Re: Manager: Roberto's own thread

[DelboyVilla]

I'd say his last chance is this Tuesday. Unless we get 3 points it's time to sack him. I just can't let that fluke goal from Tshibola cover what was an utter disgraceful match. We didn't deserve a point what so ever.

like newcastles fluke goal??

Can you see what the idea is with regard to how the team is setting up and approaching games? Do you see any pattern, any particular style that marks us out as improving or likely to improve? Because from what I've evidenced the last 2-3 games we look to be regressing. How long do we remain patient with no visible or statistical evidence of improvement? October? Christmas? I don't care what anyone says, the money spent this summer says the chairman expects promotion THIS SEASON. Having thought about this I'm giving RDM 15 games to sort it out, that's 6 more games. There has to be, at the very least, improved points return. I don't expect to see any defeats in the next 6.

That's what concerns me the most too is the apparent change from all out attack to all out defence back to all out attack? there are no settled tactics and we seem to be trying to fit in players out of position rather than looking at how many games we will play this year and rotating/resting people?

I would love to see a couple of games at 442 or even 433 at a push. Rest Ayew and drop Westwood bring back Jack and see how it goes?

[Guest]

I'd say his last chance is this Tuesday. Unless we get 3 points it's time to sack him. I just can't let that fluke goal from Tshibola cover what was an utter disgraceful match. We didn't deserve a point what so ever.

like newcastles fluke goal??

Can you see what the idea is with regard to how the team is setting up and approaching games? Do you see any pattern, any particular style that marks us out as improving or likely to improve? Because from what I've evidenced the last 2-3 games we look to be regressing. How long do we remain patient with no visible or statistical evidence of improvement? October? Christmas? I don't care what anyone says, the money spent this summer says the chairman expects promotion THIS SEASON. Having thought about this I'm giving RDM 15 games to sort it out, that's 6 more games. There has to be, at the very least, improved points return. I don't expect to see any defeats in the next 6.

That's what concerns me the most too is the apparent change from all out attack to all out defence back to all out attack? there are no settled tactics and we seem to be trying to fit in players out of position rather than looking at how many games we will play this year and rotating/resting people?

I would love to see a couple of games at 442 or even 433 at a push. Rest Ayew and drop Westwood bring back Jack and see how it goes?

RDM also has to think about the opposition in regards to how we play

[Thinman]

Just like good players can be out of form, I get the impression that RDM is a good manager out of form.

He can't expect too much leeway though. Tony has stepped up and bought virtually every player that RDM has asked for.

My guess is that if we fail to win either of these two away games then he'll be gone and frankly, I don't think he can complain.

[smetro]

Just like good players can be out of form, I get the impression that RDM is a good manager out of form.

He can't expect too much leeway though. Tony has stepped up and bought virtually every player that RDM has asked for.

My guess is that if we fail to win either of these two away games then he'll be gone and frankly, I don't think he can complain.

Has he ever been any good though ? - Perhaps his season at the albion, but even that he stayed largley with the same squad, and what players he did buy Dan Ashworth had a hand in. Chelsea he managed to a CL win - but again the squas was there for him - the win was on penalties - and it all fell apart pretty quickly the next season. He's never stayed anywhere longer than a season and a bit - hed barley managed in the last 5 years - and had been out of work for over a year when he got the villa job.

Understandably I think XIA was blinded by his CL win. I RDM feels obliged to give all the big money players a starting place - hence we end up McCormack in midfield. The question should be 'is he the right man for us' not can he scramble the odd win here and there to keep us above half way....

[AstonThriller]

Has he ever been any good though ? - Perhaps his season at the albion, but even that he stayed largley with the same squad, and what players he did buy Dan Ashworth had a hand in. Chelsea he managed to a CL win - but again the squas was there for him - the win was on penalties - and it all fell apart pretty quickly the next season. He's never stayed anywhere longer than a season and a bit - hed barley managed in the last 5 years - and had been out of work for over a year when he got the villa job.

