It can’t be easy to be Gerard Houllier right now. The world is very much against him and regardless of whether it is or isn’t his own doing, it’s not a nice position to be in. Following Aston Villa’s 1-0 home defeat by Wolves, the manager was greeted by a sea of boos. This soon transformed into a chorus of “We want Houllier out!” and it was clear that fan feeling towards Houllier was at an all time low. Villa too, are at something of a nadir, resting as they do just one point clear of the relegation zone. They are placed rather precariously at the ledge just beyond the edge, ready to drop into the precipice below.
Houllier’s post-game interview was somewhat fascinating as he attempted to weigh up the consequences of another disappointing result in combination with the wealth of poor feeling projected his way amongst fans. He started off rather well – “[The fans] are not happy with me and I’m not happy with what we are doing,” before going on to confess that “the hostility was not something I have really faced before.”
Unfortunately, he went on to say, “The fans need to support the team”. Which, regardless of context just seems callous, provocative and generally misjudged. No fan likes to hear their support or loyalty questioned, particularly by a manager who seemingly refuses to acknowledge or bear responsibility for his own mistakes.
Surely after everything that’s happened, Houllier is in a better position than most to attest to the passion prevalent throughout Villa fans. There’s nothing wrong with being dissatisfied with the current position of the club – Villa deserve better. To have a dig at the fans for voicing this dissatisfaction seems to me to be a step too far. Particularly as it was clear that the fan’s dissatisfaction was levelled at him and not at the team.
The trouble with Houllier is that he has acknowledged that there are various problems within the squad whilst at the same time refusing to tackle them head on. With Villa in their current position, it’s not good enough to merely wait for the summer and attempt to fix things. At the moment the fan’s image of Houllier is of a man at one remove from his team, of somebody not fully committed to the Villa cause and it seems that every other day brings further evidence that this could be the case.
It’s Houllier, not the fans who ends up looking passionless. Something has to change.
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