Butterfingers

Is the mis-spelling of Bertrand acceptable though?

With Gabby out, it was obvious we were going to have to go with 2 up top. This leaves the questions of whether we kept a back 4 or played Weiman off Benteke For me, it is easy with the benefit of hindsight to criticise team selection. I would have gladly accepted a point beforehand &ultimately, we weren't far off achieving this. The performance (especially 2nd half) was very disappointing with almost 45 mins being played in our own half. I am happy to criticise the 2nd half performance but not the choice of formation. For me, there is no right or wrong way to play football. I was at the game yesterday & I heard no complaints around me or in the pub beforehand when the team was announced. I just look at it as part of the development. Hopefully the players will gain experience from this kind of performance & we can add a biy more quality in the summer. Somehow Lerner has either got to back his manager or sell for a realistic price & cut his losses. I'm expecting Benteke to be gone next season so we will have taken a massive backward step. Kovac will have missed half a season that would have helped gain experience-We need 2 midfielders to play alongside Delph, a central defender & a right back (as well as praying that somehow we can keep Bertram) Without this, we will stand still.

I would really question whether this lad is any worse than some of the recent midfield signings. While the campaign appears to be for Gardner to be given a chance, the (albeit limited) times I've watched Gardner & Carruthers, I would say Carruthers is the better prospect. Who knows what benefit a run in the team, may do for him? I believe he can improve further. I accept that I don't see these lads on a day to day basis at the training ground but from match performances, how many would put Tonev for example ahead of Carruthers?

I see Alan Wright has made it into both threads Some feat.

Not sure Taylor was over-rated? He played in that side on merit. it was predominately a side with no big names or superstars. Wouldn't have said there was any hype or over-rating of Taylor. Can't remember people getting giddy over him or claiming he should be playing for England etc

I don't want to sound like a stuck record here but his remit has been to run the playing side on a shoestring to enable the owner to claw as much money back as possible before eventually selling up. We're playing the numbers game with transfers & some haven't made it whereas others have. Most on here have said that if the front 3 hit form, we'd start moving again & that is what happened last night. I'm not overly concerned about this window but the summer is crucial for me. We've got to somehow up the ante a little in terms of experience-The young hopefuls signed previously will then have to sink or swim.

Would add with Cahill, he wanted to leave as he was 4th choice at the time. MON didn't really want him to go but didn't stand in his way. We got around £5million for him which is not to be sniffed at for a 4th choice central defender. Cahill went backwards (by joining a lesser team) in order to further his carreer I can't see why everyone gets so giddy about our youngsters, they hardly ever work out ultimately.

Has anyone mentioned the Liverpool 5-1? 62,000 against United in that cup game-1 of my first as a Villa fan

In fairness, his diving for us probably won us a few goals via penalties & free kicks. I agree with the poster a couple of posts up-I never wanted him back but he IS so much better than what we've got. It would improve the team & that's the important thing. I don't think he's quite the player that he was, I don't think we could get anywhere near his wages & I don't think United are looking to loan him out anyway. All a bit hypothetical as he's going nowhere.

You compared the emotions of a player who has just suffered a broken leg which will undoubtedly set his career back to the emotions of our fans after the disappointing defeat to Crystal Palace. Even in your warped mind, you must be aware that this post was reprehensible? What do you want Kozak to do? tell the players that they may only win games in future? No defeats, no draws-Only wins are acceptable in Big Johns world. & when we start winning every game by the odd goal, perhaps we could then complain that we're not winning by 2 or 3 each time?

I think the writing was on the wall way before Mr Lamberts comments Brinny. Man United not even bothering to enter back in 2000 was probably the catalyst for the modern day FA cup.

Read the thread Brinny-Then you might glean an idea as to what Moyes has to do with it. He was slaughtered, chastised & hated by Everton fans in his first 2 seasons-Looking at the stats that you've sought to dig out on a Saturday nigh/Sunday morning, its clearly the 2nd season that ruffled the fans feathers. If Lambert managed the same turn around (17th to 4th) would you forgive him & go & stand on the naughty step for an hour?

