Perhaps secondary to all the rampant debate about the Sherwood era and his eventual successor is the cup-tie against Southampton. Last time out, Villa didn’t fare so well at St. Mary’s, falling to a miserable 6-1 defeat and giving up the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history. That was quite a lot to achieve in a single afternoon.
Over this last weekend, Southampton battled back after a lovely Christian Benteke goal (with service by one James Milner) to share the spoils with Liverpool, who are still looking for their first win under Jürgen Klopp, who of course succeeded the also recently departed Brendan Rodgers. Villa, meanwhile, surrendered a lead to Swansea and did not battle back to share anything.
So far in the Capital One Cup this year, Villa have struggled past Notts County and they-who-shall-not-be-named. Facing top-flight competition at this moment will be interesting in terms of seeing both how the team responds effort-wise in the wake of Sherwood’s all-too-recent departure and how Kevin MacDonald chooses to set them up: to wit, does he have different ideas than Sherwood? Does he know his best side?
One would like to think this offers Villa’s players a chance at some redemption and perhaps even some momentum and belief. But even if Ronald Koeman is looking to rotate some players, it will be a tough test. It would be easy enough to predict a one-goal margin, whoever the winner, but this one could very well have more goals in it. Question is, how many will be Villa’s and will they be enough? Tuesday’s results seem to imply that if Villa are up for a fight, they could see themselves through. But they could just as easily be in for a rough night.
We’ll find out soon enough.
The Author
John Clark
John is co-owner of AVL, and has followed the Villa since the '70s. A journalist by trade, he is, by most accounts, a very nice person. You can follow me on Twitter @JClarkKohoutek. It's an astonishing experience. Or a complete waste of time.Comments 50
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Thanks jc
Benteke out with knee injury not sure how bad.
Well would it be a surprise to see kosak later? Maybe even gg? Probably not but it is going to be very interesting to see kmacs thinking as he has been there on the bench until recently. Might even be a look into whats to come.
It would be a good one to win big clubs are going out nice chance for wembly again.
Haggis- im sure tims a nice bloke so am I 🙂 unfortunatley he wasnt what we needed in my opinion but he earned the chance. Lets hope the next one is
AVST letter to Randy…
The AVST welcomes the news that the Aston Villa board have made a decisive call in ending Tim Sherwood’s time as manager.
The intense speculation in recent weeks, and the leaks coming from within, did nothing but turn the club into a figure of media fun.
We would like to thank Tim for his efforts last season. He was just what was needed short term to shake us from our malaise under Paul Lambert and gave us some memorable occasions in the FA Cup. We wish him the best for the future.
All thoughts and efforts must now turn to finding his replacement. We trust that the new structure at senior level means that this will be tackled swiftly and we will aim for the very best candidate for the short and medium term.
We also implore the club to think wider when considering who right man may be. Premier League experience is not a prerequisite to be considered and we most certainly should not have a shortlist of one as we had in February.
After a litany of poor appointments, we simply cannot afford to choose the wrong man this time. To do so would see us relegated at a time that extraordinary riches are around the corner. We believe this appointment will define the next five years.
We also remind Randy Lerner that he stated in May if he couldn’t finalise a sale of the club he’d resign and appoint a new chairman. The supporters of Aston Villa would like an urgent update on this.
Over to you Aston Villa.
JC: “… and they-who-shall-not-be-named
Yes … name them!! … SMALL HEATH! 😉
Well, if we can’t raise enough spirit in this evening’s match then it sure looks bleak for the next 2 or 3 matches.
And if this run continues much further, self-belief will have largely evaporated I imagine.
Not the right time, I’d say, to bring in a French manager (if that’s who it is) to try to motivate someone like Richards or Hutton!! 🙁
Morning all and John – thanks for putting in the time and effort to write another good leader . The game tonight is a welcome distraction and as you say SW 3 Arsenal 0 gives us hope that anything can happen in cup games .
Must say SW gave a top performance last night , well rehearsed and completed set pieces with our own BB and his “workdie” passes coming off . So let’s hope our trusted KMac puts his best team out and I think balance is the key . John reminds us of the 6-1 pasting – and I remember the fastest hat trick in history , against us.
But I’m hopeful we can win – as always – and the players will at least feel less pressure away from home and without the “must win my job ” hanging over their heads .
