Next Manager Speculation/Hopes

[wince]

I've never gone down the "Offer manager X £Y a year and he'll take it" - if it was that simple every club would do it - but if and when Gerrard goes, forget promising and did all right at Brighton/Bournemouth/Burnley and scour the world for the biggest name going. There has never been a more pressing need for a statement of intent.

This. I’m sick of the did ok at whatever, sick of hearing about the usual suspects. Get a successful gaffer and coaching team in. No projects, no curveballs. Why are we so consistently shit at this?

[cdbearsfan]

Pochettino. No more "he'll do" appointments.

He would never take it in a million years he's ambition is champions league. Similarly for Potter why would he take a high risk job when he's settled at Brighton and likely to be England manager once Southgate messes up at the world cup?

It's this sort of pathetic mindset that sees us appoint shite like Gerrard.

It's not mindset it is realism. When was the last time a non British, champions league manager joined Aston Villa?

It's never happened, that's the problem. We need to sort it out.

We need an appointment that will shake up the rest of football, and the dismally low ambitions of some of our own fans judging by your posts.

[dave.woodhall]

I think our problem is that we're still behaving like a newly-promoted club. Be careful, don't got your hopes up and be grateful if we finish higher than last season. 

[lovejoy]

Your grasp with reality is limited, we can't just click our fingers, throw some money and assume things will happen and you offer no evidence that it would other than blind optimism.

[ozzjim]

I think our problem is that we're still behaving like a newly-promoted club. Be careful, don't got your hopes up and be grateful if we finish higher than last season. 

Yes. We need to change that mentality, but sadly with the start we have had, we are going to be in a full relegation battle all season.

[Chris Smith]

Your grasp with reality is limited, we can't just click our fingers, throw some money and assume things will happen and you offer no evidence that it would other than blind optimism.

There isn’t “evidence” for or against, how could there be?

Our aim should be try for the best available not just assume that we have no chance.

[lovejoy]

Your grasp with reality is limited, we can't just click our fingers, throw some money and assume things will happen and you offer no evidence that it would other than blind optimism.

There isn’t “evidence” for or against, how could there be?

Our aim should be try for the best available not just assume that we have no chance.

Agreed the best available who is willing to come.

[Drummond]

On a positive note I congratulate Drummond on starting this thread. We are already moving on from StevieG. We just need the owners and CEO to catch up

Thanks.

It's just time.

[Diablo]

Leon Bailey's dad - he tweets one hell of a game! And definitely appears to have more tactical acumen than Stevie G.

[Drummond]

I've never gone down the "Offer manager X £Y a year and he'll take it" - if it was that simple every club would do it - but if and when Gerrard goes, forget promising and did all right at Brighton/Bournemouth/Burnley and scour the world for the biggest name going. There has never been a more pressing need for a statement of intent.

Exactly. We are a big club, with ambitious and wealthy owners in the best league in the world. Now is the time to go for it.

[aj2k77]

Leon Bailey's dad - he tweets one hell of a game! And definitely appears to have more tactical acumen than Steven G.

Leon Bailey's dad should shut the fuck up because his son doesn't have the heart for the battle that's needed to win the ball in the Premier League, he hid so much on the pitch last night, world hide and seek champion.

I'd sell him like a shot. Bad attitude, bad vibes.

[cdbearsfan]

Your grasp with reality is limited, we can't just click our fingers, throw some money and assume things will happen and you offer no evidence that it would other than blind optimism.

It isn't blind optimism. It's based on us being one of the biggest and, more importantly, richest clubs in the league that everybody wants to be in. If Everton can appoint Ancelotti we can at least have a good try to get someone of Pochettino's calibre rather than shrugging our shoulders and accepting the next Gerrard/Garde/Sherwood no mark. That approach only means we will be having another new manager thread this time next year.

[Billy Walker]

I think our problem is that we're still behaving like a newly-promoted club. Be careful, don't got your hopes up and be grateful if we finish higher than last season. 

Yes. We need to change that mentality, but sadly with the start we have had, we are going to be in a full relegation battle all season.

