Dr T has pulled the trigger

[St AustellAVFC]

Anything less than four points from the next two games and I will join the 'want him gone club'. But we're going to win the next games 4-0, 3-0 and all will be good in the world.

[mr underhill]

I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours!

[Chris Smith]

I think getting rid of so many managers over the past 18 months means we have developed a blood lust for sacking. He needs results obviously but the lack of opportunity to play a settled side due to injuries, late signings and Jack the laddishness means he deserves some leeway.

[LeeB]

I think getting rid of so many managers over the past 18 months means we have developed a blood lust for sacking. He needs results obviously but the lack of opportunity to play a settled side due to injuries, late signings and Jack the laddishness means he deserves some leeway.

Chris, that's absolutely the voice of sanity and reason, but for me personally what I have witnessed from us so far seems to back up this uneasy feeling I've had about Di Matteo for some time, namely that he's a charlatan of Sherwood proportions.

I heard him talking about Grealish last week and it really struck me how disconnected he sounded about it all, as though someone was posing the question to Charlie Nicolas on Soccer Saturday and really he doesn't give a toss.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Xia has denied the "win the next 2 matches or you're out" story on Twitter just now. Or at least I think he has.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I don't want him sacked, I want RDM to bloody sort it out.

I think he will though I'm pretty convinced he'll stumble across the solution rather than it being a selection/formation/tactical decision.

[Chris Jameson]

Xia has denied the "win the next 2 matches or you're out" story on Twitter just now. Or at least I think he has.

"As always, the medias knew something I would do that even I myself don't know."

He's made it perfectly clear.

[villadelph]

Xia has denied the "win the next 2 matches or you're out" story on Twitter just now. Or at least I think he has.

"As always, the medias knew something I would do that even I myself don't know."

He's made it perfectly clear.

Crystal. 

[Ads]

Xia has denied the "win the next 2 matches or you're out" story on Twitter just now. Or at least I think he has.

"As always, the medias knew something I would do that even I myself don't know."

He's made it perfectly clear.

Aye, pretty crystal clear. Sounds to me like Percy spoke to somebody well connected and has offered up a personal view that has been masqueraded as Xia's view point.

[Axl Rose]

I don't want him sacked, I want RDM to bloody sort it out.

I think he will though I'm pretty convinced he'll stumble across the solution rather than it being a selection/formation/tactical decision.

I agree wholeheartedly with this Rudy. I like Di Matteo and think he needs more time. Overall I've enjoyed watching us this year. Yes, there have been some crap results and somodd selections, but we have some decent players, have played very well at times and I feel the Newcastle draw at the death could be the catalyst for an upturn in fortunes.

[Ron Manager]

Yes as long as Jordan Ayew stops hitting the woodwork time and time again and starts putting it in the onion bag instead RDM should be ok.

[Dribbler]

I am just staggered that some posters want a change of manager so soon. Having done a complete overhaul of the back room staff do people think that another complete re-organisation is going to be of any beneficial use to the playing staff- especially before the January transfer window? What is needed now is a period of stabalisation  and a period of gluing Aston Villa together again not to throw it once more against the wall. I have seen real signs of recovery and a playing style that will get points on the table. There is a positive spirit at last at Villa Park and my opinion is that self harming newspaper stories which have their sources amongst the fan base undermine the good work that is being done. For sure it might not be at the pace some posters want or expected but AVFC was a very broken entity and the mending of it will take some time.

Totally agree... there's been a massive overhaul and transition at the club over the summer from the top and the owner, down through the chairman and sporting director, the scouting, managing, coaching and fitness staff and ultimately the players. We've got some very good people in too, but to expect all of that to gel and work perfectly straight away is wishful and fanciful thinking that betrays the massive complexity of the changes we have undergone in such a short time and the difficulty of what we are trying to achieve.

There are some very good sides in the championship but despite the resources and infrastructure we've built up over the summer it's going to take a while to build the side we want and get the results we want in terms of both playing style and points.

I'm sure the Dr has set a very clear remit about his expectations at all levels for the club this season, ultimately to get promoted at the first attempt, but i feel we're moving in the right direction. The team are starting to gel at times and gaining more experience of playing together and certain strong partnerships are forming, and we're developing through experience and staring to learn what works and what doesn't. Importantly we're not losing a lot of games, we're not winning a lot either, but solid teams are first forged out of not losing, and then building upon that and winning.

There's some worrying trends: dominating first halves, not taking chances, poor second halves and conceding late, but we're creating chances and have shown what we can do in patches against some very solid sides themselves. Much of this is to do with the fact we're still gelling as a side and building confidence, and just as much i expect that teams see playing us a bit of a cup game, and so put that extra bit more into their games against us, they also know our history and tendency to concede late so gain some psychological belief and motivation from that.

RDM has to be given more time IMO, he could have done better, but he could have done a lot worse, and at this point unless things are significantly broken in terms of relationships and trust with the manager, what we need is a period of stability and refinement of what we have, to allow us the time to get the best out of what we have. I think we have most of the bits of the jigsaw in place, it's just going to take a bit of time to put them all in place and start seeing the picture we want. Ultimately RDM as well as having previous championship promotion under his belt, also has premier league experience and a champions league trophy, and if possible we want that kind of consistency as we hopefully move back up from the championship to the higher echelons of the premier league.

In short... think we need to keep hold of him for a bit longer... anything else would be a bit of a premature ejaculation.

[PeterWithesShin]

How could he have done a lot worse than 9 points and 9 goals in 9 league games and losing to Luton? Especially considering how crap this division is and the squad we have.

[aj2k77]

Well our expectations are so low now that anything other than losing most of our games is considered alright. We aren't good going forward and haven't played great football either, there's only Fulham, Ipswich, Derby and Preston who have scored less.

[Chris Smith]

How could he have done a lot worse than 9 points and 9 goals in 9 league games and losing to Luton? Especially considering how crap this division is and the squad we have.

It could be worse if that 9 points was a true reflection of how we have played, rather than it being skewed by freakish goals conceded and an unerring ability to hit the woodwork. If we had the points our performances had deserved then this thread would probably not exist.