Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Steve67 on May 22, 2022, 06:00:04 PM
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Massively frustrating and a lot needs to be done over the summer to make Villa more competitive. We seem to have a lot of players who switch off when the chips are down and they will need to be replaced. the dismissal of Dean Smith did not give the club the lift that we thought it would and it seemed to be the same sort of up and down form after Steven Gerrard was appointed. The balance and steel needed in the middle of the park was not addressed and I hope that this is the number one priority, rumour of Kamara coming in might help. Many players seem to have reached their level. I am not sure if Gerrard is the man to take the club forward but he will be backed this summer. Overall, I'd day 5 out of 10 for the season.
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Well it started badly, it tailed off a little in the middle and the less said about the end the better — but apart from that it was excellent.
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Too soft. A bit pedestrian. Lack of consistency.
Frustrating as hell.
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Absolutely shit.
With the last 15 minutes of it akin to being pinned down and having cold dog sick poured into our mouths.
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Finished below Brentford
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Finished below Brentford
And Brighton. Newcastle. Palace. Utter utter shit.
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Finished below Newcastle.
Newcastle.
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Finished below Brentford
Let that sink in. Fucking Brentford.
Utter disgrace from the lot of them - manager, coaches, players.
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Shit
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14th. Meh.
Smith not good enough.
Gerrard not doing enough yet to show any significant improvement.
Players are mostly not good enough bar a few.
Recruitment not good enough.
We're a bottom half Premier League club at best at the moment and without a massive mentality shift it won't improve, even throwing hundreds of millions at it doesn't guarantee that, Everton mk II in the making.
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I don't want to turn this into the transfer or Gerrard threads, but the side needs major surgery. I hope Gerrard is apoplectic in that changing room and given them some shit. I don't rate him either but we all know he's here for at least next season. Finishing below some of those teams is a disgrace, especially the barcodes given them didn't win a game until half way through the season pretty much. Junk Greadish winning that fucking medal is the hardest thing to take, even if he did fuck all to assist.
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I don't want to turn this into the transfer or Gerrard threads, but the side needs major surgery. I hope Gerrard is apoplectic in that changing room and given them some shit. I don't rate him either but we all know he's here for at least next season. Finishing below some of those teams is a disgrace, especially the barcodes given them didn't win a game until half way through the season pretty much. Junk Greadish winning that fucking medal is the hardest thing to take, even if he did fuck all to assist.
"Junk Grealish"? Was that deliberate or predictive text?
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10 points off going down and 11 points off Europe. We all know where we need to improve.
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No matter the wealth, no matter the team, no matter the manager we'll always be Everton (old one) at best, relegated at worse. So this season fits in with that trend so average.
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We lost half of our games.
We are bang average and that's being generous.
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10 points off going down and 11 points off Europe. We all know where we need to improve.
in both penalty boxes for a start
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Thank God it's over!
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I'm sorry but I'm calling this now that for us to get in to Europe (I believe this still the plan) we need to have a city Newcastle style takeover or the big six to piss off to a super league. All these clubs that continue to finish above us are going to strengthen, so this selling you're best player and a minus net spend isn't going to cut it. I will always love the club, but I'm a realist and anyone who thinks we're going to compete without one of the above two scenarios happening is living in wonderland.
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4.9 out 10 c -
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Disappointing. Below par.
Smith 3/10.
Gerrard 4/10
A manager who talks a better game than most and results are below par.
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Purslow said when gerrard came in the target was top half and a cup run. (I think smith might have issued the parting shot he thought he would have hit top ten with these players?)
We were dealt a cruel hand in the cup but it seems like we been half arsed since the new manager bounce and the Jan Coo factor. we've been on the beach mainly since feb.
Most players are pretty much where they are in the league. Average mid table pro's. Gerrard needs a ton of cash to jump even a few places, I think it will take him 3 or 4 windows that's if the fans don't get fed up before then.
When you're mid table in the champ you dream about being mid table in the prem. but when you get there it's purgatory. especially when your best players leave to win trophy's and anniversary of past glories are brutal reminders how far we are away.
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Meh.
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An average season where we've struggled to get to grips without Grealish. Where we've found the structural holes in our side that Grealish covered, were exposed. Where we've been too soft and generous defensively with significant conceding of simple chances. Where we spurned far too many good chances of our own.
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A season where we've stagnated. Went in undercooked with our loyal club captain disappearing off up the M6. Poor start, brief signs of encouragement before the 5 in a row saw off Smith. Went down the route of a "Hollywood" appointment in Gerrard which gave us a bounce of about 3 or 4 games, before we plauteued. 14th place and two early cup exits (albeit one with honour at Chelsea). Glad it's all ended to be honest.
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Our summer pre-season set the tone. A frigging right shit show but luckily we survived with games to spare.
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Finished below Newcastle.
Newcastle.
Wonder when the next time we'll finish above them in the league given how well they've ended the season?
