Remi Garde - Departs Aston Villa

[auntiesledd]

I like Garde, he has a dignified way about him and he has really been dumped on - as we all have.

BUT

before I get too teary eyed about him:

1. He is getting paid a lot of money
2. I had a quick look through his results which were:

Played 15 (PL Played 12 Won 1)
Won 2
Drawn 7
Lost 6
For 11
Against 23

I would like him to stay bur would I be fussed if he left?

No

You'll be fussed when we cannot attract any half decent managers because we are becoming well known as a problem club ran by nut jobs and bean counters who can't count.

I agree with that, you could argue that Garde isn't a half decent manager based on the impact he has had.

I think he has been stitched up with no backing but the way we are run is going deter the vast majority of managers, we are in it big time and there is no guarantee that he will get backed in the summer which is a big worry

If Garde walks we will be interviewing gobshites of the ilk of the strangler Pearson and lower league managers with the excuse that they have the knowledge to get us out of their and know the league inside out etc . Limited chancers like Lambert at best who have ridden the crest of a wave but will freeze when they're hit by the juggernaut of problems we have. We need him to stay, he knows full well what cancers we have at the club, even more now he's been fucked over by the bean counters.

You might well be right about the alternatives, but the reason(s) you have given for Garde to stay are some of the very reasons that he'll walk between now & the end of the season.

[aj2k77]

He's said in his own words that he thought the changes he wanted to implement would be backed with a couple of transfers. So there's no doubt that he did not agree to hang out the white flag and do fuck all for the next 5 months. You're just kidding yourself if you think otherwise. The trust between him and the board will have taken a massive knock and the trust between the board and fans is at zero.

But that's only true if we hung out the white flag and decided to do nothing for the next 5 months.  He also said, in his own words, that he and club had been working hard to get transfers in so there's nothing 'in his own words' which reinforces the idea that the board decided to give up.  I'm not saying i'm not upset that we didn't get transfers, I just don't like selective quoting.

They wouldn't fund the transfers. I can go to a car showroom and haggle all day with them over the price but If i'm not prepared to pay the going rate it's all pointless.

[aj2k77]

You might well be right about the alternatives, but the reason you have given for Garde to stay are some of the very reasons that he'll walk between now & the end of the season.

They are, I'm just hoping there's some strange part of Remi that wants to take on a challenge like this. I don't think it's likely, he'll probably leave in May, I'm just hoping otherwise, he's won me over and I thought he could take us places.

[Nirog72]

I don't think any of us know what he was or wasn't promised, who we tried to get (other than the obvious ones) and why we didn't succeed. But...

If the senior management of the club think progression and change (positive) will come without doing their bit they are deluded and I feel very sorry for Garde. The notion that the Manager and players need to fix it only works if everything else is working well, including player recruitment at an acceptable level.

If he walks, which I personally hope he doesn't we will not be short of interested managerial candidates because at worst, if things don't work, you are as handsomely rewarded as you would be if they do. If things do work you are the messiah. What's not to like?

[AVH87]

He's said in his own words that he thought the changes he wanted to implement would be backed with a couple of transfers. So there's no doubt that he did not agree to hang out the white flag and do fuck all for the next 5 months. You're just kidding yourself if you think otherwise. The trust between him and the board will have taken a massive knock and the trust between the board and fans is at zero.

But that's only true if we hung out the white flag and decided to do nothing for the next 5 months.  He also said, in his own words, that he and club had been working hard to get transfers in so there's nothing 'in his own words' which reinforces the idea that the board decided to give up.  I'm not saying i'm not upset that we didn't get transfers, I just don't like selective quoting.

They wouldn't fund the transfers. I can go to a car showroom and haggle all day with them over the price but If i'm not prepared to pay the going rate it's all pointless.

It's a bit of both. Kalinic they funded and were denied by the work permit and he was going to cost close to 5m. Khazri they didn't and he ended up going to Sunderland for 8m. Doumbia they were willing to pay the loan fee, he chose Newcastle. Debuchy it sounds like they weren't willing to pay the loan fee being asked for a RB. Combination of him being let down by the board, and our league position.

[django]

He's said in his own words that he thought the changes he wanted to implement would be backed with a couple of transfers. So there's no doubt that he did not agree to hang out the white flag and do fuck all for the next 5 months. You're just kidding yourself if you think otherwise. The trust between him and the board will have taken a massive knock and the trust between the board and fans is at zero.

But that's only true if we hung out the white flag and decided to do nothing for the next 5 months.  He also said, in his own words, that he and club had been working hard to get transfers in so there's nothing 'in his own words' which reinforces the idea that the board decided to give up.  I'm not saying i'm not upset that we didn't get transfers, I just don't like selective quoting.

It does sound as if Remi was surprised by the extent to which we held back on spending though, 'maybe it wasn't as clear when I signed'.

I don't think he'll walk mid-season, but I wouldn't be surprised if things go the same way as under our previous 3 managers They all took restrictions on the chin, tried to work under them, until it was obvious that they couldn't turn things around and their own reputations were suffering.

They then started to give clues in interviews to let it be known their hands were tied. In Sherwoods case more like 'not my fault guv' than clues. But however subtly the point gets made once things reach that stage it's just a matter of time. Last nights interview felt like the start of that process.

