There was renewed vigour going into the Tottenham Hotspur match, having been buoyed that we had secured the services of former Lyon Manager Remi Garde as successor to Tim Sherwood.

The game at White Hart Lane presented a tough fixture as Spurs, if lacking in individual brilliance, looked fit, nimble, strong and skillful in their previous game against fellow strugglers Bournemouth, netting 5 times.

A late consolation goal in the Capital One Cup at Southampton, albeit a penalty and the weekend’s results going our way provided a small yet timely boost for the claret and blues. There was underlying optimism based on the assumption that surely we couldn’t keep losing.

The night however was one of unmitigated failure.

MacDonald’s unfathomable team selection, tactics and substitutions provided an unthinkable continuance of previous inadequacies. These by and large have been responsible for the clubs worst start to a season, firmly rooting us to the foot of the table.

MacDonald chose to start with the same group of players that had barely clung on to Premier League survival last season – the only new addition to the group from this Summer’s recruitment being Joleon Lescott. His reasons for not selecting Gana and Traore was that they were ‘fatigued’ – how ironic that he should use a French word to describe their condition.

So no points and an exit from the League Cup under MacDonald’s temporary stewardship – what a sad veil has been cast over his long Aston Villa service.

The evening encapsulated everything that was wrong with the current state of our club and Garde was there to witness it at first hand with us. He has a massive job on his hands.

It will be fascinating to see the team selection for his first game in charge, Sunday’s visit of leaders Manchester City. The club need him to make a good start but hopefully over time see him introduce his own methods and in January make some important signings.

Comments 112

  1. morning Matt

    couldn’t be more excited if I tried 🙂 Hopefully we will see an end to poorly thought out strategy and team selection.

    Difficult to say what Remi will do without evidence of his work/ideas. One thing must be certain, Gil and Ayew must start as a minimum. you could easily add, Richards, Gueye and Amavi to that list.

  2. Good moaning all,
    Totally accurate leader Matt, imo. McDonalds tenure has no positives except to show Monsieur Garde how crepe the British players are at VP.
    I sense a slight renewal of enthusiasm in Lerners remarks, possibly new investment in January and maybe even a visit in the near future. At least the bloke accepts that we are “way behind” but why wait until the situation has reached disaster proportions before doing anything ?
    I’m fairly confident that Garde will save us from the drop because basicall his record suggests that we have a manager that knows his arse from his elbow unlike the other Lerner appointments.

  3. One point I’d like to make is given the right service Ayew could well be our tekkers replacement on the goal quota front. come January a new keeper unless Guzan revives himself, a right back and the next Marshall that Garde has secreted in his back pocket 🙂

  4. Hugo Lloris

    Lloris, though, believes that Garde will turn their fortunes around.

    “He is a great man and a great manager,” the Daily Star quotes Lloris as saying. “I know him very well and it’s only positive about him. Tactically he’s going to bring his knowledge and he has proper experience as a player with Arsenal. “I think he really wanted to join the Premier League and I think Aston Villa is a big club and a big opportunity for him. I’m sure he will show how he’s able to do.”

  5. Well I wish RG all the luck in the world because he is going to need it dealing with our moneyball experts, Fox and Lerner, blimey I do not envy that task ahead of him and then there is the small job of trying to keep us up.

    As for Kmac who I always respected until the other night when his team selection made me feel physically sick, he needs to go along with Parks and anyone else who cannot see what Garde will be trying to do, hopefully we will see some structure to the side, a solid defensive base with a real attacking edge.

    As for players who are tired please do not get me started, we are only a dozen games in so how fatigue can play a part I have no idea, perhaps Traore is getting concerned about his massive pay rise for playing ten games Christ on a bike Villa Park is imploding.

    RGSAVFC

  6. All quiet on the recent fresh takeover talk. That is my main hope. It’s funny how a new manager brings fresh hope. We are prob saying the same things that we were saying when tim and lambert got hired.

    There is no doubt to me we are down. Someone somewhere said we will have to find form that we have not had in 6 years to get to 40 points! No chance with a side littered with mistakes and no goals.

    1 Learner out
    2 give Garde time to build in the championship

  7. A sobering article from Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail (dont know how to link it)!

    Id like to see below for the rest of the season and hopefully enjoy watching us for once

    Guzan
    Richards Okore Clarke Amavi
    Vertout Gana
    Adama Gill Sinclair
    Ayew

  8. Remi Garde is showing he’s a class act.

    When he was appointed most commentators just saw French players – French manager = perform better .

    Remi has shown already it’s not that simplistic and we are not going to become Lyon Mark 2.