May 2009 was last time we finished above Man. City which is pretty sobering and that was their first season taken over so shows the problem if teams with 100ms to spend already start finishing ahead before they've started seriously spending.
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I'm sorry but I'm calling this now that for us to get in to Europe (I believe this still the plan) we need to have a city Newcastle style takeover or the big six to piss off to a super league. All these clubs that continue to finish above us are going to strengthen, so this selling you're best player and a minus net spend isn't going to cut it. I will always love the club, but I'm a realist and anyone who thinks we're going to compete without one of the above two scenarios happening is living in wonderland.
Leicester, Wolves and West Ham all qualfied for europe in last three years and had good runs in the competition so I wouldn't be that dramatic although yes Newcastle getting good quickly is going to hurt us a fair bit in terms of our short term aims.
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Underwhelming.
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As much as I love Deano, we could have been in an Everton/Leeds situation if not for the management change. The Grealish transfer did for all the positive momentum we had built up since the Championship days (I genuinely believe if he'd stayed we would have finished this season somewhere around where West Ham are). His decision to leave, however, kicked off the instability that scuppered Deano's system and left us in desperate need of fresh ideas and a new direction.
As season's go, this has been one of frustration. I'm glad it's over but with the stadium expansion and transfer window ahead, I'm full of optimism for our future.
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We handled the summer very badly and did not really recover from that.
Would love to know who was responsible for the ducking around by the Thames, that set the scene, Twat left we panic bought, the manager lost the plot and we really never got back.
We need real leadership on and off the pitch and I am struggling to see out of the Captain, Manager and CEO any evidence of it.
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Last summer transfer window done us. Made four signings only one of which was worth it.
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Pre-season was a long time ago, nonetheless that had a huge impact as did coaches walking, Smith reached peak Smith and never looked like turning things round, Gerrard wasn't what I expected or really wanted but he's here and he needs to be given a proper pre-season, he's had the chance to run the rule over the squad and he's proven he can attract the big names.
Overall a solid, disappointing 4/10.
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We need a bit of perspective, Leicester finished in 8th 7 points ahead of us which are the four points we just dropped at home against both Palace and Burnley this past week and one win against relegated Watford. Hardly a massive gap to bridge in my opinion.
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I get these threads are similar but do you have to post the same comment on each one?
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Just felt like it was a massive waste of time and money, and especially since Norwich and Watford dropped, that everybody associated with the club was just waiting for the summer. This in turn puts a huge amount of pressure on Gerrard to get it right, leading me not to be excited as much as nervous.
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I'm sorry but I'm calling this now that for us to get in to Europe (I believe this still the plan) we need to have a city Newcastle style takeover or the big six to piss off to a super league. All these clubs that continue to finish above us are going to strengthen, so this selling you're best player and a minus net spend isn't going to cut it. I will always love the club, but I'm a realist and anyone who thinks we're going to compete without one of the above two scenarios happening is living in wonderland.
Leicester, Wolves and West Ham all qualfied for europe in last three years and had good runs in the competition so I wouldn't be that dramatic although yes Newcastle getting good quickly is going to hurt us a fair bit in terms of our short term aims.
They've all done it when the big clubs were in transition, sometimes all together in transition, we're trying to do now they've all got there shit sorted. I know football isn't done on paper but in these days it's as bloody good as. I mean Smith Rowe mist look back at them links now and piss himself. Who are we likely to catch in the next decade. City, Liverpool, Chelsea, spurs, arsenal, united and Newcastle now. That's 7 before you start. Leicester and West ham had Europe this year, still well clear of us. I just genuinely can't see it. I've still renewed, so its not negative on my part, just pure realism.
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I'm sorry but I'm calling this now that for us to get in to Europe (I believe this still the plan) we need to have a city Newcastle style takeover or the big six to piss off to a super league. All these clubs that continue to finish above us are going to strengthen, so this selling you're best player and a minus net spend isn't going to cut it. I will always love the club, but I'm a realist and anyone who thinks we're going to compete without one of the above two scenarios happening is living in wonderland.
Leicester, Wolves and West Ham all qualfied for europe in last three years and had good runs in the competition so I wouldn't be that dramatic although yes Newcastle getting good quickly is going to hurt us a fair bit in terms of our short term aims.
They've all done it when the big clubs were in transition, sometimes all together in transition, we're trying to do now they've all got there shit sorted. I know football isn't done on paper but in these days it's as bloody good as. I mean Smith Rowe mist look back at them links now and piss himself. Who are we likely to catch in the next decade. City, Liverpool, Chelsea, spurs, arsenal, united and Newcastle now. That's 7 before you start. Leicester and West ham had Europe this year, still well clear of us. I just genuinely can't see it. I've still renewed, so its not negative on my part, just pure realism.
Man. United will still be poor next season I reckon, got to make 6-7 first team signings and we saw in summer 2015 what can happen if they're not of the required quality.
