ozvillafan

A whole season for you to be proved wrong.

I don't think the players coming through the academy are all that bad. In fact, I think a lot of them show a great deal of promise. However, I do believe the academy has failed them - or, at the very least, the club has. The idea behind the academy is that it gets its players ready to slot into the first team (should they be good enough). In order to do that, they must have been learning from very early on exactly how the first team play and what their role is. This is exactly what teams like Barcelona have been doing. We haven't been doing that. On top of that, the playing style of the first team has changed dramatically over the past 4 years with MON, Houllier, McLeish and now Lambert. That lack of consistency has hardly helped the youngsters "slot into the first team" - and that's not their fault. So are the academy players all world-beaters? No, they are not. But I think our academy has made them less than they could (and should) be - and that's not the players fault. The sad part is the next crop will fall short too, unless Lambert is able to overhaul our academy so they adhere to 1 style AND remain here for the long term.

Great analogy. I agree entirely.

Link

And yet we did not get relegated and finished mid table. I'm confident we wont get relegated this term either. I'm also confident that Randy will back Lambert the same way he has backed every manager (yes, even McLeish).

Could we use strengthening? Certainly. Is there a club that couldn't? Even ManUre plumped for RVP and it was only goal difference that kept them from the title last year. However, I can't judge our future performances this year based on 2 games with only 1 player lasting the full 180 minutes in our engine room (KEA). It will definitely improve as Lambert gets his starters sorted and they play more games together. And, for mine, it is the midfield which is causing concern - not the back 4. They are turning over too much easy ball and not linking with Bent/Wiemann/Fonz. We are playing a style that requires movement, ball control and quick passing from our midfield.... ... but I only see KEA on that wavelength so far.

This smacks of Houllier. I suspect those who couldn't see what Houllier was trying to do will throw the same accusations at Lambert and cry about relegation. That said, Houllier was accused of doing "too much too soon" and Lambert may be in the same boat. Still, it's our second game. We started with 4 changes in personell from our last game. They simply have not had time to click, nor Lambert time to determine who is worth a starting place and who is not (of which, sadly, there are quite a few). He also needs time to undo all the wonderful work our last manager did. Thankfully the season is not decided by the second game so while relegation is always a possibility you won't mind if I stay positive and still expect a comfortable mid-table finish - even with our current squad.

First goal: Long way out, got to see it the whole way. Put a hand on it but should have easily had it covered. Conclusion: Given at fault. Second goal: The less said the better. Conclusion: Given at fault. Third goal: The defenders lost their man - but a keeper should never be beaten at their near post. Conclusion: Given perhaps could have done better. So that's 2 of their 3 goals that are directly Given's fault. That's the winning margin. I think he has his mind on retirement and, if he repeats this form next week, should be dropped.

Sell him. Better off having inexperienced players who want to play and learn than a experienced troublemaker on his last legs.

Sorry to get you all off on a tangent. Yes, when I said "English" what I really meant was "United Kingdom". My point was that, for the most part, they play football the same "English" way. Lambert is the exception to the rule (thankfully) which, imo, is the reason he has met with success at Norwich and why he will be a success here.

It's obvious you are not English - which is a good thing. We've had English managers always, apart from Venglos and Houllier. They always play an English style, which is more about effort, graft, individual effort and speed than tactics, teamwork and possession. In the last 18 years I have been following Villa, this has pretty much been the way we play. Now that we are adapting to a different passing/possession style (at last!), you can expect a lot of backlash from those who think the old English style is the only way to play football. Of course, they'll come out and deny it - but their lack of patience (its 1 game!) belies them.

I only remember this under he who shall not be named :? MON was just as guilty. His only ever substitution was Sidwell for Petrov and the team would always fade in the last 20 minutes.

Good spot. I was surprised at just how well we are one-touch passing around midfield, but our lack of penetration was obvious. We needed 1 midfielder higher up the pitch but it looked like Ireland, Holman and KEA all expected each other to do it.

Sadly, his touch is not great. I doubt it will improve much either. He plays a bit like gabby: always at top speed and at the cost of tight control. I suspect he will be very valuable for us, but he will infuriate as much as he delights.

He is NOT a winger. Never has been, never will be. His spot is in the middle, generally just behind the striker, with a license to roam and the engine to back that up.

Good summary of the game. I, too, was impressed and delighted with our passing game. Our penetration is not yet there, but I can see it coming.

First game in, with a new manager. 4 guys on Debut (Vlaar, Lowton, Holman, KEA) 4 other guys with limited PL experience (Clark, Baker, Wiemann and, arguably, Delph) Despite this, what I saw was a team attempting to play football - and succeeding (admittedly, only in parts). We are already better off than last season and we didn't get relegated then either. So is relegation possible? Yes. Is it likely? On yesterdays performance, I would say no. Should we be worried about it at this stage? Not a bit.

I respectfully disagree. It is one thing to make mistakes. It is another thing entirely to fail to learn from them. - He took a risk giving MON too much control and letting the wage bill get out of control. He has learned from that. - He took a risk in appointing a manager to change things up that had health problems. He has learned from that. - He took a risk in appointing a manager that was known for dire football on the recommendation of another Premier League manager. He has learned from that. So how does that compare to owners of other clubs? To Blackburn? To Liverpool?

You wont mind if I take a seat next to you in the minority, would you?

I'd say he's more of an middle-class-man's Dirk Kuyt. I quoted this to laugh at the joke, but also ended up correcting it because of your sig and because I can't help myself anyway Fixed :winkold:

Young. Hungry. Talented. Makes a nice change from our usual: Experienced. British. Expensive.

MON's transfer dealings were unsurpsingly similar to other managers. Some good, some not so good. The things that annoyed me about his transfer dealings were: a) He appeared to favour British players, He payed over the odds for his targets (transfer amount, wages or both), and c) He didn't utilise all of the players he bought.

Too true. In every negotiation with a player there are agents and other clubs to deal with. These 3rd parties can behave extremely poorly regardless of how professional your approach is. I'm happy that in the majority of our dealings we act in a fitting manner and out of the press. The downside is that the silence leads to too many "ITK's" postulating and spouting absolute dribble.

Would a front line of Bent and Carroll actually work? I get the feeling they are too similar in the way they play and position themselves.

Aussie mentality, eh? To put it bluntly, it's being the underdog. No task is too hard or odds too big that we won't give it absolutely everything. You don't have to like the fact that it is mentioned in the original article and it's not something that is unique only to Australians (or even common amongst Australians), but that's what the author means.