I was looking to write something about the appointment of Remi Garde tonight, but the issue came up in my article last night and I thought I’d practically ruined the idea.
Fortunately, I’ve been saved by an article that’s cropped up in the Birmingham Mail.
There were suggestions on here and on Sky that Kevin MacDonald’s team selection was pretty much a two-fingered gesture aimed at the board, which indicated that he thought they didn’t know what they didn’t know what they were doing and that he was in total agreement with what Tim Sherwood thought about the situation.
I really don’t agree with that assessment.
Regardless of what we might think of KMac as a manager, I don’t think we have any reason to say anything other than he has been a very good servant of the club, who only has the club’s interests at heart.
While you might be tempted to say that KMac deliberately chose a poor side just to try and prove some point, I really don’t think that was the case.
My opinion says he played the side that he thought was the best to get the result, even if you think he might be deluded.
Which is worrying either way, as either KMac is indeed deluded, in which case he needs to be sacked.
Or he had genuine reason to not select what many of us think is Villa’s best starting eleven.
Which is where the Mail’s article comes into it. It names what Villa fans have voted as the best starting eleven.
Which is Guzan, Richards (RB), Clark, Okore, Amavi, Traore, Sanchez, Gana, Gil, Grealish and Ayew up top.
And to be fair, I’d suggest it’s not far off what most of us think.
Indeed, it’s pretty much what I think, although it’d be a 4-2-3-1, as opposed to a 4-5-1, as Gregg Evans suggests.
I also think it’s a bit lightweight overall, but the differences are small and the main point is it’s not far off if we want to go for it.
What on earth the scum badge is doing on the graphic, is beyond me, but it’s the Mail after all, isn’t it?
So what has Remi Garde got to do with all this?
Well, simply, I reckon this is the team that he’d ideally want to play.
It eliminates all the dross; the workhorses that try, but have let us down for years.
Particularly the likes of Hutton, Gabby, Westwood and Richardson etc. We all know who they are, even if some of us might think the odd ones have their uses.
So why do I suspect that our starting eleven under Garde, will not be what we all think it should be?
I hinted at it in the previous replies.
I think there is a major divide amongst the Villa players and I’m not talking about the odd one or two.
I’m talking about a divide that goes deeper than that; a divide that goes higher than just the players; a divide that might even have been built up by Sherwood.
I know, I’m talking rubbish.
So explain why there’s been a load of claptrap about how players aren’t fit enough and they’ve “lost their sparkle” in training, according to KMac.
This is utter tripe and I just refuse to swallow it.
There’s something seriously wrong behind the scenes, again in my opinion.
“Lost their sparkle” is surely code for “they ain’t trying”, isn’t it?
Well, that’s how I see it.
Either that or the players we all want to see start are plain and simple not good enough.
I’m not sure which situation is worse.
I think Remi Garde is going to need loads of luck in sorting things out.
Comments
167 responses to “KMac, Remi Garde and Villa’s best team”
Controversial?
Maybe, but I really do think there’s something seriously wrong behind the scenes.
If he wants to protest over club policies take it up with the hierarchy not the FUCKING supporters.if this was the case well he can FUCK right off.
I think you’ve missed the point Giddy.
I specifically said I don’t think it was the case.
This theory came up last night & it makes my blood boil.don’t know what time but I posted it just before ko.I did state I’ve never heard anything more ridiculous.
Ps the only point Mac proved last night is that he’s a SHITE manager.
if thats how macdonald sets up teams like the last 2 matches he is long overdue is p45 or sacking he had free chance v soton to try something different ,if kozak is worse than gabby 8 touches in 48 mins injury time 2 of them kicking off ,guzan beaten between his legs at front post ,hutton out of position all night see through it if he chipped in with a few goals or assists not hit nearest opposing player or high in to stand,richardson out of breath first half cannot remember one cross from him. westwood i give upwhat does he do cannot hit a corner none of them can
The strongest team is debatable as football has changed so much that what works against one team will fail against another.
I like Westwood but he is no free kick or corner taker, and it winds me up when he takes them so my contribution to the strongest team is please find someone who can actually take them.
