Jenko#4

He has got a right back playing at left back, a midfielder playing at right back, no holding midfielder and is playing pretty much 4x strikers in Gabby, Benteke, Sinclair and N'Zogbia. On paper it looks like a 5 year old has picked the team on FIFA, but he has managed to get it to work perfectly and they all look like world beaters. Timmy is like some sort of Voodoo chief!!

11 miles currently, i keep moving slightly further away

Are you sober now boys. We have to stay in the premier at all costs. You think its bad now, you wait if we got relegated? The Cup is a bonus for any club. Premier league survival is a must. What is the point of supporting a football team? It is to see your team lift trophies, not to see your team scrap to stay in a league avoiding relegation. Give me a trophy any day. Exactly this, in 20 years time when I'm telling my children/grandchildren about Villa, I want to be able to tell them stories about winning the FA Cup at Wembley, not about how we survived by the skin of our teeth in the Premier League for the 4th year in a row. The chances are by then we will be relegated any way, and Chelsea/Man City/the next big plaything will be wrapping up their 10th title in a row. Anyway, if we win the FA Cup and get relegated, all we need to do is win the Europa League next season, and we are in the Champions League in 2016!!

Gabby, Yorke, Saunders, JPA, Dublin, Vassell, Benteke, Joachim, Hendrie, Young, Milner, Carew, Taylor, Merson, Barry, Bent Just a guess off the top of my head, I doubt it's anywhere near right Great effort. 15/16 off the top of my head did Dalian Atkinson?? Yes he did. I also made an error. Sharky actually got 14/16. Savo?

What are they good players based on? Benteke has scored goals (for the same manager) in one season - next to sod all else. Delph has played for Villa and produced next to nothing. Sanchez wasn't even heard of until the World Cup; same as Vlaar really (a Dutch guy I know ridicules him from his time in Holland; I've always said he's wrong). Okore has this season come back from a bad injury - having previously played in Denmark. Guzan now looks a good keeper... one that was released by Aston Villa. In short, there's absolutely no basis for this "we should be at least 10th/12th" message that people are saying. None at all. None of these players have achieved this in the Premier League. None. I just don't understand where people are getting this "should be at least 10th" stuff from. I think the time has come for Lambert to go, but some of the chat on here is as if we're bottom of the Premier League by a significant margin with no hope of getting out. We haven't been in the relegation zone all season - and unless Hull beat Man City away, we won't be in there having played Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool twice. If we don't see an upturn at all by the end of March then I'll join in with this panic. Until then, though....? Hilarious that people think there is "no harm" in protesting and creating an even more toxic atmosphere by the way. How can that even be the case? Guzan, Delph, Vlaar, Okore, and Benteke are good players, they would not be a part of their respective international setups if they weren't, and they wouldn't be linked with the likes of United, Liverpool etc either. You don't have to 'achieve' something in the Premier League to be classed as a good player, Cleverley, Joe Cole, and Richardson all have Premier League winners medals, yet shouldn't be anywhere near our starting XI. The issue that we currently have is getting the best out of these players, and that lies completely with Lambert. I do agree with the 'panic' sentiment though. We are not in the relegation zone, and despite our woes in front of goal, we have the 9th best defence in the league despite the Arsenal result. We need 6 wins from our remaining 15 games and we have to play the teams currently sitting from 14th-20th again. If we are in the relegation zone after QPR on 18th April, then I'll panic....

He is injured at the moment, he has just tweeted 'Another good week of rehab, feeling good & strong, back running next week' That probably explains why he hasn't been used over the last couple of weeks........for all we know Lambert did have intentions of using him but couldn't.

Mexico is booked. 2 weeks in June Gone for the very lazy option of an all inclusive resort in Playacar (as opposed to all the travelling around we did in Thailand last year). Will still make the effort to go and see plenty of the surrounding area, but looking forward to a more chilled out holiday. Only 138 days to go! Me and the other half have just booked Mexico in June as well. I have the small matter of a stag do in Berlin late February to get out of the way first though. Has any one been on a stag do there before? and suggestions?

-----------Schmeichel------------ Alves----McGrath----Puyol----Cole -------Xavi-------Scholes-------- C.Ronaldo---Bergkamp--------Messi -------------Henry--------------- I can't think of any world class holding midfielders that I've seen play live, so I'll have to rely on outscoring the opposition.....

I think it is something along the lines of the Football League and Premier League counting any loans made outside of the transfer window as an 'emergency' loan. With emergency loans no money is supposed to exchange hands so the FL, PL don't count them as an official transfer. Teams are increasingly using emergency loans as they would a normal loan, and UEFA and FIFA were pushing the PL/FL to change it as I think England is the only country that allows it.

Stefan Moore has signed for Solihull Moors in the Conference North over Christmas. He is still only 31 as well....

