TB

There's no direct quotes from Okore about wanting guaranteed first team football in the Danish original article. In short, he says that he wants to play football and hopes he may play more next season than he has this season. And if he is allowed to do that - and the club wants him to stay - he'd like to stay.

Good job he never was a Sporting Director at the club, then... ;-)

Those things do happen...

I haven't seen too much dignity around the club over the past few years. Or intelligence, for that matter. IMO; Garde appears to be the only one at the moment having a bit of both. Ability in the current environment, that's another matter.

That's the real problem, isn't it? Unless they're somehow able to ship them out en masse and bring in some real professionals you'd need either: 1) someone able to scare/browbeat them into participating. Cannot see that working with modern multi-millionaire players. Agent/media phone calls just bound to happen. Possibly some interesting sideline antics/aggro, though. 2) a real top class manager, that even those shirkers will have to respect. Cannot see that happening either. Too few and far between, and wildly expensive even if they would deign to come to the current Villa. And in both scenarios, you actually have to be able to bring in some new - and good enough - players so there is a genuine threat to their perceived guaranteed 1st 11 spot. IIRC, when Garde came in, he actually managed to get the current squad to appear as a team after a while, and they appeared to play for him... And then the January window closed with no players incoming that would be able to supplant their position. And at the flick of the switch, normal sub-standard service was resumed...

I'd say that the current Leicester style is more down to Ranieri (and the form of Mardy and Mahrez) than Pearson. They struck lucky, and all the more power to them. I'm not talking about Villa mirroring Barcelona. I'm talking about taking the first steps towards Villa being an upper table PL team again. You cannot just throw money at it anymore. You need to have a plan, build a squad, have a defined playing style so you don't have to scrap half your squad every season as you bring in a new manager - oh, and you also need a bit of luck :-)

No, I know he's done it before. Although he almost threw it away in the first part of the season. But it's not about a desperate 'trying to saving this season' appointment anymore. Been there, done that. It didn't work. A club looking to be stable and successful should have a long-term view and a long-term philosophy. If a manager leaves, the club should look to bring in someone able to build on what's already available. Veering from one strategy to the very opposite just won't work, unless you have the equivalent of the Norwegian oil fund (or the Saudi equivalent) at your disposal, and a cunning (and foolproof) way of circumventing the FFP...

O'Neill's laissez-faire management and then Houllier expecting a certain degree of professionalism. Déjà vu, anyone?

Replacing Garde with Pearson would be a logical fit? In what way? To me, that's like replacing Houllier with McLeish. A total about-face. I fail to see anything logical whatsoever about it. Unless the logic is: ok, now we've tried a calm, reasonable manager. That didn't work very well, now, did it? Maybe we should try the total opposite?

IIRC there was much ado about piss-ups, quarrels with Villa staff, and not being fit enough for a PL first 11. I may be wrong.

Yes, absolutely agree. We might hope that some others will be able to grow a pair.

When at Lyon, keeping them close to the top of the league table despite the board selling their top players, he offered to resign there and then if the board chose to sell a player he saw as a crucial cog in his 1st 11. They backed down. I certainly don't think he lacks balls, and if he chooses to walk we might hear an interesting tale. If he's fired, I think he's too honourable to tell any tales. I don't believe any payoff clauses would be a factor.

Managerial bounce? I have always felt that this was a bit of a myth. Sure, some teams gain by changing their manager, but some don't. "...only 47 per cent of managers that have been appointed during the season going on to improve upon the position that they inherited. Indeed, the 86 teams to replace their managers during the season throughout Premier League history have only enjoyed an average positional improvement of just one single place in the league table." https://blog.betway.com/football/premier-league/time-for-the-p45-the-remarkable-numbers-behind-the-premier-league-sack-race/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Govember Might be right, might be wrong. I know I have seen similar stats elsewhere, and also similar stats in other leagues. 47 per cent is basically a coin toss. Some managerial changes work out, some just don't. Luck of the draw, I guess. Sometimes it just clicks, sometimes it doesn't. A club might have a quality squad that's just bereft of confidence. Then a strong leader could be able to inspire and put on the right track - or they might have a team where the senior players have had the bit between their teeth for several seasons (and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience) - in which case, you need a acknowledged world-class manager (or a total squad clearout) in order to turn it around. I don't think Garde is world class. But I do hope he'll be able to set the bit to its proper position.

I really don't get this thing about the (supposed) importance of the size of the pitch nowadays. AFAIK the pitch size required by the PL has been 105 x 68 m (roughly 114,8 x 74.4 yards) for several years. According to www.footballguide.com, (and other sources on the 'net does not disagree too much) those three pitches' dimensions are: Rotherham: 110 x 72 yards. Brentford: 110 x 73 yards. Preston: 110 x 77 yards. Gil might be up to Championship football, or he might not - but I refuse to believe that the difference - 72, 73 or 74.4 yards will squeeze anyone out of a game. And then there's Preston. (edit: you might be talking about the difference in pitch length - but would 4.8 yards really make that much of a difference?

2012... "Lambert is given the same remit as McLeish but pressed even further to drastically cut costs." Ok, English isn't my first language. But to me, that states that Lambert pressed on even further to cut costs - on his own volition. I'd prefer "Lambert is given the same remit as McLeish, but is asked to cut costs even more drastically."

I have always thought that a successful CB pairing consists of a leader and one willing to be led. Lescott / Richards: Would Richards as captain (even as a CB rookie) take instructions from Lescott? Not a good combo. Lescott / Okore: experienced, albeit slow leader, with a strong and agile understudy willing to be led. Clark / Okore last season wasn't too bad. I believe Clark needs to be calling the shots when he's playing. Okore has the physical attributes, but not the experience. Richards / Clark: Rookie senior CB. Disaster from the outset.

Right, now we have a scale... ranging from zero footballing insight / ability / nous to total control. Zidane at 10 and Westwood at 2.5, then, would make sense. I still think it would be harsh to put Reo-Coker at the very opposite end of this scale. Let's agree to give him 1, at least. The board might have the 0.

And for what's it's worth: I agree with this

2.5 x Reo-Coker or Zidane/2.5? Or 'On a scale of z to umpteen he's about a red'? That rating doesn't make much sense to me. Your scale might go from 1-3, in which case he's one of the best footballers in the PL, or from 1 to one million, in which case he would be rated somewhat below par for the current squad, but way above the Villa board...

So opting not to extend his contract at Lyon equates to walking? Technically, you're correct, of course - he did leave, but only after seeing out his contract. There are valid reasons to criticize Garde. This is not one IMO.

For what it's worth - I don't think Garde's wages will decide. The board's support (or lack thereof) might. When he arrived, IIRC he spoke about a medium-term project. That's clearly not just a part of a single season, but hinting at a longer-term rebuild, probably accepting a possible relegation along the way. He comes across as a quietly stubborn character, one that won't want to quit once he has agreed to take on a project. It was reported that he offered to resign at Lyon if the board decided to sell one particular player that he deemed essential to the team. I believe that the only thing that will make him look elsewhere is if he isn't confident that he'll be given the required tools (economical support) by the board to do what he thinks is necessary. He might not work out, of course - and whether he does or not, the board may decide to fire him and look for another manager.

In general I'll agree with the bolded bit of your post, but IMO you're wide off the mark here. To quote mwj: Did you even read the rest of the thread?

New socks are nice. According to old tradition in Northern Norway, everyone must wear something brand new on Christmas Eve - new tie, shirt, underwear, socks; almost anything will do (though a new pocket handkerchief probably won't be enough) - if not, you'll be captured by the Yule goat (a remnant of the old Norse mythology). Unfortunately, Christmas presents don't count - thus, a small gift for each member of the family often appeared in the morning on December 23rd, apparently courtesy of the house hobs :-)

I think Kozak / Ayew might be an interesting combination, they might complement each other really well. Creative/attacking midfielders (I don't see Gil/Grealish actually scoring that many goals themselves) need players up front that can work the defence - drawing the defenders out of position by strength/positions/agility/speed, making themselves available for a pass, being aware of and reacting to their team mates' positions/movements, finding goal-scoring positions - in short, displaying footballing intelligence. Ayew has had three months getting up to speed in a new league. I remember him getting some stick on here earlier on, s most of the other summer signings did, but Benteke did too, for that matter - I'm not comparing the players, btw. Kozak had four months before his injury - Tibia/fibia fracture with a botched first operation, then a new pin, and another round of re-convalescence and training. A tough, confidence-sapping task. He may never become good enough, but to me, he's shown that he possesses enough footballing intelligence to be given a chance. Has Gabby displayed this kind of footballing intelligence in any way? Gestede? (ok, a throw-in...) Traore? His assists to Kozak in the last U21 match sounds promising. Long may it continue. (Somewhat OT: In Larry Niven's novel Ringworld, the alien carnivore Speaker-To-Animals insults a member of a herbivore (but sapient) species by saying: "How much intelligence does it require to sneak up on a leaf?". If you're faster/stronger/more skilful/richer and thus are able to outperform your opponent in every physical/economical way, you don't necessarily have to be more intelligent as well. If you actually have to compete, intelligence and co-operation becomes vital.) I hope Garde eventually can come up with an intelligent 1st 11 that (hopefully) negates individual weaknesses somewhat and also makes use of their individual abilities, making the sum greater than the individual parts. Unfortunately, I cannot see him doing that in time for us to survive this season, no matter how much he's allowed to spend in January. And of course, he may never be able to do so - but I think he has a significantly better chance than his predecessor ever had.