Gabby needs to be used as sub in the 70th minute so he can run at defenders who are knackered, he is no longer a first team player as last nights stats show. I think these stats highlight the lack of off ball movement by pretty much all of our team except Westwood and Richards which is why i like Westwood. He has been criticized this season for sideways and backwards passing but the problem is when you look at the more attacking players they are hiding and are no where to be seen so his only option is to pass to who ever is in space. I also believe Veretout will be an upgrade on Westwood once he fnds his feet
I also feel Richardson is not good enough for the team he did a couple of vital tackles last night but more of less gave the ball away with every distribution.
My overall feeling is we dont make space as a team players are so static and it has been a problem for years.
‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ – or in this case Villa Park but exactly what is rotten (or rotting). The idea that RL wants to roll along the bottom just doesn’t seem to make sense – he’s risking an awful lot.
The need to rebalance the books after MON’s profligacy is valid (OK I know RL should have kept more control – wonderful view in hindsight when no Villa supporter was bemoaning the level of spending even if we didn’t always agree with the target) but with that rebalancing came a risk which we are now seeing in our present position BUT there are clubs who didn’t identify that risk that have suffered more than us – Pompey being the prime example.
So why and what is wrong?
I merely venture a view that, actually, our owner has his heart in the right place but is ‘too nice’ and somewhat naive resulting in poor appointments and over reliance on others (remember it was Ellis that appointed MON). So, somewhat predictably he’s turned to fellow Yanks in top positions who, also in turn, are learning new roles – Fox being a point in question (although I do think he will turn out to be a good CEO).
Overall I believe it’s a combination of poor financial management and lack of experience that has bought us to this point, coupled with the sheer bad luck of losing Houllier who I believe had the nouse to pull us out of the problem we were in. Naivity led to the appointment of McLeish and then we were back to the untried and untested in Lambert and Sherwood.
Garde may not have operated in the PL but he is undoubtedly experienced and by all accounts intelligent. He has the ear of Houllier which is important and he understands (I don’t mean he speaks French!) the French players we bought and I think (hope) we might just have made the most positive appointment in a long while.
Let’s all take a step back and give our great club a breathing space by using all out emotion to support them – from here what have we got yo lose? Plenty of time for recriminations if it all goes pear shaped.
H60 – agree completely, very eloquently put.
So many points to pick up on there, but I’ll go with one.
Of course Randy doesn’t want to roll along the bottom.
He wants us up there amongst the big boys, while spending next to nothing.
Exactly the same as the rest of the Prem clubs.
The two are not compatible, imo.
Badger – that’s not what I was trying to say. I really don’t think he has the personal financial muscle to compete (regardless of what we think) – the alternative would be to hock the club up to its eyeballs with a third party – he hasn’t done that!
I know he’s lent us money and written off the interest and converted debt to equity and he gets castigated for it! I would do the same In his position as they are designed to be tax efficient moves and reduce his losses.
Maybe we would all be happier if he did the same same as the Glaziers at MU.
Tbh, I’m not exactly sure what you’re trying to say, Hitch.
I’ll clarify what I think.
Lerner has pulled back much more money than the books show.
I read a comment recently (not on here, a financial site) that was supposed to have come from an accountant somewhere;
“Show me a £1 mill loss and I’ll turn it into a £1 mill profit”
Pie in the sky?
I doubt it.
And no doubt the opposite is true.
No, I don’t want Lerner to do what the Glaziers have done, as it’s unsustainable in the long term.
But so is the way we are at the moment.
And I could say “at least Man U are up there” before it all goes tits up.
Ah, sorry Hitch, it’s the frustration coming out.
Suffice to say, we’re going nowhere under Lerner.
Except maybe down, imo.
Badger I’ve spent a lot of time in business and you can no more turn a loss into a profit through accountancy than you can create gold through alchemy – well not legally anyway!. You can limit your liabilities through tax efficient schemes and I believe Lerner has done that but then who wouldn’t?