The leaks Continue – from the press this am
Adama’s contract details have been splashed in the media.
He will be our highest paid player after hitting the requisite number of performances – going from 40k to 75k.
No wonder we are heading to France for manager search / these players have to work as it is the recruiting heads on the line if they don’t . Riley and go have a point to prove – and who best to do it .
But isn’t this a case of the tail wagging the dog ? I wonder who is leaking this confidential player info ? 🙂
So Garde will be good for our French players undoubtedly – but what about the English ones ? Newcastle have experienced a divided dressing room / with French being the language of choice . This has to be handled with sensitivity .
Anyway – back to the game – hoping to see Sanchez , Okore , GanA , Ayew , Gil , Kozak somewhere in the line up .
Let’s hope Saints are resting a few tonight !!
On the manager front – we are continuing our search in Frabcd , it’s reported we are going for Gaultier – Jean Paul anyone ?
Jenny,
yes … but what about a new chairman? 😉
Jenny: “So Garde will be good for our French players undoubtedly – but what about the English ones ? Newcastle have experienced a divided dressing room / with French being the language of choice . This has to be handled with sensitivity .”
Precisely! That’s the point I made above … I can’t imagine Hutton being communicated with by a Frenchman very well!
Well, perhaps I’m wrong … Bonnie Prince Charlie seems to have managed in his time in France…
John The ideal would be a new chairman and clear out . But when he owns the company and its his money on the line there is little chance he’s going to resign IMO .
John it seems that choice of manager may be driven by the desire to defend reputations and decisions in spending £30 mill on French players. Adama being our highest paid player is incomprehensible .
Mgr needs to cobble s best team from the traditional types for want of a better word and the new “flair” players . As Ron A said – relegation fights are not the time to try playing like Arsenal , we’ve seen how disastrous playing out from the back was when Cheksea Stoke 2 goals from defensive changers . There will be a way to blend both : just who to do it?
I have read garde speaks english ( he played here and communicated wengers ideas to the team) an english man said that by the way. How does someone lack motivation as a footballer you live to play or at least should do. Good thing us a lot of the team didnt play last season
Yes Jen,
Fox is taking us to financial armageddon with these insane contracts, if we’re relegated then even with clauses we’ll be in the doggy.
Kmac will pick a team of players who deserve to play by their form, effort and attitude, not who signed them or what nationality they are, that’s why, imo, we have a slightly better chance than if TS was boss. Having said that, i can only see Saints winning comfortably.
AVFC will always be in crisis while Lerner and Fox control the club, personally i wouldn’t trust any member of the clubs admin with scraping up the dog mess on the pavement and i can only see the situation worsening while they remain.
Steamer i heard that there are also clauses in place for religation. Besides what if adama turns into a real player we are paying nzogbia 65k chances are if hes any good he’ll be back to barca
Jenny: “John The ideal would be a new chairman and clear out . But when he owns the company and its his money on the line there is little chance he’s going to resign IMO .”
But … *He* said that if he couldn’t sell the company he would find another chairman.
Please AVST letter above for confirmation of that.
Jenny: ” it seems that choice of manager may be driven by the desire to defend reputations and decisions in spending £30 mill on French players.”
D’accord! 🙂
Hope the Lemsip’s working …?
Mark: “Good thing [for] us a lot of the team didnt play last season”
Hah! Yes, that’s a good one … Just can imagine Mumbles and Brie going together…
I dont think the manager choice is down to language that would be stretching it. Is it so far fetched to think gardes skill set us suited to what we are trying to achieve?
And that tim didnt have what it takes to achieve the same in the time scale. I think we all know we should have more points than we have.
Mark,
Whoooooaaaa … I was kidding …
Opposition to Lerner is *at last* beginning to crank up … The following is the latest of a number of posts I’ve seen lately…
http://avillafan.com/site/20398/randy-lerner-its-your-fault/
Jl- im all for lerner out etc but I’m seriously think we could miss out on a real football man and manager that could take us forward at last. To much pressure on fox could result in a knee jerk appointment again the last thing we need. As ironic as it may seem patience is required whilst making our feelings known because there is no buyer.
