ChesterDad

3 minutes ago, Xela said:

I might be a happy clapper but I want all managers here to do well. Perhaps i'm an eternal optimist... or deluded 

We would all want this - it’s just I can’t see him being the right man to make this happen.

55 minutes ago, Tomaszk said:

 

A fantastic post on Reddit from u/Lukesomnia 

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For those fans of rival clubs who think Villa fans wanting him out is an over reaction or too soon, I’ll break it down.

On the assumption we lose against Man City this weekend, a fair assumption, then Gerrard’s record over the last 17 league matches (since March) will be:

Won 3, Drawn 3, Lost 11 (12 points from 51).

Let’s have a look at Dean Smith’s last 17 league matches in charge:

Won 6, Drawn 2, Lost 9 (20 points from 51).

Gerrard’s wins came against Norwich, Burnley (both relegated), and Everton.

Smith’s wins came against Everton (x2), Newcastle, Chelsea, Spurs, and Man Utd.

Purslow said that the reason for sacking Smith was because he hadn’t showed the continued progression and improvement that Villa expected - and yet Gerrard’s current form over the season would leave us with 27 points… Relegated.

Now these are just the results, the performances are much worse - in fact I don’t think we’ve had an xG above 1xG so far this season, and we’ve had a few performances less than 0.5xG. Not everyone likes xG, but it’s difficult to describes just how lifeless and toothless and boring we are in the final 3rd. It’s incredible that a team with Coutinho, Buendia, Bailey, Watkins and Ings are just so boring and frustrating to watch.

Not only that, but Gerrard has a better squad than Smith did - and hasn’t been hamstrung by the same issues Smith faced at the start of last season (due to COVID we essentially had half a pre-season, and both assistant coaches left shortly before the season started, as well as Grealish).

That’s before you get into the dire tactics, inflexibility, lopsided squad building, ostracising key players, freezing out popular players, freezing out pretty much any player on a whim, and his general demeanour around the club.

He has turned what was a very positive fan base into one loathing every match day in 10 months. It’s just not fun to be a Villa fan at the moment, it’s boring and miserable. And a few plucky results won’t change that.

Stick a fork in him, he’s done.

I make you right - there is now a feeling of apathy and doom around the club. Gerrard offers no connection to the club whatsoever imo, and us fans do pick up on this, as a consequence he is afforded very little slack.

if truth be told it was a ridiculous appointment and one doomed to failure, pretty much like Bruce really.

3 hours ago, MaVilla said:

so pretty much what with have none of in our team?

I kinda think that is very subjective tbh with you.

I think there is plenty of energy in the team. I actually think there is also plenty of quality in the squad, I just don’t think they are being coached, schooled, managed, whatever - this is down to you know who 

I’m pretty much non plussed about this signing tbh - based on a good friend who has a season ticket at dingles and whose opinion I trust - he told me, he is a work horse, but not much else 

McLeish at home to Bolton and Bruce the moment he walked through the door - awful appointment and destined for one outcome 

1 hour ago, Stevo985 said:

I wouldn't be blown away by this one under normal circumstances. I do actually like him as a player but not sure he's good enough to be first choice for where we're aiming for.

But given the situation with Carlos getting injured I can understand we may not be in the position to get a player like that.

He's certainly an upgrade on Hause and probably on the current form of Konsa too

He might be on Hause - but not Konsa - not even an out of form Konsa 

39 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

He's kind of another McGinn imo.

Water carrier, lots of energy, running and hardwork but very limited technical ability. 

Not really what we need imo. Good squad cover for McGinn, but Nakamba already provides that.

 

As cover/replacement for a more technical player like Luiz I don't think it's a great signing, in fact I think it's a downgrade, and just another midfielder in the same mould as the ones we already have.

I have a dingles season ticket holder mate  who says the same - not one to get over excited about!

6 minutes ago, Spoony said:

Targett was better

There is a rizla paper between them that’s for sure 

7 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

I hate to say it but he is a super sub. He’s always rubbish when he starts. It’s probably the only thing that Gerrard is getting right.

