The following has been submitted by Bradley Ricketts.
Cheers Bradley!
Well, there it is. Another loss for Aston Villa, and the worst part is that it was again a very poor performance.
I seriously can’t understand how Gerrard can watch this team fall apart and still persist with the same tactics every week, it genuinely fails me. It would honestly not surprise me if Gerrard gets the sack in the next few weeks.
To be honest, no team was any good and no team deserved to win, but if any team deserved the three points it would most certainly be West Ham. Of course, you can’t really directly blame anyone for their goal, but what makes the fans angry is the performance.
I have seen a lot of people slandering John McGinn saying that he should be sold and should be nowhere near the starting eleven, but I actually thought that he was one of the better players on the field, which of course isn’t much of an achievement with our current performances but maybe I would go as far as to say that he played pretty well.
Realistically, though, I couldn’t name a single player who played particularly great today.
On the manager situation, I think the issue is that Gerrard has an ego due to his footballing career and will only listen to himself. In fact, I think he is the reason for the club not doing much business in the window despite the fact that new signings are desperately needed. Personally, I think that he has been constantly repeating to the board that he thinks that the squad his good enough and he does not need anymore new players. Unfortunately, now that he has realised that new players are needed and that the squad is currently not good enough it is too late. The owners are definitely not to blame for this shambles though.
I mean, look at the business being done by other clubs, Newcastle have signed Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad for around £70M, to be honest it is very much overpaying for a striker who has the same amount of goals as Jacob Ramsey in his respective league last season, but at least it shows ambition.
But like I said, I am not blaming the owners at all, they offer the money but it is just not being spent.
My point about Gerrard has been backed up even more as today he has finally come out and said that he wants a few more faces in the door, which is something he insisted was not needed just weeks ago. He has finally realised he’s wrong, but doesn’t want to admit it to the fans and most definitely not to the players. But we can’t really talk about signings at the moment with nothing confirmed, and you can’t even say anything about players we are “set to sign” after we witnessed the club sign and unsign Ismalia Sarr in the space of 24 hours.
Focusing more on the game though, I think if I see another performance like that then I think I will be seriously trying to convince myself to not be Gerrard out. I am a pretty fickle fan myself and can see myself saying Gerrard out if things do not change in the next few weeks.
I think Cameron Archer should definitely be playing more and it’s disgraceful how little time he gets on the pitch, but rumours go round now that he is injured as well. We just can’t have anything nice, can we?
Bailey was good when he came on and should be starting week in week out, that’s if we don’t sell him to Ajax before the window closes. Once again, can’t have anything nice. With every positive there always comes a negative at Villa and it is something that our fanbase has just learnt to live with now, and with the vision of the owners I didn’t think at this stage in the project that I would still be saying that. But again the owners are NOT to blame.
However, apparently we were only just getting promoted in the owners eyes and they thought that it would take three years so who knows what comes next.
Things don’t look any better looking ahead, however, as we face Arsenal and Manchester City in the space of the next five days. Arsenal are on flying form as they have won all of their games and sit top of the Premier League as I am writing this (the first of the midweek fixtures are currently on as I write). We will probably go on to lose that but we do like a win against Arsenal in the past few years so for some reason I am going to throw it out there and say we will win 2-1, but as long as we make it tough I wouldn’t even mind a loss. A 2-1 loss is something I would probably take at this point in time.
I am definitely more worried about Arsenal than I am worried for Man City, but that’s not me saying that we will beat Man City as that is something that never happens. But I’d take 2/6 points from these next 2 fixtures and we would definitely be lucky if that was the outcome to be honest and I would be very pleased with it.
In the current form of the club, I wouldn’t even be mad if we picked up 1 point out of 6 as the teams we are playing against are just another level above to where we are currently at. We will see what happens though, I am very excited for these matches to see how we go as these are the toughest tests so far.
I may sound like such a negative fan, but I love the club and only want the best for Villa like we all do, so I will continue to go to every home game and support the boys like a true, loyal fan. I may turn on players or managers, but I will never turn on the club.
Let’s see how things pan out then, I’ll leave it there. Up The Villa!
My thoughts exactly Adam. We were led to believe that we were building a team to challenge for Europe but through bad decision after bad decision, we are more likely to be playing championship football next season. Our owners have plans in place for a new North stand with increased capacity. That’s long overdue so assuming all goes to plan then we will have a stadium to be proud of. I applaud the owners for keeping our heritage while still making our stadium one of the best there is. However there is a saying that the buck stops at the top and they should take flak for what is happening directly below them with Purslow and Lange making shocking appointments which have stalled and reversed any progress made. Maybe the lack of real spending is down to the spending being allocated on the stadium and infrastructure. Purslow was the cat that got the cream when he brought in Gerrard, a rookie manager but a great player who somehow managed to win the title for Rangers (wow)
Most of us probably want Gerrard out but he won’t be gone unless we lose to Man City, Leicester and Southampton IMO.
