PieFacE Posted November 14, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 14, 2018 The aim for us is to go into every game and win. We shouldn't be playing for draws at all. With that in mind, automatics have to be the aim. It's an unlikely scenario, and I don't think we will be anywhere near automatic promotion, but we have a team that can win every game, on paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 I’d be surprised if Dean Smith is talking to players about his expectation for where they will end up in the table at this stage. It’s very early in the season to be setting targets like that and his priority at present must be getting them into the right frame of mind and playing the sort of football he wants, as well as setting expectations for fitness levels and the like. Once the team has settled into his way of playing, and when the season is taking more shape, it would be reasonable to set expectations for what we can achieve but setting abstract and potentially intimidating targets now might have the opposite effect. Likewise, I would be surprised if @TrentVilla is right that Steve Bruce told his players not to aim for automatic promotion. But why are we bothering to talk about Steve Bruce Anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 5 minutes ago, briny_ear said: I’d be surprised if Dean Smith is talking to players about his expectation for where they will end up in the table at this stage. It’s very early in the season to be setting targets like that and his priority at present must be getting them into the right frame of mind and playing the sort of football he wants, as well as setting expectations for fitness levels and the like. Once the team has settled into his way of playing, and when the season is taking more shape, it would be reasonable to set expectations for what we can achieve but setting abstract and potentially intimidating targets now might have the opposite effect. Likewise, I would be surprised if @TrentVilla is right that Steve Bruce told his players not to aim for automatic promotion. But why are we bothering to talk about Steve Bruce Anyway? It's so great Bruce being gone though isn't it? I'll be doing something else at work or something, and it'll just pop into my head that he's not Villa manager any more and I'll get a little pang of happiness that I never have to watch a team managed by him again. I think @TrentVilla is right, I can't recall Bruce ever saying we should be top two. He may have done, but I can't remember it. He bleated on about being there or thereabouts a lot; in between telling fans that he knew best playing Jedinak CB and we were lucky to be watching the best football at Villa Park in years. We've got a great chance now he's gone. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post briny_ear Posted November 15, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted November 15, 2018 1 hour ago, Tomaszk said: It's so great Bruce being gone though isn't it? I'll be doing something else at work or something, and it'll just pop into my head that he's not Villa manager any more and I'll get a little pang of happiness that I never have to watch a team managed by him again. I think @TrentVilla is right, I can't recall Bruce ever saying we should be top two. He may have done, but I can't remember it. He bleated on about being there or thereabouts a lot; in between telling fans that he knew best playing Jedinak CB and we were lucky to be watching the best football at Villa Park in years. We've got a great chance now he's gone. There never was any need to be angry about Steve Bruce but tbere certainly isn't now he’s gone. It’s like the Buddha said: “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 15, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 15, 2018 14 hours ago, BOF said: Their run was mental. Once they turned the corner in gameweek 18, they averaged 2.34 PPG and got 68pts from the remaining 29 games. That compared to the 1.18 PPG they were on to that point. This does make their limp impression on the premier league all the stranger, Even worrying! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 No point putting pressure on our selves. I think alot of the reason for our recent success has been the lower pressure and expectation of us.lets focus on improving and see where we are after Xmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 14 hours ago, PieFacE said: The aim for us is to go into every game and win. We shouldn't be playing for draws at all. With that in mind, automatics have to be the aim. It's an unlikely scenario, and I don't think we will be anywhere near automatic promotion, but we have a team that can win every game, on paper. This is what MOST teams should aim for, especially at this level. It's crazy how refreshing it was when Smith said he told the players we were going to Derby for 3 points, nothing less. Bruce would have been outstandingly proud of us for holding out for a point against a "Top Derby side". Shows you the difference when we are actually now impressed by things which should actually be normal procedure for our club! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 6 hours ago, Nigel said: This does make their limp impression on the premier league all the stranger, Even worrying! This is a point I was trying to make a few days ago. Seeing Fulham’s excellent Championship form, their manager praised to the heights on here as “modern” and “progressive”, and the £100m they spent on squad strengtheming, their struggles are very worrying for any aspiring promotees. I’m even sort of glad they went up not us. Looks like the Wolves model of building your premier league squad in the Championship before going up is best. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 19 hours ago, Tomaszk said: It's so great Bruce being gone though isn't it? It'll just pop into my head that he's not Villa manager any more and I'll get a little pang of happiness. I can't recall Bruce ever saying we should be top two. We've got a great chance now he's gone. It's been flipping magnificent. Even when we got beat by Norwich, I immediately thought "we could still have Steve Bruce in charge" and it immediately softened the blow of the defeat. You can't recall him ever saying it cause he didn't.. cause he had no intentions of it happening here. But I agree we now have a fantastic chance now he's gone. ... Onwards and upwards with Dean Smith's Claret & Blue Army! