The Rémi Garde thread

[tonyh29]

In view of the Leicester way that has brought them success this season ( 30% possession in matches quite often  , direct counter attack style ) with fairly limited players , do we feel that Remi's more patient possession based football is the way forward for the club ? It's fine if you are Arsenal but we aren't  or is this Leicester way a one season one off and not a model to copy ?

[markavfc40]

The fans got behind Remi today and it was good to hear. Not just after we were winning it started before when we were not playing that well in fairness.

I don't know the guy obviously but I get the impression he is a grafter and accepts nothing less than everyone around him giving their best. If that is the case then it showed in the performance today and in a number of performances under him since he has been here.

You have to give him full credit for not allowing the players to wallow in self pity after what happened on Tuesday night as that could, and probably should, have been the final nail in our coffin. To a man today though the players gave their all and when that happens that comes from the manager so I will enjoy a few beers tonight and whilst doing so raise a glass to Remi.

[Barney_avfc]

I was very worried to hear the commentator on the stream I may have been watching say that Lyon have no manager at the moment. They have a temporary coach in charge until the end of the season. Could be just the ticket for Garde, I really hope not. Even at this point I would rather go down and keep Garde than stay up and for him to walk! Bold statement I know (and I await the negative nanny's slating this post with baited breath) , but I really believe that he is the real deal. The chances of Fox,  or whoever clown Lerner tasks with the job of finding his replacement, finding us a good a manager are very slim indeed. 

Please stay Remi! 

[dudevillaisnice]

3 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

In view of the Leicester way that has brought them success this season ( 30% possession in matches quite often  , direct counter attack style ) with fairly limited players , do we feel that Remi's more patient possession based football is the way forward for the club ? It's fine if you are Arsenal but we aren't  or is this Leicester way a one season one off and not a model to copy ?

I think the patient possession approach is what I want to see in the long term even if we go down.

Away from home I am more than happy to counter but at home I'd like us to dominate possession and be on the front foot.

In my opinion our abysmal home record has something to do with how deep we sit and allow other teams to play.

[sexbelowsound]

8 minutes ago, Barney_avfc said:

I was very worried to hear the commentator on the stream I may have been watching say that Lyon have no manager at the moment. They have a temporary coach in charge until the end of the season. Could be just the ticket for Garde, I really hope not. Even at this point I would rather go down and keep Garde than stay up and for him to walk! Bold statement I know (and I await the negative nanny's slating this post with baited breath) , but I really believe that he is the real deal. The chances of Fox,  or whoever clown Lerner tasks with the job of finding his replacement, finding us a good a manager are very slim indeed. 

Please stay Remi! 

He left for a reason. 

[MessiWillSignForVilla]

2 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

In view of the Leicester way that has brought them success this season ( 30% possession in matches quite often  , direct counter attack style ) with fairly limited players , do we feel that Remi's more patient possession based football is the way forward for the club ? It's fine if you are Arsenal but we aren't  or is this Leicester way a one season one off and not a model to copy ?

I don't think that style of football is sustainable at the higher ends of the table, as soon as Leicester's confidence goes I can see them drop like a stone playing how they currently are, whether that be this season or next. Ultimately in football you need the ball to score (as the cliche goes, "the best form of defence is attack") and we showed under both Lambert and McLeish that 9 times out of 10 you're gonna be at the wrong end of the table playing that way. You can't let the opponent just have the ball for the entirety of the game and hope you can steal a goal or 2 on the counter, most of the time it just doesn't work. It's fine if you want to scrape to 40 points each season but if you want to work your way up the table, you need to dominate games more. Leicester are a bit of an anomaly really, they're the perfect mixture of pace, confidence, form, discipline and luck, they might be able to sustain it until May, but I doubt they will stay near the top of the table for long unless they adapt their style a little bit.

 

So for us moving forward, I'd prefer to keep plugging away at what we're currently doing, it's more satisfying to watch than most counter attacking football and I think long term it's more likely to take us towards getting back to the top half.

[Jareth]

If there is one thing the board need, it is a manager who is actually, for once, mostly popular with the fans. The board know this, and I think they will move heaven and earth to keep remi. Also, after this window, they bloody owe him.

[Barney_avfc]

5 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said:

He left for a reason. 

Oh, I thought he left for personal reasons? Is there something you know to the contrary? 

[Djemba_Villan]

18 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

In view of the Leicester way that has brought them success this season ( 30% possession in matches quite often  , direct counter attack style ) with fairly limited players , do we feel that Remi's more patient possession based football is the way forward for the club ? It's fine if you are Arsenal but we aren't  or is this Leicester way a one season one off and not a model to copy ?

That was our style under Lambert. It's also been tried by many teams. It brought us success under MON tbf - albeit that was slightly less dramatic possession wise. I think the balanced approach is best as I'm pretty confident Leicester is a one-off...and fair play to them!

[Guest av1]

3 minutes ago, Jareth said:

If there is one thing the board need, it is a manager who is actually, for once, mostly popular with the fans. The board know this, and I think they will move heaven and earth to keep remi. Also, after this window, they bloody owe him.

