Threat of villa

[Tipp blue]

Villa are a good manager and handful of players away from certainly pushing the top 6 / overtaking us.

Been very impressed with them this season think Smith is holding them back despite doing a decent job there in terms of the coaching.

I've said for a while now our fans need to stop snarling at other clubs improving like Leicester, Leeds & Villa and start putting pressure on the people at the top of our club to get their shiz together.

Was watching Toffee TV and Ped made a good point in that Carlo has taken criticism and some of it is justified but where is the criticism towards Brands or those above him on the board like Kenwright etc who's overseen the last few years of awful decision making and crap recruitment?

We are also a handful of players away from pushing on too.. if we have a summer like last year where we got 3-4 players that made us better then we will be in a far better place.. Allan Doucs Godfery and James all improved us... the lack of pace in midfield is what is holding us back.. you can have 1 or 2 slower players but not all of them being slow which is what we currently have.. a CM and 2 wingers who can move fast and can score 5+ goals each is what we need. Get a loan in to replace Coleman and have a go at Adam Armstrong from Blackburn send them Simms and cash and see if we can land him.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

We are also a handful of players away from pushing on too.. if we have a summer like last year where we got 3-4 players that made us better then we will be in a far better place.. Allan Doucs Godfery and James all improved us... the lack of pace in midfield is what is holding us back.. you can have 1 or 2 slower players but not all of them being slow which is what we currently have.. a CM and 2 wingers who can move fast and can score 5+ goals each is what we need. Get a loan in to replace Coleman and have a go at Adam Armstrong from Blackburn send them Simms and cash and see if we can land him.

The concern for me is two things:

1. The recruitment just isnt good at this club (how many times have we said this summer is a huge one?)

2. Carlo doesn't seem to have an idea on what he wants to do with the team in terms of a system/formation whereas Villa have a clear plan and probably just need an upgrade in a few positions on the pitch.

As much as I didnt like Silva at least you could see what he sort of wanted to do and with some very good signings added to the side it would have helped him in that style he was trying to utilise although he just wasnt good enough ultimately.

Leicester
West Ham
Leeds
Villa
Even Wolves if they recruit well have a clear system in place whereas I feel with us at present we are just chopping and changing too much to ever build enough consistency to have a good season over 38+ games.

 

[Thomasc]

Are we in danger of them taking our 10th place spot?

 

[Yarrgh]

Never mind sweet talk I would let them bugger me from here to timbuktu if they invested in EFC lol

You have 2 wishes left. Be careful though, Timbuktu is on the red list for Covid restrictions.

 

[wandyr79]

The concern for me is two things:

1. The recruitment just isnt good at this club (how many times have we said this summer is a huge one?)

2. Carlo doesn't seem to have an idea on what he wants to do with the team in terms of a system/formation whereas Villa have a clear plan and probably just need an upgrade in a few positions on the pitch.

As much as I didnt like Silva at least you could see what he sort of wanted to do and with some very good signings added to the side it would have helped him in that style he was trying to utilise although he just wasnt good enough ultimately.

Leicester
West Ham
Leeds
Villa
Even Wolves if they recruit well have a clear system in place whereas I feel with us at present we are just chopping and changing too much to ever build enough consistency to have a good season over 38+ games.

In my opinion, the bold part does look very negative bit it can also be seen as a positive. I think he does have a plan, that plan is to be flexible with the squad and tactics. It may have been accentuated by necessity at times but I believe that we have a manger who does not have one way of playing. This can then look like there is no concerted effort to get the right players in but hopefully we can, over the next couple of seasons get players in that can effectively play a couple of systems that will keep opposition guessing.

Every summer is huge for 95% of teams so I don't think this should be a negative either, talking about Villa, if/when they lose Grealish who are they going to get to replace him, it is a big decision, they could go for one big signing or they could go for a few smaller signings to build on what they have but all in all it is a massive decision that will determine if they improve/stagnate/decline. Same with Leeds, they have a few important players who could potentially leave so it is imperative that they either keep them or replace them well. West Ham/Leicester all have big decisions to make on either keeping/replacing massively important players and/or improving on what they already have, clear plan or not.

I am not overly worried about Villa, or anybody else improving more than us. If it happens fair play to them but it is not as cut and dried as saying that they have a clear plan and therefore we are going to be awful next season and they are going to keep on improving.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

In my opinion, the bold part does look very negative bit it can also be seen as a positive. I think he does have a plan, that plan is to be flexible with the squad and tactics. It may have been accentuated by necessity at times but I believe that we have a manger who does not have one way of playing. This can then look like there is no concerted effort to get the right players in but hopefully we can, over the next couple of seasons get players in that can effectively play a couple of systems that will keep opposition guessing.

