Justified

I think Lambert has done a resonable job given his restrictions. I don't think he has done a great job and I don't think he has done a terrrible job, he has done an average job with little money which is what he was brought in to do. If we get a warchest from new owners I would prefer we hired a manager who has a proven record when it comes to spending money. If the new owners want to continue in the same vein with limited investment then Lambert is probably as good as any other manager working on a limited budget. Can't see Lerner getting rid, it will be left up to the new regime. I have a feeling everything will be in stasis until a new owner is in. I am hopeful we are already in the process but if we have no offers in the pipeline we could struggle next season obviously.

The 'other' team interested in him when I posted back in March that had slipped my mind was in fact Everton. Didn't make any sense not offering him a new contract to me back then but makes a lot more sense given the announcement today. Been told to keep schtum over any other developments until told otherwise. UTV

I have not been told that this is a secret so .. Has been told to find another club at the end of this season. Newcastle and another Prem club that has for the moment slipped my mind are interested. Leicester are also interested and I think is the most appealing as he doesn't want to move house, wants to play regularly and they will be in the Prem next season. Nothing to do with money, doesn't fit into Lamberts playstyle. Obviously anything can happen between now and the end of the season but that is how I was told things stood around a week ago.

Has already been told to find another club at the end of this season.

He was only on the bench due to numbers and actually got told he would not play. Was fuming apparently as he was due to have an operation on his throat on Friday that got cancelled because he was made to travel with the team. Would have gone to Derby if he had not had to have the operation. Wants to play football and if he has to leave to do that then he will. Not sure who would pick up his 28k a week wages though!! I can vouch that this is indeed a true summary of what went on.

Been a while since I posted. Villa are safe, don't wish to hex it but has anyone been watching the games ? We are playing some really great football. I wouldn't put a squeeky win against Chelsea beyond us. Believe....

Anything can happen in a season but I am convinced we will not get relegated. We will pick enough points up at home to stay up. I predicted a loss at West Ham and I also said in the expectations thread that we would flirt with relegation for the season before staying up. Our team isn't really any better than last season (on paper it's actually worse) but the manager is. This gives me the confidence of my prediction. Can't see us picking up many points on the road so it's important our home form is good. Need to sign a bit of quality before the end of the window, if RL isn't going to invest then he should be looking to sell up. What's the point having a billionaire owner if he won't spend any money, may as well be a poor owner.

We have a better manager but we only just avoided relegation by the skin of our teeth last season and haven't really strengthened the squad. I don't expect to pick up many points away from home this season. We are still a pretty poor team. Investment is sadly lacking and our results will show that.

Sabbath got my vote. No brainer really.

Cannot see anything other than a loss I'm afraid. 2-0 Wet Spam.

Albrighton and Bannan have proved they can hold their own in the Prem. They just haven't proved they can do it consistantly - Bannan struggles for consistancy game to game where Albrighton has struggled to keep form season on season. As for Delfouneso. Not sure where the 'doesn't try' has come from. The games I have seen him play in the first team, he has if anything tried too hard. This has ended with him overrunning the ball, taking too heavy a touch, attempting to beat one too many, silly stuff like that. With games I think he might settle down. 21/22 is still very young and imo we shouldn't be releasing or selling players that really don't cost us a lot in wages and cost us nothing in signing. Certainly not when we already have a very thin squad. We could not replace them with anyone near as good for the same money. They are still very good value. We do not need to get rid of these players to get new players in. It's the higher earners such as Dunne and Warnock that would allow us to free up wages not the likes of Albrighton, Delfouneso, Weimann or Bannan. Edit: In fact glancing at the J2M thread. Consider this, we could probably keep Delfouneso for 2 more seasons with him playing an occasional game and it would still cost less than J2M has cost us. That's where I'm coming from when I say these young lads are value for money.

I find it difficult to take someone seriously that says MA cannot cross a ball. He is the best crosser of a ball at AVFC, no probably about it, he is definately the best crosser of a ball at Aston Villa. His stats when he got a run of games were better than Downings and just behind Youngs. I repeat he got fans player of the month award 5 times out of the first 6 months. That means he was THE best player on the pitch for the majority of that season. His form was good enough that Liverpool were sniffing round for him before finally going for Downing. Now explain to me how that equates to the form of a championship player again ? Oh and as for him having a last chance this season. He is 21/22, do me a favour.

Some people have very short memories. Was it not just 2 seasons ago that he won fans player of the month 5 times out of the first 6 ? Of course being an attack minded player in a totally defence minded team setup last season means he is total shite. I guess it's the same people that used to say Petrov is rubbish, he's a has been, get rid then the month after is Petrov, always said what a great player he is. Fickle doesn't even come close. fick·le    [fik-uhl] adjective 1. likely to change, especially due to caprice, irresolution, or instability; casually changeable: fickle weather. 2. not constant or loyal in affections: a fickle lover.

