Philosopher

Sounds like Gordon Cowans!

It only comes onto play if the manager doesn't really have the experience for the job. For example Gareth Barry manages Celtic for 3 seasons and wins 3 league titles, then gets linked with the Villa job, me and most fans would be somewhat accepting despite his lack of top level experience. But Gerrard can do one. Even if he turned out to be good, he would leave Villa as soon as Liverpool flutter their eyelids. We must not take a risk on a manager that hasn't proven to be a top quality operator. If they aren't a top quality operator then they need to have the club in their hearts. Because that love will push them to really strive for the club, and put the clubs interests first before their own. Gerrard can do one!

All this Gerrard speculation is pissing me right off. While he was a player I rated as the best of the English CM's, as a manager he has done nothing to deserve the Villa job, and has zero connection with the club. Gerrard stay in Glasgow, or go back to Liverpool, in be anywhere except B6.

Jack's ability to carry the ball and win free kicks really alleviated a lot of pressure defensively, and he ability to dictate the play meant we could control the ball better in the opposition half. Bailey and Buendia are a step up from the likes of El-Ghazi and possibly Traore too, but Jack is world class, and the team was built around making the most of his talents. When you bring in three to replace one you now make it more complicated as you have to find a way of getting the best out of three rather than one. I don't think the drop off is huge, as overall the quality has increased in terms of players (the quantity of quality we have in the squad is now higher, although more evenly spread now), the problem is integrating all of them into a cohesive unit. Smith has failed badly at that this season. Although it's not all his fault.

Exactly what I think. The Premier league is not a simple level up. It's going from conference to Premier league. There is only one team that offer Ranger any competition, it's pitiful the amount of competition Ranger or Celtic have to deal with. The Premier league is the fiercest football league in the world. Terry as an assistant in the Premier league has more valuable experience by a mile, and not one person is recommending him!

Could you imagine if he signed Ben Mee for Villa?

I half agree. I too am very concerned with the managers being linked. Only Potter i see as an improvement. However I do feel Smith has taken us as far as he could. I love the man and am sad to see him go. I wished so much he would be the man to bring major trophies back to Villa Park. But at the end of the day he basically relied on luck and the brilliance of Grealish to achieve anything here. And if you're going to sack him this is the best time really. So all in all we have lost a well respected and loved manager who has taken Villa as far as he could, and we have to face the prospect of hiring a replacement that wouldn't be an improvement. We will need luck on our side.

Who would vote Buendia man of the match? He was cack! So the early goal messed up the game plan. It was unlucky from our point of view. We clearly set up to play on the counter. So when you concede after 2 minutes you have a massive problem, but Smith just stood there. El-Ghazi was having a mare and nearly sent off twice but he was the last player to be taken off! We're lacking ideas and need a creative spark so he goes Steve Bruce on us throws on all the strikers! The player had a go but there was no quality. Need much better.

Smith is looking out of his depth. Things aren't looking good for him.

Was he worse than Mcginn? No! Was he worse than Buendia? No! Was he worse than Bailey? No! Was he worse then El-Ghazi? No! It was a poor performance, but at least they showed fight tonight. Smith seems like he is trying to get the sack, his management has been poor the last few games. Tonight was no exception.

Ramsey is better technically, he's also a smart player. I'm convinced he will be a better player than McGinn within a couple of seasons if he gets enough games.

So I think this is a little too simplistic. For me Luiz is a dynamic 6. His best position 6 as a regista. So he won't simply sit, he will get further into midfield when we have the ball, and be our main distributor from deep, look for shooting opportunities, but get into position to screen the defense when without the ball, rather than press. His pressing isn't great. Sanson is an 8 not simply a box to box 8 he is more of a mezzala. Which is taking up positions to support the wide player (who is usually a playing as an auxiliary striker looking for goals like muller). Ramsey is an 8 but rather than straightforward box 2 box he also exhibits playmaker qualities. Which is a roaming playmaker. He could also probably play as a regista like luiz. Luiz could probably play roaming playmaker too. Now McGinn is a curious one. When played as a 6 he plays as one of 2 6's as the most offensive of the 2. Sort of like a box 2 box coming from even deeper. Problem is he has to make longer runs as a result. He also has to come deeper, making it harder to support the attack. It also puts more emphasis on his decision making as a result. Problem is he is more of an instinctual than a clever player so he often leaves us exposed or without support going forward. This also affects how Cash and the right winger do their jobs, but that's a next discussion. if you look at McGinn's positional history he started out as a DM. So he certainly knows what it takes to play there. However his energy and all action style certainly suits the more dynamic always in the thick of things box 2 box role. For me you either tell him to be a proper DM or a proper box 2 box, don't halfway house him cos you're just f'ing with his head. Young is a fullback or wing back on either flank. Could play him as a left midfielder or right midfielder in a 442 as his auxiliary positions. Buendia is a right midfielder. Not right forward! Not a number 10. Could be a central midfield playmaker if given the right midfield partners (athletic, energetic, and combative players that will do the dirty work and support him going forward). Positions aren't as simple as such and such play this position. These days the roles players play in particular position is as contrasting as night and day. It's up to The manager to find the best way to use players that fits into the system, how they want to play, and that's complimentary to the players around them. Smith is making a hash of this at the minute.

