Houlston

So they play a massive five more long balls per game but twice as many short passes.

Why is that from thisisanfield.com? Not sure how recent that is. Whoscored has them down for 65 per game and us as 69. Still nearly twice as many short passes too.

Why don't we try and get laudrup? They have a higher long ball percentage than us, thoughts?

Sure about that?

Told to take his chance, does so, praised, shipped off..............  

Is this hindsightvillatalk.com ?

Yeah it is, you trying to combine the first goal scorer with the same match? I know it wont let you do that. 

Always have this little beauty to thank him for

Just gets better for him, brilliant stuff, golden touch.

At this rate of improved fortune he'll soon be having sex with lesbian porn stars.......

I am a maniac and I hate Paul Lambert. I'm also a tactical and coaching genius who can tell that a better manager would be doing a much better job with the same expenditure on players.

 

I hope we can replace him with one of the multitude of brilliant managers who are queueing up for a piece of the enormous transfer kitties on offer at Aston Villa.

That's a fair point Cory so do you think Lambert has been good tactically? Just off the top of my head take the Everton game for example, that game was crying out for a change, even someone as dimwitted and tactically weak as me could see that, so I'm sure you could too. Yet who made that change? Then what happened after that change was made? How about Delph pushed out wide on Monday leaving our two weakest midfielders in the centre, was that a good idea? How about when Weimann was atrocious against Sheffield United but he didn't sub him off? How about when we needed a goal against Palace he subbed Kozak off for Bowery instead of perhaps having them both up top? A game we then ended up losing. How about when he stuck Bowery out wide against Stoke? Or my favourite starting with 5 defenders and 3 non attacking cm's against a West Ham team struggling to score goals and with no recognised striker?

The shortlist for the Baggies would probably be similar to ours, probably not even as good. I saw some great managers on that list.

Sylla gets a rough ride on here and yet he was very much part of the team that had that good run between Feb and May last year. Interestingly KEA was not.

Incredible how some people have access to our budget

 

Very unlikely Lambert will bring in a CB - I can't imagine we could buy or loan anyone better than we currently have with the funds available

 

With the money available - Hoolahan is probably the best we can look forward to this window

 

 

What funds do we have available then?

 

 

 

 it does say a lot about Lambert when we have an awful lot of strikers at our disposal but he still wants to steer towards a lump struggling in the Championship. 

 

One of them has broken a leg. The others aren't scoring goals. We have very little money, and we're mostly agreed that whatever money we do have should go on a playmaker. It's a backup signing, on loan, and will cost very little. Whether he plays or not, there's no harm done getting him in, given the state of the finances available.

 

Theres a whole world of reasons why we arent scoring goals and Grant Holt is highly unlikely to change that.

Its a signing that imv wasnt needed and if he is the cover to Kozak well again signing a guy struggling in the Championship and struggling for fitness probably isnt the answer either.

I dont know the costs, could be cheap but it also might not be, I'm just commenting on the merits of the player alone.

 

I think he will turn out OK.

 

With the emphasis on OK, not good or great, but neither will he turn out to be terrible (imo)

 

Like I've said elsewhere, if this is our only business of the transfer window then I'll be annoyed and frustrated. But I can see the logic in getting in a short term, cheap(ish) replacement for Kozak while he's out.

Holt wouldn't be my first choice, or even 20th choice, but I can see the logic behind getting a player there and understand why Lambert would have faith in a player he's managed before.

 

I would hope that we'll have a couple of other signings to add to this.

 

Indeed. It certainly isn't a good signing and I don't think I've seen one person categorise it as that (not sincerely anyway).

 

It is the very definition of a logical, 'ok at best' signing with more potential for bad than good.

 

But right now, without dealing in hypotheticals I'm not too concerned

 

That's a fair view point and I'm not too worried about the Holt signing per say either but it does say a lot about Lambert when we have an awful lot of strikers at our disposal but he still wants to steer towards a lump struggling in the Championship. 

As others have said I'll support the guy on the pitch but no matter how people spin it its just not a good signing and why? Because he isn't the player he was and he now struggles with fitness and also struggles getting into a mid-table Championship side. Midfield players at Wigan have been preferred up front to him.

While we send the likes of Jordan Graham back out on loan we bring in this guy.

Its ok though he'll knock some defenders about and cause havoc. Is this the 1980's?

What other good team plays with a slow battering ram of little skill?

f***i*g hoof

 

Meanwhile Hull look to sign Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic

For their first team, so they can build with these players.

