This is the season...

[OzVilla]

Well Sunderland winning was a real kick in the nads.

We have two chances I reckon, both real long shots.  That Remi Garde can get something out of the French players that they've not shown so far.  I don't think this will happen as quite frankly they aint good enough.

The second is that Lerner backs Garde in a major way in January as we desperately need a GK, LB, CH and at least 1 new forward (possibly 2) - that's 50 million, maybe more. 

We know January is a bad time for this kind of overhaul and considering Lerner's hands off approach over the last 4 years I also think this is highly unlikely to happen - the businessman in him (no sniggering at the back) will see this as throwing good money after bad and he'll give Garde 20m tops - enough to say he backed the Manager but not enough for Garde to make the required changes.

This side is utter dross right now and without quality new faces across the team we are fucked.  I think we are fucked.

[oswald funkletrumpet]

25 games left and a minimum of 30 points required so the equivalent of ten wins

next six games a minimum of 9 points or thats it

[bodkins14]

Sorry I can't see it we have been scrambling around now for the past 4 seasons scrapping by. Remi has not got a massive job to do he is heading towards needing a miracle. The team lacks soul, desire and more importantly passion.
Fair enough we won't be fighting for a champions league spot but for Christ's sack have some pride in your performance we didn't just get outplayed by Everton we turned into quivering puppies shitting in the corner. The players seemingly don't give a toss and why the he'll would they every Friday they pick up their  £30k wage packets regardless of performance, if any of them cared just the slightest they should be ashamed of recent performances I know if I performed at work like them I'd be straight out the door instead they get up in the morning groom themselves in their mock gothic mirrors climb into their 90k aston Martins or whatever motor roles out of their garage to do a couple of hours training each day why the rest of us flog our guts out to earn a yearly wage that these spineless fuckers earn in a week. I'm sick of this we all pay good money hard earned money to do a job for 90 minutes on a Saturday that most of would give our right bollock to do for free.
I have a 12 year old son who looked at me on Saturday and said dad why are we so shit they don't care, he used to wear his Villa top all the time now it's tucked away in the bottom of his draw and to be honest I wouldn't blame him for moving on to one of the bigger clubs I can't even be bothered to try and stop him he deserves better.
Sorry for the long Tuesday morning rant but if Kieron Richardson is ever to where a Villa shirt again he should be sued under the false advertising laws as pretending to be a premier league footballer cnut and as for his hair fcuking cnut piss off take your money your a joke and a disgrace to MY club.

[oswald funkletrumpet]

great post

what more can you say

[tony scott]

For me this is the season, we can all point out individual players but there appears to be no team ethos.  I've seen the team huddle every home game, but when they come out of it they don't seem pumped up and ready to have a go.  I'm sorry to say this but  we have gotget to that huge centre forward in the box and get a lot of cross,sineven if that  fails it will stand us in good steed for next season.  The only consolation it can't get any worse .    I've seen a few relegations first 66/67 Gut wrenching UTV

[nick harper]

I would say if we don't have somewhere in the region of 15 points by the turn of the year, the club will know that trying to spend their way out of trouble in January is money down the drain.

The next 6 weeks are the biggest in the club's recent history and if there is no semblance of a turn around, and we are talking 3 wins in the next 6 games (let's be honest that would be almost a miracle compared to the last 20 odd league games), then the club have to prepare for the Championship and start cutting their cloth accordingly.

[Ormy Droid]

Though Sunderland's win last night doesn't exactly help our position, we can take a little bit of inspiration at how they turned around a thrashing at Everton a few weeks ago, into a clean sheet and three points. Okay, Allardyce has previous and Remi doesn't, but it shows it can be done even with a defence that has been routinely taken apart and ridiculed by the pundits, as Sunderland's has over the last few years. It's not over yet...

[oldhill_avfc]

Though Sunderland's win last night doesn't exactly help our position, we can take a little bit of inspiration at how they turned around a thrashing at Everton a few weeks ago, into a clean sheet and three points. Okay, Allardyce has previous and Remi doesn't, but it shows it can be done even with a defence that has been routinely taken apart and ridiculed by the pundits, as Sunderland's has over the last few years. It's not over yet...

The bit in bold is the key point.  If you have a shit squad who'd you prefer as manager?

Garde may well be a very good manager and one for the long term, but he may not be able to polish a turd as well as Allardyce.  They may well stop up.  We definitely won't - unless there is a massive overhaul in January.

[olaftab]

I see you are peddling the " I only need to out run you not the tiger" argument but Sunderland or Newcastle etc may not be a player in the equation come end of the season. Points accumulated will be a big factor.

It's not an argument to peddle. It's basic maths. If we get more points than any other three teams, regardless of how many points that might be then we stay up.

Picking a random number and assuming that we're doomed if we get anything less than that and safe if we get anything more than that, ignoring the number of points other teams have is neither an argument, nor basic maths.

Basic maths is always valid so to win a game you have to score one more and position in the table is secured by having one more point than team below you however rather facile in this case. Stats and law of large numbers applies here and that states that we will have to be around about 36 points to stay up.

[CJ]

I really can't see us getting out of it this year tbh. Assuming we do drop I hope we don't just bin Garde. I'm fed up of the cycle of appoint someone, watch them fail, bin, and start all over again, with a different set of players and different style of play, or no style of play at all. I'd like to see him establish a consistent way of playing, and getting the players in to execute that plan - a bit like Swansea, maybe. Otherwise it could be a while before we're back

[postal]

Of the "bottom" of the lower PL we have played Sunderland, Bournemouth and Swansea.
We have other teams of this "mini league" to play and we can get points ( wins?) if the team show that they can play like a team of men and not drop their heads after a goal goes in.

Oh. Yep, this is the year.

(though if we do get out of it, it will be the greatest of escapes.... )

[passport1]

Though Sunderland's win last night doesn't exactly help our position, we can take a little bit of inspiration at how they turned around a thrashing at Everton a few weeks ago, into a clean sheet and three points. Okay, Allardyce has previous and Remi doesn't, but it shows it can be done even with a defence that has been routinely taken apart and ridiculed by the pundits, as Sunderland's has over the last few years. It's not over yet...

The bit in bold is the key point.  If you have a shit squad who'd you prefer as manager?

Garde may well be a very good manager and one for the long term, but he may not be able to polish a turd as well as Allardyce.  They may well stop up.  We definitely won't - unless there is a massive overhaul in January.

Allardyce or Moyes would have been the common sense appointment.

[levico]

I'm kinda beyond the relegation question. The only real chance we had was if Lerner was prepared to invest heavily in January but by then our situation will be perilous and no self respecting decent footballer will come anywhere near us even if we offer  mega bucks.

So my focus is on avoiding the lowest points record. I think we can do this but I'm not totally convinced we will.

[Neil Hawkes]

I admire your optimism my friend but the last time we won a league game the kids were still on summer holidays and I'm off to see them in a nativity play in a fortnight! In the intervening period our keeper has spent more time in the back of his net than in front of it, our defence couldn't tackle a fish supper, the midfield have yet to be introduced to each other and the nation hasn't stopped tittering at Sky's condemnation of our 'strikeforce's' figurehead who has seemingly spent the season so far eating chips. I see no valid reason why anyone can reasonably expect anything but a slow and ignominious death from hereon in.

It's a good job you're not our new manager 😱

[Chico Hamilton III]

I reckon it will be another 2 seasons before we're relegated. Winter and Spring.