itdoesntmatterwhatthissay

I just can't believe he's been around so long and still expects that being stationary is the best way to receive a pass.....even when a defender is in front of him....

Never understood why he was never used as a high playing forward. He comes alive when he can show his worth but he's crap when that involves anyone else....so basically he's only good in and around the box. I'd have tried him with a striker or in an advanced role, he still has a sweet left foot and some skills (though not many) and he'd have been just as ineffective as Gabby.

Wouldn't disagree with you, however he wasn't the man concerned about money he was concerned about the club. Doug was still there penny pinching but Sir William facilitated our direction. The current board are money men, their first thought is finance. A board should be balanced with opposing/alternate views/discussions and the Chairman facilitates the conversation and consensus. I'm not confident any board meeting has a varied, fearless (honest) and core football element. With the right stewardship a Chairman can uncover a variety of opportunities once tried, ignored, glanced over or perhaps never considered/been unravelled. Having chaired and participated on boards it's always obvious when someone divergent, not divisive, attends. I think King will be a good Chairman, he's used to conflict.....but where on the board will it come from?! And I don't mean conflict in crisis, I mean footballing context not simply from a fans perspective but a wider club understanding. I wouldn't say we need a board member to be an ex player (if it's Colly I'll cry media stunt ) but the club would benefit hugely from a football/club first opinion which is then balanced by finance. Rather than finance balanced by football. That's important whatever is going on at the club, whether asset stripping/selling/consolidating/rejuvenating.

Fee? or Fries? It's not the numbers I'm worried about, it's the club ethos, the youth team, experience exposure, making best use of our resources, the charity work/community interaction, best practices, communication with fans and across the club, policy in practice.....and the rest..... No doubt he'll be good, however he's no good if he's just like the rest.

Another finance person running the club, yey!!!! Not one person on the board you could say, yup, I can see why they'd be good for the club overall. At least he knows policy and not just asset stripping which is going to be a real help to our quite awful current bunch. He just won't have anyone to suggest any good ideas, but I'm sure at 67 he's extremely innovative and up with the modern game....... Funny how quickly people are turned when a famous Villa fan is put on the board, no mention of his salary, what he knows about modern football or running a club in all aspects.....but then most Villa fans only bother to look at the surface so a gesture usually quietens the majority down. Probably why a comment including this is so highly liked.

No, we probably don't need the funds next year, just a few players to complement the tactics. We already have a Championship team, even with some of the PL players leaving. I believe one or two, sadly maybe someone like Gabby, will blow that league apart. Others have previous experience. Then we have some kids which may make up some extras. And I'm not underestimating the league, I know how hard it is, probably the toughest in Europe. I just know how important fitness and impact is to that league and we have some dotted around the place. Then we have the willingness to sell the club, either Randy is stripping to make a profit or trying to get back up and make a healthier profit. Either way his desire to leave has been intensified. They might keep Garde because they realise he is changing the identify of the football we play, cutting hype players adrift and actually bothering to stand up to people. That's a positive because it means you don't always need stars to progress. A viable proposition in business terms. Btw, my first post was made before Garde made his frustrated announcement, The reason you wouldn't necessarily give him the money now is because he may have identified targets to keep us up rather than for next years Championship. The board may have gone for them but realised financially it got out of hand. We ended up with none. (which of course isn't good enough) Financially that's important, our summer transfers appear to be on surprisingly low wages considering what we have paid. That may be manageable for a couple of years on a parachute payment. Garde is 10 points adrift when we were 7. Plus we have already played those games where 6 points was a real possibility. Now we only have one chance to beat the poorer teams. That's a pretty good reason to not spend. Why do you think they're not spending? I don't think you've actually said....I'm not even sure you've followed my posts fully.... Would I have done things differently? Definitely, I'm an optimist, plus a 'going down plan' would have some young loan players come in with a view to a permanent move. Our board is negligent in every facet and so all we can do is guess, I'm just happy Garde is fighting more than anyone at the club and anyone we've had for the last half decade....I hope he stays because he's impressed me more than anyone since MON, though if he goes I wouldn't blame him.

I'd only think about the loan if I thought the manager was going at the end of the year. Both may get their experience next year so keeping them close to the first team and the managers tactics might be vital for the Championship.

We already have a Championship team and some decent Championship players. Depending on which players stay we'll still have a core of lower league players and getting promoted, hopefully, will let us cut the rest of the dead wood. A good championship player costs you £7million+, that's not too far from the PL. We may need a whole new team to get what Garde wants, players who actually think about and not just play football. Ingram has made a good point, we are creating chances and an average proper striker would be a real help, though I believe our luck has run out. I think other clubs will get enough points even if we go on a run.

My bro who went to the game said he had a shocker. Apparently he didn't seem up for the second half at all. But I wasn't there so perhaps he wasn't that bad.. Some of the comments here are ridiculous. He's one of a few players in the current team who tries and performs well enough. If we have 11 players with his determination we'd stay up.

Why? Will a striker apart from Zlatan or Messi keep us up? Nope. If we buy one who plays well is there a guarantee he'll stay next year? Nope. If we choose to play a kid will they be here next year? Very likely. Would it be useful to bed someone in the Prem so they're ready for the future? Probably a good idea. Should be pay over the odds in January for a player with reduced worth in the Championship? No. He also needs a wide man, a battling central midfielder, a keeper and a whole new defence. I want us to spend but I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't. Its throwing money away unless they're youth players who are decent and need some extra support to progress. Our club will be perfect for that.

Clueless, the media is pathetic. GSS and others still think we hated McLeish because he was a bluenose, not that we played negative awful football with a stagnant approach to both development and youth players. If the media bothered to research us properly they'd see what a mess the club is in and where we've failed outside of the playing staff.

