Football thread 2022/23

[Chewylegs]

6 minutes ago, SMD said:

he should go to america

He should but is he still obsessed with wanting to set a high Champs league scoring record?

[SMD]

i didn't mean to play football

[Angles Morts]

So did Ronaldo refuse to go on because it would lower his goals per game? What a nob.

[Chewylegs]

9 minutes ago, SMD said:

i didn't mean to play football

🤣

[Shimmyhill]

11 hours ago, BitterToad said:

Fulham made John Terry cry at Wembley. We got Steven Gerrard the sack at the Cottage. 
 

I can only hope more of the Golden Generation get involved in Aston Villa’s future. 

 

When do you play Everton?  

[ryodi]

35 minutes ago, spork said:

We basically paid him 500k a week to not go to City.

Which is the second time in recent years United have strengthened City after you gazumped them for Sanchez.

 

Is John Terry an option for Villa, he hasn’t managed but knows the club well. As for Gerrard I don’t think he ego will allow him to drop down the divisions, Paul Ince has managed to rebuild his managerial reputation at Reading when I thought he’d never manage again after what happened at Blackpool.

[Chewylegs]

8 minutes ago, ryodi said:

As for Gerrard I don’t think he ego will allow him to drop down the divisions, Paul Ince has managed to rebuild his managerial reputation at Reading when I thought he’d never manage again after what happened at Blackpool.

Paul Ince has a rather large ego so surely it's possible for Gerrard?

 

I'm not sure if you have decided you are going to be a manager that you simply just stop following the first bump in the road.

[The Fox]

Michael Beale is now seemingly the favourite for the Villa job for some reason, despite giving an interview for QPR's club channel literally yesterday about the Wolves links, explaining that he wanted to carry on with what he'd started at QPR.

[Chindie]

Beale is being linked just because he has that connection with the club already and is succeeding (currently) in the Championship. He's going to get linked to every club looking for a manager that isn't in the CL cartel.

 

I doubt we'll go for him. He didn't exactly at the world alight when he was the brains behind the Gerrard front man at Villa, so no thanks.

[Shimmyhill]

Smith will be available soon if you fancy him back…

[feltmonkey]

19 minutes ago, Chewylegs said:

Agreed.  Obviously not a Man U fan but from a fans point of view I do think it's one of those situations that is a bit sad to watch.  

 

The media banging on about him like he's still 28 and the best in the world is ridiculous.  Everyone reaches their end and the fact no one came in for him in the summer should have made him realise he's not at the same standard he was.

 

I completely agree.  Sad is the best word for it.

 

The fact that he watched his teammates put in a fantastic performance and absolutely batter a top four rival (I know the scoreline was only 2-0, but that was kind on Spurs, who weren't in the game at all) and his reaction was not to be pleased for the team, but to throw a tantrum is absolutely appalling.  As we keep being reminded, he's 37.  He should be more mature.  Part of the reason he was signed in the first place was to set an example of professionalism to the younger players.  What kind of example is this behaviour?

 

As a player, his situation is this - yes, he's still a great finisher, and still capable of a lot on the field. But is he the best for the centre-forward job in the team right now?  Not really.  Playing Rashford or Martial up front forces teams to defend deeper because they don't want them to be free to run in behind them.  This creates space for the likes of Ferdandes to run the game and create chances. When Ronaldo plays, he's lost a lot of pace, so they don't need to sit deep.  That's why this whole thing of Ronaldo and Fernandes being unable to play together comes from.  It's not purely some kind of clash of personalities or individual playing styles, I think it's more of a lack of space for Bruno when opposition teams are able to defender higher up and squeeze him.  When this happens he has a tendency to wander into weird positions where he's not really affecting the game and start rushing things and trying more over-ambitious passes. 

 

Rashford isn't the finisher that Ronaldo is, but because of everything else he does, he actually gets chances.  Ronaldo has been so static the last few times he's played he's not even getting any chances.  Ronaldo needs to accept that objectively, he's not the best option in that position.  Arguably he's third choice when Martial is fit.  He could be a great figure in the squad, coming off the bench, and playing in specific games that suit him, but he refuses to accept that he's in decline and wants to play every game.