I’m not saying that Lerner hasn’t made money from his investment in Villa but I do challenge the view that he deliberately imperils Villa’s status to line his own pockets – or if he does then he’s a complete fool and I don’t buy that either.
I think he invested in Villa on a wave of emotion which resulted in the excess of MON that Lerner just couldn’t afford without success in the European Cup – sound familiar?
I also think he’s tried to balance affordability with staying in the PL – very tricky and added to that he’s made some outstandingly poor decisions around the management structures at VP – but then again are the fans completely blameless?
Actually, I really think he cares about the Villa otherwise I think he could have dumped the club before now and cut his ongoing risks.
I suspect I may be in a minority!
I think we often forget that Lerner doesn’t have the personal wealth of people like Mike Ashley, let alone the Russian oligarchs or Arab princes.
He arrived in 2006 touted as a ‘billionaire’ – well sort of, just, in $’s not in £’s; then came the banking crash, and where was a lot of his net worth invested? On top of that much of his wealth was actually in family trusts, not in his personal ‘checking account’ as the might say over there.
Sure, he’s no doubt a wealthy guy with a very comfortable lifestyle, but as far as football clubs today here or in Europe are concerned, he’s no more able to be a sugar-daddy than Deadly was back in his day.
Where Doug was dealing in millions, Lerner is dealing in tens or even the odd-100’s of them – but the serious/completely off their head owners are dealing in half-a-billion upwards to be ‘competitive’…
Ardent, you make a very good point and perhaps I’ve got it all wrong.
Can I ask you to have a look here;
http://www.sporcle.com/games/Marshall89/aston-villas-25-most-expensive-transfer-signings
(the quickest link I could find, not meant to take the piss)
And tell me how many players Lerner coughed up for, that cost more than the £9.5 mill for JPA, 15 years ago?
Actually I didn’t realise it was so few myself.
But it does put it in perspective somewhat, when you consider Ellis walked away with £62 mill and we get way more than that in a single season now.
Jeez, I feel like I’m defending Ellis. But I’m not.
He’ll go down as the owner who failed to push us on, exactly the same as Lerner.
The off their head owners are different league, agreed, but the likes of Stoke aren’t.
That list was sobering!
The amounts spent on JPA in 2000/01, and Stan Collymore three or four years earlier, really stand out as then-major money by any standards. I’d guess that in today’s terms you’d be looking at a £25m+ player as equivalent spending, although today’s salary costs are likely to be relatively rather higher then they were 15 or 20 years ago.
The next thing that struck me was just how many players MON signed for £5m-£10m: players I’d forgotten we ever actually bought – Stephen Warnock and Nigel Reo-Coker, for example…
I don’t think KMac intentionally picked a team not to win. I think he picked one to limit further damage.
We went one down in two minutes. Imagine what the score could’ve been if there were less experienced heads out there.
I expect garde to pick Amavi, Gestede (who could unsettle city on Sunday) Gueye and Gil…who is a quality ball player. I truly hope Gabby doesn’t start, I respect him and he will always be a Villan, but he is long gone now, nothing more than an impact sub at best. He might bring Okore in too soon, maybe after the City game.
Let’s hope he has got a decent goalkeeping coach lined up too!
If we can get a draw on Sunday out would be terrific, hopefully with Aguero out we can.
“Let’s hope he has got a decent goalkeeping coach lined up too!”
Now that’s an excellent point on it’s own, imo.
How Parks has escaped the cull is beyond me.
He’d have been top of my list, or at least on a par with Sherwood and Wilkins.
Spy in the camp, perhaps?
Apparently he’s been off scouting goal keepers for us, likes of Karius and Horn were highly mentioned before Sherwood got sacked. I don’t even think he was coaching, seemed more like a scout.
IMO the team selection under KMac can only be down to one of two possible reasons:
1] KMac picked the guys he knows and with whom he feels comfortable, whether from his earlier time with the youth team or previous time as caretaker, etc. In other words, he’s always been a bit risk-averse and would rather stick with the old lot rather than try anything new.
OR
2] He really did want to give the walking dead their last chance [or last humiliation] on the pitch in public, saving the new manager any need to even learn their names.
