Christian Purslow - Resigned

[eamonn]

If Beale had aspirations of management, that's something that should have been flagged when Gerrard and his 15-man army of staff came on board.
I presume it was, as there a release clause that QPR had to pay us.

Flux is part of football though, there's only so much you can plan for which means you always need to have the fundamentals in place. If you have a manager who can't/doesn't coach, it's a risk-register flag as you're more highly dependent on how he delegates and to whom.

[Villa in Denmark]

If I was going to give Purslow the benefit of the doubt I'd say he thought he was getting a package deal of Gerrard + Beale for the foreseeable future. Possibly behind the scenes we'd been struggling to attract 'big name' signings and he saw Gerrard as the solution to that, and hoped that overall we'd be better off with better players and a top class tactically astute assistant even if SG was still learning. Then maybe by the time Beale did leave he'd be up to scratch on his own. Unfortunately Beale didn't even make it to pre-season and Gerrard has totally lost the plot both on and off the pitch.

For me the real test of Purslow is what he does right now, the longer it goes on like this the more it does in fact look like a vanity project.

That's fine but it doesn't explain the rancid collapse at the end of last season.  What was it? Two wins in the last 12 both against relegated sides with the QPR manager still pulling the strings?

[Simon Page]

So just because of his name then. Well done Villa. Messi will be retiring soon he can be our next manager.

No, as stated. Do you think they didn't interview him, ask for his views on all things Villa, find out about his coaching staff, look at what he'd done at Rangers and, more important, how he'd done it...?

I didn't think Smith should have been sacked, but I could see why it happened and have zero idea if it would have improved if he'd stayed. I didn't feel any great hope when Gerrard was appointed, but I could see reasons why they went for him and had no idea at the time how it would turn out. What I am certain about is Purslow and the owners didn't wake up one morning last November and decide they fancied spaffing millions away so they could rub shoulders with someone famous.

[caster troy]

If I was going to give Purslow the benefit of the doubt I'd say he thought he was getting a package deal of Gerrard + Beale for the foreseeable future. Possibly behind the scenes we'd been struggling to attract 'big name' signings and he saw Gerrard as the solution to that, and hoped that overall we'd be better off with better players and a top class tactically astute assistant even if SG was still learning. Then maybe by the time Beale did leave he'd be up to scratch on his own. Unfortunately Beale didn't even make it to pre-season and Gerrard has totally lost the plot both on and off the pitch.

For me the real test of Purslow is what he does right now, the longer it goes on like this the more it does in fact look like a vanity project.

That's fine but it doesn't explain the rancid collapse at the end of last season.  What was it? Two wins in the last 12 both against relegated sides with the QPR manager still pulling the strings?

No doubt this is where the 'we need pre-season to fully embed our system' narrative comes in. We'll never know what would have happened, but personally I'm sceptical, I doubt we'd be much better off.

[AV82EC]

So just because of his name then. Well done Villa. Messi will be retiring soon he can be our next manager.

No, as stated. Do you think they didn't interview him, ask for his views on all things Villa, find out about his coaching staff, look at what he'd done at Rangers and, more important, how he'd done it...?

I didn't think Smith should have been sacked, but I could see why it happened and have zero idea if it would have improved if he'd stayed. I didn't feel any great hope when Gerrard was appointed, but I could see reasons why they went for him and had no idea at the time how it would turn out. What I am certain about is Purslow and the owners didn't wake up one morning last November and decide they fancied spaffing millions away so they could rub shoulders with someone famous.

Purslow wouldn’t need to wake up one morning to feel he could rub shoulders with famous footballers, it’s well known he’s a bit of a star fucker and loved the famous by association vibes he gets from it. I don’t know this may all be conjecture bullshit and tomorrows lead article on Popbitch but he was called out on this when he was at Liverpool, has the leopard changed his spots?

