Steven Gerrard

[TRO]

18 hours ago, SuffolkVillan said:

Sage words. I hadn't thought about the long standing, underlying malaise this club has endured for more than a decade. I did call for him to go but I think you may have a point. Question is, how long do we give him?

The problem is, you have to find results, when sorting out crap.......if not you don't get the time,its very tough........ look at Arteta, they stuck by him.

However, SG has to help himself too, and some of his team selections and tactics have been bizarre......maybe some of that, is related to his behind the scenes, possible issues.....we simply don't know.

Time will tell, if the Top Brass, want to run with it.

 

Edited August 12, 2022 by TRO

[Pinebro]

15 minutes ago, TRO said:

The problem is, you have to find results, when sorting out crap.......if not you don't get the time, look at Arteta....They stuck by him.

However, SG has to help himself too, and some of his team selections and tactics have been bizarre......maybe some of that, is related to his behind the scenes, possible issues.....we simply don't know.

Time will tell, if the Top Brass, want to run with it.

 

Arteta won the FA Cup which bought him time 

[rodders0223]

Just now, Pinebro said:

Arteta won the FA Cup which bought him time 

And he wasn't a complete whopper.

[Steero113]

Just now, rodders0223 said:

And he wasn't a complete whopper.

Have you watched all or nothing? The guys a complete and utter word removed

[Zatman]

1 minute ago, Steero113 said:

Have you watched all or nothing? The guys a complete and utter word removed

He takes the mini Pep thing too seriously

[rodders0223]

Just now, Steero113 said:

Have you watched all or nothing? The guys a complete and utter word removed

No he isn't. Comes across really well. Proper measured guy with modern thoughts on management culture and football.

[Dale]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

..He chanced his arm with a huge club on its arse

That is a massive disservice to the progress the club has made under his predecessor. We were in poor form, but very very well set at the time Gerrard was gifted a role he'd done nothing to earn. The trajectory of the club was upwards not down. This isn't Lambert or Garde's landing point. 

Club on its arse, see Eddie Howe. 

[Tayls]

I think we are probably at a point now where it would be best if he didn’t do any press conferences or media for a bit until things are addressed on the pitch. That is where I want the talking to happen. No more BS. We’ve had enough over the years. 

Edited August 11, 2022 by Tayls

[Vive_La_Villa]

I think he has until the World Cup break.  

[Vive_La_Villa]

9 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

And he wasn't a complete whopper.

Seriously? I can’t stand the guy. 

[Sam-AVFC]

8 minutes ago, Steero113 said:

Have you watched all or nothing? The guys a complete and utter word removed

The few clips I've seen do make him look a bit of a tit. It seems like most managers are tbh.

[The_Steve]

22 minutes ago, Dale said:

That is a massive disservice to the progress the club has made under his predecessor. We were in poor form, but very very well set at the time Gerrard was gifted a role he'd done nothing to earn. The trajectory of the club was upwards not down. This isn't Lambert or Garde's landing point. 

Club on its arse, see Eddie Howe. 

That’s revisionist at best - it’s very clear that Smith had hit his ceiling. For all the good he did, change was needed. 

[Xela]

9 hours ago, jim said:

What’s the point though? This thread has been an endless circle of negativity.

Ive supported Gerrard and quiet rightly I’m not happy with Saturdays performance and we need a big performance this weekend. 

Misery loves company. 

[Mantis]

1 minute ago, The_Steve said:

That’s revisionist at best - it’s very clear that Smith had hit his ceiling. For all the good he did, change was needed. 

Yes, exactly. I don't know why "criticism of Gerrard" (totally justified) is so often linked with Smith revisionism, because they shouldn't be really. It's not at all difficult to believe that Gerrard isn't working out right now or was the wrong appointment without pretending that we hadn't stagnated by the time Smith was sacked.

