It's not Sherwood!

[mr underhill]

the fact that Lambert was over indulged by the club and the media may exacerbate the pressure on him ; the very fact that PL had it easy may ensure Tim doesn't

[KRS]

I'm very much in the "keep the faith" camp at the moment...although that could easily change by the end of next weekend, however I'll do my best to keep a level head until we've had a few games with Gueye and Traore on the pitch. If we're not picking up results with our best XI on the pitch then I'll not only be surprised but there will be genuine cause for concern, however we haven't seen it yet and we should remain patient until it happens.

[brontebilly]

He had to sort out problems without a doubt, but not the sheer negativity and defeatist attitude around the club. I'm not saying Sherwood is the one to fix it as there are certainly question marks as to whether he is the person to do it, but I think we have to accept it's a massive task that's unlikely to be fixed quickly.

Turning around AVFC is a huge challenge, we have had 25 years of ending the careers of multiple managers

MON did well initially to turn around "a disaffected club" as he saw it but the group of players he inherited had come 6th only two seasons previous, the job now is even bigger than then

Sherwood has no Gareth Barry or Martin Laursen type player to turn to this season, think Delph has been a huge loss so far despite Gueye's good start

Look at our experienced pros - Gabby (fat and finished), Guzan (Sherwood doesnt rate), Richards (made captain but is starting to struggle imo), Lescott (see Gabby), Hutton (see Guzan)

Not sure who he can rely on right now

[Legion]

If Sherwood does not rate Guzan, why does he play him over Bunn?

[brontebilly]

If Sherwood does not rate Guzan, why does he play him over Bunn?

the notts county goals may give a clue unfortunately

[Legion]

Agreed, but he's still better than Jed Steer.

[old man villa fan]

If people think we can sack Sherwood so close after sacking Lambert and expect a decent manager to come in, they must be out of touch with reality.  Or is that we are the great Aston Villa, that is going to attract them.

No decent manager is going to put their reputation on the line at a club that is a graveyard for managers and, more importantly, does not have sufficient money to buy the players to guarantee reasonable success i.e. top eight finish.

Are our standards and expectations too high in that we want to see something before vocally encouraging the team at home.  You see supporters of other smaller clubs with no history of winning things really getting behind their team.  We did not play well on Saturday but I would not say the team deserved to be booed off at half time.  The players seem to go into their shell when playing at Villa Park.  Is that down to them feeling they are under constant pressure to do well, sometimes unreasonably so.

Perhaps it is because I am from the older generation of supporters that I am willing to give managers more time.  I have seen the club go down to the 3rd Division and come back stronger.  We came back stronger when we were last relegated.  In my opinion, we reached rock bottom with the playing strength, without actually getting relegated.  We needed the clear out and new players coming in, something that still hasn't finished.

We are still suffering from injuries and to key players as well.  Last season our midfield did not function unless Delph played well and with Gana out injured, guess what, we looked inept going forward on Saturday because this part of the team failed to function.  On Saturday there were too many of last seasons players in the team for my liking.  In my opinion Guzan, Hutton, Bacuna, Westwood or Gabby should not be in the team as they are just not good enough.

Sherwood has to have the courage to play his new players because otherwise we are in trouble.  It will take time for the new players to get up to speed and we must give them time.  Not write them off after a couple of performances.

Well, that's my opinion, take it or leave it.

[ChicagoLion]

It would be crazy to fire him now but I really do fear for our survival.
Hopefully he can get some momentum starting tomorrow and this will require him to start making some smart decisions.
The big elephant in the room is where are the goals coming from? and this is unlikely to be resolved until January when we might need the Bent type signing.

[pauliewalnuts]

Whatever the outcome if he fails to achieve it, he is going to have to start to get us winning matches more often.

It really is that simple.

[Archie]

Are our standards and expectations too high

Judging by our not properly brilliant home record of 1 win every 150 games circa in the last few seasons, I tend to think that we had  crap managers more than too high expectations.

[old man villa fan]

Are our standards and expectations too high

Judging by our not properly brilliant home record of 1 win every 150 games circa in the last few seasons, I tend to think that we had  crap managers more than too high expectations.

