aston villa thread

[jimmyinthewell68]

First topic message reminder :

well after the terrible frustrating long ball defend defend mcleash season ,villa have now a good prospect in Paul Lambert .  when Martin oNeil left i was at first gutted like many villa fans but then when u add up all the average players he bought  along with high wages then u can see why learner decided enough was enough .so Martin walked out .  next come along gerard houllier  a few weeks late in the season . lots of villa fans didnt take to him  because of the early results but i liked the way we played under him and when he bought Darren bent and the players settled in his style of play we rocketed up the league .even  beating Liverpool in revenge after that 4  nil  beating and his  infamous badly chosen words that didnt sit well with villa fans .poor health parted another manager . then come Alex .no more needs to be said on that .   so now we have Paul . a few good signings come in and i for one now feels we can compete  in cup games and perhaps a eighth position in league .

[westisbest]

So we see another manager getting the chop at Villa.

I cant remember the last time we were rock bottom of the premiership.

The club is a bit of a joke at the moment, so whoever comes in, I almost feel sorry for them.

Rogers, Moyes, Bradley, Pearson, Garde.

I actually like Sherwood.
He kept us up last season.
He has said he wanted the players we signed, but some of them were not on the top of his list.

We do have a fair few players who are not up to the standard.

We just need a win to boost confidence, starting with Saints wednesday.

I still think we will turn it round, whoever comes in.
Time for players to step up and play for the shirt.

Good luck to Sherwood in the future.

[Guest]

Randy Lerner saying the club bought aggressively in the summer and were expecting much better results and performances.  He is bringing in a French guy because they bought a lot of French players in the summer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34704734

New players new manager with no experience of English football ...

... Am quite happy with the signings we have made in the summer, but as i keep banging on, they need to step up. ...

If the summer signings are good for premiership football then Villa have a chance.

[westisbest]

What do other Villa fans thing of Garde as new manager?

I would have preferred someone with premiership experience, but will see how he does.

Will know the lads from France, so that Is one positive.

Just hope we have the right guy.
Only time will yell.

I do think we will get an unexpected win against one of the top sides, will it be City on Sunday?

No better game than to get managers first win.

[Guest]

I like this direction - it is reported that Garde has banned French being spoken in the dressing room:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34717305

[westisbest]

Its a good start.
All speaking the one language.

Team I would like to see Garde put out when everyone is fit, may not work, but.

Guzan, Hutton, Okore, Richards, Amavi, Gueye, Grealish, Gil, Sinclair, Ayew, Gestede.

Subs.

Bunn Bacuna Lescott Traore Kozak Clarke Veretout.

[Galted]

What do other Villa fans thing of Garde as new manager?

I'll almost certainly see how he turns out then claim "I told you so" to anyone who cares to listen.

[erictheblueuk]

Well, it's a start.

[westisbest]

Yeah, gotta be happy with th point.

Hopefully we can improve.

Have to take points off teams near the bottom, than anything from the top teams like today at this stage, is a massive bonus.

Team played better without Gabby, Westwood, Richardson.

[westisbest]

Kozak, Traore, Gardner! Okore all played for the reserves today.

Would like to see them on the bench and at least soon.

Drop Westwood & Richardson altogether.

We need at least 4 points from the next 2 games.

[Fernando]

Grealish dropped from Squad to play Watford due to being out on the urine

[westisbest]

Yeah, agree with Merson when he said should have fined Grealish insteadof dropping him.

Fine might not mean f all to him, and understand need to make an example of him, but this is a huuuuuuuge game for us.

Lose it and even i might start thinking we will go down.
Gotta have our better players playong in times like these.

[Fernando]

Personally id have dropped him tbh.

New manager wants to make a statement & it's not the 1st time Grealish has been in the news for the wrong reasons.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Agree. Think it had to be done early on in a new manager's time.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

I haven't seen a lot of him really but when I have he looks pretty average to me.