Get the right manager in and we'll soon shift up that table.  If we stick with Gerrard in the way we stuck with, say, McLeish, we'll certainly be in a relegation battle all season and the rot will set in.   Everything at the Club is moving in the right direction, all we need is to get the manager call right.  It's a relatively simple fix as far as I can see.   

[rob_bridge]

From Athletic

How Aston Villa’s start has gone so wrong



The most frustrating part of Aston Villa’s dismal start to this season is that, for once, there was no major obstacle in the way.

No departing star player, no shortage of funds, and no difficulty recruiting. If anything, this team was almost ready for lift-off. The early signings gave manager Steven Gerrard and his coaching team plenty of time to work on shape, formation and the development of a winning formula.

But five games into the season, the mood has turned sour. Villa are 19th after losing 2-1 to Arsenal where at least an improved second-half performance gave the struggling side something to build on.

There is no lack of effort or energy or desire but each week there is a new problem.

At the Emirates, it was the missing defensive details. Against West Ham United, it was the lack of creativity. At Bournemouth, it was struggling to deal with set pieces and at Crystal Palace, it was pretty much everything.

Villa have developed a habit of conceding quickly after scoring. It has happened on three different occasions this season and captain John McGinn admits: “We need to be more streetwise,” before conceding: “It is not going to turn overnight.”

Clearly, though, time is of the essence, especially for Gerrard. When asked if he was concerned for his future, he said: “Of course. If I said I wasn’t concerned, you’d look at me as if I was from a different planet.”

So how did it get to this so quickly and where do Villa go from here?

Transfer deadline day is usually a quiet place at Bodymoor Heath because owners Nassef Sawiris, Wes Edens (NSWE) and chief executive Christian Purslow pride themselves on having their business wrapped up long before the late trolley dash.

This year, it is different, partly because the £26million ($30.2m) summer signing Diego Carlos sustained a lengthy injury and now a centre-back replacement is needed.

There is also room for additions in midfield or attack but signing more players for the sake of it will not cure the problems

Whether Villa could have been more ambitious with their summer spending — or if they will complete any unexpected late business today — can be debated at length. The bottom line is that investment in the playing squad over the past three years has been huge and right now they are underperforming.

Villa have lost four of their first five games and are yet to show any clear signs of improvement.

If losing to Arsenal felt bad then that opening-day defeat at Bournemouth now cuts deep. Bournemouth, who sacked head coach Scott Parker this week, have not scored in the four league games that have followed that 2-0 victory over Villa.

Other side stories paint a bleak picture.

There are unhappy players — not so wound up that they are rowing with Gerrard, but more annoyed at not playing or fitting into a system that is not bringing out their best qualities.

Philippe Coutinho is badly out of form. He is yet to score or set up a goal this season and has created just three chances for his team-mates.

John McGinn, given the captaincy for the season, is not that same free spirit and appears to be restricted in midfield and Emi Buendia cannot get going.

Leon Bailey’s father and agent, Craig Butler, has questioned why the winger isn’t starting more often, and says he “didn’t go to England for this”. He played the full 90 minutes at Arsenal and was ineffective.

Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins are still failing to fully work as a partnership; Tyrone Mings has had a difficult stop-start month through injury and illness and the full-backs Matty Cash and Lucas Digne — who have so much attacking emphasis placed upon them — have struggled to find the right balance.

Some insiders believe the coaching is not as detailed as last season when Michael Beale, now the manager of Queens Park Rangers, was providing the instructions. The bad run of form cannot be put down to Beale’s absence, though — Villa won only two of their last 11 games when he was around last season. Gerrard was also thrilled to land Neil Critchley, the Blackpool manager, to take on Beale’s role.

Neither can the loss of Diego Carlos be used as an excuse. Villa are an established Premier League club with big ambitions so the squad should be strong enough to deal with one setback.

It is why there is now anger and despair in the stands.

Supporters are vexed with the predicament and booed the players off the pitch after the last home game.

Criticism of players has become frequent and personal, especially at away games where family members and friends have argued with supporters after hearing remarks that have stepped over the line.

