Season Tickets - 2022/23

[dave.woodhall]

It's one way of looking at it, and I too wonder how the grand plan looks now.

But another way of looking at it is that for the first time in a long time we're signing players for now, not some mythical utopian period in the future, and finally we have a manager with the cache to push for, and to make it happen.

Which is another thing - the idea that the manager is some great footballing Colossus, when in reality he's still relatively untried.

[Risso]

It's one way of looking at it, and I too wonder how the grand plan looks now.

But another way of looking at it is that for the first time in a long time we're signing players for now, not some mythical utopian period in the future, and finally we have a manager with the cache to push for, and to make it happen.

Which is another thing - the idea that the manager is some great footballing Colossus, when in reality he's still relatively untried.

Where has anybody said he's a footballing colossus? He's got a good name in the industry from his playing days, which for now we're making the most of, and why wouldn't you? I'm sure even he realises that's not going to cut the mustard forever though.

[LeeB]

It's one way of looking at it, and I too wonder how the grand plan looks now.

But another way of looking at it is that for the first time in a long time we're signing players for now, not some mythical utopian period in the future, and finally we have a manager with the cache to push for, and to make it happen.

Which is another thing - the idea that the manager is some great footballing Colossus, when in reality he's still relatively untried.

He was a footballing colossus, it's just the managing side that's untried. But it's hard to deny that his profile (and I'm not a fan of this stuff but it's how the world works now) has seemingly opened us up to another level of player and the club seem in intent on taking advantage of it, which as a fan con only be a good thing.

I'm no apologist, but it seems a bit churlish at the minute to criticise when the club seem to acting the way we've been crying out for for decades

[dave.woodhall]

It's one way of looking at it, and I too wonder how the grand plan looks now.

But another way of looking at it is that for the first time in a long time we're signing players for now, not some mythical utopian period in the future, and finally we have a manager with the cache to push for, and to make it happen.

Which is another thing - the idea that the manager is some great footballing Colossus, when in reality he's still relatively untried.

Where has anybody said he's a footballing colossus? He's got a good name in the industry from his playing days, which for now we're making the most of, and why wouldn't you? I'm sure even he realises that's not going to cut the mustard forever though.

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

[dave.woodhall]

It's one way of looking at it, and I too wonder how the grand plan looks now.

But another way of looking at it is that for the first time in a long time we're signing players for now, not some mythical utopian period in the future, and finally we have a manager with the cache to push for, and to make it happen.

Which is another thing - the idea that the manager is some great footballing Colossus, when in reality he's still relatively untried.

He was a footballing colossus, it's just the managing side that's untried. But it's hard to deny that his profile (and I'm not a fan of this stuff but it's how the world works now) has seemingly opened us up to another level of player and the club seem in intent on taking advantage of it, which as a fan con only be a good thing.

I'm no apologist, but it seems a bit churlish at the minute to criticise when the club seem to acting the way we've been crying out for for decades

But we weren't crying out for it. We've just spent three years saying what we were doing was the right thing, and we didn't want constant change. Now we've got change again and that, supposedly, is what we wanted all along.

[Risso]

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

He'll either do well, or he won't and his successor will have players like Coutinho, Kamara and Digne to work with, plus a cracking youth set up. Doesn't seem like that much of a gamble to be honest.

[dave.woodhall]

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

He'll either do well, or he won't and his successor will have players like Coutinho, Kamara and Digne to work with, plus a cracking youth set up. Doesn't seem like that much of a gamble to be honest.

Unless he doesn't want them, in which case we're back where we started.

[LeeB]

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

He'll either do well, or he won't and his successor will have players like Coutinho, Kamara and Digne to work with, plus a cracking youth set up. Doesn't seem like that much of a gamble to be honest.

Unless he doesn't want them, in which case we're back where we started.

That may or not be the case but the players mentioned are unequivocally of a higher standard than El Ghazi, Marv or Matt Targett, and therefore the likelehood is he'd be less inclined to replace them

[dave.woodhall]

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

He'll either do well, or he won't and his successor will have players like Coutinho, Kamara and Digne to work with, plus a cracking youth set up. Doesn't seem like that much of a gamble to be honest.

Unless he doesn't want them, in which case we're back where we started.

That may or not be the case but the players mentioned are unequivocally of a higher standard than El Ghazi, Marv or Matt Targett, and therefore the likelehood is he'd be less inclined to replace them

You can say the same about every manager by picking his best three and the previous manager's worst.

