Houllier becomes Lyon Manager

Ardent

God help Lyon.

Discuss.

Keano_sli

That'll be the last Championat they'll win for a while!!!

Bannor

Essien to Liverpool in exchange for Cheyrou, Diao and Diarra!

Ardent

Bannor wrote:

Essien to Liverpool in exchange for Cheyrou, Diao and Diarra!

Is it me or does anyone else think we don't need Essien? But just to get those three off our books I take him anyway.

Any hoo, didn't Lyon win 4 titles on the trot? Tough gig, apparently not a popular choice among the players.

zAbbo

He'll do well there, he knows French football pretty well, and lets not forget, Houlliers team just won the Champs League

Ardent

bazH wrote:

and lets not forget, Houlliers team just won the Champs League

For the love of God. Please say you're joking and you didn't really mean that...

Bannor

Ardent wrote:

Is it me or does anyone else think we don't need Essien? But just to get those three off our books I take him anyway.

Any hoo, didn't Lyon win 4 titles on the trot? Tough gig, apparently not a popular choice among the players.

We don't need him but Chelsea and Man Utd want him so we may as well stick him in the reserves.

I think they won the last three titles. He's been given the job to help bring big name players to the club.

ianomccabe

i for one as a liverpool supporter would like to wish ged the best of luck. he wasnt far from achieving great things at Liverpool and i hope that he can go on and do a great job here.
Best of Luck

PHB

He built the team that has now won the CL, with only two additions, Alonso and Garcia.
Granted most of them will leave in the summer, and have been woeful this year, but none the less.
Benetiz got the best out of them.
He has the eye for talent, he just can't make it happen. Worlds best scout

Ardent

PHB wrote:

He built the team that has now won the CL, with only two additions, Alonso and Garcia.
Granted most of them will leave in the summer, and have been woeful this year, but none the less.
Benetiz got the best out of them.
He has the eye for talent, he just can't make it happen. Worlds best scout

Benitez won the CL in spite of Houllier's players, not because of them.

It galls that some people are giving Houllier credit for Benitez's achievement.

PHB

I'm not, but people are overly hard on Houllier.
If it wasn't for an amazing Arsenal season, Houllier would have gotten a quadruple

Ardent

PHB wrote:

I'm not, but people are overly hard on Houllier.
If it wasn't for an amazing Arsenal season, Houllier would have gotten a quadruple

I think you're getting your facts mixed up. Houllier won the treble in 2000/2001 and mounted a "league challenge" in 2001/2002.

1) Houllier used up so much luck in the treble season it wasn't natural. The FA Cup final, Roma at Anfield and the penalty that was reversed, Henchoz cleaning out a Birmingham player in the penalty box in the dying seconds of the Worthington Cup final, etc etc etc.

2) Man Utd and Arsenal between them challenged for the title in 2002, Man Utd falling away at the very end of the season. Liverpool beat Blackburn in the last game of the season to take second place in the league.

RE*AC*TOR

Houllier is a good, intelligent manager, who was ultimately scuppered by media pressure to play a more attacking type of football.

Hopefully he will be allowed do his own thing at Lyon.

Strange that after Houllier left France they won the world cup and after he left liverpool they won the champions league.

He must be doing something right in laying foundations.

Lex Luthor

They must be sick of winning the title at Lyon

For all the good players Houllier bought, he also made a hell of a lot of bad ones.

Dont be at yourself

Lex Luthor wrote:

They must be sick of winning the title at Lyon

For all the good players Houllier bought, he also made a hell of a lot of bad ones.

So does every manager, and Houllier's transfer record is better than most. Hyypia, Riise, Hamann, Baors were all bought for far, far less than they're worth, and credit must go to Houllier. Even 'failures' like Biscan and the much maligned Traore have proven they have the ability to perform.

Houllier's problem wasn't in his inability to judge players (indeed, that was probably his strongest asset), it was ability to motivate them and, to a lesser extent, his tactics (Liverpool's decline under Houllier co-incided with a giving in to pressure for more attacking football, which he couldn't seem to bring out in his players).

I think Houllier was magnificent for the club, he took over what was a terrible team from Roy Evans and managed to build one which won the UEFA cup, bringing in some series talent at bargain prices as well as blooding the likes of Gerrard and laying foundations for the future with the world class academy and signings of Flo Po and Le Tellac.

Here's hoping for a Lyon - Liverpool final in next year's CL!

super_furry

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

Houllier is a good, intelligent manager, who was ultimately scuppered by media pressure to play a more attacking type of football.