[Boz]

He's said in his own words that he thought the changes he wanted to implement would be backed with a couple of transfers. So there's no doubt that he did not agree to hang out the white flag and do fuck all for the next 5 months. You're just kidding yourself if you think otherwise. The trust between him and the board will have taken a massive knock and the trust between the board and fans is at zero.

But that's only true if we hung out the white flag and decided to do nothing for the next 5 months.  He also said, in his own words, that he and club had been working hard to get transfers in so there's nothing 'in his own words' which reinforces the idea that the board decided to give up.  I'm not saying i'm not upset that we didn't get transfers, I just don't like selective quoting.

Depends if you believe that though. There was a tweet from a Telegraph journalist last night who claimed Villa's failure to do any business was down to lack of funds, and Pat Murphy on Radio 5 claimed that we missed out on Khazri because we wouldn't pay the fee.

Just another opportunity for Murphy to have a dig at Villa

[auntiesledd]

You might well be right about the alternatives, but the reason you have given for Garde to stay are some of the very reasons that he'll walk between now & the end of the season.

They are, I'm just hoping there's some strange part of Remi that wants to take on a challenge like this. I don't think it's likely, he'll probably leave in May, I'm just hoping otherwise, he's won me over and I thought he could take us places.

I'd like him to stay too, but I fear the worst now. Let's face it - he'd have to be a borderline mentalist to carry on after witnessing the mangled wreck that Lerner & Co have turned this wonderful football club into. Still, we can but hope.

[postal]

If he goes I guess it will be in the summer and I guess no one wouldnt blame him.

I doubt he will go before then as he seems to have integrity and thats something you can't buy, even if the board were to open the purse.

[andyh]

I read yesterday that when Garde took over we were 4 points from safety.
Now it's 10.

Bearing in mind the opposition in the games we have played under him, that is pretty damn shit.

[paul_e]

He's said in his own words that he thought the changes he wanted to implement would be backed with a couple of transfers. So there's no doubt that he did not agree to hang out the white flag and do fuck all for the next 5 months. You're just kidding yourself if you think otherwise. The trust between him and the board will have taken a massive knock and the trust between the board and fans is at zero.

But that's only true if we hung out the white flag and decided to do nothing for the next 5 months.  He also said, in his own words, that he and club had been working hard to get transfers in so there's nothing 'in his own words' which reinforces the idea that the board decided to give up.  I'm not saying i'm not upset that we didn't get transfers, I just don't like selective quoting.

Depends if you believe that though. There was a tweet from a Telegraph journalist last night who claimed Villa's failure to do any business was down to lack of funds, and Pat Murphy on Radio 5 claimed that we missed out on Khazri because we wouldn't pay the fee.

I guess that depends on if you believe Pat Murphy and John Percy are being fed details like that or not.  That's the point, it's easy to think the board are useless, see no signings and assume it was entirely because the board are useless when in truth there are probably a combination of factors.

They wouldn't fund the transfers. I can go to a car showroom and haggle all day with them over the price but If i'm not prepared to pay the going rate it's all pointless.

That's pure speculation, we know that they agreed to fund Kalinic but we don't know the reasons why any of the others didn't work out.  Khazri we might have baulked at the cost or we might have had problems with something that the player or club wanted as part of the signing.


Django - you may be right about the restrictions but I think the last 3 managers have all had enough funds to do much better than they did, they all either spent it terribly or had no idea what to do with the players once they got them.  That's my underlying issue with blaming the board, the common criticism is that players haven't been replaced but I personally think that is bullshit.  Milner was replaced with Ireland, Young was replaced with Nzogbia, Delph was replaced with Gueye, Benteke was replaced with Gestede (and the 'change' paid for Ayew to replace Weimann as well as Veretout and Traore).  The issue is that the replacements haven't been good enough but only really Gestede for Benteke was clearly a downgrade.  The thing is it's very easy to apply hindsight and blame the board for not providing funds instead of the manager spending the money badly, and the whole thing is fueled by an obsession with net spend, as if it's absolutely impossible to stay still without spending a fortune every window, that shouldn't be required and if over the next 2 years the board work out how to progress without that need to constantly throw more money in then they'll have done their job.

[Chris Jameson]

Just another opportunity for Murphy to have a dig at Villa

I never get that with Murphy, I remember when he criticised Lerner for being so secretive and refusing to give any interviews people were tearing into him on here, he was right though. I've always thought he has a great deal of respect for Aston Villa Football Club but not the clowns in charge.

[Chico Hamilton III]

That's the point, it's easy to think the board are useless, see no signings and assume it was entirely because the board are useless when in truth there are probably a combination of factors.

What other factors could there be? I can't see a single other factor, let alone a combination of factors. Nobody wanted to come to us in January because we have been so piss-poorly run over the last few years that by this transfer window we were already dead an buried. I'd love to blame O'Neill, lambert, Sherwood, McLeish but they didn't appoint themselves to a job which they were clearly not up to.

[not3bad]

I don't think he'll walk.

I don't think he will walk either, but he might boogie.

I guess that would be good news for the board because then we'd have something else to blame it on.

[bertlambshank]

The board should know the going rate for players.They clearly don't.