Steven Gerrard

[Peter Griffin]

25 minutes ago, WHY said:

Yeah but he’s built that squad with a lot of money and managed to keep their best players in the process. It wasn’t possible 12 months ago because they didn’t have the players to play that way. I’m not knocking Arteta btw I think he’s a very good coach, you just missed out some key facts. You can have all the money in the world but you’ve got to be able to attract the players, we aren’t at that level yet. 

I don't think I am missing any key facts. The point is not about the individual players that were purchased., it is the fact that for the first year or so the Arsenal fans thought he was an awful manager, no tactics, wrong selection, wrong subs etc, exactly the same as on VT with Gerrard. And Arteta has turned it around and they love him. New managers need time to prove themselves or not

[Peter Griffin]

12 minutes ago, Adam2003 said:

So sick of this Arteta point. Yes they lost a load of games they should have won. And then they went on a good run but still blew the Champions League qualification they had sewn up. Now they are winning a few games but it’s hardly a revelatory point. 

Arsenal have a really good team. They lost a lot of games they shouldn’t have and their fans were annoyed with Arteta. That’s as far as any parallel goes - no-one ever worried Arteta would relegate them.

Nobody with any sense is worried Gerrard will relegate Villa. 

[Sulberto21]

14 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

interestingly just saw another clip. Check around 1:40 mark. He was asked if sometimes players need to step up, as they can tend to hide behind the Manager . He sighed and then said " The important thing, is the players actually DID what the Manager asked today " 

Now I know we give SG stick, but is this sort of a tell that they haven't really been doing it otherwise?

Doesn't take anything away from SGs flaws or bad decisions obviously, but I think SG also mentioned the same thing in one of his post match earlier!

Is there a case here?

 

He changed formation and tactics though hence it was easier for them to carry out instructions. 

Gerrard has flip flopped between 2 number 10’s and two strikers. This causes confusion. 

[A'Villan]

I'm going to renege on my stance that Gerrard should be replaced.

I really enjoyed and liked Dean Smith. Within a month of his appointment I was a fan and thought his approach was going to be effective and deliver, even though results took their time to complement his coaching philosophy and tactics. I liked that he challenged our team to play with the ball and embody his ideals as a coach, even though some would have to develop as players to be able to allow for the implementation of the tactics to be even somewhat effective. Aesthetically Smith was the ultimate contrast to Bruce. And that bode well for us, and for him alike.

The reason I am reneging on my Gerrard stance is that I think there are a myriad of factors that are going against him at present, and I'm no longer so sure that him making a few mistakes in regards to team selection and tactical approach are cause for the kind of concern that we should look elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not singing his praises because I've done some reflection on what his situation is, what success for Villa as a coach and manager will entail, and some brief reading on Gerrard's coaching style at Rangers, I'm not. I just think it's a bit premature for me to pass judgement that what he has in mind is going to be as hopeless as the first few games of this season suggest it may continue to be.

Edited September 4, 2022 by A'Villan

[KentVillan]

3 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

Nobody with any sense is worried Gerrard will relegate Villa. 

I mean, I don't think he will, but the bookies have us about 4/1 or 5/1 to go down, so it's not unthinkable.

The problem this season is that the newly promoted clubs all look okay-ish. Bournemouth and Fulham have won 2 each, and Forest have invested a lot. The other teams around us (West Ham, Everton, Leicester) aren't exactly shite either.

I would fancy our squad depth to show through come the end of the season, but it could certainly be a much more uncomfortable season than we'd hoped, with mathematical safety coming fairly late in the day.

[viivvaa66]

1 hour ago, Peter Griffin said:

Surely, what u have just said suggests this is not his best? There are lots of managers that take some time to adapt. Just look at Arteta now, Gunners fans wanted him and Edu dragged out of Arsenal last season. There are not too many calling for their heads now

I’m sure Nuno is a better example that is closer to the situation with Gerrard. I’m sure you wouldn’t find any spurs fan that are unhappy he was sacked.

[Keyblade]

22 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

Nobody with any sense is worried Gerrard will relegate Villa. 

On this season's showing, there's no way you can say this. We are one of the 5 worst teams in the league at the moment. We'll be there or thereabouts if we continue like this, to quote one master tactician.

[Marka Ragnos]

I just think things really must be one match at a time for today. I don’t believe anyone’s grand Gerrard In or Gerrard Out narratives at the moment, except for the people who are just kind of, let’s see what happens next. 

It’s football. The rules of physics may apply on a pitch, but they definitely don’t apply when you’re talking about all the variables involved in a set of players and a management team and an organization.

It really looks like things could turn around. It also really looks like things could go to complete shit. If you’re able to know it all in such fluid circumstances and with so many mixed signals, I’m deeply impressed.

[Keyblade]

12 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said:

I just think things really must be one match at a time for today. I don’t believe anyone’s grand Gerrard In or Gerrard Out narratives at the moment, except for the people who are just kind of, let’s see what happens next. 

It’s football. The rules of physics may apply on a pitch, but they definitely don’t apply when you’re talking about all the variables involved in a set of players and a management team and an organization.

It really looks like things could turn around. It also really looks like things could go to complete shit. If you’re able to know it all in such fluid circumstances and with so many mixed signals, I’m deeply impressed.