Throw in the fact he's clearly a bit of d1ck, can see why Garde is making a stand

[westisbest]

He is a talented kid alright, just sadly showing signs of some young footballers going the wrong way.

I hope he takes Merse up on his offer to sit down and have a chat with him.

We have had alot of young guys make it to the first team at Villa, who were being touted as 'the real deal'.
But have not lived up to expectations.

Vassell
The Moore brothers
Gabby
The Fonz, to name a few.

Vassell one that did the best.
Gabby lasted a long time at Villa but a poor player.

Just hoping Grealish doesnt go down the route of the others and actually makes it.

[Galted]

It's starting to get a bit worrying.

[westisbest]

Terrible .
Sad thing is we actually played well today amd still couldnt win against a team that will probably be on the dogfight this season.

Still keeping the faith based on that there is still 24 games to go.
7 points adrift at this stage isnt good, but it is doable to saty up.

Goint to Saints game next week.
Gotta get a win sooner rather tahn later.

[westisbest]

Grealish not in squad again for saturday.

Need him back asap.

[westisbest]

Off to St Mary's tomorrow, my first game this season.

Always get excited to see the Villa, despite how bad we are.
Support is more important through the bad times.

Im gonna go for a narrow away win 2-1.
Gotta get a win some time.
They will be hurting after Liverpool bent them over and fkd them up the  ar5e.

Time to make their week even more miserable.

[westisbest]

Need a better right back than Hutton.
New left back and a forward.

Who will come, who the fk knows.

The end is near, but let's at least go down fighting.

Guzan
Hutton Okore Clarke N'Zogbia
Gueye Veretout
Grealish Gil Sinclair
Ayew

subs
Bunn, Lescott, Gardner, Kozak, Traore, Bacuna, Sanchez/Gabby.

If Richards fit then put him instead of Hutton.
N'Zogbia has played left back before, give him a go for the next few games, till we can find a replacement for Amavi.
Would drop Gestede all together and give Kozak a go.

Its not working the way the team is.
He has to change the team around.

Take a risk.

[westisbest]

Gonna put £20 on us to stay up.

Fk it, just for sh1ts and giggles.

C'mon the villa, been in the top flight for nearly 30 years.

VTID

[Galted]

If Villa do I down I really hope Charlton stay up - I live about a half hour's walk from the ground and the novelty of walking to a Villa game would be a tiny consolation. Be f*cking typical if they both went down though.

[Corporalhumblebucket]

Prospects very poor for Villa after the defeat against Sunderland. Difficult to see how they are going to get around another 30 points in the 18 remaining games this season.

[guildfordbat]

Just to add to the Corporal's post - I accept the job that Garde took on would have been very difficult for anyone but he does seem an uninspiring figure.

[westisbest]

We are doomed sadly.

Have been holding out hope for to long, guess its just the thought of us never going down as we have been in the top flight for so long.

Garde was a terrible appointment.
Would probably have gone for someone like Pearson, bit more buzz about him. Would give the players a kick up the a55.

Dont see Garde as that type of manager.
We will never know, but i think if Sherwood wasnt sacked we would have a few mor points.

God knows who we will sign this month.

The 3 goals Sunderland scored were just inexcusable defending.
These mistakes have cost us.
Dont seem to learn.

From a Villa fans point of view, its sad to see where we are.
How badly we are doing.

Been coming for a while, but never thought we would be as bad as to only have 8 goints in early january.

Need to be ready for life in the championship.
If we are to stay up we need to win at very least 10 games.

Cant see it.

I would love for us to stay up, not just because im a villa fan, but it would be the greatest of escapes.

[davidl1061]

Out of interest what have people thought of the Richards signing? Everytime I see Villa on MOTD he seems to be out of position?

[westisbest]

He's not playing well.

I would like to see him at right, used to play there i think. Get rid of Hutton.

Then play Okore with Lescott or Clarke.

[westisbest]

Trarore out for 2 months.