 

I don't hate Ronaldo even after this.  I remember what he's done for United.  I remember his debut, and those two or three seasons when he was absolutely unplayable, and the best in the world by a mile.  (I checked - Messi didn't really become the phenomenon he is until Ronaldo's last season at United and first at Madrid.)  I think his single-minded hunger, arguably his greatest attribute, is what is leading to this behaviour.  Ronaldo genuinely believes that Ronaldo playing every minute of every game is what would be best for the team.  I really wish there could be a fairytale ending to his United career, but that looks unlikely now.  We certainly shouldn't be trying to engineer one by playing him to the team's detriment.  

 

The fact that the media is full of pundits who are his former teammates really doesn't help.  Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, and Paul Scholes aren't going to criticise him or say that he doesn't deserve to be in the team.  They don't want to be honest about their mate.  They keep repeating the line that he's the best player in the world.  I saw an interview with Rio essentially saying that United should be playing him so that he is match fit for the World Cup.  Why is it United's job to get Ronaldo fit for the World Cup?

 

I can't help but admire how Erik Ten Hag is handling the situation.  He's treating him like any other player in the squad.  He recognises his qualities, and wants him to be part of the team, but he will only pick him when he deserves to be picked, on merit.  He's not letting Ronaldo's superstar status get in the way.  I think the rest of the squad will see that everyone is treated equally and appreciate that. 

[Jammy]

I guess the big thing for Gerrard, now he’s failed at Villa, is that the ‘nailed on’ succession the press assumed when Klopp finally does leave Liverpool is not looking likely. It’s going to be tough for him to get a better gig for a long time, and if he’s genuinely got the appetite for management he’ll surely have to pay a lot more dues now and drop down a league or two and have some decent success.

[Naysonymous]

Liverpool are far too smart to give the job to a guy based purely on emotion.  Gerrard would have had to have had Villa top four to even get an interview, let alone an offer. 

[Fry Crayola]

Gerrard should simply go to manage in Norway for a while, biding his time like a post-Cardiff Solsksjaer.

[Chindie]

Very few managers leave Villa to go on to bigger things. Gerrard certainly won't. He's been found out. This will be the biggest job he'll have.

[Naysonymous]

 

 

The away end. Ouch. 

[SMD]

23 minutes ago, Jammy said:

I guess the big thing for Gerrard, now he’s failed at Villa, is that the ‘nailed on’ succession the press assumed when Klopp finally does leave Liverpool is not looking likely. It’s going to be tough for him to get a better gig for a long time, and if he’s genuinely got the appetite for management he’ll surely have to pay a lot more dues now and drop down a league or two and have some decent success.

 

no one seriously thought this was going to happen, it was just media shite while the real plan seems to be lijnders even in the event that klopp wants a sabbatical.

[Chewylegs]

8 minutes ago, Naysonymous said:

 

 

The away end. Ouch. 

Having watched the game on the TV it was very obvious what the supporters thought!

 

Was quite bemusing that Luiz getting himself sent off and Matt Cash giving a penalty away meant the crowd immediately started singing Gerrard out chants!

 

Thought the Fulham crowd was very basic too.  Never heard so many "you're shit ahhhh" chants since going to watch Bath City play in the 90s! 

[Naysonymous]

The seeds had been sewn a while back with Gerrard.   We were getting torn to shreds down both flanks in the first twenty minutes so the mood was already tetchy and then it was just anything that gave an excuse to pan Gerrard was taken.  I don't think many people in the away end saw the Luiz incident because it happened off the ball at the exact same moment as Tyrone Mings was being booked.    The Cash penalty was again symptomatic of us getting torn down the wings, it was a penalty but he was just trying to block a goal bound shot. I don't think Cash did much wrong in the moment but everything that led to the shot being taken was the problem.  

[The Fox]

This guy has got it sussed.

