regular_john

Worst performance of the season

Bacuna and Baker having a mare

Tonev injured or just dropped?

When he signed, it was made very clear (by Lambo and Helenius) that he'd be playing very rarely this season and was a signing for the future. I don't think we should read anything in to his limited appearances this year.

Thought that was comfortably the worst of the big specials they've done

I'm all for giving the young lads a chance, but Robinson clearly is not going to make anything resembling an appearance in this game. Would it not make more sense to have Helenius or Tonev on the bench?

When did that happen?! Best pic ever

He's brilliant on Fifa 12, practically got my Wigan side into the champs league single handedly!

Do Tonev and Helenius not exist any more? Also, is Luna injured?

Rubbish from first whistle to last.

I don't think it's an issue of cost alone, I'd imagine it's more cost vs quality. The other high earners in the squad justify their inclusion as the team is stronger for their presence, the same can't be said of Hutton.

Probably Ronaldo. Yup...Ronaldo. Either him or Ali Dia.

El Ahmadi or Sylla on for Bennett, back to 4-3-3 with Agbonlahor and Albrighton either side of Benteke. We need to win the midfield battle and we won't do it with just Westwood and Delph.

Would anyone even be talking of sacking him if the home and away forms were switched? Or if each was a mixed bag rather than us being very bad at home and very good away?

Why do we need to go behind before we start playing? They were there for the taking today and instead of going for it we play like cowards as we did against Everton.

Why do we even care if Carroll is playing? The guy has scored a grand total of 18 goals in all competitions in the last 4 years. He's rubbish!

Would rather we kept the same shape with Albrighton taking Gabby's place

'Keeping fit' on holiday

Kozak looks good enough, he's just a very different striker to Benteke so we'd need to set the team up a certain way to get the best out of him. Bowery will probably never be anything approaching premier league standard but he has cost us basically nothing in fee and wages so it's no big deal. I think Westwood, Lowton and KEA are all good enough when in form, they've just been a little inconsistent this season, as have the whole team. Luna is an enigma, looked great in his first few games but has been absolutely awful for a while now, Bertrand is an obvious step up in quality. Will give Luna the benefit of the doubt though, it's his first season in this league and at 23 he has plenty of time to improve. Maybe he'd be better off further up the pitch as, like Bennett, he looks much better going forwards than at the back.

Might seem controversial to say it given what happened to him, but I don't recall Petrov having more than a handful of standout games for us. I think his status amongst the fans has more to do with a feeling of solidarity because of his illness than his ability as a player. That isn't to say he wasn't a good player, just never a great one IMO. *Dons tin foil hat and prepares for the inevitable onslaught*

Chandler Bing wants his joke back

Why is everyone shitting their pants over this? We've just lost a striker for the rest of the season. We need to bring in another striker to replace him, but there's no point spending a load of money buying one when we're only covering an injury. A loan makes sense, especially if it's a player that was scoring 20+ goals a season for Lambert while he was at Norwich. He's coming in as backup to Benteke and we'll still have whatever budget we originally had for bringing in other players. Welcome Grant!

Sky article Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert says he "never stops worrying" about getting the sack. The Scot is under intense pressure following a poor run of form that has seen Villa lose five of their last seven games in all competitions. The midlands side's home record is also disappointing, with just two victories and six defeats from 10 top-flight games. Lambert's side were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Sheffield United last weekend and they face a tough task in the Sky Live game against Arsenal at Villa Park on Monday night. Lambert says that he has a good relationship with chairman Randy Lerner, but always works with "that fear" of losing his job. He said: "I never stop worrying. I'm not immune from it. "The relationship between me and Randy is what it is. You are never immune from anything, and I would never view it that way. "You just keep going - there is no secret formula to it. You just keep going and don't lose focus on what you are trying to do. I will never waver from that." And asked ahead of the Arsenal contest how he had been feeling in the days since the cup tie, Lambert said: "The same way I do after every other game (Villa have lost). "I don't sleep great, I don't eat great. The usual stuff. "It is just the life of a football manager. It is a great job, but you don't feel great (after defeats). "And contrary to other people's reports, I never degraded the competition at all. "I tried to win the game, I put the best team out I possibly could and we got knocked out. Good luck to Sheffield United. We weren't good enough."

Tis indeed

We spent years and years paying massive money for and to average players. Milner was excellent for us, but he was one of very few value for money signings under MON. It only got worse under Houllier and McLeish. Lambert is the first manager we've had in years that can go out and spend money wisely, it's a shame we don't have more to give him!