Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on February 14, 2016, 11:15:33 PM
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http://thebirminghampress.com/2016/02/goodbye-mr-hope/
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Sad.
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How throughly depressing. And you're right the people at the top now are good at what they do but that doesn't transfer to being in charge of sinking football institution. But then I also look at clubs like Leicester and ask how have they got it right? They have foreign ownership, foreign manager, cheap players. Who's on their board that is so savvy in the nettles of English football or the PL? Why has it gone so wrong for us?
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I was at that Southampton game in 1987 and we were a joke, but the 3-0 defeat at CHarlton on Easter Monday was for me the most abject of that season, particularly given the opposition.
For me the team of 1987 was better than the current eejits, mainly because they won more games and there were a few glimmers of light ( false dawns to be fair) that season There were also players who understood the club and what it is to play for Villa. I don't feel that at the moment and I honestly can't think of a player whose departure would sadden me.
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TSM1
He got them relegated - the Blues - and we give him a job not to clean the bogs but to manage the team.
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I was at that Southampton game in 1987 and we were a joke, but the 3-0 defeat at CHarlton on Easter Monday was for me the most abject of that season, particularly given the opposition.
For me the team of 1987 was better than the current eejits, mainly because they won more games and there were a few glimmers of light ( false dawns to be fair) that season There were also players who understood the club and what it is to play for Villa. I don't feel that at the moment and I honestly can't think of a player whose departure would sadden me.
Well said.
That Southampton game remains one of only two games I've left early in nearly 30 years.
A great piece Dave. Villa Park is an empty, fragile shell.
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I don't think he is the wrong manager for our club but I will admit he may be the wrong manager for the present squad we've got, They need a manager that is so frightening they would be too shit scared to put a bad performance in, Ferguson like.
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"We’d not got the worst goal difference in the league any longer."
That's an awful sentence, even by your standards.
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There's nothing left but faith.
Back in the late 60's we used to sing:
We have faith in the Villa
Oh yeah
Because we believe in the Villa
Oh yeah
Then again, we also used to sing "We shall overcome (one day)".
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Spot on Dave and also on the money reference Remi, see what I will write on his topic.
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Fair and justified damning of the situation. Agree with every word. We were at the 87 Southampton and Charlton debacles and yesterday was every bit as bad. That relegation was like being beaten to death with a blunt instrument, over relatively quickly. This one has been the death by a thousand cuts inflicted over the last five years.
Personally for me the very worst thing yesterday was the sowing of the seeds of doubting Remi Garde. He himself used the metaphor of arriving at Villa Park in an ambulance. That analogy is perfect if the patient is actually still alive. What we need is an undertaker.
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"We’d not got the worst goal difference in the league any longer."
That's an awful sentence, even by your standards.
And that's a snide comment even by yours. You've been asked before what your problem is - are you going to have the decency to reply this time, or will it be keyboard cowardice once more?
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The comparisons between the 87 team and this team are spot on, as this team will join them in the history books as a relegated Villa team. I think it is obvious now to everyone, we are down.
The question is how do we bounce back, and is Remi the man to try and do that?
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In 87 we had Spink who arguably still had a good season personally. And Allan Evans.
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"We’d not got the worst goal difference in the league any longer."
That's an awful sentence, even by your standards.
And that's a snide comment even by yours. You've been asked before what your problem is - are you going to have the decency to reply this time, or will it be keyboard cowardice once more?
Indeed...what is his problem?
A great piece I thought although under shocking circumstances. I too have battled all season long in my mind as to whether this lot are worse than 86/87. We can now say they definitely are!!
Nice one
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"We’d not got the worst goal difference in the league any longer."
That's an awful sentence, even by your standards.
Strange man.
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Yet again your article makes depressing reading, but I agree with all you say about the awfulness of our performance and the hopelessness of our position. The comparison with Southampton 1987 is appropriate. I'm also beginning to share your doubts about Garde. What you haven't mentioned is that incredible surge of support at the end, when the booing of the players and the abuse of Lerner stopped and the Holte clapped and chanted non-stop for 10 minutes. It wasn't quite spine-tingling, because the match was anything but a spine-tingling experience, but it was as impressive as it was surprising. The applause obviously wasn't for the players on the pitch and certainly not for the board, but it showed to me that thousands still believe in Aston Villa, come what may. They will still be there when Lerner and the rest are history.
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I know it didn't end in relegation, but I actually think much of 85/86 was worse than the following season in terms of the "football" dished up.
