ChinlessWonder

He has generally looked crap at this level but he does deserve more time and I think he’ll be good in the championship. I think as long as Wesley doesn’t take eons to get up to spreed after his injury they’ll make a good pair at that level. I think we can safely say that we’ll need something better if we come back up though.

4 hours ago, TreeVillan said:

There are players in our squad who get worse. 

After a pretty turgid start, El Ghazi did win me over by the end of last season, and at the start of this one. He's slowly but surely gone down in my estimations since then and after hitting the corner flag from 2 yards out i'm now going to deem him the worst footballer i've ever seen. In fact, he might be one of the worst things to ever exist, along with bubonic plague, Jack the Ripper and the 2000 John Travolta movie 'Battlefield Earth'.

He doesn’t lack effort and he did score one in the play off final but after 2 years of mostly shit I’d like to see us offload and get someone else in.

I struggle to get my head around why, with a team as shit as ours, Elmo doesn’t play more. He’s got the best delivery into the box of anyone at the club.

9 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

The goals won't outweigh his inefficiencies elsewhere unfortunately. I am hoping some moneyball mugs will see his goal output and be suckered into taking a punt on him . If we can get back what we paid it is a win. He's 25 years old and I think he is playing  at his absolute maximum ceiling.

I’d keep him in the championship but not if by some miracle we stay up. I’d ditch El Ghazi instead who has had 2 seasons of mostly shit, 1 in the championship. I’d then spend some of the Grealish money on hopefully a massive upgrade.

Heaton, Steer, Nyland

Guilbert, Bree, Konsa, Engels, Hause, AN Other (LCB), AN Other (LB), Targett

AN Other (RM), Elmo, Hourahane, Luiz, Nakamba, 2 x AN Other (CM), AN Other (LW), Trezeguet

Wesley, Samatta, AN Other (S), Davies, Jota

There's 25, maybe a few from the U23's if they're good enough and they're needed.

6 hours ago, Herman22 said:

I think Konsa has impressed since the restart. Playing out of position at RB he has been more than a match for some of the top attacks in the league. 

For me I would accept defeat when it comes to Jack and Mings, both will be gone. I hope that financial clout will mean we can turn down bids for McGinn and Luiz as I think that is our ticket back to the prem. People like ElGhazi and Trez might leave, maybe Targett too. Decent championship level players like Elmo, Taylor, Davis, Jota will be useful back up. 

Build the rest of the team around:

Heaton

Guilbert Konsa Engels ???

??? Luiz McGinn ???

Wesley Samatta

 

I was thinking something along those lines, probably with Hause left side as he's naturally left sided, Engels as competition. I think McGinn will be gone, Luiz not so sure. I did always think that he would but he made a statement the other day to suggest otherwise.

At the moment, for me, the question marks would be filled by Elhammody right side, Trezeguet left side, Targett left back and Nakamba realistically instead of Mcginn. I'd like to see us get upgrades on all of those though, particularly the 2 left sided players. I agree with the sentiment that we don't want another revolving door, but i think it's inevitable that we will see a bit of that under the circumstances. Assuming Grealish, Mings and McGinn go and hoping we can pick and choose ourselves with the rest, i would probably only look to sell El Ghazi and Taylor otherwise. Probably even bring Bree back in as understudy to Guilbert, but i'd be wanting to see new players in those 4 positions i mentioned plus a proven championship/PL striker to challenge Wesley and Samatta with Davies and Jota as back up. We should certainly have enough money anyway.

Grealish isn't, and never has been, a grab the bull by the horns and drive the team forward type of player for this level. He could do it in the championship because it was a little slower and he was usually a few steps ahead in thought of the opposing players. In the Premier League you need someone in that role who moves the ball quicker and who has a quicker turn of pace themselves, McGinn would be the obvious choice in the current squad. He's a Matt Le Tissier type, a player that should have a free role behind a striker to find his own space and provide a bit of magic in and around the box.

You never know, Juventus might come calling yet...

2 hours ago, Zatman said:

Was about 3 days after. Deal was done before season ended 

Indeed, the part ex with Gardner had been agreed weeks before.

He was signed with the expectation we would be in the championship this season, i think we wanted a creative wide/behind the striker player to come in if Grealish got injured, we did say last season that we didn't have anyone to do that. I think if we had been in the championship this season he would most likely have been a decent player for us but he does look laughably bad at this level.

Best i've seen him play for us yesterday, he and McGinn were just unlucky that Liverpool were able to bring on a fresh Henderson and Wyjnaldum who turned the game back around. I do fear that if we go down he may not stick around, he's only really just starting to truly show he can do it at this level but i think someone that has been at Man City and captain of the Brazil U23's (? i think) will probably consider the championship as beneath them.

