Woody1000 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I'm waiting for the Parma game to give me some optimism for the season ahead...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Feeling pretty pissed off with everything at the club; 1. An owner who doesn't care and hasn't since Martin O'neill left and arguably before. Leaves the club rudderless and with no strategy and even if we had one no goals that we have to achieve other than survival and he's not even put the tools in place to achieve that. 2. A manager who could do well for us given the tools but is suffering from that lack of a decent owner and as he is the public face of our performances is also receiving the backlash of the fan base some of whom are unable to see past him to the root cause of our issues 3. A club who is unable to compete at the level of fans expectations for it and has stopped trying 4. A squad of players assembled without a clear plan and therefore put together ad hoc and rag tail way built up over various past managers and their way of doing things, not assembled to play together and built out of necessity rather than want 5. A fan base who are apathetic, disillusioned and arguing amongst themselves. Some the club could do without and some who because they are unable or unwilling to see what is happening are just arguing the same stuff from the same perspective as they have been doing since they started supporting the club. 6. A disunited team from top to bottom with the club now splitting from the fans and banning fan clubs from criticising the club or its employees. 7. All this happening in a game that has changed beyond all recognition from the game i first fell in love with 40+ years ago and even though the changes are not for the better it is still the game and we have to move with the changes or die as a club and that is where i very much fear we are headed. Who will want to buy us now? Our chance our big buyout chance to compete was when Lerner bought us. Typical Villa when other clubs get bought out by billionaires we get one that cant afford it and is so useless at running a sports franchise he actually takes us backwards from where we were when Doug had us. Now after wasting the last few years to put us in this woeful position who will buy us and throw more money at it to compete? Its not like Man Citeh or Chelsea, we are in a far worse position now than they were when they got bought out. To try and make us competitive now would take the thick end of £600M I would estimate in purchase price, team investment and wages, probably even more. Not just tinkering at a few signings it would mean the removal of 90% of the squad, the management team ( I will concede they will be gone under any new owner anyway) and the behind the scenes management team. Then they would have to put in place revenue earning streams, either legitimate or ones to just avoid the FFP rules. Sorry but the ship has sailed for us and fans still expecting a white knight to ride in and spend a fortune well that aint going to happen for us anymore, this is where we are as a club pure and simple and the blame for that lies squarely at the door of Randolph Lerner, and this is why i maintain and will do until I die HE IS WORSE THAN ELLIS EVER WAS. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted August 5, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2014 (edited) HE IS WORSE THAN ELLIS EVER WAS. Good post Richard There's a saying that you don't judge a manager by what they do for your club, you judge them by what state they leave the club in. If the same was to be said for owners of a club, then I agree, Randy Lerner will leave us in worse state than Ellis did. Everyone says that if Ellis hadn't sold the club when he did we would have been relegated the next season. I fear that could well be the same case now but no one will buy us to save us. Randy should hang his head in shame for the state Villa are in now. So yeah, feeling rather pessimistic. Edited August 5, 2014 by PieFacE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelboyVilla Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Even though it is very pessimistic and depressing I agree with everything there Rich except for the fact that I think Lambo is as poor a manager as Lerner is an owner. Luck rather than skill has kept us up every season so I don't see why a manager who has produced two seasons of horrible turgid football should get any praise whatsoever! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGrath1874 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Even though it is very pessimistic and depressing I agree with everything there Rich except for the fact that I think Lambo is as poor a manager as Lerner is an owner. Luck rather than skill has kept us up every season so I don't see why a manager who has produced two seasons of horrible turgid football should get any praise whatsoever! Maybe if Lambert doesn't get off to a good start Keane will take over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelboyVilla Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Even though it is very pessimistic and depressing I agree with everything there Rich except for the fact that I think Lambo is as poor a manager as Lerner is an owner. Luck rather than skill has kept us up every season so I don't see why a manager who has produced two seasons of horrible turgid football should get any praise whatsoever! Maybe if Lambert doesn't get off to a good start Keane will take over Why does that not cheer me up any? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 As I've said before, it annoys me that Lerner's poor decisions seem to make people look upon Ellis more favourably. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelboyVilla Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 As I've said before, it annoys me that Lerner's poor decisions seem to make people look upon Ellis more favourably. Why? Ellis isn't coming back and it's a fairly pointless excerise anyway? Both have held us back and neither of them will ever go down as a good Chairman. The only difference is Ellis made money from us and Lerner will probably lose money? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villarule123 Posted August 5, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2014 Christ, I haven't followed anything about the club all summer as I needed a long break after the shitness of last season. Are we really bring people like Bent and Hutton back into the fold? Lambert is looking a little silly now after condemning them to the bomb squad last season. With all this added on to the fact our owner doesn't even want to be here, I don't think I've ever felt as low as a Villa fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 (edited) I voted 13th - 16th and 'slightly pessimistic'. As per the last few seasons, we're in a situation where we could finish anywhere between 10th and 20th - so I picked the halfway point. Are we in relegation trouble? Yes we are. I actually think the biggest problem we face is not Lerner or Lambert, but Christian Benteke. Seems an odd thing to be worried about, I guess, but I think there's far, far too much on him to get back into the side and scoring goals immediately. He's had a very bad injury and we're all expecting him to return as a top striker. However, outside of him... where are the goals? Whilst all of Kozak, Agbonlahor, Weimann and Bent can score; I'm struggling to see any of them break 10 league goals this season. Given our recent struggles, I actually feel more confident defensively. Most people seem to dislike Ciaran Clark, but I think he's a genuinely decent defender. Sure, he's made a couple of clangers but name a defender that hasn't? What he is, is comfortable on the ball. I'm fairly happy with Guzan-Clark/Vlaar/Okore as a keeper/back 3 or Guzan/any 2 of the others as a keeper and central defensive pair - the defensive issue is what occurs outside of them. Personally, I'd like to see a back 3 with Richardson/Bennett and Bacuna/Lowton as wing backs but, hell, that seems unlikely. Our biggest issue on the pitch is that midfield. Whilst the components all add something, it's very easily overpowered and nowhere near creative enough going forwards. We better hope Joe Cole sees a lot of playing time in the middle of the park. Delph has the correct attributes to be a decent box-to-box player but seems to often make awful decisions; running into blind alleys or making a poor pass the main ones. Westwood is neat and tidy for retaining possession, but has certainly lacked in the "stopper"/tackling department (let's hope the apparent bulking up over summer has helped out with this). Meanwhile, KEA is a bit of a non-entity for me. He does well in some defensive bits and some attacking areas but none of them consistently and none of them with great conviction. The transfer window is far from closed and I'm still hopeful (God knows why) that we'll make a couple of purchases. After all, even Randy Lerner must realise that a relegated club is nowhere near as attractive a purchase as a Premier League one? However, it's still likely to be a season of consolidation. You've just got to hope we're not too far adrift come the start of November... Edited August 5, 2014 by bobzy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Christ, I haven't followed anything about the club all summer as I needed a long break after the shitness of last season. Are we really bring people like Bent and Hutton back into the fold? Lambert is looking a little silly now after condemning them to the bomb squad last season. With all this added on to the fact our owner doesn't even want to be here, I don't think I've ever felt as low as a Villa fan. Lambert gets criticised for supposedly being stubborn yet when he changes something he's silly? As I've said before, it annoys me that Lerner's poor decisions seem to make people look upon Ellis more favourably. Why? Ellis isn't coming back and it's a fairly pointless excerise anyway? Both have held us back and neither of them will ever go down as a good Chairman. The only difference is Ellis made money from us and Lerner will probably lose money? It annoys me that as time goes on more and more historical revisionism regarding Ellis' tenure at Villa seems to be happening. People can be as critical of Lerner as they like but it shouldn't be forgotten just how terrible Ellis was for this club. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Needle's fallen off my gauge and - in a manner befitting the club itself - I can't afford a replacement. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oaks Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I maybe a sucker for punishment but I can't wait for the season to start. I think when Christian come back we will be stringer than last season, with the return of Okore, N'Zogbia, Kozak, Hutton and Bent, and the signings of Senderos, Cole and Richardson. With a little luck with injuries I think we will survive...Just. At least we know where we stand. At least we know our aims will be realistic. Yes it's horrible where the club is right now. And there's only one man to blame. Hopefully he isn't here for to long. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted August 5, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2014 Ive been a villa fan for 25 years and i have never felt so negative about an up coming season as now...i think there is a huge chance of us being relegated.. A victory against Stoke and a few new signings will change the mood considerably. Keep the faith. Gent, you predict 17-20? Me disappoint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supervillan78 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Everyday I get more and more disillusioned with the club and more and more angry at Lerner. Sunderland, Hull, West Brom have significantly more financial muscle and have all strengthened, while we're scraping the barrel for other clubs freebies and castoffs. If any 'sale' dependents on Premier League survival then Randy NEEDS to get the chequebook out, because this squad IS heading straight to the Championship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 Everyday I get more and more disillusioned with the club and more and more angry at Lerner. Sunderland, Hull, West Brom have significantly more financial muscle and have all strengthened, while we're scraping the barrel for other clubs freebies and castoffs. If any 'sale' dependents on Premier League survival then Randy NEEDS to get the chequebook out, because this squad IS heading straight to the Championship! The three you mention have certainly been flexing their financial muscle but how happy would we be spending £10m (and a 5yr contract!) on a perrenial crock in Rodwell, potentially £14m on Fabio Borini and £10m on an untested striker in Ideye ??? They may have the money but I think it could be better spent. I agree though that Lerner needs to supplement the squad by financially backing Lambert - bizarrely, I think our squad is a little stronger (in depth) already, compared to last year but seriously think we need at least 2-3 'first team' players to consolidate our membership in the Premier League 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelboyVilla Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I maybe a sucker for punishment but I can't wait for the season to start. I think when Christian come back we will be stringer than last season, with the return of Okore, N'Zogbia, Kozak, Hutton and Bent, and the signings of Senderos, Cole and Richardson. With a little luck with injuries I think we will survive...Just. At least we know where we stand. At least we know our aims will be realistic. Yes it's horrible where the club is right now. And there's only one man to blame. Hopefully he isn't here for to long. Why do people keep on saying we will be stronger with Hutton in the side? Can no one remember how much of a liability this guy was when he last had a spell in the side? Funny that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villarule123 Posted August 5, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2014 Christ, I haven't followed anything about the club all summer as I needed a long break after the shitness of last season. Are we really bring people like Bent and Hutton back into the fold? Lambert is looking a little silly now after condemning them to the bomb squad last season. With all this added on to the fact our owner doesn't even want to be here, I don't think I've ever felt as low as a Villa fan. Lambert gets criticised for supposedly being stubborn yet when he changes something he's silly? I never once moaned that we should have brought either of those 2 back last season. Bent is a terrible footballer and will be useless in this team and Hutton is a thug and up there with our worst ever rightbacks. And yes, it is silly IMO. He showed them no loyalty or even gave them a chance last season, why would they suddenly bust their balls for him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itdoesntmatterwhatthissay Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I maybe a sucker for punishment but I can't wait for the season to start. I think when Christian come back we will be stringer than last season, with the return of Okore, N'Zogbia, Kozak, Hutton and Bent, and the signings of Senderos, Cole and Richardson. With a little luck with injuries I think we will survive...Just. At least we know where we stand. At least we know our aims will be realistic. Yes it's horrible where the club is right now. And there's only one man to blame. Hopefully he isn't here for to long. Why do people keep on saying we will be stronger with Hutton in the side? Can no one remember how much of a liability this guy was when he last had a spell in the side? Funny that? I think because he's stronger physically than current candidates and better defensively, or at least equal, also he never really got a proper chance to play unless it was under train wreck McLeish, plus he's decent at International level. I think he's looked aware and part of the team during pre-season and that's not normally a bad sign. He's never consistently played well for us but we haven't played well for quite some time, older heads might take the pressure off other players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 As I've said before, it annoys me that Lerner's poor decisions seem to make people look upon Ellis more favourably. I think Ellis was bad for the club I am not looking on him favourably. He was bad , lerner is worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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