That was the midfield that comfortably shut out Leeds last season. However I would be starting McGinn with Ramsey and Luiz as that's our best 3 at the minute. However if Sanson can stay fit and get up to speed that could change. For me I rate Ramsey and Luiz ahead of Mcginn.

I want to see McMcGinn on the bench! Great that Ramsey is fit.

Just looked up why. Sexual assault wow, should avoid a jail sentence, but it definitely doesn't Look good.

Personally I'd bring in Bissouma and bench Mcginn. I'm rating him less and less. His technique measn he can only be a supportive box2box at the most. His technique, and intelligence aren't sufficient to boss the midfield. I rate Doug and Ramsey to have higher potential and are already superior in terms of technique.

I said it god knows how times that Targett 8s a limited player and we needed a player with the potential to relegated him to the bench. I Also said Ash is just too old and not cut out to be the marauding modern fullback we require. I would still start Ash ahead of Targett mind.

Sounds like Aaron Ramsey then!

It's not about valuing them higher or lower than you. Hard work is expected. It's what underpins everything successful teams do. I expect it. Function and balance happens when playing players in their best position and to their strengths within the team style. The players we have can work together while playing to their strengths, the manager just needs to find the recipe.

I wouldn't call it dark arts at all. It's about winning individual battles, being first to the second balls, and simply fighting for everything. We certainly haven't shown any of that in the last 2 games. Arsenal jumped all over us and we never showed the heart to get stuck in a fight it out. And the same happened against West Ham. We came to play, they came win. We lost the fight against Arsenal, and never tried to fight against West Ham. This is why I say we made them look better than they are. We never made any meaningful attempts to play out from the back. We continuously gave the ball away in our own half, we never got the ball to our dangerous players in the positions where they can do damage. We made it easy for West Ham and they duly punished us. However despite that we were still in the game until the sending off. Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea would've smashed 6 past us. Leicester would have done at least what West Ham did. We didn't even make them fight for it. Going forward there is nobody in the team I particularly fear, yes Antonio and Bowen are handfuls. But no more. Their midfield is very solid, strong aerially and Soucek can finish, but that's all. They are a good, balanced, hardworking outfit that's all.

I agree about mindset. Instilling that winning mentality, a kind of resilience and persistence. I think we made West ham look better than they are.

I have voted the sack if we lose the next two games. The reason for this is: A. I have never been convinced by Smith's tactical nous. B. He has made a difficult situation harder by making poor tactical decisions, and not being consistent with his shape and tactics. You should never experiment with shape, tactics, and personnel at the start of a season where you have a new set of attackers to bed in. C. The staff brought in to support him in the wake of Terry and ROK leaving never looked up to it, to me. Why I give him a chance to turn it around is because these are 2 very winnable games, if he manages to lose both 6 losses in a row, most winnable games means he'd deserve the sack. Also he has had an injury crisis to deal with, and didn't know his best team even with everyone fit and available. He has done well for the club and has credit in the bank. My biggest fear if we sack him is that we end up with a Remi Garde. We need a people person. We must sign a manager good with young players this is a must. The talent we have in the u23s could save hundreds of millions. He also has to be know for his team being adept at keeping the ball while playing on the front foot.

You look at his stats and they suggest he equally good on either flank. I think they though both Bailey and Buendia are capable of playing in two or three positions. We need to remember Bailey is not Jack he needs to be given the ball in space with room to run. He didn't get that on Sunday.

He looks an athlete. Quick, tall, powerful. If the technique is up to scratch too then he could become a top player. But he plays box to box so we can't really start him if his fitness levels aren't upto scratch. If I were him I'd be doing loads of beep tests and extra runs. If he is fit enough we will have to play him.

To be honest I think Frank laid the ground work for what Chelsea are now. He brought through Mount and James who are now lynchpins of the current side. Also gave Tammy and Tomori a chance which made 70 plus million in transfer fees, which helped them afford Lukaku. He had to deal with bringing Werner, Ziyech and Havertz into the side when they clearly were struggling to adapt to the league. Perception is often different from reality. Timing is also important for managers and Tuchel timed it right. Mcginn when he plays well looks incredible as he puts himself about so much. However stray passes and overplaying are alway part of his game. I personally thinks he need to keep simple. And drill the whole midfield in short passing movement and staying compact.