Why Martin O'Neill resigned as Aston Villa manager

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/8898993.stmInteresting read isn''t it?particularly so if you believe as I do that Martin O''Neill has a similar mindset to Loyalty Lambert,Bring it On! Onward and Upward behind a new leader the with love of the club above all self interest, Bless you

Chairman	Alan Bowkett
Chief Executive	David McNally
Joint Majority Shareholder	Delia Smith

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If the link does not work for you......

Martin O''Neill has resigned as Aston Villa manager with immediate effect.

Kevin

MacDonald has been appointed caretaker boss while no reason has been

given for O''Neill''s decision to leave after four years in the job.

MacDonald will prepare the side for their Premier League opener against West Ham on Saturday.

O''Neill,

appointed in 2006, said: "I have enjoyed my time at Aston Villa

immensely. It''s obviously a wrench to be leaving such a magnificent

club."

The 58-year-old O''Neill, who led Villa to their third

successive sixth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, added:

"I would like to pay tribute to the Villa players, my coaching staff

and the Villa supporters for all the support and encouragement they have

given both the club and me personally during my time as manager.

I wish them all the best for the future. I will obviously be

assisting the club in the immediate short-term with regard to the

handover of my duties."

In May, Villa owner Randy Lerner insisted

O''Neill had pledged his future to Villa in after much speculation over

whether or not the former Celtic boss would quit.

Northern

Irishman O''Neill has transformed the fortunes of Villa since replacing

David O''Leary in August 2006, culminating in an appearance in the final

of last season''s Carling Cup, their first Wembley final for 10 years.

Lerner

had backed O''Neill in the transfer market during that spell but it

became clear this summer that similar investment would not be

forthcoming.

Lerner insisted that Villa would have to adopt a

sell-to-buy policy and O''Neill was resigned to losing the services of

midfielder James Milner to Manchester City. Former skipper Gareth Barry

also moved to Eastlands last year.

Former Wycombe, Leicester and

Celtic boss O''Neill indicated before the weekend that he was keen to

speak to Lerner over how much cash he would make available from the

Milner move.

When asked how much he would have to spend on new players, O''Neill

said: "I need to speak to the chairman [Lerner] and chief executive

[Paul Faulkner] about that.

"For a number of days in this

transfer saga with Manchester City, you have known my position in terms

of what I have been advocating and thinking about."

It is unclear

at this stage whether the response O''Neill received from the club''s

hierarchy led to his decision to end his four-year reign at the Midlands

club.

Former England manager Graham Taylor, who had two spells

as Villa manager, told BBC Sport he had been aware of some unrest at the

club during the off-season.

"I''m shocked like everyone else even

though I''ve been aware that behind the scenes that there has been a

lack of togetherness," said Taylor, who was in charge at Villa Park

between 1987-90 and 2002-03.

"Whether this has anything to do

with James Milner and his possible transfer to Manchester City and the

fact that we are led to believe that he may have to sell to buy, I don''t

know."

Taylor also urged Villa not to rush into appointing a

replacement, with the likes of US coach Bob Bradley, Ajax boss Martin

Jol and former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson all being mentioned

as potential successors.

"It is always a little bit dangerous to

rush into appointing a new manager but especially as this is an acute

time before the start of the season," added Taylor.

"It is a bad time to lose your manager before the start of the season and one has to be careful about who you appoint."

Faulkner

said of O''Neill''s departure: "The club would like to thank Martin for

the great work he has done at Aston Villa over the past four years.

"He

has helped to establish the club in the upper echelons of the Premier

League, has taken us to Wembley and we have also qualified for European

competition for the past three seasons under his management. We wish him

the best in the future."

League Managers'' Association chief

executive Richard Bevan said: "The LMA shares Martin''s disappointment at

him leaving Aston Villa.

"He has achieved great success not just

with Villa but throughout his managerial career. He is a great example

to all aspiring managers having built the foundations in non-league

football to then go on to successfully manage at the highest level in

the game."

Former Villa captain Martin Laursen said he was not

surprised that O''Neill left the club also adding that he did not think

his departure would be followed by several players.

"He wanted more than Randy Lerner could give him," Laursen told BBC Sport.

"He is so ambitious that when he doesn''t get what he wants he walks away. But I don''t think more players will leave.

"If

Martin O''Neill gets another important job then he might take some with

him but I don''t think players will leave because O''Neill has gone."