When we won at Leeds in mid March I'm pretty sure we were only 4-5 points off Wolves and since then they've won about two games. Frustratingly one of those was v us so that's the problem, we simply didn't turn up for many games v teams slightly above us in the league this season. West Ham away was also a missed opportunity, hopefully they sell Rice soon as they'll certainly drop a few places when that happens as he's as important to them as you know who was for us.
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With what happened with Smith etc. the rest of the season was transitional.
Big summer coming for SG and next season to show us his squad. I’ve given him the rest of this last season and I am not convinced. I hope he proves me wrong, but he needs a summer window, pre season etc.
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Shit. Hopeful. Meh. Frustrating. Hopeful. Thank fuck we are safe. Onwards and upwards.
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Disappointing. I’m hopeful the players Gerrard is bringing in is going to result in a big uplift next year.
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Just off to back garden to pick up how this season has been and the pooch has made sure he's had his verdict too as it looks ready to fall apart at the slightest touch...
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Disappointing. I’m hopeful the players Gerrard is bringing in is going to result in a big uplift next year.
Same here but the good news is the 2024 Europa League final is in Dublin so handy to get to.
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I’m struggling to find the words to describe this season.
There were moments of genius - Southampton and Everton at home. Triumph at Old Trafford.
But then I think of all the games like Wolves, today, Chelsea both home and away. Brentford away. Watford both. And actually, this season was effectively toss.
Maybe a visual metaphor for the season might be better?
(https://images.prismic.io/carvertical-reports/2a6ae38e-a841-43b8-b216-d19bd404c6fe_Fiat-Multipla-min.jpg?auto=compress,format)
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Dean had to go. 2021 was shocking under him with no real sign of him turning it around.
Gerrard comes in and tries to play a system that we were not equipped to play. Results in hindsight no surprise.
A more experienced Manager/Coach would be expected to work with the players he has.
As magical as Coutinho is, he looks like he plays in slow motion when he receives the ball. Far too slow.
Upgrade at left back smart move.
Ramsey still learning but will only keep improving.
Emi M & B generally brilliant.
Defence blows hot and cold.
Midfield generally cold with a couple of hot spells.
Attack as confusing as under Smith.
Subs on paper look good but often fail to live up to potential/reputation.
Next season? For all the talk of SG's backroom staff I'm yet to be convinced.
Not sure what to expect. SG certainly talks a great game. Possession football will dramatically help but it's 2022 and it still hasn't arrived at Villa Park.
Speaking of which, we need to seriously address our home record. The only manager that managed to get it right was Steve Bruce. Work that one out for yourselves. One thing is certain, if we want to build a solid future we can't rely on counter attacking football forever. Just ask MON (not that the twat would ever admit it).
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Disappointing. I’m hopeful the players Gerrard is bringing in is going to result in a big uplift next year.
Same here but the good news is the 2024 Europa League final is in Dublin so handy to get to.
If we are still slumming it in the Europa League in two years I'll be seething.
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We lost 50% of our games. Very poor. Must improve that stat next season.
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Just noticed that Man Utd finished 6th with a goal difference of 0.
We had a goal difference of -2 and yet finished 13 points and 8 positions behind them
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From the heady heights of last June, this season has been a massive let down on the playing side. I had thought - when we'd bought Buendia and were looking at signing Emile Smith-Rowe - that we'd geniunely be in with an outside chance of a top 6 finish under the Great Barr mafia. Then Joe, ROK, and finally Deano fell.
Gerrard was a slightly underwhelming appointment. He's done about what you'd have expected Deano to do if he'd been given the rest of the season - maybe slightly better, but not exceptionally so.
On the other hand, non-playing side has been pronising. Villa Park will be made bigger, so I guess we'll find out about the real size of the season ticket waiting list, which we're all quite interested in. The recruitment has been good, I think. Obviously not every signing has worked out, but ...
- Coutinho, Chambers, and Digne for a combined £42m seems a bargain to me. 2 of those could've easily been transferred for that on their own. Emi B is brilliant & I think money well spent
- Ashley Young on a free - not ripped up any trees, but no complaints.olsen, can't really complain as it's a loan. Ditto Tuanzebe.
- Bailey & Ings have both flopped.
Honestly, I don't think it's that bad a hit rate. We're more 'hit' than 'miss', and the misses have been as much through injury (Bailey) as anything, whilst Ings filled a place everyone was saying we needed a second striker in.
This season is probably a 4/10 for me, but I'm cautiously optimistic about next season. Think a couple of clever free transfers (Kamara and Tarkowski - maybe an older striker too) and a couple of targeted signings (another DM - maybe Bissouma - and a centre forward) and we'll be in a very strong position.
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Over the final 10 games of the season we only won twice and both against relegated teams. The change in manager moved us up a grand total of two places in the league. Losing to Man City and Liverpool is to be expected, failing to beat Burnley and struggling for a point against Palace at home is not.
