GeordieVillan

There's definitely a way back for him. All he needs a couple of wins that bring us back into the mid-table pack and everything could and will look very different. If we were to somehow win 2 of the next 3 games for example, the pressure would ease significantly. Its not great at the moment - but he's certainly not beyond redemption yet. Can you really see us winning 2 of the next 3 games? I think it's entirely possible that we'll be approaching December still on 4 points. Absolutely, we could be going into the xmas fixtures 9 points adrift of 17th. Yes that is also possible. It could go either way. Its unlikely, based on we've seen in the past 6-7 games that Sherwood can turn it around, but I would think he's going to have the next 2-3 games at least to do so, and its plausible that we could pick up some results.

There's definitely a way back for him. All he needs a couple of wins that bring us back into the mid-table pack and everything could and will look very different. If we were to somehow win 2 of the next 3 games for example, the pressure would ease significantly. Its not great at the moment - but he's certainly not beyond redemption yet. Can you really see us winning 2 of the next 3 games? I think it's entirely possible that we'll be approaching December still on 4 points. Its unlikely, but I'm just saying I don't think its at the point where there is no way back for him. He certainly hasn't burned his bridges - he's made some strange calls, people are seriously questioning him, but he's not overseen embarrassing collapses in individual games. The feeling at the moment is one of massive frustration, rather than one total lack of hope. What if we win 1 and raw 2 of the next 3 games, I think people would feel differently then as well. There is loads of permutations of results in the next few games that could see him save himself and not look back. It is still very early days, and while we are on a bad run, we've lost games at the margins, by one goal, and in each game things could easily have gone differently. For the avoidance of doubt, I'm not saying we are going to go on an amazing run, I'm just saying its not impossible.

There's definitely a way back for him. All he needs a couple of wins that bring us back into the mid-table pack and everything could and will look very different. If we were to somehow win 2 of the next 3 games for example, the pressure would ease significantly. Its not great at the moment - but he's certainly not beyond redemption yet.

Regarding Tim's post match comments which are genuinely quite worrying for everyone - I think its really difficult for a manager to say anything in the current run of form and not be totally vilified. Tim is trying to be quite honest without hanging himself out to dry - and we are obviously analysing every word for some deeper meaning of what is actually going through his head (or if anything is going through his head!). Lambert by contrast gave nothing away, never really gave any insight and repeated the same stuff like "we go again" - and he was given all kinds of abuse for not speaking his mind and being honest about how bad the team is playing. Regardless of how culpable Tim is for the team's current position - at least he's saying something of substance post match, and usually at least 80% of what he is saying reflects what I think has happened during the games.

That's a fine, but if then why has Sherwood changed it if that could still work? He says he's going to keep changing until he finds something that works, but we won't know what works until he gives a system a longer run. We could get a lucky win with a system that is poor long term, and lose with a system that would suit us perfectly. What he seems to be saying is that he'll change every time we fail to get a result and we're hardly going to get a consistent, settled and fluid plan with that approach. Honestly, I think he's lost his bottle a little bit. I think he saw that Leicester has us massively under the cosh for the first 15 mins of that second half (prior to his subs), and he think we don't have 2 central midfielders who are good enough to hold their own when under pressure. Central midfield has been the curse of this club since the Barry-Petrov partnership. We have never had 2 players good enough to control a game (or large parts of the game), so we always end up playing 3 same-ish central midfielders tight in midfield. Because none of the 3 midfielders is a goalscorer (think Ian Taylor) or a no.10 (think Grealish of Gil), in addition to lacking width, we lack creativity and runners getting into the box, and this is one of the reasons we are very boring most of the time. I personally think Gana plus another would be a decent 2 in midfield for us now.

I too wasn't expecting the world but as a minimum I would have liked to see us on 10 points (realistically 12 points) given the relatively soft start we had. What does he need to do in the next two games to save his job? I think if we avoid a heavy defeat at Chelsea (i.e lose only 1-0) and then beat Swansea then that will be enough to keep his job in the short term. But then the pressure is on the games following. Because of our current position, he needs at least 3 points from Chelsea/Swansea, and then at least 4 points from the 4 games after that, before we face Watford, which is a must win. If he can do that, then I think he will keep his job through December. Looking at our fixtures though - I have no fear of us playing Spurs, Southampton and Everton - we are entirely capable of picking up results against these teams, even if our current position would suggest otherwise. Alot of this will depend on - 1) If we take a hiding from someone .e.g. if Chelsea murder us then the pressure will be on to for Sherwood to go. 2) If Newcastle and Sunderland start picking up results. As soon as we go bottom of the table, psychologically the pressure to sack Sherwood might be too much for Fox.

