useless Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 If looking for someone with a Liverpool connection then I wouldn't be surprised to see Sean O'Driscoll come in, would have worked with Gerrard previously, and has recently worked at academy level as a coach at Wolves. That said knowing our academy the replacement is probably more likely going to be someone that has worked for West Brom previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 So a West Brom/Liverpool connection...... Oh no its Andy Carroll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villanmac Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 Fair enough. I have no clue of what the KPIs and targets a U23 coach has and whether or not he met them. Even watching the U23s games hard to gauge due to the extenuating circumstances of player turnover/loans etc. Being a ex Villa player doesn't come into it when the owners are ploughing money into the youth setup the way they are. Its that kind of mentality that still holds a lot of clubs back imo. If they can get better, get rid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 Disappointing. I was thinking Mark could be being developed as a future manager for us given he's been here a few years now and considering the circumstances he produced a very capable performance in FA cup last season with the under 12s v Liverpool. George Boateng was going on about enjoying working with him in an interview two weeks ago so with those two and Jedinak it's nice having guys at the club who know what it's like to play for us and can instill that in the next generation. Perhaps he's decided to move on and try his hand at management somewhere but disappointing if this is a decision from above. Gerrard's acting like he's been here five years already. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightoffyour Posted May 7, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted May 7, 2022 34 minutes ago, Zatman said: In a week when the club have already hurt the fans its another dagger between fans and off pitch management What’s this about? I don’t read on topic much. And to keep this on topic, pretty hard to judge if Delaney has been doing a good job or not. We could probably have got the U23s promoted if we kept eligible players around and padded it out with overage squad members, but we loan out our youth and general play a side averaging 18 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
est1874 Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) Seems v strange. Hope this isn't another case of Christian Purslow making a football decision thinking he knows what he's doing. Edited May 7, 2022 by est1874 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 53 minutes ago, MessiWillSignForVilla said: Disappointing at first, but when you actually look at it objectively, the U23s have been poor this season, and they have been doing worse year on year for the past 5 or so years, despite the strong performances in the U18s. I know this is a decision that reinforces some of the narratives on here, but as much as I like Delaney and he's liked by the fans, it does look like a deserved move. All the best talent gets loaned out. Maybe the club should look higher above because the amount of dud loans this past 2 years is a joke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post OutByEaster? Posted May 7, 2022 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted May 7, 2022 It's a real pity this one, football is football I guess. There are lots of ways to try to figure out if he's done a good job; U23's football isn't just about results and indeed parts of the job aren't even about developing players, it's hard to point to a league position and say "good job" and hard to look at our first team bench and say "bad job", how much of the success of our loanees is down to Mark's development of them and how much is simply down to the talent of the players themselves for example is impossible really to judge. The people who make these decisions will have their own criteria, their own ideas, their own views on personality and how they'd like the job done. I don't really know what those metrics are and I'm not going to stand in judgement on those that make the difficult decisions. I prefer to go with just one simple device to demonstrate that he's done a really good job with our U23's - he's been doing it for seven years. He was appointed under Randy Lerner, worked during the time of Tony XIa and has spent the last four years working for NSWE - in each case, none of those owners looked to immediately move him on, no CEO wanted to put their own seal on it immediately, none saw him as a weakness in the way we do things, none saw a problem that needed to be fixed - there are very, very few people at this football club that can make that same claim. There have been revolutions, storms, disasters and triumphs in those years, but Mark Delaney has stood steadfastly on the sidelines throughout; watching young men train, offering guidance, a word, an ear, a shoulder and an occasional rebuke, but always present, always doing his job, regardless of the change around him. Making better players and moulding young lives. His longevity I think bears witness to his ability - under Mark, it was never a problem. It's a pity in that Mark is an immensely likeable character, the players like him, his staff love him and he's remarkably open at U23 games, taking time to speak to fans even on a match day. He's a world away from Kevin McDonald's brusque Scotsman, a chilled Welshman in daft shorts with a wry sense of humour. He'll be a character that will no doubt be missed around Villa Park. That is football though and I look forward to what comes next, I'm not sure what happens to his assistant and best pal, George Boateng, but I hope there's a role for him - there's a chance I suppose that he might be asked to step