The next manager of Aston Villa

[Mister_a]

1 minute ago, sne said:

Show that he can tactically outsmart some of the better managers in the PL on a regular basis, make in-game adjustments that makes the team better and that his coaching set knows what they are doing and will improve the players long term and short term.

This is pretty much where I'm at. Hope it works, bold choice, could blow up.

[hippo]

19 minutes ago, Mister_a said:

Question for the doubters. What would he need to do to win you over?

Decline the job offer.

[The Other Mat]

I'm kind of warming to the idea, especially with his backroom staff incoming. He may be inexperienced  but as a player he's done it all (except win the title obvs), hes a winner, that's ingrained in him. Hes managed the Rangers job well, more than meeting his remit, and although its not the role it once was, it still has its own pressures and expectations, especially from the fan base. 

If he holds our squad to the standards he's held himself too over the years and makes them compete to those same levels, he'll be a success here.

Edited November 10, 2021 by The Other Mat

[Peter Griffin]

1 minute ago, hippo said:

I'm just hoping it's a ploy by Stevie G to extract a pay rise and more funds out of Rangers.

Probably isn't - but I will clutch any straw right now.

Do u think Gerrard is leaking rumours to the media that Aston Villa are interested in him?

[dont_do_it_doug.]

9 hours ago, KentVillan said:

This just isn't true.

Buendia has been playing centrally because we were either (a) missing Traore/Bailey so played 3-5-2, or (b) against Southampton, missing Luiz and Sanson, while Ramsey was unfit, and Smith didn't want to throw 17 year olds into a relegation battle.

This is exactly what people mean by squad imbalances.

I don't think Smith had any fetish for a 10 at all - as proven by Grealish (the most natural 10 we've had) spending most of his time playing as an 8 or an inverted winger.

But I don't want this to turn into another defence of Smith. The more salient point is that Gerrard has too many attack-minded midfielders in his squad. Defensively oriented midfielders who sense danger are basically Luiz and Nakamba (the latter being a Championship player), and possibly Sanson (although nobody has any idea tbh).

If you don't see that as a squad balance problem, then I think you're about to get a nasty surprise when Gerrard's teams also look unbalanced.

Ok so I have had a think about this overnight and I totally understand what you mean by 'unbalanced' now.

It is obvious that certain areas of the pitch lag behind when it comes to quality. Not necessarily quantity though, which is where we split. I think it is evident that you can cobble together a competent midfield with our squad. Not a particularly good one, but passable enough that we can build from it. We have seen it many times. It may mean sacrificing attacking prowess or the dynamism Smith was always searching for but never quite succeeded in finding, but solidity should have been the first port of call. These are not awful footballers, limited yes, but I would expect any manager to operate within the limitations of the squad. 

I don't buy many of the "Smith had no choice" arguments. I think they're a cop out, for the most part. As soon as I saw the line-up for Southampton it seemed obvious to me that he had lost sight of the reality of the situation. he needed another Covid break that was not forthcoming. Like you though I don't want to endlessly cover old ground, but I will say that yes, I expect the new manager to do a better job of handling the midfield issue. Otherwise there really was no point sacking Smith, and I would maintain that I think it was the right call.

[DrUnKeNbUm]

What concerns me most with the potential appointment of Gerrard is that during his time at Rangers, he has never had a "bad run of form" or a string of results go against him.

 

Granted he won the league and I hate to take away the merit from that but it is a two team league and Celtic absolutely shit the bed last year.

 

How will he cope when things don't go his way? Because at Villa he will definitely have a run of games where we struggle.

 

Also there is absolutely no point to this appointment if he doesnt bring Michael Beale along. 

 

 

[QldVilla]

I’m not convinced with Gerrard, but I also wasn’t convinced with Smith before his appointment. The common concern was their lack of PL experience.

The question for me is will we have another coach who is learning as he goes, and for me that’s a concern when the club has an expectation of improvement season on season.

[ReasonforRevolution]

Anyone else thinking of the hypothetical Liverpool away fixture? Absolute cringe-fest. Bit of advice for Stevie G. Don't caress the 'This Is Anfield' sign. And if we lose 3-0 don't say "If I have got to lose 3-0, I would prefer it to be to them as I like Liverpool."

That said, on the whole, I'm all for it. Players will respect him and he's a winner. We've always had a soft centre. Wolves at home, we should of took a booking and fouled Traore on the half way line. Corner flag, fake head injuries the lot. But we rolled over. We're too honest. Stevie G will change that. If we're serious about Europe we need to have that nasty streak. Gutted about Smith, honestly prefer him in charge but that ship has sailed. So, I'm coming to terms with this and think it could be a great appointment.

[hippo]

1 minute ago, Peter Griffin said:

Do u think Gerrard is leaking rumours to the media that Aston Villa are interested in him?

