The second of three away games in a week for Palace is at Villa Park so we grabbed a tin hat and asked Villa fan Stevie Green about the season so far.
Q. Dare we ask how the season has gone for you since we met at Selhurst Park earlier in the season?
Downhill, in a word. It has been utterly shambolic and just painful to watch, and whether we go down or stay up (which we will not) I just want it to be over. We knew we have not been great for a few years, and a lot of fans saw relegation coming at some point, but not like this, we are not even making a fight of it.
Q. Was it the right decision to sack Tim Sherwood and what do you think has gone wrong at Villa Park?
Absolutely. My only gripe is that it took ten games to get rid of him. He had no idea what he was doing, and his decisions cost us a good number of those games. His poor decision making and his fear of relying on the summer signings meant that we nosedived quickly, but it is not entirely his fault. We have an absent owner who provides no guidance, and we are obviously still hurting from losing the spine of our team from last season (Vlaar, Delph, Benteke). It is a big cocktail of ineptitude and it has been on the wall for a while, sadly.
Q. What are your early impressions of Remi Garde?
I like him, regardless of his inexperience. He has not been able to provide the kind of bounce we needed, but those pouting to that would do well to remember it took Sherwood five attempts to get his first win last term. He has not playing favourites, and has cut Gabby Agbonlahor, who is a shadow of his former self, and dropped Jack Grealish for his off the field behaviour. He is not willing to play favourites with anyone, but saying that he needs a friend. Either in the squad or a stronger assistant manager because he is obviously struggling to turn things around on his own.
Q. Should the owner Randy Lerner shoulder some of the blame for the position you currently find yourselves in?
Replace the word ‘some’ with the words ‘the majority‘. Lerner has a reputation for being one of the worst NFL owners in history (at the Cleveland Browns) and we are seeing why. He has become increasingly distant, so he is entirely out of touch with the fans and probably the entire English football landscape, too. He wondered why he could not sell the club, but he wants £200 million for it, which is ridiculous. Someone should have told him you do not run a football club to make money, it does not work like that here. His decisions have got worse as well, whether it has been over who he has hired to run the day to day affairs or the money he has laid out for certain players, I just do not trust him at all.
Q. Do you expect the club to do much business in the transfer window?
I do not know, to be honest. We are not exactly attractive right now. There are positions that need boosting, but even if we are preparing for the Championship I can just see players we could probably sign over the summer looking at us now and thinking ‘nah, I don’t want to spend the next five months on the floor‘. I am expecting a few more coming on board from Ligue 1, if anything.
Q. If you could choose three players to leave the club tomorrow, who would they be?
Gabriel Agbonlahor, Charles N’Zogbia, Alan Hutton and Kieran Richardson. I went for four it is that bad.
Q. Is there a fear that the gap between the Premier League and the Championship is growing more than ever before?
Well, with the new television money coming in over the summer, it could change in a way we have never known it, but at the end of the day three teams still have to go down, and looking at the likes of Watford, Norwich City and Bournemouth, teams do not have to be established in the top flight to hit some form. Okay, two of those teams could still drop, but they have been winning games recently, and a hard working unit will always beat a talented unit that will not go the extra yard.
Q. Name a player from each side that you think will be a threat to the opposition?
For us it will be Jordan Ayew. The kid is just electric and he has really grown into the league. He is capable of scoring from anywhere, he works hard and has bags of skill. He is really fighting for the cause and if others were helping him out he would be the one dragging us up by the collar. For Palace, I would say Yannick Bolasie if he was fit. With Villa’s full-backs virtually non-existent at the moment he would have had a field day.
Q. Your prediction?
This is how it will go down. Palace will score in the first half, Villa will equalise on the hour, then after a brief spell of pressure looking for a winner we will panic and implode and concede two late on. But, you know, a draw would be nice!
Q. Please tell us a little about any projects that you may be working on or anything that you would like to promote.
With the European Championships coming up in the summer, I will be spending a bit more time on my site dedicated to the Welsh national team at Magnificent Severn. So I will be keeping an eye on Palace, too, as both Wayne Hennessey and Joe Ledley will be playing a huge part. Chris and I are going to continue with Aston Villa Review, whatever happens, but for the time being that will not be as fun.