Understandably I think XIA was blinded by his CL win. I RDM feels obliged to give all the big money players a starting place - hence we end up McCormack in midfield. The question should be 'is he the right man for us' not can he scramble the odd win here and there to keep us above half way....

I know you've been against him from the start but lets not downplay the blokes record.

1. He got MK dons to the play-offs in his first season and they just missed out on promotion.

2. Went to Albion and got them automatic promotion. Then gave them the best start they'd had in years in the top division. When he was sacked they wasn't even in the relegation zone.

3. Guided Chelsea to the FA cup and Champions league when he took over and the next season had them in the top three, winning around seven out of eleven games in the league. He was sacked because they weren't doing too well in Europe.

4. Goes to Schalke who had finished eleventh in the previous season and guided them to sixth. He was unlucky not to get a champions league spot as they were in the top four for most of the season.

Win Ratio's at each club

MK Dons= 51%
West Brom= 48%
Chelsea= 57%
Schalke= 42%
Overall managerial win ratio= 48%

I think the record speaks for itself and we'd be daft to dump the guy this early. Yes if things look dodgy after these next two games then naturally he will be under pressure but for now I think he should be given time to get on with things.

[Dions_Bald_Head]

The difference between turning out winning teams can sometimes be kickstarted with something slender like luck which breeds confidence. I'm sure Mourinho & Bilic would give you 10 mins about how fickle that magical winning formula feels.

Regardless of tactics, formations & substitutions, results matter most & for me at the moment (crazy as it seems) our results don't warrant a managerial sacking. It doesn't matter if we're surviving by the skin of our teeth, the fact is we're not getting beat (which, after the last couple of seasons, I'm still getting used to) & at the weekend we fought back for a draw.

Whether that's a foundation for something really good or it's a collapse waiting to happen, we'll have to wait & see.

[smetro]

Has he ever been any good though ? - Perhaps his season at the albion, but even that he stayed largley with the same squad, and what players he did buy Dan Ashworth had a hand in. Chelsea he managed to a CL win - but again the squas was there for him - the win was on penalties - and it all fell apart pretty quickly the next season. He's never stayed anywhere longer than a season and a bit - hed barley managed in the last 5 years - and had been out of work for over a year when he got the villa job.

Understandably I think XIA was blinded by his CL win. I RDM feels obliged to give all the big money players a starting place - hence we end up McCormack in midfield. The question should be 'is he the right man for us' not can he scramble the odd win here and there to keep us above half way....

I know you've been against him from the start but lets not downplay the blokes record.

1. He got MK dons to the play-offs in his first season and they just missed out on promotion.

2. Went to Albion and got them automatic promotion. Then gave them the best start they'd had in years in the top division. When he was sacked they wasn't even in the relegation zone.

3. Guided Chelsea to the FA cup and Champions league when he took over and the next season had them in the top three, winning around seven out of eleven games in the league. He was sacked because they weren't doing too well in Europe.

4. Goes to Schalke who had finished eleventh in the previous season and guided them to sixth. He was unlucky not to get a champions league spot as they were in the top four for most of the season.

Win Ratio's at each club

MK Dons= 51%
West Brom= 48%
Chelsea= 57%
Schalke= 42%
Overall managerial win ratio= 48%

I think the record speaks for itself and we'd be daft to dump the guy this early. Yes if things look dodgy after these next two games then naturally he will be under pressure but for now I think he should be given time to get on with things.

I don't mean to downplay his record. But theres nothing there that encourages me that he is the man to turn this around. When has he taken over a struggling club halted the decline, rebuilt the side and made them a force again ? He scarcely lasts a season anywhere before getting sacked - why is that ? If he gets the sack next couple weeks - where next ? - not going to many takers me thinks

There were those who said Remi Garde was never given a chance - but there was nothing in his past record to suggest he could do the job at hand. - The club needed an on /off field overhaul - where's RDM done that before ?. Its early days and he could still shove those words down my throat - but I just don't see it. What might muddy the waters is that a nominal upturn in results will fool some people we are improving - when really we need a dramatic surge up the table.

