Steven Gerrard

[Woody1000]

6 minutes ago, Zatman said:

More of a state the facts and say what I see type person

So you can see that Gerrard’s defensive stats are good then?

[Zatman]

1 minute ago, Woody1000 said:

So you can see that Gerrard’s defensive stats are good then?

Well we play more defensive football under him so it should naturally be better

[Woody1000]

5 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Well we play more defensive football under him so it should naturally be better

Have you got any facts to back that up?

[Zatman]

2 minutes ago, Woody1000 said:

Have you got any facts to back that up?

We have a lot less of the ball than last season and are a counter attacking team now. Burnley is the first game we have won since Everton that we had more possession than the opposition 

 

[gwi1890]

7 minutes ago, Zatman said:

We have a lot less of the ball than last season and are a counter attacking team now. Burnley is the first game we have won since Everton that we had more possession than the opposition 

 

We were a counter attacking team under Smith 

[Zatman]

2 minutes ago, gwi1890 said:

We were a counter attacking team under Smith 

But with more attacking intent. Arsenal game last season we could have hit them for 5 or 6, Liverpool we should have scored 10 incredibly 

I dont think Gerrard has that in his managerial DNA which is more Rafa than Klopp to go for the throat. Southampton game  for example they were there to be hit for 7 or 8 but we just sat back at 4-0 and played out the last 40 minutes 

[CVByrne]

3 minutes ago, Zatman said:

But with more attacking intent. Arsenal game last season we could have hit them for 5 or 6, Liverpool we should have scored 10 incredibly 

I dont think Gerrard has that in his managerial DNA which is more Rafa than Klopp to go for the throat. Southampton game  for example they were there to be hit for 7 or 8 but we just sat back at 4-0 and played out the last 40 minutes 

We failed to beat so many teams below us who defended deep. That's the problem with counter attacking sides. It only gets you so far. 

[VillaParkAvenue]

Villa rarely have high possession figures, was much the same under Smith. Wouldn’t say we’re a typical counter attacking team, like Spurs under Conte, but we’re near the top when it comes to progressing the ball quickly. Relatively few passes and quick attacks, often making difficult passes leading to lost possession.

In the 7-2 against Liverpool, Villa had 30% possession which is logical as Liverpool went behind in the 4th minute.

[Rolta]

9 minutes ago, Zatman said:

But with more attacking intent. Arsenal game last season we could have hit them for 5 or 6, Liverpool we should have scored 10 incredibly 

I dont think Gerrard has that in his managerial DNA which is more Rafa than Klopp to go for the throat. Southampton game  for example they were there to be hit for 7 or 8 but we just sat back at 4-0 and played out the last 40 minutes 

For me it's not about his DNA, it's that Gerrard doesn't have a Grealish in the team (if I'm comparing those games last year under Smith).

Even with Buendia/Coutinho, they're just not as quick and direct as Grealish was (not saying he was quick, but he was quicker). He was so effective for us. If Bailey was actually quick or fit and more the player we all imagined he was then maybe we'd be more effective on the counter.

[The_Steve]

51 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

Don't think we can look at the period which Smith lost his job in vs the "new manager bounce" of Gerrards period fairly. 

What is interesting however is just the stats under Gerrard. That shows we have improved and are in a good position vs peers in the League. 

Another thing I like is that only Chelsea (3-1) and Spurs (4-0) have we lost by more than 1 goal under Gerrard. Spurs was an odd game as we really should have been leading at half time. While Chelsea got a very late penalty to get their 3rd. 

We are in games, we have given away some very very soft goals which has cost us points. I think we are a few signings and some luck away from being a top 7 side. Our front 3 are clicking well in the last 10 games too

100%
 

In a lot of the games we’ve lost under Gerrard - were by fine margins. Root out individual mistakes and we are a much better team than some suggest. 
 

The Spurs game was an anomaly - Lloris pulled off 7 top class saves and Spurs pretty much scored top class goals with each shot. 

[Dante_Lockhart]

57 minutes ago, VillaParkAvenue said:

OK, checked some of it myself. Under Smith this season we conceded an average of 1.73 goals per game. Under Gerrard it’s been 1.17.

Last season we conceded 1.21 on average.

Just imagine if we could have scored some more goals during those games we lost by a goal (West Ham, Wolves, Arsenal, Watford, Newcastle, Man U). Another 6 points? 9? 12?

