Steven Gerrard

[tomav84]

5 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

He could do with a win against Leicester - football is a funny thing and on any given day, just about anything could happen, we could beat City on the last day, but we could lose to Norwich on the 30th, both are possible.

A defeat against Leicester and that Norwich game on the back of five losses could be really difficult for him - go behind and the crowd will turn.

Welcome to football at the sharp end Mr Gerrard - beat Leicester please.

 

probably goes without saying, that it depends on the manner of the defeat. a repeat of the spurs first half but over 90 mins but being let down by shoddy finishing again, and i don't think there would be much to turn on as we'd have seen progress.

i'd still take a draw now, just stop the rot

[PussEKatt]

10 minutes ago, VillaParkAvenue said:

Villa would have been attractive to a lot of managers, it beats most other job options. The Premier League is the most attractive league to work in currently because this is where the money is. Relatively big and well-supported club which is also debt free and well run. Owners very wealthy plus ambitious and willing to spend. Squad is decent and owners want to improve it.

We had a poor start to the season and there was plenty of time for a new manager to change things. The idea that Villa were in a such a mess no one would realistically take the job is absurd to me.

And where did we finish under D.S ? In his last 2 seasons we finished 15th and 15th,and thats after spending close to 300m.Yet supporters showed a giant banner when he bought Norwich to VP.Either DS should have been sacked sooner,or we need to stick with a manager who has us fighting for survival every season ( while spending clossal amounts of $$$ on players). 

And,in this thread we have people moaning about S.G.who is using Smiths team and has only made 2 signings of his owne.And has only been in the job for half a season.I know.Lets sack SG and if the next manager can not get us into the top 4 after 3 months then we should sack him as well.

[pacbuddies]

10 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

And where did we finish under D.S ? In his last 2 seasons we finished 15th and 15th,and thats after spending close to 300m.Yet supporters showed a giant banner when he bought Norwich to VP.Either DS should have been sacked sooner,or we need to stick with a manager who has us fighting for survival every season ( while spending clossal amounts of $$$ on players). 

And,in this thread we have people moaning about S.G.who is using Smiths team and has only made 2 signings of his owne.And has only been in the job for half a season.I know.Lets sack SG and if the next manager can not get us into the top 4 after 3 months then we should sack him as well.

17th & 11th.

[mykeyb]

10 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

And where did we finish under D.S ? In his last 2 seasons we finished 15th and 15th,and thats after spending close to 300m.Yet supporters showed a giant banner when he bought Norwich to VP.Either DS should have been sacked sooner,or we need to stick with a manager who has us fighting for survival every season ( while spending clossal amounts of $$$ on players). 

And,in this thread we have people moaning about S.G.who is using Smiths team and has only made 2 signings of his owne.And has only been in the job for half a season.I know.Lets sack SG and if the next manager can not get us into the top 4 after 3 months then we should sack him as well.

I thought we finished higher last season and has Dean brought Norwich to VP yet? I thought that was next week

[mykeyb]

1 hour ago, The Fun Factory said:

It may also suggest a reversion to the mean for when Smith was sacked and essentially the main problem is the squad of players we have, rather than whoever is the head coach is.

AVFCDAN is correct, good managers don't lose that many games on the bounce. After the second loss they will change the system, flood the midfield and smother the game. Take a draw.

[sparrow1988]

3 minutes ago, pacbuddies said:

17th & 11th.

Facts. Boo!!

[VillaParkAvenue]

10 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

And where did we finish under D.S ? In his last 2 seasons we finished 15th and 15th,and thats after spending close to 300m.Yet supporters showed a giant banner when he bought Norwich to VP.Either DS should have been sacked sooner,or we need to stick with a manager who has us fighting for survival every season ( while spending clossal amounts of $$$ on players). 

And,in this thread we have people moaning about S.G.who is using Smiths team and has only made 2 signings of his owne.And has only been in the job for half a season.I know.Lets sack SG and if the next manager can not get us into the top 4 after 3 months then we should sack him as well.

What I said wasn't meant as a call for Gerrard to leave. I'm against describing things as if he did the club a favour.

For the record I thought it was time for Smith to go when he did, the club should demand a lot from its managers.

[PussEKatt]

3 minutes ago, mykeyb said:

AVFCDAN is correct, good managers don't lose that many games on the bounce. After the second loss they will change the system, flood the midfield and smother the game. Take a draw.

This is 100% correct.But you cant put the blame on a manager that is using another managers team/players.

[Hobsons Choice]

1 hour ago, The Fun Factory said:

It may also suggest a reversion to the mean for when Smith was sacked and essentially the main problem is the squad of players we have, rather than whoever is the head coach is.

I posted an interesting article on here shortly after Dean left. It was a thesis which statistically examined the last 3 or so years where managers in top European leagues were sacked after a run of bad results and where they were given time.

