a similar report least evening.

Houllier for Ireland is not even on French media radar

[NeilMcD]

Do you think he will be offered the job Soccerc.

[soccerc]

Do you think he will be offered the job Soccerc.

I'd like to suggest he already has :D

[eirebhoy]

No, Sky picked it up from todays Irish Star as did BBC.
In fairness to Sky, they reported it early yesterday evening on SSN. They just mentioned "another statement" from the FFF but didn't read it out while I was watching.

[geysir]

Houllier for Ireland is not even on French media radar
It's on the French media radar in what you would expect - a small way. In the form of regular short newspaper reports, brief news but nothing at all revealing. They are getting their rumours from the Irish Media.

[Kingdom]

I'd like to suggest he already has :D

That'll do for me. You're not usually too far from the truth soccerc, so now we play the waiting game..........

.......aw the waiting game sucks.

[Block G Raptor]

No other media outlet is as big/well known as sky, don't mind have a specialised news channel for only sport. I would presume that Sky have possibly 50 to 80 times more poeple covering sport than RTE, this realises many more sources, interviews etc.

24 hours a day, thats a lot of airtime to fill on a slow news day which leads me back to my other post,

[tetsujin1979]

That'll do for me. You're not usually too far from the truth soccerc, so now we play the waiting game..........

.......aw the waiting game sucks.
Let's play Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

[Noelys Guitar]

Houllier out to 20/1 on Betfair. Venables odds on.

[Kingdom]

Let's play Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

Touché

[Block G Raptor]

Hou at 55/1 on betfair Vegetable in to evens

[dynamo kerry]

Not much left to be said on the appointment of Houllier but i'll try anyway.

I'd be keen on him simply because his background is so different to anything we 've had before it would be exciting to see what he'd come up with as a formation/tactics with the players we've got.

Although we'll probably still end up with

4-4-2, o'shea on the right (?) and kilbane ever present. Some things never change.

[Block G Raptor]

Guess well never find out now:(:mad::(

[The Bit O'Red]

Houllier back to 2nd fav, what was that drift about?

[Bondvillain]

Houllier back to 2nd fav, what was that drift about?

The bookies continuing to make ridiculous amounts of money.

(Seriously. They love it, there's bugger-all logic to the market. It's been like a 3 month long grand national for them. They're the only ones delighted that this farce is heading for 100 days+.)

[geysir]

Houllier back to 2nd fav, what was that drift about?
On Betfair?
I am no expert, but it doesn't look to mean very much, just a short period of time when hardly anything was staked on Houllier and a few people grabbed some £2 bets at high odds, so 100/1 and 50/1 was the advertised last price for a short period.

[eirebhoy]

I got 15 quid at 55/1 so I'm happy. It's not gonna hurt, money wise, if he doesn't get it but it'll be a nice bonus if he does.

[geysir]

Allez Houllier.

Apparantly some punter did get £20 on @99/1, so my guess of a few £2 bets was a wee bit off but still not quite in the Roddy Collins league of talking sh'ite about things he hasn't got a clue off.

[NeilMcD]

I think if their is one area that Houllier maybe poor in, is the same area that Kerr was and that is man management of top class players who are paid lots of money. Coaches like Kerrr and Houllier are very good with ideas and great with kids. Ronnie Whelan was saying on RTE that he watched some of Hollliers coaching sessions and they were top class etc and he really knows the game inside out. What lets him down is being able to relate to not so educated cocky over paid top class players.

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, I think that's a valid concern. Whelan also said that Houllier is a great cup tie manager.

Today's Examiner says that Houllier craves the job, is happy with the money but the FFF are insisting he honours his contract as well as his verbal commitment to stay in the job. Tony Leen says that there is one more interview, probably Davies, and they hope to revisit an earlier candidate who declined. My guess is it's Souness.

Venables is likely to be the candidate if Houllier can't take the post and Leen says the appointment will be made at the end of next week.

The Examiner also says the SFA is happy with the way they went about appointing their manager and cited the FAI as an example of how not to do it. In my opinion this is a bit unfair as the Scots had an abundance of Scottish coaches or managers that were realistic options. The FAI had to be more imaginative and had to cast the net wider, though it should have been easy enough to identify a 4-5 man shortlist at the start as well as inviting applications. I'm not sure where I stand. I suppose the concept was decent enough, the execution sloppy.

[geysir]

Considering that Givens said this
“I didn't tell the board and will not tell the board who we've spoken to. As soon as you tell someone, it's out".
He doesn´t even trust the board :) then it's not likely that any journalists know what's happening except that an appointment is imminent.

All the signs are that Venables is being made to wait while media et al speculate that his rival for the job is the one who is the top of the wanted list.

[Noelys Guitar]

Considering that Givens said this
“I didn't tell the board and will not tell the board who we've spoken to. As soon as you tell someone, it's out".
He doesn´t even trust the board :) then it's not likely that any journalists know what's happening except that an appointment is imminent.

All the signs are that Venables is being made to wait while media et al speculate that his rival for the job is the one who is the top of the wanted list.

Givens would have to consult with Delaney about compensation payments. And Delaney would then have to inform the board before getting an agreement to pay compo to a club or association for the release of a particular candidate. So everyone within the inner circle of the FAI would know that candidates name. I'm sure the leaks about Coppell and Houllier came from within the FAI.

[NeilMcD]

Yep, I think that's a valid concern. Whelan also said that Houllier is a great cup tie manager.

Today's Examiner says that Houllier craves the job, is happy with the money but the FFF are insisting he honours his contract as well as his verbal commitment to stay in the job. Tony Leen says that there is one more interview, probably Davies, and they hope to revisit an earlier candidate who declined. My guess is it's Souness.

Venables is likely to be the candidate if Houllier can't take the post and Leen says the appointment will be made at the end of next week.

.


I am not sure where I read it but I heard that Houllier Venables and Coppel were the 3 most favoured for the job amongst the panel. I would say that they may be going back to visit Coppell and see what he thinks. I wonder would they wait until the end of the season for Coppell rather than go for Venables now. Which is a better scenario.

I