Shame for the guy.

[westisbest]

Abuse players and Garde got today was a bit ott.
Especially the fans who were waiting at the coach.

Although the players that smiled at the fans are a bit of a disgrace to.
You have to give it 100%, some of the players are just not doing that and it's so frustrating. I mean early Jan and one win is a disgrace to be fair.

Fox & Lerner need to take a serious look at themselves.
I'm as annoyed, frustrated as any other Villa fan, but you need to conduct your anger another way.

Having said that, these players need to be told as they're not getting the message.

Well done to Wycombe today and those villa fans that applauded them at the end.

Very frustrating times though.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Got to say, sometimes you look at squads/teams down there and think "they're underperforming/too good to be down there". This Villa side? Don't think so. Who would I take at West Ham? For the first team I'd take absolutely none. Gestede would be ok fourth choice and Richards a good back up defender. Amavi has potential. But really, this is a poor team.

Garde took a hospital pass taking this job on, and whilst he should have done better, hes a process coach rather than your old fashioned impact coach like a Redknapp might come in and do.

[Guest]

I agree. It's by far the worst Villa squad I can remember in my lifetime and I'm no spring chicken.

6 months ago Grealish may have brought a few quid in but now? Not so sure.

Sad to see what's going on there, Westy. Hopefully you bounce straight back but it's a tough ask. The Championship is a bitch to get out of.

[hampo17]

Was impressed with Micah Richards going to the Villa fans at the end of the game, and actually answering their criticism face to face, can't think of many players who would do that in that situation.

[Galted]

super super super super super super aston villa fc

[westisbest]

Great win, lets hope it can install some confidence into the team.

Going to the Leicester game saturday, will be tough.

Would like to see Bunn remain in goal.
If Richards fit, play him right back.
Keep Lescott and Okore in the centre.

Keep Kozak, cant be any worse than Gestede.
Maybe start Sinclair.
Drop Westwood.

Bunn
Richards Okore Lescott Cissokho Gueye Veretout Sinclair Gil Ayew Kozak

Subs:
Guzan, Bacuna, Clarke, Lyden, Westwood, Gestede, Richardson.

Grealish for Richardson when fit.

[Galted]

Just saw yesterday's lowlights. Oh dear. Maybe they haven't turned a corner after all.

[westisbest]

Be surprised if we sign anyone today.

Garde talking about a striker.
Have wasted to much time with this keeper who can't get a work permit.

Debuchy will probably choose some other team.

Board gave up a while ago.

Shocking stuff.

[westisbest]

Don't blame you considering wanting to leave Remi.

The board are liars and a joke.

[Crimey]

I think Remi Garde underestimated the size of the task he was facing at Aston Villa and I don't see him staying with them in the Championship, especially now he's quite publically talked of being let down.

I worry about Villa, they could very easily be sucked down and the way the club has been handled over the past years means I'm not even sure they'll come straight back up. A big clear out is going to be needed for sure.

[westisbest]

Sooner may comes the better, if Garde does leave, needs to go as soon as season finishes, so we can get new manager in asap and have the summer to look at whats going on.

Although with our board i feel sorry for whoever that maybe.
Agree, cant see us coming up for a few seasons at least.

The board gave up months ago.

Very sad to see.

Been supporting Villa since the early 90's, so have never experienced the drop.

One thing is we know its coming months before the season ends, not like going down on last day.
In fairness its been coming for a few seasons, warning signs were there.

Things need to change at the club and fast.

On a lighter note, there will be some good away days and we may win a few more games.

But very frustrating all the same.

[kwinigolfer]

westi,
When I lived in Birmingham, no-one thought Villa could get relegated to the old Third Division. But they did. So long as you have Randy Lerner as an owner, I think the freefall will continue.
I'm sure there have been some American owners who have been a force for good for their football clubs, but by and large they treat them like an American sports franchise, a licence to print money, "never mind the quality, feel the width" (of the punters' heads who support their teams thru thick and thin, as we all do of course) mentality which doesn't work in football, and love to see the Glazers, FSG, Short and the rest learning that the hard way.
Aston Villa deserves so much better.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Aston Villa have however not had this in my lifetime. Felt eventually it was "their turn", as much as that happens in football.