The issue I have with this is that he is never given enough of a run to build and sustain confidence/momentum - it was not difficult to predict a difficult night for him.

it feels like that unless he is motm and scores a worldy each game, then he is benched  this is unfair and unrealistic imo.

He needs to be told his shirt is safe for 7-10 games minimum and then he can be appraised more realistically 

30 minutes ago, ciggiesnbeer said:

The Wolves game. Which we lost.

Here is an article from this year by a Wolves reporter congratulating Wolves for avoiding getting suckered into buying Sanson to who they were linked previously. 

https://www.footballfancast.com/wolves-news/wolves-36m-transfer-howler-villa-sanson


 

That’s an unrealistic stick to beat him with - you could flip it and argue that a player coming in from the cold proved to be our best player, and should have been rewarded with a start for the following game, based on him being our best performer - would you not think?

36 minutes ago, ciggiesnbeer said:

He hasnt earnt any more playing time. He is awful. This dud is on Lange, Purslow and Deano. We cant even shift this deadwood on loan to Turkey. Thats how crap he is.

A worse signing that Habib Beye.

Thats’s really harsh my friend, most villans I know think that the cameo’s he has been afforded have warranted much more of an opportunity.

He was our best player at wolves last season and his reward was the bench ??

10 hours ago, TRO said:

How did we know Ron Saunders skill set, before we appointed him?....or Brian Little's.....John Gregory was blown away, with his appointment, saying pinch me......He was managing Wycombe, how was he of the quality?

SG was alegedly grilled for 5 hrs in his interview.....what if Nick, he is doing everything right, but its not working for reasons, we don't know.....We simply don't know, all the elements, but just putting 2 +2 together and saying it much be the manager.

If we was winning right now, some of the speculative claims would be ignored.....much is being conjured up to feed the narrative of sacking him.

If what is being said mainly on here( because there was renditions during the game of SG's claret and blue army) is right.....He will be replaced.

The hierarchy will know, if my suspicions are unfounded, and he will get sacked.....if he is kept on, I suspect, there is more to it, than meets the eye.

It will all come out in the wash.

 

 

With all due respect TRO - this is a tad convoluted if you don’t mind me saying so.

Its painfully there for all to see - Gerrard can’t get a tune out of a group of pretty talented individuals - I’m not suggesting we are world beaters by any stretch of the imaginations - but we are a darn sight better than the current fayre.

Its got to be down to Gerrard/ Tactics/ Leadership/ Man management and so forth.

We are sleepwalking a road that is taking us nowhere - in my humble opinion it’s time to draw a line with him and move towards. 

3 minutes ago, El-Reacho said:

I don’t remember Garde being disliked in anyway. The other managers you’ve mentioned (including SG) had massive egos to the point of arrogance and very little to back it up. Garde tried to go about his business quietly and efficiently but was just massively out of his depth. Most of the anger was toward Lescott/Richards/Gabby etc. who were utterly toxic when Garde tried to impose any level of discipline at the club.

I make you right - Garde was on mission impossible.

For me Bruce is the worst of the lot, total Charlatan of a manager imo and not a guy I would want in the trench with me ( Sheff wed fans say hi) 

McLeish was a terrible choice of manager for us - but I do believe he is a genuine character, I don’t blame him for taking our job, but we all knew how it would end.

Gerrard’s reign now has all the hallmarks of Bruce’s spell and we are sleepwalking to the same outcome - when you have lost the fans, it’s a very long road back. Whilst I would not say he has lost all the fans - 2-3 defeats from now and I believe he will have.

15 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Roy Keane

Gary Neville

won more, played more often at the top ends were horrible managers…I can name loads more the same,

Bobby Charlton is another classic case in point 

46 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Another one gerrrads screwed over.