I agree with that... but what happens if he beats Chelsea, then uses the same formation/personnel against Swansea and loses? Those quotes seriously worry me. If it wasn't for those, I'd be with yourself and TRO (for example) in a slightly more positive frame of mind. Those quotes though. Read them again. Oh my True - but I actually understand where he's coming from in his quotes. As squad, we have loads of options, but nothing which jumps out immediately as our starting 11. We don't have an all round striker, we don't have a goal scoring central midfielder (although perhaps Veretout might become this), Guzan is still a concern to many, we lack genuine wingers with Traore injured who can provide service to Gestede (although we do have players who can cross the ball). Its not obvious what our best team is, although obviously this is what Sherwood is being paid to determine. I keep banging on about it, but had it not been for last half an hour at Leicester, I think we would be playing 4-2-3-1 with Grealish and Gil both as part of the 3, and then the other spot on the striker position up for grabs, certainly before Traore returns. I also think that we shouldn't underestimate just how important Traore might be for us when he comes back. He's the kind of play who will need 2 players marking him (full back and winger), and that will leave space for others in midfield. I don't believe that Grealish or Gil require this (2 players marking them) because they aren't as explosive, but with Traore in the team, it will free up more space for them. If there is one thing that I will stick up for Sherwood on - its Grealish. I don't think he's been pulling up trees so far this season. His swagger this season appears to look more lazy, and I thought he was very poor second half against Stoke. Conversely, I agree with the vast majority on Gil - he's been great every time he's been involved - he currently should be one of the first 2 names on the team sheet, the other being Richards. I am incredibly disappointed with how things are going, as I expected a few more points, not alot more, but a few more, and a much more expansive style - and I'm confused as to whats going on. But lets see what happens in the next 2 games. As it is, we havn't been embarrassed by any team we have played, we've lost by single goals, and in most games the opposition have been penned back for large periods while we have tried to get back in the game - that is something at least.

The funny thing is - there's very little chance of him being sacked before the next 2 games are played - so if he can somehow conjure up a couple of results, everything might turn for him again. As a club - we are all about momentum - we go on good runs where we put a string of results together, and then we go on bad runs where we look like we've never even seen a football before. Its been like this since Gregory, although sadly the bad runs last much longer these days. He's currently staring down the barrel of a gun, but its not impossible that he could turn it around.

I also think it's very easy to say that Allardyce could come in, or whoever else, and turn things around and make things OK for now, but there is absolutely no guarantee of that. Are we forgetting his stint at Newcastle? I think that is a far more familiar situation to us right now than his work at over achieving clubs he got promoted. Allardyce was on target to keep Newcastle up that year. They were outside the drop zone when they sacked him IIRC, and Shearer then oversaw a deterioration which saw them relegated...

I wouldn't sack him yet - our next run of fixtures is so tough that any new manager would struggle anyway. I also really want Tim to succeed. Its really sad that we (and he) are in this position. If we could just win a couple of games and get ourselves in with pack i.e. away from Newcastle and Sunderland, I think the fans would give him some time. The Leicester game has really destroyed everything. Despite Chelsea's collapse, that game is still a free hit, so lets hope we can nick something. I really want Tim to survive and continue what he's building. That being said, I wouldn't complain if we brought in Big Sam, I think he could make us a very effective team which would comfortably finish mid-table for next few years at least. I actually think he has the ability to do more than that to be honest, given the opportunity.

Came to say this. I don't think I can survive another bus parker or hoofball merchant, "safe" or not. said it before I would rather go down than have a Allardyce or Pulis in charge 100% disagree with this. You would rather risk going into the football abyss than appoint managers who have proven track records in organising teams effectively and keeping them in the the league. Absolute madness. Allardyce has even built attractive teams at West Ham and Bolton, and Pulis did the same at Crystal Palace. Quite honestly, I don't ever remember a Villa team getting an easy game against an Allardyce or Pulis team, whereas I think most other teams get an easy game against us! Tony Pulis has never built a good football team, he was at Palace 6 months he inherited most of that squad and it was hardly Swansea to watch. As for Allardici he was sacked from West Ham for the same reason Dont want to see our team filled with Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll type players. Took us years to get rid of **** Heskey Pulis used the players he had a Palace and turned them into an effective and entertaining team, albeit for a short time. Allardyce did a very good job at West Ham, and built the foundations which Bilic is taking on now. IMO we need an Allardyce type to steady the ship and turn us into a mid-table team again, rather than a team fighting relegation every year. Once we are established in mid-table, then we can maybe look to take a step up in manager, as West Ham have done. Its a shame looking back that Houlier left, he might have been the man to sort us out.

Thats true, every game we have lost has been by 1 goal only, and we've been "in" every single game until the final whistle. I'll give Sherwood that at least, we havn't been embarrassed in an individual game yet, although I think that will come soon enough.

Came to say this. I don't think I can survive another bus parker or hoofball merchant, "safe" or not. said it before I would rather go down than have a Allardyce or Pulis in charge 100% disagree with this. You would rather risk going into the football abyss than appoint managers who have proven track records in organising teams effectively and keeping them in the the league. Absolute madness. Allardyce has even built attractive teams at West Ham and Bolton, and Pulis did the same at Crystal Palace. Quite honestly, I don't ever remember a Villa team getting an easy game against an Allardyce or Pulis team, whereas I think most other teams get an easy game against us!

Dunno - but its probably the worst year to go down, with the new TV deal kicking in etc.

