On 05/05/2022 at 23:08, Tomaszk said:

Been working this week with a rangers fan. Enjoyable watching the two games in pub with him.

He loves Gerrard. Was very surprised to hear I didn't. I think once he got off to a good start, it was sort of accepted outside of Villa that he was 'good' and that was that.

Says Gerrard worth sticking with and this current rangers team were hardened under him.

He does however think they're better under Gio as he is much more flexible and uses different formations for different games.

I asked about the league and why they've failed this year and he just said Celtic now and Celtic last year are night and day. The relative unknown manager and Japanese signings have all been really impressive.

That seems like a fair assessment. The commentators on BT Sport were praising Gerrard's influence at Rangers, the players exhibiting a never say die attitude. Gerrard made Rangers a family again. I think he is trying to build a stronger mentality here - I think Digne and Chambers exhibit those characteristics. SG will need to bring in a few more to help transition the culture into an elite one. I trust him to do this. I think he is a positive influence on others. Rangers are a good example of that IMO.

There is a noticeable indifference to Gerrard ATM by the supporters. I think it stems from our patchy season so far, and him obviously taking over from somebody who was very popular with supporters. People have doubts and anxieties about his ability too. Obviously the Liverpool link unsettles people, even though I think he is fully committed to Villa in that respect and we will only gain from him landing that job. That is all understandable.

However, I do think he needs to build a relationship with fans, which I think he established quite early at Rangers. Gerrard has admitted that he came to Villa to test himself tactically against a variety of different play styles, we often forget that he is still a very young coach and is still developing in that respect. He has a lot of room for growth and will be given the tools to achieve that imo. 

1 hour ago, hippo said:

Hired Phil Roscoe - in the first of what imo will be a lot of changes in the backroom reserve / U23 Set up.

Guess which club he's from ?

Source? 

They did a lot of damage to Arsenal TBF, wasn't just us.

I am going to be tuning in. Don't let yourself down lad! 

40 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

 

Why?

That's reality. It's much easier to accept Jack leaving when you take off the claret and blue specs and realise what City offer him. 

Why does it need to be said though? We know City are more successful than us currently. You know this is a Villa forum. You know others will take offence. It is just said to be hurtful and is quite arrogant to be honest IMO.  I have no idea if you support Villa or not, but I presume you do. The comments were not needed on here. I suggest you join Bluemoon and join in with the Villa bashing on there.

Re JG. Well they offered him a place on their bench and his choice of bib - whenever I have seen him (not very many times). And also add -  bottling major trophies. Great stuff by Citeh. BTW, I think JG played well tonight - just not well enough. He will never hit the heights he did at Villa IMO, I just do not see it ending well with City. This isn't a success for him atm, unless you are counting the stuff off the pitch.

9 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Playing in a CL semi final while the villa team play PlayStation prepping for a bottom of the table clash with Burnley. 
 

And people wonder why he left

What a nasty thing to say. 

1 minute ago, The_Steve said:

They made a staggering £38m million loss in their original promotion year - far beyond the permitted £6m loss figure at the time. They were only fined £4.75m though - most of that figure was on wages (£30.4m) - the very definition of an unfair advantage for a club of their size.

FFP is a sham indeed, I agree. It just leaves a bitter pill when the promoted club gets away with such a tiny fine in the end.

I am not fully aware or knowledgeable about Bournemouth's FFP breach, but I think Leicester broke the rules too (I cannot remember all the details). I think this was in the early phases of FFP? Bournemouth may have argued they haven't had much of a chance to adapt to the rules and reduce losses. God knows.

FFP has caused so many problems too, a cocktail of jealousy and excuses. Bury going out of business while having FFP - proves the system fails to protect clubs from bad ownership. Mel Morris at Derby would have been considered a good owner pre-FFP,  local and wealthy. All the clubs begging for punishment on clubs for not complying with the rules. Points deductions spoiling the competition and only punishing supporters. Does it make football clubs less likely to attract good owners too? 

FFP has made football uglier and more political. It isn't for me. Don't get me wrong there should be financial controls in football. But I do not believe it has made a positive difference to football or the wider competition, but maybe I am only seeing the bad?

14 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

Can't stand Bournemouth, nothing club who cheated FFP to climb the football pyramid. Hope they go straight back down. The town is lovely though.

FFP is a sham. It is good for English football if a league 2/non league club can go up the ladder and become better over the years. I hate the super league mentality. I would have preferred Forest in all honesty, but I don't think Bournemouth are that dislikeable or have done anything wrong. If you have somebody willing to invest in your club and make it better - there's nothing wrong with that imo, it should be championed not punished. Competition is brilliant.