[Zatman]

6 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

That’s revisionist at best - it’s very clear that Smith had hit his ceiling. For all the good he did, change was needed. 

not really, we were in the perfect position with the right manager to attack the top 7 this season. Most of the building blocks are there

Maybe a change was needed but was the wrong change completely that is putting us backwards another season or two

He is our Pepe Mel

Edited August 11, 2022 by Zatman

[PeterSw]

Very interested to see his demeanour and listen to his chat during the pre-match press conference 

[Keyblade]

12 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

That’s revisionist at best - it’s very clear that Smith had hit his ceiling. For all the good he did, change was needed. 

I don't see how this contradicts what he said. He may have hit his ceiling and deserved to be sacked but the overall trend of the club was still upwards. Right now it looks like we're stagnating. It's nothing that good coaching can't fix as thankfully we've recruited pretty well.

[DaveAV1]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

I can only speak for myself....but Blind Faith is a bit disingenuous to fans who have supported Gerrard...and that could inc you too, because I know you have.

This team has had a weak streak, before Gerrard set foot in Villa Park.....He chanced his arm with a huge club on its arse, sure it was scotland where the standard is lower.....but he had to do something big, to gain credibility, he won the league , hard to do in any league.

His playing days showed, leadership and a steely determination to win, he was universally accepted as a warrior......is it any surprise, some folk like me, would think he will bring this in to his management.....Because I thought it was needed, amongst many things.

The ills we had before he arrived, are still here, much to my susrprise.....but maybe thats my fault, for underestimating thesize of the job in hand.............changing the mentality, and the culture of what has become accepted, as a soft team, is maybe more difficult than we all imagined.

Maybe his efforts to change it have actually misfired somewhat, and requires a rethink.

Whatever, it is, we need to fix it....we can't keep throwing managers at it.....Man U have shown us that.

This club/team losing 19 games and winning 6 at home......something had to change, maybe some of the players are quite happy for it not to change and there lies the conflict......only those close to BMH may know.

There is no chance of Villa coming out and airing their dirty washing.....so only results/perfomances are the only pacifying medicine.

I think it’s no coincidence that he always speaks highly of Ashley Young or was so keen to recruite Coutinho. Both are players that, like him, have played at the highest level, enjoyed success and have played at clubs that both expect and demand success. Diego Carlos comes across as a similar type of player. Until we can spread this mentality throughout the whole squad in fact the whole club we won’t achieve anything, regardless of who the manager is. 
 

People keep saying that we have a stronger squad than X,Y or Z and they’re possibly right in terms of individual players. That however isn’t the problem. The problem is we don’t have a strong mentality or belief or willingness to do the hard yards. Call it what you like but we haven’t got it. 
 

There are no guarantees that SG can instill it into this group of players. After Fergie, David Moyes couldn’t get the belief transferred to him from their former manager, they’re still looking for someone who can. Moyes has managed it at West Ham, but it wasn’t instant. Some managers just click at a club, whereas other, equally talented managers just don’t. Arteta has taken time to get Arsenal playing with belief. Even Fergie wasn’t an instant success at Man U or Wenger at Arsenal. 
 

As fans we’re impatient and it could be argued that we’ve waited a long time. But when did Spurs last win the league or Newcastle for that matter? Man City are still playing catch up with us when it comes to winning the European Cup. Gerrard or anyone else will need time, how much he’ll get, in a notoriously impatient industry, is the big question. He needs to buy some time in the immediate future or rightly or wrongly his time will run out. Everton is a big chance to get some credit in his time bank, he needs to take that chance. 

[Dale]

19 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

That’s revisionist at best - it’s very clear that Smith had hit his ceiling. For all the good he did, change was needed. 

Nonsense. The club was still on an upwards trajectory when Gerrard took over even if it had run its course. The club was far from on its arse Steve... It was changing manager to maintain its trajectory. 

[Keyblade]

We have many of the same key players that finished with 55 points and one of the best defences in the league. Not sure how they managed that if they were lacking in belief or mentality. It's almost as if it's someone's responsibility to instill these qualities in the team as well as set them up correctly to win football matches. Putting everything on the players and some intangible qualities like "belief" is just deflection from the issue at hand imo.