Gerrard In or Out?

[RamboandBruno]

I didn't want him because I'd seen nothing that warranted the appointment. I also didn't particularly want Smith but as a mid-table side in the Championship it was always going to be hard to attract a top manager.

Smith though continued to improve us. This season started poorly and I could see why he needed to go. We can all argue about what might have happened had he stayed but we will never know.

Gerrard hasn't convinced me yet. I'll agree that he has spoken well and said the right things. The issue is that following that new manager bounce, we dropped, picked up again for three games and have subsequently gone backwards again.

I hope it's just taking time to settle and that it will come good. Because I like how he's handled the press and questions. We need an upturn though, because I'll be seriously pissed off if we lose an even better player this summer than we did last.

Anyway, there were signs in the 1st half of Spuds. Let's hope we click, because when we do, someone will be on the receiving end!

Smith also suffered a terrible run a couple of months after his new manager bounce, January and February 2019, get drubbed away to Wigan and Swansea and Albion at home. And Smith went on after a really dodgy first premier league season, for a few months at least in 20/21 to have his team play some of the best football we’ve seen perhaps since 95/96.

I loved having Dean in charge and defended him many times on here. I think Ads pointed out that the feeling in the ground was different to on here, the supporters in general hadn’t turned on him. Simplifying it a bit, but that is part of the problem for Gerrard. Some supporters weren’t ready to let Smith go, some can’t stand Gerrard. I thought the first game against Brighton was muted for a nrw managers first game, largely for these factors i feel. Im sure within this there is genuine concern about recent performances.

But its been 5 months, its nothing even in the short term world that is modern football. We generally haven’t been stinking the place out with a bunch of charlatans like 2012-2016, we have decent players, but a decent bunch of whom are probably at that their level, mid table. To push on we need a new spine, CB, DM, centre forward, to compliment the top players we have, Cash, Digne, Coutinhio (if we keep him), Ramsey and hopefully bring the others with potential to get better, Watkins, McGinn etc up to a better level.

Gerrard needs time to do this.

Finally, we’ve been here before with Smith, bit what top manager would come?? Pochetino was touted on here before, its fantasy land to be honest. The only ones looking realistic when Smith got the hook, were European journeyman like Fonseca.

[Chris Smith]

So to summarize:

Purslow is an empty-headed groupie, entirely star-struck by Gerrard. Wes Eden and Nassef Sawiris, who have accomplished nothing of note in life, completely taken in by a charlatan masquerading as a football manager.

Gerrard is done in by every single manager, every time. Just look at how Conte's marrionettes on the field lulled us into a false sense of security by letting themselves be played off the park in the first half. He then came up with a tactical masterclass by telling Son "instead of missing all your chances like Villa's players, score instead" (still swooning from this supreme show of sage advice, which could only have come from one of the absolute top coaches in the world).

Football matches are won solely by the manager. The players on the pitch are an irrelevance.

All good football managers have a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D and switch between these seamlessly, match in, match out, because that is was good managers do. Good managers also abhor a preferred style because what would the value of that be - an ingrained system that players know and understand is clearly a disadvantage and if they don't get it instantly, change it around - and then change it again - because that is what all great managers do.

Gerrard is incapable of learning. Anything. Neither him nor anyone in his team are capable enough to analyse our matches and, if they do, they are clearly not as good at it as everyone else. The only reason he is not changing anything around is because he is too stupid to, as is his entire team. It has nothing to do with what he sees at the training ground, nothing to do with the long-term vision he has of how he wants Villa to play. It is because he just doesn't understand anything about football, nor does his support team.

What seems clear is that some of you take any criticism of Gerrard as a call for him to be sacked and in response overdo the arguments for his performance. It’s akin to faith rather than logic. I was sceptical about his appointment in the first place and he’s done little to change my opinion so far. We’re still too open and susceptible to the counter attack yet he appears stubbornly unwilling to address it. On the flip side at times, like the first half against Spurs, when we it all clicks and it looks great. We’re like the little girl with the curl - when we are good we are very, very good but when we are bad, we are horrid.

That said I am hoping that when he is backed this summer he is able to bring in the players who make the way he wants us to play work and dispels all of the doubts. Until then this argument will rumble on.

[markeeeebeeee2005]

So to summarize:

Purslow is an empty-headed groupie, entirely star-struck by Gerrard. Wes Eden and Nassef Sawiris, who have accomplished nothing of note in life, completely taken in by a charlatan masquerading as a football manager.

Gerrard is done in by every single manager, every time. Just look at how Conte's marrionettes on the field lulled us into a false sense of security by letting themselves be played off the park in the first half. He then came up with a tactical masterclass by telling Son "instead of missing all your chances like Villa's players, score instead" (still swooning from this supreme show of sage advice, which could only have come from one of the absolute top coaches in the world).

Football matches are won solely by the manager. The players on the pitch are an irrelevance.

All good football managers have a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D and switch between these seamlessly, match in, match out, because that is was good managers do. Good managers also abhor a preferred style because what would the value of that be - an ingrained system that players know and understand is clearly a disadvantage and if they don't get it instantly, change it around - and then change it again - because that is what all great managers do.

Gerrard is incapable of learning. Anything. Neither him nor anyone in his team are capable enough to analyse our matches and, if they do, they are clearly not as good at it as everyone else. The only reason he is not changing anything around is because he is too stupid to, as is his entire team. It has nothing to do with what he sees at the training ground, nothing to do with the long-term vision he has of how he wants Villa to play. It is because he just doesn't understand anything about football, nor does his support team.

There’s that straw man again!

