Are we the Victims of our own success?

[TrianonDave]

A little reflection as we look at the 1st half of the season.
First of all, did we get promoted too soon. Yes it was great and wembley and all that but we did not get promoted like sheff utd.
The club had a massive task of replacing loan players and finding new players to make up the squad. 12 players in and an average of 11 million on each. Did we just buy average players. Could we have mixed better quality and keeping faith with our younger ones. For instance. Not signing Trez or Jota and keeping Green? Not signing Targett and keeping Taylor. What really was the point in splashing out 18 million on Luiz if he aint going to start every game.
Its obvious that Deano still does not know what his best line up is, this was the mistake Bruce made!
Newcastle, they came up and went straight back down but became a much better team for it. They came back up a looked stronger but only just.
The plan by Purslow was another year in the championship and build a team to win. We came up after an incredible 10 game run a slightly fortunate aggregate win over the baggies and playing Derby in the final when we all know it should have been Leeds.
So are we to survive, what is the master plan now. Obviously try and stay in the prem but we aint going to be able to keep hold of Grealish or Mings if we dont. Go for broke in the jan window or just plod on and hope other teams are worse than us.
Do we keep faith with Deano and allow him time although relegated build that ideal team or sack him Jan 1st and get that New Manager reaction with a signing or two?
What is obvious is that people said we would follow the Fulham model and go down well, its looking like that at the minute unless something changes!
Thoughts....

[samhubball]

The finances of the club meant we could have gone into administration had we not been bought. Dr X gambled money he didn't have and nearly bankrupt the club by trying to get promoted. The Premier league is the "promised land" apparently but why?

If you come up and do what Norwich seem to have done, spent £4.75m then it is likely you will be relegated. If you come up like Sheff utd did, and spend £10m then you have to rely on being a better team than those around you and evidently it can work.

Villa did something different, we came up and decided the squad was obviously just lucky. Players like Hutton, Gabby and the other 9 that left weren't going to cut it. So 10 "average" players were bought but we managed to sign new deals for Grealish and get Tyrone permanently. Wesley was too expensive for what he offers.

The PL is only the promised land because it means even if you finish 17th, you are the 17th best club in the country and you get to do it all again next year.

The wages go up, the expenses go up and no one makes any money in the PL tho. Unless you successfully moneyball, which brings its own problems. In effect you are buying young players with potential but that's all.

Villa are in danger of actually, and officially, DOING A FULHAM. we spent 120m and could well be back down in May with players and wages we can't afford so we then have to go back to the original plan of - buying experienced championship players with a view to getting promoted, then getting rid of them and doing it all again.

[TrianonDave]

Albion made a good living out of doing it. I suppose had we not spent people would have said that was the reason, you did not invest.
But i think now paying good money for the likes of Targett, Konsa, Luiz, Marvellous, Trez and the enigma that is Wesley was once again wasted. That lot cost around 75 million, worth it? Absolutley not. Just who is bringing these guys in? One thing is for sure we are stuck with them If we get relegated. Maybe Wes will be a smash in the Championship.
Shlt or bust I really do think this is the last season we will see Grealish in a Villa shirt. Once he gets into the England set up he will be off.
We can make a good go of it by beating Norwich and not feeling sorry for ourselves. Im expecting the players to be fired up, hopefully a tactical change and 3 pts, this is it. Blow the next couple of games and it will be just too much water on board to stay afloat.
I was one who said i miss the championship but didnt realise it may be coming faster than you can blink blimey im still watching re-runs of the play offs.
Come on Villa, let the Lion roar.

[samhubball]

The thing is mate, when we last played Norwich both teams lined up with a similar formation and tactics and we battered them 5-1 (of course we conceded!) so to change formation for that game is even less likely imo.

Konsa has a bright future, as does Targett and Douglas. Trez is a typical winger, looks great one week, terrible the next.

Grealish has to move if we are relegated, in modern football no one is ever picked for the English national side of they aren't in the top flight. Except for Sancho but he is Chelsea bound and is plying his trade in the top flight in Germany.

[Wardy]

Your manager and coaching staff don't seem up to the job. You are obviously one of England's biggest clubs given your history and support and expectations were raised amongst supporters given the amount spent on new players. All the experts were predicting a mid table finish this season ( currently looks optimistic) and your fans swallowed it hook line and sinker.

Watford on thé up. They play at Bramall Lane on Boxing Day, we'll try and do you a favour

[Wardy]

On thé evidence of Bramall Lane. No composure at the back, panicked clearances. It was difficult to spot any real shape or purpose. We'd lost our previous home game to Newcastle who just put packed the defence surrendering position and relying on breakaways. Along with a bit (a lot) of cheating " game management" it worked a treat, awful to watch but they left with three points.
By contrast it was difficult to see what Villa were trying to achieve, must have baffled the players. On the evidence of yesterday your midfield looks very week, what does Hourihane offer ? The game passes him by

[westcountryvillain]

TD - "we didn't come up like Sheff Utd" is a good point, you could of course include Norwich in that, Wolves the previous season did superbly well with just 3 signings. It does show how a lot of what happens is football is down to good scouting, good man management AND good tactics.

Where's it going wrong for Villa? At the back we are littered with individual errors and it's getting worse, plus everything going to Jack and expecting miracles. As for tactics - Southampton always had an extra man in the final third, Chelsea the same and Brendan Rodgers spoke of how he done us with a change of formation. We set up the same for every game bar the occasional inclusion of both Luiz (who for me loses more 50-50 situations than he wins) and Nakamba.

[Exiledvillan]

2 very observant and fair assessments there Wardy. We had to completely rebuild our squad during the summer, unlike yourselves. We scraped through the playoffs, on the back of a freakish winning run, with a team of loans and players in their last year of contracts. Just like the ‘F’ word from west London the previous season.

The ‘fine performances?’ at the beginning of the season were built on a now long used up adrenaline rush, viewed through Claret and Blue spectacles.

De management’s tactical nous has been sussed. The DOF and manager bought players in with just one playing style in mind. Unfortunately, that playing style does not suit the Prem for every game. DS needs to have a rethink, and fast. As for our defence? Well, you’d have thought that we have ‘no better man’ in situ to sort that. Time to earn that money, JT.

As the wise men (little festive nod there) on here have mentioned, 3 at the back, Jack at No8, and 2 up top. With SJM out til March with an ankle fracture, we have to change formation anyway.

I’m still very much in DSs corner, he’s an intelligent football man and I believe that he can sort this out.

Onwards & Upwards, and seasons greetings to you all.

[TrianonDave]

As usual XV, spot on mate.
I dont know what it is but we have a bad habit of turning a leather purse into a sows ar5e very easily.
Heaton....looks average for a England now.
Giulbert...started bright and like a train and now confused .com
Targett...can he actually defend, always leaves room for oppostion.
Konsa....10 mill? Slow
Mings....full of mistakes now.
Nakamba.. headless chicken, The road runner but what else?
Connor..in and out, when gets it right he goes missing the next game
McGinn....lost before his injury A shadow of his normal self
Trez.....yet to arrive
Elghazi.....mr inconsistent
Wesley....gone from a stallion into a donkey.
There are exceptions. Well-
Grealish.....thats it.
Time to get back to basics.