 

Ours is a 4 month loan for back-up.  There's no context to your post.

 

So because it isnt exactly the same it has no context?

I'm well aware of the differences, I'm also well aware that Hull have just improved their side, while we have signed a proper bloke, who is cover for a television mast who is currently edging legend status after three tap ins and a broken leg.

well Long cant get in the West brom team most weeks and they were happy to shift him out in august as for Jelavic he was always crap

Guess who cant get in the Wigan team

 

Meanwhile Hull look to sign Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic

 

3 league goals between them this season and be on treble the wages of Holt between them

 

Only 16 starts between them though. That said Shane Long is a very good player and would only add to our squad. Would rather see him on the pitch than Weimann never mind Holt. But hey ho you pays your money.

Meanwhile Hull look to sign Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic

You know its a shit signing when there are very few others that you can actually try and argue that might be worse,

 

This was a potential signing 2.5 yrs ago. I was happy to see him come then but on reflection glad he didnt.

 

Holt was a bone of contention even then, he wouldn't have been an amazing signing then either. Now considering Lambert has been here for the same length of time you'd think we'd have moved on from signing someone who has actually declined from an average player to one that struggles in the Championship.

 

http://www.villatalk.com/index.php/topic/6629-speculation-ended-grant-holt-re-signs-norwich/

 

 

Key word there 'Championship'  - his best season was in the prem ..........errr where we play......

 

Errr 2 years ago errrr probably under a stiffer training regime. 

 

 

Bowery or holt coming on with 20 mins to go?

 Like arguing Vanessa Feltz or Liz Jones. Pretty much neither and if you had to pick one its unlikely either will satisfy your needs better than the other.

Simple question, yet to be answered.

 

Bowery then, purely because he's fitter and quicker. Holt is a shadow of his average former self.

Also Helenius would be a better option than both if we are to bring on an attacking player.

 

 

Interesting as I was reflecting on something similar.

It was interesting listening to the Gaffer, Graham of the Aston social delving in to his philosophical mode tonight after the game.

 

after our lengthy debate, he said do you know, in the last 10 years the arguments being put forward now  about how bad the Villa Team are in terms of their play, is exactly the same as it was all them years ago.

 

despite all the changes..........nothing has changed.

 

and more depressingly, nothing will, until we demand change.

 

For ages now I have been pissed off with stats prior to matches against some teams where "XXXX team have taken more premier points off Villa than any other team"  or "Villa have not won at home against XXXXX in XXXXX years" etc etc .

 

Last night was another such where we have not beaten Arsenal at home since 1998.  Disgrace. 

 

But this is a long term problem of us not competing at a certain level in years.  We tried the short term  fix with Oneill but it didnt work. What we need is a long term fix to our culture / philosophy / style / mentality / progression,  call it what you like but in order to fix the issue where we see stats like that and that they stop for a consistent amount of time that needs a big change

 

That change is not just a papering over the cracks change either.  But that change will take some time,  sorry and all but it does not get fixed in a year or two.  And it does not get fixed if fans do not realise it needs fixing.  If fans merely carry on think that all is well and just a tinkering change here or there,  that we really are a club that should be in the top 6 as a right and struggle to come to terms with the realisation that we are not in the top 6 because as a club we have been heading down the short term fix route for so long that it really has affected our long term ability to achieve success.  Where fans just think it takes a change of manager and then we'll be back in our rightful position without having to drastically alter some fundamentals at the club,  well we'll never get better on that basis.

 

That's why I support Lambert and will continue to 100% to the hilt (or holt) despite the short term immediate results.  Despite the disappointments along the way. Because I believe in his vision,  what he is doing and the fact that he needs doing.  We need the changes highlighted above in order for our long term performances to improve on a consistent basis and not just the odd short term fix.

 

 

/\ /\ Long term thinking /\ /\

 

Its a fair argument Richard but it still doesn't compensate for Lamberts poor tactics. Even last night he showed poor decision making in starting with KEA and then eventually sticking our best midfielder on the wing.

 

/\ /\ Short term thinking /\ /\

 

Thanks for that incredible insight. Tell me, how has Lamberts poor tactics come to be placed in your well respected bracket of "short term thinking?"

 

Bowery or holt coming on with 20 mins to go?

 

Like arguing Vanessa Feltz or Liz Jones. Pretty much neither and if you had to pick one its unlikely either will satisfy your needs better than the other.

13 of those goals came from two games

Klose > Holt