TRO Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I have never been a Gabby fan .....due to pure lack of any consistency....but I do respect his weaponry, when he applies it....( no puns please, its a family forum, or is it?) but i do subscribe to the theory that TS could spark that form we know, can be better, than what he has been showing. Despite the reputation Sherwood has for no nonsense....his objective will be to get the belief back, however he achieves that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3te Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Hopefully one of the first things Sherwood does on Monday morning is call Gabby into his office & tell him his days of being an Aston Villa Charlie Big Potatoes are well & truly over! Has offered absolutely nothing for years! I'd be very concerned if any manager did that to a player. Day one is day one for everyone 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I think he'll get along well initially with Sherwood. Performances will improve and he'll get us yet more important goals. They'll fall out once Gabby settles down out of new manager mode again and he'll be frozen out. Obviously not a chance we'll never sell him on 50k a week so he won't play again until Sherwood leaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Hopefully one of the first things Sherwood does on Monday morning is call Gabby into his office & tell him his days of being an Aston Villa Charlie Big Potatoes are well & truly over! Has offered absolutely nothing for years! Hopefully he will watch him play and train and give him the right kind of encouragement and motivation. Who knows what Gabby needs; I don’t know him personally, so I don’t presume to know. He might respond to being boll•cked. He might respond being told he’s the best in the world. Clearly the manager who we cannot mention knew what made him tick. Whether he can return to that I don’t know 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooJung Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 But he can control a football, of course he's no Hazard where the ball is going to stick to him like glue every time it comes his way - the problem is people's minds have been made up and when a game comes where he will miscontrol maybe 1 out of 10 passes, its the 1 that people remember and crucify him for. Benteke has been infinitely more wasteful this season, but again, that's blamed on a "lack of confidence and mismanagement" The problem I believe stems from how both players began their careers, Gabby was always seen as a sprinter, nothing more - I think even MON or one of the coaches at the time said that when he made his debut he really couldn't play football, just run in a straight line - but that was said as a precursor to how far he's come along since then and developed his game - but since that's the opinion that people naturally formed when he started playing, even when he got better people seemed to just expect the good performances to be 'more luck than judgement' and waited for him to inevitably make another mistake so they could say "I told you so". Now he's career has been seriously threatened as a result of this mismanagement the "I knew he was awful straight away" people are in with a vengeance, no mention of him constantly being played out of position. You compare to Benteke who's first season he was like a freight train destroying teams and scoring goals for fun before losing his form - form that is still lost 2 years later, and everyone is more inclined to think the poor form is nothing more than a blip, its not his fault, how could ANYONE score goals or move 3 feet with this service, he was injured etc etc. I'm not saying Gabby is a great player, far from it, but I do believe he has a place in this team as it stands. The chronic mismanagement excuse cannot only be applied to players we like, it has to apply to all and that includes Gabby. It really irks me when people will moan about how lazy he is and how he doesn't care when it was only 2 days ago against Hull, following another error in a long line of errors from Delph recently that he chased back 50/60 yards and made a tackle on the edge of our own box - while playing as a striker! He isn't a gifted player but he does work hard and I feel that is the level of commitment that we need while entrenched in a relegation battle and should be applauded. Instead it gets ignored and he's berated because he missed a pass once in the game - I can all but guarantee that had that been Benteke, and it was Benteke that chased 50/60 yards back towards his own goal to make a tackle on a striker charging towards our goal, with the rest of his performance being identical it would be all people were talking about on here, how it proves that he's not lazy, proves it is Lamberts tactics after all etc etc. Something else to consider from this season Games involving Gabby - Pld 23, Won, 5, Drawn 6, Lost 12, GF 9, GA 16, Pts 21 = 0.91 pts per game 22% win ratio 0.39 goals scored per game Personal record - Played 23 - Goals 3 = (0.130 goals per game) (remember he has not played up front for the majority of those games either, playing out of position on the wing) Games involving Benteke - Pld 16, Won 2, Drawn 3, Lost 11, GF 4, GA 11, Pts 9 0.56 pts per game 13% win ratio 0.25 goals scored per game Personal record - Played 16 - Goals 2 = (0.125 goals per game) (playing as the figurehead central striker) We have been consistently better as a team with Gabby in it than with Benteke in it...the two goalscoring records this season are virtually identical despite one being a winger at least 60% of the time and the other playing as a striker 100% of the time, who do