Gerrard In or Out?

[Brazilian Villain]

The interview lasted 5 or 6 hours apparently.

The lunch at Le Gavroche usually takes about 3 hours.

Given that he will be here for some time Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons would have been more appropriate.

[brontebilly]

Cash and Digne offer more consistent attacking quality than any of our wingers.

Digne hasn't offered anything so far

Nor to be fair have Traore, Bailey or Buendia (when selected in the position he was signed to play, right of a 3).

[paul_e]

Just to confirm, TSM1, arguably our worst manager post war, arrived here with a better pedigree from 'Rangers' than SG has? For those who want to give him the window, presumably based on his past performance?

But with a recent relegation on his CV which should've been the reason to swerve hard.

I want to give him the summer because i don't think you can fully judge a manager with so little experience without letting him have a preseason. A good preseason can be a game changer and, on the other side, teams that have a bad preseason almost inevitably sack the manager before Christmas.

[Rory]

Just to confirm, TSM1, arguably our worst manager post war, arrived here with a better pedigree from 'Rangers' than SG has? For those who want to give him the window, presumably based on his past performance?

I'm no fan of McLeish, but 'worst manager post war' seems a little harsh. There are at least three worse than him since.

[Flin5tone]

If we lose 2/3 more in a row he'll probably be asked to leave. If we end up 15th it will be totally unacceptable

[CT Villan]

Here's the manager list from Wiki, make of it what you will, but there are 2 worse than TSM1 by win % [click to enlarge]...

[Rory]

Here's the manager list from Wiki, make of it what you will, but there are 2 worse than TSM1 by win % [click to enlarge]...

Gerrard doesn't come out of that looking great, but Christ almighty, what a fucking shambles we were 2013-16.

[algy]

Here's the manager list from Wiki, make of it what you will, but there are 2 worse than TSM1 by win % [click to enlarge]...

Gerrard doesn't come out of that looking great, but Christ almighty, what a fucking shambles we were 2013-16.

That only tells half the story though. Going off that, our best 3 post war managers have been Graham Taylor mk.1, Steve Bruce, and Tony Barton.

Certainly wouldn't question the man that won us the European Cup being there, or SGT. But Steve Bruce ...

[rob_bridge]

McNeill was the worse manager. I really hope any manager doesn’t come anywhere near as bad as he McLeosh Lambert Sherwood and one or two others

[robbo1874]

I think Liverpool and Manyoo have truly international appeal - they attract fans who have absolutely no attachment to England or English football. The only continent I have been to where they didn’t seem to penetrate was S America, where local football ruled the roost. No other English club comes close, though I can see Chelsea closing the gap if they maintain their zillionaire funding for another decade.

I agree with BV re Rangers and Celtic. They have incredible networks of supporters clubs across the globe, though in my experience they are drawn from the British and Irish diaspora.

paulie, going on my experience in Aus, I’d say Liverpool are probably out at the front in terms of shirts, car plates etc you see. Probably Man U And Chelsea joint 2nd, followed by Man City / Arsenal joint 4th. Seeing a Villa shirt is pretty rare, so much so, I always say hello to whoever it is wearing it.

[Risso]

Gerrard doesn't come out of that looking great, but Christ almighty, what a fucking shambles we were 2013-16.

He's played so few matches the percentages are a bit meaningless at the moment. Win the next two and he becomes more successful then Smith, Atkinson, Little, Gregory and O'Neill. Win the next 3 and he goes above Ron Saunders (and Steve Bruce!) Lose the next two and he falls below Sherwood.

[Hillbilly]

Did we really sack Jimmy Hogan while he was in hospital with appendicitis? That's shabby in the extreme if true.

[dave.woodhall]

Did we really sack Jimmy Hogan while he was in hospital with appendicitis? That's shabby in the extreme if true.

He left because the club closed down during the war.

[chrisw1]

Now we have Gerrard we have to see it through at least until Christmas, but I'm far from convinced so far.  I just think we should have done much better with the squad we have.  If we don't have the players for his system then there's comes a point when you have to be flexible and play to the strengths we do have.  And if DM is the issue we all seem to think it is then maybe we should have pushed the boat out in Jan rather than spending the money on Coutinho, who I love but may not have been what we needed right here right now.

It's amazing how well Eddie Howe has done with a terrible out of form squad and a handful of signings we probably would have turned our nose up to if Villa had been in for them.  I've thought Newcastle would finish above us for a while now and if they do then Howe probably deserves manager of the season for the turn around.

Maybe Gerrard will come good, tbh there's quite a lot I like about him.  But I am just massively fearful he could turn out to be NWSE's MON and we'll see history repeating itself.

[SamTheMouse]

We need to spend big on three players: a striker, a defensive midfielder, and a centre half.

I reckon we could challenge for a European spot, provided all three are top drawer.