[hippo]

I think the debate is a bit pointless on what has already gone. He has got the points to keep us up and keep his job for next season.

He is probably going to make significant changes over the summer - that will one way or the other shape his VP tenure.

[TRO]

14 hours ago, hippo said:

If you're winning it doesn't matter - hell we'd have liked McLeish if he'd got us 4th and won the FA cup. !!!!

Liking/not liking Gerrard only becomes an issue if he isn't winning. Being a former Liverpool hero - I think the fans might turn slightly quicker.

But his popularity or otherwise is a sideshow to results on the pitch.

Now, I agree with that.

[gwi1890]

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

But with more attacking intent. Arsenal game last season we could have hit them for 5 or 6, Liverpool we should have scored 10 incredibly 

I dont think Gerrard has that in his managerial DNA which is more Rafa than Klopp to go for the throat. Southampton game  for example they were there to be hit for 7 or 8 but we just sat back at 4-0 and played out the last 40 minutes 

But last season we had Jack Grealish , most of the goals this season under  Smith came from the  Austin MacPhee playbook, Matty Cash was turning into Rory Delap. I agree we haven’t been clinical enough at times under Gerrard but that’s been down to poor finishing and a team that’s still learning and getting used to the system, clean sheets are incredibly important , conceding less goals is important just ask leeds, or look higher up the table at the clubs we aspire to be competing with, Your judging Gerrard way to early positive work always starts out by laying the foundations first.

[jim]

2 hours ago, Zatman said:

we just sat back at 4-0 and played out the last 40 minutes 

Bastard, Gerrard out, should have won 8-0.

[AntrimBlack]

13 minutes ago, nick76 said:

I’ve been critical of Gerrard but tonight you can’t be because it was a performance on the whole to be proud of against one of the top European teams.  Nobody would’ve argued if we had come away with at least a draw…their quality and the ref just nicked them the win.

Well I am critical of him tonight.

That first sub was a major and avoidable mistake that may have cost us the draw at least.

And moving one of our best players at that stage to a position he cannot play. 

And not starting Buendia, our best player, in order to justify the signing of Coutinho.

[nick76]

Just now, AntrimBlack said:

Well I am critical of him tonight.

That first sub was a major and avoidable mistake that may have cost us the draw at least.

And moving one of our best players at that stage to a position he cannot play. 

And not starting Buendia, our best player, in order to justify the signing of Coutinho.

Fair enough, but out of all the things I have been critical on with Gerrard he got the team up for the game, we competed, we seem to have a game plan to get chances, we were better in midfield and our defence was ok.  

I’ve wanted us to show desire, a game plan, be organised and go for it.  We did that tonight against one of the best teams.  I’ve been very critical of Gerrard and yes the sub and change of positions for Dougie was an error.  

I also believed Emi should’ve started but for me it was a huge step forward tonight.  

It was one game and I still have some big concerns over Gerrard going forwards and yes he made some mistakes but I’m here after the game proud of my team despite being disappointed with the result.  I have to give Gerrard credit for that!

[MrBlack]

27 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Klopp saying something like he saw the weakness is the Diamond that we play.

Was that a dig? lol

Also moaning about the offside.

There wasn't a weakness in the diamond until the player at the base of it got removed and replaced by a number 8.

Gerrard made a mistake swapping Nakamba for Chuk. If Nakamba was blowing,  which he was, it should have been Tim or Chambers coming on for him.

If he wanted Chuk to have a platform, he should have removed McGinn (or Luiz, except he was the best player on the pitch at the time).

Gerrard's in game management was poor tonight, but he set us up very well to get at Liverpool, and but for a shit ref, we might have still got a point even with the poor subs.

We've come a long way with that performance compared with out other efforts against the top 6 this season,  and Gerrard has to get the credit for that.

[foreveryoung]

I think if Gerrard don't play Luiz back as a 8 from now on, we have got problems. Everyone and his dog saw he is 10/10 in that position, 3/10 in his normal 6 role.

[wict01]

If we can persist with this formation and add some quality through the spine, I think we could be in for a decent season next year. We need to hit the ground running as the strategy seems to have shifted to a more short-term vision but for the first real time I am starting to see a semblance of identity with "Gerrard's Villa"