50 minutes ago, Dave-R said:

I dont think Trez or Ghazi should even first team as Wingers in the championship, subs yes but we should look still at buying better and let's face it I think League 2 has better than what we have up front. 

Ridiculous how crap we are at crosses which is down to our Wingers mostly, finding gaps, accuracy and then to top it off anyone who goes up front cant hit a header on goal.

It's like we have Sh!t for brains and for talent up front. I would very much like to meet the people who signed off on our Wingers and strikers because I've had it with them, they let the rest of our team down.

Forget Smith out, get everyone out that's been involved in this crap developing for a whole season it's about time those accountable were held responsible.

We deserve to go down if we cant put the ball in the back of the net against a sluggish liverpool side that eventually took there chances and made them count, it's a game we could of won if we had of had our frontline firing home.

Before the re-start i was of the opinion the El Ghazi and Trez, whilst quite plainly not good enough for the Premier League would serve us well in the Championship presuming that's where we are next season. The games since the re-start have made me agree with you, just get rid at the end of the season wherever we are. They try hard and you've got to respect them for that but they are seriously lacking in quality. In fact, we've been playing with wingers for getting on for 4 years and we've had one good one in that time, Snodgrass. Either buy good ones, or play a different way as i'm fed up with seeing us with essentially 2 wasted shirts every week.

The strikers are hampered by this but i do tend to agree that the ones we have are all unlikely to have much impact at PL level either way.

Do people enjoy coming on here and moaning about absolutley nothing because you've got nothing better to do in your lives?

Obviously Houllier has got to tie up some loose ends with the FFF (yes he had a massive job in france, so it is FARCICAL to think he could just walkout without doing so). Even martin o'neill stayed and extra day or two to help KMac come in, and we all know how he left. The fact that people are already jumping on Houlliers back before hes even stepped foot in the dug out is ridiculous.

Yes the club could have maybe delayed the appointment, but KMac is a model professional who works for aston villa and randy lerner. If he wants him to run the first team for another week, he will do so, with no questions asked i'm sure.

So for all you windgers out there, give it a rest and wait untill he's settled into his managerial post for heavens sake.

Do people enjoy coming on here moaning about people moaning about absolutley nothing because you've got nothing better to do in your lives?

Do you hide the fact that you are a Villa fan because the claret from your scarf will clash with your permanent crimson cheeks?

But maybe I should just look for people hiding teh fact they are Villa fans with red cheeks and ask them?

What on earth are you going on about Ian? :?

Correct me if I am wrong but a sign of embarrassment is often blushing - it seems from comments on here that we are in a permanent state of embarrassment so I suspect an easy way to see a Villa fan would be to check for the claret scarf and red cheeks, or maybe this embarrassment statement was just a bit silly?

Ah. I can see why this situation may look quite embarassing for the club, and by extrapolation, many Villa fans too, yes.

Farce would be my preferred word though. We're still managerless, a month after MON went. Thwe maanager we had unveiled to us as our manager, is not actually our manager (yet). It just looks silly and amateurish, IMO.

I'm not sure why we'd all be walking round with red cheeks though. That's a somewhat silly analogy, surely. Unless you're deliberately trying to provoke people?

People are entitled to feel that this is an embarassing situation for the club, if they so wish, without having to walk roound with rosy cheeks to display the fact.

Well i for one didn't take the post seriously enough to be offended or provoked by it.

I didnt want him in the begining and now i just hate the clearing in the woods ... We'r the fcukin Villa FFS Not fcukin Hartlepool united!

Who dose he think he is to string us out like this?..

More fool to the micky mouse board... Go Back to disneyland!

5 weeks to parade a bloke under contract some place else and that hasnt even signed... Couldnt Run A Bath!..

MattyB's post was removed so I'll try and be a bit more diplomatic. The above post is absolute dross. That's all.

I agree that it is over the top, but you have to agree that the situation at the club at this particular moment is a bit of a **** joke?

I don't have to agree that the situation at the club is "a bit of a **** joke". The way I see it, we've just appointed a manager with great pedigree, we're sat 4th place in the league (albeit after only 3 games) and we've finished top 6 in the last few seasons. Yes, losing MON in the manner we did was a blow, and yes there's a bit of faffing about with GH's contract, but I guess the Board wanted to live up to their promise of announcing something this week - if anything they're perhaps trying too hard to please the fans. Is the club a **** joke? - go ask a West Ham fan.

Well, i only said that the current situation is 'a bit of a **** joke' but if your questioning whether 'the club is a **** joke' then maybe subconsciously your on a bigger downer than me.

Do you hide the fact that you are a Villa fan because the claret from your scarf will clash with your permanent crimson cheeks?

