Relegation

[Zeitgeist]

From a Villa fan, you'll be 'fine' this year. But as someone said earlier it'll be because others are worse rather than you saving yourselves.

You start to notice it as a fan that your squad isn't up to it before it's actually as bad as you think it is.

You'll likely get one, maybe 2 more seasons of circling the drain before you actually drop. Plenty of time to save yourselves and reignite the squad.

We had it with Lambert and he was pretty awful in the end but he delayed the inevitable for us. I reckon Lampard will be dynamic enough to reignite your squad and your owner is willing to invest when push comes to shove, so I reckon if you can get to the summer and buy smartly, you'll be fine

I admire your optimism for us. I've always liked Villa and always thought of them as a premier league team. Shame Gerrard is your manager now (not for you obviously).

Our main issue is the defence, we cannot stop leaking goals, we have had 2 clean sheets all season, vs Norwich and a 0-0 vs Spurs. That is just scary. Our defenders are a mixture of cowards and uncoachable dross.

 

[Fansince1988]

I don't think we will go down but there absolutely is a chance of it, of course there is. Poor results and combined with injuries in key positions can be disastrous.

I’ve just looked at our fixtures and if we do buck our ideas up there is definitely some points to grab, tbh we don’t need many I think it will be well below the usual 40 to stay up 30 odd will be enough.

 

[PKwalnuts]

Relegated or not - depends on how well or bad those around us do.
I can't see us getting 36 points looking at the fixtures.

 

[gixerk6]

Seriously starting to think a season in the championship and a chance to rebuild might not be a bad thing.
We are just making up the numbers in the PL now, just like Burnley, Watford and others.

What we had under Moyes is now a distant memory and in hindsight it really makes you realise that Ancelotti overachieved to get 59 points with these wasters.

Our only hope is that the new incomings of DVB, Alli and El Ghazi can liven us up. Patterson and Mykolenko too.

Throw DCL, Gray, Richy and Doucoure in with those and we have a chance of staying up, if players could stop getting injured for maybe just a few weeks.

The centre half situation is dire though. Mina can seriously GTF, Keane and Holgate are just garbage.

I think if we go down we won’t come back up. All our best players ( hard to tell who most of them are at the moment) will want to leave and we will be up the creek. Will take buying the right players to get us back up and from previous recruitment I can’t see us doing that.

 

[Fansince1988]

I admire your optimism for us. I've always liked Villa and always thought of them as a premier league team. Shame Gerrard is your manager now (not for you obviously).

Our main issue is the defence, we cannot stop leaking goals, we have had 2 clean sheets all season, vs Norwich and a 0-0 vs Spurs. That is just scary. Our defenders are a mixture of cowards and uncoachable dross.

I think the defence problem is Mina is the only leader, he’s mostly injured and the others just look lost, How things are going Coleman could be playing CB but at least he can lead to a degree. But things are pretty bad if we have to have Coleman as CB.

 

[Fansince1988]

Relegated or not - depends on how well or bad those around us do.
I can't see us getting 36 points looking at the fixtures.

I think 31 / 33 will do, we beat Leeds it looks rosier instantly

 

[Zeitgeist]

I think the defence problem is Mina is the only leader, he’s mostly injured and the others just look lost, How things are going Coleman could be playing CB but at least he can lead to a degree. But things are pretty bad if we have to have Coleman as CB.

and Michael Keane age 29 premier league veteran just gets away with it. Total disgrace.

 

[Fansince1988]

and Michael Keane age 29 premier league veteran just gets away with it. Total disgrace.

Yes unfortunately he hasn’t matured the way he should, his fault bad management who knows. But at this point in his career he should be more like a Watson or weir but unfortunately he’s no where near that.

 

[Papa Shango]

I’ve just looked at our fixtures and if we do buck our ideas up there is definitely some points to grab, tbh we don’t need many I think it will be well below the usual 40 to stay up 30 odd will be enough.

Generally I agree but we have been looking at fixtures for months now and thinking there were points to be had. And yet here we are with very little points.

Honestly I think one decent win changes everything and gets us going again but I have felt that for a few months now too. Put it this way if we show the same form as we have for the past 3 or so months then we are down. You would like to think that won't happen but it easily could.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Injuries will force the manager's hand away from the back 3 anyway. He doesn't have the numbers available.

He still has Keane Holgate Branthwaite, so he could if he wanted to, but yes hopefully he might move away from it now

 

[Fansince1988]

Generally I agree but we have been looking at fixtures for months now and thinking there were points to be had. And yet here we are with very little points.

Honestly I think one decent win changes everything and gets us going again but I have felt that for a few months now too. Put it this way if we show the same form as we have for the past 3 or so months then we are down. You would like to think that won't happen but it easily could.

I think the change in manager, new players it can only improve, midfield has been the issue we have more players to choose now so that surely will help, let’s hope so.

 

[Daz1878]

My main concern is that we'll simply run out of games, when the managerial change should have happened before the end of 2021. Last night will have been much more useful to Lampard than Saturday was, but I still worry that he won't have long enough even if/when things click into place. We have enough home games in which to get us over the line, so it's very doable, but after results like last night the margin for error grows ever slimmer. I don't think we're in a relegation fight, as to be in one you have to be seen to be scrapping, and that really isn't the case so far; hopefully Lampard can change this.

 

[arch stanton]

My lad went last night and has just given his version of events. 100%, injuries in first half cost us. Some individual performances were good including Gordon. He wasn't too downhearted but stated the obvious by saying we need points from anywhere. Been on nineteen for a lifetime now.

Absolutely, the Gray departure hit us hard as he was causing them problems then Mina left us with a weak back line.

 

[MACCA75]

It just seems a perfect storm of unlikely happenings - an appalling managerial appointment, selling 2 real quality players, signing of players not up to it, a police investigation and a never ending series of injuries.

Not sure we are getting out of this.

 

[Dwight K Schrute]

Coleman, Keane, Holgate, Rondon, Iwobi and Tosun are all fine though...

Yep, all awful players but not every player will get injured.

Coleman has had a few strains. Rondon and Tosun couldn't possibly move enough to strain anything other than my eyes from having to witness it.