VILLAMARV

Newport away would be interesting

Mackay has been in his job longer too - if you include teams not in the prem at the time

Wenger - Arsenal - 17 seasons (Sep '96)
Pardew - Newcastle - 3 seasons (Dec '10)
Allardyce - West Ham - 2 seasons (Jun '11)
Jol - Fulham - 2 seasons (Jun '11)
Mackay - Cardiff - 2 seasons (Jun '11)

Rodgers - Liverpool - 1 season (Jun '12)

LAMBERT - VILLA - 1 season (Jun '12)

Hughton - Norwich - 1 season (Jun '12)

Bruce - Hull - 1 season (Jun '12)

Clarke - West Brom - 1 season (Jun '12)

Laudrup - Swansea - 1 season (Jun '12)

AVB - Tottenham - 1 season (Jul '12)

Holloway - Crystal Palace - 1 season (Jul '12)

Pochettino - Southampton - 0 seasons (Jan '13)

Di Canio - Sunderland - 0 seasons (Mar '13)

Moyes - Man Utd - 0 seasons (May '13)

Hughes - Stoke - 0 seasons (May '13)

Mourinho - Chelsea (second stint) (Jun '13)

Martinez - Everton - 0 seasons (Jun '13)

Pellegrini - Man City - 0 seasons (Jun '13)

Gold Star today Mr Lambert  

you beautiful beast so glad i read this thread for the last 10 days instead of ranting

He's quality and we know he is 

I think the point there is that you really do have to be THAT good to get away with being such a word removed.

see also G. Best / P. Gascoigne

Bent (alongside Bannan + Ireland) was one of the most disappointing performers for me last season. Apart from equalizing against the baggies I just remember disappointing performance after disappointing performance when he did get a game. People seem quick to forget his stint as captain was awful and instead seem to feel sorry for him that it was taken off him too soon. He has a great career scoring record for sure, and I kind of agree with those who think "we might have just wasted our best striker in years" but I'm hoping he leaves asap.

I'll be sticking a tenner on him scoring against us home and away next year...

but its time to go.

71.29% of 108 votes reckoned 5 signings or less a month ago. aint 4 weeks a long time in football  

 

Welcome to the fold, don't forget your sense of humour, you'll need it  

Without a doubt it's already one of the finest decisions in your life sir, but OOI how come you're disolusioned following Barca? I dream of seeing us play like Barca do sometimes! 

The Barcelona thing has nothing to do with what happens on the pitch, football-wise.  It has everything to do with the fact that every game, every reference, every supporter reverts back to the political situation of Catalonia, and they use these home games as a stump from which to preach their separatist ways.  I have no issue with their views nor their reasons for not wanting to be part of Spain.  What I have an issue with is that their games represent much less sport and much more politics, and when I watch football, I want to see and hear about football...not about why the team on the field is purportedly a pillar for the issues that plague the population around it.  If Spain was a united place, I'd feel much differently about it than I do.  I even saw this years ago when separatist chatter was more minimal.  But now, every game has to somehow feature the Catalan flag in massive fashion, making me wonder who is playing...a club team, or the Catalan (national) regional team?  There is another team in BCN, RCD Espanyol, but they get shit on by the greater public in comparison to FCB.  I had a hunch to simply walk across town and join them originally, but if they ever improve to a top flight team, the same political shit will come out of there, too. Hence, the Premier League was my landing spot.

 

no worries, we only have little plastic flags at villa park these days ;P

Welcome to B6 Jed. Good Luck.

Assuming Given wants to play games, we needed a back up keeper if anything happens to Guzan so should be a good thing in the long run. We have to trust Lambert's judgement on a player he has had at his previous club both talent wise and, just as importantly, attitude wise. English U19 keeper on a free.......literally priceless.

Welcome to the fold, don't forget your sense of humour, you'll need it  

Without a doubt it's already one of the finest decisions in your life sir, but OOI how come you're disolusioned following Barca? I dream of seeing us play like Barca do sometimes! 

aye, thats the one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUBrBqcHAg4

In an Ideal world which exists solely between my ears I can see 6 more out:
 

Bannan, Bent, Delphouneso, Given, Hutton, Ireland

Assuming this all happens I'd love to see a GK, RB and a CB all come in before the season starts. If we managed to get a "Number 10" in on top of that It would be the cherry on top of a good summer imo. 