Absolutely destroying that team spirit that deano worked so hard to create

Absolutely agree - I just can’t fathom out why he wouldn’t be given some minutes - I know if I were a manager under pressure, I would be using every tool at my disposal ?

49 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

@Tom13 If it helps, at this point, I feel the Manager not seeming to know what he's doing, far outweighs any weaknesses i may see in the squad.

However I do think we also overrate our squad, and that it's unbalanced.

For me - this squad should be doing an awful lot more, we are underachieving massively in my view.

How can a team with players like Buendia, Coutinho, Bailey, Ings, combine to look so inept? 
The buck has to stop with the manager - and I’ll never forgive him for letting our most mercurial and entertaining player go? Bertie should be in our match day squad - ridiculous decision to let him go imo 

3 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

I'm not sure I've ever known the fanbase to be so unanimous in wanting a manager out. Even by the end of Bruce's tenure he had more support than Gerrard has. I'm sure even McLeish had some backers by the end.

I don't know a single Villa fan who wants Gerrard to stay

That’s quite a big call  tbh with you I feel  - I don’t recall much if any support for McLeish, he was well and truly done going into the Norwich game, probably the Bolton game was the one that really signalled the end for him there wasn’t any turning things around - I see lots of similarities in how the Bruce, tenure ended and I see these in Gerrard now to be truthful with you. 

2 hours ago, Jas10 said:

Best player in matches, best player in training, yet he’s not a regular starter…
 

 

Utterly bizarre - he be a nailed on starter for the majority of prem teams 

49 minutes ago, ciggiesnbeer said:

Joined: Jan 26, 2021         Contract expires: Jun 30, 2025

https://www.transfermarkt.com/morgan-sanson/profil/spieler/174094

This has been just terrible business. 18M pissed away on a player who is useless. How do I know he is useless? Because two different coaching setups have ignored him even when desperate for midfielders.

Awful scouting, awful transfer. This one is on Lange & Purslow. They bought a dud and Deano was sucker enough to sign off on it.

Grats on the payout Morgan, I have no idea how we are going to shift a player who isnt even good enough to make the bench for the league cup these days.

Terrible transfer. 



 

I really struggle to to understand your point of view with all due respect.

I don’t believe their is a Villa fan who can give a full and Frank assessment of him, simply because he hasn’t played enough  minutes - what I will say with confidence is that the minutes he has played have shown him to be more than competent and without question worthy of more opportunities to prove his worth. 
I personally wouldn’t place a great deal of faith in Gerrard’s assessment of a player and I’m pretty sure he was injured for most of his time under Deano?

Definitely want him around the place and will score some important goals this season, but not a shoe in for me 

He simply has to start - he is our best player and some.

The team should be primed to go through him at every opportunity unfortunately it won’t and he be off come next summer at the latest.

We have a gem on our hands and we’re letting it slip through the fingers.

At the end of the day I want to be entertained by Villa - we’ve just let our most entertaining player go, let’s not lose our best player please ! 

With the squad we have I struggle to understand why we lack this - to be honest I do blame the manager for this.

I believe Buendia should be told he has the next 10 games to nail his place, he is easily the best player we have and deserves this little slice of luxury - I also feel that Watkins doesn’t help with a lot of his rash decision making imo

1 hour ago, PaulC said:

I firmly believe in sticking with a manager. I know it doesn't look good but as Tro mentioned with Arteta these things can take a long time. 

But surely Arteta had a better pedigree than Gerrard when he got our gig? He worked under Pep and by all accounts is a tactical genius  

Serious question - would he have got game time under Gerrard ? I am really not sure he would have, so this begs the question why let Bertie go - when surely he could have served the team in equal measures to Sarr and not cost us a penny.

This just seems odd all round for me.

1 hour ago, Reivax_Villa said:

If we don’t sell or loan this guy this window that tells me that Gerrard won’t be here for too long.

A new manager might value him more?

I hope you are right - it’s utter madness that he doesn’t make the match day squad.

He is neat and tidy with a very bad habit of passing to a teammate