[caravanc58]

In years to come i think Moore will become a good manager, personally I wouldn't have given him the job just yet. this season is vital for the club to get promoted but it's a huge gamble to have given a novice the task. would be bitterly disappointed if this squad fails to achieve it because there's not many teams at this level that have the experience we have.

[leeiswba]

Really don’t see how Moore can take criticism today, controlled the game and just individual mistakes cost us..... and there is no way he could have seen brunt come on and do what he did, I’ve seen nothing in the last 11 years either to predict he would have messed up so no way he can be blamed

[graka]

Moore and Jones are out of there depth
Continually tactically out thought
Too loyal to certain players
With our squad and budget we should be top 2 easily.

[paulosull]

Moore keeps saying we are trying to learn from our mistakes but week in week out coaches seem unable to teach or player's seem unable to crasp what coaches want them to do. Could be that we have to many chefs in kitchen? Either Darren let's Jones have complete control of training or he takes it.

[zippyandbungle]

Really don’t see how Moore can take criticism today, controlled the game and just individual mistakes cost us..... and there is no way he could have seen brunt come on and do what he did, I’ve seen nothing in the last 11 years either to predict he would have messed up so no way he can be blamed

I've seen nothing this season to suggest he was going to improve us when he came on ?

[frazzle]

Darren Moore makes mistakes like every other manager does and you knew Pulis would win today (he always does against his former teams). Some of the vitriol and criticism seems over the top to me. Our modern "self-righteous" culture has become pervasive in football too. Someone has to be blamed, while those watching on (who incidentally never seem to make mistakes in their own life) get to criticize often with straw man arguments.
Just go online and look at Leeds fans today slagging Bielsa off...
There are some reasoned and thoughtful posters on here and I understand people's passion but often it seems we are waiting to see people fall.
In the summer one of the biggest reason Moore shouldn't get the job is Dean Smith is way more experienced and tactically more astute. That argument seems to have gone very quiet now we realize that is not the case and his win percentage is way worse than Moore and the villa fans are now claiming he is tactically naive (Oh and they got to keep their loan signing who made a huge difference).

Thoughtful criticism is fine but honestly some people need to cheer up. We are still in the cup, there are 17 games left and while football is great there is more to life.
Off to put the tin hat on

Best post here in a long time.

[frazzle]

The strongest squad debate is strange to me. Last year alot of people said Pulis left the squad lopsided in a lot of positions.
No proper right back and no creative midfielder or predatory striker.
We then get relegated and sell our best player - Foster and our best defender Evans.
At the start of the season Brunt, Barry and Morrison divided opnion on whether we should retain them (most would have binned Barry). And now brunt apparently should be no-where near the squad.
Alot of people don't rate Johnstone, most want Robson-Kanu gone, a lot think Livermore is poor.
We had no right back so signed Mears and got Hoolohan on a free (why are we signing a 36 year old was the cry).
If you look at the players signed on deadline day Montero was on the bench for Swansea most games.

Since Thursday at 11pm I would say we have a "strong squad". Is it the best in the championship not sure.

Yep. People claim it’s a strong squad yet the same people criticise them non step.

[Standaman]

Honestly I don't think it is possible for Darren to win and if you accept that he has a reservoir of good will to draw on given his long association with the club then you have to wonder what chance any coach has of ever being good enough to be our Head Coach.

The white noise of bollox that greets every defeat and goes silent when we win is not coherent nor logical. Yesterday should put the subsitutions thing to bed he made them probably at the point in the game when those who argue for them would have made them. One of the subsitutes makes a mistake for what turns out to the be deciding goal that is obviously Dareen's fault. Plainly he should have turned to one of those footballers who never makes mistakes that were on the bench yesterday.

We have a strong squad apparently but if you go to the indivdual players threads and you would think we have a collection of donkeys "the worst ever" being not an uncommon description.

Some say that he should give kids more game time but you can understand why he and most other coaches do not take the risk lose and the fans turn often the same ones that were advocating the very thing you did. When that mood gathers to seething discontent you are out of a job.

[jharman292]

Moore took some stick yesterday and rightly so. However that does not mean he can not be the man to lead this club back into the Premier League. He has made basic errors but he has also got plenty right, he just needs to me a couple of adjustments to turn us into a promotion team.

I still think tactically he has not got it right, im hoping the signings change that and provide the team with more balance.

Johnstone. Gets unfair critism in my opinion, not helped by the ease in which we allow players to come forward and get a shot away.