I'd like to see him get some minutes because a little run would teach him how raw his running at defenders really is. He also needs a manager to go through what he should improve on, hopefully Garde is that man. I haven't seen loads and loads of his games but I've seen enough to be sure he'd offer something different in attack and a positive approach to shooting.

I'm not sure it is, if we'd had 6 more points I'd agree but only £200million and Messi will save us now. We probably have a decent Championship squad, players coming through which would benefit from that sort of experience and new players on big contracts who might be persuaded to stay for a year. Good players still come to Championship squads, Ighalo is a great example.

At least we won't have to loan him to a Championship club to gain experience.

I'm with you there, especially on the dramatics. if you look at past posts I didn't want Bunn in nets but after a couple of watches he's clearly an experienced keeper who tries to give the defenders the confidence that he's behind them. Rushing out is one example, it can be a problem at the top level but defenders will feel more comfortable to push a little higher if they know the keeper behind is in control of their tactical mistakes. Bunn is clearly better than Guzan at that, so is his short throw distribution. Btw I'm not saying he's a better keeper, it'd just be nice to have that in nets as well as some athleticism and shot stopping. It's a big ask from a developing Croatian.....

I've seen him pass to Gabby at least three times in a match, that's pretty brave. Heck, he even trusts Nzog and Richardson! I was always a fan or his potential contribution but this season I've had enough. I personally feel some of those criticising him are blaming him for our failure and some of those defending him don't actually appreciate what midfield balance is, individual and management. Then there are others who say he's not doing much wrong but he's also not giving enough or using his talents properly, I'd be inclined to agree with them.

Feel free to PM me if you want some help. I used to be an employment advisor so I'll happily help you put one together, or give you some advice. Remember the CV is just one part, the covering letter is where a lot of opportunities are gained.

It's almost impossible to know what he's like without watching him as your mate has but from clips he seems extremely quick off his line (decision wise) which could get him in trouble in the Prem. He also doesn't appear to push to ball away, preferring to try and keep it where he can get it. Any mentions of those things? Damned long reach though!

100% right. If I could shake him and spend 6 months developing two things it would be shooting early and always making runs. He doesn't even need to be a goal machine, he just needs to stretch the defence and test both the keeper and a defenders positioning. That hasn't happened for more than 3 games in a row since MON, it's his and managements fault and it seems the only conclusion is to let him go.

That's what bothered me the most, pre season was pretty awful really. We didn't look up for it, didn't play that well as a team but Kozak took some of that negative focus away. Sherwood needed that because some were concerned about the way we were playing but he didn't seem to recognise what Kozak added. First rule of being a good manager, don't ignore those who change games for you, especially if they make your job less intense.

Might have been pressure from fans, shop window or because Gestede needed a break/is hopeless. Either way he's proved he's a good match player who understands how to use his talents when the pressure is on. Might not be good enough but I'm very happy he at least got some minutes to remind Gestede and others their places aren't guaranteed.

Glad someone else has seen his ability to read the game simply. Also you've made me so happy, quick throws....for the last 15 years we've been hopeless with throw-ins apart from a couple of years where we had Bent. I'm gutted I'm so far down South now as I don't get to see our various teams play live. I shall be paying attention to this thread to see what you guys make/have made of him.

It just isn't, not consistently. Watch someone who can actually pass quickly in the Prem and see how their vision/decisions compares. Yes it's different watching from the stands or on the TV, you spot the free man very easily but that's also what a quality midfielder does/sees and what Ashley doesn't. Or he does but doesn't trust himself to find the man. As I said, he does it occasionally but it's how often he misses the opportunity that should be every managers concern, especially (as I said before and you pointed out) they don't add much with the other parts of their game. I think you should watch him in the next game and see what he actually adds going forward from his position, especially in the context of Gueye's interplays and box to box moving us forward and unknown quantity Veretout looking comfortable in the final third, even starting to spot the shot. I think a truly quality player would add more, free players would get the ball without needing to wait for the middle pass and runners would get the ball in space. I want that from Westy but he simply doesn't give it anywhere near enough in the Prem. Which leads me here, probably pretty well. Less space but he does have quality when someones a headless chicken, perhaps a drop would resettle him. He needs challenging and you can easily drop him in that league. Also I think someone would take a chance on him. he'd make a decent squad player as he'd be cheap and on low wages.

He wasn't great the other night but he wasn't bad either. My main problem with him isn't the passes back but the missed passes forward. Keep it safe, that's great for the team but have the footwork to switch the play. I mentioned it a few weeks ago but if he wants to be a Prem midfielder he needs to actually influence the play going forward. The little MOTD show of Shelvey was exactly where Westwood hasn't progressed, I once thought he could be the player to switch the play when he sees it, or hit that pass between players while wrong footing them but he can't and he doesn't. He doesn't pass quickly enough and it's limiting him. I'll admit sometimes he does but he doesn't do it enough and it's killing us going forward. I like Veretout because he seems to have some vision and attacking positioning but he still has to rush back to defend in part because we don't have a proper CDM. If Westwood isn't a CDM and isn't progressive going forward he isn't going to help us stay up. Okay, we're not going to stay up but surely it wouldn't take much to replace/challenge him and give us a better chance in attack.

He played really well and orchestrated the game superbly. He was still unable to find the killer ball when he spotted it but he came forward with a lot more confidence and knew he'd get the ball back if he played it to another midfielder. He had a shot, he came forward, he gambled. He still can't tackle but he did play well. I still would replace him because he's too luxury for this relegation battle but honestly he was a different player against Palace and his medium range passing was great. It really helped us get up the pitch.