BG_Villa_Fan

7 minutes ago, lexicon said:

Somewhere between 100cm and 200cm, I believe.

Phew! Definitely taller than Tommy Elphick then. 

That was offside  didn't even bother to check it. 

So another ex Barca player? When do we finally announce Messi?

I know I know, too old, no resale value, etc.

50 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

I think he is probably leaving. 

You don't say.

It's becoming a tradition to get players from Barca. Proper feeder club we have. 

1 minute ago, MaVilla said:

imagine Coutinho and Buendia behind a striker.......yikes.

 

Sure, but let's hope it'll work for us 

59 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

Apologies if this has been posted already...

That is very strongly worded from Gerrard and leaves us in no doubt who is responsible for our transfers should they go tits up. I wonder if Deano had the same mandate. 

A very interesting question indeed. It did seem at times as if there were two separate hubs of decision making when it came to transfers, sort of similarly to how it was under Sherwood. Probably not the best set up but then again, considering they've had to completely rebuild the whole squad, they've done a very good job overall. Some mistakes were to be expected but I'd argue that even the less impactful ones ( Wesley, Heaton, Trez ) played a role, weren't complete duds, and were unlucky because of terrible injuries. Now, apparently it wasn't all great because Suso did lose his job and took the fall, but the scope was enormous when we were promoted with half a squad under contracts. 

14 minutes ago, Mantis said:

If Smith was the "soul" of the club, how come we were putting in performances just like this one week in week out before he got sacked?

It's as if you didn't read or didn't understand my post. I'm not blaming Gerrard. I'm not defending Smith. I don't think there'd have been much of a difference between them in terms of the big picture. We had something good going at the club, something that might have been able to carry us above our weight, but they've allowed it to slip away and now we seem like a club that has no identity or direction.  

Soulless team.

Dean Smith and Grealish were the soul of this club and it's been ripped off. It'll be difficult for Gerrard to do much, regardless of slightly positive or slightly negative performances. 

10 minutes ago, theboyangel said:

The fact that a slight tap results in both feet being launched off the floor should be a bit of a giveaway whether it was a foul or not.

The game now favours simulation and cheating more than trying to stay on your feet and playing football. 
 

 

All comes down to refereeing again. Last season Watkins had quite a few occasions when he tried playing through contact in the penalty area and wasn’t given a penalty for genuine fouls, say at West Ham, simply because he stayed on his feet.

More recently he’s been trying to fall down when there’s contact but he looks so clumsy because it’s not natural for him, and he’s always rejected again.

It’s up to the referee to set a standard for what a foul is and what a penalty is but we see again and again there’s little consistency when making a decision. 

12 minutes ago, theboyangel said:

A foul for me is an act which fully impedes or prevents a player from completing a move, albeit a shot, pass or positioning.

nowadays, a foul is any slight contact that a player can overreact to and fall to the ground. 

They’re not being fully impeded and could still travel with or move the ball.

The modern game has allowed the excuse of ‘the player has every right to go to ground if they’re touched’ to become the benchmark of what a foul is. 

It’s frustrating and not in the spirit of sportsmanship. 

This is absolutely true, however, refs are at fault for another widely accepted misconception - unless a player falls down there’s no foul/penalty. 

It’s still incredible how 4 or 5 refs, with all the benefits of technology, can still get so many decisions wrong. A random decision generator wouldn’t do worse.

10 hours ago, KangarooVillan said:

Cool, so both of those things were opinions, just wanted to clarify.

Really? What gave it away? Do we have to write 'imo' after every sentence on a message board in order not to be mistakenly taken for an ITK? 

Fwiw I also believe Purslow and Gerrard wouldn't have the snake back. To clarify - I haven't personally talked to them, just imo. 

1 minute ago, The_Steve said:

Oh damn. Truly on the sesh the night before. Did we all choose to ignore it? 

We didn't. We knew it. We were OK with it. 

8 minutes ago, AshVilla said:

I just hope we sign no Rangers players.

Nor Liverpool rejects.

4 hours ago, VillaJ100 said:

I think most people wanting him to 'flop' really just want to think we've rinsed City for £100 mil 

No, I want him to fail because he's a snake and because finishing his career at West Ham and West brom would suit him. 

36 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

A very simple way to conform what SG is doing compared to DS  is to ( taking into account he has not been in charge very long )compare DS last 5 games to SG first 5 games....All with the same squad of players.

It's not simple, it's simplistic. 

2 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

First Answer, GT. Second, Joe Mercer. You asked.

I did. So it's been 30 years and 15 managers since the last one who went to a better job. Odds are Gerrard wouldn't manage to do so. If he does it'd be great for the position Villa would be left in.

2 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

So maybe we'll come back to this post if and when SG leaves and if he has been successful it will be very interesting to gauge the atmosphere amongst the chosen. 

My money would be on a very embittered, pissed off fan - base.

Personally, I don't care for Steven Gerrard or his career aspirations. I only care about what he does as a Villa manager. If he does so well that bigger clubs come calling then so be it. At least he hasn't said stupid things like 'My club' when signing a contract with an out clause in it. 

19 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

So that would make it okay ? I'm really tired of hearing that line.

It actually would be, yes. Who was the last Villa manager to leave for a bigger job? Or have success anywhere after leaving? 

15 hours ago, jimmygreaves said:

Forward kicks/trips defender. Defender falls. Forward remembers to also fall.

If anyone thinks this is a stonewall penalty, then they have whatever the opposite of claret and blue specs is. 

16 hours ago, useless said:

he reluctanlty left believing that we'd be better off with £100m to spend and hoping he could return one day - but for now he's a Man City player.

Great satire 

1 hour ago, Sam-AVFC said:

Doesn't that perfectly illustrate how our management can make better, more informed decisions than us?

Blasphemy!  You want to shut down the internets or what? 

Love the man, he's doing a great job considering the circumstances. He's not had a settled squad yet this season, so there's a reason to hope for gradual improvement. 

That said, I'll call my inner Villalad and say that I don't think they're doing the 3-5-2 thing very well at all. Especially when it comes to building up the play from the back - the wing backs are too high up the pitch and rarely present themselves as options for the center back with the ball to pass to. Very often even Nakamba and Luiz were missing too and there was no one to pass to in order to advance the ball, leading to poor long passes. They've lost the ball in dangerous areas multiple times because of this and it'll be punished against better pressing teams. Obviously, it takes time to adjust to new formations, but I think they have to change some things tactically if they're looking to proceed with this formation. 

1 minute ago, Rightdm00 said:

That's my hope, they did the ligament and meniscus test so hopefully it's just a sprain  

Exactly. Although knee sprains could take a long time to heal as well. 

The fact physios checked his knee out thoroughly and didn't immediately sub him should be assuring it's not a tear at the very least. I hope.

They didn't have any fight or leadership on and off the pitch, they just lied down and got beat. We've seen this from past Villa teams, we know exactly what it is and how it feels. If they think they'll turn it around they're mistaken. It's not even about the players or who they could add before the transfer window closes. Club is deeply rotten.