Quote from: pauliewalnuts on April 11, 2021, 12:46:41 PMWe are talking about a mid table, maybe top half finish in the premier League as if it's a disappointment When did we last finish top half? Under Houllier? Ten years ago. People seem obsessed with Leeds doing well, but so what. Good luck to them.You could equally concentrate on Arsenal who the last time we were up were a CL side and had won 3 consecutive FA Cups. Now they're below us and having to borrow money from the Bank of England. Even clubs like Southampton have been consistently above us for getting on for a decade. There's lots of ebb and flow and we are on a very clear trajectory.
We are talking about a mid table, maybe top half finish in the premier League as if it's a disappointment When did we last finish top half? Under Houllier? Ten years ago.
Quote from: Ads on April 11, 2021, 12:52:09 PMQuote from: pauliewalnuts on April 11, 2021, 12:46:41 PMWe are talking about a mid table, maybe top half finish in the premier League as if it's a disappointment When did we last finish top half? Under Houllier? Ten years ago. People seem obsessed with Leeds doing well, but so what. Good luck to them.You could equally concentrate on Arsenal who the last time we were up were a CL side and had won 3 consecutive FA Cups. Now they're below us and having to borrow money from the Bank of England. Even clubs like Southampton have been consistently above us for getting on for a decade. There's lots of ebb and flow and we are on a very clear trajectory.I hate Leeds as much as anybody else, and the Bielsa love in. But, one of my best friends is a Leeds fan and he says that he reckons quite a few in that squad are lower Championship/League 1 level. Liam Cooper for example. Stuart Dallas doing what he did yesterday?! I think we’ve got better players than Leeds but we aren’t coached as well as Leeds are and we often look like there’s no real plan. We keep hearing the squad etc. but having a good coach can make a huge difference. I think there are pretty big question marks over Dean Smiths coaching ability and I’m not sure how many other Premier League teams would take him as manager
Quote from: pauliewalnuts on April 11, 2021, 12:46:41 PMWe are talking about a mid table, maybe top half finish in the premier League as if it's a disappointment When did we last finish top half? Under Houllier? Ten years ago. I don't think we're going to finish top half. Maybe we will though, but we haven't yet, so to be comparing it to anybody else is a bit previous.
Quote from: ChicagoLion on April 11, 2021, 01:01:03 PMQuote from: Ads on April 11, 2021, 12:55:54 PMBut it wasn't game management at all. They scored because of an excellent finish and some unhurried closing from Ramsey, in what was an isolated attack that actually brought about a rare save moments prior. Liverpool didn't look like or threaten to score at any point after their equaliser. We hadn't dropped deep, we'd just cocked up an attack ourselves 30 seconds to a minute before.yes playing Ramsey right wing was a great game management.The goal came centrally from a right back drifting off an inside left position (of the pitch). He wasn't Ramsey's man to mark, so his position is irrelevant. I keep asking, but I cannot fathom how you believe "game management" had anything to do with losing.
Quote from: Ads on April 11, 2021, 12:55:54 PMBut it wasn't game management at all. They scored because of an excellent finish and some unhurried closing from Ramsey, in what was an isolated attack that actually brought about a rare save moments prior. Liverpool didn't look like or threaten to score at any point after their equaliser. We hadn't dropped deep, we'd just cocked up an attack ourselves 30 seconds to a minute before.yes playing Ramsey right wing was a great game management.
But it wasn't game management at all. They scored because of an excellent finish and some unhurried closing from Ramsey, in what was an isolated attack that actually brought about a rare save moments prior. Liverpool didn't look like or threaten to score at any point after their equaliser. We hadn't dropped deep, we'd just cocked up an attack ourselves 30 seconds to a minute before.
Think talk of a top 6 finish next season is pretty optimistic.We would have to sign even better than last summer to have a chance of that.This season our backline bar the odd individual error has generally performed out of their skins yet you can't just assume it will be as good next season as we saw in 09/10 and then six months later we have one of worst defences in league even though it was pretty much the same players. This due to injuries, lack of motivation etc.We need far more goal power in final third. You look at Saint Maximn coming on for Newcastle just now and turning a 1-0 into 1-2 in five minutes, we desperately need that type of player aswell as Grealish in the team.Then top 6 is possible but not before. A backup striker DS can actually trust to bring on every game regardless of score or opposition is also very much needed.Would be more than happy with 8th and a very good cup run next season. Lower than that and think ownership will then have decision to make.