I think it is because Atletico can't afford all of Torres' wages. Milan are still covering some of his Chelsea wages as he is essentially contracted to them for another 18 months as part of the loan deal. Torres isn't going to want to lose out on any of the £175k a week he is owed by Chelsea, Milan agreed to pay a significant amount of this for two years then realised he was rubbish, so now Atletico are paying the significant amount and I'm presuming Milan cover what Chelsea were covering. Chelsea end up owing nothing, Milan end up paying less for the next 18 months, and Torres still gets all his wages and to play for Atletico.

I'd probably have Kompany in instead of Adams or Campbell. Ronaldo has to be in there though- Schmeichel Neville, Terry, Kompany, Cole Ronaldo, Keane, Scholes, Giggs Shearer, Henry

Exactly this- those two little words 'common sense' are exactly what this father should have applied. I've sat in an away end on numerous occasions and likewise had supporters of other clubs go with me to Villa Park.I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think I could control my emotions. If the kids are not old enough or mature enough to understand that common sense needs to be applied in this situation, then they shouldn't be going to the game. (they obviously don't have too much common sense as everyone knows that Man City or Chelsea are the teams to support if you're a glory hunter now!!)

Good- Lambert's transfers in the summer Delph finally getting the recognition he deserves at international level Hutton finally showing why he was called the 'Scottish Cafu' and, despite the way he was treated, not badmouthing the club/players/manager Okore- I don't think I've seen a more naturally gifted defender since God, he has a long way to go to get to that level, but I hope it is with us Bad- The Keane debacle Injuries- Benteke, Okore, Kozak, Delph, Vlaar- we have very rarely put our best starting XI out Lack of width and an inability to change the way we play in a game (although the last few weeks are looking like we are moving in the right direction The fact that Bent, NZogbia, Given are still robbing a living of us- not their fault and I don't blame them, but the fact that their wages could be so much better spent elsewhere is killing us Delph/Vlaar contracts

I see it very much like the above-Young got to the ball first more by accident than anything else. He saw Gabby coming, didn't fancy it, and turned his back and bottled out of the challenge at the last second. He didn't play the ball away, it ricocheted off him. I remember always being told when playing footie as a kid to always commit to a tackle or you will be the one who get hurt. Young didn't commit, Gabby did, Young gets hurt....

Surely that will be appealed against. It was a 50/50, Young bottled it and he got hurt, simple as.

I remember a couple of his first appearances for us, and he would not catch anything.He punched clear every time and caused us a few problems. Now he never looks like he is going to drop a cross, and even holds on to ones which defy the laws of physics. Best Villa keeper I've ever seen.

He has started to look at lot more confident with the ball at his feet, and knows how to pick a pass. Both him and Okore have totally transformed how solid we look. Even at 1-1 with 10 men today he didn't panic and tried to play the same way, and that positivity spread to the rest of the team.

Phenomenal today, we have a right player on our hands. Wins every 50/50 and most of the 40/60s too!

Riccardo Calder is in the squad for tomorrow from the sounds of it.

There definitely seems to be a bit less animosity towards the guy over the last couple of weeks. I think the below image sums up perfectly how I feel about him at the moment-

His fitness is to be assessed ahead of the Albion game, that is a seriously quick recovery from him.

I'd pretty much agree with this. Depending on where you get the figures from Lambert has only spent above £3m on 6 players (Benteke, Vlaar, Kozak, Sanchez, Lowton and Okore) and I would say of them only one has been a flop (Lowton). When he has money to spend he generally does well, Also, he confirmed his interest in Tadic 2years ago, which if given the money, would probably have been the missing piece of the jigsaw. QPR and Hull went out and bought Caulker (8m), Fer (8m), Livermore (8m) and Snodgrass (7m) in the summer, all more expensive than Lambert's highest fee, and in my opinion not much better than what we managed to get in for £6m million combined in Sanchez, Cissokho, Richardson, Senderos and Cole. When you are spending the change down the back of the sofa on players like Sylla, Helenius, Luna, Bacuna etc to fill out your squad you are always taking a massive gamble. Those 4 cost about £5m combined, yet they are not on massive wages, and arguably we'd make a profit if we sold them. If, hopefully, QPR go down, then how hard is going to be to recoup any of the Caulker and Fer money? Lamberts transfer dealings are not a stick to beat him with at all, I just wish he'd been given more money to find the next Benteke or Okore.

I'm pretty sure that if United or Arsenal are interested then they cannot do this. I think that if it is a domestic deal then players can only sign a pre-contract 6 weeks before contract expiry rather than 6 months. (I have got this from Football Manager so I can't verify its authenticity!!)

Gabbys cupped ears celebration always annoys me. I'd understand it if he was getting dogs abuse when we are playing away, but he always seems to do it at home to the Villa fans?? I'm glad we only have to see it 3 or 4 times a season. Any more and it would really irritate me!