Remi Garde - Departs Aston Villa

[OzVilla]

David Moyes was there waiting for the job and we wouldn't cough up the cash for him.
God help us.

You know that for a fact do you? 

[berneboy]

Unbelievable to hear people wanting rid of Garde, absolute madness. 

I've just watched his press conference pre Sunderland game.  Garde talks a lot of sense, he knows this lot are woeful and wants time to construct the 'project'. We need to let him get on with it and judge him by November next season.

This is all down to the utter incompetence of Lerner, Fox, Lambert, Sherwood and 3 quarters of the shit we've got in our squad.

Agreed, sir.

[berneboy]

He won't go this side of the Summer but I seriously doubt he'll be the man to get us out of the Championship. I hope I'm wrong but he just does not inspire me with confidence one bit. Whenever I see him interviewed he comes across as a supply teacher whose pupils are taking the piss out of him.

I suppose few of us really know how good he is or may become but I like his intelligent calm approach. He's taken on an immense task. We can't keep swapping and starting again.

[brian green]

This is as good a thread as any to post this on.  Next October I shall have been a Holte Ender for 70 years and no I am not a better fan than anybody else and no I am not a better judge of football than anybody else. I have just watched the Villa, home and away a lot.

This Sunday morning as we all agonize in our own way the single worst source of pain for me is not the league position, or the poorness of the squad or their lack of brain and backbone.  It is the culture of bullshit that has grown up like a ring fence around the Villa.

Put less crudely there is a prevailing culture of uncertainty that is not dispelled by openness and candour but is intensified by secrecy.

Ask yourself, what is going to happen next?  Will we spend in January? Will Remi Garde stay or walk? Will the crowds melt away from Villa Park? Will the crowds at Villa Park turn nasty? Will there be a carnival atmosphere at VP and a stream of wins once we are mathematically down? Why won't Richards play RB? Why does Bunn never play? Why does Gestede always play?  The list of things we are left guessing about goes on and on.

I fully accept, without question that any club, any business must have confidentiality and privacy. But let that be what it is, not the intelligence insulting bullshit we have been served up ever since Martin O'Neill made Randy Lerner shit his pants.

Why did it take so long to get rid of Lambert? Why was Lambert given a contract extension? Whose idea was a short list one for Lambert's replacement? Why was Sherwood allowed to get away with slagging off the club and the players without so much of peep out of the club in its own defence?

I could go on for pages with unanswered questions.

It is not the questions that make me so angry. It is the fact that we have an Aston Villa environment of total uncertainty that spawns more questions and no answers.  In lieu of answers we get bullshit like building something special when what I want to hear is news of Micah Richards getting a kick up the arse or when is Tom Fox going to get the mother of all bollocking or the sack.

I started by referring to how long I have been a Villa fan.  In all that time I have never known a period of such uncertainty as the past five years and it is getting worse.

[OzVilla]

The uncertainty comes from the top down Brian. Lerner's incompetent ownership and total lack of accountability is the source.

[Singapore Villa]

Totally agree that it starts from the top.  We have a completely invisible owner and our CEO just spouts pointless rhetoric that is so partonising it is untrue. I will always love the Villa, but we need our club back.

[Tony Erdington]

Like your post Brian, Randy wants shot of us (and I want shot of him) he wants to put as little into the club as possible, and therefore he does everything on the cheap especially the appointment of managers. He then has to get his staff to spin lies, like short list of one, and were building something special. Lerner is the route cause of everything wrong at Aston Villa. The smoke and mirrors will remain at VP as long as lerners there.

[Tony Erdington]

David Moyes was there waiting for the job and we wouldn't cough up the cash for him.
God help us.

You know that for a fact do you?

Moyes would have come.

[ozzjim]

Moyes made it clear he wanted to stay at Sociedad! If he had wanted it h would have made that clear. He was my first choice but he has turned it down enough times for us to know that if he wasn't interested he wasn't going to come.
The fact Garde has turned down Newcastle and refuse talks with Sunderland before taking our job suggests he has been promised some stability here. He has started very poorly but then watching us in the last few weeks I genuinely don't think anyone would be winning games with this squad. The midfield options as soon as someone is out are so paper thin its scary at the moment. There is very little pace beyond Traore and we ask know the defence and keeper are shot.

