Remi Garde - Departs Aston Villa

[Dante Lavelli]

I think there may be a group of players who enjoyed the easy life under Sherwood who may not have bought into the new manager's ideas (purely a hunch) so signing a few new players to diluted their impact (or lack of) might unlock the potential of the squad a bit more.

It seems fucking ages since the club, players, manager and supporters were all in synch with each other.  Until that is resolved there will be a limit to what we will do. 

[Irish villain]

I think there may be a group of players who enjoyed the easy life under Sherwood who may not have bought into the new manager's ideas (purely a hunch) so signing a few new players to diluted their impact (or lack of) might unlock the potential of the squad a bit more.

It seems fucking ages since the club, players, manager and supporters were all in synch with each other.  Until that is resolved there will be a limit to what we will do. 

I would say 2009/10 was the last season we were a properly functioning club.

[Eigentor]

I'm also pro-Garde. I agree that it doesn't seem like he has a clue about how he should get this lot to win a game, but that's probably because it's an impossible task.

Hopefully he can sign three-four reasonably decent players in the transfer window and start to turn things around. I don't see the point in sacking him now. It would only underline the club's inclination towards impulsiveness when making major decisions.

[TopDeck113]

I want it to work out for him for no other reason that it will  therefore mean that we're not as shit as we are right now.  However, I've got the nagging feeling that it'll end in a resignation when the first Atlantic depressions of next autumn sweep in and he realises that the handful of French youth team players that his paltry transfer funds have allowed him  to buy aren't going to hack it on a wet Wednesday night in Huddersfield. 

[pauliewalnuts]

One thing I know is that if we go down, the absolute last thing I want us to do is appoint some knuckle head British relic like Pearson or whichever Allardyce impersonator is fashionable at the time.

If we are getting relegated, I want us to use it as a fucking enema for the club to the greatest extent possible - I'd like it to trigger a sale to someone who gives a fuck and is able to appoint people who have a clue what they're doing - and for those people to then actually do that, I want to bring in a CEO who understands people don't want to hear about the brand or shirt deals while we're stinking out the league, I want it to be used as a chance to shift out wasters like Agbonlahor and their seemingly endless sequences of 40k a week deals in return for about 3 goals a season, and I want it to be used to shed some of the utter, utter crud we've signed the last few seasons.

Alongside all that, I want us to have a manager who has an idea about playing football the right way.I've had enough of the whole "cling on at any costs" / "reach out for whichever lunatic we think might keep us up without thinking about the future" way of doing things.

It isn't any fun, and it will get us nowhere. This club needs near-total change, not a quick patch up job in the championship for a year before business as usual as we fight for 36 points every season.

Garde can be part of that. I honestly don't know what people were expecting from a manager coming into a club which is clearly dysfunctional, which had lost almost every game it had played for months and months, and which had at most four or five players who give the first shit about the way things are going.

There's really nobody who was going to turn that shit around.

[kippaxvilla2]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/12079318/.html

I'm trying not to laugh at the steward not knowing who he was.

[olaftab]

Good article.

[old man villa fan]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/12079318/.html

I'm trying not to laugh at the steward not knowing who he was.

The thing that p***** me of is cheap journalism like this.  We can see a lot of issues with most of the players but do the media reporters want to build a story around that.  Do they f***, we just get the easy shots in.

[Villa in Denmark]

I think there may be a group of players who enjoyed the easy life under Sherwood who may not have bought into the new manager's ideas (purely a hunch) so signing a few new players to diluted their impact (or lack of) might unlock the potential of the squad a bit more.

It seems fucking ages since the club, players, manager and supporters were all in synch with each other.  Until that is resolved there will be a limit to what we will do. 

I would say 2009/10 was the last season we were a properly functioning club.

At no point under Lerner have we been a properly functioning club.

The first 4 years that were viewed as a success were built on sand and the prelude to the last 5 years decline and debacle.

A properly functioning club would not have gone into a tailspin when MON walked away.
A properly functioning club would not, as Paulie has pointed out elsewhere, gone through the pain of the Houllier season to lurch from Martinez to McLeish as his replacement.
It would not be credible for a properly functioning to have it's then CEO allegedly walk away when the owner stuck his oar in about sacking a manager. - I have no idea whether this is true or not, but heard it from a couple of places at the time. The fact that it's credible is the problem.
A properly functioning club would not have awarded a failing manager a new 3 year contract as he enters his final year with little risk of him being poached.  Again stinks of an owner putting personal friendship before what's right for the club.
A properly functioning club would not have a shortlist of one when the inevitable happens with the previous manager.
A properly functioning club would not have considered employing a complete and utter narcissistic gobshite as their manager, particularly when there were several internationally respected coaches waiting for a phone call.

And the biggest of all.

A properly functioning club would never, ever have gone through a 9 year period without once, ever looking at the squad, the make up and age profile of the players in individual positions and attempt to manage it so that
1.) Unnecessary players weren't purchased without clearing space first.
2.) Players weren't signed on such wages that it would be impossible to sell them towards the end of their contracts.
3.) Allowed the above to happen and then sit back and watch far too many players wind down their contracts and leave for free.
4.) It failed to look at what the squad would look like in 1,2 and 3 years time and started buying to cover the obvious gaps for year 1 and blooding youngsters to see if they'll be ready for years 2 and 3.

