Aston Villa v Hull City Post Match Thread

[Dazvillain]

Automatic gone & play offs gone, here for another season

Im wondering have we settled for that at management and board level already?

The two signings already made this month certainly dont seem the types to come straight into a team.

Elphick, Steer and Green all back from loans and a bunch of players in the last few months of their contracts still involved in the first team.

Has an end of days feel to it.

Grealish's injury was obviously a huge below but Ive been distinctly unimpressed by Smith since then.

We have completely fallen apart.

That is the one bit I can’t understand....all signings from now should be to improve...Hause !?

[passport1]

Nothing will change until we sign at least two quality defenders and two quality midfielders.  But I’m afraid question do have to be asked about both Smith and Terry.  Something stinks about the place again. 

Yes of cource it does but he was a 'please the fans appointment' just like Lambert and  I expect he will be given far more time than his managerial ability deserves. We all saw  how that ended.

[Dazvillain]

Although we don’t like it and don’t want to admit it but with the prima Donna big earners going at end of season and loans , if not some in rest of this month, it’s not going to get better for a long long while .
Can’t afford big earners, lot more dead wood needs to go, there’s little chance we’ll be using high paid loanees .
We’ll end up with squad similar to DS used to like Brentford come this time next year and it’ll be up to him to coach and get results.
While all that change going on and another 3 prem teams get relegated with parachute payments plus those already in championship still with parachutes spending bigger than us being around, there’s an awful lot of rebuilding to do.
I’ve been frustrated with DS the last few weeks thinking if it was Bruce, we’d be throwing more than savoys by now and he’s going the same way, but we’ve got nothing more than we got at the moment .
Pointless slagging current regime at mo we just got to buckle in and enjoy the next 2 or 3 years ride best we can

Edit...oh and btw if Steer or Nyland had played today they would have saved the first goal quite easily . We would have then won the game with a very mediocre performance like most other mid table teams do

LNS< thanks, a good summary of my post ....There is a reason clubs are willing to sell/loan these players payed this much. They are not good enough.

Bring in hungry young players on 15k a week not these donkeys.

[Villafirst]

The time to judge DS is when he gets his own team together. Grealish and Tuanzebe are big losses - as soon as they return I'm sure results will improve. Still a good chance of the play-offs....

[brontebilly]

Can we send bolaise back now

If he is on 70k a week , what a balls up that is.

He's another one who looks as if he is about to retire

no heart or zip about him at all, going through the motions

[AlexAlexCropley]

The time to judge DS is when he gets his own team together. Grealish and Tuanzebe are big losses - as soon as they return I'm sure results will improve. Still a good chance of the play-offs....

Have you seen the tactical meltdown of recent games?

[Ads]

Negatives

A long straight ball and Chester being the wrong side of Martin. Where have we seen that? We're too easy to score against. Hull didn't have to do much at all and indeed didn't, but we gift them two goals and switch off at the death.

There were several opportunities to stop both goals and we didn't take them. Much like the 7 in the box against Wigan for their first.

We've got to defend better. There's no midfield cover and Taylor in particular is such a weak link.

The transition from defence to midfield without Axel is too slow and it makes us easy to defend against.

The crowd booing and adding to the nervousness of the players.

BB was a waste of a shirt. Endeavours with his runs, but lacks quality and doesn't add anything.

Bolasie, poor.

Positives

We upped our tempo and off the ball effort. We kept Hull pinned back and were a lot quicker with the delivery.

We didn't work Marshall, enough, but we got into some good positions and I felt we deserved at least a point.

Good character to come back. Hopefully we take that effort on towards Ipswich, as we need wins and a good clutch on the spin.

442 didn't do us any harm and without a defensive midfielder or Grealish, I would persist with it.

[sickbeggar]

The time to judge DS is when he gets his own team together. Grealish and Tuanzebe are big losses - as soon as they return I'm sure results will improve. Still a good chance of the play-offs....

yep. people need to remember a lot of players are shit or past it. they were shit or past it before DS arrived. I'm not surprised some of them have returned to type. form is temporary, being shit is permanent.

[Damo70]

More two twos than a ballet dancer. Point rescued but rubbish again. Defence and midfield terrible, only rescued by decent attack again. Play offs still in reach but no chance with these losers and big questions about Mr Smith.

Big questions - boy there’s some hyperbole on this thread, there really is. Here’s been here 2 mins, trying to turn round 7/8 seasons of decline - and your questioning him already.

We clearly need to strengthen. Bruce left us with an unbalanced squad that neither he or Smith have been able to get a consistent tune out of. Although once a new man takes over the responsibility for results is down to him, so whilst I wouldn't hammer Smith he has to be held accountable to some extent. We can't be going through the rest of the season blaming Bruce and giving Smith a free pass. I inherited two different difficult jobs in the past but the minute I was in the boss's chair the buck stopped with me and blaming the previous  manager wouldn't wash with my line management.

How much wriggle room do we have regarding any further loans in the transfer window?

[boutrosboutrosgnarly]

Nothing will change until we sign at least two quality defenders and two quality midfielders.  But I’m afraid question do have to be asked about both Smith and Terry.  Something stinks about the place again. 

Yes of cource it does but he was a 'please the fans appointment' just like Lambert and  I expect he will be given far more time than his managerial ability deserves. We all saw  how that ended.

Smith hasn't been here long he may be the answer he may not.I'll reserve judgement on him until he has had a pre-season and has brought some of his own players in.Seems you and some others have already made their minds up.

[garyshawsknee]

The trouble is that he hit the ground running and performances improved over night, we all got carried away and thought it we'd be top 3 in no time. Since Christmas the wheels have fallen off, but he really doesn't have the players to carry out his style, two good attacking full backs and a centre midfielder who can pass well and quickly. If he can't find who he wants in the next two weeks, i guess we will have to sit tight until the summer...ye gods.

[Damo70]

I think there was an element of it being a 'please the fans' appointment. But I think it was more about getting a head coach working with a sporting director set up.

[TonyD]

Nothing will change until we sign at least two quality defenders and two quality midfielders.  But I’m afraid question do have to be asked about both Smith and Terry.  Something stinks about the place again. 
[/quote


Yes of cource it does but he was a 'please the fans appointment' just like Lambert and  I expect he will be given far more time than his managerial ability deserves. We all saw  how that ended.

Smith hasn't been here long he may be the answer he may not.I'll reserve judgement on him until he has had a pre-season and has brought some of his own players in.Seems you and some others have already made their minds up.

I’ve not made my mind up about Smith but I think even losing Jack and Axel doesn’t explain how we have reverted to shit mode.  I think something stinks in this squad of players and if I was Smith I would send all the loans back ,  drop most of the rest and only play those with a genuine attitude to compete. 

[mike]

Bottom line is the results are no better than they were under Bruce, which I have to say I am truly surprised about.

[sickbeggar]

I think its more to do with smith being a no-name. When Bruce took over he started well and then had a shit period during january and i don't remember everyone picking holes in him because it was Steve Bruce. It does worry me that Smith maybe hasn't got the authority to be given time to sort it out.