[AstonThriller]

I don't mean to downplay his record. But theres nothing there that encourages me that he is the man to turn this around. When has he taken over a struggling club halted the decline, rebuilt the side and made them a force again ?  He scarcely lasts a season anywhere before getting sacked - why is that ?  If he gets the sack next couple weeks - where next ? - not going to many takers me thinks

There were those who said Remi Garde was never given a chance - but there was nothing in his past record to suggest he could do the job at hand. - The club needed an on /off field overhaul - where's RDM done that before ?. Its early days and he could still shove those words down my throat - but I just don't see it. What might muddy the waters is that a nominal upturn in results will fool some people we are improving - when really we need a dramatic surge up the table.

David Moyes had done that with distinction at Everton, but look at his current predicament? You claimed Pearson was the manager of our dreams and raved about what he'd done at Leicester and look at him now? Doing something at one club doesn't automatically mean you can do it at the next.

Let me add that the Garde stuff is totally irrelevant when it comes to RDM because Garde had a limited amount of managerial experience and had only been at one club. Roberto on the other hand has managed four different clubs both at the bottom and the top of English football, has managed in the champions league and also in the German league. So his experience vastly outweighs that of Garde.

In closing at MK Dons he managed a full season and then went to Albion, At West Brom he managed a full season and got them promoted, then left midway through the next, At Chelsea he never had a full season due to the circumstances of which he got the job. Then at Schalke he managed a full season and then left on his own terms. so you're wrong to suggest he's "scarcely lasts a season". Honestly it just sounds like you haven't fully looked at the mans record tbh!!. We'll see how he turns out in the end...you've obviously already written him off but I hope the bloke gets some results and doesn't turn back because changing managers so often doesn't do anyone any good imo.

[Trotters]

I wonder if it'll be a case of "a win is a win" or if Xia expects something a lot better than grinding out a result like we're a relegation candidate  (which in my mind we are, given the last 2 performances combined with results thus far).

RDM needs to put out a team that will control the game for the most part and win by a couple of goals. Not a team that's all over the road for a full 45 mins before panicking and throwing everyone forward for a spawny draw.

I think Xia will be loathe to have to re-start his Villa experiment with a new manager and coaching team but I'm sure he'd rather do it prior to the next window than waste an entire season waiting for things to "gel".

We should be seeing signs of progressive improvement game on game but we're just not. I'm not even sure RDM knows what his best XI is let alone formations and tactics.

The next 2 games will be interesting; fail to win and I think even those wanting to give him a chance will shift at least over to the fence and those that are on that fence will certainly get off and move squarely to the RDM-Out side.

Let's hope those last ten minutes at Newcastle was the turning point, eh?

[The Utterer]

I still think he's had horrendous luck with injuries which has made it difficult to get things up to speed as quickly as was hoped but of course that is also falling into the excuses category so hey ho.

I'm not sure whether he is the man to take us up but i also don't think 9 games is enough for us to really know. On the one hand we have just held the league favourites whilst carrying quite a few injuries to key players but on the other we just are not winning games... I'll go with whatever Xia decides at this point in time!

[AstonThriller]

I wonder if it'll be a case of "a win is a win" or if Xia expects something a lot better than grinding out a result like we're a relegation candidate  (which in my mind we are, given the last 2 performances combined with results thus far).

Are you serious Trotter? Even though we're not winning there's not a chance in hell that we look anywhere near a "relegation" candidate imo. Bar Ipswich we could have won all the other games tbh (Even the Toon game when you consider they were hanging on for dear life towards the end) so I can't see how we look like a bottom half side right now. To me we look like a side who just needs a little bit of luck. Only two teams have lost less game than us so far and one of them is top of the table, so we have to put things into perspective my friend.

[smetro]

I don't mean to downplay his record. But theres nothing there that encourages me that he is the man to turn this around. When has he taken over a struggling club halted the decline, rebuilt the side and made them a force again ?  He scarcely lasts a season anywhere before getting sacked - why is that ?  If he gets the sack next couple weeks - where next ? - not going to many takers me thinks

There were those who said Remi Garde was never given a chance - but there was nothing in his past record to suggest he could do the job at hand. - The club needed an on /off field overhaul - where's RDM done that before ?. Its early days and he could still shove those words down my throat - but I just don't see it. What might muddy the waters is that a nominal upturn in results will fool some people we are improving - when really we need a dramatic surge up the table.