    He sees the bigger picture and our success depends on those French players becoming members of an English team and integrating properly .

    There have been press reports of divisions between the French , English and Spanish speaking (didn’t know we had any Spanish ?) in the AV dressing room.

    We said at the outset that the new foreign players had to be integrated sensitively and effort made to prevent groups forming . Yes you are going to naturally want to speak with ppl speaking your own language but how much effort has been made to accommodate and welcome our new lads ?

    Stan Collymore wrote recently that he saw Bacuna at Bham airport , flying back to Holland just 7 hours after the defeat to Saints . Stan says this is the pattern , the foreign players don’t stick around but jet off to their respective home towns – at every opportunity . I don’t blame them , but wonder what AV is doing to encourage them to stay and form better relationships .

    Newcastle ‘s divisions with the French and English players were well documented – with French being the language of the dressing room. Their lack of fight and team spirit was put down to the “them and us” contingent in the dressing room. They lacked the “we will fight as a team” ethos when the chips were down

    Did AV learn from the mistakes of Newcastle when they brought in new French players or did they just leave them to get on with it.

    So it is with relief to see that Remi has identified this problem within days of arriving and is setting down rules and framework to help our players gel

    http://aggbot.com/Aston-Villa-News/article/2655833

    “New Aston Villa boss Remi Garde will not be speaking French in the dressing room”
    – and he won’t allow French to be spoken between the players in the dressing room saying they are not in France any more that is over . They have to learn English .

    He has already identified the split groups and will be working on this challenge .

    So if the French players thought they were going to get an easy ride under Remi they were wrong . I guess it is easier for him to insist on English being spoken as he’s French and encountered the language issue when he played at Arsenal.

    Again , he is their role model and the feeling is “if I can do it so can you “. He has excellent experience as Wenger’s “assistant” and gelling the French and English players at Arsenal .

    He’s also said that he will be picking teams on who performs best not on nationality . Time for them all to step up and show him what they can do . 10 out of 10 to Remi.

  9. I certainly wasn’t saying this when TimmSherwood or Lambert was appointed . I think Remi is more intelligent and has a more professional air about him. I just hope the fans give him time and don’t expect too much too soon .

  10. Jen i think gabby as club captain says it all about tims ideas on integration. I said many times communication could be a problem especially in their age group. Tim was so short sighted, surely using senderos who speaks 5 languages would of been a no brainer.
    Sanchez, traore, costa, spanish and one portuguese lad from liverpool.

  11. From what ive seen there is not much RG hasnt got as a manager. Straight away he commands respect not just for his career but for his calm personna.

    Watch out match day though he goes from wenger to fergie in a blink

  12. Also think he gets Aston Villa and our illustrious past, I think he wants to be the man who restires that pride and place in footbal to us.

    Good news for JL might be a chapter worth writing.

  13. Not only Senderos but how about giving Nzogbja responsibility as the most senior French player in the squad for helping the new players .

    It’s good to see Remi isn’t frightened to make unpopular decisions . The “only English in the dressing room ” may annoy some of them who aren’t speaking Engkish but Remi has experience at Arsenal .

    I think maybe the French players thought they were quids in with his appointment and the Brits thinking oh no . He is showing team first and you’re all at an English club – and what I say goes !

  14. Mark – I think Tim went for the popular choices – and mistakenly thought Gabby a fans favourite whereas in fact he divides opinion . I feel sorry for Gabby – he gets a lot of criticism and GNev and Cara taking the pee out of him and giggling like six year olds was unprofessional.
    Maybe a better new role would be for a senior foreign player to take on “new player relations officer ” .

  15. jen,
    There’s a woman at VP, Laura i think, who can speak several languages and sorts out schools, housing etc for the players and their wives, heard good reports about her. she was appointed after the Angel debacle which nearly saw him and his family depart early.

  16. Steamer- does she frequent the changing room? 😉

    The speaking English is something Wenger insisted on I believe? Makes sense on loads of levels. The French lads have to learn English which will help them over here to settle. It stops the inevitable ” what’s he saying” thoughts we all have when a group of foreigners are laughing in your vicinity. The Brits have to do their part promoting Unity.

    Better than planting Senderos/Nzogbia in there midst so nobody trusts them. I’m guessing RG must have met similar resistance at Arsenal and overcame it, a testimony to his personality and ability to communicate. Could easily have been seen as a nark but was interested only in the teams welfare ultimately and people respect that.

  17. Ultimately its the kind of detail he will bring to the Club on all levels I hope, a million miles away from any manager we have had for years, open and demonstrating intelligence and strategy.