[aj2k77]

I couldn't care less what he did at Rangers. It's non league football where you have the ball 70% of the time playing against players on par with Salford City. He may have been a risk worth taking for a team that were looking for the potential next big thing but supposedly we have/had huge financial backing and were targeting Europe, so how would taking a risk on an unproven manager tally with that?

We were awed by his name. How amateurish. We won't be big time again until we start acting it, and appointing managers with no track record isn't acting big time.

[Risso]

So just because of his name then. Well done Villa. Messi will be retiring soon he can be our next manager.

No, as stated. Do you think they didn't interview him, ask for his views on all things Villa, find out about his coaching staff, look at what he'd done at Rangers and, more important, how he'd done it...?

I didn't think Smith should have been sacked, but I could see why it happened and have zero idea if it would have improved if he'd stayed. I didn't feel any great hope when Gerrard was appointed, but I could see reasons why they went for him and had no idea at the time how it would turn out. What I am certain about is Purslow and the owners didn't wake up one morning last November and decide they fancied spaffing millions away so they could rub shoulders with someone famous.

I agree with that, apart from the Smith being sacked bit. I've said before that he was working to a similar structure at Rangers, so could see why they'd go for him. Also, a 'big name' is no guarantee of success, as Benitez at Newcastle, Ancelotti at Everton and Mourinho at Spurs have demonstrated.

[olaftab]

Dawson and Dedoncker are two very worrying players in our thoughts. These are the sort of players at this stage in their career usually signed by clubs in regression. Purslow  needs to tell us something. 

[Dazvillain]

I think that Purslow was so much in the Gerrard corner to acquire him, that if Gerrard does get sacked, then the owners should remove Purslow / lange also

[Toronto Villa]

I think that Purslow was so much in the Gerrard corner to acquire him, that if Gerrard does get sacked, then the owners should remove Purslow / lange also

Why would you get rid if an established football executive and someone like Lange who clearly has contacts across Europe just because of one bad manager hire? You think all Purslow does it pick managers? Who would assume all of the other commercial duties he is involved in. Our owners don't live here.

[ChicagoLion]

If I was going to give Purslow the benefit of the doubt I'd say he thought he was getting a package deal of Gerrard + Beale for the foreseeable future. Possibly behind the scenes we'd been struggling to attract 'big name' signings and he saw Gerrard as the solution to that, and hoped that overall we'd be better off with better players and a top class tactically astute assistant even if SG was still learning.

WE don't need big Name signings, just better than the ones we have got. Repeat.

[LeonW]

I think that Purslow was so much in the Gerrard corner to acquire him, that if Gerrard does get sacked, then the owners should remove Purslow / lange also

Why would you get rid if an established football executive and someone like Lange who clearly has contacts across Europe just because of one bad manager hire? You think all Purslow does it pick managers? Who would assume all of the other commercial duties he is involved in. Our owners don't live here.

One thing worth reiterating is that at the time Gerrard was appointed, Gregg Evans reported that Lange had to be 'convinced' about the appointment.

[ChicagoLion]

I think that Purslow was so much in the Gerrard corner to acquire him, that if Gerrard does get sacked, then the owners should remove Purslow / lange also

Why would you get rid if an established football executive and someone like Lange who clearly has contacts across Europe just because of one bad manager hire? You think all Purslow does it pick managers? Who would assume all of the other commercial duties he is involved in. Our owners don't live here.

Yes, who would make sure the transport links are working and the catering maintains its usual high standard.

[Cliftonville Villlain]

We have completely 180'ed from where we were two years ago. Grealish set us back by about a year but our form has been shocking this last year. The hopes and the feel-good factor that came with the new owners has, in my mind, evaporated because of the bilge being served up on the pitch. And we're now going backwards. The owners can't be happy with this, Gerrard is completely out of his depth, and now doubts about Purslow are growing. All momentum has been lost.

There is a decent squad here. But it needs a decent manager. Quickly. And it's all on you Purslow.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Amen.