Let him build a side. I think his reputation on arrival suggests long term he is with persevering with. I hope we don't make trigger happy decisions and try and give someone a chance to rebuild the playing squad.

[brontebilly]

Results and performances have proven that Garde has not galvanised the squad at all. A bit like Houllier it seems he has made up his mind very early on a number of players. In hindsight he would have been better off trying to get the most out of our motley crew instead.

This may be one of the reasons behind the dispirited shambles we are seeing on the pitch. I don't think we can put the blame solely on the heads of the players, look at that Norwich team for example. Hardly too many world beaters in that team yet they are organised, spirited and give each game a real go.

[Ron Manager]

There were signs yesterday that he is starting to lose it a little, that the pressure of having to deal with all that he has to is getting to him. He is a straight talker which is admirable but he knows (and we know)he has far too many players nowhere near the required standard to work with. He has the following available to him.

Guzan, Bunn   Not good enough
Hutton            Not good enough
Cissokho        Can defend but useless going forward
Okore             Doesnt look safe. Not good enough
Richards         Possibly good at right back but erratic at centre back
Lescott           Looked a good cheap signing has proved to be anything like that
Gueye            Good at first but looks as if he wants to go go back to France as quickly as possible
Veretout        One of the two shining beacons at Villa Park. He has reached the required standard
Gil                  Might have scored an excellent goal yesterday but he is far too lightweight and does not create much at all
Westwood.    Obviously tries hard but very far below the standard required.
Sinclair           Not good enough
Sanchez         Can look very good but equally can look dreadful. Not good enough
Gestede         Oh dear!
Ayew              The other shining beacon. Excellent attitude, excellent player.
Adama            Vastly entertaining but very very raw.

Clark,Agbonlahor and Richardson are not worthy of comment. Kozak will probably leave in this window.

Just realised I had forgotten Grealish. Mind you it doesn't surprise me!

[mr underhill]

so, three keepers; the rest sack off. sounds ridiculous, but probably true

[Rico]

There was a guy on radio two a few weeks back promoting his book. Can't remember what he or the book were called, but basically he had written a book in conjunction with Sir Alex Ferguson about management. One point that he made crystal clear is that for any organisation to be successful you need to have clear direction right from the very top, down to the very bottom. Everyone and he said absolutely everyone at the organisation must be pulling in the same direction and the company strategy must be crystal clear to everyone, including it's customers. He mentioned how at times certain players at Man Utd didn't go along with the goal of the club and how they were sold on almost straight away. ( Beckham/Stam?)

This got me thinking about Aston Villa. Apart from the odd sound bite (Proud history/Bright future ha or We're building something special) when was the last time we actually heard from the powers that be what the current strategy is. The lack of leadership from the top has seeped through the club like a poison. I believe there is no strategy or if there is one I have missed it, which again is the whole purpose of this post. I went on a course a few years ago and the guy running the course said how many of you do a SWAT test at the start of each year. I had never heard of this acronym before, but basically it stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Aims and Targets. So it's a new year with yet another defeat under our belt so how about the club coming out with it's own SWAT statement instead of the building something special drivel.

UTV

[john e]

David Moyes was there waiting for the job and we wouldn't cough up the cash for him.
God help us.

You know that for a fact do you?

Moyes would have come.

Is this the Moyes who was sacked at his last two posts for being a bit rubbish

Your right he would have fitted in well

[Chico Hamilton III]

Unbelievable to hear people wanting rid of Garde, absolute madness. 

I've just watched his press conference pre Sunderland game.  Garde talks a lot of sense, he knows this lot are woeful and wants time to construct the 'project'. We need to let him get on with it and judge him by November next season.

This is all down to the utter incompetence of Lerner, Fox, Lambert, Sherwood and 3 quarters of the shit we've got in our squad.

I saw his interview as well and thought he was saying exactly what Sherood used to say but in a more exotic accent.