Gerrard is still to convince me although that’s not to say he won’t given time. We’ve signed good players, he speaks well although he tends to get an easy ride from the media due to his reputation. We’ve show, albeit not often enough, that we have the makings of a decent side but too often the whole does not live up to the sum of its parts. Good coaching is the only thing that will fix that.
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Transitional but with elements of revolution not evolution.
I think most of us now accept last summer was really poor preparation for the season (Grealish, amateur looking pre season training camp, panicked recruitment, coaching changes) and we’ve paid the price.
I’d suggest also that this should have been the first transitional season from our promotion/1st season back team to a more PL capable squad and whilst that has happened in part (particularly January) we missed the opportunity last summer to move on some players and strengthen. The Grealish situation didn’t help but I don’t think Smith and his team (and maybe Lange) had really done enough hard thinking about the next steps that needed to be made and the hard decisions that would entail. Smith was known for his growth and development mindset and working with what he’d got but in the intensity of the modern PL I’m not sure the owners were entirely convinced and after seeing what he could do post Grealish wasn’t working decided to act and accelerate the project.
That hasn’t quite panned out as well as expected, Gerrard quickly identified we were short on experience/nous and whilst that was rectified slightly in January it has merely papered over a few cracks. This squad still lacks durability and experience and a mentality to win when the chips are down, evidenced by yesterday. There is top half talent and I think a desire to improve but we have to become more durable.
There needs to be a real culling of certain bits of the squad, always difficult but some hard headed business decisions need to be made.
Over to Purslow/Lange/Gerrard to start building the next squad.
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As what I always had on my school reports Grade C Can do better.
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As what I always had on my school reports Grade C Can do better.
"has ability but needs to concentrate and focus more to acheive goals"
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Home form disappointing.
3 games spring to mind.
Should have beaten Wolves and Watford, and would have beaten Burnley if Pope hadn’t decided to be Gordon Banks.
That’s 9 pts instead of 1 pt.
Overall, frustrating and inconsistent.
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45 points with our budget and resources can only be described as poor. We really struggled on the field without Grealish and wasn't really a surprise that Dean Smith struggled to deal with his loss.
Gerrard kept us away from relegation trouble but we are facing yet another huge summer of squad upheaval that our new model under Purslow was meant to avoid. Likely that two players meant to replace Grealish (Ings and Bailey) could be off, which shows how hamfisted that effort was.
Two signings confirmed already is positive and likes of Buendia should be a lot better next season. I think Gerrard needs a fast start next season.
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Deflating. Given what we all thought and hoped for pre-Grealish leaving, then that incident, the signings of Ings, Bailey and Buendia gave us optimism that we would become a much more diverse attacking outfit in front of a very solid defence. That the whole thing caved in for Dean Smith was very disappointing. Gerrard picked us up and the signings I. January we all thought we’d end strongly. But it all fell very flat. But clearly we need to play a different way, so let’s hope with the permanent signings of Coutinho and Kamara we can fulfil our objectives next year.
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Last season in retrospect we overperformed. We were reliant on a player who was in the best run of form he's ever going to have, who also got the best out of other players (particularly Watkins). He only played 2/3 of the season, and a slump here and there was probably not too surprising. We got 55 points and finishing 11th. Sods law, and Villas luck. Had it been this year, we'd have finished 8th and a point behind the almighty, aspirational (??) West Fucking Ham.
The dreamers among us probably felt this season we'd maybe chalk on another 5-10 points and perhaps even push for Europe. Then Keira Knightly left us and we made a string of impressive signings. The dreamers probably felt that the 3 incoming would cover the loss of Keira and that 5-10 point progression was still a cert. Realists maybe felt if we maintained status quo and got somewhere in the 50 point region, we'll be okay. Pessimists probably worried we'd finish about 14th and drop about 10 points but not be troubled with relegation. Miserable bastards probably thought we'd be in a relegation battle. As it was, the pessimists guess was correct, although had we stuck with Deano, I suspect we'd be in Everton's position. We'd have survived but cut it close.
As for Gerrard? He's got a lot right but he's also made errors. He talks the talk. I love the way he comes across and his honesty. He's becoming afflicted by the foibles of many a manager though, and that's perseverance with things that don't work. Tyrone Mings for example. The three man combination of JJ, Douglas and McGinn. Good players, although the jury is still out on Douglas, but as a collective? Imbalanced and easy to overcome.
For a time Stevie managed to work out the Watkins/Ings conundrum. In fairness, both their respective numbers improved from November. Not brilliant, but better than Sept-Nov. Stevie also brought on JJ's game. At 20, it was to be expected he'd fall off a little, and he has but he's going to be a great player.
Stevie has also attracted (and will continue to) a calibre of player that can take us forward, in Digne, Phil and Kamara. In truth though, Chambers has been his most astute signing. I'd go as far as to say Chambers is our best CH right now. Until today, probably our best No 6 too.
