Next Manager Speculation/Hopes

[Proposition Joe]

Sorry to labour the point, but I didn't expect by now to be content with mid-table.

I kind of did. I am too used to things Villa trying simply never going right. Getting billionaire owners *and* being successful is something other clubs do, not Villa. Having a state of the art training ground *and* improving our players is somethibg other clubs do, not Villa. And so on.

[Monty]

It's important to remember - and I've got experience of this as do many others on here I'm sure - that you follow different clubs for different reasons. Aston Villa isn't a town club, it's not even a city club - it's the biggest club in a region with more people than Scotland. It's natural for it to have expectations commensurate with that position.

Hartlepool is a town club that locals will follow for that communal sense, precisely because it's small and tight-knit, and it doesn't matter if they win or not. I'm from Cambridge, I know what that's like: obviously any actual success for Cambridge or Hartlepool would go into the annals of history, but that's not the point. Villa, Everton, Spurs, let alone Arsenal or Man United, they don't deserve success just for existing or anything but it's completely normal that they have different levels of expectation.

[hilts_coolerking]

If it's guarantees that Poch, or Tuchel, want then I don't see why we can't give them to him. What's the point in having absolutely minted owners if they can't or won't step up at a crucial moment?  The difference between getting a Poch and getting someone like, say, Frank is massive and could set us on a whole new path.  It sounds melodramatic but I think this next appointment (assuming they sack Gerrard, and even that doesn't appear to be something they'll do lightly) is perhaps the most crucial in terms of the club's future that we've faced for decades.

[Clark W Griswold]

But in my lifetime Villa have won

1 league title (top flight only)
1 European Cup
4 League Cups
1 UEFA Super Cup

In addition we haveplayed in 2 FA cup finals and 3 further league cup finals.   

We have finished in the top six 13 times.

There are clubs who would kill for that record.  Form is temporary, class is permanent.

And in the last 25 years?

2 losing FA Cup finals

Quite, that's why we need to stop accepting mediocrity. Start by sacking the useless manager and getting somebody amazing in.

This.

I've just explained all of that to my wife and she agrees with you, mate.

I'm sat here in a 49ers jersey, on my 7th beer, ranting away.

I demand escaping the reek of mediocrity that surrounds the Villa.

Villa, 49ers, GNR, Video Game obsession and a taste for a good beer session. It's like looking in a mirror :-)

On the Villa mediocrity of the past 25 years, sorry to split hairs but we did have 2 League Cup final defeats as well, don't forget those!

We're the biggest, best supported club in the whole of the midlands area, a very large geographical area, we're also the most successful. We're one of 5 English clubs to win the European Cup, we're also 5th in the overall table of top flight points ever, and we were one of the founders. It's quite remarkable really how we under achieve so badly, especially in the last 10 years. On top of those points we now have very wealthy owners. The only reason that it would be difficult to realise our potential now is because the competition is so fierce, but there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to attract better than a rookie manager and have a team that can play some open attacking and entertaining football, brushing aside the Leeds's and the Forests away and pushing for European football once again. If Leicester can win a League and FA Cup and West Ham and Wolves can get into Europe i'm damn sure we can.

[Beard82]

Sorry to labour the point, but I didn't expect by now to be content with mid-table.

I kind of did. I am too used to things Villa trying simply never going right. Getting billionaire owners *and* being successful is something other clubs do, not Villa. Having a state of the art training ground *and* improving our players is somethibg other clubs do, not Villa. And so on.

I think the thing is, people want to feel like things are going in the right direction.

CP - fabled continual improvement.  That is a sensible mantra for us and I think most fans would bite your hand off.

The problem is, we haven't had continual improvements.  We have had a few months in the last decade - and there is very little to suggest that will change until we start making better decisions.
 

[olaftab]

It's important to remember - and I've got experience of this as do many others on here I'm sure - that you follow different clubs for different reasons. Aston Villa isn't a town club, it's not even a city club - it's the biggest club in a region with more people than Scotland. It's natural for it to have expectations commensurate with that position.

Tim Vickery, on radio earlier, said just about the same when asked if Pochettino would take the Villa job. He said  this is about working in Birmingham, a massive football hub and a chance to put a big club back on on the footballing map Poch would love that after the chaos of PSG.

[Mister E]

I remember a few years ago listening in to a Radio Five Live phone in. An Arsenal fan phoned in complaining about their lack of recent trophies, Wenger not playing good football, poor European performances, not liking the Emirates...a proper moanfest.
10mins later a fella phoned in replying to Arsenal 'fan' and challenging him to try supporting Hartlepool.

Food for thought.

Yeah, Even Harrogate Town - 10 games without a win - beat Hartlepool last weekend

[Mister E]

Tim Vickery, on radio earlier ... said  this is about working in Birmingham, a massive football hub and a chance to put a big club back on on the footballing map Poch would love that after the chaos of PSG.

This is the sort of thing that apparently drew Bielsa to Leeds, a move which caused much eyebrow-raising amongst all fans and commentators. Sometimes, top managers are drawn to the challenge and the scale of what's in front of them: Pochettino is not seeking to impress other potential employers or needing to parade his expertise - it's all already there for people to see. His pulse would be quickening at the thought of raising a behemoth into a new sphere, one to which it belongs.

[ChicagoLion]

Personally, I don't think there's even a 1% chance that Poch lands here. While I believe it would be a decent fit, I can't see him chomping at the bit to join (what looks to be from the outside) a relegation fight.

I'm more worried about the lack of investment from here on out, considering how much we've spent already in the transfer market. Clubs are going to start circling around Ramsey, Cash, Ollie and Martinez to try and pry them away from a failed rebuild/retooling project and entice them with European football. There is no loyalty in this game, and I'm unsure as to why we are awarding it to Gerrard.

We would not miss 3 of them that badly.

[villadelph]

Personally, I don't think there's even a 1% chance that Poch lands here. While I believe it would be a decent fit, I can't see him chomping at the bit to join (what looks to be from the outside) a relegation fight.

I'm more worried about the lack of investment from here on out, considering how much we've spent already in the transfer market. Clubs are going to start circling around Ramsey, Cash, Ollie and Martinez to try and pry them away from a failed rebuild/retooling project and entice them with European football. There is no loyalty in this game, and I'm unsure as to why we are awarding it to Gerrard.

We would not miss 3 of them that badly.

Recruitment is our achilles heel and sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.

We can't afford to lose three of them, that's insane.

[OCD]

I honestly believe Pochettino would be ideal for us. The way he sets his teams up and he's shown that he will give young players a chance to develop in the first team. With the owner's investment in youth and it being a big part of our strategy, he would be an ideal fit. Gerrard, on the other hand, has shown a reluctance to give many of our younger players a chance. Dean Smith had already brought Ramsey (J) through and had taken his chance when Gerrard arrived. He's not allowed Archer to go out on loan and then not used him. Then had a dig at a journalist over it.

[CT Villan]

I see so many parallels with the Villa when watching 'Welcome to Wrexham'. Obviously we're at different levels within the pyramid but facing many of the same challenges.

Poch is the man, pay him whatever it takes to get him through the door and support him as needed in the transfer market. We have to get somebody of that level, and quickly.

[Rigadon]

If it's guarantees that Poch, or Tuchel, want then I don't see why we can't give them to him. What's the point in having absolutely minted owners if they can't or won't step up at a crucial moment?  The difference between getting a Poch and getting someone like, say, Frank is massive and could set us on a whole new path.  It sounds melodramatic but I think this next appointment (assuming they sack Gerrard, and even that doesn't appear to be something they'll do lightly) is perhaps the most crucial in terms of the club's future that we've faced for decades.

Yes, I agree. The club is at a massive crossroads. 

[eamonn]

I see so many parallels with the Villa when watching 'Welcome to Wrexham'. Obviously we're at different levels within the pyramid but facing many of the same challenges.

Poch is the man, pay him whatever it takes to get him through the door and support him as needed in the transfer market. We have to get somebody of that level, and quickly.

I guess you want Tom Hanks to buy us too, just to Wrexham us up further.

[pauliewalnuts]

If it's guarantees that Poch, or Tuchel, want then I don't see why we can't give them to him. What's the point in having absolutely minted owners if they can't or won't step up at a crucial moment?  The difference between getting a Poch and getting someone like, say, Frank is massive and could set us on a whole new path.  It sounds melodramatic but I think this next appointment (assuming they sack Gerrard, and even that doesn't appear to be something they'll do lightly) is perhaps the most crucial in terms of the club's future that we've faced for decades.

Yes, I agree. The club is at a massive crossroads. 

I agree, too.

Our problem is that every time we find ourselves at a crossroads, we take what we think is the right turning, only to find another crossroads.