  18. Hello all Lifers.I am writing this without having read the comments above,so apologies in advance if I am repeating other Lifers comments.

    Pleased with Remi.Why?Well,we have broken the cycle of UK/Irish coaches or managers.A collection of overpaid,under qualified monkey droppings IMO.Sorry if this offends……..no I take that back,I`m not.Now at last we might have a chance of becoming a 21st century club,with a different ethos .Yes,there is a lot of foreign monkey droppings about too,but I am feeling positive to a degree about the new gaffer,even if he has to drag us out of the Championship.

  19. Thanks Steamer,I am back on really,in a futile attempt to collect all the 20 quids I am owed,ever the optimist,but keep it just between me and you.

    In all seriousness,though,I just hope that at least in the say,next 15 years,we will never see an Allerdyce,Sherwood,McLeish,McClaren,Curbishley,Moyes as manager at AVFC.Limited coaching ability,an over reliance on sweat and graft,all part of the old boys coaching network who conduct their job applications through their mates in the media.I acknowledge there are plenty of dud foreign managers too but after the experience of the past 8 years or so lets embrace a truly continental approach and flush the UK footie mentality down the gurgler where it belongs.Remi may not work out,but at least he has some experience,is respected,appears to have both integrity and humility.

  20. hello B6B- good to see you on Here, couple of things have changed there’s a£20 rejoining Fee all cheques made out to Marks offshore retirement fund Thank’s its also 1p a word automatically taken from that moth eaten purse you carry about.

    looks like we have someone we can all get behind and not in a larry grayson manner.

  21. Driving back to hear Durham on the talk shite drive saying Remi’s ban on speaking French in the dressing room is a heads gone .

    Shows how little these pundits know about team spirit and communication . Of course Remi is right – they’re in England at an English club with English being the language spoken in the club. Of course it’s going to promote cliques if they are speaking French in the dressing room. It’s not like Remi has banned them from ever speaking French again or even outside the dressing room is it.
    Obviously we should go the Newcastle route and have a French speaking dressing room To promote a team of self interested individuals who Don’t give a damn about each other
    As Mark said , does Wenger have a French speaking dressing room . When Clive Woodward won the World Cup one of his rules for success was to have a tight knit team who would “die for each other “.

  22. Steamer wrote:
    “I’m fairly confident that Garde will save us from the drop because basicall his record suggests that we have a manager that knows his arse from his elbow unlike the other Lerner appointments.”

    Hear, hear Steamer! I appreciate your cautious optimism, and I second it. Though I originally wanted us to make a strong push for Moyes, I am one who is also becoming more impressed with our newest Frenchman.

    As to our current glum despair due to our point total at the moment: yes, we all recognize that this could be the year we take the drop; however, just remember how woeful, bereft, and adrift Leicester were all the way through last season until late January. No one believed that they had any shot of surviving … yet they did — and we might, too!

  23. B6B
    you got a nerve asking about £20 s , me and Runtins are still trying to work out how you shafted us at the semi last season and how l fell for it at the final too , you’d do James Bond over and he wouldnt realise it .
    if you listen to Talkshite then thats your own fault , no sympathy here,
    and all this talk about whether the dressing room will be English or French spoken , l really cant see any problem , now l think Steamer and SWW (main Culprit) would back me up . At Sporting Broadway FC we never had any of these problems on a sunday morning as the language spoken would be “BOLLOX” Tactics would be Percy and Boots Holding a ball and Saying “KICK THIS” , and a few shins ect , and similar words like Clive Woodward,s “We would Lie for each other ” now we won ( Premier) Leagues , cups , the odd fight (when needed) and the only words out of the the managers mouth during the game would be ” Kick the fucking thing” , ” oh and “wheres he off too now ” , that would be directed at Steamer , trudging off , either sent off or just going for a walk . so as these are so called professionals , l think some on here are getting their Thongs in a twist . l always watch kids on holidays who are from different countries but once together know how to make sand castles and play, talking in their own lingo , no problems ,
    mind you it was hard work in the pub at the semi,s with B6B and Runtins as both were uttering under their breadth about who’s round is it ,
    well lm off now to my evening class of MMA Yoga , bloody hard this is .

  24. What worries me about gerdi is that he does not have his backroom staff in place. Really is important, the job is big enough as it is.

    Its been a problem area for years, the 2 bullies, keano, ray wilkins. One hand tied before he has started.