Hopefully he will be allowed do his own thing at Lyon.

Strange that after Houllier left France they won the world cup and after he left liverpool they won the champions league.

He must be doing something right in laying foundations.

Amen to that. Chelsea won the league playing a very similar system to Houllier's Liverpool, the only difference is that Mourinho was able to sign two world class wingers - something that Houllier tried to do but failed in.

TOPDAWG

ianomccabe wrote:

i for one as a liverpool supporter would like to wish ged the best of luck. he wasnt far from achieving great things at Liverpool and i hope that he can go on and do a great job here.
Best of Luck

HERE HERE!! He brought back the winning feeling and spirit to the team and nearly gave his life in the process!! Of all the competitions he managed Liverpool in the only ones to escape his clutches were the premiership and champions league and he was very close to winning them, a points tally that would have won the league any other season but for an awesome arsenal season and knocked out of champs lge in dying minutes against a side that went on to the final.

IMO ged gets a lot of unfair press and grief, granted he didnt play the way liverpool are known around the world for but i still hold him in high regard and you can guarantee wherever in the world he was on weds night he kicked every ball! I wish him the best of luck and plenty of success!

Ardent

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

Strange that after Houllier left France they won the world cup and after he left liverpool they won the champions league.

He must be doing something right in laying foundations.

France fail to qualify for the world cup under Houllier (their only time not to?) and when they win the next world cup under a different manager Houllier somehow gets credit for it?

Liverpool release Houllier and his staff and try to offload his more expensive flops. Benitez takes over and brings in some of his own players and, in spite of Houllier's misfit squad, wins the Champions League with a large share of fortune. Houllier gets the credit for it.

Is there a recurring theme here?

super_furry wrote:

Amen to that. Chelsea won the league playing a very similar system to Houllier's Liverpool, the only difference is that Mourinho was able to sign two world class wingers - something that Houllier tried to do but failed in.

So you are implying that Chelsea winning the league is solely down to Robben and Duff? Nothing at all to do with Mourinho's aggressive footballing style? Or the quality of the Chelsea players? Or the fact that they were bagging loads of 1-0 wins when Duff and Robben were out injured?

RE*AC*TOR

Ardent wrote:

France fail to qualify for the world cup under Houllier (their only time not to?) and when they win the next world cup under a different manager Houllier somehow gets credit for it?

Liverpool release Houllier and his staff and try to offload his more expensive flops. Benitez takes over and brings in some of his own players and, in spite of Houllier's misfit squad, wins the Champions League with a large share of fortune. Houllier gets the credit for it.

Is there a recurring theme here?

how delighfully glib!

Houllier's involvement in France goes back as far as '88 when he became assistant to Platini and eventually technical director. He was widely credit with setting foundations in the youth system which reaped great rewards in the following years. He was manager of France for one campaign which went down to the last match - and indeed injury time of the last match (David Ginola).

You may be trite about his contribution, but you are only deluding yourself.

As far as liverpool are concerned I stand by my previous summation of his efforts. He did create a very strong liverpool side (stronger than the current side), he made Emile Heskey an England regular!!

He's a top manager and Lyon are lucky to have him. He has also proven his worth in the french domestic game.

Ardent

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

So does every manager, and Houllier's transfer record is better than most. Hyypia, Riise, Hamann, Baors were all bought for far, far less than they're worth, and credit must go to Houllier.

As a non-blinkered Liverpool supporter, I'd like to point out that Hamann, Riise and Baros were all purchased for exactly what they were, and still are, worth.

I think Houllier was magnificent for the club, he took over what was a terrible team from Roy Evans

Whatever about Roy Evans, if the English Champions League spots that were there during Houllier's time were there during Evan's time, Liverpool would have qualifies for the Champions League nearly every year under Evan's charge. So please don't say Even's sides were awful - they played more attacking, exciting football at the very least.

bringing in some series talent at bargain prices

Diouf £10 mil?
Heskey £11 mill?
Cisse £14 mill?

laying foundations for the future with the world class academy and signings of Flo Po and Le Tellac.

Le Tallec will be gone in the summer allegedly. Benitez was known to have been shocked at the lack of talent at Liverpool's academy upon his arrival. Liverpool's reserves are one of the worst among Premiership clubs.

Bannor

TOPDAWG wrote:

you can guarantee wherever in the world he was on weds night he kicked every ball! I wish him the best of luck and plenty of success!

He was at the game and was invited to celebrate with the team in the dressing room afterwards.

