I called the 1-2 loss spot on for once.
Not that I’m glad about it, but it was about the only highlight of my Saturday afternoon.
While I was at work as the game was being played, I actually could have got to watch it, if I’d worked things right.
But at the same time there was a seriously important job that needed doing and I had to ensure it was done.
So it was a bit of a tough decision.
And after me talking about which players would start in the preview post, so I saw Kieran Richardson’s name on the teamsheet.
That clinched it and I decided the job was more important.
How sad is that?
I know I’m far from alone in thinking it, but Richardson is an awful player when it comes to Premiership standard and I just ended up asking myself “if players are being picked on what they show during training, what the hell are those not chosen to start doing?”
And let’s face it, Richardson cannot have been selected for what he’s done in prior games, as my opinion says that one vague recollection of a decent game apart, he’s been frankly rubbish and is yet another liability.
Why the hell are we playing this sort of player, who’s gone in the summer anyway? (after signing just a 2 year deal, which speaks volumes, in my opinion).
And why did we take Lyden off, when by all accounts he did ok, apart from losing his man for the first goal?
Just to leave the useless Westwood on the pitch?
Good grief, Westwood surely has to be another who performs well in training, as his contribution in actual games is also in my opinion, frankly so, so average.
And these are exactly the sort of players we need to get rid of.
But I wasn’t totally surprised by it all.
That’s what you get when you put Eric Black in charge.
It’s what he does; provide stability and be pragmatic.
Yet this is exactly what will not be needed next season.
We need someone to come in who can change it up tactically and not just play the usual, predictable plodders like we’ve seen under the usual plodding management we’ve had for far too long.
I know many of you didn’t like Sherwood, but I still feel that if he hadn’t been undermined in the way he was, we would at least be on more points than we currently are.
And I’m convinced that he’d have seen the reality of where we are and stop playing those who simply don’t perform.
Feel free to discuss that one and I expect to receive at least some stick for that viewpoint.
Not that any of it matters much.
Adam posted what many of us feel, earlier.
It’s just a numbness all round isn’t it? And our mathematical relegation has only been postponed for a few days.
Which leads me to the redundancies that are going to come.
Sadly, many of those who need the pin money they’re paid more than anyone, will be worst affected; those who clean the stands and do the (zero hours) “menial jobs” will be first on the list.
But there will no doubt be very good, long serving staff that will be hit too.
I salute them all and they have my sincere sympathies, as it just seems wrong that up to a hundred people will lose their jobs to save what probably amounts to similar money to what two or three or three of the board’s wages, combined with the “helpers” who are going to decide where the cuts are made, add up to.
But that’s how it is.
And while I’m at it, I also have to salute the fans who turn up week in-week out to watch the dross that’s on display.
The show of support for the club early in the second half, was much commented on and admired.
While there are many areas of the club to moan about, the standard of the support, even in these bleak times, is surely immune from criticism.
For about the last 8 seasons I’ve been to most home and away games, so I’ve seen the ups and downs, I have however been a season ticket holder for around 30 ish years, this season I promised my self no more away games due to the disappointing feeling after 98% of the games from last season. Boy how right was I……
I have posted a few times different comments, but over this season my sense of bad feeling towards the club has made me just nul so not wanting to respond or even talk about us, and the other annoying thing has been the total negativity which the club has created within the supporters environment, every home game when walking to and from the stadium has a grey view, and yes the brightness has faded.
Many people both supporters and none supporters have asked questions blamed individuals, the owner, the CEO, the managers, the backroom staff. However very rarely does any of the blame get put on the players door, they seem to be immune, OK once in a while they are chastised for their ability or inability, but never regularly day in day out.
I do not believe these players are as poor as we see them on the pitch, what I do believe is they have the inability to play as a team, for whatever reason that is, is beyond me, if there are behind the scene riffs or personal riffs between individuals I don’t know, but I do know is, that should be left in the dressing room once you are on match day, and that individuals you despise out side is your best mate on that pitch, there is no pasona, no click, no togetherness. Now many of you will say yes that’s the managers job, or it’s the owners fault for not being at games or not buying support players, me I don’t believe that’s the reason, it’s each Individual not knowing how to interact with people they dislike or can not agree with, it’s individuals personality clashes, and because their contracts are so rife with shit they can get away with it. Imagine anyone of us at our normal working place doing it we would be out the door. Can you even imagine out nurses and doctors taking this approach, you would end up having your tonsils removed instead of the heart by-pass surgery.
I may have rambled on a bit but I think the club needs to start as it means to go on with the new regime, but not just focus on the staff which keeps the club going, but the staff that have not been prepared to support the cause and knuckle down to grind out results….Yes the footballers, you know the ones we pay to see each week
Anyway enough, I’m sure many of you will have disagreements on my say but most will have the grey feelings that’s for sure.
If it’d been one maybe two seasons then ok, it’s the players fault but this goes much much deeper, to the very fabric of the club.
The turn over of managers, coaches players, ceo’s all point to a total lack of any cohesive plan and/or direction, a case it seems of simply rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.