Right now we would probably take 17th place based on the downward spiral we are in. I look at all the teams in the league and think that we are one of the worst based on performances so far and it’s a vicious circle we are in with confidence at a low point. It feels like 2015 – 2016 all over again.
Villa, as at todays date, have a total market value that is twice that of Southampton, hence it makes perfect sense that Bednerak would say that Villa are a bigger club than Southampton. Surely until he proves otherwise we reserve our opinions on what sort of man he is.
It’s quite amusing – one hand Southampton fans are annoyed at Bednarek’s comments regarding relative club sizes and on the other they’re happy to see him go.
Whist it might have been better for him not to make the comment, however you measure it, Villa are the ‘bigger’ club.
Rather different, methinks, to Southgate’s similar comments when moving to Middlesbrough 🙂
As to whether the signing of Dendonker and Bednarek improves us defensively might well depend on Gerrard actually developing an effective playing style and learning how to pass that on to the ‘troops’ clearly and succinctly.
Gerry/Hitch
Villa fans know we’re a bigger club than Southampton.
Southampton fans know in their hearts we’re a bigger club than them.
Everyone knows it.
But you just don’t say it because it’s downright disrespectful.
I certainly wouldn’t appreciate it if one of our players moved to Man U and said it about us, for instance.
As for horseface, he just proved himself to be an idiot, something he reinforces all the time as England manager.
As for Dendoncker and Bednarek, why am I thinking of Chambers who Gerrard won’t play?
Was he a player who was signed over Gerrard’s head?
I now suspect so, as they’re similar types of signings; safe and reliable, but that’s about all.
I find myself massively disappointed with this window, but if it’s all been about keeping Gerrard from signing anyone while he’s in the build up to getting the bullet, I’ll live with it.
It is a peculiar idea, but not impossible, that following the rise of West Ham last season the idea of intimidating midfield players being an EPL requirement has become the norm, and Villa were left holding an under size squad, not because they shrunk but because other teams swapped for bigger players.
My impressions of Coutinho, McGinn, Buendia, Luis and so far Ramsey is that they are physically lacking. Because of their creative ability any one of them might do well in the team – so long as either side of him he had harder people to dispossess.
OLL, Gerrard has plenty of holding midfielders – good ones. Play two if needed.
Ramsey is a real athlete, especially for his age. Can burst forward with ease, going past players. Hints of Gascoigne, dare I say. He’s not scared to get stuck in. McGinn always uses his arse when in trouble. Buendia is a battler. Gerrard called him a ‘little warrior’ after Everton away last season. Luiz is now a fully fledged Brazil International and technically strong. The weakest link is Coutinho – physically and mentally. I said it was wrong to sign him because he didn’t earn it. The problem with the others is they don’t like their boss. Ironically, Coutinho should be busting a gut because his pal got hom a cushy number at the Villa so his excuse for being poor is less obvious. I think it’s another Collymore. A sensitive type with hints of depression. Don’t quote me , though.
GERRARD OUT!
BFR, there’s one big problem.
While I loved our midfielder’s efforts against Arse, they are not natural bruisers and when they get stuck in, it makes them seriously reckless, so much so, that both might have seen red on another day.
And giving loads of fouls away, just makes things worse!
Happy to oblige, lads. I’m in the wrong job!!!
With you on that Big Fat Ron, it’s definitely Gerrard who has put us in this situation plus the two idiots above him. Gerrard out.
I think people are looking at the net spend as if the owners aren’t or won’t be willing to spend that money. I take it as a vote of no confidence in SG – that it wasn’t about the money to spend, but he’s had the opportunity already to bring in the choice of personnel in Digne, Coutinho, Carlos (bad luck admittedly), Augustinsson, haven’t exactly set the world alight. Maybe they have the same concerns as us that he’s proven some worrying form in the first team with a group of players who SHOULD be able to perform much much better. To me, it’s a sign that no amount of money right now is going to fix that and they’re waiting to see if he can turn it around before he’s booted out.
Tex, my thoughts exactly.
Get yer tickets here!
ASTON VILLA V LEICESTER CITY!
“CLASH OF THE SHITE ‘UNS” !!!
🙂
That made me nearly spit my tea out!
🙂 🙂
Brilliant Bum Bum
Apparently Forest made a bid for Nakamba.
They were told no, but that he was available on loan.
I don’t understand that.
It’s almost like it was a money motivated, last minute decision.
https://www.nottinghamforest.news/2022/09/02/report-nottingham-forest-made-bid-for-marvelous-nakamba/
Has a player ever scored a hat trick in 3 consecutive matches? You would have to think Haaland couldn’t come up against easier opponents than Villa to try and achieve it. If he’s lucky Konsa will be the one to mark him. I don’t know what the odds are but it is probably worth a punt.
It’s actually been done three times Holte, but never in a “proper” league.
I’d say it’s odds on, although there was talk that he might be rested, as he won’t be needed for this game.
🙁
To take a quote from Frazer from dads Army We are Doomed UTV VTID
I’ve had to turn tv over with Celtic and Rangers as its like watching the Villa game . Rangers being Villa losing 0-3 half time.