If it’s the first, then it shows again why KMac isn’t manager material. If it’s the second, he may have just done the club a huge favour.
That’s a very decent alternative to what i think Ardent.
Option 2 backs up what I think, in that KMac does care about the club and wouldn’t do us down.
Is KMac capable of the Macheavellian approach suggested in your second alternative? You know listening to him, I think he just might be capable of it – and the icing on the cake? Starting with a less than fully fit Shabby and substituting him at half time not before the pundits have completely destroyed him – brilliant.
I am sure KMac did set up option 2. Garde knows a lot about all the French contingent, he has seen them play more minutes as a Ligue 1 pundit than they have played here. So the most useful thing for Garde to see, bearing in mind he needs to hit the ground running, was all the others who have played this season.
There are a number of tough calls, firstly that the French boys if they come in as a group will be bossing the style of play and asking players who have been at the club longer to modify their tactics to suit. This needs to be done, the opposite was not working.
The toughest call of the lot though, is on-field leadership. We haven’t got any. Richards is the disappointment here, he just has none of the basic skipper’s instincts or craft. You cannot even dictate the way the back four will play if you make long runs forward with the ball and stay up-field when you have lost it instead of haring back, as he has done on more than one occasion.
Garde has gone on record as saying he has seen a lot of Villa games this season, so I don’t think the selection was influenced by the need to see the English players. I would expect Garde to decide who he wants in the team based on what he sees this week and afterwards. I think KMac just made a negative team selection of more experienced players to try and avoid a hammering. I can’t believe he would want to damage the club in any way.
I think it is the mixture of the two. He clearly favors Gabby given their long history together and he probably figured, much to Sherwood’s broken logic, that experience players alone could steady the rot. With that being said though, like your 2nd option, he must have known with a new manager coming in these players will more than likely not be given many more chances – the new bomb squad as you may. Either way KMac just isn’t a manager and with Remi now at the club I can’t imagine we won’t get the usual bump of quality from the squad.
Marvin – the more I think about it and the more I listen to KMac, the more I reckon he hung Shabby out to dry.
Perhaps, I didn’t read anything suggesting it or implying it, but for me I think he trusted in the boy he knew and not the man that stood before him.
Having watched the game last night I thought we could take some positives from our second half spell when Gill came on. Why he didn’t start I just don’t know.
A gift of a goal after 3 mins put us on the back foot and we never really threatened.
Personally I would drop Guzan ( defence have no confidence in him and has made to many mistakes) Hutton ( when will he learn to cross a ball) Westwood (no attacking threat) Gabby (8 touches – say no more)
Ayew had a good go, Gestede needs to be stronger, thought SInclair was ok. Back four exposed to easily.
Overall we lack passion and desire, other teams seem to want it more than us. All the home games I’ve watched we’ve been poor and so have the other teams. Sunderland, West Brom, Swansea have not been much better than us. Should Garde pick a more improved line up and introduce a formation that’s suits the players he picks we might just start picking up points. There’s still a lot of games to play including all the teams around us. We’re not relegated yet. We need to be positive, support the manager. A win will bring some confidence to the team and I’m sure we will improve.
I hope we can prove all the doubters wrong and stay in the premiership where we belong.
Amen Karl
Not everyone is going to have an attacking threat and Westwood doesn’t need to be one. He shouldn’t be dropped because he doesn’t score, we’d get destroyed if every player we had attacked.
What is with you and your man crush on Jestwood?
The popular consensus appears to be he’s shite and the reason for that…
Cause he’s shite!
I think you are being unfair. Andrew rates Guzan and Clark as well. He’s either liberal with his man crushes or just likes to take a contrary view to most. He is right about the fact that everyone can’t attack, but I think with Gana and Sanchez we have better options than Westwood.
I actually prefer Gana and Sanchez to Westwood but the consensus I get from fans is Westwood doesn’t do enough going forward. When he was being highly praised, he wasn’t doing anything going forward either, so what’s changed? Nothing really. Bar there’s absolutely no movement from Sinclair, Grealish or Gabby to open up for Westwood who’s strongest on the ball that we have in midfield to find a pass.
