Anyone starting to get worried?

[Drummond]

I think our position, and the spending to even be there shows just how far behind we are following years of neglect. It's going to take an awful lot more money and time to get us competing.

ouch ....that's  the  reality and it  hurts

It does.

But it's true that we need a project, a plan, and to stick with it through tough times as well as the good.

We were 17th in the Championship a year ago with a load of loan players (the good ones) and old players who were all due to leave. It's a miracle we got promoted to be honest.

We're on the way, just slowly this season. 2 or 3 decent signings and we'll be ok, I really believe it. However, there is certainly a twitchiness there!!!

[villa `cross the mersey]

It's the harsh reality that gets to you ......currently we are not able to beat teams like  Southampton, Sheffield Utd and Bournemouth

[Drummond]

It's the harsh reality that gets to you ......currently we are not able to beat teams like  Southampton, Sheffield Utd and Bournemouth

Out of that lot, the South coast sides ahve been in the top division, safely for years. Sheffield United have a good manager, a stable squad and have built together.

We've just put a bunch of players together not 6 months ago and we should have no expectation of beating anyone. It's shit but it's the truth.

[villa `cross the mersey]

Fair comment ......you are right it is shit
For the likes of  me I can say " I've  seen it all before"
It's my lad and his generation I feel for - he was so upbeat after Wembley and was able to hold his head up living up here
Now the Redshite are on the march again ( we didn't overcelebrate  the  cup win ) and Everton are thinking big
Villa have this knack of bringing us down to earth

[levico]

It’s a bad bad situation but I have to believe that our owners must appreciate how damaging it would be for us to be relegated and will do all they can to make sure it doesn’t happen.

But maybe I’m deluded. We’ll see.

[ktvillan]

I wasn't too worried up to recently because we were generally playing well and had been unlucky with VAR and ref decisions which had costs us a few deserved points. 

I'm worried now, almost resigned.  From about the Wolves game we seem to have gone rapidly downhill (apart from Man Yoo), we don't seem to press, there's little movement, the defence is leaky, the attack shot shy, the midfield is neither covering the defence or providing chances, we're poor in possession and worse without the ball, we're slow all over the pitch and we've got players hiding or going missing.  And Smith shows no sign of knowing how to fix any of it.

[Risso]

I think our position, and the spending to even be there shows just how far behind we are following years of neglect. It's going to take an awful lot more money and time to get us competing.

ouch ....that's  the  reality and it  hurts

It does.

But it's true that we need a project, a plan, and to stick with it through tough times as well as the good.

We were 17th in the Championship a year ago with a load of loan players (the good ones) and old players who were all due to leave. It's a miracle we got promoted to be honest.

We're on the way, just slowly this season. 2 or 3 decent signings and we'll be ok, I really believe it. However, there is certainly a twitchiness there!!!

Sticking with a bad plan is just idiocy though.  It's becomingly increasingly clear that Smith is a Championship level manager with only one way of playing.  His tactics are poor, and his game management really naive.  It's Paul Lambert all over again.

[SoccerHQ]

I think our position, and the spending to even be there shows just how far behind we are following years of neglect. It's going to take an awful lot more money and time to get us competing.

Yeah, I just didn't realise how established the "established teams" are. It's going to take a lot of effort, from all elements of this club, to stay in this division

Most of the established teams have been s*** this season. This is arguably the worst Arsenal and Man. United teams for decades. Spurs were poor and remain hit and miss under Mourinho. Chelsea been better but also inconsistant. You compare those four to their teams when we were trying to get top 4 under MON and there's a huge difference.

Ultimately given all the points they've donated to our relegation rivals so far this season we're going to have to beat a couple of them at VP to stay up imo and from his tactics I don't think DS will be capable of that.

This year has been a freak season. Last year the standard in  the bottom half was really poor, you had Huddersfield and Fulham pretty much relegated at xmas and Cardiff were much poorer than all the sides we're trying to finish above in that area.

I still reckon we'll stay up although I concede it will probably have to mean a managerial change which for me isn't ideal as DS is a manager I've really got behind.

