Remi Garde - Departs Aston Villa

[Pat McMahon]

Under O Neill we didn't suffer too much from injuries. We were also a fit side. Now of course we died on our ass in March, because he only used 14-15 players with any regularity, over the course of a season (watch Leicester in March-April) but still, up until the burnout (which even to the fittest bunch of players you could have, would be inevitable the way O Neill ran them), we lasted the distance in games and played at a high tempo.
Since O Neill left we've been cluster-fucked by injuries. We've been hampered with dire fitness in which, throughout the entire seasons, we've been outfought and outrun and outlasted by the vast majority of our opponents. We've spent 5 years playing like the wheezy kid at school who has to take a 10 minute break half way round an 400 metre lap run.

Our fitness levels still aren't good enough. Our injury record is a joke. I've no idea what our fitness team or medical team are doing. Whatever it is, it's not nearly warranting what they're getting paid.

I completely disagree.  We had some fit players (Milner and Young were the main ones but Gabby at that point would run all day as well) but as a squad I don't think we were at all.  We played a sit deep and counter style which is good if you have 2-3 attacking players like that and it masks how unfit the squad is.  John Terry made the state of squad quite clear by outright stating that their plan was to get to an hour safely and then watch us hit a wall.  That happened a fair few times under mon and not always in March.

Did Terry say this after Gabby scored his last minute goal against Chelsea in September 2007 or after our injury time penalty equaliser on Boxing Day a few months later?

I can think of plenty of late goals under MON ( I haven't even whispered the Goodison goal in case Legion is still awake, though strangely my own favourite was Zat Knight's v Arsenal) but very few since. Terry was just being a twat, which is fair enough as you should always stick to your strengths.

[paul_e]

Under O Neill we didn't suffer too much from injuries. We were also a fit side. Now of course we died on our ass in March, because he only used 14-15 players with any regularity, over the course of a season (watch Leicester in March-April) but still, up until the burnout (which even to the fittest bunch of players you could have, would be inevitable the way O Neill ran them), we lasted the distance in games and played at a high tempo.
Since O Neill left we've been cluster-fucked by injuries. We've been hampered with dire fitness in which, throughout the entire seasons, we've been outfought and outrun and outlasted by the vast majority of our opponents. We've spent 5 years playing like the wheezy kid at school who has to take a 10 minute break half way round an 400 metre lap run.

Our fitness levels still aren't good enough. Our injury record is a joke. I've no idea what our fitness team or medical team are doing. Whatever it is, it's not nearly warranting what they're getting paid.

I completely disagree.  We had some fit players (Milner and Young were the main ones but Gabby at that point would run all day as well) but as a squad I don't think we were at all.  We played a sit deep and counter style which is good if you have 2-3 attacking players like that and it masks how unfit the squad is.  John Terry made the state of squad quite clear by outright stating that their plan was to get to an hour safely and then watch us hit a wall.  That happened a fair few times under mon and not always in March.

Did Terry say this after Gabby scored his last minute goal against Chelsea in September 2007 or after our injury time penalty equaliser on Boxing Day a few months later?

I can think of plenty of late goals under MON ( I haven't even whispered the Goodison goal in case Legion is still awake, though strangely my own favourite was Zat Knight's v Arsenal) but very few since. Terry was just being a twat, which is fair enough as you should always stick to your strengths.

Terry was being a twat, he can't help it, but him being a twat and a couple of examples of late goals doesn't stop it from being true that they we often looked shit for the last 15-20 minutes under mon, if we were in the lead you just knew we'd withdraw deeper and deeper and part of that is a lack of fitness.  If we were chasing the game the examples where we did very little to push for a win are far more common than the examples of us pulling it off, the thing is you remember an injury time winner much better than you remember a game that went flat and we we lost/drew with a whimper.

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

we have had a habit of conceding late goals for quite a long time now, since before the MON era too if my memory serves me right

[RussellC]

I always thought that it was MON's reluctance to rotate his players or even use substitutes willingly, rather than a lack of fitness, that was to blame. Even with players like NRC, Sidwell and Gardner on the bench MON used to let Milner run himself into the ground game-in, game-out, for 90 minutes. And was then surprised when he ran out of steam in March.

[supertom]

I always thought that it was MON's reluctance to rotate his players or even use substitutes willingly, rather than a lack of fitness, that was to blame. Even with players like NRC, Sidwell and Gardner on the bench MON used to let Milner run himself into the ground game-in, game-out, for 90 minutes. And was then surprised when he ran out of steam in March.

Nowadays we're second to everything across the pitch in the vast majority of games from the first to the last minute. You could probably count the amount of games we've really played with a rocket up our jacksies on one hand in the last couple of seasons.

[RussellC]

I always thought that it was MON's reluctance to rotate his players or even use substitutes willingly, rather than a lack of fitness, that was to blame. Even with players like NRC, Sidwell and Gardner on the bench MON used to let Milner run himself into the ground game-in, game-out, for 90 minutes. And was then surprised when he ran out of steam in March.

Nowadays we're second to everything across the pitch in the vast majority of games from the first to the last minute. You could probably count the amount of games we've really played with a rocket up our jacksies on one hand in the last couple of seasons.

True. Last season, when Sherwood came in, I though it was the renewed energy of Delph and Cleverley that played a large part in us staying up. Then Wilkins came in and decided that our midfielder "do too much running during games"?!?

[A Northern Soul]

He seems to have been very damning of the players (lack of) commitment in training this morning, and confirms he will stay to the end of the season. Hmmm.....

[andyh]

https://audioboom.com/boos/4227395-i-have-to-fight-everyday-to-find-the-right-words-to-make-them-committed?utm_campaign=detailpage&utm_content=retweet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

He has an impossible task.
His final comment is damning.

[edgysatsuma89]

I hope the players who aren't committed get named and shamed one day.

[Axl Rose]

I think we can all guess who these players are.
I'd bet my house Gabby, Richards, Guzan, Bacuna are involved as the absolute oxygen stealing ******. And I fucking hate them for it. Disgraceful people.

[VillaAlways]

I hope the players who aren't committed get named and shamed one day.

Or at least don't pick them forSaturday ,stick the under 21's in instead. You can't moan about lack of commitment and then pick the players expecting a different result.

[aj2k77]

Drop those we aren't showing commitment and then we can make our own minds up about them. He doesn't have to publically name and shame them, just drop them and we will know. I think it's pretty obvious on the pitch who a few of them are anyway. What an unprofessional, awful rabble we've clubbed together.

[Mister E]

I hope the players who aren't committed get named and shamed one day.

Or at least don't pick them forSaturday ,stick the under 21's in instead. You can't moan about lack of commitment and then pick the players expecting a different result.

Bang on.

[Diablo]

Drop those we aren't showing commitment and then we can make our own minds up about them. He doesn't have to publically name and shame them, just drop them and we will know. I think it's pretty obvious on the pitch who a few of them are anyway. What an unprofessional, awful rabble we've clubbed together.

Unprofessional, awful rabble pretty much nails it.
I agree. Drop them and play the reserves, U21's in fact anyone who at least puts effort in. As he says in that interview effort is the starting minimum for a professional footballer before confidence and although he doesn't say it (even ability).

[ozzjim]

I think part of him thinks he is protecting the kids and this lot deserve the humiliation of being beaten every week.

Gabby and Richards would be my best guess as ring leaders. I hope someone like Grealish is not in that group he refers to though.

Never seen a squad need such a huge broom before next season.