Folski

10 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Interesting! Just shows the different perspectives.  As long as it didnt affect his next day duties, it doesnt bother me.  Obviously different for players because their fitness is their business but managers and staff, it's no biggy for me.  If he turned up with a massive hangover I would have a big issue but otherwise no issue.  I suppose it's more normal in my industry where discussing contracts over the space of a few days or more, you tend to socialise somewhat with clients at night and while never getting drunk we have a few drinks and then back to the grind of discussing the contract the next morning at 8am.  I'm not currently doing that type of work at the moment but it was very successful part of my career and building client relations and business.  This is different because he's having (or not having) drinks with his family and friends but it's still drink, food? and socialising at night with work the next day.

If we put him on hunger strike will he last till the world cup?

4 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

The pub he was apparently in tweeted:

Has Tommy Jordan said to unfollow this pub yet?

Just now, viivvaa66 said:

We all know that. My point was, why not sack first then find a replacement. Added bonus, we could have somebody else in charge temporarily, just look at Bournemouth that worked pretty well for them.

Since he haven’t been sacked, there is no reason to believe we are looking for a replacement.

Totally agree, he should have been gone weeks ago.

14 minutes ago, viivvaa66 said:

What if we now beat Fulham and Brentford convincingly, and then Pochettino agrees to come here. Do the club sack Gerrard after two wins or do they tell Pochettino, sorry we have changed our minds?

We’ve scored 7 goals. We aren’t going to win.

21 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

But if Ings scores a 30 yard wonder goal and we win, same poster will be giving Gerrard all the credit. 

That was Young not Ings.

1 minute ago, Tomaszk said:

It worked last time we had a clown managing us miles out of his depth. Near-on immediate improvement post-Bruce, followed by sustained success for 2+ years.

It's very easy to see the coaching issues we have. 

There is no negative to sacking Gerrard. It should have been done in the summer. The evidence is there for all to see.

Disagree with this, I think he was entitled to a pre-season and a summer to put his stamp on the team but ultimately he's failed horribly.

17 minutes ago, danceoftheshamen said:

That result was by-en-large substandard finishing and Football League level (& quite a low one at that) control & quality from a few of our players. Unfortunately there really is not a lot Gerrard can do about that. He can however drop players for repeatedly doing the same & give a go to others. The issue is that it's our "big" players doing it... McGinn, Watkins, Coutihno & others. The quality some of them are showing is way below the level it should be at. 

I was watching the difference with City against Liverpool&  in similar situations the control of those players is instant and clearly what you would expect at Premier League level. It made a huge difference to the attacking threat. 

So for me, on Sunday at least, it was down to poor quality from the players when thye should be much better, for the 1st hour. The rest of the game after 0-2 was frankly appaling however and that was not helped by Gerrards Substitutions in my view.

To play well, at home and lose 0-2 is very concerning however. Normally the saying is "if you play badly & win it's the sign of a good team" so quite what "if you play well & still lose" says I really don't know.

Hasn't done this at all. Everyone saying to give him more time also seems to think if we went 1-0 up to Chelsea yesterday that they'd have rolled over. Were Chelsea even in second gear yesterday?

6 minutes ago, lexicon said:

Option A - they aren't.

Option B - they are and aren't getting through to the players.

Either way they're failing to do their job. 

Exactly.

3 minutes ago, TRO said:

Ok It wasn't what I was really expecting you answer to be......but I do get your drift.

I am not going to comment on every line......but how can you be sure, he and his coaches are not saying much of that....we simply don't know.

How can you be sure, the players not always doing what's been asked of them......He has limited options.

Take one player out and you lose some attributes to gain others......but the team loses attributes,as a whole, it's a trade off, the better teams, have to make less.

Like I said its 7 players who were here 2 years ago, I've seen them operate a system. I honestly at the moment feel like every time a player gets the ball its like a wheel spins and whatever it lands on they do that be it side ways pass, hoof, run. There is just a complete lack of direction in the team and that comes from the manager down. 

44 minutes ago, nick76 said:

3 years is fine, if it works out the great the manager deserves a pay rise.  If it fails it’s not the biggest pay out that could seriously hurt a club.  I don’t paying off Gerrard is the biggest issue.

The bigger issue is that we are a point above the drop zone with Leicester having enough quality to stay up,  2 newly promoted teams 3 & 4 points ahead of us and having played 6 of the bottom 8 in the 10 games we've played.

1 hour ago, TRO said:

Looking at the profile of the squad, I think you are right, its unlikely, things will change, baring divine intervention.

As opposed to keep saying, he doesn't have a plan, or a style, or the system is wrong......Tell us what the the team should be that stands out in your mind, to be so sure its wrong?

Tell us what System, what Plan, or what style SG should be sticking with......what in fact is his best team?

Or should he be changing/ rotating  things every game, like Potter is doing ( albeit with a far superior squad of diverse players to choose from)

When you say profile of the squad what do you mean? 7 players that started in the 7-2 win over Liverpool started the game yesterday.