[villa `cross the mersey]

I think our position, and the spending to even be there shows just how far behind we are following years of neglect. It's going to take an awful lot more money and time to get us competing.

ouch ....that's  the  reality and it  hurts

It does.

But it's true that we need a project, a plan, and to stick with it through tough times as well as the good.

We were 17th in the Championship a year ago with a load of loan players (the good ones) and old players who were all due to leave. It's a miracle we got promoted to be honest.

We're on the way, just slowly this season. 2 or 3 decent signings and we'll be ok, I really believe it. However, there is certainly a twitchiness there!!!

Sticking with a bad plan is just idiocy though.  It's becomingly increasingly clear that Smith is a Championship level manager with only one way of playing.  His tactics are poor, and his game management really naive.  It's Paul Lambert all over again.

Nail on head there Risso - he too is beginning  to remind me of Lambert

[Steve67]

I think our position, and the spending to even be there shows just how far behind we are following years of neglect. It's going to take an awful lot more money and time to get us competing.

ouch ....that's  the  reality and it  hurts

It does.

But it's true that we need a project, a plan, and to stick with it through tough times as well as the good.

We were 17th in the Championship a year ago with a load of loan players (the good ones) and old players who were all due to leave. It's a miracle we got promoted to be honest.

We're on the way, just slowly this season. 2 or 3 decent signings and we'll be ok, I really believe it. However, there is certainly a twitchiness there!!!

Sticking with a bad plan is just idiocy though.  It's becomingly increasingly clear that Smith is a Championship level manager with only one way of playing.  His tactics are poor, and his game management really naive.  It's Paul Lambert all over again.

Nail on head there Risso - he too is beginning  to remind me of Lambert

And it now looks like they are going to spend their way out of trouble in January. Massive gamble.  If they eventually sack him, we are back to square one with another load of players that the next bloke won't want.  I hope they know what they are doing!

[Drummond]

That's the thing though, we're trying a system and way of playing and the next manager would be expected to play a similar way...

[pauliewalnuts]

Sheffield United were in an even bigger mess than us not so long ago and they seem to be doing alright.

[Pat McMahon]

I drove back home from London tonight and listened to the Monday night football thing on 5 Live.

Discussing us, Micah Richards said he thinks we will stay up but injuries have hit us hard. Bigged up Jack massively. He seems to have watched a lot of our games this season and reckons we have concentration issues rather than a major weakness ( I think he is wrong on that. Darren Fletcher was on too, and he said Grealish is one of the best ball carriers he has ever played against. Both of them and Rory Ketland Jones (sp?) said that adding an end product has made a massive difference to his game.Jones actually made the valid point that Grealish and Maddison are different players - the ball carrier and the short, zippy pass and move merchant. I can’t believe more people outside Villa Park haven’t noticed this when comparing them.

A valid discussion ensued, started by Fletcher I think, about leaving ourselves too open. Two full backs bombing on with no defensive midfielder filling in is suicide. He says the way to beat us is to suck us in and hit us on the counter with a 2 v 2 scenario. Leicester and Southampton being recent examples of this. He also said we don’t seem to have a player who is suited to the defensive midfielder role. He reckons we should be more pragmatic and sacrifice some style for solidity. If only....

Richards said that the key for Jack to create is to play higher up the pitch, and that was a recurring message at Bodymoor Heath. Stay out of your own half, basically. All three reckoned he would be good enough for a team at the top end of the table.

As an aside I like Fletcher as a pundit. I thought he was underrated as a player and he seems intelligent and pretty articulate. I have no idea how the BBC thought that Clinton Morrison could fulfil a similar role for them.

[Risso]

That's the thing though, we're trying a system and way of playing and the next manager would be expected to play a similar way...

“Sorry Poch, unless you’re prepared to stick rigidly to the previous manager’s 4-3-3 that’s served us so well, there’s no deal.” 😉

[hilts_coolerking]

That's the thing though, we're trying a system and way of playing and the next manager would be expected to play a similar way...

I hope they're not thinking that.  It's the tail wagging the dog.