  25. Good to see you here again Texas V and thank you , it is taking three weeks to get better unfortunately : another visit to the docs confirmed this and I’ve been given this steroid spray to clear out sinuses – fluxi I something – but when I read the safety blurb about the side effects I decided not to bother . These dark nights aren’t helping now the clocks have gone back – I need some Texas sunshine maybe 🙂

    St75 – don’t rupture anything at the yoga – is that the exercise of choice for your fellow footballers now ? X

    Andrew – I was wondering the same – who is he using as back roomers. RL needs to make Lyon an offer they can’t refuse – 100 mill tv money says it’s not worth squabbling over small change .

  26. ST75,

    Oh the irony as we were called the Sporting Broadway you have got to laugh, lost count of how many games got abandoned due to some slight altercations, remember a couple one against The Minstrel pub which turned ugly and the knife that used to cut our oranges up came in handy, and another against the Redditch Showmen that turned violent, played them in a cup final at Paget one night and they decided to turn it into a brawl, happy days how football has changed, strange we used to fight off the pitch on a Saturday and on the pitch on a sunday .

    RGSAVFC

  27. I listened to Gardeiola’s interview on AVTV and I liked that he said there won’t be any French spoken at the club. I’m guessing a lot of the players maybe haven’t bothered to try to learn English, Gabby as well.

    I also liked that he said we have to work smart in training and be clever on the pitch. I hope he’s obsessed with tactics. I’m fed up of lazy managers who don’t out work into to set plays and pressing as team. Monday night, one player pressed, everyone else stood off. Pointless. Press as team

    Still laughing at Gbby’s 8 touches. Dire footballer who hopefully Garde will being to an end now

  28. SWW
    how s this for a coincidence , wifes family own pubs and chip shop in Great yarmouth and Hemsby , my neice ran a burger bar on the beach road in hemsby and rented it off this bloke who owned quite a few of them round Norfolk , well she started seeing this lad and we got talking and his dad came in , and we carried on talikng and his dad said to me , did you play for a team in birmingham , broadway something ? , well it turned out he was the center half for Redditch showmen , and we got chatting about the games , and fair play he said they always talked about playing us and how it used to end up in a brawl , Albert is still about in leicster although very ill , and remember John Humphries , the throw in king , remember the saying ” give them a corner not a throw in ” , throw in rocket straight onto the head of Albert > in net ….. always amazed me how softly spoken and posh his voice was , and Hector that time when it kicked off and he was on Alberts back holding him round the neck , and the ref telling him to let go and get off his back , and Hectors Reply ” Fuck off ref he’ll kill me ” lol , l still bump into him at their pub when l drop down , actually a nice bloke off the field )), and if you remember a couple of years later , the same thing with The Merrymaker pub where they were all Jocks , oh and for those that dont know , Redditch Showmen were the people who owned the Fairgrounds that went round the country and l think are still based in Haymills . then we left for Waverly old boys , jeez that was unreal , some of the stories about that team )) good days though , well off to repair Steamers shed , dont know why we dont just have a bonfire as it is Guy Fawkes night , stay safe everyone

  29. Frem
    hows it going mate . lm having a clear out and got some Villa books you can have if you want them mate ,
    JL
    will drop over next week for them books as were having a xmas meet up soon , hope alls well mate

  30. Oh Jeez,Jenny…….I`ve always respected your posts.Intelligent ,humourus(or is that stuff you put on pitta bread?),and well constructed.However to hear that you listen to TalkTripe is very disappointing,I dunno how I can overcome this crushing blow,but I`ll try.

    S75,please ask JL if he has a copy of the Superclub book left.The fist heavyweight edition,so I can take it back.Cheers.Pay for it,and get the ££ of Mark.Thanks a million.

  31. Back after a brief sojourn in a rainy/sunny Lanzarote, met up with a family of Villans so we all cried together at the malaise that is AVFC.

    But hope springs eternal and the arrival of Garde and Duverne (equally) will hopefully mean genuine tactics, better player selection and genuine fitness levels and if the likes of Gabby has a problem with it (re previous experience with Duverne), ship him out.

    I suppose 4/5 years of bouncing along the bottom makes you cautious and 9 defeats in 11 can rock the foundation but the club has acted and as always will get my full support be it armchair or from the stands. Best of luck to Remi, if we do go down, lets go down trying.

    Quick note on KMac, lets hope all the good work done at underage level is his legacy and not a few matches for the favourites when he should have selected more of the summer recruits.

    UTV

  32. Just becuse Kmac has spent alot of time at villa does that make him good at his job? I have no idea what work he has done but we havent had a great deal of youth through? For me its thank you for your service but heres your p45.

  33. Given the infrastructure n resources at yhe club ie body moor Heath it’s asking a lot to say that our youth system has been a success especially when compared with the likes of saints!