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Yesterday reminded me of Charlton 1987. That was the Easter Monday I knew we were down. I didn't expect that nearly thirty years later I would know we were down by Valentines Day.
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Yep any lingering flickering embers were extinguished.
Looking at it Bent kept us up under Houllier and McLeish and Benteke kept us up under Lambert and Sherwood with Gabby chipping in some important goals too.
We have no-one anywhere near their standard up front.
Oh and we had a good goalkeeper as well up until the end of 2014.
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Sums up nicely what most of us are thinking, as ever. Particularly agree about Garde perhaps being the right man at the wrong time. I thought that when he was appointed. A good coach, but one who had never really been tested in this kind of adversity, and had already left his previous job of his own free will because he felt something wasn't quite right. It's so frustrating. Even when the powers that be do make a decent call, their timing is bloody awful.
Ideally, you'd want to see him given the chance of a fresh start and the opportunity to build his own side. I think he could do good things. But I do fear spending six months at the helm of a total shitstorm will take its toll on him and he'll just walk away.
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I have to agree with you Dave.
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Sums up nicely what most of us are thinking, as ever. Particularly agree about Garde perhaps being the right man at the wrong time. I thought that when he was appointed. A good coach, but one who had never really been tested in this kind of adversity, and had already left his previous job of his own free will because he felt something wasn't quite right. It's so frustrating. Even when the powers that be do make a decent call, their timing is bloody awful.
Ideally, you'd want to see him given the chance of a fresh start and the opportunity to build his own side. I think he could do good things. But I do fear spending six months at the helm of a total shitstorm will take its toll on him and he'll just walk away.
I said this back at the start of his reign, and it's most likely what will happen.
A shame though, because having lived through exactly how fucking useless this squad is, he's best placed to sort it out given proper backing.
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As usual you have put my thoughts down in a way that I cannot convey so aptly.
The only Villa related thoughts I look forward to currently is, How can Dave find alternative ways to write about the same shit in his article this week? ... you never let me down.
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Sums up nicely what most of us are thinking, as ever. Particularly agree about Garde perhaps being the right man at the wrong time. I thought that when he was appointed. A good coach, but one who had never really been tested in this kind of adversity, and had already left his previous job of his own free will because he felt something wasn't quite right. It's so frustrating. Even when the powers that be do make a decent call, their timing is bloody awful.
Ideally, you'd want to see him given the chance of a fresh start and the opportunity to build his own side. I think he could do good things. But I do fear spending six months at the helm of a total shitstorm will take its toll on him and he'll just walk away.
I said this back at the start of his reign, and it's most likely what will happen.
A shame though, because having lived through exactly how fucking useless this squad is, he's best placed to sort it out given proper backing.
And you can add poisonous and moronic to fucking useless. Telling supporters to 'Fuck off' whilst spitting out chewing gum and tweeting pictures of cars after getting humped six nil at home - then coming out with 'it happened in my pocket' bullshit.
It beggars belief.
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Sums up nicely what most of us are thinking, as ever. Particularly agree about Garde perhaps being the right man at the wrong time. I thought that when he was appointed. A good coach, but one who had never really been tested in this kind of adversity, and had already left his previous job of his own free will because he felt something wasn't quite right. It's so frustrating. Even when the powers that be do make a decent call, their timing is bloody awful.
Ideally, you'd want to see him given the chance of a fresh start and the opportunity to build his own side. I think he could do good things. But I do fear spending six months at the helm of a total shitstorm will take its toll on him and he'll just walk away.
I said this back at the start of his reign, and it's most likely what will happen.
A shame though, because having lived through exactly how fucking useless this squad is, he's best placed to sort it out given proper backing.
It's sad but if I were Garde, I'd be off, as there's little chance he'll be given any realistic backing by the lot at the helm of the good ship Aston Villa.
We're on the rocks and sinking lower every week, holed below the waterline early in the season and the holes have grown larger week by week. We seemed to have been bailing out some of the deluge, until we failed to plug the holes in January, and now it's just how long until we submerge completely. Just don't throw the useless squad of players any life jackets, the majority deserve to sink to obscurity.
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Good article Dave. Sums up the current plight which started in August 2010. I like Garde but suspect he doesn't command the respect of several of the players. Lack of commitment is unforgivable.
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Sundays game was a real kick in the nuts. Just when i thought there was some progress comes that reality check.