The Rémi Garde thread

[Villanun]

I can't say I'm sorry to see him go at this point. I liked him as a person, as much as I could tell about him from his interviews, and I genuinely think he was screwed over by the board, but whether you blame him or the players it has become clear that he can't get them to do what he wants and honestly i dont know if we were ever going to match his playing style with these personnel. I can see him doing well in the future, but not at a club in these circumstances.

[mykeyb]

Fox's 2nd poor appointment which has relegated us. Fox, Sherwood and Garde all have a hand in our demise, some bigger than others.

I think Garde had had enough, and both he and many of our first team squad haven't got the fight to bring us back up.

Things gotta change.

[MikeMcKenna]

No point arguing over whether Garde could have made it with backing but the fact remains that Lerner is a clearing in the woods! 

Edited March 29, 2016 by MikeMcKenna

[poitier]

Many said at the time that Garde was a poor appointment. Whatever excuses you want to make for him, you can't really say that they were wrong.

Thanks for the two league wins.

Please, not Pearson.

[troon_villan]

Christ I don't care. Sad.

[Stevo985]

48 minutes ago, YGabbana said:

Should still have been able to get more than 2 wins. He simply could not motivate the players, it was blatent to see. Part of being a manager is being able to motivate your players.

Granted he wasnt backed in the window, we can all agree on that point.

I just cant see how anyone can say he was the right manager at the wrong time. Based on what exactly?

Well no argument on your first sentence. Not sure that's a sackable offence though. How many wins would you expect with this squad? 4, 5? I think even that's ambition, so do you sack Garde for only getting 2?

[maqroll]

And just like that, he's gone. See ya, Remi, we hardly knew ya.

Decent guy who was lied to by his employers and had an impossible remit under the circumstances. 

Maybe he lost the dressing room, but the whole thing was fully imploded before he even put pen to paper.

We are an embarrassment at the moment, and any manager in his right mind would steer clear of this total calamity of a football club.

 

[markavfc40]

I have a lot of sympathy for him and in grand scheme of those responsible for our relegation he will have been a bit part player.

Overall though I think him not being here next season is the right one. 12 points from 20 games and some severe beatings in those games is a dire return despite me accepting this is a poor squad of players. Just as it was never 4 points from 10 games poor under Sherwood likewise it isn't as bad as the points return under Remi suggests.

Whether we like it or not, and I don't, a lot of these players will still be here next season and Remi has been either unable to inspire them or would be leading them into next season tarnished as the man who had been manager for 3/4 of a relegation season had he stayed on. That would simply never have worked.

The bigger issues still remain at the club which have been above the manager for some time and just as sacking McLeish, Lambert and Sherwood didn't solve them neither will sacking Remi. The changes to the board are promising and employing a new manager over the coming weeks will now be their first test and an indication of if going forward they will make the right decisions. Then it will remain to be seen if he is backed financially.

For now though as this is the Remi Garde thread then I will end by saying I wish him luck.
 

[dont_do_it_doug.]

http://astonvillaprotestgroup.co.uk/au-revoire-remi-garde

Quote

Au Revoir Remi Garde

Poor Remi, how little we knew thee. 2 wins in 20 is always going to leave a manager open to valid criticism regardless of the circumstances and his sacking has been inevitable for a while, whether now or in the summer. Yet, why is it that we find our sympathies turning towards a manager who has undoubtedly failed in his remit?

Is it because of his affable demeanour? He screams “nice guy” and in football manager terms that is a rarity. Paul Lambert was also a nice bloke, perhaps there is something in the old adage that nice guys finish last. Literally in this case.

He did have his moments. For example following the Wycombe cup draw, with chewing gum-gate and loud sweary man giving it some as the players boarded the coach home, the team appeared to buck up their ideas. A period of 5 games unbeaten ensued, including his first victory as Villa boss over Crystal Palace stunted by another lackluster performance in the cup vs Man City in which we were trounced, a soul crushing if circumstantial defeat to West Ham and then what appeared to be a steadying of the ship with a 2-0 victory over Norwich.

Then ‘Liverpool’ happened and for Remi, perhaps there was never any turning back.

What is absolutely undeniable however is that he was hung out to dry by Mr Lerner and his sorry band of fools. The January window slammed shut on the 2nd of February with zero investment provided, not a single player joined a squad that had finally shown some metal but was still woefully short of both consistent quality and numbers. For example, injuries during that period meant that Remi Garde was left with one “fit” first team striker, that striker being Gabby Agbonlahor for whom the word “fit” is but a distant memory. A player who had not scored a top flight goal in some 11 months.

Whatever promises had been made to the manager, whatever token efforts were made, he was positioned as the sacrificial lamb and he has been slaughtered for it. The fight visibly drained from him and for Aston Villa our failure to bolster a fatally flawed squad was the final nail in the coffin. He was left stranded, rock bottom of the league, with a fractured dressing room who also waved the white flag in response. A dressing room who didn’t have enough about them as individuals to fight for the club or themselves and were also desperately lacking in genuine ability.

A better manager, or should we say a different type of manager, a Tim Sherwood “pashun” type may have gotten more from them. Perhaps. But we have been down that road before all too recently. How many more times must we cycle through managers, players and board members before Mr Lerner finds the winning combination? In our view, he has had long enough.

The Aston Villa job is a poisoned chalice because of one man’s inability to provide either consistent support, vision or in Remi Garde’s case, simply be true to his word. Randy Lerner, bow your head once again in shame.

Au revoir Remi. Let’s hope should we meet again we are both in a much better place.

Aston Villa Protest Group.