But maybe I should just look for people hiding teh fact they are Villa fans with red cheeks and ask them?

What on earth are you going on about Ian? :?

Correct me if I am wrong but a sign of embarrassment is often blushing - it seems from comments on here that we are in a permanent state of embarrassment so I suspect an easy way to see a Villa fan would be to check for the claret scarf and red cheeks, or maybe this embarrassment statement was just a bit silly?

I don't blush. I'm not a woman.

Bit harsh, but i agree that it's amazing how much some people will sweep this kind of embarrasment, uncertainty and downright confusion under the carpet. Nice to know we are living up to our slogan 'Prepared'.

Harsh? Up to you how you want to amend other people's posts.

As for this being embarrassing, how is it? Do you hide the fact that you are a Villa fan because the claret from your scarf will clash with your permanent crimson cheeks? So what if a few red top media outlets and crap like TalkSport want to make up stories? How about being pleased that a man of GH's stature in the game wants to come here? But maybe that is embarrassing? - Can you imagine a well respected worldwide coach, someone tasked with rebuilding a nations football fortunes, someone who has won league and cup title's, someone who has wone European trophies, someone who has run a national side wanting to join our club - maybe it is embarrassing, embarrassing because of the silly reactions being shown via forums such as this

It's not about sweeping anything under the carpet because there is nothing to sweep. Just because the "can't wait won't wait" element are screaming doesn't make it a major issue. Can you honestly see GH just thinking "Ooo h I think I will have a few more glasses of claret while I say adieu to mon ami" (Yeah I know my French is shit!) - I bet he would be in near constant communication with people within the club.

I am really failing to see what the issue is. But maybe I should just look for people hiding teh fact they are Villa fans with red cheeks and ask them?

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh, hark at you. Whats all this red cheek stuff about then?

The key to the Delay maybe that we haven't paid any compensation to the FFF - were we to do so IMO Houllier would be in charge for the Stoke game.

Iam just waiting for the revalation that even though he is villa manager - he still works for the FFF is some capacity.

I can't brush this under the carpet - its a joke - Houlliers credibility will be shot by the time he gets here.

To be fair, the FFF can FRO. But if this is the case and it's such a big issue for the club, they should have looked elsewhere.

I didnt want him in the begining and now i just hate the clearing in the woods ... We'r the fcukin Villa FFS Not fcukin Hartlepool united!

Who dose he think he is to string us out like this?..

More fool to the micky mouse board... Go Back to disneyland!

5 weeks to parade a bloke under contract some place else and that hasnt even signed... Couldnt Run A Bath!..

MattyB's post was removed so I'll try and be a bit more diplomatic. The above post is absolute dross. That's all.

I agree that it is over the top, but you have to agree that the situation at the club at this particular moment is a bit of a **** joke?

The Club is pleased to confirm that it has secured the appointment of Gerard Houllier as manager.

I seriously wonder which bit of the above statement people are failing to understand. It's not written in French, German or Serbo Croat, its not a paraphrase from a cheap red top news paper, it's not something that a mate of a mate heard while having a piss, it's not some update in CM / FM. What it is is a quote taken from the OS, i.e. a direct quote form the club.

Just because the terms of his "transfer" are that he needs to complete a couple of tasks that will seemingly take a day or so, so bloody what? There are no urgent transfers to conduct (and MON certainly screwed us there the twunt!), we are out of the UEFA cup ( a cup that GH has won and MON treated with utter contempt - along with the fans). We have a tough match on Monday (somewhere that MON never won - and many good managers have seen their teams lose), the best prep for which will be to get someone who knows the team 100% to sort things out while loose ends are sorted and commitments that could not be broken are honoured. Honour - hmm a word I wonder if the last manager actually understands - rather than just dropping his employers in the shit.

As for his assistant, I suppose the beer bill at VP will be a lot lower now

I've read this 100 times over and it's still shite.

Bit harsh, but i agree that it's amazing how much some people will sweep this kind of embarrasment, uncertainty and downright confusion under the carpet. Nice to know we are living up to our slogan 'Prepared'.

Houllier as full time manager isn't so bad, I can accept this appointment.

I, on the other hand, cannot.

Just a suggestion, but unless a manager comes in today, we won't sign anyone now. Even then it's still extremely unlikely.

I'm not worried, if it doesn't work out for Ireland, we have a player who could be unbelievably good coming through the ranks, better than both of them put together, Fabian Delph.

Kenwyne Jones anybody?

With Danny Wellbeck going to the Stadium of Light, he may be available.

Of course, can only see the point if we're selling Emile Heskey or John Carew.

Would be a decent signing at the right price.

Don't think it'll happen, but wouldn't mind seeing him here.

I'd rather have Tom Jones.