All of the above have resulted in eye watering amount of being pissed up the wall on  one side and too many short term panic buys on the other resulting in a squad shorn of quality and experience which means that the few quality players we have got are fighting a losing battle.

[old man villa fan]

One thing I know is that if we go down, the absolute last thing I want us to do is appoint some knuckle head British relic like Pearson or whichever Allardyce impersonator is fashionable at the time.

If we are getting relegated, I want us to use it as a fucking enema for the club to the greatest extent possible - I'd like it to trigger a sale to someone who gives a fuck and is able to appoint people who have a clue what they're doing - and for those people to then actually do that, I want to bring in a CEO who understands people don't want to hear about the brand or shirt deals while we're stinking out the league, I want it to be used as a chance to shift out wasters like Agbonlahor and their seemingly endless sequences of 40k a week deals in return for about 3 goals a season, and I want it to be used to shed some of the utter, utter crud we've signed the last few seasons.

Alongside all that, I want us to have a manager who has an idea about playing football the right way.I've had enough of the whole "cling on at any costs" / "reach out for whichever lunatic we think might keep us up without thinking about the future" way of doing things.

It isn't any fun, and it will get us nowhere. This club needs near-total change, not a quick patch up job in the championship for a year before business as usual as we fight for 36 points every season.

Garde can be part of that. I honestly don't know what people were expecting from a manager coming into a club which is clearly dysfunctional, which had lost almost every game it had played for months and months, and which had at most four or five players who give the first shit about the way things are going.

There's really nobody who was going to turn that shit around.

Agree with all of that.

Garde's reputation at Lyon was of building a side as well as having to sell high salaried players at the same time.  Give him the opportunity to rebuild the squad with players that can play football.

[old man villa fan]

A properly functioning club would never, ever have gone through a 9 year period without once, ever looking at the squad, the make up and age profile of the players in individual positions and attempt to manage it so that
1.) Unnecessary players weren't purchased without clearing space first.
2.) Players weren't signed on such wages that it would be impossible to sell them towards the end of their contracts.
3.) Allowed the above to happen and then sit back and watch far too many players wind down their contracts and leave for free.
4.) It failed to look at what the squad would look like in 1,2 and 3 years time and started buying to cover the obvious gaps for year 1 and blooding youngsters to see if they'll be ready for years 2 and 3.

All of the above have resulted in eye watering amount of being pissed up the wall on  one side and too many short term panic buys on the other resulting in a squad shorn of quality and experience which means that the few quality players we have got are fighting a losing battle.

Very good points.  An example of this is our fullback positions.  First choice at the beginning of the season were Hutton and Amavi.  Backups were Bacuna and Rchardson.  Who would go into a season with two wingbacks (at best) as being cover for only two fullbacks.  What about injuries and suspensions (particularly in Hutton's case).

[Risso]

Garde can be part of that. I honestly don't know what people were expecting from a manager coming into a club which is clearly dysfunctional, which had lost almost every game it had played for months and months, and which had at most four or five players who give the first shit about the way things are going.

There's really nobody who was going to turn that shit around.

I wasn't expecting him to have no effect whatsoever so far, to be honest.  Sherwood had as good as relegated us by the ime he left, but surely some inprovement in results wasn't too much to ask for?  And not to keep playing that cart horse Gestede.  I agree about not appointing Pearson, but Garde has got to show something this season.  Something, anything.  In my opinion there's been nothing so far, and the last two matches have been scandalously bad.

[old man villa fan]

Garde can be part of that. I honestly don't know what people were expecting from a manager coming into a club which is clearly dysfunctional, which had lost almost every game it had played for months and months, and which had at most four or five players who give the first shit about the way things are going.

There's really nobody who was going to turn that shit around.

I wasn't expecting him to have no effect whatsoever so far, to be honest.  Sherwood had as good as relegated us by the ime he left, but surely some inprovement in results wasn't too much to ask for?  And not to keep playing that cart horse Gestede.  I agree about not appointing Pearson, but Garde has got to show something this season.  Something, anything.  In my opinion there's been nothing so far, and the last two matches have been scandalously bad.

The problem was that Sherwood had undermined confidence in the players and the team was spiralling downwards rapidly.  Garde came in and first of all had to put a brake on the situation before even trying to turn it around.

[ChicagoLion]

At this point it seems the board very much like the summer transfers brought in someone who could well do well long term and they criminally forgot the short term issues.

I've been saying this all seaosn. We spent five years thinking short-term; now we've got a long-term plan without looking at what's under our noses.

yet you were critical of any one raising the issue of the transfer strategy pre-season.

[pbavfckuwait]

Remi Garde I am not sure is the man for a blood and guts fight to get out of the championship, but again if he does stop we will see yet another cycle of players going out the door, some obviously for financial reasons and go into next season with again at least 6 , 7 or 8 new players settling into life at Villa Park, this has been the ongoing situation since Randy arrived, even pube head and his two defenses in two seasons. This never allows for any connection between the players and the club and also the supporters and the players, leading to the present situation where we do not give one flying f..k about any of this current crop.