Not sure anything has changed Andrew (not from me anyway). I am in the mildly impressed camp with Westwood. Whilst he is competent as a footballer, I don’t think he adds enough to the team in an offensive capacity and he isn’t brilliant at the defensive side either. I wouldn’t say there is absolutely no movement but there is clearly a problem. Gabby has never had that side to his game. Sinclair looks a hot and cold player. When confident he shows and takes men on, but seems to hide sometimes. Grealish is going backwards, and seems to me to think he has made it. He is about my biggest disappointment so far this season. Apart from losing so often and being bottom of course.
Looking at the available forwards Ayew is easily the best equipped forward we have in terms of movement, skill and awareness. Gestede is a danger in the air, and is committed but I agree he lacks finesse. I’m not sure that Westwood is the player we need to play to our strengths up front. I would like to see us play with Gana, Sanchez and Veretout, Gil and Ayew plus one from Grealish, Sinclair and Traore, with Gestede used as a sub for a while if we need to go more direct. I am not sure of the best position for all those players but feel it has a decent mix of creativity, goal threat and defensive capability.
One things for sure, we need to ease the pressure on our defence as they crack all too easily at the moment.
I 100% agree with your front 6. Been saying that for a while we should have those 5 and Grealish. Maybe Sinclair now as Gil’s better on the right and Traore I don’t think can play on the left.
It’s the same with Guzan though, he goes from a solid keeper in most of our fans minds to the worst keeper ever because of a few mistakes. He went from good at most things bar distribution and concentration to sucking at everything because of a few mistakes. Just baffles me the mindset and how quickly people change. I get changing your mind on if their good but reasonably players who were once good at things don’t just suck at everything because of mistakes they’ve made.
I’ve always wanted a line-up like
Guzan
Bacuna-Richards-Clark-Amavi
Gana-Sanchez
Gil-Veretout-Grealish
Ayew
I don’t think Sinclair’s good enough myself, but he does work pretty hard and Grealish just looks out of it.
I would worry about both flanks though. Gil would provide little protection for Bacuna, who is good going forward but a bit suspect defending. Same is true on the other side with Grealish in front of Amavi. That said, the two full backs would be my preferred choices. Maybe Crespo would be a decent RB. I haven’t seen enough to make up my mind.
That might be a team to win 5-3 though! Except for our next game that is.
That’s why I want Veretout in there instead of a front three of like Sinclair/Grealish-Gil-Traore like some do. He’ll drop back and cover, and Gana and Sanchez are good enough to cover the forward movement of our fullbacks.
I agree it’s a risk but that’s about what we have. Other than if Okore comes back and replaces Richards, I can’t see anything to change.
Remi apparently banning the French language in the dressing room – the man moves quick.
That’s interesting and suggests to me even more that there might indeed have been a split amongst the players.
I think it also suggests that Sherwood didn’t have the broader man management skills to cope with the job of integrating so many new players from abroad. I didn’t get the sense from Garde’s comments that there was animosity in the dressing room, more a feeling that Sherwood hadn’t bought the players together in a team way. If Garde can do that then we will be better able to judge the quality of the players brought in.
You can imagine what’s going on…
Jorden avez-vous déjà ssen un tel tas inepte de clowns ?
Pas de Idrissa , jamais de ma vie.
Had to Google translate that. Funny.
i know this is off topic but lerner shaftings us big time last 2 years we recieved 160m tv money our transfer outlay just over 15 m
mon had 83m outlay on 4 years but we sold milner downing young delph for over 60m so worst case 20 odd million for 3 top 6 cup final
yes wages went up but so did all clubs duds where bought all over he also lost delaney bouma laursen to early retirement mellborg jpa left on frees
lerner wasted money hand over fist but yet we keep paying his loans back he starting to panic now his golden goose pl is fading before his eyes big losses coming if we don t manage to get to his holy grail off 17
Clubs don’t just use TV and sponsorship money to pay transfer fees.
