Neil

Well just as I'd pointed out, and even since Chelsea, he has demonstrated improving teams as well as some not so good appointments. It's a long career and has a lot of ups and downs, but you'd take a punt that the downs have been learning experiences. Ranieri just wasn't at the forefront of anyones mind I would say, but if you'd asked me at the time Garde or Ranieri - I'd have said Ranieri because Garde has such a small CV of nothing note worthy. Overall Ranieris win rate is enough to give us a top 10 side, for want of any better statistic.

Yeah, your post wasn't the best example of what I was trying to address but it listed previous managers to elude that we've been through so many managers we can't keep blaming them or so it read. I absolutely stand that you can put some blame on all their shoulders (including Garde), because they've just been crap at their job - not entirely their fault they're crap but certainly their crapness is partly at fault for our demise. But oh yeah, don't get me wrong...the bigger portions of blame are definitely not the managers. The biggest problem is the clown at the top driving the clown car, we're rotten throughout - the recruitment has been shocking. But the right appointment could have pulled the right change at the right time to nick a win somewhere along the 9 game stretch, even with this basket case of players.

I take a little problem with this, in pointing out that those are all pretty much true. For a long time now, we've taken bargain basement managers that nobody else has shown any interest in - who haven't really achieved anything worthy of note. To put it bluntly, for a shit as the team has been - we've taken just as shit managers. Again, so many love to discount all manner of experience when experience is our best measure of success. Long term experience shows us consistency, and chances of success at repeating what those experiences have been. We've really gambled on some crap along the lines, Mcleish was best known for relegating blues twice and the rest is just managing a few scotish teams. Tim Sherwood, his managerial experience is all of half a season at spurs - that's it. Anything else Sherwood did was not as a manager, it was the wrong appointment at the time but actually turned out okay as he kept us up but since then the walls came crashing down. Now our latest manager is really just a guy who managed a French team for a few seasons and spectacularly kept them run of the mill...wowzers. There is really nothing else, because that is the full extent of his managerial experience, to give good indication that he's likely to be a success here. All of them have been largely unknowns, none of our managers have gone on to leave the Villa and achieve anything of note for some 10 years or so. Most of the managers we've picked up have been out of work with good reason I would suspect... Someone said that even the best manager in the world couldn't get this team playing, how can anyone say that when we haven't even had one close. Let's just be honest, our team is shite but we haven't done ourselves any favors in the management recruitment either. And to put that into context, people have pinned hopes on the Leicester blue print. They went out and got a manager with bags of experience that spans over years, and he has some great plaudits to boot in improving teams performances (as well as some not so successful tenures).

All names that have been ripped to pieces, rightly so...but still, like you say this fantasy xenophobia is laughable. Any excuse?

I totally agree, I despair at the amount of "can't blame garde" posts. He might not be to blame for what we were, but he is surely part of the problem of where we are now and rightly apportions part of the blame. Even for our lousy set of players, there is a a good fitting manager...right guy for the right circumstances and all. At the minute he's not looking like the guy, but I think more time is required than knee jerk firing. I just can't have these posts saying he can't be blamed.

Wed probably bag more goals by sheer luck, our current squad is that bad that they defy chance.

A really bad one, reminds me if the one in "true lies". We need Arnie to come exterminate the lot.

Stevie wonder wouldn't be detrimental to the team at the minute

I think on what little we've really seen, and know, I'd say he's possibly better...and worth finding out if that's true or not.

Just us fans left scratching to get out...

Seems to be popular nowadays to discount experience, relegation battle experience...championship experience, etc, etc. The one thing that worries me a lot is a lack of experience in building a side, buying the right players, to get us out of the championship.

I think this is what it has become. I keep telling my self it's too early to judge, but I think this is what it may have been all along...

Yep, if we continue like we are, and go down in this way, then we can say hello to Bolton on our way past to relegation from the championship. Relegation on this form will be toxic for us, and only a miracle could resolve it.

I still think it's too early to judge what this guy could be ultimately capable of, though in the same time span with similar results my mind was made up with Sherwood. I do think though, if I was forced to pass judgement I'd say Garde has been shit - and probably put him down as failure. And if I could forsee what I've seen now, and asked whether I wanted him to come in the first place - then I would probably say no.

Losing, by two goals, to that Sunderland team...that is a double-unforgivable. Not really seeing what we've gained under this manager, and to think we turn our noses at Allardyce in our situation...

Kozak and traore, second half double substituted to link up for 2 goals bringing us back from 1 nil down. You heard it here first

Dunno if I'm imagining but seen his name on the team sheet today.

Happily ever after - in the championship *sobs*

It's another record we've smashed, worst new manager bounce ever.

Kind of presumptuous to assume we'll beat our fellow shit of the league. They're all actually doing better than us, we're at the bottom of the shit pack.

Well, very much my opinion is nobody is sending us down but us. Our gutless performance from the top down has ultimately signed our fate.

Yeah I know, but there in lies my problem. I work away all week, so I won't be home for home games. They seem to be minimized to Mondays in the prem, which is doable

New years resolution for our players must be score **** goals, hopfully make a start on that sooner than later with Sunderland. We have to beat them just to be in with an odds against chance, don't beat them and it's officially over.

I will renew my season ticket, but I'm really worried how many games I'll have to miss because of the shit championship scheduling..especially mid week games as I work away all week.

To talk about Lerner, I wouldn't intervene a firing squad if the power was in my hands...with no regrets