Adam2003

1 minute ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

And unless he becomesmore clinical, that won't happen again. 

Fair enough, I don’t think he’s declined enough in quality that he’s gone from a player who a Champions League team bid £25m for to a player who a team like Burnley wouldn’t take a punt on, but each to their own!

1 minute ago, jamdog said:

7 points off automatic promotion now which is very doable. This league is there for the taking. Good shoots of recovery today. Onwards and upwards.

The title is still very doable...! Play offs should be the target though.

2 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

He need to learn how to command an area at set pieces. He is way too passive, never leave his line.

He is an exellent shot stopper but he need to improve other parts of his game.

Again I’m not a huge champion of Nyland or saying he’s going to be fantastic but those are EXACTLY the things that take time in a new team as you learn to communicate with the defence.

(Or maybe he won’t ever step up and will just be a shotstopper - also very possible!)

12 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

You are a good player Jack. But until you learn to finish attacking moves and find your shooting boots, you'll never be great. In fact I'd be surprised if you ended up in the PL. 

A PL team bid £25m for him literally two months ago.

2 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

As much as i have bashed Nyland in the past and even today he saved us today. Fair play

I would respectfully suggest - and not targeting you in particular, I am as guilty of this as anyone at times - that we’d be better off not bashing people in their first 10 games or so and giving them some time to see what they are made of. I’m not saying he’ll necessarily be great, but even if he does end up that way it’ll still take some time. Hopefully new manager (jand some clean sheets) should mean fans have patience with him and the team.

1 minute ago, villalad21 said:

Tbf you can't expect a perfect passing ratio with this aggressive and direct style.

Looks to me he is telling them to make more forward based passes rather than safe ones. Yeah our passing acuracy will get worse but we will also create more chances

But then if we can combine that with improved passing as well then we are really into a winner.

7 minutes ago, magnkarl said:

Add to that, we have had a defense that's leaked like a sieve. No keeper can keep a team afloat alone when the team ahead of him is organised like a gaggle.

Sshh let’s just write him off after a few games in a new country, no-one ever improves after a shaky start. Especially goalkeepers.

1 minute ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Noticed there’s been a few times to aimlessly swing the ball in already but the players started again instead. Early signs of Smith affect already?

You have to think so...

Just now, sparrow1988 said:

Useless Elmo with another assist.

He does get a lot for someone who gets slated!

1 minute ago, Stevo985 said:

I half agree.

I think he's come into a much more favourable situation than Bruce did. 

Agreed. A lot on here will dismiss this but I think Bruce came in at the lowest point I have seen Villa (some have longer memories of the old 3rd Division I know!). Smith comes in at a really positive time, other than missing a centre back. However that’s not worth debating too much - some will give Bruce credit and some won’t - the main thing is I think Smith can take us on and improve us further, and hopefully the next manager can do the same when we are back in the PL etc.

38 minutes ago, holteend1982 said:

Grealish In front of the back 4? 

It'll be whelan or jedinak that play there for now  as they are our best cdms, one things for certain though it won't be Grealish! 

I do think Grealish will ultimately end up a deep-lying midfielder, and a very good one. 

I agree I don’t quite see him shuttling in front of the back four at this point. 

51 minutes ago, LakotaDakota said:

Why should it? If you are doing a shit job it doesn't matter who you support or where you are from. Gabby was getting paid millions for over a decade because he was a local lad, He played well for about 3 years out of 13. There is no place for sentiment in professional sport.

I’m not saying it should by any means, I’m just saying comments saying fans will give him more time because he’s “one of us” are not accurate in my opinion. Hopefully it’s not even an issue and we are on our way to the playoffs.

That said I don’t agree entirely with “there is no room for sentiment in professional sport” - I think professional sport only really exists at the level it does because of sentiment. Yours, mine, millions of other people’s.

That last post reads as a little negative - it’s not meant to be. I think he will do a great job.

2 hours ago, mjmooney said:

This is also where the 'one of our own' thing comes in. Being a known Villa fan has no relevance to how good a Villa boss he may turn out to be, but it might buy him a bit more tolerance from the fanbase. 

Have you taken a look at the Grealish thread lately? Being a known Villa fan doesn’t seem to do a player any favours so I’m not sure it will help a manager for long. I think it will give a great atmosphere in his first game or two, but it will be on him to build on this.

Generally I agree he needs time for real change but also I think this squad should make the playoffs (and think it will).

Love that he’s a fan. He must be buzzing to get the job. Good luck to him!

2 minutes ago, Nigel said:

Roy Keane too.  This is the crux, it has gone wrong far more time than it gone right!

Everything in football has. That’s the nature of competitions with just one winner - even with some punching above their weigh you know that most seasons, most of the time, a majority of teams will be disappointed at their performance.

So wait... we are sick of boring football so we are going to appoint the assistant manager of the most consistently boring manager in the country right now? Surely if we are going for someone with no experience they would at least want a hint of them doing something to take a team in a positive direction.

36 minutes ago, Davkaus said:

Maybe he should have put some decent performances in rather than doing **** all all season then being upset his gaffer is sacked.

Meanwhile, James Maddison's been picked for the England squad.

Well, and James Maddison moved to the Premier League to get into that England squad. I'm still glad Jack didn't,  even if he hasn't been in the best form of his life.

2 hours ago, villa89 said:

Hopefully we can get a manager in that knows how to use him now. Impossible for Jack to play well under Bruce.

Apart from two or three games under other managers scattered across a couple of years, he’s literally ONLY played well under Bruce.

Hope the new manager helps him step up further but let’s not rewrite history.

19 minutes ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

I am not so sure it's a huge risk, or a bigger risk than others. People thought Bruce was a non-risk appointment. Turned out differently. 

Well, no, it didn't. I don't think many will say Bruce achieved what we would have wanted BUT we are two points off the playoffs and seven off first place. So that's kind of non-risk. A risky one that goes wrong, we have ten points less right now and are looking at League 1. Don't think it can't happen.

I actually have faith they will get someone good in and this isn't even a comment on Henry, but sometimes I think we forget it can always get a lot worse!

JT as player manager... big gamble but I don't THINK he'd get us relegated. I think Bruce would have got us playoffs (and I think most good managers would with this squad), I'm not sure who we can get that makes automatic promotion likely, so the most important thing is not someone catastrophic... 

1 hour ago, AntrimBlack said:

He is much acclaimed for this, but I do not believe it was all that difficult to stop the rot. New owner; money to splash around on top players for the division; a general feeling of positivity.

He was lucky to get in at the right time.

A general feeling of positivity? When did he take over, the 1992/3 season?