Defense. I think its pretty sorted now and we certainly have the best pair of full backs in the league. Perhaps and argument for bringing Tosin in for Dawson who i thought waa awful yesterday and got beat too easily for there first 2 goals.

Midfield 3. Moore has to find a consistant 3 that works. Not helped recently with injuries and suspensions but too often playing 3 side to side players who simply struggle to bridge the gap between midfield and attack. I really believe Harper is the best CM in the squad at the minute so hope Moore keeps him in. Livermore. Harper. Johansen. Would be my 3. Mixture of legs and quality

Front 3. Biggest problem in the team at the minute and one that Moore needs to correct before Stoke. Gayle left is madness. The best striker in the league constantly out wide crossing the ball into the box baffles me and that is down to Moore. JRod used to operate off the left, surely a better option? Gayles movement alone causes nightmares for defenders and is a game changer for us, something that has been wasted in recent weeks. HRK? Awful. I dont care about how he played yesterday, he simply doesnt offer enough and should not be starting games. Replaced by Murphy or Montero next week please Darren.

Subs. I would say this is where Moore has come in for the most abuse. His subs are often far too late in a game and a more reactive than proactive. Continues to bring on Brunt when everyone knows he is finished at this level. His set pieces are not even very good these days. Would like to see more attacking subs and we could start seeing more games out rather than settling and slipping up.

I really like Moore and im desperate for him to succeed but he has to make some changes otherwise i can see us slipping down table over the next month. I think in 4 weeks time, we will have a much better idea about how this season is going to finish up.

[GREGMT]

Honestly I don't think it is possible for Darren to win and if you accept that he has a reservoir of good will to draw on given his long association with the club then you have to wonder what chance any coach has of ever being good enough to be our Head Coach.

The white noise of bollox that greets every defeat and goes silent when we win is not coherent nor logical. Yesterday should put the subsitutions thing to bed he made them probably at the point in the game when those who argue for them would have made them. One of the subsitutes makes a mistake for what turns out to the be deciding goal that is obviously Dareen's fault. Plainly he should have turned to one of those footballers who never makes mistakes that were on the bench yesterday.

We have a strong squad apparently but if you go to the indivdual players threads and you would think we have a collection of donkeys "the worst ever" being not an uncommon description.

Some say that he should give kids more game time but you can understand why he and most other coaches do not take the risk lose and the fans turn often the same ones that were advocating the very thing you did. When that mood gathers to seething discontent you are out of a job.

You seem blind to the importance of promotion in May and the devastation of losing our best players as a consequence.

Any other club would be demanding promotion with our resources.

Darren Moore did a fine job as a WBA player however it is in the past.  He is handsomely paid to be Manager.

[frazzle]

Honestly I don't think it is possible for Darren to win and if you accept that he has a reservoir of good will to draw on given his long association with the club then you have to wonder what chance any coach has of ever being good enough to be our Head Coach.

The white noise of bollox that greets every defeat and goes silent when we win is not coherent nor logical. Yesterday should put the subsitutions thing to bed he made them probably at the point in the game when those who argue for them would have made them. One of the subsitutes makes a mistake for what turns out to the be deciding goal that is obviously Dareen's fault. Plainly he should have turned to one of those footballers who never makes mistakes that were on the bench yesterday.

We have a strong squad apparently but if you go to the indivdual players threads and you would think we have a collection of donkeys "the worst ever" being not an uncommon description.

Some say that he should give kids more game time but you can understand why he and most other coaches do not take the risk lose and the fans turn often the same ones that were advocating the very thing you did. When that mood gathers to seething discontent you are out of a job.

Agreed. Replace him and the next guy gets it in the neck. The modern football fan I’m afraid

[mr multivac]

For Darren to succeed and ultimately the Baggies
He needs to put sentimentality to bed and become more ruthless
I’m

[KN22]

He is making mistakes for sure and for me the continuing ploy of Gayle out wide and starting of HRK are the biggest ones. I refuse to accept that Darren cost us the game yesterday however. Yes he brought Brunt on but the error that led to third goal was a once in a hundred occurrence.

I think team selection for the Stoke game needs to be carefully thought out and should include starting roles for at least two of the players who joined on Thursday.

[AlbionFan]

Honestly I don't think it is possible for Darren to win and if you accept that he has a reservoir of good will to draw on given his long association with the club then you have to wonder what chance any coach has of ever being good enough to be our Head Coach.

