Garde Needs To Go ...

How about sacking players like Lescott instead

Kevin Mac would be the worst appointment possible - forget it. He's not cut out to be a PL manager and has shown that in the past. It would pile more misery on us, not less.

What's Remi meant to do? If he plays the same team he's criticised, and he is if he tries something different, like tonight.

OK tonight added to the gloom, but it's no worse than our results against Everton for a long time. We actually had 14 shots with 5 on target, best for a bit. It ain't Remi's fault that the team as a whole is crap. I can't see what he can do about it.

He needs to stay until the summer, at which point I hope Hollis will have sorted the club out. We need to get the right players to add to the best of what we've got. Whether that's through Remi or a new manager can wait until then. Believe me, changing manager now will make things a huge lot worse. Remi is not the problem; the state of the club is.

To put Remi's time in charge in persepective, that's the first time since he arrived that we've lost 3 on the trot, a lot better than Sherwood. Considering what he's got to work with that's an achievement. What we're seeing now is pay back time for the club's totally negative approach in January.

Feel for the guy, really do, looks a shadow of the bloke who arrived in November.

Villa were again awful defensively tonight, the mind boggles as to what goes on at Bodymoor Heath.

What a complete and utter shambles.

The last time I saw a happy Villa manager for any length of time was MON. It's a hell of a job under difficult circumstances.

Come to think of it, the managers under Ellis seemed to lose their smile pretty quickly

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In amongst all the carnage at Villa, the thing I find most baffling is Lescott.

How can he go from being one of our 'best' players last season to being a complete chump this season?

Villa desperately needed their senior players to lead by example.

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Most of us feel some sympathy for RG but, I’m afraid, he does need to leave. He was never going to be the solution to our troubles, but, now, he has turned into a major part of the problem.

At this stage, he should have been able to implement his own style of play into the team, whatever shortcomings there may be in the squad. He has been in charge long enough, now, to be held responsible for the results that we are suffering. There has been no improvement under his tenure. We still can’t score goals and we still can’t defend. In fact, we are leaking goals far more frequently than before he took charge.

The squad isn’t brilliant but there’s enough ability in there to compete at this level. There are a number of other Premier League teams with worse squads than ours, yet some of these clubs are thriving and playing good football.

Last night, we played with 3 centre halves against a team who play with one centre forward. It was clear that we had players that did not know who they were supposed to be marking or where they should be playing to affect the game. We can’t blame the board or Sherwood for this. This is down to RG.

Liverpool was the final straw for me. No spirit whatsoever. Heads dropped and where was the manager when he was needed most. Hiding in the dugout, clueless, watching on silently while our team got ripped apart.

What could RG have done differently since he took over? First of all, learn how to defend. Watch Pulis, see how it’s done. Once that’s sorted, confidence obviously increases throughout the team. Players, naturally, express themselves more.

The fact is RG does not have the ability to manage at this level. He is the weakest manager that I have ever seen at our club. He reminds me of Dr Venglos – an amicable guy but completely out of his depth in English football.

The ideal situation would be for Moyes or Pearson to come in, now, and instill some belief into this team before we take on the Championship, next year. This would allow plenty of time for the manager to prepare. We cannot afford to waste games at the start of next season. We need to get out of this losing mentality before the start of next year.

However, realistically, there is no manager (worth having) that will want a relegation on their CV. No decent manager will touch us at the moment, so we’re stuck with RG till the end of the season. There is absolutely no point in recruiting another second rate manager. We need somebody exceptional, and if that means we need to wait to get the right man, then so be it.

Our best hope is that we discretely secure the services of a proper manager, now. The new manager takes over as soon as this season is over, but, in the meantime, he can watch and plan for next season. We will be a more attractive option once we are in the Championship and I think there may be a number of quality managers interested in the opportunity of making a name for themselves. The problem is, do we have anybody at our Club who has the ability to pick the right man? Or will Tom Fox turn to Arsene Wenger for advice, again????

UTV

Express - there has been improvement under Remi. The team is better going forwards, he's improved the defence (bringing back Cissokho, discarded by Tim, helped), and he'd probably have improved the attack if he'd been backed in the transfer window.

He can't do anything about the the stupid errors which are costing us because he simply doesn't have better players (and the injuries and Ayew getting banned haven't helped). The form table of the clubs at the bottom over the last 8 matches is:
Sunderland W2 D3 L3 9 points
Villa W2 D2 L4 8 points
Newcastle W2 D1 L5 7 points
Norwich W0 D1 L6 1 points
We are not doing as badly as claimed; Remi is running neck and neck with Allerdyce and McClaren, both of whom have better resourced squades. It's Norwich who are the disaster by a mile, but you never hear anything about that; I wonder why.

This is a manager who has never been given the backing a new manager should have. I reckon he's done pretty well considering. He now knows the players, he'll know what he needs next season; Give him the support in the summer and the chance to properly make a difference

Strangely I feel both viewpoints are valid...

Garde could have done better and perhaps he should go now for Moyes or even Pearson.

But, to be fair, with some better luck and a bit of backing in January he might have done better.

On balance, if I was the owner, I would now say "Thanks but no thanks" and pay whatever it takes to get the next man in AND back him with money in the summer!