Remi Garde - Departs Aston Villa

[john e]

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.

I dunno, he seems quite timid and unsure of himself to me.

He tell fat Sam to do one though at the weekend, whether right or wrong he wasn't being timid or unsure

[Risso]

He just didn't shake his hand, hardly offering him out for pistols at dawn.

[pbavfckuwait]

All this about Senior Players not doing this, not doing that, taking the piss out of him etc, etc, surely Garde is in the perfect position to act on this and have the full backing of the support for doing it.
We all accept that we are shit, but also please remember that we were all saying on here not that long ago, anyone but Sherwood could get more out of this squad, well it appears we did not find Mr. Anyone.
Back to the point thou, if he dropped what we all believe are absolute chancers and crap players, Guzan, Hutton, Gestede, Richards if he wont play full back, Bacnightmare,Westwood, Gabby and whoever else we all think are crap and then played kids, but stated that the reason he has to play the kids is because his senior players will not buy into what he is trying to accomplish or that they are not good enough and he has not got time to waste trying to preach to the non-believers, he would have almost 100% support from us and we would accept that maybe this was the foundations for something new and better.
But he doesn't, he still plays Gestede, Bacnightmare, Guzan and the like, week in and week out. I strongly believe we have another insight into our marvelous non footballing top management structure decision making again, ala Mr. Crap Manager number ?

[Chris Smith]

All this about Senior Players not doing this, not doing that, taking the piss out of him etc, etc, surely Garde is in the perfect position to act on this and have the full backing of the support for doing it.
We all accept that we are shit, but also please remember that we were all saying on here not that long ago, anyone but Sherwood could get more out of this squad, well it appears we did not find Mr. Anyone.
Back to the point thou, if he dropped what we all believe are absolute chancers and crap players, Guzan, Hutton, Gestede, Richards if he wont play full back, Bacnightmare,Westwood, Gabby and whoever else we all think are crap and then played kids, but stated that the reason he has to play the kids is because his senior players will not buy into what he is trying to accomplish or that they are not good enough and he has not got time to waste trying to preach to the non-believers, he would have almost 100% support from us and we would accept that maybe this was the foundations for something new and better.
But he doesn't, he still plays Gestede, Bacnightmare, Guzan and the like, week in and week out. I strongly believe we have another insight into our marvelous non footballing top management structure decision making again, ala Mr. Crap Manager number ?

I can see the appeal but in reality he would then get stick for creating another "bomb squad" of players earning millions and not contributing. When results are poor there is a tendency to criticise everyone and everything and think that there are simple solutions to complex issues.

[pbavfckuwait]

But Chris this is his best time to stamp any authority he may have, if it is a case that he is being told "At no point do you create the faux-pas that was our last Bomb Squad" we have just employed another "Yes Man" for Fox and Lerner.
He did not buy any of these players, so if he thinks their attitude is wrong or that they basically are not good enough and after trying to change that attitude or increase their ability it is a lost cause he has to be backed and as stated previously he would probably get the backing of 99% of the support, the supporters are not fools and we can see something on the playing side stinks and he needs to convince the support he is strong enough to attack it.

[nuninho]

Who realistically can he replace these players with?  Its easy saying play the youth players, but that will only end up in 6-0 gubbings every week.  Until he gets to bring in his own players he's got one hand tied behind his back - all he can do is pick what he has.

[Holte L2]

Who realistically can he replace these players with?  Its easy saying play the youth players, but that will only end up in 6-0 gubbings every week.  Until he gets to bring in his own players he's got one hand tied behind his back - all he can do is pick what he has.

Andre Green for Westwood.  From what I've seen of him in reserve games. He's definitely ready for selection.
Jerell Sellars for Gestede - 4 goals in 11 games for the reserves this season. Surely he's worth a selection.
Janoi Donacien for Hutton - albeit he's on loan at Newport.

Three lads whereby they have less ability but might benefit from the opportunity of playing.

[brian green]

There is understandable impatience that Garde is not rushing into anything.

It is a matter of personal opinion but I see signs of change. In patches the football is good, fitness appears to be improving and media interviews with Garde are not the cringeworthy stuff we got from his predecessors.  Small changes but significant ones.  I have seen been to all but two of his games in charge and that is my personal impression.

Of course the deeper five years old malaise still grips us.  Lack of confidence, lack of character, lack of leadership, lack of courage, lack of intelligence, lack of team spirit, lack of quality players in key positions, lack of loyalty and possibly the cruellest shortage of all, lack of the bit of luck all winning teams need.

Against that you have to set the fact that we were already screwed before the clocks went back.  By screwed I mean we had been humiliated in the cup final and lost the plot completely in our end of season games.  I also mean by screwed we were facing one of two equally bad scenarios, going on wallowing a relegation battle or getting relegated. That is what Remi Garde walked into with the added cherry on top of a CEO who had showed every sign of naivety and cronyism when lubricating Sherwood on to a short list of one to replace Lambert.