Dean 3/10
Stevie 5/10
Overall 4/10
Players:
Emi- 7 As per. Great, albeit has been below last seasons levels, in part due to the trouble in front of him.
Cash- 8 POTY. Has come on very well. Has got good numbers. Yesterday by 70 minutes, was probably one of the few occasions I've seen him out of puff.
Konsa - 3 I think he's been worse than Mings, but I will say under the caveat that he's still got the ability. He needs to get his head right and get a more reliable partner.
Mings - 4. A rick almost every game. Every now and again he'll have a barnstormer, but and he's always vocal, but does he have the mentality and awareness to go with it? Not sure. Great bloke, but he has enough box office calibre to attract good bids, and outsiders only see him looking tidy and untroubled in England games against shit opponents. Cash in.
Digne - 6 Started great. Had a period when I was misty eyed about Targett. Injury prone. Then finished the season well, looking a class apart.
McGinn - 7 Hot and cold. Has been good the last half dozen games, always gives his all and has some quality. He's also often the only one who wants to force the ball forward. Doesn't always come off, but he's ambitious with the ball. Better when he's reigning himself in a bit and not like a Jack Russell chasing mice in the park.
Luiz - 4(5) Poor as a 6, looks like he could be a solid no 8. Good enough? No. Cash in. Another we could get at least what we paid for. Maybe there's a player there, but I suspect doesn't suit Gerrard.
JJ - 8 For his age, a great season. Inconsistency has crept in, and burnout but understandable. Even when he's not on it, he's still looking to drive forward with the ball.
Beundia - 7 Poor start, but improved under Gerrard. Has been overshadowed by the allure of Coutinho, but has performed better of late. Decision making is getting better. Impact on games has been improving. I hope he keeps it up.
Phil - 7 Brilliant start. Quiet period, blowing out his arse a little and not quite fit enough, and then impressive again in the last few games (albeit in flashes). As much as anything he brought a much needed feel good factor and a statement of intent.
Watkins - 6 So so. Works hard. His limitations are hopefully workable. He may not be able to improve his touch, but can certainly improve decision making, offsides and cut out the persistent diving.
Ings - 6 Works incredibly hard. Hasn't scored enough, but has made more than expected. Anything over 15 mill and we should be selling. If he stays so be it, I like him, he'll play a part.
Young - 5 About as expected. Sometimes useful as a stop gap. Honestly though, all sentiment aside, he's done at this level and disappointingly he's often not felt like he's an experienced player with nous when he's come on. Sloppy at times.
Hause - 6 I think he's been unlucky. He's been decent whenever he's come in. He gets a new deal and then doesn't play. Would he have been worse than Mings or Konsa? I don't think so.
Chambers - 7 I like him. Very good yesterday, aside from 5 minutes when the entire team turned to shite. But, he's exceeded expectations and at the moment looks like our most reliable CH.
Nakamba - 5 was good right at the start of Gerrards reign, and looked key to how we play. Maybe some benefit of doubt is needed, but since returning from an injury he's clearly not fit, is rusty and plays like Ali Dia. Ultimately, he's not good enough to start. Maybe he's happy as a squaddie and with a proper pre-season he may still have a place here. If we get anything close to half what we paid, sell.
Sanson - 5 He's probably one of those who is a better player when he's not playing. Honestly, he's a bit shit. Seems an all rounder who does nothing particularly with any aplomb.
Archer - 7. Still think another loan, til January perhaps would benefit him but he impressed.
Davis - 5. I like Keinan. I feel like recent games, if he was here he'd have offered something with his physicality and hold up play. Good enough to progress? No.
Chucky - 4 I don't see the fuss. He plays like most 18 year olds, and not like the special talent this contract standoff seems to suggest. I think comparisons to Pogba and Toure are generous. What I really think, is that he needs serious work on his mobility, stamina and workrate. Lanquid certainly, but Yaya Toure for one, worked very hard and covered masses of ground (usually in a single fucking stride).
Bailey - 3 A couple of good cameos. A very impressive game against a shit Everton (who ironically were in decent form when we played them earlier in the season). Post injury, he's played like Tonev.
Traore - 3 See above, minus the good part. I don't think his injuries have often been as bad as they'd seem. I don't think he works hard. He was mercurial last season of course, but still had an impressive impact. Definitely a luxury we can't afford.
Targett - 6 Didn't think he'd done much wrong in all honesty. He's done well enough at Newcastle we could cash in. Digne is certainly better at the top end. I'll miss Shermonator though. Solid player and at least always puts a shift in.
N/A - Olsen, Tim, Goalzi (time to sell, great memories but not good enough, but he'd have been more useful than Troare and Bailey since Jan).
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Finished below Brentford
Let that sink in. Fucking Brentford.
Utter disgrace from the lot of them - manager, coaches, players.
To be fair, that might also have a teeny bit to do with Brentford doing miles better than expected.