A bit out of context there.

[Archie]

Only joking mate.... :-)

[pauliewalnuts]

Are our standards and expectations too high

Judging by our not properly brilliant home record of 1 win every 150 games circa in the last few seasons, I tend to think that we had  crap managers more than too high expectations.

A bit out of context there.

Not really.

We've won a total of 20 home league games in the last 4 seasons combined.

Our expectations are currently rock bottom. I don't remember getting relegated to the third, but I do remember going down the last time, and yes, that was shit, but it isn't really of any relevance to what we are going through now.

We have been truly abysmal for a few years now. As someone said elsewhere the other day, the only really impressive thing about us in recent years is that, despite being that shit, we have managed to avoid getting relegated.

What was that other statistic? 73 points from the last 71 home games? Something like that.

Our expectations stretch as far as winning a couple of games every now and then. Maybe even consecutive ones.

If you look at the patience recent managers have had from us it is extraordinary. Lambert had a season of utter muck, and at the end of it had near total support. He then put together an even worse second season, and still kept decent support. It took the third one to look unsalvageable before fans turned on him in any great numbers. McLeish got a decent run at it too before he got stick. If anything, he got more time than Houllier did.

Sorry, but this whole unrealistic expectations thing doesn't even stand up to the slightest scrutiny. I don't like booing at half time, either. I never do it and I don't like it when other people do, either, but i find it pretty easy to understand why it happens.

The reason Sherwood is getting criticism is nothing to do with injuries or players not gelling, those are things that anyone can understand, it is about the fact he keeps on making largely the same mistake week in, week out.

Leicester was the clearest example I've seen in years of a manager totally throwing away three points, yet he shows no signs of learning from it.

[silhillvilla]

The appointment of Ray Wilkins really set doubts racing in my mind.

[old man villa fan]

Are our standards and expectations too high

Judging by our not properly brilliant home record of 1 win every 150 games circa in the last few seasons, I tend to think that we had  crap managers more than too high expectations.

A bit out of context there.

Not really.

We've won a total of 20 home league games in the last 4 seasons combined.

Our expectations are currently rock bottom. I don't remember getting relegated to the third, but I do remember going down the last time, and yes, that was shit, but it isn't really of any relevance to what we are going through now.

We have been truly abysmal for a few years now. As someone said elsewhere the other day, the only really impressive thing about us in recent years is that, despite being that shit, we have managed to avoid getting relegated.

What was that other statistic? 73 points from the last 71 home games? Something like that.

Our expectations stretch as far as winning a couple of games every now and then. Maybe even consecutive ones.

If you look at the patience recent managers have had from us it is extraordinary. Lambert had a season of utter muck, and at the end of it had near total support. He then put together an even worse second season, and still kept decent support. It took the third one to look unsalvageable before fans turned on him in any great numbers. McLeish got a decent run at it too before he got stick. If anything, he got more time than Houllier did.

Sorry, but this whole unrealistic expectations thing doesn't even stand up to the slightest scrutiny. I don't like booing at half time, either. I never do it and I don't like it when other people do, either, but i find it pretty easy to understand why it happens.

The reason Sherwood is getting criticism is nothing to do with injuries or players not gelling, those are things that anyone can understand, it is about the fact he keeps on making largely the same mistake week in, week out.

Leicester was the clearest example I've seen in years of a manager totally throwing away three points, yet he shows no signs of learning from it.

What I said was about getting behind the team.  Other teams supporters like Stoke, Palace etc. really get behind their teams without waiting for things to happen.  Perhaps I am wrong but it appears as though we are waiting for things to happen before we get behind the team.

Considering we have only played one game since Leicester, learning from those mistakes is not conclusive one way or the other  .  However, I know you meant the games before Leicester as well.

I am not trying to defend his substitution and tactics but he made a positive substitution in the 1st game and we got a result and again at Palace he got us back into a game we should not have lost.  We have still gifted the opposition goals with mistakes and lapses in concentration.  Even on Saturday Hutton just strolled out leaving Berahino unmarked, knowing that Lescott had dropped back onto the post.