How safe are we?

[eastie]

No need for a thread like this.

We may be horrendous against anyside in the top 7, but we're still miles ahead of the complete and utter pish that is Blackburn, Wigan and Bolton, as has been proved this season.

We are not miles better than them and things can change quickly, wigan have fight in them and blackburn with a new manager should pull clear but we are in real trouble and anyone who thinks we are too good to go down is wrong.

Wigan are crap, a jammy draw against a lacklustre Chelsea doesn't change that. Why "should" Blackburn pull clear?

You were saying all the sort of stuff last season, we're better than at least half the league but we have a massive inferiority complex against the top 6.

We are not that good chris , bent saved us last season and we have no quality supply to him this year, we are in real trouble and i hope you wake up to the fact that we are a very poor side and a club in crisis.

[JJ-AV]

We'll finish midtable, top half at a push if N'Zogbia and Bent click and go on a mini-run. The league is terrible. We're far better than Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Wolves, Boggies, QPR, Sunderland and Fulham.

Of course it can change after Jan but we'll be fine. I just hope it's not enough to keep McLeish in a job.

Bar Blackburn and Bolton I think were worse than all the others you've listed.We are bloody awful with  absolutely no fight in us

We've played all of those sides, the only one we lost was West Brom and we only lost that 'cos of a ridiculous refereeing error.

We almost beat Sunderland and QPR too.

We're crap - but so is the league. We'll be fine. Boring mediocrity awaits, I reckon.

[ian c.]

Boring mediocrity awaits, I reckon.

The sad thing is that I'm starting to aspire to boring mediocrity.

[jonc73]

Bolton at home,  Carling Cup I know but I think Villa are bottom 2 when it comes to showing heart and desire.We might have better players in theory but so did Newcastle when they went down

[not3bad]

we are in real trouble and i hope you wake up to the fact that we are a very poor side and a club in crisis.

We'll look like a club in crisis (as regards being threatened by relegation) when we aren't beating the teams we need to beat.  So far so good on that score.

[Oscar Arce]

We can draw quite a few games, but I can't see us winning many given what I've seen already and unless there is dramatic improvement.
Draws will take us down, like the Blues.

[Mister E]

I've got to say this thread is a sad indictment of what we are becoming. As paulie says, we've beaten 3 terrible sides and 1 promoted side. It's not impressive stuff and unless leadership is shown at the club it is only going to get worse.

Agreed - lack of invention, apparent desire, discipline (re shape and tactics).
They looked so blase / lacklustre yesterday in general.

[Chris Smith]

No need for a thread like this.

We may be horrendous against anyside in the top 7, but we're still miles ahead of the complete and utter pish that is Blackburn, Wigan and Bolton, as has been proved this season.

We are not miles better than them and things can change quickly, wigan have fight in them and blackburn with a new manager should pull clear but we are in real trouble and anyone who thinks we are too good to go down is wrong.

Wigan are crap, a jammy draw against a lacklustre Chelsea doesn't change that. Why "should" Blackburn pull clear?

You were saying all the sort of stuff last season, we're better than at least half the league but we have a massive inferiority complex against the top 6.

We are not that good chris , bent saved us last season and we have no quality supply to him this year, we are in real trouble and i hope you wake up to the fact that we are a very poor side and a club in crisis.

I hope you wake up to the fact that melodramatic language and over reactions don't make a coherent argument.

We're an average side and "club in crisis" is just silly.

[supertom]

3 of our 4 wins against the leagues shittest teams. Most of our draws it has been ourselves fortunate to gain a point. We've played mostly awful, and particularly when playing top 6 teams, we've shown a worrying lack of determination. Rolling over and dying for 12 games a season is quite possibly going to drag us right into the mire. Lets face it, at home, even against the mediocrities we're amongst, below the big 6, we don't look capable of dominating. We can't even rely on falling back on home form.

Even Graham Taylors 2nd reign, we were quite strong at home. We were still poor,  but we survived because Villa Park, even for the better sides then, was a tough place to come.

McLeish's side doesn't seem to have any noticeable strength. We're not tough to beat. We don't score a lot. We're weak defensively. We can't pass the ball. Theirs no team spirit, enthusiasm, desire, tactical cohesion. All these combined mean that we've a potential relegation side. An easy start to the league for us masks a lot of problems. We're 10th in the league but despite that there's only been 3 teams more consistently awful. That might be enough....but what if we don't improve? What if one of those improves? If any of those change managers and have a run, we're in trouble.

[Clampy]

No need for a thread like this.

We may be horrendous against anyside in the top 7, but we're still miles ahead of the complete and utter pish that is Blackburn, Wigan and Bolton, as has been proved this season.

We are not miles better than them and things can change quickly, wigan have fight in them and blackburn with a new manager should pull clear but we are in real trouble and anyone who thinks we are too good to go down is wrong.

Wigan are crap, a jammy draw against a lacklustre Chelsea doesn't change that. Why "should" Blackburn pull clear?

You were saying all the sort of stuff last season, we're better than at least half the league but we have a massive inferiority complex against the top 6.

We are not that good chris , bent saved us last season and we have no quality supply to him this year, we are in real trouble and i hope you wake up to the fact that we are a very poor side and a club in crisis.

I hope you wake up to the fact that melodramatic language and over reactions don't make a coherent argument.

We're an average side and "club in crisis" is just silly.

We are an average side, well we look it on the pitch. Other than Norwich at home and Bolton away, our perfomances have been average i think it's fair to say and in the case of some perfomances, i'm being kind in saying average.

I would'nt call us a club in turmoil though, we're just going slowly backwards.

[Chris Smith]

We ate tough to beat against all but the top 6. The draws against QPR, Sunderland, Wolves And Swansea were ones where we should have won. The teams belie us are there because their results have been worse than ours. You're doing the classic thing of manipulating the facts to suit an argument.

We've been poor against the good sides but held our iwn with everyone else. We were a team in transition last time we had this debate and we still are. As such we're going to get good, bad and indifferent performances.

[pav]

I dont think we will go down , only due to the muck that's worse than us , but ....we are getting worse and worse. The manager isn't and wasn't wanted , the chairman is aloof and does not seem interested , the crowd me included know its a mess , appears to be problems in dressing room , don't think players want to play for the club or is it the manager , we fear everyone but no one seems to fear us , that's how it appears .sorry to be so doooooom

[Rimmy Jimmer]

 We are so shit that one of the days soon we are going to get a serious hammering.

[pav]

It's really bad but I want a bloody hammering , then randy might Come out to play

[Legion]

Personally, I'd rather we won.