Lex Luthor

Everyone is entitled to their opinion on GH, but I for one never liked to watch them when he was in charge. I always had that feeling that they would lose the game even when they were well on top. He never had the balls to change the team mid game even if they were losing and possibly because he didn't have the know how.

How is it that when he was out sick for months, PT got the best out the team. People forget that too easily.

If people are saying that it was his team that won the CL this year, then you could say it was Ranieri's team that won the premiership....

Ardent

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

how delighfully glib!

Houllier's involvement in France goes back as far as '88 when he became assistant to Platini and eventually technical director. He was widely credit with setting foundations in the youth system which reaped great rewards in the following years. He was manager of France for one campaign which went down to the last match - and indeed injury time of the last match (David Ginola).

You may be trite about his contribution, but you are only deluding yourself.

He became Technical Director after being dumped as national coach. You don't produce a world cup winning team single handedly in 4 years.

He did create a very strong liverpool side (stronger than the current side)

Stronger as in his side struggled to finish 5th and 4th in his last two seasons?

he made Emile Heskey an England regular!!

Heskey made his debut for England well in advance of Houllier purchasing him. Regardless, I'm not sure what you're trying to prove with this point.

RE*AC*TOR

Ardent wrote:

He became Technical Director after being dumped as national coach. You don't produce a world cup winning team single handedly in 4 years.


Stronger as in his side struggled to finish 5th and 4th in his last two seasons?


Heskey made his debut for England well in advance of Houllier purchasing him. Regardless, I'm not sure what you're trying to prove with this point.

He was made technical director in 1990 before he took over management in 1992. he retained the position after failing to qualify.

My point with heskey really was Houllier brought out the best in him, for a time. He made Heskey a better player (and hence an england regular) - when many people hugely doubted his quality. If you remeber he wasn't exactly setting the world alight at Leicester.

With regards his last two seasons - that falls into my point about him succumbing to intense external pressures to play a different type of football than he had envisioned when creating his squad.

Ardent

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

He was made technical director in 1990 before he took over management in 1992. he retained the position after failing to qualify.

I didn't know that.

My point with heskey really was Houllier brought out the best in him, for a time. He made Heskey a better player (and hence an england regular) - when many people hugely doubted his quality. If you remeber he wasn't exactly setting the world alight at Leicester.

He wasn't that bad at Leicester, lots of people talking about him, made his England debut etc. After joining Liverpool, I remember Heskey being excellent for us for the first half of the 2000/20001 season and then falling away. He was distinctly sh1te in subsequent seasons. He's had a good season again with Birmingham this season. I disagree with you - I don't think Houllier got the best out of Heskey at all and even practically admitted failure by agreeing to sell him before being sacked himself.

RE*AC*TOR

Ardent wrote:

I didn't know that.


He wasn't that bad at Leicester, lots of people talking about him, made his England debut etc. After joining Liverpool, I remember Heskey being excellent for us for the first half of the 2000/20001 season and then falling away. He was distinctly sh1te in subsequent seasons. He's had a good season again with Birmingham this season. I disagree with you - I don't think Houllier got the best out of Heskey at all and even practically admitted failure by agreeing to sell him before being sacked himself.

He was as good at Leicester as he was when he left us. He was very good for a couple of seasons - eventually fading out and becoming increasingly patchy.

eirebhoy

A lot of the players Houllier bought were very good signings. He just can't get anywhere near the best out of players. Biscan's reputation was ruined after Houllier got his hands on him. He has got a bit of it back though. He was probably Liverpool's best player in the pre-season tournament to the US and played well in Europe.

mike65

Well I'm glad he's back in business and look foward to Lyon and Liverpool meeting in the CL next season!

Mike.

TOPDAWG

Bannor wrote:

He was at the game and was invited to celebrate with the team in the dressing room afterwards.

Delighted to hear that. After nearly giving his life to the club you can truly feel from his interviews that it cut him deep to have leave anfield and that a large part of his heart still beats for the pool!! I'll always hold him in the highest regard and am delighted his contribution was acknowledged on weds night!

Fair f**ks to the man who extended the invite to him, wouldnt be surprised if it was Benitez himself!

Also loved the passion showed by Phil Thompson on weds night for the pool but thats just going off topic,sorry.

el rabitos

i think he's been a good manager, maybe a little out of touch since his surgery. but was always lacking a bit of a mean streak ( maybe thats where thompson came in ) wasnt really too fond of his signings, they were based too much on potential for my liking.

but i reckon he'll make a good transitional manager for lyon, not that french football is any great shakes

Pepe LeFrits

He gets a raw deal I think, I've a lot of time for the man. Nice to see him back in management.