 

Edited March 29, 2016 by dont_do_it_doug.

[TRO]

1 hour ago, coda said:

U WOT M8?

Shall I repeat it.

[Woodytom]

10 minutes ago, maqroll said:

Decent guy who was lied to by his employers.

He probably lied too when he said that he'd win a game or 2 before the January window.

[ReasonforRevolution]

Looks like the players have got their own way. Have another cigar boys. The squad and club have let him down. I don't blame him for our position. Unfortunately though it will always be the manager in the firing line and this is the way it is. Let's hope we can move forward. There are a few things that I hope come out of this:

1. Obviously the correct appointment of the next manager. I really do not have a clue who that could be though. We have tried Sherwood who was friendly with the squad. We've tried Garde upping the ante in the training. We've even got Roy Keane in to get them fired up and even he couldn't gain respect. So good luck because I am not sure where to turn.

2. Some of the players must follow him out the door. Lets hope this sacking is foreshadowing the future of these prima donnas. If we are having a ruthless evaluation the attitude of this squad, this season must be assessed and kicked out for good. No clean slate because we will back to square one within months.

3. Now our senior players can relax a bit they might pick up a few points between now and the end of season. I am fed up of watching us week in week out with the attitude on display so maybe we might now have something to cheer about. However, although I want to watch us win if we start performing there might be a little part of me annoyed that by throwing a tantrum and proving a point the players have got us relegated. Regardless of professional pride, the club and the fans.

Same as Sherwood before. No animosity from me what so ever. I wish him all the luck unless he crosses paths with the mighty Villa. I thank him for being the only one to face the media and speak to us honestly amidst this crisis. 

[briny_ear]

Rarely has a manager who had so little success gained so much support, at least on the Internet.

Let's face it, he's been a dead man walking for some time.

[TRO]

As the old saying goes " a football manager is only as good as his players"

thats why they have to sign them.....or at least have a meaningful input.

Edited March 29, 2016 by TRO

[GeordieVillan]

I expected him to do much better with our existing squad. I have alot of sympathy with him if he was promised money to spend and lied to by his employers, but perhaps they decided to cut their losses (far too early but thats a side point). I also have sympathy if he has uprooted his family and things havn't worked out so quickly, and I feel sorry for him if this affects his future career prospects (Villa really is a managerial graveyard). I have no sympathy for his results - I think there is alot of managers out there that would have done better in hindsight.

It was always a risk to employ him, in the same way that it was a risk to buy all these inexperienced players in the Summer. Both these risks could have yielded big success, but sadly they have both led us to relegation.

I don't begrudge him doing well in his next job, he's done nothing to offend me or insult the club in his time here, other than do what I feel is quite a poor job. I felt the same way about Sherwood. I think Garde was given alot of slack for his team selections and tactics. I can't believe he's only been our manager for 4 months - it feels like 2 years.

[dont_do_it_doug.]

10 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Well no argument on your first sentence. Not sure that's a sackable offence though. How many wins would you expect with this squad? 4, 5? I think even that's ambition, so do you sack Garde for only getting 2?

I agree to an extent, though he didn't do himself many favours. Even with this farce of a squad, 12 points from 60 is fairly unprecedented. He is definitely the wrong manager for this squad, the right manager would have gotten more from them. Yet another **** up all round really.

However as has rightly been said by many that doesn't make him a bad manager per-se. I don't think I could honestly tell you how good of a manager he is. Better than this though for sure. 

[a m ole]

'Mutual Consent' is interesting, in as much as I think it confirms what we've heard about the conduct of Fox, Riley, Almstadt or all 3.

I'm not an expert on employment laws, but surely that he wasn't sacked says something about where the blame lies, at least legally?

[TRO]

9 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

http://astonvillaprotestgroup.co.uk/au-revoire-remi-garde

 

What is a "pashun"manager.?

would Brian Clough and possibly SAF be one?

was Martin O'Neill one, he was animated?

Mourinho in his early days.....what about him? Does he qualify?

Bill Shankly, I'll bet he was one.

They are no good they are all in the past.....like driving a Ford prefect or an Austin A35

[Upper north stander]

1 hour ago, VillaCas said:

It demonstrates a complete lack of football knowledge to say "he had the tools".....he clearly did not have the tools!

Individually our players may be the equal or better of Watford or Bournemouth but sadly Sherwood, Fox, Almstadt and Reilly failed to construct a team and so we were dramatically unbalanced and lacked any cutting edge whatsoever

Even a manager coming into a well run team needs more than four months to make his mark - a manager coming into the shambles that Garde inherited needs considerably longer.  The lack of backing in the window when it was glaringly obvious that we needed two or three new faces in vital positions was a massive error

We'll ever never know if Garde would have been any good or not, but I'll watch his future career with interest and wish him well

The next appointment will be a game changer.  For me we must appoint someone who can build a culture throughtout the club for a sustained period

 

It's my opinion....

it doesn't mean I have a complete lack of football knowledge! 

I'm hurt by your cruel words

garde was utter shite!

Edited March 29, 2016 by Uppernorthstander

[MikeMcKenna]

4 minutes ago, a m ole said:

'Mutual Consent' is interesting, in as much as I think it confirms what we've heard about the conduct of Fox, Riley, Almstadt or all 3.

I'm not an expert on employment laws, but surely that he wasn't sacked says something about where the blame lies, at least legally?

 I have no doubt that he was sacked. 'Mutual Consent' is simply code for 'we settled on a mutually agreeable termination and payout' He had a contract and they will have had to pay out all or part of it. 

Edited March 29, 2016 by MikeMcKenna