Is this the season... (Poll reset after Albion double)

[Villa in Denmark]

Given how shite everyone down there is, I'd say 13 will do it.

Any way, if you want a positive straw to cling to, we've scored 3 goals in our last 2 games. How often have we managed that?

I reckon Hull and Liverpool at the start of the season, then Palace and Leicester just before Christmas have been the only times this season.

[Mister E]

The bookies still think we'll stay up. The three favourites are Leicester, QPR and Burnley.

very surprising when you look at our inability to score or at least see games out.

Paulie: take a bow.

[Legion]

We've taken 3 points from the last 30.

We have lost six league games in a row - that's 18 points on offer, from which we have taken zero. 

We've scored 13 goals all season. The next team up from that figure has scored 22. We have got the worst goal difference in the league.

We are 19th with 12 games left, and having just notched up our sixth consecutive loss, are showing pretty much no discernible sign of getting better. Not only that, but we are actually starting to look more and more dispirited. Like not only are we missing ability or organisation, there isn't even any spirit.

13 goals all season. Fuck me, that isn't just "bad", that is shockingly bad.

That's not just a pointer to a relegation, its a pointer to a pathetic, Derby County, Sunderland or Wolves style relegation.

I appreciate there is a bit of football still to play, and I understand why people try to be hopeful, but I read people saying we need four or five wins, and really, on the basis of the last 26 league games (and, if you like the 76 before this season, too), I find that pretty much impossible to imagine.

Does anyone think we'll win four or five games between now and the end of the season? Really?

We look utterly feeble and like we're never going to win a league game again.

I am no fan of the Sherwood appointment. It looks to me another hopelessly romantic decision by this cabal of incompetent dreamers who run us - just like the "young and hungry" (and cheap) policy they had. If they think it'll work, if they imagine it will work, if they hope it'll work, then it'll just .... work.

Same with Sherwood. Not got his coaching badges yet, management record which consists of, what, 22 league matches taking over a team which was in sixth position, but hey, he's young, and he believes that youth thing, and he does "good media", he's our man.

Meanwhile Tom Fox is talking amazing commercial deals, and chief commercial officers, and building structures to support the manager - director of football, stats analysts, a proper modern team around the manager, while we chase sponsors who realise the potential of this club, in this league, totally and utterly unaware of the fact that the entire thing is going to shit around them.

One thing that struck me today was that, really, it doesn't matter who the manager is. So, in that sense, Sherwood gets a pass from me, fuck it, I'll give the guy a go, and the reason is because ultimately, we are not going down because of anything Sherwood will do, we are going down because the people running this club, from the chairman sat 3000 miles away, flying in for three or four hours every now and then and otherwise running the club by email, down, the lot of them have managed to make such a gigantic pigs ear of it all that Lerner is now staring at turning hundreds of millions of pounds of his own money into a Championship club.

These are the people who put up with that absolute chancer Lambert for two years of absolute guff then gave him a new four year contract on the basis of four acceptable results, then sat their umming and aahing when everyone with even a passing interest could spot it all going to shit, and did nothing about it, nothing, until it was too fecking late.

So, basically, I'm not massively optimistic.

Unfortunately, this excellent missive wins post of the month for February.

[Lee]

We've taken 3 points from the last 30.

We have lost six league games in a row - that's 18 points on offer, from which we have taken zero. 

We've scored 13 goals all season. The next team up from that figure has scored 22. We have got the worst goal difference in the league.

We are 19th with 12 games left, and having just notched up our sixth consecutive loss, are showing pretty much no discernible sign of getting better. Not only that, but we are actually starting to look more and more dispirited. Like not only are we missing ability or organisation, there isn't even any spirit.

13 goals all season. Fuck me, that isn't just "bad", that is shockingly bad.

That's not just a pointer to a relegation, its a pointer to a pathetic, Derby County, Sunderland or Wolves style relegation.

I appreciate there is a bit of football still to play, and I understand why people try to be hopeful, but I read people saying we need four or five wins, and really, on the basis of the last 26 league games (and, if you like the 76 before this season, too), I find that pretty much impossible to imagine.