The biggest cost is always wages and salaries, and by quite some stretch the majority of those are players’ salaries…
Don’t think so. I think Lerner has swapped most of his debt for equity and forgone interest payments on much of the rest. Of course, the longer he hangs on the better financial shape we should be in (if we stay up) so no doubt that is tempting him.
Cissoko back anyone?
Played for garde for Lyon. Also lovren and gomis could be targets
Remi garde has said he garentees villa premier football for the next 2 seasons .
Autumn and winter
KMac just proved once again that he is incapable of being caretaker manager at Villa. His line-ups were pathetic. I think we lost both games before they started.
In fairness to KMac, he said it himself he didn’t want the job but he was asked and he just wanted the club to be happy, and was hoping Garde would come in as quickly as possible, so it’s harsh on him.
Also think the line-ups he picked were solely that he was playing it safe. He has no idea who the new players are, and he knows the players he played, so he was going to pick them. Think people are fairly harsh on KMac for what he did. Pitiful lineups yes but he didn’t want it, he just wanted to help.
I know what you are saying about not wanting the job, but we basically gave Tottenham 3 points, and in our predicament every point counts. Selecting Gabby again was shocking.
And the formation at Southampton? We had nothing to lose, surely a chance to get Ayew and Traore out there…no we play with full backs as wingers in a 4-4-2!
I guess its just been another bad week, and I need someone to blame! ha
I agree, would’ve loved to see Ayew and Traore but KMac had no idea who they were when they came in, he knew who Bacuna and Richardson are, who Gabby is, etc. I’d rather see him play to his strengths as caretaker than randomly throw players out so the players can get criticized.
Andrew, spot on mate,give you a like for that, he didn’t want the job after being asked few years ago, yes he played what he thought and it was his job. God knows what this guy will find out? banning French in dressing room makes me wonder what’s gone on, Bet Gabby been involved some how.
Morning Bill. Finally we have a consensus on here – Shabby has to go. Anyone got a large banner?
May I suggest Bruce Banner? He was very large when he turned into the Hulk. He could show Gabby what real muscles are.
I’m winning the dislikes, hey new tablet today 200 it cost, must learn to not throw it when Villa lose. ????????
Gave you another dislike Bill – that should keep you in the lead 🙂 🙂
Thanks Hitch, reminds me of my army days.
I never had any strong feelings on Westwood one way or the other, but I’ve got to speak has I see it. For the home game v Man U I was sat right at the top of the Witton..sorry Doug Ellis stand, so I had a birds eye view. Apart from one terrible misplaced pass toward the end of the first half when Gabby had made a good run into the box, [Westwood passed behind him!] he had an absolutely superb game, I even said to my son after the game I couldn’t believe how good Westwood was, I know he’s not the most attacking of players but I feel, after that performance v Utd anyway, that he’s very underrated by some on here. Delph used to get slagged by posters on here, I stuck up for him and would have him back in a heartbeat, you can’t say we don’t miss his energy in midfield.
One swallow does not make a summer. So you have him up there with Sid, Cropley, Mortimer or Platt? I think not.
Sorry BWS – where did Dave make those comparisons – clearly he is not in the same class and I’d be surprised if anyone disputed that. He’s a holding midfielder not an attacking, creative one.
The only thing he should be holding is his P45.
no but i would put him with a frank carradous, desi bremner mould
Lacks the speed and energy of Carrodus and as for Westwood – Des Bremner? Never in the same breath.
Dave, I’m also in Westwood’s court and feel he’s overly criticised. What you can’t do is play Sanchez and Westwood together in the set up we had Monday night. There is no problem in playing two holding midfielders when the game requires it but you also need creative outlets and until Gil came on we hadn’t got one.
Grealish was awful Monday night and looked bad tempered and completely disinterested but he gets less stick because of the type of player he is …… or could be.
Westwood court?
Yes, for impersonating a football player!
Fair enough Dave C. As I see it Westwood has the vision and mind to bee a good central midfield player but he does not have the physique required, to match for example Yaya Toure. He is too lightweight in the literal sense. This shows in his long distance passing: at 40 yards he is losing accuracy; and in shooting, he does not hit the ball hard enough.
