Not really ruffers but I do see the similarity. I think Martin O'Neill probably thought he was going to a big club when he joined Aston Villa and saw them as a bit of a sleeping giant. He can't complain about spending ?250m in four years but knowing he had to sell players like Milner and possibly Ashley Young before he could buy this season was what made him throw his toys out of the pram. In the end Aston Villa just weren't as big as he and his ambitious ego thought they were.