  34. ST75,

    Blimey its a small world we had some right tear ups with the Showmen, strange both the Broadway sides were good footballing teams but also full of nutters, when you have the likes of Boots, Miffy, Steamer, the Brittons, the Wards, the Miahs our lot was never going to take a step backwards.

    RGSAVFC

  35. Ronnie,
    You’d have though that while not spending on expensive players the club would invest in the academy, apparently this wasn’t obvious enough. I was told by one youth product who played in the 1st team that the club were cutting back at least six years ago. Lerner is worse than incompetent, he’s a liar and fantasist, as with Herbert, the club will never be any good while he is involved.

  36. Andrew,
    I’d be amazed if Kmac was kept on but you don’t know whats in his recently signed contract and with Fox’s penchant for giving out idiotic bumper and undeserved terms, ie Lambert, Aggy, Bacuna, Westwood, then Kmac may be here a lot longer.

  37. ST75 – I used play on Sunday’s back in the 70’s and remember we used to play a team full of noses including two brothers and it always used to kick off with them. Also, played against some lot once and mouse was in goal for them ……..
    Nice can of beer at halftime and we were good to go again ……
    Oh, and the villa to win 3-1 on Sunday …….. Veretout, Gardner and Ayew to score

  38. I thought our facilities were pretty good? Or was that back in 2000?!

    Getting rid of learner is number 1 priority and then praying gardei is as good as we hope so he can rebuild us in the championship.

  39. On the Southampton thing, from what I understand a lot of there success comes from scouting young foreign lads and bringing them through a couple of years of their academy. obviously not all there will be some Local lads but that’s what I’ve read. We ourselves are beginning to do similar presumably costs to much to develop from a young age and the failures are many, I vaguely remember it costing around £1-1.5m a player. so maybe buying in potential at 14-15 is cheaper and more lucrative.

    I see Tims old pal at QPR Chris Ramsey got the bullet.

  40. Once played against a team from Blackbird Leys in Oxford, Britains biggest council estate at the time, It kicked off and It turned out most of them were from their local martial arts centre, It was better than any Jackie chan movie.
    In a top of the table clash in Banbury one of the opposition ran up our centre halfs back and headed the ball in the ref allowed it, he had stud marks on the back of his head and had to get stitches 🙂

  41. Oldvilla
    mousey was the goalkeeper lol.
    around 1979/80 the hole in the wall started a team up and it was all the Steamers , it was sunday afternoon league so some of us played twice , the name was Endale , (dale end ) and after the first season in Div 4 , because we beat premiership sides in the cup they put into the premier league the following season,
    during a game against Rubery FC , they were all noses and before kick-off the midfielder marking me asked where was we from and what did Endale mean , his face dropped as soon as l said its Dale End and were from the Hole in The Wall , he kept trying to make conversation with me and l kept saying stop talking to me as very soon lm gonna take you out the game , he substituted himself lol, lv got some old photos of that team somewhere , Kenny Camden was manager and half time he would lay out a picnic !!! the whole lot and cans of beer and cider , ))
    them days though as you would know , you gave as much as you took , and shook hands at the end . now its like watching a bunch of pansies , you must know our lot then if you know mousey , mind you he dropped me right in it at middlesboro , the git ,

  42. I’m still trying to get my head round the fact you lot played for Sporting Broadway – sounds more like a polo team !!

    Sorry to disappoint you B6Brazil – it has the same effect on my girls but at least they can speak to lads having been brought up with “clean sheets, 4-4-2s and the screw fix catalogue “. My favourite used to be Saturday mornings , bacon sarnie and mug of tea listening to Johnnie Vaughan match day warm up. He was hilarious . Sadly he’s no longer on – don’t know why , he was the funniest in there. Used to do some wicked impersonations of Stan Collymore and take the piss out of Micky Quinn relentlessly .

    There’s a good prog tonight on BBC 9 pm called class of 92 out of their league about their purchase and running of Salford FC. Gives a good insight and like any fly on the wall doc , can be quite comical .

    These interviews of Remi are very encouraging .

  43. any one read post on moms
    some really good points about team set up for last few matches
    any way on wards and hopefully up wards remi sounds good very like wenger hopefully be as good

  44. Being fair to Tim giving him non English speakers was always going to cause him problems (assuming he no speaky the Lingo) but when you get a glimpse into the way Garde works its a country mile apart from what appeared to be Tim being everyone’s best mate or not.

    “Aston Villa’s new coach, who is also from France says he will work hard to find out what makes them tick to bring out the best in them but warns that just because he is French, it does not mean he will instantly get them to flourish.”

    “I know them as football players, of course, yes,” Garde said when asked if he knows the players from France.

