Roberto Di Matteo Aston Villa sacking is inevitable after ‘shameful’ Preston defeat.. not one of the last six managers were up to the job

THIS was supposed to be a happy piece – after a rare away win.

Sadly tinkerman Roberto Di Matteo ruined that.

Yesterday? Truly a new low. I dismissed the Luton Town embarrassment (sorry, I keep forgetting I am not meant to remind fellow Villa sufferers, I mean fans, about that non-event).

I thought it was just a blip, we’d got bigger fish to fry and that we’d be mounting a decent challenge on the league.

I thought it MIGHT take two seasons if I’m honest but still lumped £40 on an outright win because I’m sorry, I expect to be able to think big.

I expect, in this league, to be able to walk around with a bit of a swagger as the mighty claret and blue conquer and we start to sing ‘we fancied a change, we fancied a chaaaange.’

We’re Aston Villa, we fancied a change (for one season we fancied a change)’.

Now?

We are 19th.

We’ve got 10 points.

Our goal difference is minus two and that is despite the fact WE HAVE THREE 20-goal-a-season Championship strikers (Ross McCormack, Jonathan Kodjia, Rudy Gestede) and STILL we don’t shoot on target. And STILL we don’t score.

Why?

Well, I didn’t like to think like this but I’m starting to realise the fans who never wanted Di Matteo were right. That means, *starts to tear up at the thought* I might have been wrong…. no, I’ll have to go further than this. This hurts.

My name is Jonathan Fear and I was wrong. Since John Gregory went, there hasn’t been a single manager that I’ve liked or really rated. Here is a FIVE for you…………

1) Martin O’Neill. Would have been fine wheeling and dealing under Doug Ellis.

The massive money Randy ‘you can’t really mention his name’ spent when he first came in (biggest spenders in Europe the one year) was too much for MON and his backroom staff were too old school.

He could have shaken that up and brought in modern youthful coaches, he didn’t.
Still brought us more than any other manager since but on the money he spent, he blinking well should have. He quit with very spiteful timing.

2) Gerard Houllier. He was too ill. I’m not being nasty, myself. I know that .

He should have known that. He was awful and actually insulted us all over his love affair with Liverpool. That was fine if kept private but no, he kept on about them.

At this point, I’d have given Gary McAllister a go to be honest. Villa? I’m sorry, they did WHAT?

3) Alex McLeish. I’ll tell you something for nothing (unless you are willing to pay, then just send the cash in a brown bag please, it’s how we do it in football)… he was a really nice guy.

He is the only manager out of all of them in recent years who actually ASKED to meet some fans (I was one of them, naturally, I’m ace…!) and asked us about OUR club.

But it was never going to work was it? He said at the time he was shocked at the reaction.

I remember saying to him, ‘would you have moved from Rangers to Celtic’ .. he replied ‘no’. ‘That’s basically what you’ve just done’. (Please be aware I’m going to be a total hypocrite in this blog later…)

He could have become a cult figure (I did say cult) if he’d gone for it, like John Gregory did when he first came in. But no, baffling negative tactics and off he soon went.

4) Oh dear oh dear oh dear and for once I was in the minority on not wanting this one. Paul Lambert. Horrible. I’ll say no more.

5) Tim Sherwood. A breath of fresh air in the way he spoke and tried to engage with the fans but also fairly full of hot air at times.

When he said he’d rather Villa got 3 points than win the then £120m Euro jackpot I just cringed.

I’ve supported Aston Villa since I was born in 1969… sorry, I meant err.. 1989 ahem!… BUT I’m sorry, I’d take the £120m over three points any day.

Then again, I’d have bought Villa from Randy ‘you can’t really mention his name’ with the money.

I thought Tim’s tactics were ‘off’ but he has nothing on Roberto.

6) Remi Garde. They sacked inexperience and replaced it with even less experience.

It worked out exactly as you’d imagine. One minute the then CEO was telling us we had a false narrative wanting him sacked, the next minute he was sacked!

5657 fans went yesterday. They sang their hearts out. That is nearly 6000 faithful fans who haven’t seen an away win in 420 days.

How many other clubs would have a following like that with so little to really get behind and support

Well, I’ve got another FIVE for you…

Di Matteo’s record as described by another fan on my site who says RDM can’t build his own team:

1) MK Dons. Took over a promotion winning side from Paul Ince got them to the playoffs where they lost and left for West Bromwich Albion.

2) WBA. Took over from Gary Megson who had got them relegated but still had the team that Megson had won the Championship with the previous year they finished second, got promoted ,tried to form his own team and got the sack for winning only one of his last ten matches.

3) Chelsea. We all know they won the Champions League but how much influence RDM had on that team is debatable but when given the job full time lasted till November and got sacked.

4) FC Schalke 04. Wasn’t there long but following a run of two wins in ten matches which cost them a place in the Champions League, he resigned.

5) Aston Villa. One win in 11 games. Will he resign? Based on the above, it seems this is all he can muster. With the money spent in the summer and the backing they have from the fans, is 19th really good enough? I expect, I DEMAND top ten at the very least for goodness sake.

You’ve bought two fives (well, one’s a six), I’ll throw in a third for free. Every little helps.

Our play list:

1) Status Quo… Down Down Deeper And Down

2) The Smiths… That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore

3) Blur… This Is A Low

4) Led Zeppelin…Trampled Under Foot

5) Bruce Springsteen… Fade Away

They obviously didn’t read my first blog: I asked them to man up, for RDM to stop tinkering, to just get sorted and shoot. We had two shots on target. TWO. v Preston North End.

Shameful.

If we are as well funded as we think we are now, I’d break the bank for <Hypocrite mode on>Gary Rowett<Hypocrite mode off> or go for Dean Smith.

Both Aston Villa fans, hence I’m not actually being that big of a hypocrite talking about a manager who is at… what-do-they-call-themselves from across the City!?
Until the next disaster folks. UTV

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