I could talk about the game, but I choose not to. Swansea only had one shot on target and that was enough to beat Villa. Say no more. I just hope those who chose to travel to Wales had a good time despite what happened on the pitch. There’s plenty of deadwood games to go, so if you’re off to them, drinking perhaps is the only option to get through them.
Off the field, things are more interesting. The new look board is a step in the right direction, but more of that later. Rémi Garde is a dead man walking though and while he was expected to stand down at the end of the season, it seems that the club are already making moves to get his successor in.
Now Villa can only get 37 points maximum from the season and that’s would require them to win out in the final seven games, which isn’t going to happen. Sad to think that Bournemouth, who Villa beat on the opening day, are already as safe as houses.
Amongst the doom and gloom, here’s five reasons to be cheerful as Aston Villa fans…
5. Mr Burgundy is Gone
When Tom Fox described the club’s colours as “burgundy” in his first face-to-face meeting with Villa supporters, it perhaps was never going to end well for him. With the club failing to build a team around Christian Benteke in the previous seasons prior to Fox’s appointment, the writing was on the wall when Benteke decided to leave a team that was going nowhere fast.
Fox tried to restructure and modernise Villa, but missed out on a few simple tricks that would have greatly helped him – namely getting some football nouse into his new board and backroom infrastructure.
Hendrick Almstadt, who, lets be honest, none of us knew what he did exactly also got the boot. Fox had defended him as a vital cog in what was essentially the American trying to reinvent the wheel.
Any manager that joins this sinking ship without the guarantee of cash to spend is out of his mind, whatever division we end up in.
If Remi Leaves under the ”no improvement” banner lets not forget he caught a crap ball avalanche of a side and best he could do was stop it literally turning into players crying in the centre spot if they got tackled . I think if Sherwood had been left in charge we would have seen at some point a full nervous break down to press or on the sideline . I’ve seen quoted that he couldn’t make the players realize what a huge club they were letting down, and thats what you get for recruiting a bunch of young foreign players that dont care less about a club history or fans . What could he do start balling them ? I think the would have had a full revolt tbh . He made it clear there was no quality in the team or passion . That at least helped point the finger at the terrible board we had , that for on thing ill be great full for. i think with a bunch of players that had fight and passion he could have giving them enough tactical tools to win games . Man manager ? villa needed a bloody kindergarten carer for the current team.
its not the young foreign players that have let the club down this season, if anything they are the only ones who have actually tried to do their best. Gana, Veretout, Amavi, and Ayew have all shown glimpses of quality but the weight of having to carry a struggling side on their shoulders has blunted their impact. They lacked the necessary experience for a premiership basement battle and have unfortunately been caught like rabbits in headlights at times. It is the experienced, highly paid so called “professionals”, (some of them premier league winners) who have shown that they do not care one ounce about the club or the fans. Lescott, Richards, Gabby, Richardson and Guzan are chief culprits. They should have been able to take the pressure off the foreign recruits but instead they have soiled the Villa shirt with their pathetic performances. They are the ones who have let the club down.
I don’t get all the anti Remi nonsense. He got a shit team from Tactics Tim, got lied to by Fox and co about January money for players, and has had his hands tied. Even then, against Swansea Villa were actually the better side in terms of how they were coached to play. They made Swansea look like chumps. They are simply not good enough individually. Swansea had one strike on goal in that game. One. And millionaire morons who are in the Villa side managed to lose.
That isn’t down to Garde. It’s down to successive seasons of bad decision making at all levels. To blame Garde and get rid would only be another one, and just when it looks like the Villa board are finally fit for purpose.
We played some good stuff at Swansea, and for me the issue is the individuals not the coach. Alex Ferguson could manage this lot and have Pep and Jose as his coaches and they would still be shit.
From what I have seen, I would give Garde a chance. At least he can see how awful most of the staff are first hand.
As much as I feel sorry for Remi it isn’t going to work. He has been badly let down but I honestly believe there are now players that don’t want to play for him. Its pointless continuing with a manager who has said he will make a decision at the end of the season. I also think its vital a new manager is put in now he then has a few games to analyse who is worth keeping. If he starts in the summer he only has a few friendly games to make that important assessment. He needs to be in now to work with these no hopers to see if there is a glimmer there at all. Pearson would soon sort out Gabby and Grealish, if not Moyse or Rogers
However I would get it in writing if Lerner’s going to get his wallet out. Whoever it is this will be our 3rd Manager of the season suddenly we are no better than Leeds, Thanks Randy.