I didn't say Lambert was the real deal & I didn't say the plan was working-I don't even know what the plan is. So no, give yourself a big pat on the back, you've worked out that I don't agree with any of the points-Well done.

It seems the fans up & down the country agree entirely with Mr Lambert-The FA Cup is a distraction. Attendances were way, way down on normal league gates To quote the most annoying chant in the history of football: "Empty seats m'lord"

Fair comment TRO-I would just add, David Moyes 1st 2 or 3 years at Everton were horrendous & he copped for far worse stick than Lambert is getting. Like you, I'll say no more & agree that we know what needs to happen. Shaw nuff- I don't agree with any of your points. I'm sure every manager in the Prem believes he is the "real deal" & likewise, I believe if you were to ask Lerner, the plan IS working. I believe that our club is a massive attraction, one of the top jobs in the country & any manager worth his salt would want a pop at it

My point is that none of the scenarios you posted were likely to be the real reason Lambert chose to join Villa.

Shaw Nuff You forgot this scenario: He wanted the opportunity to manage Aston Villa & took the job on where others had turned it down.

TRO-You cannot call these blokes incumbents. They are professionals who have track records. Lets keep it real. We had MON who spent vast amounts signing players & with the exception of possibly Harewood, I never heard one moan or groan about how much we paid (£9 mil for Davies, £8.5 mil for NRC etc) It was a recepie for disaster that caught up with us. Lambert has unfortunately copped for the task of putting the house in order. That is his remit-Not going on cup runs, not qualifying for the Europa & not playing tippy tappy 1 or 2 touch football. His job is to cut the outgoings drastically & instantly & to keep us in the division at the same time. He's over the worst of this now & its almost as if the real job starts in this window (as far as us fans are concerned) I agree that something has gone wrong-Maybe the double whammy of Okore & Vlaar is that something? Benteke loosing form? Lifes not a bed of roses & there will always be peaks & troughs. At the moment, the peaks are outweighing the troughs. Maybe not as greatly as we'd like but that can still change. I remember the first interview I heard from Lambert after he joined us-He kept saying "theres no quick fix" I realise what he was saying now. He has no support-A chairman who wants to sell & a waste of space CEO who has delusions of grandeur with the FA. Add to that a fanbase who demand instant success & he wouldn't be human if his confidence was to take a knock. I just think it would help him (who cares about us & wants to be here) & help our club if we could cut him a bit of slack & get behind him. If the next 18 months don't produce progress then I agree questions should be asked but not now, not with such a major overhaul taking place.

We still can get better. There were some very valid points made previously-Some of the team will improve with game time. A couple of additions now & in the summer could push us into the Newcastle/Southampton bracket. Newcastle have produced results not dissimilar to ours this season, they've just won a couple more bread & butter games as well. We're still a lot better than last season & have proved we don't need to be carried by Benteke. Just think of the difference it would make if he regained form for the 2nd half of the season?

TRO-What would you hope & expect if a new manager were to come in this window/or in the Summer? It would surely mean starting from scratch again-Lamberts players bombed out within 2 or 3 windows & new cheap replacements coming in? That would mean another 18 months wasted, another cheap squad assembled but what else? What could possibly be achieved by replacing the manager? We've had the same campaigns now for 4 years-This manager must go, that manager must go-We've lost in round 3, sack the manager. My feeling is lets stick with what we have & give him chance to develop-18 months is no time given the task he's been given. Sunderland are in an almost identical situation to ourselves-Would you want to swap with them for example?

For the money they cost, it makes no odds. The point being, they aren't ready to step into Bentekes shoes should he be missing for whatever reason.

Agree 100% with the Gentleman

Right- "work in progress" = Getting rid of the bomb squad & operating under a more manageable wage structure. We can't realistically expect more than that without investment. The top 10 all spend more on players than we do & pay bigger wages. How much further do people expect us to travel under the present remit?

You know when someone has a weak argument when they quote statements that nobody has made.

Sack Lambert & appoint who? A manager who has just been sacked by a side below us in the table?