The white noise of bollox that greets every defeat and goes silent when we win is not coherent nor logical. Yesterday should put the subsitutions thing to bed he made them probably at the point in the game when those who argue for them would have made them. One of the subsitutes makes a mistake for what turns out to the be deciding goal that is obviously Dareen's fault. Plainly he should have turned to one of those footballers who never makes mistakes that were on the bench yesterday.

We have a strong squad apparently but if you go to the indivdual players threads and you would think we have a collection of donkeys "the worst ever" being not an uncommon description.

Some say that he should give kids more game time but you can understand why he and most other coaches do not take the risk lose and the fans turn often the same ones that were advocating the very thing you did. When that mood gathers to seething discontent you are out of a job.

As per usual an eloquently constructed post from a voice of intelligence, reason, logic and common sense, qualities that appear to to be lacking in some quarters.

[GREGMT]

It is intelligence to be able to disect what happened during a game, offer insight to what went right/wrong and offer an opinion.  We are 30 games in not 10, people have been patient with Moore.

You just want to back Moore to the hilt and not offer an opinion.

What were you like with Pardew did he get this same blanket support even though he was incompetent?

[skyclad99]

It is intelligence to be able to disect what happened during a game, offer insight to what went right/wrong and offer an opinion.  We are 30 games in not 10, people have been patient with Moore.

You just want to back Moore to the hilt and not offer an opinion.

What were you like with Pardew did he get this same blanket support even though he was incompetent?

Had Pardew won some of his first 6 games and we looked like a team with a realistic chance of escape, of course we would have all backed him, but we know what happened and that was totally unacceptable. Darren took over and against all odds we nearly got out of it. So he deserves our backing and he deserves the chance.

We have hit some slightly questionable form, but other teams will do the same. We are still in a very strong position and yesterday was just one game. It was pretty obvious what happened yesterday, we went into the lead, TP bought a couple on, slightly changed his game plan and the rest is well documented. I don't think our subs reacted to his and that for me was the issue - we just carried on regardless.

[17GD]

The big thing for me yesterday was a lack of common sense. In his preparation, DM should have been telling his players to move the ball quickly, keep the ball on the deck, one touch and move. I'd say Peter Crouch is the only tall player I've seen who can move quickly. One thing tall defenders hate is being moved around at speed with the ball around their feet. We have nippy little players like Gayle, Jrod, Gibbs who all have pace and dribbling ability. We didn't use it. Vast majority of the balls into the box yesterday were chest or head height. Played right into Boros hands.

On a different day we wouldn't have made those errors and would have won the match 2-1. Mistakes happen, that's life. But I'm shocked at how so many people in life make big money who can't do their job well enough.

[baggie82]

I like Darren Moore, the football is much better, we have made some astute signings. But our home form has been awful for a while, Sheffield Wed, Brentford, Boro, we should have beat the lot of them with our squad. So he’s making mistakes and not getting the best out of the resources he has. Doesn’t mean I would want him out at all, still has my support. We are now in the business end of the season and we’ve got to get it sorted ASAP to have a chance of getting into the top two. Yesterday was a massive own goal.

[zippyandbungle]

Some of the stuff on here "the white noise of bollox"? Really?

On Sunday I play football with a bunch of friends, I'd step in and fight anyone who started on them , I love them all, but when they make mistakes I tell them...that is life, that is football.
Darren Moore has had half a season of picking players in the wrong position, being tactically poor and continuing to say that they learn from mistakes and then clearly repeating
Because he seems nice, because he is not Pardew and because he played for us , some seem to be able to not see the obvious in front of them
Keeper is poor
Brunt is not a cm
We need a plan b
Gayle is our best CENTRE forward etc etc

Now, people can run around calling others names that's your choice, but at the moment there are very basic issues that are not being addressed by the management , listen to his aftermatch interview on WM it is shocking ...
Mr Lai will act

[KN22]

I don’t think Mr Lai is set to act any time soon, not for one minute. We shall see.

[wodenson46]

completely agree with Standaman on this. Plus we lost a match to one of the wiliest managers in the game who schools his sides to use ‘the dark side’ to good effect. Ok we made mistakes but could and should have won that game 2-1, but we lost because of a couple of uncharacteristic errors from senior players and some very average goalkeeping. We need to take on board what we did wrong, look at some options, move on and get back to winning both in the cup and against Stoke. Some of the knee jerk stuff on here is so damn childish I wonder if......Oh never mind, get over it move on -rant over.. apologies to the more cosidered posters; the ones who keep this forum interesting and informative.