The situation now is we need to beat a few top 10 teams and we will need to outplay them in midfield. Comment faisons-nous cela avec Ashley? As the dressing room is no longer allowed to ask.
He has no range of passing, his stats might well say he made x amount of successful passes but they’re all five yards sideways and neither (as you point out) does he possess the robust physicality to impose himself on games.
I just don’t see what he offers.
he can only pass to players that make themselves available, the whole front line are hiding, see goals scored column for proof.
I really bothered to argue with so you if you think Westwood is Villa’s answer to Javier Mascherano well all I can say is you really do need to get out more.
I think we get it that you don’t rate Westwood 🙂
As I’m fully elected judge on here, I declare that Westwood wood is like 90% of Villa player’s useless.
Slightly of topic but this article by Martin Samuel is worth a read it really highlights the clowns running this club! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3302539/Hapless-Aston-Villa-trapped-cycle-hope-despair.html
OohAh – I get the feeling that the Daily Mail seem to have it in for the Villa at the moment. We could be top of the league and they’d find something negative to publish about us.
Personally I wouldn’t touch that rag at any cost…
Oohahh I’ve made it a practice to never believe anything printed in the Daily Mail…
… unless it’s printed in the Daily Express too.of course..
…then you can be 100% certain that it’s an outright lie!
Sorry Bill – I just had to give you a like for the Westwood comment
Don’t worry Hitch , I’ll forgive you, and please do it again when ever.
Martin Samuels is an utter tw@t.
DS – that is unfair….. on tw@ts
Yep. I think I owe tw@ts and apology. If you type Martin Samuels is a tw@t on Google it looks like plenty of people agree!
Got a dislike for my Martin Samuels comment. Surprised he reads this blog
Off topic – Townsend banned from Spurs for a training bust up… Sherwood’s winners, with their winning mentality strike again! So happy he is gone.
Westwood is getting a lot of attention on here, dare I say too much?
As DSV says, he’s a ‘competent’ player; not a star, never likely to be one, and as OLL points out, has his limitations. To give him his due, he never seems to stop trying or to just give-up when we go behind. The lad doesn’t let-down the Villa badge on his shirt.
He’s not the cause of the on-field problems, just a symptom of poor tactical set-ups and team selection – and for that I’d blame Sherwood and K Mac.
Compared to the woeful performances of some [Gaby, Lescott,, Grealish, etc.] over recent games, I think Westwood has not got a lot to answer for!
Totally agree with that Ardent
Sorry DSV hit two dislike s by mistake. I was reading comments phone started playing up the sell buy date is well gone on this phone.
I wondered whether you could repeatedly dislike the same post. Might put 10 on yours Dave67 🙂
Apparently, no you can’t DSV.
It might look like you have on your browser, but to everyone else, they’ll only see the true amounts of likes/dislikes.
Anyway, re Westwood.
My opinion is that he is exactly what Ardent says.
A trier who doesn’t give up.
But ultimately he doesn’t achieve anything.
Another one who has to be left out; if only because Sanchez is better, imo.
You’re right Ardent but no ones singing their praises.
Ardent RE Westwood. He is not at the root of all Villa’s problems but he epitomises them.
BWS, to me you have to look hard about Westwoods footballing , has a tetendency to look good but his passing are negative , side to side and never penetrating around defender’s, never in the box for chances but his game looks ok in people’s eyes on his work rate.
Bill Westwoods like a bloke hitting a nail into granite,the efforts there but to no effect.so really it’s pointless playing him.his corner kicks are absolutely Dire.
Bill you’ll get no argument from me on that front. It’s nothing personal I just don’t see what he offers, he’s a championship player at best and it’s the signing of that quality of player(s) that’s put us in the the perilous position we’re in.
BWS – I don’t disagree. I just think that in all the talk about him, we seem to be picking on an example of someone who’s not the worst by any means.
Yes he can be described as ‘ineffective’ [ and in reply to one of Badger’s comments – I’d have said the same about Delph for about 75-80%% of his appearances for us] but then again I don’t think he’s been the weak link either.