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Disappointing/frustrating but not a surprise given the summer we had. It looked a very strange affair parading the Man City sub around as if we were begging him to stay.
A massive plus this season is the development of Ramsey into a quality young player.
We’ve had a lot worse but as long as it’s been 1 step back to allow 2 forward I’ll be happy.
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pretty much agree with supertom
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Home form disappointing.
3 games spring to mind.
Should have beaten Wolves and Watford, and would have beaten Burnley if Pope hadn’t decided to be Gordon Banks.
That’s 9 pts instead of 1 pt.
Overall, frustrating and inconsistent.
Mad though it sounds, we should have beaten Tottenham, too.
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For me yesterday was far too soon to start this thread, a few minutes after a game where we lost from being 2-0 up is always going to skew opinion.
Having taken that bit of time it was a frustrating season, we started like a team that met for the first time in the carpark an hour before kick off, how the summer was allowed to go so badly is a mystery to me.
That culminated in an awful spell that did for Smith where, not only were we poor in terms of results and performances but I also couldn't see what we were trying to achieve, as much as I liked him and wanted him to lead us on for years it was clear Smith was done and the board got the timing about right in my opinion.
Gerrard wouldn't have been my choice to replace him, I wanted someone who had experience of breaking a bad run of form and dealing with a squad when things go wrong, as well as being a bigger name and having a winning mentality, I think that gap in his experience was evident at times so he'll need to learn on the job.
I think the January window was excellent, happy with the outfield signings, and glad to see phil stay and Bouba come in to continue the impressive work so far. Olsen I'm less sure of but I thought he had a decent game yesterday after a dodgy start so I'll be ok with us making him a permanent addition.
On the squad I think we're not far off, 3-4 more signings of the quality we've seen so far would make me very confident in us improving massively next year.
Final point, for the last 3-4 months the results and performances have been pretty mixed but the big difference is that I can see what we're trying to do and how Gerrard wants us playing, good signings who are mostly in before pre-season and I think we will look a much better team next season. We can all see the space for minor improvements all over the pitch and I suspect the coaching team see that as well, 10 1 goal defeats, mostly in games where we were competitive, since Gerrard came in shows that even those small improvements could see us adding points.
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Ayup, Head Teacher Paul is at it again. Too soon? Someone else might have started the damn thread! Smile my friend :-)
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Ayup, Head Teacher Paul is at it again. Too soon? Someone else might have started the damn thread! Smile my friend :-)
I just mean that the earlier posts on here are far angrier than the ones that came today, which is no real surprise.
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Ayup, Head Teacher Paul is at it again. Too soon? Someone else might have started the damn thread! Smile my friend :-)
I just mean that the earlier posts on here are far angrier than the ones that came today, which is no real surprise.
I'm just kidding mate. I must be honest, I was bashing the letters out as I sat there watching the game and starting this thread. Proper pissed off.
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Ayup, Head Teacher Paul is at it again. Too soon? Someone else might have started the damn thread! Smile my friend :-)
I just mean that the earlier posts on here are far angrier than the ones that came today, which is no real surprise.
I'm just kidding mate. I must be honest, I was bashing the letters out as I sat there watching the game and starting this thread. Proper pissed off.
No I got that, just wanted to be clear. If I'd posted on here yesterday it'd have been a very different take, I guess I just don't like posting about games/seasons/players whilst there's so much anger on the forum. I think Bruce broke me for that after I was bitching about him after most games.
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What a strange season.
It started losing both Joe and then Dean. It ended a dream, that we all knew deep down wouldnt happen - but was some of the most fun weve had for years, and will leave us with a sliding doors moment.
It was a bloody awful pre-season, one in which we went into the season half-baked and never seemed to recover
I was broadly happy with the signings from the summer, but only Emi ever really settled. Ings has shown flashes of quality, but ended up missing too many chances. Bailey other than a couple early season cameos has basically been injured - though I think there is a player in there (or so his dad told me).
The biggest issue from the summer, apart from Joe, was the fact we failed to land another midfielder. JWP would have been perfect I think, but I guess we were never prepared to pay what it was worth. As a result we have played with a poorly balanced midfield
Smiths games, were typically Smith - a few amazing, and more awful. Another sliding doors moment in that if the reverse against Wolves hadnt happened, things may have been very different
Gerrard came in, and seemed to make us harder to beat - and brought in some amazing players, but still didnt do quite enough with what he had.
Some player seemed to have regressed impressively this season. Targett, Watkins, Konsa and Luiz being the worse.
Great seasons by Cash and Ramsey - with the rest looking similar to last year.
The 3 permenant january signings have all shown class, and hopefully will bring more next year.
Overall, it feels like a missed opportunity - but given we lost our best player in a generation it was probably to be expected.
The plan seems clear, use SG name to get better players to play the SG. And, mainly due to a lack of imagination, it does seem like the best way forward
Overall for me this season has a 5 out of 10 feel to it. Not good enough, but reasons for encouragement
It started with the end of something special, and Im hoping that its ended with the start of something even better, but only time will tell
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Home form disappointing.
3 games spring to mind.
Should have beaten Wolves and Watford, and would have beaten Burnley if Pope hadn’t decided to be Gordon Banks.
That’s 9 pts instead of 1 pt.
Overall, frustrating and inconsistent.
Mad though it sounds, we should have beaten Tottenham, too.
Not mad at all, I’d forgotten that game.
Again, Loris made a couple of wonderful saves in the first half which could have seen us 3 or 4 up, with no complaints from them
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I think in analysing this season, whilst it may appear that we’ve gone backwards because we got 10 points less and finished 3 places lower, the margins between both seasons are so fine that they are almost close to being identical:
• We won 7 home games in season 2020/21, 6 in the 2021/22 season.
• We lost 8 home games in each season.
• Draws each season we’re almost identical (7 vs 6).
• We scored 55 league goals in 2020/21, 52 in 2021/22.
• We conceded 46 league goals in 2020/21 and 54 in 2021/22.
• Top scorer in the league was Watkins both seasons with 14 last season and 11 this season.
So in actual fact, the team have performed pretty much to the same standard both seasons statistically. Of ‘the team,’ obviously Bench Boy left on his attainment project, Barkley went back and Targett went out on loan as the most significant player changes of the first 11 season to season, but the overall squad quality has improved with Ings, Bailey, Buendia, Coutinho and Digne.
Last season, Joe (6 goals and assists 10), Barkley (3 goals, 1 assist) and Targett (2 assists) contributed a total of 9 goals and 14 assists. Ings (7 /6), Buendia (4/6), Coutinho (5/3), Bailey (1/2) and Digne (0/4) have contributed a total of 17 goals and 21 assists for a net cost of £9m. That’s £9m for a further 8 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League whilst (presumably) operating within FFP. That is a good return and that with our purchases not all performing to the required levels. That £9m is based on the fees paid for those players vs what we received for Joe, the loan fee for Barkley (£11m) and what we bought Targett for which is the same as the fee reportedly agreed with Newcastle for purchase (£15m). It’s also worth adding that for the first time since I can remember, the club seemed poised to spot and pounce on an opportunity in the transfer market with Martinez, and Digne being great examples of such opportunism. It’s impressive how we operate in that sense and how we negotiate (Coutinho being a prime example). So in assessing that side of the club and deals season to season, I think we’ve done well.
In comparing Smith Vs Gerrard this season and last at Villa, the main differences are that we got better results against the top 6 under Smith last season (with one historic result) but Gerrard has been better in getting results against the teams near the bottom – something that Smith struggled with.
Whilst we conceded more this season, the losing margins have been less under Gerrard then Smith. Under Smith last season, we lost by more than one goal on 5 occasions and this season 3, so 8 times in 49 games. Gerrard’s Villa have only lost by more than one goal on 2 occasions in 27 games. That’s a tangible improvement.
So in summary, this season is a lot closer to last then it first appears. We’ve improved the squad overall and it shouldn’t take a massive amount of tweaking to get a 9th or 10th place finish next season even before considering the impact of Kamara and what other potential signings might do.
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The events of the summer turned the season into one of transition again. To be honest, I'm glad we've got through unscathed as all we knew at the start of the season was we were crap without Joe.
I think Gerrard has probably learned more by being a bit experimental in the latter third of the season with us pretty much safe, and I'm hoping that will serve us well.
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Obviously the season was a disappointment after the optimism of the previous one. But I’m not pessimistic about the coming season, the opposite in fact. The change of manager was needed and Gerrard was the best of the realistic candidates then touted with the job in my opinion. Lots are unhappy about our finishing position but we were only two wins from a top ten finish. I’m impressed with Gerrard’s signings to date and I’m sure he’ll sign more as we look to improve. It’s obvious that some of the squad have reached their limit and strengthening the team is a must but I’ve faith that the management team will get it right
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I think in analysing this season, whilst it may appear that we’ve gone backwards because we got 10 points less and finished 3 places lower, the margins between both seasons are so fine that they are almost close to being identical:
• We won 7 home games in season 2020/21, 6 in the 2021/22 season.
• We lost 8 home games in each season.
• Draws each season we’re almost identical (7 vs 6).
• We scored 55 league goals in 2020/21, 52 in 2021/22.
• We conceded 46 league goals in 2020/21 and 54 in 2021/22.
• Top scorer in the league was Watkins both seasons with 14 last season and 11 this season.
So in actual fact, the team have performed pretty much to the same standard both seasons statistically. Of ‘the team,’ obviously Bench Boy left on his attainment project, Barkley went back and Targett went out on loan as the most significant player changes of the first 11 season to season, but the overall squad quality has improved with Ings, Bailey, Buendia, Coutinho and Digne.
