Remi Garde - Departs Aston Villa

[ozzjim]

I've got to say though, he made a right mess of that defensive line up yesterday. Okore, fair enough but i'd have left Lescott in and kept Bacuna at left back and just brought Richards in. Changing three out of the back four was just asking for trouble and at times they looked like a defence that hadn't played together before.

Yesterday was fully on him in my opinion. He deserves criticism for it but there needs to be perspective.  Goes with an insane line up at Sunderland and he will deserve sick again. 

[Lastfootstamper]

I've got to say though, he made a right mess of that defensive line up yesterday. Okore, fair enough but i'd have left Lescott in and kept Bacuna at left back and just brought Richards in. Changing three out of the back four was just asking for trouble and at times they looked like a defence that hadn't played together before.

For me, we cannot get to the situation quick enough where Richards is nowhere near being picked at centre-half. He's our best right-back, unless he's gone dramatically downhill since citeh. Persisting with him alongside Hutton as our right side isn't solving anything. Surely we'd be better off with at least one round peg in a round hole, then go from there.

[ozzjim]

He is certainly not a centre half
 

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

Just had a Spurs fan tell me that we need Premier League experience...I pointed out that our defence has it and is shit.
The blank look response while he worked it out and realised gave me no pleasure at all.

[Ormy Droid]

I've got to say though, he made a right mess of that defensive line up yesterday. Okore, fair enough but i'd have left Lescott in and kept Bacuna at left back and just brought Richards in. Changing three out of the back four was just asking for trouble and at times they looked like a defence that hadn't played together before.

Yesterday was fully on him in my opinion. He deserves criticism for it but there needs to be perspective.  Goes with an insane line up at Sunderland and he will deserve sick again.

Because of their long standing knee issues, Okore and Lescott obviously cannot play two games in the space of 48 hours, so what was he supposed to do? Play them both and fuck their knees up for the next month or two? Bacuna could've stayed left back maybe, but would it have mattered?

[ozzjim]

We need a couple of players at the base of midfield that can organise the team and full backs that know their positions.  Just to make us solid.  Pulis pulled a master stroke getting Fletcher last January.

[ozzjim]

I've got to say though, he made a right mess of that defensive line up yesterday. Okore, fair enough but i'd have left Lescott in and kept Bacuna at left back and just brought Richards in. Changing three out of the back four was just asking for trouble and at times they looked like a defence that hadn't played together before.

Yesterday was fully on him in my opinion. He deserves criticism for it but there needs to be perspective.  Goes with an insane line up at Sunderland and he will deserve sick again.

Because of their long standing knee issues, Okore and Lescott obviously cannot play two games in the space of 48 hours, so what was he supposed to do? Play them both and fuck their knees up for the next month or two? Bacuna could've stayed left back maybe, but would it have mattered?

The rest of the side was my bigger issue.  We never carried a threat.  I understand and agree realise the centre backs but he got the set up wrong.

[john e]

I don't mind Bacuna. He's been asked to play different positions since he's been here and I think overall he's done ok for us. I had no idea where he was meant to be playing yesterday though, he looked a bit lost.

And he is also the only player other than Ayew who will at least have a go at goal,
Every game he has a pop at goal a couple of times which is more than the rest of them do and shows some positive ness

[Ormy Droid]

I've got to say though, he made a right mess of that defensive line up yesterday. Okore, fair enough but i'd have left Lescott in and kept Bacuna at left back and just brought Richards in. Changing three out of the back four was just asking for trouble and at times they looked like a defence that hadn't played together before.

Yesterday was fully on him in my opinion. He deserves criticism for it but there needs to be perspective.  Goes with an insane line up at Sunderland and he will deserve sick again.

Because of their long standing knee issues, Okore and Lescott obviously cannot play two games in the space of 48 hours, so what was he supposed to do? Play them both and fuck their knees up for the next month or two? Bacuna could've stayed left back maybe, but would it have mattered?

The rest of the side was my bigger issue.  We never carried a threat.  I understand and agree realise the centre backs but he got the set up wrong.

Agreed, Richardson at left back and Bacuna back in midfield was a poor decision by him, but the likes of Gil, Grealish only leave our rubbish defence at the opposition's mercy. We could've tried Traore up front with Ayew and tried to play on the counter and through the channels, down the flanks. Garde knows what Guestede and Sinclair give him (not much) by now, but some of the criticism of him after the game (generated more by frustration than anything else) was a bit over the top and ill-informed I think.

[RussellC]

We need a couple of players at the base of midfield that can organise the team and full backs that know their positions.  Just to make us solid.  Pulis pulled a master stroke getting Fletcher last January.

Yep. Fletcher and Jonny Evans would make a world of difference to our side. Tragic, isn't it?

[JUAN PABLO]

I wish he would bring the subs on a bit quicker . The times we look shit and he has to  change things  but he seems too slow most games making these decisions.

[PaulWinch again]

I will say that Gil, Grealish and Traore don't help make themselves selectable through their lack of willingness to track back. If they were prepared to work harder at that I'm sure they'd get a chance. When you've got a team that has such a dreadful defence, then you need your forward players to work bloody hard to support them.

[wittonwarrior]

Take Ayew out of the team and there is no other goal scorer, or even someone who makes chances.  Traore merely flatters, Gil not strong enough for the premiership.

Nothing has changed at all since Sherwood was sacked.

I am just worried that Garde will now go out and spend any coppers given to him on more inadequate players.

I  am simply not convinced over Garde- tactics seem amiss, substitutions spare of the moment decisions, no improvement at the back etc etc  etc.

Options - now this is the problem area.  I would still go for Moyes, take the bullet of relegation this season and move on.

[john e]

I will say that Gil, Grealish and Traore don't help make themselves selectable through their lack of willingness to track back. If they were prepared to work harder at that I'm sure they'd get a chance. When you've got a team that has such a dreadful defence, then you need your forward players to work bloody hard to support them.

Yeah but without them the defence is still shockingly shit and we have little creativity up front to make things happen
At some point you have to be more positive because we are incapable of defending no matter what the back line is

[Olof's Beard]

I have no idea how I failed to notice just how bad our squad was at the start of the season. A couple of injuries spell instant disaster. When Sanchez - who is himself inconsistent - went off against West Ham, it was like losing Messi for us. Nobody should doubt his important to this bunch of wimps. For all his faults, he is our only smidgen of strength in the middle and when he doesn't play, we get walked through.

So without him, it was also going to be difficult yesterday and he probably had to play Bacuna in midfield. If Okore and Lescott were also both out, then you have a big problem. He trusted experienced defenders to come in and do a job, but they all let him down. In hindsight, he might as well have fought fire with fire and just tried to outscore them by going gung-ho, but you can always at least see the logic behind his decisions.

His biggest mistake so far was in the aftermath of the Sanchez substitution when he put Gil wide right and dropped Veretout deeper so Westwood could take up Sanchez's position. Gil really can't defend out wide despite he efforts and can only be employed as a floater with no specific defensive duties. Lo and behold, there left back scores the goal after bounding forward, and Veretout and Gil were switched around in time for the second half, but we had already paid the price.