Quote from: paul_e on April 11, 2021, 12:06:41 PMQuote from: Ketzster on April 11, 2021, 11:58:03 AMThe problem is is that it isn’t just this season we’ve struggled when Grealish has been out. The evidence for the people that say everything is down to Grealish is growing rather than the other way round. Of course it makes a difference, but I’m not sure that excuses having such long spells of poor form. At times, the way people talk you’d think that Smith is managing under owners who want out and haven’t given him any money. There comes a point where you have to question these long spells of poor form without just keep saying ‘Grealish is out, what can anybody do?’. It’s the recurring nature of the problems that is the issueAs has bene said a number of times yesterday, this season the big drop off in form was the quarantine for covid shutting us down not Jack being out.That doesn't stand up to any sort of scrutiny. Straight after the enforced covid break and until Jack was out, we won 3 out of 7 games, drew 1 and lost 3. Two of the defeats were against Man City, where we were robbed by the ref, and Burnley where we played well and should have 4-0 up at half time. West Ham was the only game we really deserved to lose. Since Jack has been out we've won two out of 8, and haven't played well in any of the games at all, apart from the odd patch.
Quote from: Ketzster on April 11, 2021, 11:58:03 AMThe problem is is that it isn’t just this season we’ve struggled when Grealish has been out. The evidence for the people that say everything is down to Grealish is growing rather than the other way round. Of course it makes a difference, but I’m not sure that excuses having such long spells of poor form. At times, the way people talk you’d think that Smith is managing under owners who want out and haven’t given him any money. There comes a point where you have to question these long spells of poor form without just keep saying ‘Grealish is out, what can anybody do?’. It’s the recurring nature of the problems that is the issueAs has bene said a number of times yesterday, this season the big drop off in form was the quarantine for covid shutting us down not Jack being out.
The problem is is that it isn’t just this season we’ve struggled when Grealish has been out. The evidence for the people that say everything is down to Grealish is growing rather than the other way round. Of course it makes a difference, but I’m not sure that excuses having such long spells of poor form. At times, the way people talk you’d think that Smith is managing under owners who want out and haven’t given him any money. There comes a point where you have to question these long spells of poor form without just keep saying ‘Grealish is out, what can anybody do?’. It’s the recurring nature of the problems that is the issue
Smith was a tactical genius when we tonked Liverpool 7-2.Now he's the village idiot when we lose at their place to a last minute shot with our best player out injured.
Quote from: SaddVillan on April 11, 2021, 02:30:17 PMSmith was a tactical genius when we tonked Liverpool 7-2.Now he's the village idiot when we lose at their place to a last minute shot with our best player out injured.Picking out results good or bad still doesn’t answer the question of why we have the form of a relegation threatened side when we play without GrealishAnd yet most people believe that our squad is far superior to most Other teams down there even without Jack
Quote from: aj2k77 on April 11, 2021, 10:11:51 AMWe've won 4 of the last 17 and scored more than once in just 3 of those. That's shit. Wake up Smith. It's not a ''blip'', that's half a season of results really. 5 very difficult fixtures remaining. He needs to learn how to put a cap on these poor runs we go on. You don't get COVID breaks every year to reevaluate where it's gone wrong. Sometimes he really does look like a rookie manager. He's in his 50's.I guess most teams that finish mid table, say 9th to 12th, have really good runs and really poor runs in a season, it’s why those teams aren’t challenging at the top, but equally arent worried about a relegation fight. I think we just need to take it for what it is, a season of progress compared to last season and then we progress some more next season hopefully. I can understand the obvious frustrations of some on here that we aren’t progressing quick enough. But some of this smacks a bit of privilege and ‘don’t you know we’re Aston Villa’. Outside of the usual suspects of Liverpool, Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Spurs, teams like Leicester and Everton and even West Ham have infested heavily for the years we were ploughing our trade in the championship. All those clubs as well as Wolves, Leeds and Arsenal, have ambitions to be at the top table. I’m not sure where the idea comes from that because we have wealthy owners, we would turn into European certainties in our second season back comes from. There are also a lot of people who seem to have inside knowledge of what the owners are thinking, which is a bit bizarre and in some cases seems like wishful thinking in terms of using this apparent knowledge of the owners next move, to justify the fact that they themselves would quite like the manager out. Pre season I would of took 10th this season, does it feel disappointing that, that will be our likely finishing spot after the excitement of the early months of the season, yes it does. Is it a bad second season back after a decade of shite, not in my book. We have the spine of an excellent team built by this management team. We are another forward, winger and midfield enforcer away from challenging.
We've won 4 of the last 17 and scored more than once in just 3 of those. That's shit. Wake up Smith. It's not a ''blip'', that's half a season of results really. 5 very difficult fixtures remaining. He needs to learn how to put a cap on these poor runs we go on. You don't get COVID breaks every year to reevaluate where it's gone wrong. Sometimes he really does look like a rookie manager. He's in his 50's.