Any manager brave enough to take the on the job ends up ill or putting on ten years in a matter of months or being unemployable, all due the the pressure, restraints and impossible perimeters placed upon them.
So yes, to a point it is the players fault but they are a symptom of the illness that’s crippled the club.
VTID, bloody good post mate and very truthful, might have to pick one or two players that don’t have a football brain but your right in saying most of them we have would and could improve with better coaching, most of what’s gone wrong is our management side plus the stupid yank, yes the wanting has gone from our team and it will be hard to get back. We’ve all seen this coming but the club didn’t, that in itself says the running of the club from top to bottom needs addressing, some how we need to get that Yank to go.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/picture/2016/apr/12/david-squires-on-aston-villas-miserable-season?
BWS, as I said I do not know who is at fault, but the workers are the players they get payed to make the product, and they should be the ones taking ownership, I am not saying that the Owner of the club should not share some of the responsibility, but for me I do not care which player is in the team they should perform, and it has not been the case for many seasons.
I believe it’s the contracts to which they are aligned that gives them comfort, cause for sure if they were paid on performance they would all be on income support by now, or making an effort and trying to be a team.
For me the total blame is on the players. Look at the passion from the U21 last night a fight to the death nearly, that is putting work for the cause.
I disagree, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, they just ain’t up to the job.
With regards to the contracts, it begs the question who awarded them?
Sorry VITD but all roads lead to Lerner.
Please oh please play the under 21 , have a look at this, https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/aston-villa-west-hams-under-075800974.html
That’s it – Kevin Toner for Player of the Year!!!
🙂
Nothing wrong with any of those tackles, the 3rd for which he was red carded is a one legged challenge on a loose ball he was first to, so in this case the Hammer put his leg there after the movement of Toner.
Badger
You are not allowed to critise wastewood on here,Hutton either
2 of most awful players to put on my team’s shirt,along with cieran Richardson as like you when I seen his name didn’t bother watching or listening to game
That’s disflamination, its worse than discrimination, in fact its they are terrible, even worse than that. Ok effin useless .
JVillan,
I’ve criticised Hutton when he’s been poor. Which is most of the time he’s been at the Villa.
But I’ve also praised him when he’s been the best of a bad bunch, which he was a while back. The phrase “our best attacking outlet” springs to mind on at least a couple of occasions.
I’ve also praised him for at least seeming to try, in a team of non-triers.
But that’s not to say he’s a good player, in my book.
He’s quite simply caught out of position far too often.
But it must be with the manager’s consent, else he’d never get a game.
As for Westwood, I simply don’t see it.
Never makes a particularly good pass, never scores, doesn’t make telling runs, doesn’t anchor well and doesn’t look to get us forward.
I could live with all this if he at least out-ran the rest of the midfield and backed up like a Frank Carrodus type, but he doesn’t.
Hence he’s a total non-entity as a midfielder, in my opinion.
But there are quite a few who thinks he does the basics well (in retaining possession), but he never achieves anything apart from a sideways pass.
He’s far too average, but consistently gets played under all the managers.
Which just sums up the team and our general malaise.
That said, I’ve no doubt a few of our players would look better in a decent side.
But again, that’s because of the overall standard of our squad. The likes of Ayew get dragged down because of the shit they’re playing with.
Westwood is a great example here.
Would he look better in a decent side?
I very much doubt it, myself. It’d be same old, same old, wherever he went.
We can go into the ins and outs of managers, training, coaches and who got the players in etc, but frankly, in a nutshell, it just means the players/squad aren’t good enough.
Because over the last few years, we haven’t paid good enough money to keep us competitive.
Regardless of what the BS accounts say, imo.
Just a thought for match at the weekend. I don’t think any of the youth players should be in the squad. I would play the worst team possible and would make Nzogbia play also. As it is likely to be the match that confirms our relegation it should be those that caused it that are made play and face the music. I suspect that manager has been selected and will be announced next Sunday. Got a sneaky feeling it will be Pearson.
“Villa Squad Stink the Place Out” Have a guess in which paper today that headline appeared? The Times. Unprecedented.
Remarkable. I’d take a look if it wasn’t behind one of Murdoch’s greedy paywalls…
Interesting articles on some of our lonees – if the Sun are to be believed then Jed Steer will be No. 1 GK next season – apparently impressed for Huddersfield this term with 33 appearances. Also expect Gary Gardner and Callum Robinson to figure.
As long as we say goodbye to the flapper that’s fine by me!
Badger I agree with you that we’d have a few more points if we still had Sherwood in charge, but we’d still end up being relegated. He was a (sometimes) very good motivator and was capable of occasional tactical brilliance. But when it (often) didn’t click we were terrible. For him to have a whole preseason and hire such experienced assistants and still have a squad of dismally unfit players with no favoured formation, pattern of play or defensive shape was ultimately gross negligence on his part. And the Leicester away game management was enough to get him fired alone!
I know it was never going to happen, but I hoped he and Garde wouldn’t take the payoff, so that they could have come out and explained what was really going on behind the scenes. Maybe we’ll find out that Randy made a rich fuckers bet, like in Trading Places, on whether he could completely destroy a grand old football team in 10 years!