Right now mate I'm hoping I've slipped into another universe and suddenly everything will go black and Stevie G Rules himself out shortly after Smith left.

 

[Stevo985]

I find it strange that those who aren't thrilled by the apppointment are being questioned as to why they think this, or what is needed by Gerrard to change their minds.

In my opinion the question should be the other way round.

What is it about Gerrard that makes you think he is the right man for the job?

Apart from success at Rangers (which as we've seen in the past isn't hard to come by) and faith in our board, I struggle to see what is so appealing

[TheEgo]

13 hours ago, troon_villan said:

We either have a few ITK posters discussing this in here as done or a few posters have gotten together over private chat to take the piss out the rest of us

Or believe everything they are told. 

[Peter Griffin]

Just now, DrUnKeNbUm said:

What concerns me most with the potential appointment of Gerrard is that during his time at Rangers, he has never had a "bad run of form" or a string of results go against him.

 

Granted he won the league and I hate to take away the merit from that but it is a two team league and Celtic absolutely shit the bed last year.

 

How will he cope when things don't go his way? Because at Villa he will definitely have a run of games where we struggle.

 

Also there is absolutely no point to this appointment if he doesnt bring Michael Beale along. 

 

 

That is definitely something Dean Smith had lots of experience with 

Seriously though, that is a very good point and one I hadn't considered myself

[The_Steve]

4 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

Do u think Gerrard is leaking rumours to the media that Aston Villa are interested in him?

I’m pretty sure his camp is doing the leaking 

[sidcow]

14 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

Lennon was winning it when it was a one horse race too. 

Yeah, that's the key.  The second Gerrard got Rangers shit together their streak is over and I would bet my house If Gerrard stayed at Rangers he's winning it again this season and next season as well. 

Think about the massive advantage Celtic had over them as being the top dog for years unopposed whilst Rangers were moving through the leagues their advantage should really have remained for years more. 

I was suprised how quickly Rangers took their crown, shouldn't have happened. 

[hippo]

1 minute ago, The_Steve said:

I’m pretty sure his camp is doing the leaking 

Or his defence.

[hippo]

1 minute ago, sidcow said:

Yeah, that's the key.  The second Gerrard got Rangers shit together their streak is over and I would bet my house If Gerrard stayed at Rangers he's winning it again this season and next season as well. 

Think about the massive advantage Celtic had over them as being the top dog for years unopposed whilst Rangers were moving through the leagues their advantage should really have remained for years more. 

I was suprised how quickly Rangers took their crown, shouldn't have happened. 

A blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.

[AV82]

On a positive I recall SG handling the Kamara incident with a lot of grace. Very encouraging to see him defend his player like that.

[Peter Griffin]

1 minute ago, sidcow said:

Yeah, that's the key.  The second Gerrard got Rangers shit together their streak is over and I would bet my house If Gerrard stayed at Rangers he's winning it again this season and next season as well. 

Think about the massive advantage Celtic had over them as being the top dog for years unopposed whilst Rangers were moving through the leagues their advantage should really have remained for years more. 

I was suprised how quickly Rangers took their crown, shouldn't have happened. 

The very thing that Gerrard did at Rangers i.e. take them up and rebuild the squad is the reasoning that many people want to give DS more time. New team, new league, new player, transition period etc. Gerrard managed to overcome these issues rather quickly

[KMitch]

3 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

I was saying that the situation that the Saints fans were in is very similar to the situation that we would be in if we appoint Gerrard. The Saints fans were wrong that time. So it is not a forgone conclusion that it is wrong to appoint Gerrard. We simply do not know. Gerrard could turn out to be a bad choice or he could turn out to be a very good choice

 

3 minutes ago, Steero113 said:

I think he was trying to say that at the time Saints fans didn't know that Poch was Poch 1.0 and considered him dogshit; thereby we don't know whether Gerrard is any good or not and all of this debate is moot. 

Or he could be John Carver...  Took over Newcastle when they were in 10th and did his best to nearly relegate them that season.  

Or he could be Steve Kean...  Took over Blackburn when they were mid-table from Fat Sam (anyone is an improvement on him, right?), and was one of the worst managers I can recall.

Or he could be Frank de Boer...  Another "winner" as a player, and even managed Ajax/Inter Milan before he went to Crystal Palace...  Didn't score a goal in their first 4 games under his watch, which led Mourinho to call him "the worst manager in the history of the Premier League".

[desensitized43]

1 minute ago, AV82 said:

On a positive I recall SG handling the Kamara incident with a lot of grace. Very encouraging to see him defend his player like that.

Not to be really negative about Gerrard before he's even signed (I'm actually coming around to it a little) and I agree the Kamara thing was handled well, but we can't forget he also defended obviously racist eam mate Luis Suarez and wore a T-Shirt supporting him before a game.