Keyblade Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 30 minutes ago, NeilS said: It is not looking good for us at this moment in time. Our only hope is that Remi can organise the useless clowns at the back over the next few weeks and quickly, and at the same time instil a bit of fight in the team. As captain and senior central defender Richards can take a fair chunk of the blame, he should be organising the team on the pitch, but it looks like he cannot even organise himself. I do think a big problem is coming from our Central defence not organising the players either side or immediatley in front of them. Richards has barely played over the last few years, and rarely played at CB in his career. It was a big and stupid risk getting him in as our only hope at CB in my opinion. If fit and possible, I would be tempted to get Vlaar and Senderos back in together first thing in January. A win is badly needed now, not just one win either, we need to string some victories together as our confidence is so fragile. Yep, a fit Vlaar and Senderos would be much welcome additions. Good defenders and more importantly, they're leaders. Or at least they have more leadership qualities than anyone else in our squad. Definitely would try to bring them back. Micah looks lost sometimes, like I get the vibe that he doesn't 100% know what he's doing which is due to his lack of experience in the position. It almost feels like he's learning on the job. We could do with a bit of experience back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Senderos would walk into the back line currently even if he was half fit. One of the most idiotic decisions keeping him of the squad list. Thanks Sherwood, Clown. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) I do get the distinct impression this motley crew are only interested in their own future and to hell with the team.....I could be wrong, but that's the feeling I get. most of them look like their plan was to use villa as a stepping stone, however due to circumstances it looks like we are stuck with each other. quite a number seem to have an over inflated view of their ability and that getting close and putting a foot in is beyond them. despite what comes out of the camp, team spirit seems very lacking to me. Edited November 23, 2015 by TRO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) 15 hours ago, Woodytom said: I think it's a combination of both. The players are rubbish, but they aren't worse than Norwich or Bournemouth or Watford for example. Difference is, those teams fight regardless of their inferior quality. Same with Leicester. 11 players all working together and running through brick walls. Can't remember who it was but they were saying how Jon Walters is fully aware of what level he is at and knows if he doesn't give 100%, he's got no chance. We have nobody like that and tbh, I can't think of any player we have that I'd rather have instead of Jon Walters atm. The problem is, if we were linked with Jon Walters there would be an outcry of thinking we are setting our sights too low.....the same if we had of gone for Jamie Vardy when he was at Sheffield wed we simply sign the wrong players. strikers, we rarely seem to get them right, we sign Gestede, I would have preferred Jordan Rhodes.....we have few players upfront with feet or can move opposition defenders. i would have had Robbie Savage before he went to Blues,I had conversations with some fans who thought he wasn't good enough for us....he was more effective than anything we had and was instrumental in blues having a purple patch over us. as a bunch we seem obsessed with technical ability, but the old fashioned values of character/ will/fight/physical ability/physical build seems to be overlooked. we need to get back to being able to hold a game together. Edited November 23, 2015 by TRO 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markavfc40 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) 2 hours ago, TRO said: I do get the distinct impression this motley crew are only interested in their own future and to hell with the team.....I could be wrong, but that's the feeling I get. most of them look like their plan was to use villa as a stepping stone, however due to circumstances it looks like we are stuck with each other. quite a number seem to have an over inflated view of their ability and that getting close and putting a foot in is beyond them. despite what comes out of the camp, team spirit seems very lacking to me. You may be right. I am sure most of them didn’t rock up prepared for a full on relegation battle and they may not have the spine for it. We have lacked ability for a long time now but I think we always had lads in the team who would put a real shift in and give their all. Last season Delph and Cleverley in the middle, Vlaar at the back and even the likes of Weimann. Saturday is going to be really telling. It is at the stage of shit or bust now and we have to win. These players have to stand up and take responsibility, give nothing less than 100% and be prepared to get on the ball and make things happen rather than shying away from it. They need to be at Watfords throats from the get go and simply want it more. There was a lack of fight against Everton and as soon as the first goal went in we rolled over and meekly had our bellies tickled and that is totally unacceptable. Edited November 23, 2015 by markavfc40 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 This team is down IMO. We don't have a Benteke or a Delph to get this team out of this mess. That Everton performance was unreal. It was like a park team against a PL team. We were nowhere to be seen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 On Sat Nov 21 2015 16:49:35 GMT+0000, Jimzk5 said: the management should prepare for the championship right away, targeting