I also can see Lambert offering to loan out Stevens, Carruthers, Steiber, Donacien, Siegrist, Burke, Drennan into "Mens Football" to see what they're made of.

Loved Barry when he was here. will never know why he wasnt ALWAYS the answer to Gerrard and Lampard "not being able to play together" in the England team. Great technique, Plays a whole host of positions. As David Platt once said when asked about which is Barry's best position.... "He's a good footballer" implying that it didnt really matter. UNBELIEVABLE service to our club - in a time when moving around can make you alot of money (aka Bent) - and players like Steve Bull and Matt Le-Tissier seem like an old distant memory. Is it still a bit annoying that he left to win stuff? hell yeah, but only really because I want US to win stuff. Always hurts when your better players leave. Did I want Cowans or Platt to leave, no, but then I cant begrudge them wanting to either. At least we got a fair enough wedge out of Barry's sale and didnt get stiffed up like with the Milner deal (i.e. Ireland) 

Still remember him cutting in from the left in front of the Trinity Road Stand against Spurs and banging one in from miles out in a game we had absolutely no right to draw

So many memories.

Do I want/we need him back?

Err NO.

It just struck me that Lambert is up to 14 signings in his first year and has now signed an entire team:

Guzan, Lowton, Okore, Vlaar, Luna, Bacuna, Sylla, Westwood, Tonev, Helenius, Benteke.

Subs: Bennett, El-Ahmadi, Bowery

totally agree with the whittingham comparisons at the moment. Whittingham has become a really useful player at cardiff and matured into a better footballer but i doubt we have the time to spend waiting for albrighton to rediscover himself. I truly hope he sorts it out coz he was a real bright spark when he came through but he has to have more to his game than getting to the corner of the box and knocking it in early which is all MON basically wanted his wide men to do imo.

Tonev for me, over Okore and Helenius only coz the question is which one excites you most? not who has the bigger reputation. Is Tonev the kind of player who can help Gabby out linking up the midfield and attack? Im waiting in anticipation to find out..... and if he can bang a couple in on the counter then all the better

Welcome to B6 Antonio. Good luck. Maybe he saw Hutton play last year and thought to himself "I could do better than that guy in the premier league"

Wish him well, just more evidence that Lambert knows what he's doing IMO. If all he did was set the benchmrk for effort for all our nippers while he was here it was all worth it. Great attitude and I sincerely hope he learns how to pass to his teammates one day. 

Tough game away to Spurs on the last day but other than that I do like the run in.

Personally loving Palace at home on Boxing day as my mate is a Palace fan and aint been to a game with him for years  

sounds a bit too humble to be the next Bendtner  

welcome Nicklas, and good luck.

Looks like a bit of a bargain to me

Great news and great to be getting all this done early. Nice to have a right footed CB again too

UTV

I've no idea how good he is but for the reported £1-1.5m then it's a no risk transfer really as if he doesn't work out, I'm sure another Dutch club would take him back. Physically he looks quite suited as he's tall, looks quick and quite strong as well.

I wonder how much an equivalent 21 year old English player with over 100 top flight first team games, 17 goals and 10 U21 caps would cost. £5m perhaps ?

henderson cost Liverpool about 16m didnt he? 

Welcome to the Villa Leandro, best of luck to ya

wicked news. sounds like just what we need to me, welcome to B6.

Great news and totally deserved.

good benchmark for the rest of the youngsters too to prove a) they can get a chance here and they might be rewarded if they impress. 

people seem to be getting a bit wound up over a bit of banter, its not like trent wrapped morpheus's clothes round a pigs head is it? ;P 

but back to Lambert - Having inherited the squad he did, a battle against relegation was pretty obviously what we could hope for this season barring some sort of miracle. We ARE AVFC and therefore we should finish top 10 (and we should expect to). The reality was we had consistently sold our best players and spent the money on getting rid of and hiring new managers instead of investing all of it on the pitch.

McCleish did a similar job with more or less the same players, the differences for me this season are that we actually try to kick the ball in the net now and the new players that have adapted to their moves quickly have added some quality. any team that for a myriad of reasons basically changes their ENTIRE back 5 from the previous year is going to let in goals. 

I'm glad he kept us up as i think it's going to be a really interesting summer with regards to who comes and goes and this will be the thing to judge him on next year.