[Risso]

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

He'll either do well, or he won't and his successor will have players like Coutinho, Kamara and Digne to work with, plus a cracking youth set up. Doesn't seem like that much of a gamble to be honest.

Unless he doesn't want them, in which case we're back where we started.

Well, that's true of every manager at every club ever, and you probably need to be at a club for five years plus not to have any players from a previous manager under you.  The club are backing the manager, and bringing in some very good players. It seems a bit odd that people are trying to turn it into a negative.

[LeeB]

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

He'll either do well, or he won't and his successor will have players like Coutinho, Kamara and Digne to work with, plus a cracking youth set up. Doesn't seem like that much of a gamble to be honest.

Unless he doesn't want them, in which case we're back where we started.

That may or not be the case but the players mentioned are unequivocally of a higher standard than El Ghazi, Marv or Matt Targett, and therefore the likelehood is he'd be less inclined to replace them

You can say the same about every manager by picking his best three and the previous manager's worst.

That was just the players that have effectively been replaced by those in Risso's post though

[dave.woodhall]

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

He'll either do well, or he won't and his successor will have players like Coutinho, Kamara and Digne to work with, plus a cracking youth set up. Doesn't seem like that much of a gamble to be honest.

Unless he doesn't want them, in which case we're back where we started.

Well, that's true of every manager at every club ever, and you probably need to be at a club for five years plus not to have any players from a previous manager under you.  The club are backing the manager, and bringing in some very good players. It seems a bit odd that people are trying to turn it into a negative.

But that was the whiole point - managers might come and go but the system above them remained. Now it's been scrapped and we're starting again. And my whole point, which you can take as a negative, a concern or whatever, is that the whole thing seems to have been done for the benefit of Steven Gerrard. One man in control of whatever he wants. We've been here before.   

[BC54 VFC]

It's one way of looking at it, and I too wonder how the grand plan looks now.

But another way of looking at it is that for the first time in a long time we're signing players for now, not some mythical utopian period in the future, and finally we have a manager with the cache to push for, and to make it happen.

Which is another thing - the idea that the manager is some great footballing Colossus, when in reality he's still relatively untried.

Where has anybody said he's a footballing colossus? He's got a good name in the industry from his playing days, which for now we're making the most of, and why wouldn't you? I'm sure even he realises that's not going to cut the mustard forever though.

I love the way you got the Echo & The Bunnymen reference in there, with Mac being a massive Liverpool fan. BTW, they're supporting The Rolling Stones at Anfield this evening - should be the other way around IMHO.

[Border villan]

Should some of this be on the managers thread, not Season Tickets.

[robbo1874]

There's been a lot of assumption that he's going to be successful, which is where my concern lies. We seem to be gambling the club's medium-term future on an unknown quantity of a manager.

He'll either do well, or he won't and his successor will have players like Coutinho, Kamara and Digne to work with, plus a cracking youth set up. Doesn't seem like that much of a gamble to be honest.

Unless he doesn't want them, in which case we're back where we started.

That may or not be the case but the players mentioned are unequivocally of a higher standard than El Ghazi, Marv or Matt Targett, and therefore the likelehood is he'd be less inclined to replace them

You can say the same about every manager by picking his best three and the previous manager's worst.

from a distace, and I am at a considerable distance, it seems like you may be taking this brummie / Black Country cynical / pessimistic thing to a whole new level. Only a few months back, I was questioning whether we had made the right choice with Gerrard, or if we should bin him and get someone else in, I’ll admit that.

But there just seems to be  a good vibe around the club at the minute. The business we’re doing, a lot of that, it would be hard to argue against, wouldn’t have been done if Gerrard wasn’t the manager. Like it  or not, he’s a massive name  and has massive pull in the game, because he’s still so close to his playing days. Yes , if he  does  fk all in the next 10 years, it diminishes year on year. But let’s maybe look on the positive side for a change, apart from season ticket price increases, what is there really to criticise the club for ? Gerrard would be a big part, I reckon, in that change of culture from a ‘we’re a big club so we’ll be alright’ to a ‘we want to be in Europe, look at what we’re doing to get there’ kind of mindset.

I know it could all come crashing down by Christmas, but I think we need to have a bit of belief too. Villa will always be Villa and mostly do what Villa have always done, but it just seems a bit more of a higher level operation in place to make it happen.

If you look at it coldly, we’re barely into the transfer window opening, so who knows what the fk will happen between now and Deadline day, for us and all the other clubs. Looks a lot better than it has for years and years though.

Time will test, as with all managers. I think Gerrard properly wants to have a crack though and probably backs himself to deliver on European qualification next season.