martinez stays

[There's only 1 city!!]

great to see some loyality in football for a change.

he may have a pay rise etc
but he'll probably be in another relegation scrap and will also probably lose his better players aswell

well done martinez!!

[Wonderwall]

strange that Whelan gave permission and wished him luck but offered him a new contract if he wanted to stay.

I agree, Martinez has morals, good lad.

[Florida Blue]

I just love posts like this that have absolutely no information on what exactly happened. I am sure I can google it, but what is the point if the OP could have added some more detail like what exactly he did (I assume he turned down a job)???

[lets all have a disco]

My guessing is that Martinez asked for a nice kitty if they sell Downing and Young and Lerner said no.

MH installed by next week.

[Wonderwall]

My guessing is that Martinez asked for a nice kitty if they sell Downing and Young and Lerner said no.

MH installed by next week.

MH cant sign for anyone in June, it was part of his exit clause

[There's only 1 city!!]

He turned down the Aston villa to stay at Wigan mate.

This is also on the back of marlin king leaving Coventry for Birmingham
even after Coventry helped rebuild his career after his release from prison.
He's a proper knob!!

[bobby brows]

strange that Whelan gave permission and wished him luck but offered him a new contract if he wanted to stay.

I agree, Martinez has morals, good lad.

Pretty clever tactic to be fair, if he'd have denied permission it might have upset Martinez and he may have resigned but by not standing in his way and stating that he will allow Martinez to speak to a top 6 club (which villa are not) and talking up his ability it might have made Martinez think that he could hang on for someone bigger than Liverpool!

tbh, Villa aren't the ambitious club that they were under O'Neill and Lerner is looking at how much money they've spent and they've not reached the champions league. (think wages to turnover ratio was 80% at one point) I think O'Neill spending millions on transfer fees and wages for Luke Young, Fabien Delph, Steve Sidwell, Habib Beye and co and then not playing them has hurt Villa (and Lerner's willingness to spend his money) in the long run, adding the fact that Stevie's done very little there. I don't think he can take Villa much beyond 7/8th.

Wheras, he can keep playing his style of play at Wigan, with no pressure, improve the club on the field if he's willing to stick with Whelan's policy of buy cheap and yound and sell high when their at their peak (Valencia, Palacios, etc) and take on a big Spanish job down the line (Espanyol, Valencia, Athletic, Athletico, etc)

[Alioune DVToure]

Did he actually turn down the job or was it just an interview? He might have thought 'shit, I'm not gonna get this' and immediately declared his desire to stay at Wigan (making it look like he'd fired Villa off rather than the other way around).

[Wonderwall]

He turned down the Aston villa to stay at Wigan mate.

This is also on the back of marlin king leaving Coventry for Birmingham
even after Coventry helped rebuild his career after his release from prison.
He's a proper knob!!

especially as he told Coventry he was signing a new deal yesterday and then 1 day later.............

[bobby brows]

Did he actually turn down the job or was it just an interview? He might have thought 'shit, I'm not gonna get this' and immediately declared his desire to stay at Wigan (making it look like he'd fired Villa off rather than the other way around).

Looks like he turned it down without even meeting them

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011 ... illa-wigan

Aston Villa's statement:

"The club would like to thank Wigan Athletic and its chairman, Dave Whelan, for their professionalism in dealing with our request to speak to Roberto Martínez. Roberto's qualities as a young and aspirational manager ensured him of a position high on our short-list of potential new managers.

"Given that he had one year remaining on his contract at Wigan, we made an official approach through the proper channels, though we were aware of a commitment he had made to his club to agree and sign a new contract following the final game of last season.

"Roberto met with his chairman earlier this week and he has made the decision to honour his commitment to Wigan. Therefore, we have not met Roberto and we have not had the opportunity to discuss the vacant managerial role with him.

"We remain focused and are working hard to secure the best candidate for Aston Villa who will complement the club's commitment to be true to our heritage, competitiveness and passionate fan base, and will have the new manager in place to prepare the players for the pre-season programme and next season's campaign."

Think I might apply for the job as I've also got a reputation for fielding teams that play open attacking football with a view to leaving the back door open and shipping a sackful. In all seriousness I like Martinez, I think this is good for Wigan and football in general.

[CityGer]

Something about Martinez, I think he'll go to the top. Class act.

[PeterParker]

The Villa situation is a bit odd. I think Martinez was interested to go there, but he found something he didn't like, maybe financial problems?
I think the same thing goes with Hughes too, he resign from Fulham to sign with Villa, but again something happen. Remember in the Hughes case, he said he wasen't going at Villa after almost a week from his resignation, not after a day or two.

[Colin the King]

I'm glad about this because the more teams playing decent football, obviously, the better. Chances are if Martinez had left for Villa, they would've reverted to Paul Jewell-esque safety-first hoof it shite. If they can keep the majority of this season's squad together, they'll definitely improve on last season. It's fair to assume N'Zogbia will go but otherwise, they've plenty of promising players, like Watson and McCarthy in midfield. Could probably do with strengthening in defence though.

Villa's a bit of a poison chalice now anyway, wouldn't go near them if I was a manager at that level. Their fans are among the most unappreciative whingers in the world and have delusions of grandeur, when realistically, top half is about their current level, given the quality of this season's top 6.

[Esky]

He turned down the Aston villa to stay at Wigan mate.

This is also on the back of marlin king leaving Coventry for Birmingham
even after Coventry helped rebuild his career after his release from prison.
He's a proper knob!!

especially as he told Coventry he was signing a new deal yesterday and then 1 day later.............

Disgusting person all round.

I'm sure Martinez has his reasons for staying (or, more to the point, for turning down Villa), but it's a credit to him all the same. Maybe his time there as a player had something to do with it.

Whatever the reason, he's a good manager playing good football. He also kept a poor/young squad in the Prem despite their best player being a bit of a tart.

[Blue Since 76]

strange that Whelan gave permission and wished him luck but offered him a new contract if he wanted to stay.

I agree, Martinez has morals, good lad.

Think Whelan is an annoying tosser, usually, giving his opinion on everything to the press (where does he think he is - on an Internet forum?). However, on this, he's come out well. He hasn't had a Moyes style dicky fit about a bigger club wanting his manager and he's done the same with bruce previously. He seems to understand where wigan fit in the pecking order and iss't offended by it. Shows a certain dignity

[Nutzer]

Just a shame the people of Wigan don't show the same affection for their footie club as they do for their rugby club.

[Biamp]

Good job. I think he's better staying with Wigan. I really think he'll do a better job come next season.