David Moyes had done that with distinction at Everton, but look at his current predicament? You claimed Pearson was the manager of our dreams and raved about what he'd done at Leicester and look at him now? Doing something at one club doesn't automatically mean you can do it at the next.

Let me add that the Garde stuff is totally irrelevant when it comes to RDM because Garde had a limited amount of managerial experience and had only been at one club. Roberto on the other hand has managed four different clubs both at the bottom and the top of English football, has managed in the champions league and also in the German league. So his experience vastly outweighs that of Garde.

In closing at MK Dons he managed a full season and then went to Albion, At West Brom he managed a full season and got them promoted, then left midway through the next, At Chelsea he never had a full season due to the circumstances of which he got the job. Then at Schalke he managed a full season and then left on his own terms. so you're wrong to suggest he's "scarcely lasts a season". Honestly it just sounds like you haven't fully looked at the mans record tbh!!. We'll see how he turns out in the end...you've obviously already written him off but I hope the bloke gets some results and doesn't turn back because changing managers so often doesn't do anyone any good imo.

I didn't say that about Pearson at all. I would have preferred him to Di Matteo . But thats gone - Is this thread about me being wrong about that or the merits of current manager RDM ?

Agree that changing managers every few months isn't ideal. But equally when your managers are Sherwood, Garde, calibre then the problem isn't changing them - they were the wrong appointments in the first place.

I will admit to being wrong, and hey Im fickle - if RDM starts winning games - I will like him ! - But so far hes won 1 in 9 !

[DelboyVilla]

I wonder if it'll be a case of "a win is a win" or if Xia expects something a lot better than grinding out a result like we're a relegation candidate  (which in my mind we are, given the last 2 performances combined with results thus far).

Are you serious Trotter? Even though we're not winning there's not a chance in hell that we look anywhere near a "relegation" candidate imo.  Bar Ipswich we could have won all the other games tbh (Even the Toon game when you consider they were hanging on for dear life towards the end) so I can't see how we look like a bottom half side right now. To me we look like a side who just needs a little bit of luck. Only two teams have lost less game than us so far and one of them is top of the table, so we have to put things into perspective my friend.

But most people would be happier if we had lost 2 and won 2 of last 4 games we drew? Our points total would be 4 better and we wouldn't be sitting in 17th? Being a draw specialist not a good position to be in?

[Trotters]

How much longer do we keep saying we should win the next X games before the reality of our situation kicks in?

For the life of me I cannot see a brilliant run to promotion kicking in. Midtable is something I can see us fighting for.

But...If we lose the next two games then, yes, we are definitely relegation candidates in my book.

[AstonThriller]

How much longer do we keep saying we should win the next X games before the reality of our situation kicks in?

For the life of me I cannot see a brilliant run to promotion kicking in. Midtable is something I can see us fighting for.

But...If we lose the next two games then, yes, we are definitely relegation candidates in my book.

Burnley put together a 23 game unbeaten run to win the title after being ten points behind Boro having played a game more than them. Does that team look like it was filled with Golaticos? We've got quality in the side and it can be added to in January. Infact we've probably got more potential to spend big in that window than everyone else in the division tbh, so for me the glass is very much half full than half empty. Even if the worst happens and we lose the next two a play-off spot would be more than gettable under a manager who knows what he's doing in this league.

[Trotters]

I think we're agreeing but maybe I'm not making myself clear. Sorry.

Is this squad relegation material? Not a chance in hell. Look at Norwich who I think were THE worst team to rock up at VP last season. They're top.

Is this team relegation material under RDM?
Let's assume for a minute that we lose the next 2 games (or maybe scratch out a single point) and I can only conclude that we certainly WILL BE relegation candidates. We just can't take any more chances with him.