 

 

[Plissken]

12 hours ago, Chindie said:

We can't take a punt on a rookie with a hot streak at a lower standard. And if we go for someone who has a record of managing at the bottom (ie a Dyche for instance) the owners are basically saying they've given up. 

 

Dyche would be perfect for you. And considering he managed to be consistently better than Villa with much less resources in terms of money and talent, to dismiss him like that is crazy.

[Chewylegs]

13 minutes ago, Naysonymous said:

The seeds had been sewn a while back with Gerrard.   We were getting torn to shreds down both flanks in the first twenty minutes so the mood was already tetchy and then it was just anything that gave an excuse to pan Gerrard was taken.  I don't think many people in the away end saw the Luiz incident because it happened off the ball at the exact same moment as Tyrone Mings was being booked.    The Cash penalty was again symptomatic of us getting torn down the wings, it was a penalty but he was just trying to block a goal bound shot. I don't think Cash did much wrong in the moment but everything that led to the shot being taken was the problem.  

Oh yes, you are right there.  You were never in the game.  Gerrard currently looks tactically naive.

 

I thought the Cash penalty was harsh.

[Naysonymous]

It would have been "ball to hand" before VAR, but these days that's a penalty all day long.  Everybody in the ground shouted for it. 

[Chewylegs]

8 minutes ago, Naysonymous said:

It would have been "ball to hand" before VAR, but these days that's a penalty all day long.  Everybody in the ground shouted for it. 

Did you see the similar Liverpool one at Arsenal? Not given. The handball rule is just fucked.

[Chindie]

36 minutes ago, Plissken said:

 

Dyche would be perfect for you. And considering he managed to be consistently better than Villa with much less resources in terms of money and talent, to dismiss him like that is crazy.

 

Dyche is a decent manager. I think he would improve us, but that's mostly because the bar is so low.

 

But for Villa and our alleged ambitions, Dyche doesn't align with that. He's a survival manager. If your ambition is to tussle for Europe, you don't hire Dyche. He's never had the expectation of taking a big club with big ambitions up the table, and there's no telling if he could do it, but it doesn't send the message you'd want to by giving him the chance.

[Shimmyhill]

1 hour ago, The Fox said:

This guy has got it sussed.

 

 

 

Either of those would be incredible - maybe they will put a caretaker in and wait for Pep….

[feltmonkey]

I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being Benitez.

[SMD]

2 minutes ago, feltmonkey said:

I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being Benitez.

 

not after what Purslow did to him

[ryodi]

34 minutes ago, Chindie said:

 

Dyche is a decent manager. I think he would improve us, but that's mostly because the bar is so low.

 

But for Villa and our alleged ambitions, Dyche doesn't align with that. He's a survival manager. If your ambition is to tussle for Europe, you don't hire Dyche. He's never had the expectation of taking a big club with big ambitions up the table, and there's no telling if he could do it, but it doesn't send the message you'd want to by giving him the chance.

 

He got Burnley into Europe in 2018 and arguably has never had the budget or players to play more expansive players. You could make the same criticism of Moyes's career which has only really recovered in his second spell at West Ham. 

[Loik V credern]

4 hours ago, Stoppy2000 said:

This article on the BBC is one of the most fawning write-ups I've ever seen of a manager being sacked for being clearly totally out if his depth.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63339486

 

'Steven Gerrard was undermined by results and performances' is such odd phrasing, or odd use of undermined. Apart from results and performances, what else is a manager judged on. 

 

The Ronaldo thing...what exactly is he so angry about, he's not happy about not playing full 90 minutes but he's had all that his entire career and unlike many other top players hasn't suffered major season ending injuries or ever being a fringe player who the manager dislikes. There's not many players who can say the same for the length of time he enjoyed that. He's had his time. And it's only October. He's only been peripheral for a few months. He just broke another record the other week so I'm not sure what he's so desperate about or desperate to prove, other than feeling he's only got a few years left and doesn't want to waste them. He has the all time champions league record but Messi will likely beat it anyway and then Haaland eventually unless he suffers injuries. 

 

The Glazers [apparently] refusing to sell is shitty but none of that is on Ten Hag, the players or the club.