‘Every team apart from bottom-placed Rotherham have managed more wins than Villa, so far.’
No Laughing Matter
What an absolute joke. A sick bloody joke. Last season was an embarrassment for Aston Villa and all involved. After splashing the new owner’s cash to ensure our status as a big fish in a small pond, Villa were all set for a rebirth.
Regardless of what was set to happen, it surely couldn’t get much worse than the car crash that has taken multiple casualties along the way. Well, that car has now burst into flames and has exploded with one win in the first 10 games in the Championship. Yes, the Championship. Every team apart from bottom-placed Rotherham have managed more wins than Villa, so far.
Villa never fail to disappoint and tonight was no different. Lingering like a bad smell in the lower reaches of the Championship is not good enough for a club with the squad that Villa possess. Repeating the same bloody mistakes week in week out, month in month out, is not good enough for a professional team in any league, even the second tier.
Champions League winner looks great on a CV, but it’s becoming increasingly clear why Roberto Di Matteo failed to make the grade with a what should have been decent Schalke squad. As with so many of Villa’s most recent dug out softies, the Italian lacks presence, tactical nous, and any killer instinct whatsoever.
Actually, you could argue that ‘former European Cup winner who has fallen from grace due to mismanagement, bad habits, inaction, and lack of spine’ seems to fit exactly with Villa’s current situation.
Both on and off the field Aston Villa lack imagination and much like ‘tactics’ Tim, Di Matteo seems to be hoping that a magic formula will eventually fall into his lap. At least Tim Sherwood looked like he gave a damn. Di Matteo is floundering as bad as Sherwood, all the while giving Remi Garde a run for his money in the ‘who can look the bored-est and most lost’ awards.
No Signs of Progress
Someone needs to light a rocket up the backside of Villa’s complacent, weak-willed players and so far the meek Ex-Chelsea manager does not appear to inspire the players. This team is made up of proven Championship talent and Premier League experience and yet can’t find the mentality to do the basics even against the league’s smaller, weaker teams.
Villa need a boss who won’t be afraid to pull punches, and someone who will actually have a game plan other than filling out the team sheet and hoping things work out. The players aren’t without blame either, particularly the more experienced ones who continually fail to remain focused and take control of the game, and of influencing those around them in a positive manner.
If RDM gets the axe, much of the blood will admittedly be on the hand’s of the senior squad.
Already miles behind the top teams in the league, unless there are rapid and radical changes then Villa will continue to sink and by the time January comes around, no amount of Chinese money will convince any player worth our time to come anywhere near toxic Villa Park. Well, except as a part of an away team preparing to collect a former Premier League scalp.
Before it’s too Late?
We all know that this team is screaming out for an army of sports psychologists to get to the bottom of the mental cancer that has riddled the club over the last decade. Their first job should be giving potential managers the once over and seeing if they have the character to stand up to a challenge instead of sitting in the dugout watching their house burn down.
All we wanted was a manager with a game plan who could improve the team, even gradually. Any progress tonight may have given Di Matteo some more rope but the most expensive team in the division is currently two points off relegation.
With a few wins Villa could reach mediocrity this term, but there has been no evidence that those wins are on the way. I am a big fan of giving managers time to build but with the money that has been spent and the lack of progress, it may be better to try and arrest the slide before it becomes a completely hopeless cause.
Unfortunately for the dream of a long term boss, arrivaderci Di Matteo may be preferable to arrivaderci Aston Villa. This weekend, like it or not, looks like it could be RDM’s last chance to convince us otherwise. Best of luck Roberto.
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“I am a big fan of giving managers time to build”
Don’t you mean “I’m a big fan of giving managers time to build in theory. But in practice, if he hasn’t gelled an entirely new team in the first 6 weeks of a season I want him sacked”
2 months is NOT long enough. I understand you really care about this but seriously, turning around the mess he inherited and getting a team with a new goalie, defence, midfield and attack to pay coherent football all whilst playing in front of some of the least patient and most pessamistic fans in England, it’s going to take longer than that.
my heart genuinely sank when for the first game he lined up 4231
at the moment he is on the cusp of being a dead man walking but with so many changes it will take time to
gel and i can see another couple of months of gelling but then we should be ok and could well go on a long run of wins
the players are there,, but the confidence is fragile and we really should be a lot higher in the league if
we had held some of our winning positions
but as for rdm,,,, needs to do much better,,,
RDM was never the right appointment from day one. Yes, he won the Euro championship with Chelsea, but clearly it is forgotten that he won it with someone elses team. RDM may be a nice bloke, but what else does he have to offer Villa.
January is 20 plus games off, too late to do anything about it then. The Doc has to lance the boil now before the infection spreads further. I said it at the time, Steve Bruce was the guy for the job and everything else I have seen since has not changed my mind.
I believe there’s an experienced manager just come on the market, and a Midlands lad to boot…
The rant is bang on the button. More time to gel ? How can the ream possibly gel , when he keeps making 3 or 4 changes , keeps changing the formation . The bloke is unfortunately clueless . I don’t wan to keep changing managers but we are getting worse not better
More time please. It’s a good looking squad. A few more weeks to gel, then if it’s not look at the manager situation.