thetrees

we won't be sold in the summer just people making stuff up on twitter Not at all, he does want to sell. As for it being just twitter, it isn't, and there are possible interested parties who would be good for us, but the asking price and terms might not be right. Not everything on twitter is bullshit, although that avfctranstweet is a bandwagon jumper. Yep, I could start a rumour because a big expensive private jet arrived at BHX Saturday late morning and departed not long after the game finished. I don't know where it came from, but it departed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It's owned by a charter company, so no clues there. May have been related, may not, who knows?!

Why? Isn't that blatantly obvious ? No. It isn't. Please explain. If you PAY to go and watch this heap of shit, you are clearly going to suffer more than those that don't. Did that really need pointing out ? If you sit at home and listen to the match on radio/TV you aren't going to feel the full force anguish and shitstorm as you are at the ground obviously. I pay, I'm a season ticket holder. I've not seen a shitstorm - there have been a couple of occassions where there's been chanting against the manager, there have been some awful games, some drab rubbish and some entertainment. I watch the away games on TV and don't go, we're much better away than at home. does that mean it's easier to defend the manager if you attend away games? I too pay, with money and time, the former of which is easier to lay out than the latter. I also have not seen a 'shitstorm'. Indeed, considering what has been on offer at home this season, VP is bathed in a kind of ambivalence that is inexplicable. I would contest that the 'some entertainment' is a small 'some'. Most of what we have witnessed has been bloody awful. But many of us will be there again next season, whether the manager is kicked out (as I think that he should be), or not. Because it is our club, and we love it unconditionally.

I'm still waiting for Gordon Brown to apologise for plundering my pension fund. Politicians only apologise for things that occurred hundreds of years ago. (My opinion is that she should have been sacked, by the way)

We all know OGS was his first choice so that is not true. Why let the truth get in the way of another rant?? Lerner interviewed OGS as well as others but as far as it was reported he was never offered the job. But hey ho - crack on The 'gagging' request that I received from the club at the time suggested that OGS was the first choice. Only 'suggested', mind.

I heard that Anelka was struggling with what to do with the time on his hands as well....

That's my problem. I don't get the hate for a bloke who has taken a job and found himself way out of his depth. Same goes for Mr Lerner, a bloke who has also found himself way out of his depth in the mire that is English football. It would be great for our football club if Lambert goes tomorrow, and hopeful for our club if Mr Lerner goes. When both are gone, they will go with my best wishes. Same goes for everyone associated with our club over time with, in my case, the exception of O'Neill.

That is an excellent point, and one of the reasons that Lambert confounds so much. 'Big' games, Chelsea home and away, Man City home, Liverpool away, Arsenal away - all games that he apparently gets the team up for. Contentious games - West Brom (derby) and Norwich (old team), home and away - also games that he apparently gets them up for. And then we lose at home to West Ham, Palace, Fulham and Stoke, as well as 'giants' like Newcastle and a Manure team that everyone else seems able to beat. That's why we sit here today thinking that, if he stays, our only chance of any more points this season is Man City away

Firstly, if you quote previous posts and pose questions regarding said posts, it would be really helpful if you included the OPs name in the quotes - please! It is correct to assume that Lambert agreed to the conditions. I would also assume Lambert was made aware this was a long term project, much longer than 1 year and 10 months. You could ideally assume Lambert and Lerner agreed each season would bring small changes and steady progression, therefore Lambert is still in the process of rebuilding the club/team. I think it is fair to say that Lambert's first two seasons were all about survival in the Premiership, whether anybody likes that or not. I do not like it myself, but it is the way Lerner wants to operate the club now. The days of heavy spending by Lerner are well and truly over. All fair to say, but all assumption of the facts. I would disagree with N'Zogbia being included with Bent and Hutton. However, what is so objectionable about the decisions made above? They were all good decisions (made at the time) from what I can see. I never saw any popular protestations against these decisions from supporters. What should Lambert have done instead in your opinion? This was an observation about the fact that he had been backed in all of his decisions, I made no judgement about the decisions made, objectionable or otherwise. N'Zogbia has been rarer than Richard Dunne this season (at least I used to see Dunney in Waitrose!). If you believe that he is not part of the so-called 'bomb squad' I would imagine that you are in with the minority. Interesting 'balance'. Do you have any concrete knowledge of Lambert 'identifying' players and then being 'refused' backing? Or is this, as I suspect, 'balance' according to the Gentleman point of view? It is 'interconnected and relevant' by those who choose to deflect one problem onto the other. The owner is not going any time soon, unless the golden sheikh that we all crave bobs up tomorrow. That is therefore a complex problem that has to remain on the shelf. However, the abject displays on the pitch in front of the season ticket holders is something that can and should be addressed. Unfortunately, with what we see on the pitch, they could give the job to a local Sunday league manager for the rest of the season and he would probably set the team up better than Lambert. Lambert leaving now would not make things worse, and may make things better enough to at least get us over the line.