He's lost me today. The worst thing is - despite being confused by his starting lineup, I liked his pragmatism in trying to keep it tight and nicking an important win - I think if he'd stuck with 3-5-2 then we might have sneaked it, as I actually thought we looked solid and could have kept a clean sheet. Instead, he totally changes the system at half time and leaves us wide open - the midfield set up was a farce second half, and Grealish was terrible when he came on. We should be playing the formation he started with at Leicester - it worked well for 60 minutes and it actually suits the players we have in our squad. Instead, a second half collapse and he's totally bottled it and now we have no strategy whatsoever. The players look lost, regardless of confidence levels. Still, he won't be sacked before Xmas, regardless of whether we get another single point or not. I would take Big Sam now, and I've never said that before.

He's lost me to today. He set us up with 3-5-2 and while everyone in pre-match thread was going mental, I thought - "ok, he's being pragmatic, he's gone solid, with 3 all-rounders in midfield, and Rudy and Sinclair up front". I could see what he was trying to do, and it was ballsy to leave out Gil and Grealish, but I could kind of see why he had done it. He wanted to keep it tight and nick a much needed win and hopefully build from it. As I said in the match thread, IMO we were marginally on top in the first half - Arnoutovic was their only threat, but he was generally running into traffic in midfield when he cut inside, and I genuinely think we could have kept a clean sheet. Crespo looked decent as part of the 3 and Lescott was ok-ish compared to previous games. The midfield 3 actually seemed to have a decent balance and were probing ok. Then it goes wrong. As the fans wanted (certainly those on this board), off goes Lescott and on goes Grealish. Immediately we look more attacking, but we are wide open at the back. 5 minutes into the the second half I predicted we would lose because of this (although I did say 2-0). The goal was not a shock, and was incredibly poor. Regardless of the defenders positioning, where the hell was our midfield? Johnson has acres of space with no-one putting any pressure on him at all. Further subs are made and we throw everything forward. As usual Villa are great at going forward when they have nothing to lose, but show no urgency or attacking intent when the game is 0-0. At full time, my wife turns to me and says "why do you even bother watching anymore, you always lose". She's **** right, thats why its not funny! I've never wanted rid of a manager like this before (not Lambert or McLeish or anyone), but he's really lost me today. I feel sorry for him as he has literally tried every possible formation and selection of players and he just can't get it to work. Barring a collapse at Leicester, I think he might have hit the winning formula, but he didn't stick with it the next game to give it a proper chance. What makes it more painful is that this is actually a very decent squad on paper, certainly good enough to be comfortably safe, and Sherwood is the man who has brought alot of these players in! We genuinely have proper players in most positions, barring a really good all-round striker, but we seem to have a totally different set up every week. The players look lost now. However given our forthcoming fixtures, there is probably no point in changing manager now, as they will struggle to get anything from our next fixtures and the new manager bounce will be wasted. We are going to have Sherwood until the Newcastle game at least - even if we don't win a game before then. Hopefully he pulls a rabbit out of the hat and saves his job and our season before then. I've never ever said this about any manager of ours previously - SHERWOOD OUT. p.s. Everyone was average in terms of the players, I didn't think there was any stinking performances or stand-outs, although Grealish was very poor today when he came on, he looked lazy and sloppy, and Gil on the other hand looked great - bags of energy and drive. But I guess if you play both of these guys every week, at least one will play ok.

Classic Villa this. Only start playing when losing. He might as well bring on Gil for Veretout now.

We are wide open here since the half time change. I reckon we are gonna lose 0-2.

How the **** has Charlie Adam not been booked yet.

Grealish on for Lescott - I hope this works out, as this is what everyone here is asking for!

7 attempts to our 1 46% v 54% possession Do you think 7 attempts to 1 actually indicates how the game has gone? I would say we have been marginally the better team. Get off the internet Tim, you've got a team talk to give. Honestly, it's **** ludicrous that anyone could watch that half and think we were on top. Garbage. There's nothing in the game at all. My view is we are marginally on top, others might feel differently - but your comment suggests we are being dominated which simply isn't the case.

7 attempts to our 1 46% v 54% possession Do you think 7 attempts to 1 actually indicates how the game has gone? I would say we have been marginally the better team.

Based on how the game is going, I think it would be an error to bring on both Grealish and Gil at half time. We are well in the game with our midfield 3. The half time change should be Sinclair off and Ayew on. Everyone else has done ok.

I've watched the game and havn't seen the stats - but it seems very much 50/50 to me. Our midfield 3 are doing ok - a decent mix and they all show a bit of ambition to get forward. I guess the change at some point will be to take off Crespo and bring on Grealish or Gil. My half time change would be to bring Ayew on for Sinclair though. Nil-nil stops the rot for us, but it still not enough - we need a win today.

I'm staggered by this team selection. I can only assume like others that we has gone for 3 at the back. Can't believe neither Grealish or Gil are starting. The silver lining is that at least only one of Westwood/Sanchez are starting. I hope you've pulled a blinder with this team selection Tim, because if we lose today, I think its going to get a bit messy.