The Plot to Escape Relegation Thread 2015.

[john e]

no one knows if we will go down just yet, but for the first time I think it's 50/50 at best,
That team that played last Saturday with no improvement is a relegation team of that there is no doubt

You can interchange the players which we have done all season and you can play whatever formation you like with the same poor results

So for me the difference between staying up or going down will ultimately depend on two players finding some form which we know thay have, Delph and Benteke,
 they are the two best players in our side and playing to somewhere near their capacity can keep us up,
sadly I reckon if they continue as they are we will go down

[Villa in Denmark]

I still think 34 or 35 points will be enough.

Unfortunately I can't see us getting past 33.

Newcastle v Aston Vila          -Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v West Brom       - Draw 1 point
Sunderland v Aston Villa      - Draw 1 points
Aston Villa v Swansea          - Lose 0 points
Man Utd v Aston Villa           - Lose 0 points
Tottenham v Aston Villa       - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v QPR                 - Win 3 points
Man City v Aston Villa           - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v Everton             - Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v West Ham         - Draw 1 point
Southampton v Aston Villa   - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v Burnley             - Win 3 points

[Toronto Villa]

there is no way Villa under Sherwood will go 7 games without a win

[Rigadon]

Must get 6 points from the next 3 to have any chance, especially with 2 of our 'relegation rivals' as opponents.

[OCD]

I still think 34 or 35 points will be enough.

Unfortunately I can't see us getting past 33.

Newcastle v Aston Vila          -Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v West Brom       - Draw 1 point
Sunderland v Aston Villa      - Draw 1 points
Aston Villa v Swansea          - Lose 0 points
Man Utd v Aston Villa           - Lose 0 points
Tottenham v Aston Villa       - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v QPR                 - Win 3 points
Man City v Aston Villa           - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v Everton             - Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v West Ham         - Draw 1 point
Southampton v Aston Villa   - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v Burnley             - Win 3 points

Knowing how we've been playing, its hard to see where any win will come from. However, the work on the training ground could make us different enough to get one win and then continued effort in training combined with player confidence can change things very quickly. On that basis it's difficult to forecast the rest of the season and that is really our only hope because if nothing changes, we're gone.

[kippaxvilla2]

By a law of averages even I cannot see us going 13 games without a win.

[ozzjim]

Newcastle v Aston Vila          -Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v West Brom       - Draw 1 point
Sunderland v Aston Villa      - Win 3 points
Aston Villa v Swansea          - Draw 1 points
Man Utd v Aston Villa           - Lose 0 points
Tottenham v Aston Villa       - Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v QPR                 - Win 3 points
Man City v Aston Villa           - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v Everton             - Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v West Ham         - Win 3 points
Southampton v Aston Villa   - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v Burnley             - Draw 1 point

15 points, giving us 37 for me.

If we survive on that, we will have been very lucky.

[PaulWinch again]

Newcastle v Aston Vila          -Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v West Brom       - Draw 1 point
Sunderland v Aston Villa      - Win 3 points
Aston Villa v Swansea          - Draw 1 points
Man Utd v Aston Villa           - Lose 0 points
Tottenham v Aston Villa       - Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v QPR                 - Win 3 points
Man City v Aston Villa           - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v Everton             - Draw 1 point
Aston Villa v West Ham         - Win 3 points
Southampton v Aston Villa   - Lose 0 points
Aston Villa v Burnley             - Draw 1 point

15 points, giving us 37 for me.

If we survive on that, we will have been very lucky.

I'd take that, but I see no hope of us getting a draw at Spurs. It's very important we don't lose to Newcastle.

[ozzjim]

I think Spurs is the one game that we will run through walls for a point. If they have won the league cup, they could be on the beach too. IF!

[Hillbilly]

Things to consider:
Our last league point was 1 January in a 0-0 vs Crystal Palace.
We are the only team not to have recorded a win in our last 10 matches.
Our last wins were in the first week of December against the miserably bad Leicester and Crystal Palace.
Before that, you have to go back to mid-September for the previous win.
We've scored 13 goals in totals. 13! Arsenal and Chelsea between them have scored 13 against us.
And only scored 2 in a match twice, against the abysmal Leicester and Hull.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Titanic. The deckchairs have been rearranged, the plebs have been locked in steerage and the band is tuning up for one last song.

[kippaxvilla2]

That's the spirit.

[Allan C]

Sadly, I can only see us winning 2 of the last games. We have finally run out of teams who are worse than us which was enivitable eventually and with "Championship class" players, that is where we are heading. And God I hope I'm wrong

[Hillbilly]

That's the facts.

[silhillvilla]

We need to see a fighting spirit from the players . I'm not sure it's in them

[Villa in Denmark]

I don't think we've got a team of championship players, but we've got a team that's had every last drop of confidence and self-belief leeched out of them by Lambert over the last 12 months. (Something definitely happened after the home win over Chelsea last season, the form went to shit and a few weeks later Bids& Cones II were gone.)

Unfortunately I don't think Sherwood's brand of personal exuberance is what's needed. It needed someone experienced to come in and tell the players that "it's going to be OK because this is what we're going to do, and I know this works because I've been here before" to instil some confidence

It needs a back to basics, nothing too fancy game plan, that utilises the players we've got to our best advantage, and that isn't Sherwood's preferred 442 at the moment (Based on what he did at Spurs, plus the Stoke set-up.

The squad is geared to either 433 or 4231, and the problems with our "attacking" play, apart from being slower than a 3 legged diplodocus have been
1.) the lack of support around Benteke when the ball is, we'll be be polite and call it played long.
2.) the lack of midfielders making runs beyond the front line to stop the opposition being able to rely everything being played in front of them.
3.) the lack of width in the attacking play, which means that there is limited chance to attack a ball played into the box by getting across a defender from behind.

442 will potentially solve no.3, but only if you've got a least 1 quality winger.
Unfortunately with our current squad, 442 will pretty much guarantee that no.1 and no.2 never happen and we end up being just as predictable and easy to defend against, entirely reliant on one moment of individual brilliance.  Just like MON but with inferior players.