Raymond

Their fans are so arrogant after a couple of wins. They all think they're gonna beat us comfortably, especially with the best DM in the world (Lucas) and the best striker in the PL (Suarez) ready for this. But this just takes the cake:

Sounds like something a Villa fan would write.

Highlights video for those asking: http://www.footrevie...1-4-aston-villa

That is what sports reporting sounds like in England? She sounded asleep.

We will have to agree to disagree, in my view a wage bill is never going to be sustainable when you need to to factor in player sales in order to achieve it. That is the very definition of unsustainable.

I'm am not saying that clubs do not expect to get something back on the value of players they sign, obviously in most cases they would hope to do so. However players are assets and so are marked down in accounts as depreciating assets.

It is though pointless us debating this one as we will never agree on it.

Plenty of teams around the world do use this approach. Now most of the time they are in lower European leagues or Brazil, but saying it is unsustainable would be incorrect.

Vlaar Westwood Lowton Benteke - all very good

KEA Bennett Bowery - too early to tell

I think we can tell on KEA. He looks an awful lot like Makoun.

I agree with the rest though.

Talking of bearded Swedes, we should buy Nicklas Kronwall from the NHL while we're at it. He can just stand around the middle of the park and level anyone who goes forward! He's even harder than Benteke.

They just call him the Wall

You have just made me really sad about the lockout. Free my hockey.

bannan and ireland are not the answer, both dire today again.

Not everything is "dire" or "fantastic." There is middle ground, which is squarely where Bannan and Ireland were today.

Please stop with the extremism.

Well. I guess worse things could have happened.

Gabby needs to get more involved.

Was that intentional by Baker?

N'Zonzi should be off.

Grabbed him by the throat there. Pathetic word removed.

I hope Big Brad finds him in the parking lot later.

This game can at least put to bed the ridiculous "table doesn't lie" argument. We are better than Stoke.

Stoke are the hillbillies of the Premier League.

As the son of a hillbilly, I am offended you would compare us to stoke.

Racist inbreds? Sure. But stoke is over the line.

Man. Thought we were finally going to score during the 19th.

Where the hell was this team last week?

The picture that Chris herd himself said was fake?

You asked what he was talking about. If you already knew why did you ask the question?

Im a bit slow on the gossip. What are you referring to here?

Picture of him with a girl that looked an awful lot like Herd's old girlfriend floating around.

*that was the only issue with oneill the fact he would wait till the last minute to sign a player, which by then his main target would go to another club so we would have to settle for his second or even third choice, which of course, werent the best, he was too 'nice' to other clubs in letting them have the pick of the better available players

It was the only issue with Oneill?

I love the idea of Jozy Altidore as a player who can hold the ball up top and he has a great goal scoring record at AZ. He's also only 23. Haven't heard anything about it but would be great, American biases aside

Said this before I think, but I would hate having Jozy here. I just don't believe he has the intangibles to play in the big leagues. He is certainly big and fast enough, but I don't think he has what you need between the ears to be a big time player.

Is that right? that in recent years of all the teams in the relegation positions at Xmas, only one has avoided the drop? Sounds unlikely

I believe it is the bottom team only.

He started life as a wing back and thats what he was when newcastle first signed him. He played as a left wing back at Newcastle when he first arrived there. It might not be a bad idea to try him there. Lichaj/stevens/bennett are not especially any good really.

Especially since we rely so much on our fullbacks to provide width. So many times yesterday Lichaj was in acres of space when he received the ball but had neither the mind or ability to do anything with it.

This is getting tiresome.

Of course it is a big picture situation, and of course we have been, overall, playing better as of late.

YESTERDAY, however, was absolute shit and unacceptable. We played for a draw against the bottom team in the table. That smacks of desperation and fear.

And me, someone who has been a defender and proponent of Lambert and his approach, saying this destroys your go to "all you guys are negative all the time" bullshit arguements. Sometimes things are negative, and being positive in the face of it shows an equal lack of objectivity as someone who is constantly negative.

Lambert is doing what he can with what limited resources he's been given.

The mindset of the modern football fan is to have success quickly or bring in the new guy. That approach is grand if you give the new guy hundreds of millions of pounds worth of players and transfer money to build a team. We can't do that, and so we need to take a more patient approach. Sure, there will be misakes and awful games and dubious decision making, but it is all part of the learning curve.

It'll be a long, frustrating season and many fans won't be happy. However, turning this club around is a job that needs doing and save an oil baron taking us over, this is how it will and must be done.

Keep calm and carry on and all that.

I agree with this and I think anyone calling for Lambert's head is a couple fries short of a happy meal, but not recognizing and accepting the truly horrific nature of the performance today shows an equal lack of objectivity.

Guzan

Lowton-Vlaar-Clark-XXXX

Westwood-Bannan

XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Benteke

All the X'd out positions need to be filled in January. I think we could get bye with Nzogbia/Gabby/Weiman filling one of the wing positions a game, but we need more creative attacking options for sure. A new LB would be nice as week, but I do not think Lambert will give up on Stevens/Bennett this quickly.

Three quality attacking players seems very doable in January. Let's see it.

The only thing I can think to why Ireland was left out is Lambert wanted to tinker against a team we should be able to beat.

If that is true, lets hope his tinkering and the two points it lost us does not cost us in the end.

I have been happy with Lambert so far, but today was a horrible performance. The initial set up was all wrong, the half time non-change was ridiculous, and the subs were horrific.

I do not like the constant moaners, but if you cannot conjure up criticism after that performance then you are no different that the posters you constantly bemoan.

It does not matter if you are always positive or always negative, you are lacking in the same thing. Objectivity.