This is my own personal opinion and not expressed here to provoke or inflame any fellow poster, but I respect and admire Remi Garde for accepting the task.

His first transfer window and his first chance to correct a massively faulty squad is two days old, he must be allowed to get on with his work as he sees it.

[Clampy]

Who realistically can he replace these players with?  Its easy saying play the youth players, but that will only end up in 6-0 gubbings every week.  Until he gets to bring in his own players he's got one hand tied behind his back - all he can do is pick what he has.

Andre Green for Westwood.  From what I've seen of him in reserve games. He's definitely ready for selection.
Jerell Sellars for Gestede - 4 goals in 11 games for the reserves this season. Surely he's worth a selection.
Janoi Donacien for Hutton - albeit he's on loan at Newport.

Three lads whereby they have less ability but might benefit from the opportunity of playing.

I think Donacien is a centre half, not a full back unless he's playing there for Newport.

 

[Holte L2]

Who realistically can he replace these players with?  Its easy saying play the youth players, but that will only end up in 6-0 gubbings every week.  Until he gets to bring in his own players he's got one hand tied behind his back - all he can do is pick what he has.

Andre Green for Westwood.  From what I've seen of him in reserve games. He's definitely ready for selection.
Jerell Sellars for Gestede - 4 goals in 11 games for the reserves this season. Surely he's worth a selection.
Janoi Donacien for Hutton - albeit he's on loan at Newport.

Three lads whereby they have less ability but might benefit from the opportunity of playing.

I think Donacien is a centre half, not a full back unless he's playing there for Newport.

 

Donacien can play Centre Half and Full Back.

[tomd2103]

Who realistically can he replace these players with?  Its easy saying play the youth players, but that will only end up in 6-0 gubbings every week.  Until he gets to bring in his own players he's got one hand tied behind his back - all he can do is pick what he has.

I'm not sure what his injury status is, but surely we are fast approaching sink or swim time for Gary Gardner.  With relegation pretty much all but confirmed, I would like to see him given a run in the side so a decision can be made on him. 

Although I don't think they are good enough for top flight football, the likes of Westwood, Clark and Bacuna don't seem to have too much of an attitude problem and will be fine squad players in the Championship.  It's the highly paid ones that seem to be a bad influence that need to be gone. 

[Clark W Griswold]

Who realistically can he replace these players with?  Its easy saying play the youth players, but that will only end up in 6-0 gubbings every week.  Until he gets to bring in his own players he's got one hand tied behind his back - all he can do is pick what he has.

I'm not sure what his injury status is, but surely we are fast approaching sink or swim time for Gary Gardner.  With relegation pretty much all but confirmed, I would like to see him given a run in the side so a decision can be made on him. 

Although I don't think they are good enough for top flight football, the likes of Westwood, Clark and Bacuna don't seem to have too much of an attitude problem and will be fine squad players in the Championship.  It's the highly paid ones that seem to be a bad influence that need to be gone.

Yes, if we don't get anyone in this window midfield wise, I think I'd give Gardner a run as well.

[Villa in Denmark]

Last rumours I saw were that he was on his way to Forest on loan again.

[villasjf]

Who realistically can he replace these players with?  Its easy saying play the youth players, but that will only end up in 6-0 gubbings every week.  Until he gets to bring in his own players he's got one hand tied behind his back - all he can do is pick what he has.

Andre Green for Westwood.  From what I've seen of him in reserve games. He's definitely ready for selection.
Jerell Sellars for Gestede - 4 goals in 11 games for the reserves this season. Surely he's worth a selection.
Janoi Donacien for Hutton - albeit he's on loan at Newport.

Three lads whereby they have less ability but might benefit from the opportunity of playing.

I think Donacien is a centre half, not a full back unless he's playing there for Newport.

 

Donacien can play Centre Half and Full Back.

He has just extended his loan till the end of the season.

[themossman]

I agree with the sentiment that the rest of this season should be about separating the rotten apples from the ones who are going to be important to us next season, so that we at least end the season with a coherent team that's all moving in the same direction and actually playing for Garde. From that perspective our situation being so unsalvageable is a blessing in disguise for Garde since now staying up is a lost cause he can do what he wants without being held to ransom by any player because they have no leverage. What difference do a few 6 nils make in the process?

Personally, I think the biggest problem during the Lerner era has been the poor discipline among the players, stemming from the inconsistencies in how they're managed. So we get the seat of the pants back slappers like MON and Sherwood, interspersed with technocrats like Houllier and Garde trying to polish turds like Dunne and Richards. Another reason why the lack of an overarching plan behind the managerial appointments has killed us (thanks Randy). It's back to dicks on Tricolore. Garde seems to have more about him than the rest so what have we got to lose by letting him oversee a slash and burn restructuring of the squad.