those players who can get us straight back because I dont see many of the summer recruits wanted to stay and tbh I'm not bothered if they do want out. I think the past five years of recruitment will tell you this is not going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 We WILL NOT go down. Why in my own madness do I think this? 1) Sunderland, Bournemouth, Norwich, Newcastle & maybe WBA & Swansea are as shite as us. 2) We have been this low on belief before. Remember 2-0 loss to Hull? home 3-3 draw with QPR? 3) Last season, we needed immediate improvement to survive yet we still managed to throw away points v Stoke, Lose at Newcastle & Draw v QPR and were safe 2 games to spare - 3 teams have to be really really shite to get relegated - we still have over half a season 4) 40 pts target myth. For example if 18th, 19th & 20th get 27,26,25 pts respectively, Why do 17th NEED 40pts to survive? 28pts would be enough, even 27pts with abetter GD would be safe. 5) Take away the name "Watford" and look at a team who are solid and appear to know what they are doing, One can see that this is not neccessarily a winable game. Avoiding defeat would be a GOOD result. 6) I think Remi has a number of free hits before it gets serious and all he has to do is bring on a steady improvement over the next 25 games For example I think even 1pt from ManC Everton & Watford is still not the end of the world (we have that already) Breaking the rest of the season down, Remi has IMHO till the Newcastle game to learn everything he needs to know about which players are going to work within his team/philosophy. If we can get - Newcastle A 1pt, WH H 1/0pts, Norwich A 1pt, S'land A pt, CP H 1/0pts, Leicester H 1/0pts, WBA A 1pt, WH A 1/0pts, Norwich H 3pts 10pts from that lot would see us GAIN pts on Bournemouth, S'land & Norwich and possibly Newcastle, WBA and even Swansea. Maybe from February, with a steady improvement up till then and beyond, we can start picking up a few bonus pts. Towards the end - Swansea A, Bournemouth H, Soton H, Watford A & Newcastle H, we will have to get a minimum of 9pts That should leave us with 24pts (without the free hits - L'pool H, Stoke A, Everton H, ManC A, Spuds H, Chelsea H, ManU A & Arshenal A) plus 4-6pts from the free hits, hopefully something between 28-30pts. I really do believe that 1) it's possible 2) 3 from S'land, Bournemouth, Norwich & Newcastle could end up losing 1, 4, 7 & 5 respectively to our rest of the season pts total. A team is NEVER 100% sure of winning the league with 80-100pts. League champions are the team with 1pt or equal pts & 1 goal better in GD (ManC over ManU a few seasons back) A team will ONLY get relegated if they get 1 pt less or same pts total as 17th but with -1 (or more -) as GD Our target has to be game for game to gain pts on the 4 teams above us before the last game (Arshenal A). From the Shite that's in the league this year I think 27,28 or 29 pts could be enough UTV Villa till I die Go Remi 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regular_john Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 That's all well and good, but 30 points has not been enough to stay up in any of the preceding 20 odd years of the premier league, why would you think it will be any different this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 1 hour ago, regular_john said: That's all well and good, but 30 points has not been enough to stay up in any of the preceding 20 odd years of the premier league, why would you think it will be any different this year? Just take a look at the remaining fixtures and then the form and circumstances that surround the bottom 5 teams. Aston Villa - Can and should only get better Sunderland - Shite squad, FatSam can't do anything about it Bournemouth - lost all their Goalscorers, Players & Manager no PL experience. Norwich - 1 of 2 teams that could finish above us. Players & Manager no PL experience. Newcastle - Shite squad, no harmony at the club, They have McShteeeve as manager. - We can catch Sunderland & Bournemouth up and overtake them over the next 25 games. Not so sure, but of course, I think and I hope we can Catch up and overtake one of Norwich or Newcastle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bose Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I know that it all looks very bleak and it seems we need a miracle to avoid relegation but we're only FIVE points from safety. We're running out of games but 5 points isn't that terrible given how we've been doing. Watford will be crucial. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Still only 9 points off Chelsea and Id have taken that at the start of the year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted November 23, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted November 23, 2015 14 minutes ago, Grasshopper said: Just take a look at the remaining fixtures and then the form and circumstances that surround the bottom 5 teams. Aston Villa - Can and should only get better Sunderland - Shite squad, FatSam can't do anything about it Bournemouth - lost all their Goalscorers, Players & Manager no PL experience. Norwich - 1 of 2 teams that could finish above us. Players & Manager no PL experience. Newcastle - Shite squad, no harmony at the club, They have McShteeeve as manager. - We can catch Sunderland & Bournemouth up and overtake them over the next 25 games. Not so sure, but of course, I think and I hope we can Catch up and overtake one of Norwich or Newcastle. People always say this. Every season. It's nearly always 35-40 points. Teams rally in the second half of the season and pick up more points than the first half. Literally every season that happens. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markavfc40 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 2 hours ago, TRO said: as a bunch we seem obsessed with technical ability, but the old fashioned values of character/ will/fight/physical ability/physical build seems to be overlooked. we need to get back to being able to hold a game together. You are spot on. We have no one in the middle who is willing to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and really put himself about a bit and bully the opposition. Again we are lacking up top with a real physical presence. Gestede physically looks the part but he doesn’t bully defenders the way in which Benteke does. I think when you are in a battle, as we are, you need them types of players. I think Richards is a leader but you look around the rest of our dressing room and there is nothing. When things are not going well on the pitch who is out there giving players a bollocking and geeing then up. If we concede the players heads instantly drop and they quickly go into their shells. I do really worry whether we have the mental where with all to deal with a relegation battle and if we don’t then we are finished. A lack of ability is one things but the lack of a pair of balls and being prepared to be brave in the face of adversity is what may ultimately cost us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberman Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 So - escaping relegation from this position has never happened. We are in a worse current position than Derby in their record breaking year. We've lost one of our better performing players for the season. But...like Grasshopper, I still think it is (just) possible for us to survive. Yes, it gets bleaker with every game, but I don't think we've performed to our potential. Don't get me wrong - I think it is very, very unlikely, but I'm not throwing the towel yet. I didn't expect more than 1 point from the last 2 games. Other results were pretty kind to us. Watford is a massive game, but having Sanchez back to play the role he did against Citeh and we'll have much better shape. I would play literally anyone else in the squad ahead of Richardson and drop Jack again. I'm keeping the faith till after Christmas. Blind, deluded, claret-tinted faith perhaps, but for now...we can do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 27 minutes ago, Grasshopper said: Just take a look at the remaining fixtures and then the form and circumstances that surround the bottom 5 teams. Aston Villa - Can and should only get better Sunderland - Shite squad, FatSam can't do anything about it Bournemouth - lost all their Goalscorers, Players & Manager no PL experience. Norwich - 1 of 2 teams that could finish above us. Players & Manager no PL experience. Newcastle - Shite squad, no harmony at the club, They have McShteeeve as manager. - We can catch Sunderland & Bournemouth up and overtake them over the next 25 games. Not so sure, but of course, I think and I hope we can Catch up and overtake one of Norwich or Newcastle. We have a shit squad as well, i admire your positivity but no way are we staying up. These guys are losers, they dont have the fight in them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I think it's incredible the gap is still only five points. That is truly incredible considering we have only won one game this season and we are now 13 games into the season. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I totally agree with TRO when he mentions old fashioned values. We have a total lack of them, well, apart form when Gestede threw the ball back to Harte in the City game. I loved what he did in that game and it really rallied the crowd. Nice guys will not stay up and we do not appear to have the players with the strength of character to get stuck in. in January, we need to bring in players who are well up for a battle. No bottlers who are scared to put the boot in, we need a bit of steel and spine adding to that team to lift them. I think that the reason so many are writing off our chances is because the team still shows no signs of gelling. There's no togetherness or spirit in their play and they look like a bunch of strangers. Maybe that's what you get when you add so many oversee players, who are both new to the country and the league, to a team that's been struggling for 3 or 4 years. I have tried to stay positive about our relegation battles in the past but this season has me really concerned. I just do not see any spirit, fight, togetherness, cohesion or all-round ability in us to think that we will survive this battle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHV Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 28 minutes ago, Grasshopper said: Just take a look at the remaining fixtures and then the form and circumstances that surround the bottom 5 teams. Aston Villa - Can and should only get better Sunderland - Shite squad, FatSam can't do anything about it Bournemouth - lost all their Goalscorers, Players & Manager no PL experience. Norwich - 1 of 2 teams that could finish above us. Players & Manager no PL experience. Newcastle - Shite squad, no harmony at the club, They have McShteeeve as manager. - We can catch Sunderland & Bournemouth up and overtake them over the next 25 games. Not so sure, but of course, I think and I hope we can Catch up and overtake one of Norwich or Newcastle. We simply do not have the players to do any better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 1 hour ago, Stevo985 said: People always say this. Every season. It's nearly always 35-40 points. Teams rally in the second half of the season and pick up more points than the first half. Literally every season that happens. I respect your point of view But I don't judge the future on what happened in the past. Sorry, and I hope you understand my POV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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