Does anyone think we'll win four or five games between now and the end of the season? Really?

We look utterly feeble and like we're never going to win a league game again.

I am no fan of the Sherwood appointment. It looks to me another hopelessly romantic decision by this cabal of incompetent dreamers who run us - just like the "young and hungry" (and cheap) policy they had. If they think it'll work, if they imagine it will work, if they hope it'll work, then it'll just .... work.

Same with Sherwood. Not got his coaching badges yet, management record which consists of, what, 22 league matches taking over a team which was in sixth position, but hey, he's young, and he believes that youth thing, and he does "good media", he's our man.

Meanwhile Tom Fox is talking amazing commercial deals, and chief commercial officers, and building structures to support the manager - director of football, stats analysts, a proper modern team around the manager, while we chase sponsors who realise the potential of this club, in this league, totally and utterly unaware of the fact that the entire thing is going to shit around them.

One thing that struck me today was that, really, it doesn't matter who the manager is. So, in that sense, Sherwood gets a pass from me, fuck it, I'll give the guy a go, and the reason is because ultimately, we are not going down because of anything Sherwood will do, we are going down because the people running this club, from the chairman sat 3000 miles away, flying in for three or four hours every now and then and otherwise running the club by email, down, the lot of them have managed to make such a gigantic pigs ear of it all that Lerner is now staring at turning hundreds of millions of pounds of his own money into a Championship club.

These are the people who put up with that absolute chancer Lambert for two years of absolute guff then gave him a new four year contract on the basis of four acceptable results, then sat their umming and aahing when everyone with even a passing interest could spot it all going to shit, and did nothing about it, nothing, until it was too fecking late.

So, basically, I'm not massively optimistic.

My thoughts exactly and when you spell it out, like you have done, it makes grim reading.

I remember our absolute surrender at Spurs at the end of the season and the matches after the Chelsea win, and confidently thinking Lambert would be sacked last summer.

I think the problem is that we sort of give Lerner some credit for being rich, and therefore intelligent and having some business acumen The point is that he inherited his wealth and and seemingly has no business know how whatsoever. Everything has been done on the cheap since 2010. Ultimately we only did well from 2006 to 2010 due to spending,and wasting, large amounts of cash

Im sure in 10 years time, Harvard will be using Lerner's ownership as a great example of how to run a business into the ground and lose millions in the process

After the surrender at Spurs last season, I walked out the ground thinking that Lambert would never be in a our dugout again. That's the reason for our ultimate demise and why we will be relegated.

[Billy Walker]

Setting points targets for ourselves isn't the be all and end all at this point, we just have to make sure we finish above three other teams.  I get the sense that players, fans and everyone connected with the club are mentally fatigued after four years of this and with the fatigue comes a willingness to throw in the towel; we just can't allow ourselves to do that.  It's time to dig in to all remaining wells of belief to get the players over the line. 

[ez]

We've taken 3 points from the last 30.

We have lost six league games in a row - that's 18 points on offer, from which we have taken zero. 

We've scored 13 goals all season. The next team up from that figure has scored 22. We have got the worst goal difference in the league.

We are 19th with 12 games left, and having just notched up our sixth consecutive loss, are showing pretty much no discernible sign of getting better. Not only that, but we are actually starting to look more and more dispirited. Like not only are we missing ability or organisation, there isn't even any spirit.

13 goals all season. Fuck me, that isn't just "bad", that is shockingly bad.

That's not just a pointer to a relegation, its a pointer to a pathetic, Derby County, Sunderland or Wolves style relegation.

I appreciate there is a bit of football still to play, and I understand why people try to be hopeful, but I read people saying we need four or five wins, and really, on the basis of the last 26 league games (and, if you like the 76 before this season, too), I find that pretty much impossible to imagine.

Does anyone think we'll win four or five games between now and the end of the season? Really?

We look utterly feeble and like we're never going to win a league game again.