43 minutes ago, Rightdm00 said:

He has more than earned the right to have a full preseason with his influence. My only issue with Steven is that he is just boring. To go from someone like Deano, with the passion, immense ties to the city and club to Steven who comes off like a cardboard cutout of a manager is just so....blah. 

I wouldn't describe Dean as "passionate"  I thought he was the epitome of class, calmness and intelligence. People go way overboard with Smith, I just don't view him like most do. It irritates me a bit. Dean on many occasions has said this was just a job to him, and he did not lose sleep when we were losing. Fair enough. I am not knocking DS for who he is, I admire a lot his qualities and personality traits. But he gives off a vibe that failure is okay. He also said he wanted all the Midlands' teams  "doing well"  I am sorry, I cannot stomach that. I don't accept it. Villa have to strive to be the best in the Midlands, as a manager you have to be a driver of that belief. We are the most hated club in the Midlands, much like Tottenham are in London and Man Utd are in the north. Play to it. Embrace it. 

In regards to Gerrard, I think a lot of people like what he says (even detractors) and his general attitude. I like his philosophy to the game. I loved what he said after the Norwich game "15th isn't good enough for Aston Villa"  or "I want my players to be killers on the pitch and kill the game early." He is way more passionate than Dean IMO. He doesn't lack in charisma or passion in my opinion. Obviously you need to have more skills than being a pashun merchant. 

It is hard to know if any of this matters but I like to think it does. I am sorry to keep this Smith vs Gerrard debate going.  

I loved that from Everton. Brilliant.  I want Leeds or Burnley to go down. Probably Burnley most because of Wesley. 

I think he is capable of being very good or fading away. I am undecided on him, he could be the next Jamie Vardy or the next Andrew Johnson.

Super Villans: BT Sport Films to mark anniversary of Aston Villa’s European Cup win

Narrated by actor and Villa supporter Mark Williams, the film features contributions from likes of Dennis Mortimer, Gary Shaw, Allan Evans, Tony Morley and Nigel Spink.

Link

I think he will leave a huge hole if he left the club. I think you need players/people like McGinn here. That's not to say he can't be managed better and used in rotation at times. He does a lot of the dirty work well, he does not hide too. I admire him, even though his ability lets him down at times.

It would have been very interesting if he had got his reported targets in the summer and kept Jack. Grealish - Buendia - Smith-Rowe. I wonder what might have been, It could have been all very different. However, I do think he has a limit as a club coach and he does make a few fair excuses when he doesn't win a game or a collection of games.

I appreciate what he achieved for Villa, and I am very glad he got a good reception. The whole circumstances around his tenure were very unique and special, nobody can say he didn't move the club forward. I personally think he would have suited a role like England u21 coach or returning to Brentford as Franks assistant in the short term. I am not totally convinced he will win them promotion next season.

Disappointing today. 

Purslow is a legend for signing this GOAT! 

I am very shocked he started, but I thought he was very good considering his age and experience. Well done. Another youth product on the pitch too. UTV.

Two clean sheets. Better defensive displays overall in the last two matches. Attacking play was poor at times and disjointed but I could see the idea of what we are trying to play like just poor finishing. But there are signs we are starting to build a competitive base. We are a work in progress. 3 points behind Newcastle now, stay hopeful guys!  UTV.

He has played some beautiful passes.

It is very important that Gerrard reiterates his message and reinforces his beliefs. The mentality has got to change at the club, we have to look upwards.

5 minutes ago, hippo said:

Right now there hero is on a managerial practice run with us. If he makes an almighty mess of it - no harm done.

SG absolutely blanked them out at Anfield. There is no doubt he is 100 per cent committed to the Villa project, he will want to beat Klopp and Liverpool in a few weeks time IMO -  there will be a motivation within him for that. Moreover, Gerrard needs more time to immerse himself with Villa, he has already got his lad involved with following Villa - he is trying. The relationship has the potential to grow and become very strong. The way I am viewing the situation is Liverpool are his past, Villa are his now and the future. I think that is healthy until proven otherwise.

I know you are a big fan of the 80's side, so I feel the following is a good example for you. Dennis Mortimer has gone on record to say he was visualising all his Liverpool heroes when he went to collect the European Cup for us, nobody took any umbrage with that because Dennis backed it up in Claret n Blue. It is the same with Gerrard here.

3 minutes ago, calcifer said:

Is there such a thing as a loveable scouser? 

 

Peter Withe and Dennis Mortimer?  Soon to be Stevie G!  

Starved of service.

I thought the punditry on the Everton game was so one sided - it was disgusting. Martin Tyler & Jamie Carragher were calling everything for Liverpool the whole game. Then the mocking and belittling of Everton. Yet when we smashed Liverpool 7-2, it was all bitterness and no self-deprecation or humour.  The Sky lot do my head in. So protective of their special "clubs".