    “As people, no. Behind the player, I need to understand who they are and how they are.

    “I need to know their motivations and where they are currently.

    “I try to spend as much time as I can to get to know all the players.

    “I have been in the club only two days, though.

    “I watched a lot of Villa games so I have a good idea of all the players.”

  45. If this is the Impression Garde got of Lerner then why doesn’t he show this face to the fans who he really needs to impress. I believe Garde he doesn’t appear to be a fool or paying lip service.

    “The former Lyon manager also backed owner Randy Lerner, who is repeatedly linked with selling the club.
    “I can’t tell you the private conversation I had but he never appeared to me to be wanting to sell the club,” Garde said.
    “He loves the club and I was very impressed with how he spoke about Villa. He gave me the belief.
    “To be honest, I was surprised to see how much he loved the club. He made me want to work with him.
    “I can’t speak in the name of Randy Lerner, I have only just met him, but he did not seem to be a man who doesn’t love the club and doesn’t care – it was the opposite.”

  46. Jenny . l dont know what you mean , about our name Sporting Broadway . l can only think you are taking the word Sporting wrongly .
    it was added after the first season in the league , as the other teams in that league said we should be called Sporting Broadway as whoever playe us would come off the field SPORTING , stitches , black eyes , loads of limps , couple of broken limbs , ect ect , and the name kinda stuck , hope this helps , xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    have a good weekend all

  47. St75 – I always thought of Broadway as being very county – the gin and jag set in the Cotswolds – did you have slices of orange and a cup of tea after the games 🙂

    Andrew – glad I’m not the only Johnny Vaughan fan here . The weekly “Injury List” with the effeminate voice reading “Kyle Walker has a verrry nasty groin strain .., again .. What’s he been doing naughty boy” with the “My name is Larry ” Floaters song in the back ground was v funny. He had a thing about Kyke Walker . Micky Quinn with his naught mags under his bed , Stan Allerdyce looking like the coach driver and Arsebne Wenger the pilot . All good comedy .
    What is the radio station he is on now – is it radio Extra ? I d much prefer to listen to him and the woodman than Durham and giddy when I pick the girls up.

    I’m loving Remi more and more – this is music to my ears

    “As people, no. Behind the player, I need to understand who they are and how they are.

    “I need to know their motivations and where they are currently.

    “I try to spend as much time as I can to get to know all the players.

    At last we have an intelligent manager who understands his players are the most important ones here so understanding what motivates is key . Just understanding them is an improvement on past managers . Lambert didn’t speak with the players and was too distant . Tim thought he was their friend and understood them just because he’s been a player . It takes more than that and Tim demonstrated he wasn’t a great motivator when he started blaming them .

    If Remi is having such a good effect on his audience then he will be inspiring to the players . Using the Johnny Vaughan analogy for football managers , I’d say Tim was the bloke you’d like to go for a pint and amusing banter but Remi is the one you’d listen to for the important stuff and who you’d trust .
    Very impressive .

  48. Jen – have heard Vaughan a few tims cracks me up especially when he goes south African
    🙂

    Its becoming obvious that the pundits who think hes not the right man either no little about him or the squad.
    I suppose its similar to when wenger came from japan with no prem experiance. People look at things in relation to their knowledge, on garde and Villa its not a lot

  49. Hi all

    i wouldn’t take much notice of pundits as i often listen to them and wonder how ex players can come to such ridiculous conclusions

    i remember hearing McAnally of soccer Saturday saying villa fans were mad to call for Lamberts head and what a great job he was doing under the circumstances , he added what do these fans expect
    Jen glad you are warming to Reme – i am not allowing myself to get to excited but i always have believed only a proper footballing manager with great interpersonal skills could lift the club to were it should be — hopefully win , lose or draw the lads give a good account of themselves against citeh and do the manager proud

  50. Jen

    It s anew radion station called X i think. Has chris moyes on in the morning and vaughan from 4 ish onwards.

    Gardei sounds like a proper manager for once! Seems like a good guy. Afraid its all too late though. After the Everton game pound a penny we are at least 7 points from safety and there is no way back from that. Gardei has my patience and full support though. We need stability but then again results are the be all and end all.

  51. Andrew- Truth be told I am not sure if anyone could dig us out of this mess but from what I’ve seen and heard Garde has a good or better chance than most. There is not a strong enough Brit core to suit a Brit manager.

    For me Garde has demonstrated the right physiological know how and approach, is known for his tactical ability not ridiculed for it and has one of the best fitness coaches in the world. If we go down it wont be because he didn’t know what he is doing, which certainly would of been the case under Tim. He even has 2 of the best prem coaches ever as friends to talk to.

