Vancvillan

Darren Bent is a natural finisher. Which makes him the answer to a question that we're not asking at the moment.

Barry Banana wasn't half as bad as you lot make out. I'm yet to see any evidence that Cleverley is better..

He really wasn't.

He was twice as bad.

I bet there's someone somewhere with a stack of heat maps that suggest otherwise.

 

Well we seem to be in most pundits predictions for relegation this season? Hopefully thats a bit of good luck? However I am struggling to think of 3 worse teams than our current squad?

That's because most people just tend to look at the last few games. It's why Phil McNulty (who has a massive hard-on for Man United, hence why he has them finishing 3rd) thinks we'll finish 17th but Sunderland, who were absolutely terrible for pretty much the entirety of last season barring those last couple of months, will finish 10th.

 

It's not just the pundits - Bloomberg just released a simulation with Opta (running each game 100,000 times) for next season.  More info on how they got their numbers on their site.

Not pretty reading...

Honestly I think we're in the bottom 6 lottery.

If injuries / form returning from injuries go well, we'll stay up quite comfortably.  If it all goes tits up we'll be bottom.  

The reality is probably somewhere in the middle, and I think it's a coin toss between 19th and 16th.  Looking at it objectively as I can, we're the new Wigan.

Lock it up!

 

That was a pen.

Not on my planet.

 

And I'm glad that's where we live.  But we've all seen them given.

That was a pen.

Holt for KEA - bold move.

I want the fat kid from Moneyball.

after all, this is a football club

Even that's debatable.

Palace deserve the lead and the match officials have done well.

Which makes us the third best team on the pitch.

Personally I'm willing to give him another season. I won't shed a tear if he goes, but I could stand another season to see who he brings in and if lessons have been learnt from this season.

That's not backed by stats or analysis, just gut feeling that season three is make or break (so tear that to shreds if you want since its just opinion).

If a new manager came in, I'd expect a season free of relegation worries (mid table all season), and top 10 would be a good achievement.

If it's Lambert again, I'd want to see top ten no matter what.

 

Lukaku at 17m is a steal

I think im the only one not totally sold on Lukaku. I think Benteke offers a team more. If he was playing for a top team he would be unstoppable. Also i have a bet with a mate that he will start first game of World Cup instead of Lukaka and i cant afford to loose

 

Hopefully that bet has a get out clause for injury...

Bad day for everyone.

 

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert: "I thought we were excellent in the first half. The wind was very strong but even in the second half we had chances. It was a very close game.

"We thought when we got it 1-1 that we might have gone on. We will go again. I don't think we deserved to lose."

 

I did not see that coming.

There was a moment in the second half where we lost possession from our own throw-in just inside their half.  It's not exactly tiki-taka.  If the midfield have poor positioning / movement from a throw-in, you can guess what's going to happen in open play.

Guzan is the player most likely to thread a killer through-ball.  Says it all really.

I do think we are, awful an boring. But please get this out my mind before killing off Lambert. Would we be a better side with Okore, Vlarr in the team and Benteke firing??

Would we be better with a solid defence and a striker so good that he masks our inability to create in midfield?  Yes, but I think that just highlights the problem we have now. And that scenario is the best case - which we can't expect week-in, week-out for a whole season.

It says a lot that our player most likely to tread a killer through ball is Guzan...

 

Kozak's got a head like a frightened turtle.  He's the only player who get's shorter when he jumps.

 

I somehow used to do that

 

Ha - but he's got two feet shaped like 50p's to go with it.

Kozak's got a head like a frightened turtle.  He's the only player who get's shorter when he jumps.

Side note - for all the mentions of Swansea, their relegation thread started in August:

http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/swanseacity/forum/87821/page:1

And I thought VT was paranoid...

Well if this is true, Ireland's off to stoke and Donny rovers are taking Given and Dunne.

The Mirror is always reliable, right?

I mean they wouldn't just print absolute bollocks based on nothing, would they?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/stoke-transfer-news-stephen-ireland-1982068

Everton have less money poorer facilities less trophys in the cabinet yet only lost Rooney and Lescott to big clubs in moyes 9 year stint.

I'll take your Rooney and Lescott and raise you a Rodwell, Arteta and a Pienaar.

Not to say Moyes didn't do a great job, but this glorification of Everton's ability to hold on to their best players is as irrational as the people putting any faith in something The Mirror said. Which they backed up with a sum total of zero quotes and no mention of a source.

There's a thread on this thread (it's all getting a bit Inception) on a Sunderland board.

www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=778204

Long story short, they think they'll beat us, but we could score goals. Our defence is judged as our biggest weakness, which I know will come as a shock to everyone here...

From a morale perspective, Wigan just got a sucker punch to the bollocks.

They must be devastated - that's a game they would have won in previous seasons.

the big result went our way - ive been saying for weeks club xxxxx won't dragged in - its between us and wigan - and maybe one other

So maybe club xxx will be dragged into it?