I expect you to win tonight against us as we show no fight for the lower teams, and your lot will probably be motivated if we are lacklustre and let you get a foothold.

[westisbest]

Players i hope we keep next season in the championship.

Bunn-Good keeper, could be one of the better ones in championship.

Richards-Do like him and think right back is his better position.

Okore-Probably our best centre back

Amavi-Was doing pretty well up until his injury.

Gil-Think he will do well in the championship.

Grealish-Gets his act together, he could be a big player next season.

Ayew-Sort his temper out, think he would score quite a few goals next season.

Gestede-Decent championship striker we know he can score goals in championship.

Traore-Do like the guy, may do well next season.


If we can keep those players and sign the 'right' players suited to the championship, we may do well.

Having said that who knows with this board.

[westisbest]

Shocking stuff.

Need a massive change in the summer.

Garde wont be the guy to help us come back up, dont think he would want to.

What players are wanting to come to Villa.

B

[westisbest]

Cant post the link but interesting read(not sure how much is true).

New chairman Steve Hollis is to make sweeping changes to the clubs recruitment personnel.

Hendrik Almstadt the sporting director is expected to leave.
Paddy Reily, head of recruitment and scouting is set to be leaving.

Even talks of Tom Fox leaving.

Apparantly the squad is divided, with the more senior players questioning Garde's training methods and being reluctant to challenge or criticise players after defeats.

Questions asked by players over training sessions.

Apparantly he was adsent in the dressing room after the recent 6-0 hammering by Liverpool.

Squad is split in two.

one side, gabby, Hutton, Bacuna, Clark, Guzan, Bunn, Lescott, Richards.
The above questioning the managers methods.

the other, Ayew, Gana, Veretout, Cissokho.

Not surprising if true.


There is a bit of hope that some of the u21 squad will be given a go in the championship, like Jordan Lyden, Andre Green, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy etc.

I dont think its time to comment on how we will do next season untill 1st september, when the window is closed and we see which players have left and who has come to the club.

Also who the new manager is.

Re the youngsters i wish Garde would play some of them more of a run out, would certainly put the effoert in.
At the very least play them when we are officially down, which wont be to much longer.

[westisbest]

David Bernstein former chairman of the football association will be joining the board with immediate effect.

Also Brian Little will join as an advisor to the board.

Some encouraging news at least.

Now just get rid of Fox Reilly and Almstad.

I see we lost around £27m in the last year an are £30m in debt.

[guildfordbat]

Westy - back in the day, Brian Little was a very decent striker at Villa Park before injury cut short his career. Know he managed Villa as well for a time although suspect (can't really remember, sorry) that wasn't so successful. Should still bring some credibility and will almost certainly be a popular appointment with the older fans.

[westisbest]

Little is one of my favourite Villa managers.
Bit before my time as aplayer.

We won our last trophy under him.

We finished fourth in the 95-96 season.

Probably at a time when Yorke was at his best.

Met Little in 2014 at Villa Park, had a chat with him.
Decent guy.

Very pleased with the news.

[guildfordbat]

Had forgotten when Brian Little was Villa's manager and didn't appreciate it was during some pretty good times.

I know someone being appointed as an ''adviser'' won't get the pulse of every fan racing but it still looks a step in the right direction at last.

There'll probably be some clips on YouTube of him playing - ? League Cup Final replays in late '70s. Might be worth looking out - a skillful and speedy striker.

[westisbest]

Seen a gew clips, some haircut he had.

Its certainly a step in the right direction guildford, even if a small one.

[westisbest]

Tom Fox has left Villa.

About time.
A bit more good news at least.

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