    Unless we turn in the worst display in villa’s history on Sunday I’m quietly confident things will improve and fairly rapidly.

    I think on Saturday I will watch Leicester and Watford should be a hell of a game.

  52. Mark

    Where i am with villa is all hope gone, gardei may be ok, may be not. Villa owe me after 5 years of misery. Until they give something back to me im keeping my distance. Wont watch the game sunday, hate the mid day kick offs, not going to ruin my day waiting in for them.

    Yeah should be great game, expect goals in that one! How long can vardy keep it going!

  53. Steamer,
    Re: the youth set up I think Lerner gets a lot of flack but let’s not forget how much money he has pumped into this club. According to Remi he loves the football club. Are we confusing a certain degree of incompetence as a non football man trying to build a world class football organization with someone who has bad intentions! Not going down that path again about who is to blame but you do wonder with the investment in facilities at all levels how we have produced so few players in the academy. Do we need a foreign residency program, is this a recruiting or a coaching issue. Other clubs have done this much better than us. Long gone are the days we can field a top class team of local lads it would seem, globalization!
    UTV

  54. Mark, that wouldn’t stop me!

    Feel a certain bromance developing with Remi.
    He had me at hello! Hahaha
    Can’t do any worse that the last 3 we’ve had!
    City without aguero and silva are beatable!
    UTV

  55. Good post Ronnie . Randy Lerner has failed largely because of his inability to select good advisors.

    Andrew – listened to radio X Johny Vaughan this pm – good to hear him again he does make me laugh . First song Lust for Life by Ziggy Pop 🙂

    Great to see a villa player in the “best player” category Mark. I’d also say that one of the other contenders Martial was coached by Remi until he left in 2013 .

    Sunday is going to be a nail biter . Man City , tails up after a very good performance in the week and top of the table . Our team , frightened of playing at home with no confidence . I think Remi will be trying to get the belief back by organising them so they know their jobs so they are better organised and focus on making us better defensively . If not it could be a cricket score 🙁 I really fear that we couid get s pasting and maybe he will be using this game as a “don’t lose” game a la Pullis to save us from a crushing defeat.
    A win would feel like 9 points though !

  56. No Jen, don’t see as much footy as I’d like. Just saw the Norwich match and they were god awful. Debruyne a non factor and toure invisible! Ii like delph but Gana is no slouch!
    UTV

  57. Jen/ronnie – maybe lerner got good advice and ignored it I suppose we will never know.

    Remi’s way is to get the whole team singing off the same hymn sheet so organisation as a team important plus they have been doing fast passing drills this week, a good way to access someone’s
    control, reaction time and accuracy.

  58. Mark,
    I think investment is the wrong word to use, throwing good after bad did our finances, as Jenny said, bad advice cost him and now its costing us. As iv’e mentioned before, i think Lerner will support Remi in January with 20m or so and i also expect a couple of loans from the general direction of The Emirates.
    You get the feeling that this bloke is the real deal don’t you ? I think he’ll sort us out given time and give us that football structure that we’ve been missing for too many years.

  59. I don’t really expect a win vs City but with the international break immediately after i would expect to see a mentally tougher Villa and with a bit of luck we could/will turn that corner.

  60. I’d say he chose the wrong advisers Mark . If the press reports on the Traore contract are to be believed then that’s another mind dumbing decision – the hike in wages he is supposed to be due after so many appearances . I hope Remi isn’t stopped from playing him because of it.
    If Remi does work out and if he is properly supported in Jan then the board will have partly redeemed themselves . But five years of rubbish football , poor decisions and wasting money will not be forgotten over night .

  61. Steamer/Jen- what if this time we have got the appointment right (and I believe we have) and we have to accept Lerner is going to be part of it? will the fans accept that if it means we can climb back on the horse? what if he truly has learnt?

    we sneaked a win without Benteke against City before, I think there is a decent chance of a sneak win. They will almost certainly come on to us so I’m expecting us to set up on the break Ayew up top, Richards finally scores one 😉

  62. Sherwood was never going to work out and it’s irritating that his football media mates have rallied round him when surely they can see that he was completely out of his depth.
    Garde clearly has far more about him but at Lyon he’d had plenty of time to get to know the club, develop the players and bring many of them through the system.
    It feels as if he can be ‘the one’ but I hope that he’s given the time to grow into the role. This may mean giving him the time to bring us back from the championship because, let’s face it, he’s taken on a hell of a task this season.
    It would be good if villa park fans could learn to be a bit like the Crystal palace fans who never gave up hope, even when they were in exactly the same position we are in now. . . 4 points from 11 games and (in most pundit’s minds) nailed on for the drop.