Fox has consulted wenger by all accounts not the worst person to ask
Oh well I have been away for a few days in the deepest bowels of Cornwall locked deep away in a tin mine but still the news managed to filter through, is there no escaping the longest joke in premier football history.
I somehow manage a smile when I read the different blogs, Garde, Moyes, Dyche, Ancelotti and some names I cannot pronounce or spell and not forgetting Yorke, I actually heard something this morning that tells you all there is to know about AVFC, some wit said that if you bought Ferguson out of retirement he would struggle to make this lot a success.
Which is true because we all know it is not the appointed managers who to be fair most have been crap, but our problem is the lot upstairs who sit at the big polished table and try to make these decisions, Lerner,Fox etc have not got a clue and it is only a miracle that we have stayed in this division.
It took these idiots an eternity to sack Lambert after the majority of the fan base told them he was shite, we had another opportunity to bring in the right person to take us back up the table but instead employed Sherwood who thought that by saying all the right things would get him results and then conversely fell from a great height onto his own sword by slagging off the people around him, job done goodbye Tim oh by the way here is your pay off.
Fox is at this moment down at the local village trying to coax their idiot into taking the poisoned chalice that is manager of AVFC and you cannot knock this recruitment process as it has paid dividends over the past six years, if its not broke don”t fix it.
As Brummies we are always a self deprecating lot and AVFC have laden us with enough material to last two lifetimes, do I care who gets the job next no not really I actually think we are not much better than the great unwashed down the road.
GSAVFC
Mark,
Why was that was Fergusons mobile engaged.
GSAVFC
Sorry john new you were joking just the thought of needing motivation to play football makes my blood boil 🙂
No mate all that heard was a jock laughing saying is it april the 1st already.
Swv-He did also recommend moyes to manure and signed dgemba dgemba
Rene Artois ?
Mark: ” im all for lerner out etc but I’m seriously think we could miss out on a real football man and manager that could take us forward at last. To much pressure on fox could result in a knee jerk appointment again the last thing we need. As ironic as it may seem patience is required whilst making our feelings known because there is no buyer.”
How many crass seasons of nil points results do you want to go through at VP to claim your right to be called “patient”? 😉
How long does it take for an owner to sell a club – especially a club with the tradition that we *used to have* and which he has largely killed off?
How long does it take for Lerner to find another chairman (if he can’t sell)? … not that that is necessarily the right answer.
As I’ve said before it could be that a new manager may keep us up (I’ll allow that thought) … but we’ll soon know whether that is likely. If it doesn’t get turned round by January then will Lerner open the purse strings to buy ‘proper’ players and save the day?
SWV:
Sadly, your post brought tears to my eyes. Yes, we are getting close to comparison with SHA. If it was the SHA of 30 or 50 years ago, then that wouldn’t be so bad … but now?! Yuk.
The reality that we’re now *definitely* second string to Albyun and Stoke (they beat Chelsea!) just makes it worse.
Mark: “Fox has consulted wenger by all accounts not the worst person to ask”
Why don’t we just ask the Gunners to buy us out and use us as their nursery club?
Jl i dont get the feeling lerner is keeping us for a laugh. How long has everton been for sale?
You didnt want tim out i understand why. You dont trust their decisions, whats to say they will get sale right?or the next owner knows football? Its all about taking a chance is it not?ok prepare best you can but there is always an element of risk. I happen to think garde looks a good fit qnd could make much more sellable.
Ill ignore the arsenal gibe it childish and im above such things 😉
Does that mean we must now look for a manager with no affiliation to a football team? The list grows shorter by the second
Mark: “How long has everton been for sale?”
Well, at least Everton have not been in trouble for years apart from a shortwhile dip last season.
Ours has been an urgent situation for a long time. But Lerner said he would even find a different chairman. As AVST have pointed out, we are in the dark about that as well.
On Garde … he’s not equipped experience-wise for relegation fighting in the Prem, is he? *That* is where the concern is and why Pearson or someone of that ilk is a *probably* (not certainly) a better short-term proposition.
However, who is appointed will get my support – until he fails!
John,
I am thrilled that you have managed to find some entertainment inside the madness of Aston Villa FC, to be compared with SH fills me with dread but at least they have had their chairman locked up in a filthy hovel for the next five years which is something we can only dream and hope for.
