Marka Ragnos

Something "off" there with the young lad. I feel bad for him but we can't risk him again. He's a liability and too big a risk. Should be moved in next transfer window.

Honestly don't understand this whole "belief" thing. We're outclassed in terms of resources. I was actually really impressed with our spirit apart from Benteke.

Yeah, that should be it for him. Time to prepare for summer transfer. He's worse than useless. He actually hurt us. I don't have any thing against him personally, but something is just off there. Seems almost bewildered. I actually feel bad for him -- but I feel worse for us.

No. Totally disagree. Villa didn't lack belief. We lacked a clinical striker.

I am no Lambertian but Lerner's left him with no options. I think he was right to give Benteke a last chance but that should be it. It's just too bad PL didn't have many choices. Look at Chelsea. They bring on a player as a discretionary sub whom they just paid almost five times above what we failed to pay for a slightly over the hill striker. It's just obvious what the issue is, and it goes way deeper than Lambert. Chelsea could have left Willian on, too. Very hard to compete against this mismatch in resources.

Somehow this one really hurts especially bad. Was just beginning to get carried away with hope. Real let-down. I feel mad at Benteke.

Benteke just seems awful.

Benteke made a great effort ... at trying to argue for a corner. Man o man.

Does Willian ever get knackered?? Could probably have stayed on.

The Great Curse broken. So happy!!!!

Wish I could get excited about this thread but it just feels like a non-starter for me as long as Lerner's in charge. Wish I didn't think so, but there you have it!

I almost believe it. Fingers and toes crossed.

I see that we've taken quite a few shots without finding the back of the net. Are there one or two people responsible for this statistic? Do we have one player who keeps missing again and again? Trying to work out!

Unfortunately, as much as I wish that was true, it just isn't. He doesn't, and he probably won't. That's his pattern.

Then we'd go ahead and lose two matches, probably. I say go for it. Our supporters deserve to see a real battle against Chelski, with respect to the reserves.

Ha! I've got that same feeling. I just have a funny hunch that the players are going to transcend themselves and their manager and their owner and pull out a little miracle -- of course, I wish I hadn't just said that, probably jinxes it.

Sounds about right to me. Don't think we'll go down, personally, but this year feels closer to last -- and that was bad enough!

How about a simple poll, yea, nay or not sure, on whether Lambert should be sacked?

I don't see Lambert as blameless, but what you're saying about Randy Lerner is unquestionably true -- and it almost can't be said enough. I know quite a few people who support the Cleveland Browns back in the States, and the years of Randy Lerner's inherited ownership were marked by profound frustration, helplessness, and a sense of things standing still. His rep is one of a "do-nothing" owner who stands back, buys a few things, and watches and waits and silently hopes for the best. The Browns' record under Randy Lerner ranged from mediocre to failure with one semi-bright year. They achieved nothing special, but of course, in the NFL you can't get relegated, so the risk of real failure is lower. Most Browns fans were happy to see him go after a decade of mediocrity. From what I can see at Villa, Lerner's ownership has been slightly less successful than his time with Cleveland. He hasn't got us relegated yet, but you can smell it in the air. AVFC supporters need to turn up the heat on Lerner's ownership and press him to sell. The efforts should be organized, dignified, and polite -- that will speak to Lerner more than yobbish howls and vulgarity. It shouldn't be personal. It should be presented more as a kind of "thanks for the good times, but we really need a different owner for this particular club now" sort of proposal and it should be VERY public. A steady, growing, fair-minded, widely publicized groundswell of pressure is the only way, IMHO.

You've got a point there about other names. There really aren't many great choices out there that I know of. Tim Sherwood? Jens Keller? Nope. Nope. When you really think hard, it seems all the best ones are spoken for, unless I'm missing something? I would literally take anybody. I don't know how anyone could want him in charge for a second longer. Not really, tho, not if you stop for a second and consider. Felix Magath took Fulham from bad to worse to total disaster, for example. We would need a proven winner who could steady the ship.

The notion that there's a set of hardcore Lambert supporters on this forum is complete rubbish, it simply isn't true. The fact is we're all Villa supporters with differing perspectives on our current situation. So please stop trying to cause a divide by labeling people, it's not necessary. I am one of an army of supporters of Paul Lambert ... in his move to another club. I really think he'll be fantastic somewhere. Can I just say, also, that I think he's nice bloke? And those early-2000s era bins. Pretty darn cool. See? I support the man. You would think with a Prime Minister, a future King, a former Governor of the Bank of England and Tom Hanks all declaring themselves as Villa fans we should have some sort of high proclamation that means Lerner has to sell the club for a £1 and Lambert has to dance around Glasgow just wearing a sporran and begging for soup on a daily basis. You are causing me to laugh so hard I think I have broken a rib.

Isn't this the time when David Cameron should step in and say something in public? Or perhaps a well-placed leak in the media, voicing his displeasure at seemingly disinterested "distant owners" of English institutions? Honestly, haven't we got the point where well-positioned Villans need to stand up and throw their weight around a little?

So sweet. Brilliant lol!

Yes I'm really a Villa fan. I can't defend where we are as a club, I just don't think it's Lambert's fault. It still bugs me that he hasn't been given an Assistant to work with, it's like he's being asked to carry the whole club on his shoulders. Wow. @Useless, with respect, I almost feel like you're asking us to feel sorry for PL. I feel sorry for little children with leukemia and three-legged dogs. I don't feel bad for well-compensated Premier League managers who are paid to MANAGE.

I thought that about the games recently but alas, no wins. I just pray we hit some sort of form before long You know, I am trying really hard to resist the self-destructive "hang-it-all" attitude where I find myself actually and quite perversely HOPING for relegation because of my anger at the club. I know that's a really dangerous and immature mind-set, but I can understand how supporters get drawn into it out of a sense of helpless fury. We must not give up though. I've got to remember that even now relegation is not yet a fait accompli and it would be a horrible outcome. I keep thinking of that part in Lord of the Rings where the elf queen says "I know what it is you saw, for it is also in my mind. It is what will come to pass if you should fail. The Fellowship is breaking: it is already begun." But of course, the fellowship holds. Somehow, we've got to hold on.