up - but I'm guessing that if there's a desire for change that would be seen as more of the same. I wish him well in what comes next, I don't think he's someone that wants to manage a first team, but I'm sure there are plenty of academies out there that will welcome him with open arms. He leaves a facility that is light years away from the one he took over in, a squad full of talent and a group of young players coming through that will tell stories about him for years. I wish him well. Pob lwc fy ffrind a diolch 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rds1983 Posted May 7, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted May 7, 2022 23 minutes ago, rodders0223 said: All the best talent gets loaned out. Maybe the club should look higher above because the amount of dud loans this past 2 years is a joke We changed loan management last year. "Aston Villa have appointed Adam Henshall as the club’s new Head of Emerging Talents & Loans and Mile Jedinak as our new Loan Player Development Coach." https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2021/march/Villa-appoint-new-Head-of-Emerging-Talents-Loans/ Our loans seem to have gone better this season with the likes of Archer and Davies doing well and then reacting to bad situations like Barry and Ipswich. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 I wouldn't be surprised if he stays on as coach, maybe even at first team level, earlier this season we promoted Liam Bramley from U18 head coach to a role where he was working with the youngsters in our first team squad, but then we lost him to Norwich, I wouldn't be surprised if Delaney is going to be offered that role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david-avfc Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) Last time I looked at an U23 game we had a bunch of 16 year olds in the side. All our best young players have been loaned out, so can’t expect too much results wise from the U23s. Maybe Delaney is seen as decent but not exceptional, and we want to push higher. It’s hard to judge from the outside. If we bring in an ex-Gerrard or Purslow connection I’ll be sceptical though Edited May 7, 2022 by david-avfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 2 hours ago, AvonVillain said: Mark Delaney being moved on !? https://theathletic.com/news/mark-delaney-to-leave-role-as-aston-villa-under-23-boss/rjs6qNBtTFxN/ Predictable. I don't think he will be the last to jump ship. Sorry but its a seriously bad move IMO. Stevie G is dismantling our infrastructure - and his authority seems unchecked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwi1890 Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) 15 minutes ago, hippo said: Predictable. I don't think he will be the last to jump ship. Sorry but its a seriously bad move IMO. Stevie G is dismantling our infrastructure - and his authority seems unchecked. I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t a Mark Harrison decision, what’s the point of having all these people as head of departments otherwise? Your irrational hatred of Gerrard is clouding your judgment. Edit and yes I’m gutted to see Mark Delaney leave, but the head of youth development hasn’t got anything wrong yet. Edited May 7, 2022 by gwi1890 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted May 7, 2022 Author VT Supporter Share Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) I very much doubt Stevie G has any input into who runs the U23's other than soft influence by things like complaining that the players he see's seem badly coached. The "moving on" thing sounds more like he's being moved within the club to me? Sometimes things just get stale and need a little change. It would be strange to have 1 person in the same coaching role for 30 years or something. Edited May 7, 2022 by sidcow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 Seems to me league position would be less important than player development where he has done rather well. Strange news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLN Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 Welcome Dirk Kuyt 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkyvilla Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) I assume the priority is to produce players ready to fit the system the first team uses and as we are going towards Gerrard's favoured nipple system we are looking at getting in a manager/coach more in tune with that rather than Dean's 4-3-3 he mainly used before this season. It may just be that Delaney has reached the end of his shelf life and there genuinely are better coaches out there. I hope he stays in some capacity though. Edited May 7, 2022 by sharkyvilla 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 34 minutes ago, gwi1890 said: I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t a Mark Harrison decision, what’s the point of having all these people as head of departments otherwise? Your irrational hatred of Gerrard is clouding your judgment. Edit and yes I’m gutted to see Mark Delaney leave, but the head of youth development hasn’t got anything wrong yet. The timing of it would suggest to me that Delaney resigned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 9 hours ago, hippo said: Predictable. I don't think he will be the last to jump ship. Sorry but its a seriously bad move IMO. Stevie G is dismantling our infrastructure - and his authority seems unchecked. Based on what? More BS in your own mind? I doubt Gerrard has had anything to do with this. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalfTimePost Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 9 hours ago, hippo said: The timing of it would suggest to me that Delaney resigned. But the wording is he is 'being' moved on. As in, not his call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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