[Rigadon]

I think we look decent against teams that are a bit more open, and less so against more compact teams.  He needs to sort that out.

We also make too many stupid mistakes that are punished more often than not and we miss too many clear scoring chances to consistently win or even draw games.  He can only sort that out by buying better players in key positions. 

So while I don't like the current run of results at all, I want to see who he buys in the summer and how we start next season before making my mind up.  I think there could be a top manager in Gerrard - he is a leader, is intelligent in a football context and has a clear way he wants to play - he isn't a 'chancer' in the Shrewood bracket.

[Scott Nielsen]

What seems clear is that some of you take any criticism of Gerrard as a call for him to be sacked and in response overdo the arguments for his performance. It’s akin to faith rather than logic. I was sceptical about his appointment in the first place and he’s done little to change my opinion so far. We’re still too open and susceptible to the counter attack yet he appears stubbornly unwilling to address it. On the flip side at times, like the first half against Spurs, when we it all clicks and it looks great. We’re like the little girl with the curl - when we are good we are very, very good but when we are bad, we are horrid.

That said I am hoping that when he is backed this summer he is able to bring in the players who make the way he wants us to play work and dispels all of the doubts. Until then this argument will rumble on.

Not really. I take no issue with your views on Gerrard. They come across quite balanced. As do several others who offer criticism of him to date. Others, still, not so much.

[Risso]

What seems clear is that some of you take any criticism of Gerrard as a call for him to be sacked and in response overdo the arguments for his performance.

Well duh, this thread was started as "Gerrard Out" until Legion amended it. I don't think anybody has overdone the arguments for his performance, most people are just saying he needs time. He took over an inconsistent group of players, who were doing very badly, and now they're inconsistent still.

[kippaxvilla2]

I feel really guilty now.

[olaftab]

So to summarize:

Purslow is an empty-headed groupie, entirely star-struck by Gerrard. Wes Eden and Nassef Sawiris, who have accomplished nothing of note in life, completely taken in by a charlatan masquerading as a football manager.

Gerrard is done in by every single manager, every time. Just look at how Conte's marrionettes on the field lulled us into a false sense of security by letting themselves be played off the park in the first half. He then came up with a tactical masterclass by telling Son "instead of missing all your chances like Villa's players, score instead" (still swooning from this supreme show of sage advice, which could only have come from one of the absolute top coaches in the world).

Football matches are won solely by the manager. The players on the pitch are an irrelevance.

All good football managers have a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D and switch between these seamlessly, match in, match out, because that is was good managers do. Good managers also abhor a preferred style because what would the value of that be - an ingrained system that players know and understand is clearly a disadvantage and if they don't get it instantly, change it around - and then change it again - because that is what all great managers do.

Gerrard is incapable of learning. Anything. Neither him nor anyone in his team are capable enough to analyse our matches and, if they do, they are clearly not as good at it as everyone else. The only reason he is not changing anything around is because he is too stupid to, as is his entire team. It has nothing to do with what he sees at the training ground, nothing to do with the long-term vision he has of how he wants Villa to play. It is because he just doesn't understand anything about football, nor does his support team.

Yes exactly…thank you.

[olaftab]

I feel really guilty now.

If so delete the topic and it will all go away😀

[kippaxvilla2]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CcIAfKLK6ZG/?igshid=NjY2NjE5MzQ=

[Ads]

Without getting too deeply into the in/out debate, why should Gerrard's name neccesarily attract top players? Are footballers really so shallow that they will turn down the chance of trophes and Europe just because another club's manager was a good player?

We've signed the world's 4th most expensive player because of the manager.

Who WAS the most expensive player but did nothing at Barca or Bayern and probably had very little choice to play regular football at a decent level other than joining us and will only stick with us if he thinks it might harm his chances of making the Brazilian WC squad if he went somewhere else.

Scored 1 in 3 and won the league and Euopean Cup. That's an interesting definition of nothing as people jump through contrived hoops to denigrate. We have the world's 4th most expensive player on our books, a Brazilian international of the flair kind, the sort we dreamed of in 2006 in the post-Ellis world. He's here because of the manager. An uncomfortable truth it seems.

[Scott Nielsen]

Yes exactly…thank you.

I knew you'd write that

[Nunkin1965]

Without getting too deeply into the in/out debate, why should Gerrard's name neccesarily attract top players? Are footballers really so shallow that they will turn down the chance of trophes and Europe just because another club's manager was a good player?

We've signed the world's 4th most expensive player because of the manager.

Who WAS the most expensive player but did nothing at Barca or Bayern and probably had very little choice to play regular football at a decent level other than joining us and will only stick with us if he thinks it might harm his chances of making the Brazilian WC squad if he went somewhere else.

Scored 1 in 3 and won the league and Euopean Cup. That's an interesting definition of nothing as people jump through contrived hoops to denigrate. We have the world's 4th most expensive player on our books, a Brazilian international of the flair kind, the sort we dreamed of in 2006 in the post-Ellis world. He's here because of the manager. An uncomfortable truth it seems.

And how the Villa world has changed regarding manager's bringing their favourites to our club.
Gerrard brings in Coutinho.
It's a bit different to Lambert signing Grant Holt.

[TonyD]

I think the Leicester game will be a good barometer
He will have had two weeks to plan.  Set pieces, formations etc. 

[eamonn]

Their later single Michiko is a lost classic. I believe it was Stanley Victor Collymore's favourite song of 1993 (the band's singer was a huge Forest fan, they may have met).

Not a lost classic in my house, they were one of my favourite bands of my university years, along with the Franks.

Cork-pop!