Remi Garde - Departs Aston Villa

[Dante Lavelli]

I'm pretty sure Milner, Barry and Petrov were role models too.

Sorry, my point was that they leave before they become an age where they're likely to be the spokesman and dictate the tone for the squad.

[SamTheMouse]

I don't think Garde is the type of manager to give you a bounce. Sherwood improved performances temporarily by injecting positive energy and belief with a very simple approach. That's fine short term, but if it's all you have in your locker, then you'll get found out in the end.

Garde is more thoughtful and reserved, he'll probably be great for the long term if he gets to mould a team gradually, with players who have the attributes he wants. But short term, he's not the ideal option.

The problem at Villa is that while the powers that be are guilty of some very bad decisions, they have also made some reasonably sensible ones, but they never seem to be made at the right time. We swing pendulum-style from one approach to another, with no suggestion that anyone has a clear, broad vision of what needs to be done, how, and when.

[Risso]

Gabby and Richards are thick as thieves, pigshit

I done a fix

[brian green]

The reason why Sherwood had dead cat bounce and Garde does not have dead cat bounce is that Garde wants a live cat.

[Steve67]

We might be in danger here of making presumptions about Richards and Agbonlahor which may not be true of course. There are always players out there with big egos and an 'I'm so much better than this' kind of attitude. I won the league you know Billy big balls etc. If that is the case, fuck it, drop them and let the fans know why they've been dropped. You never know, it might actually galvanize the team.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

And the senior pros probably talking more to Sherwood on their phones than to Remi Garde.

There is going to be blood on the floor at Bodymoor Heath and it will not be Remi Garde's. The showdown is bubbling under I think. We will not start winning until there has been a blood letting.

Agreed. And the club stand behind Garde. Don't be surprised to see Richards "moved on" in January if someone wants to pay his wages.

I've no real evidence for it, but I suspect him and agbonlahor to be two of the main ringleaders of any group causing trouble behind the scenes. There was something very off about agbonlahor being given an english - french dictionary in one of those god awful youtube clips before christmas (wasn't it given to him by richards too?). I seem to recall that there were rumours of him having a falling out with a previous manager as well (houllier?).

Someone mentioned that he fell out with Duverne whilst he was with us under Houllier.  ...Well he's back now so I can imagine that Gabby would be on the wrong side of any groups.

It frustrates me that the role models around the clubs always seems to be the like of Collins, Dunne and Gabby rather than Barry, Petrov or Milner. 

Interesting that Gabby is out with a "bad back"....cue numerous jokes about spine/backbone etc...
reminds me of the standard joke for shirkers when I worked down the pit....(insert name) was off for a day cos he had to have an x-ray...to see if there was any work left in him!

Having endured the last two games it's pretty clear to see which players seem to give a fu*k.

[ozzjim]

Isn't there a rumour Richards had done some kind of derogatory impersonation of  Garde?

If we could sell him now for a couple of million I would.

[fredm]

Wasn't Garde Wenger's "man in the dressing room" when Wenger first came to Arsenal?  I have read that he would explain exactly what Wenger was trying to do, his tactics etc. to the other players who no doubt had some reservations as to all this new fangled stuff Wenger was bringing in. Maybe he needs one/two experienced back up men in the team/dressing room to convince the rest of them that his way is the best way.

[LeeB]

We weren't on anything like as bad a run under Lambert when Sherwood arrived as we were under Sherwood when Garde came.

Any team which wins a game then draws one, then loses nine on the bounce is mentally done for. That's an awful situation to inherit.

Before Sherwood took over, we'd drawn 3 and lost 7, including 5 straight defeats  in which time we'd scored 2 goals in 10 games. I would say that is equally horrific to be honest.  And the start of this run came not that long after the 6 game losing streak where we'd failed to score a single goal.

My feeling on this is that it just can't be the manager every single time.

I don't think there's a manager out there who would have turned this one around. If we are going down - and we are - I would prefer to stick with the manager we have got.

It just all gets so fucking random and scattergun, people going on about Nigel Pearson based on the fact he got Leicester promoted and kept them up - uncannily like Lambert's credentials when he got the job, whilst ignoring all the evidence that he's also off his fucking head. Or daydreaming about getting David Moyes in.

If we are going down, I want a manager who wants to play the game the right way and has demonstrably made a team do that, which is what Garde has done. He is also already in place and will have had two thirds of a season in which to get to know the club.

Giving him this car crash of a season alone isn't enough.

I mostly agree with you to be fair, and that utter cretin Pearson is the last manager in the world I'd want anywhere near the place.  Seriously, that would be it for me while he was in charge.  But I do want to see some improvement under Garde during the rest of the season.  We're relegated, that's taken as read, but if he could get say, 5 or 6 decent wins to at least give us a bit of hope, it will be progress, and we can have some optimism.  If we go another ten without winning and are then relegated by March, I think he'll have to pay the price.

I agree with all of that.

[aj2k77]

Isn't there a rumour Richards had done some kind of derogatory impersonation of  Garde?

If we could sell him now for a couple of million I would.

Richards has done some kind of derogatory impersonation of a centre back all season. Nothing to do with these rumours of him being trouble but there's something about him I really don't like.

[curiousorange]

He's far from the only person to blame for this season, but it will make me slightly happier to not have Micah Richards at Aston Villa when he finally gets gone.

[Villa in Denmark]

Gabby and Richards are thick as thieves, they hand around together outside of training.

What a pair of w¤¤kers

[Villa in Denmark]

Isn't there a rumour Richards had done some kind of derogatory impersonation of  Garde?

If we could sell him now for a couple of million I would.

Richards has done some kind of derogatory impersonation of a centre back all season. Nothing to do with these rumours of him being trouble but there's something about him I really don't like.

If I was Okore I'd be well pissed off to have been benched for that abject excuse for a performance on Saturday.

The way Richards is playing there should be someone checking his distant relatives and acquaintances to see if anyone was really lumping on us to finish with less than 20 points back in July.

[Pat McMahon]

The reason why Sherwood had dead cat bounce and Garde does not have dead cat bounce is that Garde wants a live cat.

At the moment, Brian, even Schrodinger's cat would be welcome.

[Clampy]

We might be in danger here of making presumptions about Richards and Agbonlahor which may not be true of course. There are always players out there with big egos and an 'I'm so much better than this' kind of attitude. I won the league you know Billy big balls etc. If that is the case, fuck it, drop them and let the fans know why they've been dropped. You never know, it might actually galvanize the team.

The first line is very true. It's quite possible that what Cheltenhamlion has said on the other thread is true but it also may not be. I do find it hard to believe that a player can dictate where he plays and Garde doesn't come across as the type of manager who would stand for that anyway.