Just last month McGinn, a player with so much previous credit in the bank, was serenaded by supporters in Australia as Villa released their away kit during a pre-season tour. Now he is the subject of intense criticism.

This season has already become a slog and for some, travelling on the road is tedious. Villa have lost four of their past five away games.

It is not much better at home, either. Under Gerrard, Villa have never won back-to-back Premier League games at Villa Park.

With season ticket prices increasing over the summer — the cheapest was pushed up by more than 40 per cent — there is further fuel for the fire when it goes wrong.

It may appear to some outside of the claret and blue bubble that Villa fans are not fully appreciative of what they have. This was a club literally hours away from administration only four years ago and facing a transfer embargo in the Championship. Yet now they boast an expensively-assembled squad, a state-of-the-art performance centre at Bodymoor Heath and soon the North Stand will be rebuilt with a multi-functioning entertainment hub replacing the dated surrounding area of the stadium.

But those at the top at Villa have not been afraid to give themselves the big sell and that is the reason for such lofty expectations.

When Sawiris and Edens celebrated promotion into the Premier League in 2019, they said the “sky is the limit”.

Gerrard himself was telling players over the summer that a top-seven finish was the aim, and Purslow continues to strive towards the aim of becoming at least the “best of the rest” behind Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Purslow clearly stated the reason why he sacked Dean Smith last November after a bad run of form stretching across the calendar year.

“We have not seen the continuous improvement in results, performances and league position which we have all been looking for,” he said in a statement after Smith had picked up 39 points from his 35 Premier League games in 2021.

So supporters are now starting to ask: how long is it before Gerrard is judged on the same metrics?

Villa would have finished ninth if the season had started when Gerrard took over with 27 games remaining.

Add in this season’s results and Villa are 10th in the table based on games starting from November 19, the day Gerrard started.

It does not sound that bad but look at the progress made at Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion, who have kicked on ahead of Villa over the past nine months.

They are well-drilled, well-organised, forward-thinking, and getting closer to becoming a match for the big boys. Villa, meanwhile, are nowhere near that top-six elite, not with their points tally, or in games against them. The defeat at Arsenal showed that in full light because had the home side taken their chances, the winning margin would have been much greater.

Coincidentally, after the September 16 game against Southampton — the club that inflicted the final blow on Smith — Gerrard will have taken charge of 35 games, the same amount as Smith had in his last calendar year at the club.

Gerrard’s record from 32 games is 38 points.

If there’s no sign of “continuous improvement” soon then NSWE and Purslow will have a big decision to make because another season is in danger of slipping away. The next three games are crucial for Gerrard but it might get worse before it gets better — champions Manchester City are up next.

“I don’t think one good result will make everything rosy in the garden,” Gerrard admitted this week.

He also understands why the supporters are booing. “It’s down to us not starting the season really well,” he adds. “It’s a brutal league.”

Finding a fix in the days ahead is the only way this ends well.

It is not so long ago that Gerrard’s words from a champagne-soaked Etihad Stadium on the final game of last season gave supporters so much hope for this season.

Villa had just surrendered a two-goal lead to give Manchester City the title and Gerrard — disappointed that he could not do his old club Liverpool a favour but more importantly record a coming-of-age win for his Villa side — promised better times were around the corner.

“I assure all of them that we will work tirelessly in the coming weeks and months to be better prepared for next season.”

It is not too late to get that going but the clock is ticking.

(Top photo: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

[rob_bridge]

I think our problem is that we're still behaving like a newly-promoted club. Be careful, don't got your hopes up and be grateful if we finish higher than last season. 

Yes. We need to change that mentality, but sadly with the start we have had, we are going to be in a full relegation battle all season.

Get the right manager in and we'll soon shift up that table.  If we stick with Gerrard in the way we stuck with, say, McLeish, we'll certainly be in a relegation battle all season and the rot will set in.   Everything at the Club is moving in the right direction, all we need is to get the manager call right.  It's a relatively simple fix as far as I can see.

We had a much better start under McLeish. Much better.