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommo_b Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 6 hours ago, briny_ear said: This is a point I was trying to make a few days ago. Seeing Fulham’s excellent Championship form, their manager praised to the heights on here as “modern” and “progressive”, and the £100m they spent on squad strengtheming, their struggles are very worrying for any aspiring promotees. I’m even sort of glad they went up not us. Looks like the Wolves model of building your premier league squad in the Championship before going up is best. I’d prefer Brighton’s way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 11 hours ago, Tommo_b said: I’d prefer Brighton’s way. I'd prefer Leicester's...champions within two years of going up would be rather nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicVillan Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 On 14/11/2018 at 23:49, briny_ear said: I’d be surprised if Dean Smith is talking to players about his expectation for where they will end up in the table at this stage Often with these things it's better to break it down and concentrate the smaller stuff. Telling the players they just need to play better and get their boots on to get up the table can seem daunting. Breaking it down into bite size chunks, coaching on specific things they can take into games...if you can do that then the results tend to look after themselves. That's why Smith is more interested in performaces even when we lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicVillan Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 19 hours ago, briny_ear said: I’m even sort of glad they went up not us. Looks like the Wolves model of building your premier league squad in the Championship before going up is best. We would be where they are now had we gone up 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 20 hours ago, briny_ear said: This is a point I was trying to make a few days ago. Seeing Fulham’s excellent Championship form, their manager praised to the heights on here as “modern” and “progressive”, and the £100m they spent on squad strengtheming, their struggles are very worrying for any aspiring promotees. I’m even sort of glad they went up not us. Looks like the Wolves model of building your premier league squad in the Championship before going up is best. This is looking like truth in the current climate. We talk about how the standard of the Championship has increased, whilst forgetting the Premier League has also done so exponentially. It seems as if there is now a TOP 10, and bottom 10 in the PL. The relegation spots as of the last PL table are all occupied by recently promoted teams, yet Wolves are up there. Re Fulham, does Fulham's plight make their outgoing manager shite? I don't believe so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 2 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: It seems as if there is now a TOP 10, and bottom 10 in the PL Top 6 and bottom 13. (with Everton just floating in the middle). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted November 16, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted November 16, 2018 22 hours ago, briny_ear said: This is a point I was trying to make a few days ago. Seeing Fulham’s excellent Championship form, their manager praised to the heights on here as “modern” and “progressive”, and the £100m they spent on squad strengtheming, their struggles are very worrying for any aspiring promotees. I’m even sort of glad they went up not us. Looks like the Wolves model of building your premier league squad in the Championship before going up is best. They got really found out at the back, more pace and quality up there than down here. Wolves better organised to deal with that it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 On 15/11/2018 at 01:48, briny_ear said: There never was any need to be angry about Steve Bruce but tbere certainly isn't now he’s gone. It’s like the Buddha said: “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” Different when it is a cabbage, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciggiesnbeer Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 (edited) There is this weird bobbling group that is almost a third league that emerged I think between the Championship and the Premier League. Not good enough to challenge for anything or even survive for long in the premier league but also good enough to be top six in the Championship regularly Edited November 16, 2018 by ciggiesnbeer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 49 minutes ago, ciggiesnbeer said: There is this weird bobbling group that is almost a third league that emerged I think between the Championship and the Premier League. Not good enough to challenge for anything or even survive for long in the premier league but also good enough to be top six in the Championship regularly I don’t honk it is a new thing. Plenty of clubs yoyo up and down. Albion did it for years, then one season they managed to stay up and built on it, staying up for a few years on the bounce. Palace did similar, and I’m sure plenty of others. It just shows how big the disparity between the premier league and championship is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 1 hour ago, mikeyp102 said: I don’t honk it is a new thing. Plenty of clubs yoyo up and down. Albion did it for years, then one season they managed to stay up and built on it, staying up for a few years on the bounce. Palace did similar, and I’m sure plenty of others. It just shows how big the disparity between the premier league and championship is. Honking might be a new thing to you @mikeyp102but some of us have been honking for years 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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