you think has taken more stick? If you remove the first 4 games of the season (in which we massively overachieved) from the equation how does Gabby's contribution to results look like? I think you will agree that the those games are in no possible way a reflection of our season. And Gabby hasn't come back from a bad injury. Well sure you can remove the stats that don't suit your argument all you want I suppose, still doesn't make them any less valid. I agree with the injury excuse, but it is still an excuse, same as the poor tactics or no service or mismanagement excuse. With Benteke all people look for is excuses as to why he isn't playing well, with Gabby all people see is that he's not playing well and instantly hate him for it, even though you could easily argue that Gabby has a lot more valid excuses than Benteke does. Again I'll clarify, I'm not saying I think he's better than Benteke, I'm simply saying he's putting in far more effort and currently performing far better than Benteke and gets nothing but hate for it. Give me a choice of a world class player like Ronaldo sulking around doing piss all every match or a bang average grafter like Harewood running his arse off and at least doing his absolute best every match I'll take Harewood every time (especially if his recent record is actually better, as Gabbys is now). A player can't really control how good/crap they are, what they can control is the effort they put in, that's why I'll defend players like Gabby and Weimann. They don't pick the team, they can't suddenly make themselves as good as Ronaldo, but they do their best for the team. Benteke? When he starts putting some effort in I'll defend him too It's not that they don't suit my argument, it's that it's a case in which the WHOLE team overperformed and isn't a fair reflection of the situation. You can take a brief spell of games to prove anything you like, it's as if back then you said that we were the second best team in the country just because we were second in the league. If Heskey managed to score a hattrick against Bayern, that wouldn't be enough to make him a prolific striker, and that's all I was saying. Ok but I'm looking at stats over the course of the whole season, not picking and choosing the best or worst ones throughout it. And I'm not trying to prove that he is a prolific striker, because a) he rarely plays as a striker and he is clearly not prolific. I'm simply saying he is bringing more to the team this season than Benteke. Is it not odd that in a team where everyone except the defence has been crap we as fans will put that down to "poor management and tactics making them under perform" with players we like (Delph, Benteke) and "crap players who are playing at the top of their game and are just rubbish" with players we don't like (Gabby, Weimann, Cleverley). If ALL the attacking players are playing rubbish that's down to tactics, in the same way that all the defence playing well except Lowton and Richardson that's not down to tactics, because they're fine for everyone else, it's just Lowton and Richardson not being good enough. If everyone attack minded was playing well and Gabby wasn't, that's not a tactical thing because it's working for everyone else, but that isn't the case, they're all playing badly and therefore they all get to use the same excuse, not just the ones that everyone likes Sure, but I hope you will agree that it's very likely that had we had Benteke in those games instead of Gabby, the way the whole team played would have made Benteke's stats look better. Thing is, using team stats (I realize you also used individual stats) to make a point about one or 2 players doesn't really work. If you look at Gil's stats in the PL games he played they won't look all that good. Sure, that could have been the case, but we'll never know for sure and Benteke has been so poor many times this season I firmly believe he has been a large hindrance to the team. I wasn't putting the stats up to prove Gabby has been great, I don't actually think Gabbys been any good at all this season, in previous years I've always thought of him as an important player as he does so much selfless work for the team, his goalscoring stats have never been great, but that's not his game (bit like goals were never Heskeys thing but he was still excellent for every team he's played for). I do think though that this season he has suffered in the same way the rest of our attacking players have, so to single out him or Andi for not being good enough while allowing Benteke off the hook because of tactics is a cop out. They've all been playing under the same conditions and all playing poorly, at least Gabby and Andi have put some effort in I think Gabby's lack of ability has been just as much of a hinderance, so I guess that's we disagree. I have nothing positive to say about Benteke's attitude, and from what I've seen from him I must say I rather dislike him as a professional and as a person. The fact alone that a player who goes on strike to earn himself a move is disgusting. That said, if anyone is to take us out of this mess I think that Benteke's ability certainly can (as it already has done), whereas Gabby's workrate (which I think you overestimate) won't. He's got 4 league goals in the last 12 months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Have a feeling Gabby will be the first high profile casualty of Sherwood's reign come the summer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 No one will buy him. Absolutely no one. It was mental to offer him anything more than £30k a week, no one else will give him that. I actually think he'll get some big goals in the coming weeks regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 