Can you tell me what the system is? If I was manager I would do the following:

• The team seem to be horrible at crossing, this seems to have been an issue for the last 10 years. I would limit crosses and try and keep the ball on the floor.
• The wing backs need to get closer to goal in the final third through direct runs and short passing one twos on the overlap.
• There needs to be more movement in midfield (and from the team in general), rather than simply sideways passes and standing around.
• Players need to demand the ball and play more one touch passes like we did under Smith.
• We have the pace to be effective on the break, currently teams know this and its why we struggle so much against inferior opposition, they simply park the bus and we can't create anything.
• I would drop McGinn, Coutinho. I'd be playing Bailey & Buendia off Watkins and give them the freedom to make mistakes.
• I'd play two holding in midfield alongside JJ who can actually play a pass (sorry Marvellous) and encourage the full backs to get forward at every chance.
• If Watkins isn't on it, I'm more than happy to bring in Archer and he seems to want to work hard and knows where the back of the net is.
• I would tell JJ and Bailey to carry the ball any time they have space in front of them and run at players.
• The ultimate goal would be to create touches in the oppositions area through effort and direct running in the final third.

7 minutes ago, TRO said:

My eyes and judgment is what guides me too.....but I am not convinced another manager, with this same group of players, will fix it.

I am not giving Gerrard a free pass, but things happened in the game on Sunday, that directly affected our defeat that was, nothing to do with him......I could say the same under Dean Smith.

Its funny how Potter, wins 42 games in 135 games, gets the Chelsea gig and doesn't lose a game.....My Point is Mark, The players as a group, have a huge part to play, in our demise.

Sure, I too, thought SG could turn this arround, sure I thought he could get them motivated more, sure I thought questionable decision making would improve, sure I thought shots on goal, would be more productive......but it hasn't, and it didn't under the last manager.

If any manager, fails to win games, the work on the training ground is in vain.....we don't know, how hard or not, he is trying to turn things around.....thats why, I say, the hierarchy, know more than we do.

Gary Neville calls it a culture problem. he could be right too......We sign players ( playmakers) like we are Barcelona, yet we can't beat Brentford.....We can't get the fundamentals right, never mind the more sophisticated stuff....and we have failed to sign players like the CDM until recently.

It would not surprise me, if he goes soon, but I am not convinced a new guy will fair any better, with the same personnel.....This still Deans Team, in terms of signings, with the current injuries and he couldn't do much different than SG is doing, Dean was marginally better, in his win Percentages.

If we choose, to keep sacking managers, until we get it right, it doesn't bode well for a good culture or smart thinking football club......History alone tells us it fails, moret han it works.....if we resort to pot luck, then fine, throw the dice. I was in a job once, where the resullts were poor, but the process was being followed....The hierarchy backed me and the outcome changed......I don't know the complexities involved, so I don't know, if 1 year is enough or not.

Losing games throws up, all kinds of views, it suggests all kinds of theories, some feasible, some specualtive, and some personal.....I think our failure, to invest after Kamara, may have had an affect on issues too....most of us was expecting another quality midfielder and a striker

I don't profess to know the answer, but not convinced others with a different view, do either........its always do easy to default to changing the manager, in hindsight, maybe the Dean Smith departure, was hasty....so what do we do, keep making the same mistakes.

I understand, that many will watch the games, and default to the manager as the problem....does he make mistakes, of course he does, but I don't think he is at fault for ALL that I see....I also don't want him coming over to clap me for coming, I want to be as pissed off as I am. I don't want to be patronised......when we are in a dark place like this, its perfectly, understandable for him, to shy away from patronising acts.....I don't remember, many past managers, clapping the crowd on a regular basis, .....when we are winning, it makes more sense. I would have baulked if he had of clapped us on Sunday.

Some say, its the manager AND the players, I would be more inclined to be swayed by that....I don't buy, its just the manager, but that equally does not mean, he is blameless or not responsible......I accept the responsibility lies with him

If he gets sacked and it gets better after the usual bounce, then I will stand corrected.

I like all Villa Fans, want to see us win our unfair share of games.

ps I hear the old chesnut rolled out, regularly now, "He doesn't know his best team"......such is the inconsistency, such is the imbalance in attributes, such is the samey nature of the players......who does know our best team?...every podcaster has a different view.

pps I am genuinely, not trying to be awkward or Obstreperous.....I am simply, not convinced, it all his fault, however, if our premier league status is in danger, I would probably default to panic mode and succumb to a new manager, in sheer hope and desperation.

 

 

1. SG has completely failed to implement a style of play at this club. Using my eyes I can clearly see that and short of "lads produce a bit of magic every so often", we don't have a game plan.

2. It's the manager who picks the players. We have youth players that have achieved success and he would rather persist with people who are not performing than give these a chance.

3. Nothing from our performances suggests anything is going to change, the players look like they are playing with absolute fear.

33 minutes ago, duke313 said:

Doesn't look like it.  Looks like he'll get the Fulham, possibly even the Brentford game.