GSAVFC
Mark: “Ill ignore the arsenal gibe it childish and im above such things ”
Cut it out Mark … that wa snot a rib against you. I was just uttering the thought of a parody! We appoint ex-Arsenal types who are not qualified for the job and then we go to Wenger for next step advice. What I said had a certain logicality about it … though God forbid that should happen in reality.
SWV,
Groan.
3,200 Sold Out for the trip to St.Marys you can keep kicking these Villans in the wotsits but they still keep coming back.
GSAVFC
SWV,
I suspect Kevin Mac is a popular figure. Whatever happens tonight he’ll get a cheer, I would think.
Thinking about it, perhaps Kevin Mac should stay in charge for the rest of the season…?
Jl
Yes are position is different to evertons and they still cannot sell it. Did west brom get sold?
As for gardes not having prem experiance of a relagation. He pretty much did what lambert had to do for 3 seasons and won things and stayed in contention at the top. Not an easy task and one that shouldn’t be underestimated. Yes pearson got them out of the shit but it was his team and he just a much put them in the shit
Mark:
You know, I wasn’t unhappy you brought up the Everton scenario.
But comparing us with Albyun is just confirmation that AVFC has fallen so far that a Villa supporter is willing to compare their position with ours.
Aston Villa *was* a great club and the most achieving club over the lobgest period of time. Until 2000. Since then we’ve gone bottom up.
AVFC was a Rolls-Royce, and is *potentially* still of that marque. If Lerner was trying to sell a Morris Minor at a ridiculous price I could understand – but he’s not.
I am disturbed that you make excuses for the situation that Lerner (and Ellis) has put us in.
As for managers … I’m not carrying on that endless chat. The proof will come in the eating.
I must say i am one of the people that is encouraged by the types of managers we are linked with
Wenger for me is currently the best manager as he has transformed the future of the gunners by insisting that they look long term and get into a new stadium – plays the best football in the lge without the best players — even though they are now in a position to buy world stars that become available
not the worst person to ask for advise as opposed to fergie who is the most successful manager but he had the luxury of taking his competitor’s best player and when that changed he retired
its going to be a difficult job for any manager to lift us from the depths but i prefer a Garde type too a moyes type as moyes did well but he didn’t work with too many youngsters but had the like of Cahil ect close to the peak of there powers — i think he would struggle with our nappy wearing squad
Mark – on Everton:
One of the issues I have about that comparison is that although Everton are a fine club, when it comes to sale/purchase, they have so much competition close at hand … Liverpool and (perhaps worse) the Manchester clubs. If anyone was considering Everton they might be worried about those limits to success.
With Villa … we have the whole Midlands as an available catchment area. No other team has the potential in this region. If you travel from Manchester to London there’s only Villa you could say is a (now potentially) a great club.
Anyone with money and love of sport and tradition should love the opportunity.
Runtings,
I totally agree with your comments … *except* that I worry about Villa’s position and that whether we will get a manager to keep us up. Lerner – I’m sure – is also worried, from a financial standpoint.
Someone like Garde would be fine if he came in last summer. But if he came now I’d give him the benefit of my doubt.
Jl- i think your getting carried away there. Wba are a football team worth less than us and havent sold. The prem moneys the same as long as you are in it. Ask yourself what most investors buy a team for i think its ego if there rich enough business if not its profit
Its all about world wide audience and we have that no more. Last years fa cup probably cozt us several million fans. Its the painful truth
Jl its one of those mate, go for a man with experience who can wrk with youngsters or someone who wants them to fight which ill admit is not our strong point.
at least they have had their chairman locked up in a filthy hovel for the next five years which is something we can only dream and hope for.
watching the vermin he was used to a filthy hovel, his cell is like the Dorchester compared to the sty.
I don’t think Lerners trying too hard to sell Villa, he turned an offer down a couple of years ago because ‘it didn’t feel right’ and turned down a Chinese bid a few months ago. He obviously doesn’t care too much about the clubs well being but has his devious dial fixed on that 100m. Someone on TBAR yesterday did a bit of number crunching and came to the conclusion that after a couple of years of that money, even if we were relegated, he would make a bomb and still be able to sell us cheaply. Don’t forget the Lerners made their money through loans, not many principles in that business.