VillaJay

Brilliant work, Target has been nowhere near last year's levels, lacks athleticism, but makes up for it with being a very good footballer. Some better finishing on some of those chances and he'd be on 3/4 assists this season.

I agree, this is nonsense. I support Villa, I'm not particularly enthused by Gerrard, however I hope he's the most successful manager we've ever had. Both their performances are intrinsically linked. The fans need to get behind the club and manager now and look forward.

So did Bielsa last season

If Gerrard had proven himself or shown significant potential as a tactician, coach or manager, there would be very little argument. The simple fact is he has proven none of the above and that alone is what makes this a huge risk, we need to take risk, however I'd hope for a more calculated risk. Tim Sherwood had PL experience when we hired him... Gerrard could be exceptional and if he's at villa, I hope he is, however there is very little evidence of that, and with our focus on statistical football now, I'd hope for a more imaginative hire.

Klopp has been beaten 7-2... Hassenhuttl is a good coach with a good footballing philosophy and has done well with his resources at Southampton, good job at RB Leipzig too.

This is an important point, we need to look beyond certain metrics. Our next hire has to have a clear identity to their football, that's why I believe Potter or Hassenhuttl would fit the bill, both play differing styles but have clear identities. It doesn't have to be either of them, but must be a manager that can get this team playing with a clear identity, I don't think Gerrard has shown that so far, and despite Dean doing a brilliant job overall, we never had any clear identity as a team and we're heavily reliant on a superstar in Jack Grealish.

Galtier at nice is interesting, was linked years ago, won Ligue 1 last season with lille and did great work at St Etienne too, going strongly with nice this season too, however only joined in the summer.

Hassenhuttl or Potter for me, not had spectacular careers so far, however both have a clear identity to their style of football and done quietly decent jobs so far. Both are far from faultless, but I believe both would improve this team and are good coaches who have potential to do more with better resources. Gerrard, Lampard et al are all too risky and have yet to show any real identity to their teams style of play.

A real Villa man who has brought some great moments in recent seasons and helped bring positivity back to Villa. The board need to do the right thing now and ensure they've got a top class replacement lined up and ready to go, they can't let this drag on it's not going to help the club and won't help Dean, who should only be remembered with respect as a villa manager who put us back on our feet.

Pressure on him now, he needs to make a couple of big decisions quickly and ensure he gets them right.

We need Dean to turn it around, he may prove to have brought us as far as he can at the end of the season, but I don't believe there is anyone of the level required who would want to come here right now that would give us an instant improvement in style of play and be a long term solution. I really rate Potter as a coach, but again he's a manager that requires patience and would need a season or two to get the team playing his way. Dean deserves another few games at a minimum and ideally we would re-evaluate at the end of the season.

Big game on Friday for Dean and the club, a defeat or even a draw could see him replaced. He's done a brilliant job so far, up there with Little and Gregory in terms of enjoyment for me. I really hope we turn it around and push on under Dean as there's no other manager I'd want us to succeed under right now, however I can see the other side of the argument and there are some red flags and concerns that his tenure has hit it's ceiling. Bielsa has had a shocker of a start this season (Different resources granted) but he's a top coach who I expect to turn it around due to his teams clear identity. The fear with this villa team right now is there has been a lack of identity throughout his tenure and doesn't look like improving anytime soon. Potter for me would be the ideal replacement if Dean can't turn it around quickly. He's not achieved a lot in terms of pl positions, but he's a young coach with a clear identity to his football and his Brighton team are miles ahead of this villa team in terms of playing style, another team I'd expect in the top 10 this season. We'd need patience with him though as it would take time to get up and running. Despite all that, I hope Dean can do it, he's achieved everything expected of him at villa so far and is still learning.

His touch and technique has never been a strong point for him, but he's struggling In a 2. When he went up top on his own for the last 10 he looked much better, ran into space a couple of times and looked like the Ollie from last season. Starts for me next game, Ings on the bench and let the 2 fight it out for a starting position, can only be good for both.

Shocking performance from Dean and the team, but some of the whinging is embarrassing, this is a 10-12 place team maybe better with some luck. We'll have performances and results like this over the season. We'll also win games we don't expect to too. Inconsistent, ups and downs, this should be another season of consolidation, and trying to break the top 10. Some perspective is needed some times.

This is a game for a player like nakamba and he was brilliant in the 1-0 game last year, we need to be pragmatic in some games in particular 20 in we we were getting battered.

Nakamba should be on for Luiz, running through our midfield

Spurs are a good side and I think some people lost the run of themselves after a few good performances. We're still a work in progress who started without our 2 biggest signings on the pitch today, but looking at the spurs 11 today, it still looked stronger than ours. We're getting close, but still a bit to go.

Reactionary bullshit in this thread today, the lad has played 20 odd games and was far from the worst player on the pitch today, he was positive when he got the ball, always had his head up looking for a forward pass, but it didn't work out today. Luiz again only 23 was poor and McGinn the senior of the 3 was poor too. This guy is a player, and the same posters who write him off, I've no doubt they wrote grealish off early days(His first 3 seasons!).

Early days, we won't win every game, but the performances are there and we're winning games we deserve to win, which feels more sustainable than some of our wins even last season. Its interesting that the arsenal and spurs fans celebrate Utd getting beat by us, the truth is they are miles away from challenging at the top and we should be looking to usurp both of those sides this season, which would be another huge step forward for the club.

Totally agree, each of their front 3 are capable of winning games on their own, and that midfield 3 let's them do their stuff, their middle 3 rarely contributes directly to goals scored. Our middle 3 just need to win their battles and let Bailey/Watkins/Ings/Traore/Buendia score and create the goals.

Only turned 23 in the summer, a Brazil international, Olympic gold winner and an Aston villa player. Needs a new contract asap. Only going to accumulate in value.

I agree to a point, but there's still so much more that goes on too with positioning in the box and also defending set pieces too, which is also a large part of the job.

What a signing! Brilliant in the air, strong and quick. Looks awkward on the ball, but every bit a premier league player and for 3m too!

To be fair the Liverpool midfield 3 have always looked workmanlike and look at the Utd midfield 2 today, you'd be hard pressed to call any of those players world beaters on their own. Our midfield 3 look like a unit and thats what's needed, let the flair players and match winners like Kourtney Hause win the game!

Motm today for me, was excellent.