Last season, Joe (6 goals and assists 10), Barkley (3 goals, 1 assist) and Targett (2 assists) contributed a total of 9 goals and 14 assists. Ings (7 /6), Buendia (4/6), Coutinho (5/3), Bailey (1/2) and Digne (0/4) have contributed a total of 17 goals and 21 assists for a net cost of £9m. That’s £9m for a further 8 goals and 7 assists in the Premier League whilst (presumably) operating within FFP. That is a good return and that with our purchases not all performing to the required levels. That £9m is based on the fees paid for those players vs what we received for Joe, the loan fee for Barkley (£11m) and what we bought Targett for which is the same as the fee reportedly agreed with Newcastle for purchase (£15m). It’s also worth adding that for the first time since I can remember, the club seemed poised to spot and pounce on an opportunity in the transfer market with Martinez, and Digne being great examples of such opportunism. It’s impressive how we operate in that sense and how we negotiate (Coutinho being a prime example). So in assessing that side of the club and deals season to season, I think we’ve done well.
In comparing Smith Vs Gerrard this season and last at Villa, the main differences are that we got better results against the top 6 under Smith last season (with one historic result) but Gerrard has been better in getting results against the teams near the bottom – something that Smith struggled with.
Whilst we conceded more this season, the losing margins have been less under Gerrard then Smith. Under Smith last season, we lost by more than one goal on 5 occasions and this season 3, so 8 times in 49 games. Gerrard’s Villa have only lost by more than one goal on 2 occasions in 27 games. That’s a tangible improvement.
So in summary, this season is a lot closer to last then it first appears. We’ve improved the squad overall and it shouldn’t take a massive amount of tweaking to get a 9th or 10th place finish next season even before considering the impact of Kamara and what other potential signings might do.
(https://i.ibb.co/xqtKXFP/Picture1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/xqtKXFP)
Hopefully this will come through ok. Thought some people might like to see this. Think it feeds in to the points above.
It shows wages spent position VS actual league position. We're currently 10 in the Premier League for wages spent but our actual position is 14.
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Last season was better and more enjoyable
But I’m hoping we’re in a good place now for next season because I’m the eternal optimist
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I find myself wondering about Spurs’ wage bill
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A fragmented season. Winning at ManU was my highlight at the time. On reflection it was nothing special given how below par they’d become. We should have finished top half, we didn’t. We’re better than we were last season marginally and Gerrard seems to be able to attract better recruits which is encouraging. That said, he has to perform from the first game next season. No excuses.
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Underwhelming and slightly dull
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(https://i.ibb.co/xqtKXFP/Picture1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/xqtKXFP)
Hopefully this will come through ok. Thought some people might like to see this. Think it feeds in to the points above.
It shows wages spent position VS actual league position. We're currently 10 in the Premier League for wages spent but our actual position is 14.
Thanks yes interesting, reinforces respect for Brentford’s achievement (how will the difficult 2nd album sound?), kudos to Brighton & West Ham on the bang for buck too.
We already know Everton have been shamefully run.
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(https://i.ibb.co/xqtKXFP/Picture1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/xqtKXFP)
Hopefully this will come through ok. Thought some people might like to see this. Think it feeds in to the points above.
It shows wages spent position VS actual league position. We're currently 10 in the Premier League for wages spent but our actual position is 14.
Thanks yes interesting, reinforces respect for Brentford’s achievement (how will the difficult 2nd album sound?), kudos to Brighton & West Ham on the bang for buck too.
We already know Everton have been shamefully run.
Think we’re a bit closer to Everton then I would like. However, think our squad make up is much better in terms of potential re-sale options/age.
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Overall, it’s been bang average and that’s probably on the generous side but I think there’s reasons to be optimistic.
Go back to the summer - it was an awful start from which we never recovered. Losing you know who of course and what his exit represented, but the hopelessly disjointed pre-season, the weird coaching staff movements… for the first time in this ownership, things just didn’t seem right. Also for the first time under this ownership, felt we panicked in the transfer market. Transfers are easy in hindsight of course but in reflection, none of the three main signings really fitted the way we were playing or replaced Joe. It now looks like a rushed decision to try and placate rather than well thought through recruitment.
And then, I look at the league table and the fine margins and it wouldn’t take that much to be considerably better placed. Just eradicate one of of our two horrendous five game losing streaks (one point from ten?) and we’re already top half.
Reasons to be optimistic. I feel like I can see how Gerrard wants to play. A style and a system is emerging. I can see what they’re trying to do and I don’t think we’re that far away from an average side being a good one if we get the recruitment right. Add to that I think we’re shopping in a whole new level of the transfer market now - we’ve moved up a considerable notch and if we add a couple more at the same levels as, by and large, our signings since January then it should - should - be pretty transformational.
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As what I always had on my school reports Grade C Can do better.
"has ability but needs to concentrate and focus more to acheive goals"
“Who?”