In what sence? 

They didn't back him last week and the budget is going to be even smaller when we go down. 

[DeadlyDirk]

For sure.

[avfc1982am]

38 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

The fans got behind Remi today and it was good to hear. Not just after we were winning it started before when we were not playing that well in fairness.

I don't know the guy obviously but I get the impression he is a grafter and accepts nothing less than everyone around him giving their best. If that is the case then it showed in the performance today and in a number of performances under him since he has been here.

You have to give him full credit for not allowing the players to wallow in self pity after what happened on Tuesday night as that could, and probably should, have been the final nail in our coffin. To a man today though the players gave their all and when that happens that comes from the manager so I will enjoy a few beers tonight and whilst doing so raise a glass to Remi.

Nice post Mark and bang on. Think his attitude is definitely rubbing off on the players to be fair. Not a great first 45mins today but what we are showing under his management is organisation and a willingness to finally battle for every challenge.

Anyway it was great that Remi got some real support today from most the fans as he has had an large amount of crap to deal with since arriving. I'm sure that will also give him a lift as well as the  players knowing that his endeavours are appreciated.

 

 

 

[sharkyvilla]

2 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

In view of the Leicester way that has brought them success this season ( 30% possession in matches quite often  , direct counter attack style ) with fairly limited players , do we feel that Remi's more patient possession based football is the way forward for the club ? It's fine if you are Arsenal but we aren't  or is this Leicester way a one season one off and not a model to copy ?

Do we have the pace to make it work?  Ok if Gabby is now 'fit' again and got an opportunity, with Ayew coming back in as well, we might be able to play it, but we've not really had the personnel to make it work up til now.  I think Remi has by and large picked the best XI available to him each week, certainly since he stumbled on a back 5 that's stopped shifting as many soft goals.  He seems a pragmatic manager and will generally go with what suits the players best.

[dont_do_it_doug.]

He's using a plan A that suits the players we have. We have played counter attacking, and long ball, under Rémi. Notable examples include second half against Leicester (long ball) and second half today (counter attack).

He congratulated himself(!) today for switching up the shape at half time. It's one of the things that has impressed me most about him, his flexibility.

How an actual Rémi Garde team will play is, as yet, unknown. I bet they will be good.

[S-Platt]

If as someone said Lyon are looking for a manager then I suggest the board pull their finger out and sign up the back room staff Remi wanted earlier in the season that would be a sign he is in it for the long term and the board believe in him.  

[Woodytom]

5 hours ago, a m ole said:

Yep, 15.1% in the league, 17.5% overall, he up to expectations now @Woodytom?

I suppose anything less than a win next week and he's back under again.

Haha. 

Well you've totally taken my expectations out of context as when I highlighted that a 15-20% win percentage it was in response to somebody claiming that I shouldn't expect anything given my opinion of the squad.

However, we won today and that's a step in the right direction. That said I still think it's utterly bizarre to sign petitions for him to stay. 

[dont_do_it_doug.]

I don't think he's taken that out of context at all?

[sexbelowsound]

6 minutes ago, Woodytom said:

Haha. 

Well you've totally taken my expectations out of context as when I highlighted that a 15-20% win percentage it was in response to somebody claiming that I shouldn't expect anything given my opinion of the squad.

However, we won today and that's a step in the right direction. That said I still think it's utterly bizarre to sign petitions for him to stay. 

He clearly read our discussion so how could he have taken it out of context?

[Woodytom]

28 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said:

He clearly read our discussion so how could he have taken it out of context?

Well 

He's saying that now garde has a 15% win rate he's met my expectations.

Actually they are not my expectations of a villa manager. 

Yesterday you implied that it was wrong of me to expect garde to win at all given my opinion on the squad. My point with regarding the 2 or 3 wins (15%) was that with any squad, that sort of win percentage should be achievable. So regardless of what I think of the squad, I still think they should be able to win a match ot two.

 

 

[HanoiVillan]

4 hours ago, tonyh29 said:

In view of the Leicester way that has brought them success this season ( 30% possession in matches quite often  , direct counter attack style ) with fairly limited players , do we feel that Remi's more patient possession based football is the way forward for the club ? It's fine if you are Arsenal but we aren't  or is this Leicester way a one season one off and not a model to copy ?

I'm sure you're getting fed up of people responding to this post, but I think it's a good question and I was wondering the same thing myself in January. 

Ultimately, I don't think we can play on the counter attack effectively enough with the personnel currently at the club. When we used to do so under MON, we quickly got the ball out to the side of the pitch, to Young and Downing primarily, and their pace transitioned the play from the edge of our area to the edge of the opponents' very quickly. Unfortunately, we don't have pacy, incisive midfielders any more. That lack is why I'm less against bringing N'Zogbia back into the squad than most people. 

However, where I do agree with you (or I assume I do), is that currently our build up play is just too slow. In the first half today we so often found ourselves passing the ball from side to side of the pitch 30 yards from their goal, and it's because a] we don't break fast enough, and b] nobody is prepared to take on a man. An injection of speed is definitely required in our midfield play.