  63. Agreed, r0bb0…We can’t give up hope now.

    Really have to get behind the team, help their confidence by making Villa Park an actual home. I like everything I’m seeing and hearing about Garde. We’re not dead yet.

  64. Mark,
    Had a squint in my crystal ball and see Garde re-structuring us to high mid-table before Wenger anoints him and then the process begins again. Lerner won’t be any different, its just that his pittance will now be more wisely spent. lets not kid ourselves, Lerner and Fox are poison, while they control AVFC the best we can hope for is eighth and a decent cup run until our custodian loses interest again. The circumstances just don’t exist where i will attend a Villa game while Lerner contaminates VP.

  65. Steamer- heres a another possibility, fox becomes chairman, Wenger becomes DOF and Garde builds a legacy 🙂 History is against them but I think Garde could be the key. Although his focus is keeping us up he’s already talking about revamping the youth system

    We are definitely not dead, palace and Everton have come back from this position. of course will depend how others do, norwich, bournemouth, sunderland,newcastle, stoke haven’t played many top teams yet WBA too and they can’t score for toffee.

  66. Might be the most tenuous link ever but Lyon is in the Alps region of France, the closest city to Geneva Switzerland the home of a recent Bid to buy us??? Is Garde their man??

  67. We will rise like the Phoenix with Remi . But don’t expect too much too soon . We face two challenges – being bottom AND unlike other teams we have wasted pre season and the last ten weeks being chopped around and divided rather than working as a settled team . But I take heart from Palace and Leicester – they pulled themselves out of the relegation zone : so can we .

    But as Robbie says , making Villa Park a fortress and most importantly into a friendly supportive place for our own players is essential .
    Stay at home if you want to boo because right now every boo will make our chance of survival more diffucult.

    Every manager has alluded to it and we know that for the last four seasons our players prefer to play away. How sad is that – we are throwing our home advantage away. Do we ever hear people say Vikka Park is a diffucult place to play ? No , opposing teams know that if they keep us quiet the home fans will turn and make their job easier for them As soon as we go one goal down the atmosphere goes black . Is it going to make them more confident and eager to Come out for second the half when they’re own fans have jeered and booed them off

    I don’t think the Leicester fans or the Palace fans were so harsh . Maybe we are the victim of our expectations and the size of club we are . We have to allow our them to make mistakes , we have to get on the backs of the opposition not our own players. It is ludicrous to handicap them in this way .

    The Salford v Notts County game last night was football at its best . When you think that they deservedly beat Notts County, their players and staff have full time jobs ( one player had put in a shift gas fitting before the game ) it shows you what belief and passion can do . Those Salford players weren’t better man for man than their pro opposition but they had more heart , desire , belief and fight . It demonstrstes what the under dog can do and I would show our new lads a recording of that game if they didn’t see it . Watching those players , all past their best , give their heart and soul to that game was inspirational .

    On this note I have to wish my local team Worcester City the best of luck in facing Sheffield United . We had a killer cup run last season , and that Coventry pen shoot out was the most agonising in history . Lots of my girl’s friends are on the coach now and it’s going to be a fantastic day out for them in spite of the weather , fantastic .

    So I have got my positive hat on for tomorrow . The fans must get behind the team , give Remi a fantastic welcome and the players must do a Salford. Don’t fear reputations , go out and give your all.

  68. And here it is from the man himself – that support can be the difference between us staying up or not . I really believe that .

    “I would also say to the fans to be behind the players. This is very important because some of them are quite young and don’t have much experience for the Premier League – but they are good players.

    “I can tell the fans that the guys are very concerned about the situation of the club.

    “I know, too, the fans have a big role to play. The Holte End is fantastic. I saw it on pictures.

    “I can tell you the players really need that support.”

    He’s identified the problems very quickly seeing as he’s only been here 5 days .

  69. Gary rowett . lets slip , he hopes we pull out of the relegation zone ,,,, bet the noses are hating this . no doubt by 6pm today l will be barred from the green man pub as l have photocopied it and going to plaster it all over the pub , ))they really do get on my wick, and have you seen the latest poll , (B62 photocopy this for your works office) WBA fans are the ugliest in the league , and now they are mixing with the inbreds at the sty expect man around those areas to go back to 1,000,000 BC,

    on Remi , glad we got someone who may be able to sort the villa out , but lm going to wait and see , lm in no rush , l said at the time sherwood was too green behind the ears to manage a premiership club, and my god he proved himself with flying colours , lv waited 5 years so a few months aint going to make any difference , well back to the printer .
    have a good weekend all

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