Shocking that an Irish manager who never used the term "grand bunch of lads" has been dismissed.

Those are the same fans who turned out in numbers to welcome Martin O'Neill to Villa Park, so their wisdom in managerial choices is only one step behind that of Daniel Levy

Maybe this needs to happen, get another fan favourite in, let him struggle with the funding and let them realise the real problem. We will not move on and compete with the current owner. I don't think that anyone would disagree with the 'compete' statement. But there is 'competing' and not losing 10 at home, including against the teams that will be relegated. The owner thing can't be put right in a hurry, but the manager thing can.

£40 million to essensually build 3/4 of a premier league squad? Pittance. This season we have been outspent by Southampton, Cardiff, Swansea, West Ham, Hull, Fulham, Palace and Norwich. Not to mention the drop of our wage budget. Clearly the sides that have 'outspent' us felt that more improvements were needed. So the fact that Lambert felt that he had 'enough' in the way of playing resources is another example of his lack of both judgement and ability as a football manager Hang on a minute. In one post you say Lambert agreed to work within budgets that were set and then you try and argue that the fact other teams spent more is also down to him. In your rush to get on the back of the manager while defending Lerner as you always do you are completely contridicting yourself. I expect the overuse of the word 'defend' from the rabid one-eyed mob. It is a little more surprising from someone with the title 'moderator'. I do no such thing in the case of Mr Lerner. Because i refuse to be rude about him does not instantly make me his 'defender' or supporter. I apologise for my mistaken omission of a question mark when responding to the original post that you refer to.

Just a few haha's i think. Don't people do that when they get nervous?

£40 million to essensually build 3/4 of a premier league squad? Pittance. This season we have been outspent by Southampton, Cardiff, Swansea, West Ham, Hull, Fulham, Palace and Norwich. Not to mention the drop of our wage budget. Clearly the sides that have 'outspent' us felt that more improvements were needed. So the fact that Lambert felt that he had 'enough' in the way of playing resources is another example of his lack of both judgement and ability as a football manager Lambert's never going to openly criticise the level of backing he's received from Lerner. As I stated before, when he took the job he knew exactly what the level of backing was, and accepted the job on that basis, presumably because he felt that he could deliver with it. He would not have any right to criticise or, more accurately, 'blame' on that point.

£40 million to essensually build 3/4 of a premier league squad? Pittance. This season we have been outspent by Southampton, Cardiff, Swansea, West Ham, Hull, Fulham, Palace and Norwich. Not to mention the drop of our wage budget. Clearly the sides that have 'outspent' us felt that more improvements were needed. So the fact that Lambert felt that he had 'enough' in the way of playing resources is another example of his lack of both judgement and ability as a football manager

