Transition or "We are where we are"?

[Simba]

Ok Chris. Take a breath. Apologies if you are insulted. And I certainly have nothing to be proud of. Anymore than you. I was wrong to try and make a point.

I (we, some) on the thread were on a positive, if perhaps idealistic track and I will make no apologies for that. Your negativity/realism is understood and shared by me at times but for once we had a go at looking for a change. For fun. FCS.

It won't happen by being defensive will it?

Ask Alex. In a year.

[cdward]

Our financial situation should not be directly linked to our performances on the pitch.
So it's OK to play, defensive, ambitionless, negative football because we have to trim the wages.

Sorry i am not buying that.

[ROBBO]

I thought the idea was to play more of the kids, how long will Clarke put up with seeing us play crap but never getting a chance? i agree with a previous poster with GH we were in transition now we are in survival mode.

[Iago]

Our financial situation should not be directly linked to our performances on the pitch.
So it's OK to play, defensive, ambitionless, negative football because we have to trim the wages.

Sorry i am not buying that.

Nor should anybody buy into that belief.

[SoccerHQ]

I think we've missed our opportunity tbh.

In 08/09 and even in 09/10 we missed our opportunity to finish in the top 4 by MON ballsing it up and then Man. City got hot.

I think we'll be condemmed to just about scraping into the top 10 under this manager, hopefully just for this season.

The only real hope I think is we find a manager from somewhere who'll unearth 3-4 gems on low wages from the continent and promotes youth and motivates the under achievers here.

Given Randy's track record of appointing managers, I'm not holding my breath.

[ROBBO]

We can play with a more open attacking entertaining line up and get beat by Man U or we can play defensive turgid football and get beat by Man U, i know which one i prefer. No matter how defensive we are we will not contain the top sides our players are just not good enough so why not show somw spirit and get at them.

[Iago]

We can play with a more open attacking entertaining line up and get beat by Man U or we can play defensive turgid football and get beat by Man U, i know which one i prefer. No matter how defensive we are we will not contain the top sides our players are just not good enough so why not show somw spirit and get at them.

We got at United last year at VP and we had key players injured. I am holding no hope that AM will try to be positive in this match.

[PaulWinch again]

Last season was transitional. This season is more questionable as to the current state of affairs.

Very true. I still think with better management from the top down we have the nucleus of a good side. If we set the tactics up correctly, got the likes of Heskey and Beye off the wage bill and replaced them with the likes of Cabaye we'd be in a good position. It doesn't take megabucks to have a decent side who can play good football, and I think we have several players who can do that already. Unfortunately on the evidence thus far there isn't the leadership from the top required and our manager seems incapable of seeing past his natural negative approach. So unless something dramatic happens it won't change under his reign.

[Simba]

in the (very) old days the Holte would Chant "attack, attack,------ attack attack attack.

Anything to get this man to see what we need. And still support the team.

[Brian Taylor]

McL is in the job for parsimonious reasons. He is trimming the sails which means nothing much in terms of excitement on the horizon until such time as the economic climate changes in Randy's favour.
Collapse of civilisation as we know it is nothing to do with performance on pitch. I think the correlation is called a 'pathetic fallacy' but we are crap let's face it and this chap is in the job because he is a thick-skinned Scot who will do the chairman's bidding. In the 'good' days Randy left it to MoN and he got carried away with the owner's largesse. The riens are pulled tight now; accept it. We have two three seasons of mediocrity ahead while the youngsters come on. Survival is what is about just like any overstretched household who borrowed too much while the banks gave it away.
McL is a dull sort of bloke and has produced a team after his personality. Dour and miserable.
Randy has to pull the magic rabbit out of the hat or the old sparkle will be a long time coming back again.
Sorry but there is no formula to replace big spending other than slow development of the academy players.

[bob]

Simba - believe it or not I thought you were a teenager!

Maybe I always thought of you as a young lion cub.

Funny how you imagine posters.

[Chris Smith]

Our financial situation should not be directly linked to our performances on the pitch.
So it's OK to play, defensive, ambitionless, negative football because we have to trim the wages.

Sorry i am not buying that.

It's precisely because we're re-adjusting that we sometimes play that way, but it's not every game and it's a distortion to pretend it is. If we take the last three we've had good, bad and average performances and until we get a settled midfield I feel we'll continue to see more of the same.

Of course there is room for improvement and of course we've all got different ideas of what the team should be but it is nowhere near as bad as it is sometimes made out.

As for playing the youngsters, yesterday we started with Delph and Herd as our central midfield pairing it would have been an almighty risk to put a third one in their as well.

[brian green]

The important word in the title of this thread is "we".   My reply to the question Transition or "Villa are where Villa are" would be very different but it says "we."

We means the fans and the club.   The club is going through a difficult period.   How we as individuals respond to the circumstances affects us as individuals much more than it affects the club, if at all.

I don't care deep down if Villa win or lose.   Nor do I care deep down if they play well or play badly.   I prefer them to win and I prefer them to play well.   I am happy when they win and unhappy when they lose just he same as if I go fishing I am happy if a catch fish and unhappy if I catch nothing but either way I love fishing.   I shall not stop going fishing just because there are days when I am water-whacked.

I go to Villa Park because it is something I do.   I love football.   I love the Villa.

I suspected that Chris was pretty charged up when he correctly commented that Hutton is being made a whipping boy.   It is right and it made me think.

I moan and gripe far more about Villa than I used to and far more than I should.   When Tommy Docherty had to pass the hat round the fans to buy Bruce and Neil Rioch that is financial barrel scraping.

Where anybody is is entirely relative.   If you are standing on the hard shoulder of the M6 the traffic appears to be hurtling past.   To somebody flying into Birmingham airport it appears to be crawling at ant pace.

Agree with me or not you have to accept that Villa fans are in a state of transition if what gets posted in these pages is anything to go by.   Some of he hostility is scary but some of the compassion like that on both the Collymore threads is heart warming.   Good posts and bad all posted by Villa fans.

[Simba]

Simba - believe it or not I thought you were a teenager!

Maybe I always thought of you as a young lion cub.

Funny how you imagine posters.

I wish! I live in Africa. Simba ( as you know)  Swahili =Lion. Made sense as a Villa Fan.

As for my posts being less than mature , well guilty. Apparently.

[Simba]

Can't do much imagining with "Bob" though can we?
Apart from Black Adder.

Back to debate now thanks. )