You’re probably right in the sense that he could look ‘quality’ in a mid-table Championship side!
Just a thought – But every time Villa get a new Manager it is to lots of attention, excitement and razzmatazz….. this time our Manager has been appointed with little fuss…. Lets just hope this is a good sign, and we can concentrate on winning games rather than all the other baggage !
Hey Badger – this like / dislike might just catch on. Must see if I can give myself a like!
Ooh I can – Bill the dislike field is all yours for the taking 🙂 🙂
I don’t know, I think I might be up there with him on dislikes. lol
Bit slow Hitch, I’ve found that from the off.????????
Test????
The feature seems quite popular, so I think we’ll stick with it 🙂
Yes, you can like/dislike your own comment.
I’ll see if I can put a stop to that lol.
Hi ????????????????????trying my smilies.
I’d like to see is try this at some point:
Bunn
Ilori Richards Okore Amavi
Sanchez Gana
Gil Grealish
Kozak Ayew
Forgot about Traore – chuck him on one of the wings. Can rotate Gil, Grealish, Ayew, Traore, Sinclair. Could bring Senderos back in and try Richards at RB.
Can’t bring Senderos back in till at least January. Probably be gone by then. Not part of the 25 man squad.
Give one of our 4 other keepers a go!
Bencey, my worry with that is that it’s too lightweight.
I know it’s sacrilege, but I can actually see why Hutton and Richardson etc get played, even though they aren’t good enough.
Gil, Grealish, Amavi, Traore etc, yes, they’re all flair type players.
But there’s no grit about them.
Any decent mid will walk all over them, because they aren’t the sort who can mix it.
Any good team needs at least a couple of players with bollox/fight about them, combined with some quality.
And we don’t have them.
Frankly, we just don’t have the quality required through the squad.
I know that’ll probably get a few dislikes, but how many pundits have said it?
I think we need to take the blinkers off and maybe realise where we currently are.
Don’t get me wrong, I think we have great prospects, but this side is going to struggle against your Stokes, West Broms etc.
That said, we might actually do better against the more technical sides, which is how it proved last season.
(dons flak jacket)
Reality hurts but you’re right Badger – even Sanchez who’s supposed to be an ‘enforcer’ seems lightweight. Gary Gardener anyone for a bit of steel alongside Gana?
The other interesting points to watch are 1) where Garde plays Richards – Sherwood may have promised to play him at CB but Sherwood has gone and 2) whether Garde appoints a new team captain. We desperately lack a leader on the field – someone in the mould of Denis Mortimore. The problem is I can’t see anyone in our squad with those abilities but perhaps Garde does?
Lastly, Garde at Lyon was not afraid to defend his players, neither did he shirk getting them to play in another position if he thought it improved them as players – by all account with success In both cases.
Hitch,
I said it in the headline article, if you remember.
Garde will not, imo, pick the team we all want to see, because it doesn’t make sense.
Nor would any decent manager.
It’s partly the reason why I believe sacking Sherwood has achieved next to nothing.
And why I think the people who chose the new players (if the stories are true) really don’t have a clue.
The truth is I’m currently struggling to know what to think.
I SO want this team to come good, but whichever way I look at it, it boils down to the same thing.
We just don’t have the required quality.
And my god, we miss Delph, who as it happens might be available against us.
As for Richards, I totally agree.
He either plays RB, or should be dropped.
We can’t afford egos and if he can’t do what he’s told, he should be sold (if anyone will match his no doubt stupid wages).
Another one who isn’t up for the battle, if he did indeed head back to Manc, as was suggested.
I know people will say the games moved on but the manager has got to have the final say in the players the club buys. This money ball thing is well and good for the number crunchers but as Sir Ron used to say a football team is all about blend, players that work and gel together as individuals.
Don’t mean to keep repeating myself but all roads lead to Lerner.
We know what we have been crap, ever thought you can clean it up? That’s what we pay coach, and managers for, we had Wilkins, plus deadweight coaching doing God only knows what, now let’s see what this man can do? in French Garde mean guard in English he might just do that guard us from going down.I’m going to get some more dislikes Hitch.