He's going to get both which is a joke really, I see us getting max 2 points out of those games with Gerrard but realistically 1. CP really needs to be putting his reputation on the line for Gerrard at the moment because it's obvious to anyone who's watched us this season how out of his depth he is. 2 games is 5% of the season and it's 5% Gerrard doesn't deserve right now. He hasn't earned the goodwill to be allowed to endure such a bad run. 

The real killer with Gerrard is just the total lack of a style of play. If you had a manager who basically had a long ball style and made us tough to beat, a lot of people wouldn't like it but it would be an identity for the team. SG's team have no identity and no style and that's a real reason why there has been so many individual errors. SG has created an on pitch environment where there aren't standards and as such there are no leaders to hold people to account. 

Sacking the manager would at least give the fans a boost before two vital games. Leaving a man in there who has simply failed at the job he was brought in to do (which I am sure everyone can agree on) for two vital games is  a massive risk given how close to the relegation zone we are given the quality of opposition of the 5 games after that. 

I was at a wedding the weekend, one of the guests is let's say "friendly" with one of young players and she said this player has told her hes off to Barca.

Lads, Smith is gone. Can we stop w**king over him please.

I don't think SG will be interested in being best friends with the players either.

2 minutes ago, HolteExile said:

If Gerrard was managing a team playing good football  in the same league as us 

- on a far smaller budget

- and had our lot chasing shadows every time we played

I'm sure there'd be a bit more enthusiasm at the prospect. 

 

His record in the league he has actually managed in to date (relative to their resources) is fair rather than outstanding. 

To be fair Brentford have kicked on massively since Smith left so maybe he was holding them back.

26 minutes ago, tomsky_11 said:

Lol, I'm not saying we shouldn't. Pretty sure Smith himself said numerous times he aimed to win every game. But realistically more often than not the result of games against Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool, etc. was going to be a loss for us with our squad last season, even with Grealish. He was missing for 5 of those 8 defeats to top 7 teams.

Sure it is, but if the best players in that squad, the ones you've spent that money on (plus the one we ended up selling for £100m) end up consistently unavailable, then how much has been spent is kind of irrelevant. As has been pointed out before Bailey, Ings and Buendia have had 35 mins together this season. Pretty sure Smith had earnt the right to be given an opportunity with these players actually available and fully match fit (which I'm certain Bailey and Buendia haven't been for much of their limited playing time this season).

Sure he wasn't good and had a crap attitude for much of second half of season. Not sure the injury that clearly affected his form or his bad attitude can be put on Smith. And even still we literally were not better without him, we lost fewer games with him than without him in the same number of games in 2021, and the losses we did have were top 6 teams and the Burnley game (see below). His replacements in the side until Grealish was back last two games were Nakamba, an inexperienced Ramsey or an unfit Sanson.

I didn't say that and we didn't have 4 players missing either. As I said in my post, the Burnley loss was one of the few times we had what I'd argue was probably our strongest XI last season starting the game (Emi, Cash, Targett, Konsa, Mings, Luiz, McGinn, Barkley, Traore, Grealish, Watkins). My point with that game was that the score line wasn't really reflective of the overall performance, as the xg stats would seem to suggest.

I think it tended to be the injuries happened first, then the form dipped. And it's possible he did get the most out of the likes of Hause, Nakamba, Elmo, Davis, etc. it's just the gulf in quality between them and the likes of Grealish, Cash, Mings, Luiz, etc is actually quite big and would have an impact whoever the manager. However much we've spent, we clearly still don't have a full squad on PL starter level players like the top teams do.

Another interesting thing about the 2021 games of last season I just realised - if we'd taken the same ppg from our 2020 games in that season as we did in the 2021 games, where would we have finished? The answer is 11th. Where we ended up anyway. Hardly a disaster.

My two cents on this.

You have the odd freak injury but for me injuries are caused. Certain clubs tend to have players consistently injured Arsenal had it there for about 5 years. Boro seemed to have it for a while and we have had it under Smith.

Two often performances were mailed in and he looked at sea once ROK & JT left.

Gerrard seems to be doing a fine job at Rangers and is a born winner, if he leaves us for Liverpool we will be in a better place than he found us.

31 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

You'd probably all need memberships to be sure of seats together.

What would that set me back?

Have I any chance of getting tickets for this? Was hoping to take my dad and brother. Haven't been to VP for a few years. 

Personally do not think we are a selling club.

Grealish left due to a release clause.

We’ve been trying to shift dross for months and the best we could do is a loan deal for Wesley and release a few players.

I don’t think we can sell anyone!

He’s since said it hasn’t gone to BHX just yet and it’s only a flight plan could always be cancelled. Probably is related to their president coming over. Let’s get him.

Weekend catch up.... We buying anyone?

Just sell him anything is a bonus

Just now, a-k said:

Ashley Young or Neil Taylor?

Signing *
 

never wanted him back, how did Dean think putting his left wing was a good idea.