JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said: We pay Gerrard 5 times as much so I'd expect him to be able to improve it. We've also backed him with excellent signings in January. This is true. However, I still think, we've again dropped an almighty bollock by not getting a midfielder in. Dare I say, we possibly needed one more than Digne. Been a theme for what seems like quite a while now. McGinn et al always decides to turn into a world class midfielder for a couple games around a transfer window, then fall off. lol Which leads to the false security of " Yeah we're good enough in there to last the season " Edited February 13, 2022 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Albrighton Posted February 13, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted February 13, 2022 Both Smith and Bruce were getting hammered for dismal winter form in their first four or five months in charge so it’s only fair that Gerrard is also receiving it. The season is a write off now. Basically I want to see what he can do for the remainder now, see some encouraging signs to feel positive about the summer and next season*. I thought it was slightly harsh, but @Zatman’s rating of 5 out of 10 (so far) is probably about right. *I said the exact same thing after the bad run in 18/19 and then it suddenly wasn’t off. Be good if it turned around again but I didn’t expect it then, I don’t expect it now 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skarroki Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 1 minute ago, Mantis said: But this just isn't true though? I don't know why it has to be case of Gerrard either doing an amazing job or doing nothing since he came in. Why can't there be some nuance to it? That we looked good when he first came in and were making improvements but for some reason have regressed again. We won every game we were expected to win and lost every game we expected to lose until we started dropping points more and more against sides we need to be beating to get a top half finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmirch Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Lucky we got beale AND gerrard, we’d be **** otherwise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a m ole Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 2 minutes ago, Spoony said: Under Smith we’d have lost that 4-0 today Regardless of the argument at hand that’s just such a ridiculous throwaway easy thing to say based on nothing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaFaninLondon Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 It was the right decision to sack Smith. Our performances were just as bad and the results were even worse. What is concerning, however, is that we have replaced him with a manager who has proven nothing in the game and looks to be woefully inadequate for a side that wants to push for the top 6. There were more experienced managers out of work, such as Favre. Or if we wanted to poach an existing manager we should have gone all out for Potter. Results and performances are really starting to worry me under this manager. Like some have mentioned it almost seems pointless watching us at the mo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regular_john Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 4 minutes ago, Mantis said: Ugh. Most of the criticisms of Gerrard here are very fair but can we PLEASE stop pretending that we were somehow doing fine under Smith? We weren't. We were playing like we played today every game. No matter how badly Gerrard does from here on in, that doesn't change how badly we were doing under Smith in the end. We had a bad run at the end, no doubt, but he was still an excellent manager for us, properly excellent. It's easy to say now as we'll never know but I have every confidence he would have turned it around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 I think Gerrard has the potential to do great things, but it's easy to forget that Smith barely got to use Bailey and Ings, Buendia was not at the fitness he is now and we certainly didn't have a player like coutinho in there. I hoped by now we'd look much better as a team. I'm not sure we do. This season doesn't matter. But the expectations have been raised with his appointment. There's a lot of work to be done if this team is going to challenge top 8 next season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomC Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 1 minute ago, Rightdm00 said: Fullbacks having to beat defenders 1v1 without overlapping runs or support. It got to a point Digne couldn't even put in a cross without it being cut out. Agree with you on this point...I was thinking how Targett-like Digne looked today with his crosses getting blocked. Quote Dean looks like Pep next to this guy. At least he was willing to change it up when he realized it was different world from the championship to the PL. Can't disagree more...see what I said about rotation above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Just now, skarroki said: We won every game we were expected to win and lost every game we expected to lose until we started dropping points more and more against sides we need to be beating to get a top half finish. Not sure a team that had recently lost 5 on the bounce (and deservedly so) would've been expected to beat Brighton, Palace away and Leicester. Not saying beating them was some sort of amazing achievement but I think everyone would've snapped your hand off for that when we'd just lost 5 in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 We just have weak players, nobody could coach players like McGinn or Luiz to be anything other than average, have just enough good moments to paper over how shit they are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thug Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 £27m fullback and a world class player later… Dean Smith getting more out of a bunch a championship players. And it’s not like we’ve had a run of harder fixtures! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCGB Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 The bar should have been set higher. Purslow is in deep trouble if this goes wrong. Tell me he’s not Sherwood MK 2 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rightdm00 Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 5 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said: I'm amazed people are saying it's because our players aren't good enough. Does anyone seriously think that Newcastle have a better team and squad than us? Newcastle started Jonjo Shelvey at the base of their midfield ffs. Our front 3 cost almost £200 million and generated 1 shot on target. It's been like this since his appointment. Our creativity has shrunk to almost zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newry_Villan Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 Is hoof ball part of the plan to fire us into the European places? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 10 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said: We pay Gerrard 5 times as much so I'd expect him to be able to improve it. We've also backed him with excellent signings in January. Such a weird thing to do. Purslow trying to buy friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 1 minute ago, regular_john said: We had a bad run at the end, no doubt, but he was still an excellent manager for us, properly excellent. It's easy to say now as we'll never know but I have every confidence he would have turned it around. The key being WAS. It was completely stale and rotten by the end. Once again, don't know why people are incapable of nuance here - that Smith did a very good job with us but also that it was right he went when he did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 1 minute ago, AVFCGB said: The bar should have been set higher. Purslow is in deep trouble if this goes wrong. Tell me he’s not Sherwood MK 2 ? No, nobody's that bad. Except Sherwood. The word removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rightdm00 Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 1 minute ago, TomC said: Agree with you on this point...I was thinking how Targett-like Digne looked today with his crosses getting blocked. Can't disagree more...see what I said about rotation above. When we came up from the championship Jack was in the midfield. Dean shifted him out wide maybe 7 games into the season and we immediately saw benefits. Steven has persisted with this awful flying fullbacks formation for over a third of the season now. It's not working and we look a poorer side for it. He needs to change it. A good manager, especially one with 5 assistant coaches should be able to scheme something up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 What's happening now is we're going backwards and it'll make it hard to convince anyone to come and waste their careers at Aston Villa this summer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts