Really intriguing all this.
Time will tell...!
I've always thought he was something of a twat and at times a nasty bastard.
The good news is he is now Aston villas nasty bastard who hates Man Utd as much as we do so our home game against them should be tasty!?
We need a modern day Mark Lillis in the middle of the park that's for sure, tired of these powder puff midfieldersTo be honest we need a few more nasty bastards. One of my criticisms of Smith was that he was far too nice especially when Grealish was getting kicked off the park every week. Just look at the state of the pundits, Carragher aside they give Villa get no respect at all. We don't put ourselves about enough on and off the pitch for the club that we are.
LOL I am referring to Beale not Gerrard!Is this a bit of satire or sarcasm?
Lol which is your money on SilhillI think this appointment will go down as an absolute master stroke from the CEO. Either that or a total train crash.
I think he will do okLol which is your money on Silhill
Finally given up on conor thenWe need a modern day Mark Lillis in the middle of the park that's for sure, tired of these powder puff midfielders
I think this appointment will go down as an absolute master stroke from the CEO. Either that or a total train crash.
More realistic more like.A rather more downbeat article on SG's time at Ibrox:
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ed-the-aston-villa-job?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
A rather more downbeat article on SG's time at Ibrox:
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ed-the-aston-villa-job?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Well, we now know who is next into the hot seat, and it has all taken place quite quickly. I did expect, however, that the club's owners would like a new manager to have a week to warm his seat at Villa Park.
I have previously expressed my fear that Gerrard will see Villa as a 'stepping stone' towards the Liverpool job, whenever that becomes available.
It's not that I simply fear that he will always think of 'Pool as a bigger club to which he owes greater allegiance, but the worry that he probably will not be able to relate to Villa in the same way as Dean was able to. As a historian, I am well aware that a Villa personality or identity was strongly built from the earliest of its days and which made the club in the first 50 years.
In the years since that core identity got dissipated, and later boards largely lived on past glories. Until the 1970s. But even then the original Villa formula did not get truly repeated but showed that perhaps that kind of core identity was not essential to short-term success (1980-82).
The fact is, though, that I see that original core identity as being the real basis for permanent success, though it may take years to develop it. And this was the biggest disappointment about Dean's departure as he was the hope of building that. Unfortunately, he was not up to it sufficiently to take it forward.
Therefore, I persist in believing and saying that the appointment of Gerrard could work against the club's long-term interests. Not necessarily, I agree, but the truly sustainable way is for the club to have a 'Villa Way' ethic or identity, and whether Gerrard will fully relate to that I am not sure.
If we want him in as a manager who will simply demand more out of his players and gain a few long-awaited trophies, that short-termism view could re-bound quite negatively when Gerrard moves on and if a Villa identity has not been established.
Having said all that, it is incumbent upon us all to get behind him and maybe enable him to see the error of his ways if he continues to lean towards Liverpool!
Just my enlarged thoughts on the matter. His appointment causes me some concern, but, who knows, it could all work out well. So long as we don't go back into another slump after he goes. Having said that we don't know yet whether he will take us to any peaks first!
Right, the matter at hand is all done and dusted (except a few details) so, with one last farewell and a big 'thank you' to Dean Smith, let's get on with the playing and getting back to winning ways!
It's over to you Steve!