Gentleman, I don't see the point of using this as your go-to Lambert defence when it ultimately directs the conversation from tangible points made about Lambert's record here to a discussion based upon hypotheticals in which neither side can prove anything. Ultimately, whoever anybody suggests to replace him, you will respond with a 'you don't know they will do any better than Lambert'. Just totally pointless. It is pointless because not a lot will change unless the ownership changes or the current owner provides more funds. If you want Lambert sacked, then why is it so unreasonable to present a name to replace him? Have some conviction in your beliefs for goodness' sake. If all you can resort to is personal abuse and not have the courage to present a name to replace Lambert, It is indicative of a weak argument IMO. Besides, it is far too easy to tear apart Lambert's record and ignore other factors that contribute to it. It all boils down to a lack of understanding, a lack of patience, and a lack of respect. Lambert took the job knowing exactly what was at his disposal in terms of playing staff, and funding for new players. At the time of taking the job, he presented himself as someone who could work with the budgets provided and deliver a team that could at least compete on a mid-table level. He has signed a number of players with the funds made available to him, he has been backed in his isolation of highly paid players from previous regimes (Bent/Hutton/N'Zogbia), and has been backed with his wishes to improve the contracts of players who have proven themselves (Benteke/Lowton/Westwood/Weimann) We have lost at home to West Ham, Crystal Palace, Stoke and Fulham, which must be some kind of record in itself, as well as sustaining six other home defeats, with the giants of Hull and Southampton yet to come. The worrying state and future of the club under the present owner can be debated elsewhere, but the consistently clueless performances that we see on the pitch week in and week out are down to one man, and one man only. He should have been relieved of his position yesterday.

That is not a 'fact', it is an inaccuracy. Ellis departed when he knew that his time was up (age/health), and when he knew that he could substantially cash out. None of those circumstances were influenced in any way whatsoever by supporters of the club, protesting or otherwise, as his disdain for all supporters was and is completely unwavering. I suspect that, for much different reasons, Randy Lerner knows that his time is up, and the he will probably have to lick his wounds with some heavy losses, but the cashing out part is the difficult one.

Much as it frustrates, the owner is an immovable object who has no influence on what happens on match day. The protests against Ellis largely didn't work, the anti-McLeish appointment protest didn't work, and the Newcastle supporters' protests against Ashley haven't worked. The only way to turn on the owner is to withdraw your financial support for the club. Don't go to games and don't buy any merchandise. I suspect that more than a few will take this option.

Ken McNaught: "I looked at the team at three o'clock and wondered what the shape was. At five o'clock I was still wondering"

It's five part five, and after our 10th home defeat of the season, he is still the manager. You couldn't make it up.

Mr Lerner, your team talk and tactics weren't very good today

I am pretty sure that it wasn't your intention to generalise, but by putting these three together, that is the impression given. The BNP are a nasty bunch of racists, who have been banging that particular drum for decades. They could not attain success when Britain was less tolerant than it is nowadays and just become more and more of an irrelevance as the years go by. Having watched a recent documentary about the EDL, and assuming that it was fairly accurate, they are not really an organisation as such. The view that I got was that they are like a bunch of away football supporters, anxious to get a few beer down their necks and generally make a nuisance of themselves. They appear to attract some of societies outcasts, who like the feeling of belonging and, having watched that documentary, I concluded that they were not dissimilar to young muslims who feel like outcasts and subsequently become radicalised. I suspect that the average person who attends an EDL rally votes Labour, if they vote at all. I am not a supporter of UKIP, although their concerns about the expansion and growth of an undemocratic EU are something that I share. By bringing this into the public debate, they are forcing discussion on things that could affect our country for generations. Without them the mainstream parties would whimper along telling us how wonderful the EU is, and ignoring all the flaws along the way. UKIP's moment may never come, but there is no way that they should ever be bracketed with either BNP or EDL, because they are far removed from both.

It's not often that you read something interesting in this thread. I don't recall any reports anywhere of Mr Lerner 'not wanting' O'Neill. What's the background to this statement?

Ah, that's what it's all about! They play cricket in Bulgaria?

One in Solihull too. Supposed to be decent. It is decent. Better than tgi's in my opinion, and the only place in the UK I've seen Sam Adams and blue moon on draught. Yeah I'd agree with that, I liked it, had a good atmosphere, think on a Friday / Saturday night if it wasn't stupidly busy then it'd be a great night out the sam Adams was beautiful It's not better than miller and carter though IMO Just been Miller and Carter in Sutton Park for mother's day (no, not me!) Veh nice, I must say. The M & C in Sutton Park is a nice place, but so disappointing as a restaurant. Poor quality meat, poorly trained kitchen and waiting staff and, while not expensive, a lot of money for a wedge of lettuce with a dressing on it. It is amazing how a nice place, regardless of how poor the offering is, can pull in the punters.