Neil

I'm at a small loss as to what you're disagreeing with now, there is little substance here. You cite Fox as an example of "saying how it works", when all I've seen of his statements has been to confirm there is a transfer committee, that other clubs have them and the manager has to rubber stamp what comes of them. I think I have eluded to most of these points already, maybe there is something more but I haven't seen him break down into deal about the process and financials. Anyway, I take it that your main sticking point is you don't believe a manager can ask for a player to be rebuffed by the transfer committee because of costs...but you agree finance is a major player? I strongly do, I believe that any manager has targets of their own without any input from a committee. They have targets in mind from players they have worked with / seen, or just formed through a simple fascination with football in general as any manager should have. What you'll get with many other clubs who can afford it is managers coming in, then bringing along some of the players they've previously managed. I can honestly see situations where Garde would like to bring in some players, discuss with the committee, only to be rebuffed on price and an alternative for the managers system be presented. Players that come in are likely, in my opinion, to be strongly influenced by the transfer committee who will have a financial agenda to adhere to. The players that come in as a result of this, again in my opinion, are likely to be a world apart from "his players". That's hugely different to saying that he is going to end up with players he doesn't want, by the way, I don't believe that. I just think the players he will end up with are going to be guided by the committee, and in many ways we're at the mercy of a good setup in this committee. Even more so than a good transfer policy of the manager. To this extent, problems we're facing now with the kind of player we have in the team are going to be prevalent even after Garde has rubber stamped the net result of the next committee recruitment drive. I'd like to point out, though, that I don't think we did all bad in the last recruitment. I like Amavi, Ayew and Vertout/few others show glimpses...it's just as much the fault of the existing players in the mix that are letting us down.

But we really didn't spend big did we? We just spent what we sold Benteke for, and maybe a little extra to boot. One thing is allowing proceeds to be re-invested, but who or what is going to subsidise the "next big spend" that you're confident of again this January? I tell you what there are no Bentekes in our team to sell, and if you think Randy is going to pull more out of his personal pocket then I would like a little dose of what you're smoking. By definition, having to sell our best player just to get enough money to buy in other players is on a shoe string budget. Every player we buy will have to count, they need to offer value down to the penny because we have not shown any signs of the famed "net spend" we'd need to spend lavishly.

S.O.S. Save our season. Don't think anyone's coming though.

Stop sitting on the fence and tell us how you really feel lol.

Please god, one win - even if it's considered meaningless to most it may spark some kind of alternative reaction and we might get to find something out about some unknown players. Any win could really work wonders, we need to start bagging wins and improving even if we are already down.

Lescott best in anything is probably at the root of our problems.

I have made it up, because it's really what I think (I believe the clue was in the prepended text "I think"...too subtle?)...and you have no evidence to the contrary either. I read a high expectation that Garde can only be judged after getting all his own people in, who are all his own people? Probably all out of our price range, and actually what will be "his people" will be those identified by a committee within our price range. Where other comittees get to demonstrate a Harrods catalog of players to choose from, ours is stuck in the local Bargain pages. I very much doubt they're going to be what he "really wants" but what he has to make do with... P.S. No idea why you cite Sherwood, what has he got to do with it? Simple logic for me as to question why a transfer committee is setup for a football club on a shoe string budget, nothing to do with some fabricated newspaper story you mention - I thikn you made that up.

I think the so called "transfer committees" are supposed to get the "value for money" or fulfill requirements within what the club will financially allow. The biggest problem, I believe, is at a club like ours the players that are allowed to be brought in are not exactly what the manager hopes for. Much has been said by the top, about how the manager always has to rubber stamp every transfer in. But when you start saying "I'd like this guy" and each answer is "well he's a bit too much to buy / demands too many wages - how about this guy, he's been identified to have the attributes" I think head/bang/brickwall probably comes into play and you end up with a load of what you don't really want. That's the jist of what I pick up from everything that is said, and really why such a thing as a transfer committee even exists. This is why I question people who think that Remi is just going to go out with a shopping list and get all the players he wants, nah...committee won't allow it.

Personally I'd just call it to a group of angry pissed up fans who've traveled really far - and may have traveled to many games to witness this shit. No excuse, but alcohol + emotion doesn't mix well.

Fair enough, and yes I did and do expect an improvement after 9 games...I would expect anything other than not a single win. A good experienced, the kind we could not attract, manager would not have made so many naive errors that could have improved on some of our results. This much I'm fairly certain of, and it's an area that Remi has come up short thus far...I hope, and look forward, to a much improved Remi Garde through the season as he gets to grips because leaving it down to chance that he'll magically pull in some squad with our recruitment committee is a recipe for disaster. This is a man that has had 3 years all in of managerial experience, he's only just pipping Sherwood for demonstrating that his transfer policy will be any better...

I agree with you in principal, but some of this was just a tad too personal...it was up close and should have stayed with the boundaries of booing.

Hmm, mixed bag about that video. Booing from the stands, it's something I've never done - i have a personal opinion it's something that can only have a negative impact but I respect every footballing fans right to do it and have no problem generally. Some of this here was up close and personal, and a bit of a personal tirade...can't agree with that. All the "we want our villa back" "you're not fit to wear the shirt" chanting yes...but the personal callouts, shouting Garde and shouting "**** shit" and something along the lines of rocket polishers and pricks...nah, too much.

What a load if cobblers. I get the simple point, and I agree we've a shit squad. But if you're telling me that its impossible to get them playing any better then you're telling me that Tim Sherwood was already the best we could get and was already getting the maximum from this squad...i don't believe that, I don't think you do either. As shit as our squad is, garde is not doing a very good job with them. Not making the right changes, enough changes, at the right times. Bad selections and percevering with some losing formula's just to name a few. All mistakes that reflect in his relative lack ofmanagement experience and timeframe for finding his feet with this team. My position is clear, we have gone past the point of return and we need to stick with what we have and hope that our manager improves his performances as well as that of the team. But this excuse making for him in that the team cannot perform any better is bullshit. He needs to improve, and learn from his mistakes before the season is out - I am behind him until then. Also pinning all this "is not his team", get used to it as mangers have their ideas on who they want...and our transfer committee has their idea of what we can get and who we can afford. I am no anti garde, he has me for this season - but please stop with the bullshit excuses already.

Was a half decent piece on talk sport about villa just a short while ago. Got all the points right about us, and they rounded off with the players not lacking the want to try...they're simply not good enough. They made some interesting points that this was even apparent in pre season.

So he's incapable of demonstrating any improvement in our team by working with our players directly, but he'll improve them by mediating through someone else? Honestly, I'm failing to see how this works.

If he can't improve anything as the manager now, what makes you think changing backroom staff is going to help? Unless the backroom staff are going to be taking over the managerment...

If we don't improve here on in, between now and the end of the season, then common sense would tell you he needs sacking in the summer. As it is, little point in making changes.

I don't mean to sound blunt. But if this is not the minimum expectation, then what the **** did we replace Sherwood for?

Dammed if we do, dammed if we don't - how did it ever come to this.

Where I'm at pretty much, if the rest of the season goes like he is now - massive failure. As it is there isn't much to salvage now, and like you said there is no one worth getting to risk making a 3rd start all over again. I'm not anti garde, and was never hugely pro the likes of allardyce either...I was sold by others optimism that this guy was the option who could make us more than the also runners. I'm still not turning on garde, but I'm hugely underwhelmed which is part fault to my blind optimism. Like you, I see no point I'm changing now but I am kicking myself that we didn't go for allardyce back then. I suppose at the time I didn't know how badly we were condemned to relegation. Caught in the excitement of our "best summer ever" when the reality is we need a steady pair of hands to stop the rot.

It's what were facing under the current manager, to which you cite as our long term future so much so over managers who may have been enough to keep us up. Intact, one is currently chipping away slowly at keeping a club in the hunt for survival. The other is yet to chaulk a single win - with teams of similar shitness.

There's no denying that we are under a desperate situation under the current manager, and if you think relegation is going to help our long term future... And if you gave everyone at the time the benefit of hindsight, staying in this league under Allardyce or relegation under Garde I think you know what the resounding choice would be.

Seems like Fat sam might just do it, yet again, with Sunderland. Individually, the players we have are not worse than Sunderlands merry band of misfits...

I'd have sooner one of those had kept us in this league, than the drop we're now facing...all day long. You're just hoping on a whim, from what I'm reading, that the long term will be better after we've been relegated under Garde.

It's not even opinion, that statement is just wrong...