The "what is wrong with this club" part 259 thread.

[Toronto Villa]

As soon as the game starts to turn Westwood disappears into thin air. It's fucking unreal how he remains a starting option across so many managerial changes. I get the fact that we might not have a professional eye so to speak, but fucking hell you could be Steve Wonder and notice how completely inept he is. A complete non entity when you need him to be strong and resolute.

[pauliewalnuts]

As soon as the game starts to turn Westwood disappears into thin air. It's fucking unreal how he remains a starting option across so many managerial changes. I get the fact that we might not have a professional eye so to speak, but fucking hell you could be Steve Wonder and notice how completely inept he is. A complete non entity when you need him to be strong and resolute.

I entirely agree about the disappearing under pressure thing, but I'd add that that is something which seems to have affected our entire midfield for years.

To be fair, though, it's not just him. As a club, we always look like we're looking for an excuse to lose.

On the match thread today, after dominating for 45 minutes and not taking chances, every single fucking one of us just KNEW what was going to happen.

When they equalised, they were bound to get a second. When they went ahead, I'd have bet every single thing I own that we wouldn't have come back. Other sides going 2-1 down with 25 minutes left, you might have thought they had a chance to turn it around but not us, once that happens, we are finished.

It is something which has existed in the club for six years or so now, it is like some sort of defective gene, it just seems impossible to get rid of.

We genuinely have zero chance of promotion until we start to show for a spell of five or six games that we can shake that off. I am just worried that it isn't going to happen. When did we last look convincing for two or three games, let alone five or six?

It is early days thus far still, but I genuinely have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that we are going to get promoted. Assuming we'll just somehow manage it, just "because", as I think we probably all do a bit is just arrogant.

Thus far we've managed to look convincing for 90 minutes against one side, Rotherham, who are most peoples' bet for a side to go down.

We look decent for the odd half here and there, but that is exactly how we looked for much of last season, and look how that panned out.

The club need to wake the fuck up, and quickly.

[Toronto Villa]

Depressingly impossible to disagree with any of that. It's as if the club DNA has been changed completely over the past few years to be as limp and subservient as its previous owner and board.

[PeterWithesShin]

Last time we won a league game after going behind was, by my reckoning, Leicester at home Dec 2014.

[pauliewalnuts]

Depressingly impossible to disagree with any of that. It's as if the club DNA has been changed completely over the past few years to be as limp and subservient as its previous owner and board.

I honestly think we just look like we're looking for an excuse to lose. It's bizarre.

[Damo70]

I just can't believe that after starting the season with a renewed optimism and great support from the fans (we haven't done a Small Heath and deserted in droves after relegation), a new owner, new board, new manager and coaching staff and new players who seem very much good enough for this league, which although a tough league is nowhere near the quality of the Premier League we still seem to be hamstrung by the car crash that was last season.

[Toronto Villa]

Depressingly impossible to disagree with any of that. It's as if the club DNA has been changed completely over the past few years to be as limp and subservient as its previous owner and board.

I honestly think we just look like we're looking for an excuse to lose. It's bizarre.

The very definition of a self fulfilling prophecy. Believe in something enough and it becomes the truth. We almost expect that at some point in every game something bad will happen and it invariably does.

[brian green]

I wonder what happens in our dressing room at half time.  Does the manager shout at them?  Do they shout at each other?  Do they sit hunched up staring at their boots?  What goes on that every game we play we come out in the second half as though they have had their blood sucked out of them by vampires for fifteen minutes?  I defies explanation it is so predictable.  If Allan Evans had been in that team today he would have decked Ayew.

[Duncan Shaw]

Pauliewalnuts you have hit the nail on the head......you need to send that to Dr X/the club

[curiousorange]

I don't like the observation from Di Matteo that we looked like eleven players rather than a team, even though it's true. It's our job to notice that, Roberto; it's your job to notice it AND fix it.

[Des Little]

Until we get the crucial goals when it matters (McCormack at Weds, Ayew v Hudds and Bacuna today) we are inviting teams to punish us. And invariably they do. The reason? No killer instinct, no real desire to win. It's RDMs job to change the mentality, and bloody soon.

[Brend'Watkins]

Any one of us if we had the ability, and the youth would play each game as if our lives depended on it. There is nothing like that in this squal, they all appear and have for some time to be just about doing enough to get by. That has to be reversed. We need players to start loving the club not seeing it as a stepping stone to something they perceive to be better.

[brian green]

In the five live games I have seen this season the only player we have prepared to run and chase until he drops is Rushian Hepburn Murphy and he does not even make the bench.

[SoccerHQ]

Depressingly impossible to disagree with any of that. It's as if the club DNA has been changed completely over the past few years to be as limp and subservient as its previous owner and board.

I honestly think we just look like we're looking for an excuse to lose. It's bizarre.

It shouldn't really like this though with an owner with fresh ideas and who is genuinely committed to the club. The manager is proven at this level so knows what it takes over a 46 game season.

And we've signed proven players at this level.

Struggling to put my finger on it.

I certainly am not demanding us to win every game or win games 5-0 but the lack of goals and squandering of leads is very worrying. At least it's early on in the season though. The warning signs are there, let's hope they're heeded.

[ciggiesnbeer]

Good point. I loathe ManU but they were an example of how team ethos does really matter. How many times back in the day did you think "Its Ferguson's ManU, even though they are 2 goals down with 10 mins to play I expect them to pull it back."?

We seem to be the opposite. I have no idea how to change it, but it has been there for a while. Thinking about it the last time I saw any fight from a Villa manager or team under pressure it was Lamberts triple substituion at the Hawthorns.