I am no fan of the Sherwood appointment. It looks to me another hopelessly romantic decision by this cabal of incompetent dreamers who run us - just like the "young and hungry" (and cheap) policy they had. If they think it'll work, if they imagine it will work, if they hope it'll work, then it'll just .... work.

Same with Sherwood. Not got his coaching badges yet, management record which consists of, what, 22 league matches taking over a team which was in sixth position, but hey, he's young, and he believes that youth thing, and he does "good media", he's our man.

Meanwhile Tom Fox is talking amazing commercial deals, and chief commercial officers, and building structures to support the manager - director of football, stats analysts, a proper modern team around the manager, while we chase sponsors who realise the potential of this club, in this league, totally and utterly unaware of the fact that the entire thing is going to shit around them.

One thing that struck me today was that, really, it doesn't matter who the manager is. So, in that sense, Sherwood gets a pass from me, fuck it, I'll give the guy a go, and the reason is because ultimately, we are not going down because of anything Sherwood will do, we are going down because the people running this club, from the chairman sat 3000 miles away, flying in for three or four hours every now and then and otherwise running the club by email, down, the lot of them have managed to make such a gigantic pigs ear of it all that Lerner is now staring at turning hundreds of millions of pounds of his own money into a Championship club.

These are the people who put up with that absolute chancer Lambert for two years of absolute guff then gave him a new four year contract on the basis of four acceptable results, then sat their umming and aahing when everyone with even a passing interest could spot it all going to shit, and did nothing about it, nothing, until it was too fecking late.

So, basically, I'm not massively optimistic.

Great post, and "too fecking late" is the most crucial part. I believe this situation was avoidable had we acted in December but the numerous warning signs were ignored for far too long and we are crippled now. Other clubs did the right thing and will survive. We are left with appointing Sherwood who may turn out to be a good manager in time but could equally not be manager standard at all.

[SoccerHQ]

It's incredibly inept to take 3 points since we beat Leicester on December 7th. Since then we've played Stoke, Swansea, Palace, Sunderland, WBA, Leicester and Hull.

[silhillvilla]

It's incredibly inept to take 3 points since we beat Leicester on December 7th. Since then we've played Stoke, Swansea, Palace, Sunderland, WBA, Leicester and Hull.

Exactly why we will be playing in the championship after the summer . The club is a feckin shambles .

[Pete3206]

The April fixtures look horrendous. We need to get at least 10 points from the next 4 games to even have a prayer. It's not going to happen is it?

[PeterWithesShin]

Since we won at Anfield our record is

PL22 W2 D6 L14 F9 A35 GD-26 Pts12

[PeterWithesShin]

The April fixtures look horrendous. We need to get at least 10 points from the next 4 games to even have a prayer. It's not going to happen is it?

If we reach the semis, May will be Everton, West Ham, QPR and Burnley at home and Saints away.

[cdbearsfan]

QPR would be played on 21st/22nd April if we make the Semis, wouldn't it?

[ktvillan]

Spot on Mr Walnuts as usual.  It's hard to fathom how Team Lerner could have fucked things up more if they were a bunch of billionaire bluenoses and boggies with a fiendish plan to destroy Villa for ever.  That's how incompetent they have been.  They seem to forget that relegation exists here and that achieving a decent sale price, and securing all these fancy commercial deals and sponsorships they are busy chasing, depend on one thing - maintaining PL status.  If we do go down I can just imagine Lerner and Fox sitting there looking at each other with totally bemused slack-jawed looks on their faces and going "Oh!" as the penny drops.  If it wasn't our club being shafted it would be almost funny.

[Jimbo]

If we do go down I can just imagine Lerner and Fox sitting there looking at each other with totally bemused slack-jawed looks on their faces and going "Oh!" as the penny drops.

Via Skype.

[SoccerHQ]

QPR would be played on 21st/22nd April if we make the Semis, wouldn't it?

Not if there's champions league that week as Uefa have put in a bizarre rule you can't play Premier league games on CL nights anymore.

It will be the next free midweek after that.