[Oldbury24]

Some of the stuff on here "the white noise of bollox"? Really?

On Sunday I play football with a bunch of friends, I'd step in and fight anyone who started on them , I love them all, but when they make mistakes I tell them...that is life, that is football.
Darren Moore has had half a season of picking players in the wrong position, being tactically poor and continuing to say that they learn from mistakes and then clearly repeating
Because he seems nice, because he is not Pardew and because he played for us , some seem to be able to not see the obvious in front of them
Keeper is poor
Brunt is not a cm
We need a plan b
Gayle is our best CENTRE forward etc etc

Now, people can run around calling others names that's your choice, but at the moment there are very basic issues that are not being addressed by the management , listen to his aftermatch interview on WM it is shocking ...
Mr Lai will act

Can we not have some continuity? The football we play is decent, acquisitions have been of good quality and he is one of our own.  This last fact counts for nowt amongst some but stands for something with me.   Why not let Darren Moore grown and develop with us whether that be in the PL or in the championship. Look at the managers that have been given that bit more time and shown loyalty...... Norwich and Bristol City reaping the rewards in our division.  Most of us would have taken Dean Smith in a heartbeat if Darren Moore had not been given the role...... His time so far at Villa has shown there is no guarantee of immediate success. 

One thing this season has taught me is that although getting to the PL with immediacy is our number one priority my footballing world will not fall apart if we fail.   We now appear to have got some good staff on the recruitment team and if they can find good players that can play on the front foot and score goals I'll be happy regardless.  Better that than play Pullisball in any division!!!

[Windmill Baggy]

Moore and Jones are out of there depth
Continually tactically out thought
Too loyal to certain players
With our squad and budget we should be top 2 easily.

I think DM has done just about as well as could be expected considering the circumstances at the start of the season. He hasn't got everything right and he shouldn't be immune from criticism but I still maintain he has got considerably more right than wrong and there's no telling where we would be if another manager had been in charge over the last 6 months. We could easily have had a season like Stoke and the fact we are in contention at all at this stage is to DM's credit.

My thoughts on this also come down to the standard of our squad. I just don't agree that the squad - up to this week at least - has been anything special. We have an Xi that is as good as anything in the league, arguably the best in the division, but have lacked depth all season.

Brunt, Morrison, Bartley, HRK, Field, Harper, Mears, Townsend, Hoolahan and Sako (before he left), are really no better than what half of the division have as back-up. It's an ordinary second string. The purse strings haven't been opened for DM to strengthen and he only had 1 summer to build. The January window is always going to be difficult and likely come down to bringing in loan players.

After relegation we were facing a rebuilding process. Norwich are in their second year of being rebuilt under Farke. Leeds have been building their current squad for 2-3 years. Sheff Utd have been in a steady rebuilding process for almost 3 seasons under Wilder. Their squad is well built to get out of this division. Middlesbrough are in the second season of their post relegation re-build.

I don't believe for one minute our bench up to now has been any stronger than these clubs. In fact it's possibly weaker.

Following the window we now look a lot stronger, but these new players haven't featured yet (bar a late 15 minutes for Murphy).

If we keep our primary 14-15 players fit we can still push for an automatic spot. Johansen and the return of Phillips will transform our midfield for the run-in as we won't get promoted playing Harper, Field or Burnt in the midfield. Murphy coming in for Kanu will give us some more impetus up front.

DM has rectified our weak areas as well as could be expected in a short time-frame and again as well as could be expected. We could well be sitting here in May saying his business in January was a masterstroke, but these things are always easier to say in hindsight.

[FallOutBoy]

I hate losing to the footballing Anti-Christ, even more so in circumstances such as those. Moore cannot be held accountable for individual mistakes, however that first goal came from players who have been told to play it out from the back continuing to do so, despite being perennially rubbish at it. Either get in some proper footballing centre halves, or let them do what they can do - stop trying to force them to do things they clearly aren't comfortable with.

And by the way, since we beat Reading 4-1 on October 6th, we've won just 2 of the following 9 home league games (lost 2, drawn 5). That is not promotion form, and we can't keep failing to see games out / pushing for winners, and expect to go up.

We're seven points off Leeds and Norwich at the start of a big month. Moore will have to motivate like never before, because it's clear he's going to continue to be caught out tactically.

[frazzle]

Moore and Jones are out of there depth
Continually tactically out thought
Too loyal to certain players
With our squad and budget we should be top 2 easily.

Too loyal to who?