Are There Similarities to 1986-87?

[kippaxvilla2]

A change of manager.  A manager is completely out of his depth.  A Scottish Manager.
A poor squad.
Apathy in the crowd.
Falling attendances.
Players looking disinterested.
A Clubwide feeling of depression.
A Chairman getting heat from fans.

I have exactly the same feeling as I had after Clive Allen bagged a hat trick against us on the first day of the season at Villa Park.  By the way, Blues went down the same season as us. 

[TonyD]

They went down the year before.

[jonc73]

Blues went down with WBA, then when Villa went it was the first time Birmingham didn't have representation in the top division.ahh such good memories!

Personally I think there are similarities with that 87, especially the team not appearing to have shape or a method of playing.  I don't subscribe to there being worse teams I the division either-we've turned into Newcastle United of a couple of years back.

We are a badly run club in decline.  I'm starting see good old Doug with rose tinted specs.

[eastie]

Docherty , Mcneill and mcleish -relegation maybe ?

[itbrvilla]

Blues went down with WBA, then when Villa went it was the first time Birmingham didn't have representation in the top division.ahh such good memories!

Personally I think there are similarities with that 87, especially the team not appearing to have shape or a method of playing.  I don't subscribe to there being worse teams I the division either-we've turned into Newcastle United of a couple of years back.

We are a badly run club in decline.  I'm starting see good old Doug with rose tinted specs.

Agree with that.  We appear to be a shambles at every level apart from the youth set up.  So many things stink at the moment, that I have no idea of what needs to change for the decline to be halted and reversed.  The 'there are loads of worse teams' arguemnt means nothing at the moment, lets se how many worse teams there are at the end of the season.  Everyone else apart from Bolton appear to at least have fight in the the team and appear to actually care.  We on the other had do not and this is the big worry for me.

[rutski]

no, there are 10 other teams that are loads worse than us!

[The Laughing Policeman]

A change of manager.  A manager is completely out of his depth.  A Scottish Manager.
A poor squad.
Apathy in the crowd.
Falling attendances.
Players looking disinterested.
A Clubwide feeling of depression.
A Chairman getting heat from fans.

I have exactly the same feeling as I had after Clive Allen bagged a hat trick against us on the first day of the season at Villa Park.  By the way, Blues went down the same season as us.

Whilst I'll admit that our 'recent' experience of having a Scottish manager isn't good.  I give you George Ramsay manager from 1884-1926. His teams won 6 FA Cups and 6 League Championships and is therefore our most successful manager ever.
So AM being Scottish doesn't come into the equation.
By the way there isn't much else in your post to argue with.

[john e]

Could someone better than me post the 86 squad, so we can compare the teams

[kippaxvilla2]

They went down the year before.

Was going to say that then just had it in my mind they went with us - ah well even more similarities.

[kippaxvilla2]

http://www.statto.com/football/teams/aston-villa/1986-1987

http://www.astonvilla-mad.co.uk/footydb/loadtmrs.asp?ssnno=116&teamno=31

Final table and then the results from that season.  Thank God for Coventry and a particular low light was the Dell on a freezing cold March day from memory.

The team was something like

Kevin Poole
Bernie Gallagher
Tony Dorigo
Allan Evans (although he may have gone not sure)
Paul Elliott
Hodge until the twat departed in December to Spuds.
Paul Birch
Paul Kerr
Garry Thompson
Waspish Warren Aspinall
Steve Hunt?

[Dave Clark Five]

I understand the sentiments of the post but thought it timely to mention that there have been a great deal of comments on here, referring to the manager, that might be percived as being a bit racist. I am not including the OP but those who have to call McLeish a Scottish xxxx or whatever.
We have had some fine Scottish people at the club and I am surprised that the site rules do not cover such situations.

[jonc73]

The team was something like

Kevin Poole
Bernie Gallagher
Tony Dorigo
Allan Evans (although he may have gone not sure)
Paul Elliott
Hodge until the twat departed in December to Spuds.
Paul Birch
Paul Kerr
Garry Thompson
Waspish Warren Aspinall
Steve Hunt?

Stainrod, Gary Williams, Mark Walters, Tony Daley, Spink, Neale Cooper/Andy Blair never played, Martin Keown. Match Weekly tipped us for Champions that year!Steve McMahon did a Stewart Downing at the start

[jembob]

Went to our head office near Manchester this morning and was chatting to a few of the guys. They asked who I support and when I said Villa they all drew deep breaths and sympathised with me. A few years ago I would have been shown some respect but at the moment it's pity.

To a man they all said what a poor appointment Mcleish has beeen and nobody understands why he was given the job. Is it only our Chairman who has ever thought he was the right man for the job?

There's a stench of defeat at VP at the moment, and I'm afraid that if it's not reversed sooner rather than later it will be a repeat of 86-67. We aren't too good to go down.

[VILLA MOLE]

those were the days and lets not forget the Henson Kit

[He wears a magic hat]

I'm sure by the end of that season we had Dean Glover, Phil Robinson and Darren Bradley playing in the midfield.

That year we went down we really were rubbish and the players in the side were simple not good enough to compete in that division. Come christmas it was pretty inevitable that relegation would be our fate.

At the moment I see good enough players but they are aboard a rudderless ship.

People talk about us being too good to go down and that there are worse team in the division. I dare say if you ask people to name 4 worst teams then a fair few would give the names of Norwich Blackburn Swansea Wigan.

I'd say

I've seen Norwich have a go at Liverpool away and earn a point
I've seen Blackburn with all their off field problems have a go at Arsenal and win
I've seen Swansea have a go at Man U and narrowly lose
I've seen Wigan have a go at Chelsea and earn a very creditable draw
And I've seen Villa on at least 3 occassion this season roll over and have our bellies tickled


On the evidence provided on the pitch there is no way I'd say we are to good to go down