This is cool if we're kind of plodding around at midtable, we'd have the security to take it a game at a time. We are currently out of the relegation zone on goals scored. This point was our first in 4 games. Don't think we can really afford to take it a game at a time right now because before you know it, you've reached the point of no return. If you're proactive, you put yourself in a position to avoid that (although it's not guaranteed of course).

[Marka Ragnos]

5 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

This is cool if we're kind of plodding around at midtable, we'd have the security to take it a game at a time. We are currently out of the relegation zone on goals scored. This point was our first in 4 games. Don't think we can really afford to take it a game at a time right now because before you know it, you've reached the point of no return. If you're proactive, you put yourself in a position to avoid that (although it's not guaranteed of course).

Well said — I am sincerely impressed with your thinking, and I fear it’s prescient. 

We especially can’t afford to take it one loss at a time right now.

Just from a pragmatic point of view, I also just think one match at a time is what the owners are going to do whether we like it or not anyway.

[briny_ear]

24 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

This is cool if we're kind of plodding around at midtable, we'd have the security to take it a game at a time. We are currently out of the relegation zone on goals scored. This point was our first in 4 games. Don't think we can really afford to take it a game at a time right now because before you know it, you've reached the point of no return. If you're proactive, you put yourself in a position to avoid that (although it's not guaranteed of course).

I’m fascinated to know how else you can take football? The only way you can gain points is by playing games, which come, err.. one at a time. Unless you are expecting Gerrard somehow to add a few points to our tally by magic without playing any football?

I think the Villa fans’ reaction today at the match suggests that if we are playing progressive, competitive football, the team and manager will be supported. How else are we going to know if that is the case apart from taking it a game .at a  time?

Edited September 4, 2022 by briny_ear

[Keyblade]

1 minute ago, briny_ear said:

I’m fascinated to know how else you can take football? The only way you can gain points is by playing games, which come, err.. one st a time. Unless you are expecting Gerrard somehow to add a few points to our tally by magic without playing any football?

I think the Villa fans’ reaction today at the match showed suggests that if we are playing progressive, competitive football, the team and manager will be supported. How else are we going to know if that is the case apart from taking it a game .at a  time?

I'm not sure why I need to spell this out but when I say "we" it doesn't literally mean we Villa fans, it means we as in Aston Villa. Like when someone says "we scored a good goal", they mean Villa scored a good goal...it doesn't imply that they play for Villa. I'm referring to the owners/board there, the clue is in the fact that I'm talking about a decision to be made on the manager's employment. I don't believe us fans have the power to make such a decision.

In any case, if you weren't being deliberately obtuse, what I meant there was that we (the club) can't wait until the moment things become disastrously untenable as a result of taking things 1 game at a time. There is a clear macro-picture here. This was his 33rd game in charge I believe. It's not very proactive to wait 1,2,3...6 more games for that picture to become crystal clear 4K UHD, because by the time we reach that point it could very well be too late.

And I agree, as long as we're competing the manager will have our support during the game. Although I didn't see much evidence of any sort of progressive football, we showed a lot of fight and fought hard to keep the game close and took our chance very well. That's the bare minimum we can expect from the team, and we got it today. We've seen precious little of it this season, so that was encouraging. The problem is, we won't be playing do-or-die games against Man City every week.

[Tomaszk]

2 hours ago, Peter Griffin said:

Nobody with any sense is worried Gerrard will relegate Villa. 

Gerrard’s current form over the season would give us 28 points. 

That is relegation.

What's your theory on survival?

[Keyblade]

12 minutes ago, Tomaszk said:

Gerrard’s current form over the season would give us 28 points. 

That is relegation.

What's your theory on survival?

I think by sense he meant that certain people can just "sense" that we won't get relegated. Forget about all the evidence and the eye test pointing to us being one of those worst teams in the league so far, it's just not gonna happen, ya know?

[Tomaszk]

14 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

I think by sense he meant that certain people can just "sense" that we won't get relegated. Forget about all the evidence and the eye test pointing to us being one of those worst teams in the league so far, it's just not gonna happen, ya know?

It would actually be a really nice parting of ways, and give Gerrard a chance in management.

If we continue on this path, no one will touch him.

[Keyblade]

7 minutes ago, Tomaszk said:

It would actually be a really nice parting of ways, and give Gerrard a chance in management.

If we continue on this path, no one will touch him.

If the club is as well-run as we've always thought, this is the kind of thing you'd expect them to do. I just get the feeling they're going to let it drag on til the point of no return which gives me this uneasy reminder of the Lerner era.

[Zatman]

4 hours ago, Peter Griffin said:

Surely, what u have just said suggests this is not his best? There are lots of managers that take some time to adapt. Just look at Arteta now, Gunners fans wanted him and Edu dragged out of Arsenal last season. There are not too many calling for their heads now

Arteta wow what cliche at this stage. Anybody comparing Arteta to Gerrard has no idea about football

[Zatman]

3 hours ago, Peter Griffin said:

Nobody with any sense is worried Gerrard will relegate Villa. 

Mm I have a lot of sense and I am very worried Doink will get us relegated

[IrishVilla10]

28 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Arteta wow what cliche at this stage. Anybody comparing Arteta to Gerrard has no idea about football

The arteta comparisons couldn’t be any more wrong imo. I do think todays result has bought Gerrard more time though however, we’re going to have to just put up with the next few games and see what happens 

[IrishVilla10]

3 hours ago, Peter Griffin said:

Nobody with any sense is worried Gerrard will relegate Villa. 

Are you sure? We’ve seen nothing but relegation form from 2022