6 points with good performances and everything changes. But although my heart says we'll win both, the head strongly disagrees.

[AstonThriller]

I think we're agreeing but maybe I'm not making myself clear. Sorry.

Is this squad relegation material? Not a chance in hell. Look at Norwich who I think were THE worst team to rock up at VP last season. They're top.

Is this team relegation material under RDM?
Let's assume for a minute that we lose the next 2 games (or maybe scratch out a single point) and I can only conclude that we certainly WILL BE relegation candidates.  We just can't take any more chances with him.

6 points with good performances and everything changes.  But although my heart says we'll win both, the head strongly disagrees.

Well if we don't win in the next two games he will be gone won't he trotter? And seeing as it will only be eleven games gone I think it's a little premature to even mention the "R" word tbh. One way or another something has to change this week. Win a game and then he's safe, don't win and then I guess it's "potato head" time .

[smetro]

Its RDM's inability to put together a 2-3 winning game run that bothers me. so 'all we have to do is put a run together' - its that he's struggling with. !

[Boldfinger]

How much longer do we keep saying we should win the next X games before the reality of our situation kicks in?

For the life of me I cannot see a brilliant run to promotion kicking in. Midtable is something I can see us fighting for.

But...If we lose the next two games then, yes, we are definitely relegation candidates in my book.

firstly what utter garbage and secondly i cant believe someone ticked the like button - fools.
we are a team in the making and some really good football has been played at times. results will come and we will batter most teams .
patience is needed and stay calm.!

[DelboyVilla]

How much longer do we keep saying we should win the next X games before the reality of our situation kicks in?

For the life of me I cannot see a brilliant run to promotion kicking in. Midtable is something I can see us fighting for.

But...If we lose the next two games then, yes, we are definitely relegation candidates in my book.

firstly what utter garbage and secondly i cant believe someone ticked the like button - fools.
we are a team in the making and some really good football has been played at times. results will come and we will batter most teams .
patience is needed and stay calm.!

I went back and liked Trotts post just because of the arrogant tone to your post!

You sound like a 'we're too good to go down' fanatist to me!!!'

Writing your post like it is an undeniable fact, just for your information they don't give out points for 'really good football'!

[danclare82]

Jim white has said on talk sport that his contact close to Xia had said RDM has time

[Trotters]

180 minutes is time.

[Trotters]

How much longer do we keep saying we should win the next X games before the reality of our situation kicks in?

For the life of me I cannot see a brilliant run to promotion kicking in. Midtable is something I can see us fighting for.

But...If we lose the next two games then, yes, we are definitely relegation candidates in my book.

firstly what utter garbage and secondly i cant believe someone ticked the like button - fools.
we are a team in the making and some really good football has been played at times. results will come and we will batter most teams .
patience is needed and stay calm.!

Boldfinger, in the "Our next 7 games" thread (or whatever it's called, this was your prediction:

im going for 18 - 21 (start to gel)

there's blood on the dance floor!!!!! here we come

Even if we win away for the first time in over a year and even if we string a run of 3 wins in a row together (how long has it been since THAT has happened), we'll still be 5 points shy of your minimum guess. So you have to admit it's been extremely disappointing.

If we do lose the next 2 - and that's as likely as not given our form - we're in trouble. As we saw last season, developing a frail mentality is easy and having teams completely disrespect us has been the norm in a lot of games (at least in the 2nd half).

If RDM is going to be given time and his current for continues, we have problems. Big ones.

But as I said earlier, 2 good wins changes absolutely everything. But, sadly, I'm not confident.

[NARLA24]

Pearson suspended by Derby

[CoE82]

Pearson suspended by Derby

Probably told the players a few home truth's, you look at that derby team and like us should be doing a lot better.

im not a pearson fan, but I like his approach to not putting up with players actually earning there wage, theres way to many that are happy to just coast through games and collect there pay cheque.

we had plenty of them over last 5 years and I believe we still have a fair few now, every team needs a strong manager, but a strong manager needs a strong board around them, you only have to look at SAF, he backed his players up regardless but wouldnt stand for any shit.

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