Every summer is huge for 95% of teams so I don't think this should be a negative either, talking about Villa, if/when they lose Grealish who are they going to get to replace him, it is a big decision, they could go for one big signing or they could go for a few smaller signings to build on what they have but all in all it is a massive decision that will determine if they improve/stagnate/decline. Same with Leeds, they have a few important players who could potentially leave so it is imperative that they either keep them or replace them well. West Ham/Leicester all have big decisions to make on either keeping/replacing massively important players and/or improving on what they already have, clear plan or not.

I am not overly worried about Villa, or anybody else improving more than us. If it happens fair play to them but it is not as cut and dried as saying that they have a clear plan and therefore we are going to be awful next season and they are going to keep on improving.

I dont mind Carlo switching things around occasionally ie. going from a back 4 to a back 3 and being more tight at the back playing Man City or Liverpool for example...

But its the constant tinkering and changing on an almost weekly basis that concerns me such as playing Fulham and having our 2 best CB's in Mina and Keane on the bench, switching formation from playing Burnley to Newcastle it just doesnt create any form of consistency.

Sadly it reminds me of Jose at Utd in that he just didnt seem to ever be able to decide what his best side was and they were inconsistent as a result of it whereas a lesser manager in OGS has come in and found a system he wants to play and has a recognised 11 which is what we need.

Under Moist you knew what our team would be most weeks and thats not a bad thing as the players all know their role and partnerships/understanding on the pitch between team mates develops such as pienaar and baines, jags and lescott imagine Baineaar under Carlo one week Baines is isolated in a 352 the next pienaar is in front of him in a 442 then the next is a 343 with Baines further forward it just wouldn't work.

 

[Wolf8312]

Sadly it reminds me of Jose at Utd in that he just didnt seem to ever be able to decide what his best side was and they were inconsistent as a result of it whereas a lesser manager in OGS has come in and found a system he wants to play and has a recognised 11 which is what we need.

Ole was tinkering around like mad at the start though it was a big criticism leveled at him (didn't know his first 11).
He was lucky enough to be a club legend as had he been anyone else at all in the world he would never have lasted as long as he has at united.
United's situation back then (a hodgepodge of jumbled broken parts left over from a jumbled hodgepodge of failed managers) was very reminiscent of ours now. Just shows the importance of giving managers time.

 

[Martin Alvito]

2. Carlo doesn't seem to have an idea on what he wants to do with the team in terms of a system/formation whereas Villa have a clear plan and probably just need an upgrade in a few positions on the pitch.

Having a plan has never been how Carlo operates.

He wants to take away the opponent's strengths and attack their weaknesses. We can do this against sides that want the ball - concede possession, rock up in our own final third and still end up with the better chances on the counter. It's why we picked up so many points away against the top half. Only City and Chelsea just straight outclassed us in this type of fight.

What we can't do for our lives is unlock a side that wants to be cagey and are happy with a point, unless they're in DFL. We get played off the park in the middle of the pitch, and end up offering good chances by playing a higher line without generating enough of our own to compensate.

Having a consistent plan is not necessarily the best thing. Moyes had a very clear one against us earlier this month. Carlo was able to anticipate it and beat it. But to make this work, we need a deep enough squad that we have some answers to a side that is happy to sit back a bit, lure us out of the bus and punish us for trying to do what we don't currently do well.

 

[No8Bally]

Villa are like EFC. Good in patches. Absolute shabite in others.

 

[Brett Angell Delight]

Fellow founding members - I wouldn't begrudge them success that's been earned the traditional way through growth and planning, rather than buying it like cheque book Chelski, the Citteh billionaires and the massive wage bill rs.

Isn’t Liverpool’s wage:turnover ratio one of the lowest in the division?

 

[twoblue]

Villa are like EFC. Good in patches. Absolute shabite in others.

I suppose this the point I am trying to make. They have caught us up from a standing postiong

 

[twoblue]

Having a plan has never been how Carlo operates.

He wants to take away the opponent's strengths and attack their weaknesses. We can do this against sides that want the ball - concede possession, rock up in our own final third and still end up with the better chances on the counter. It's why we picked up so many points away against the top half. Only City and Chelsea just straight outclassed us in this type of fight.

What we can't do for our lives is unlock a side that wants to be cagey and are happy with a point, unless they're in DFL. We get played off the park in the middle of the pitch, and end up offering good chances by playing a higher line without generating enough of our own to compensate.

Having a consistent plan is not necessarily the best thing. Moyes had a very clear one against us earlier this month. Carlo was able to anticipate it and beat it. But to make this work, we need a deep enough squad that we have some answers to a side that is happy to sit back a bit, lure us out of the bus and punish us for trying to do what we don't currently do well.

Wish he would find a plan. One that involves playing half decent football and not losing to the worst teams in the league… and maybe one that could finish at least 8th

 

[Forever Blue]

Villa won’t overtake us.

 

[wandyr79]

Wish he would find a plan. One that involves playing half decent football and not losing to the worst teams in the league… and maybe one that could finish at least 8th

He found a plan to beat some of the best teams in the league so hopefully that will be part 2 of the plan.

 

[twoblue]

Second time in consecutive seasons they have signed the championships best player.