The overall conclusion was that changing manager had very limited effect on results in the medium term as in most cases where managers were given time, results did indeed regress to the mean.

[The Fun Factory]

29 minutes ago, The_Steve said:

Smith gets way too much credence following our PL return because he’s one of us, not a deeply limited manager who hit his ceiling. 

And your evidence is for that is?.....

Every year we finished higher under Smith. Had one bad run and got the sack. Gerrard would well lose 5 in a trot as well now.

[TRO]

6 hours ago, hippo said:

The point I was making is that there was little point gambling on a young manger with potential who may gain experience and get better in due course. Given that 3 years is the above  average lifespan for a PL manager .

 

yeah, I get that....but I think CP is taken by SG's personal drive and ambition, and winning mentality,  he's new and shiny and can build his managerial reputation with us.....There's no old baggage.

How long did it take SAF? at United to rebuild them.....sure, I'm not expecting it to be that long, but blimey, 20 games is a joke.

It maybe hard to see past these recent results and I get that too.....but I choose to have faith in the man, and I think he will come through with flying colours.

 

[Condimentalist]

Smith had a system which brought the best out of our team - and especially our most talented player. Obviously when he wasn't available we suffered.

His record is impeccable - promotion from midtable in the Championship, survival, and then 11th place having been one of the best teams to watch in the league. 

I'm all for giving Gerrard a chance but he has a very hard act to follow. 

[Hobsons Choice]

3 minutes ago, Condimentalist said:

Smith had a system which brought the best out of our team - and especially our most talented player. Obviously when he wasn't available we suffered.

His record is impeccable - promotion from midtable in the Championship, survival, and then 11th place having been one of the best teams to watch in the league. 

I'm all for giving Gerrard a chance but he has a very hard act to follow. 

I was going to reply but you pretty much summed it up. 

I am behind Gerrard at the moment, though. He needs support. 

[useless]

I'm not sure if I really mean this, but deep down in our heart of hearts we know it's not going to work out, it's not really a Gerrard thing as such, it wouldn't have ultimately worked out if we'd have kept Smith, nor would it have worked out if we had appointed Roberto Martinez, or any of the other managers we were linked to before appointing Gerrard, it ultimately won't work out until we appoint a proven best in class proven winner at the highest level manager a name that no one would expect us to  be capable of attracting,  similar to when we brought in O'Neill.

I actually think we will have a strong finish to this season, getting at least another ten points, but finishing in Europe next season is going to whole new challenge.

[TRO]

2 hours ago, The Fun Factory said:

It may also suggest a reversion to the mean for when Smith was sacked and essentially the main problem is the squad of players we have, rather than whoever is the head coach is.

Its a valid point, but

The only difference there is, the players were bought primarily under Dean's Stewardship for Deans system......SG has inherited them and wants to play a different way and it seems the players have trouble adapting.

Edited April 19, 2022 by TRO

[Tom13]

Let's be honest, with our luck, whoever we'd have appointed would have been a huge gamble.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Apparently Iroegbunam and OReilly impressed.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-brentford-score-friendly-23725801?utm_source=linkCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

Quote

Aston Villa thrash Brentford B in secret friendly as young duo impress

Gerrard said: "We want to go on a journey with players that are all in, that are going to help us get to where we want to be. We want to add players who are able to come in and make the group better.

"I'm more excited about this than I've ever been because now I've had time in the job to analyse individual players that are in the building, I'm a lot better off in what I know about these players.

"It's clear from what we see, what we need, areas we need to improve and that's a better place to be in than when you walk in the door and you think you have observations from the outside. Until you actually get in and work with the players for a period of time... what has it been four, five months... I'm a lot more clearer now where this team is and where the squad is at and what needs to be done to improve it."

Edited April 19, 2022 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[Tom13]

'More clearer' 

[Sam-AVFC]

3 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

'More clearer' 

I'm constantly baffled when people talk about how exceptionally he interviews. He's not the worst public speaker I've seen by a long shot, but notably impressive? Not for me. Particularly when you consider he has been trained his whole career for it. He also lets himself get a bit too rattled on occasion and can't help getting personal with journalists, like with the female reporter in Scotland.

The guys power comes from what we and, more importantly, our squad know of him as a player. Players have even described him as a presence that says next to nothing, with Beale being the one to communicate ideas.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

6 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said:

I'm constantly baffled when people talk about how exceptionally he interviews. H

I don't think people are referring to his grammar, punctuation and literature skills when they say this. lol

They are probably referring to how natural, honest and sturdy he comes across, as well as having some banter.

Modern " British " Footballers, Managers and Footballing English isn't good in the first place to begin with.

Edited April 19, 2022 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN