O'NEILL IS JUST A BIG BABY

POOR Martin O’Neill, eh? What a man of principle, walking out of Aston Villa because owner Randy Lerner wouldn’t continue to fund his WAG-style spending.

In true toys-out-of-the-pram style, O’Neill is said to have stormed into the club, read out a letter, slapped his notice on the table and left.

What a big baby. But what got him so riled? Well it wasn’t a lack of cash, that’s for sure.

O’Neill blew a whopping £117million in his four years in theVilla hotseat.

That eye-popping sum included £12m for Stewart Downing, £12m for James Milner, £10m for Ashley Young and £7.5m for Nigel ReoCoker.

Then there’s £8m for Curtis Davies, £7.8m for Carlos Cuellar and £4m for Marlon Harewood. Is it any wonder Lerner wanted to tighten the purse strings? 

In the same period Everton, who like Villa aim to break the traditional top four, spent just £64m. And they reached an FA Cup final.

Perhaps if O’Neill could spot a player in the lower leagues like David Moyes (£1.5m for Tim Cahill anyone?) or perhaps if he knew something – anything – of the continental market (Moyes bagged Steven Pienaar for £2m, Mikel Arteta for the same fee) then he would have had some cash to burn this summer.

Instead, O’Neill paid top dollar for overpriced, obvious, English talent. Downing, Milner and Young were on everyone’s radar and that’s why O’Neill had to pay big money.

And what did Villa get in return? A team that burned out before the end of the season because O’Neill refused to rotate his squad.

A style of football that resulted in them reaching a cup final and not managing a shot on target. And a manager whose answer to his own shortcomings was to call for more cash and spit the dummy when it didn’t arrive.

As for walking away five days before a season starts – Villa, their fans, and Lerner, deserved better.

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Daily Sport
14 Aug 2010