TS said his team will be picked based on training performances, so hopefully this will be the kick up the backside that Gabby, and other players need. Don't train well, don't play. Simples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majkee Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Let´s face the known facts: Gabby and Weimann, only one of them should be on the pitch and it would be possible only in classic 4-4-2 formation, as they are both poachers/advanced forwards, sitting on the back of the last defender and in front of Benteke´s flicks or creative passes. One of Lambert´s biggest mistake was playing them both and as wingers to create something for Benteke. They are not and both lack vision, creativity and passing. Gabby and Andreas are both strikers, as mentioned above. Gabby´s play is based on pace and strength, but he has poor football brain and poor off the ball movement. Weimann is more intelligent, better of the ball, but poor pace and strength. Therefore is Gabby slightly more suitable for away games with fast counters. I am expecting those roles for them under Sherwood. But I am sorry, I can not see his role in 4-2-3-1 formation other as a lonely striker and only as a sub for Benteke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Hopefully one of the first things Sherwood does on Monday morning is call Gabby into his office & tell him his days of being an Aston Villa Charlie Big Potatoes are well & truly over! Has offered absolutely nothing for years! Hopefully he will watch him play and train and give him the right kind of encouragement and motivation. Who knows what Gabby needs; I don’t know him personally, so I don’t presume to know. He might respond to being boll•cked. He might respond being told he’s the best in the world. Clearly the manager who we cannot mention knew what made him tick. Whether he can return to that I don’t know on the last point I would suggest it was the players he was playing with made him a better player back in them days. no coincidence they all moved onto better things and left Gabby behind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meregreen Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 If Sherwood picks his teams on merit, Gabby is finished. Not before time either. Overrated, overweight and overpaid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majkee Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 If Sherwood picks his teams on merit, Gabby is finished. Not before time either. Overrated, overweight and overpaid. Do not be so harsh on him, he still has a role at Villa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icouldtelltheworld Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Gabby should be starting away games and any other time that we're playing on the counter. For home games, and other times where we'll be on the front foot I increasingly see him as back-up to Benteke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul33 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 (edited) Don't underestimate the adverse affect Lambert had on some players and I suspect Gabby was one. Give him a chance under a more positive manager and then judge him ..... his career here earns him the right to be given every chance. If he doesn't improve under TS then so be it but give him a chance first ! Edited February 16, 2015 by Paul33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooJung Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Don't underestimate the adverse affect Lambert had on some players and I suspect Gabby was one. Give him a chance under a more positive manager and then judge him ..... his career here earns him the right to be given every chance. If he doesn't improve under TS then so be it but give him a chance first ! Thing is, he was rubbish with McLeish and Houllier as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heid3ster Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Gabby scored us some very important goals at the end of Lambert's first season, some game-winners. He can be instrumental to our relegation battle, if he's sufficiently motivated. Let's hope Sherwood can give him that motivation. But I am sorry, I can not see his role in 4-2-3-1 formation other as a lonely striker and only as a sub for Benteke. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SikhInTrinity Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 He's injured http://instagram.com/p/zKGYe1G780/?modal=true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted February 16, 2015 Moderator Share Posted February 16, 2015 Hospital injured - I guess he's having whichever shit he was sick of on twitter fixed finally - an operation that would otherwise have been delayed until the summer under previous management? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killeen30 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Gabby will have to pull the finger out of his arse and focus on scoring goals and assisting otherwise he'll not get a look in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Don't underestimate the adverse affect Lambert had on some players and I suspect Gabby was one. Give him a chance under a more positive manager and then judge him ..... his career here earns him the right to be given every chance. If he doesn't improve under TS then so be it but give him a chance first ! What! With due respect what career? the guy is a clown and should be bombed out ASAP. I cant believe so many people still cut this guy any slack whatsoever given his actual contribution on the pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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