I do not see a huge improvement over last season to be honest. Better manager but still a very, very weak squad for the Prem. As such I think we will have a similar season to last in that we will flirt with relegation for much of it but not get relegated. If Bent gets injued early doors then I think it's 50/50 for relegation. Don't see us getting anywhere in the cups. If Ireland and Bent play to their level best then we might squeeze up into mid table. Realism not pessimism. I think we will improve on last season but not by a huge amount with the players at our disposal (at this moment in time).

I've made my feelings known about loan signings before. I think a club of our size should not be loaning players from competitors without it being in our favour. All the advantages lie with the loaning club. I said the same about Walker. Yes, he was great for us, at the end of the year though what is the outcome ? Spurs get a player back full of confidence who has an extra year of experience playing in the Prem and we are left with a gaping hole to fill (Ooer). I'm not saying we should never loan a player as there are circumstances where it's the right thing to do but if we are going to loan a player from a direct competitor it has to be to our advantage i.e with an option to sign.

I won't judge Gabby on the last 2 seasons because as a team we have been all over the shop really with disruptions and managers changing. I have seen what he is capable of when he is on form. It has not escaped me though that his best run of form coincided with the best form of Ashley Young. His pace suits a counter attacking style of football and Young was often the quickest thinker setting him up on breakaway runs. I think in the right setup he can be a real asset. Not sure PL will set the team up in a fashion that would get the best out of him though so it's a bit of a dilemma. Looks like he is out for some time now so the decision to keep/sell can be put off to a later time I guess.

Got told about it last Sunday at a game. He had already seen that famous doctor that Beckham went to see. no idea how long he will be out for but I don't think it's a bad one (relatively speaking). Edit: Seen elsewhere he is expected to be out 10-11 weeks.

Broken metatarsal at the moment I believe. Pushed off for a sprint in training and it broke. No idea how long he will be out, been pretty unlucky with injuries. Hope to see him back soon.

Same old, same old. Your only as good as the last game/season you played. Unfortunately it seems the people that post the most actually have the least to say. It's like watching kids trying to hit a pinata, very occasionally you'll get a knowledgeable post but mostly it's wildly flailing in the dark. You just have to laugh it off and keep sifting.

Just digging back - I am Ancient though Last on Ireland from me.. I'm not saying Ireland should not be in the team or a regular starter. In my opinion though he isn't captain material.

Not sure what my wife has to do with this, or what the **** your talking about. Apologies - aimed at Richard not WiggyRichard - mistake in my old age. I was trying to keep an eye on the road for the kiddies you see...Read back a page or so and you will understand.

/Wiggy That's right young sonny boy. Ask your wife, she loves a nice rocket or screwball from me whenever I'm doing my rounds.. /Supertom46 It was 3 ; Maternal Grandmother - proved to be lying. changed it to Paternal Grandmother - proved to be lying. changed it to Paternal Grandfathers new wife - proved to be lying. Then he said miscarriage. Might be true but I have seen no reason to believe him having already lied 3 times. He didn't voluntarily admit to be lying, the press forced him to admit he had been lying, there's a difference. /Rob182 Might not be a big deal now and be consigned to history but the next match was against the Czechs which they lost 1-0 thus failing to qualify. At the time it was felt he could have made the difference. I know Steve Staunton felt he had let him, the team and the nation down at the time. Hence not dependable, untrustworthy and unreliable. If someone at work lied to me, not once but three times, about dead grandparents then I wouldn't think they were right in the head either. As for the Shisha pipe. I wouldn't hold that against anyone. I'm not aware that he is a regular smoker and even if he was, if it didn't affect his fitness then that's his business.

Thing is he lied about both of his grandmothers dying and then invented a new grandma that also supposedly died when he was caught lying then said his wife had miscarried. There was no proof that his wife miscarried either, why believe it was anything other than another bullshit lie and to lie about the things he did proves my point that the bloke is a nut job, normal people just don't lie about shit like that. From Wiki Ireland has now said that he will probably not return to the national team: "I always say 'never say never' because it's hard not to, but I don't think I'll ever go back." In August 2010, he restated that he would not return: "I watch Ireland matches like anyone else might do at this stage, but I don’t feel a part of it at all. It doesn’t make me feel like I should go back play again. That question is gone for me and the answer won’t change my mind." On 30 March 2012, Ireland suggested that he would be willing to return to international football. WTF did I just read ?

Not sure we have really seen the best Delph could offer due to his injuries. Is he now injury free ?

Ireland is a nut job, I would be shocked if it was Ireland as vice captain as I couldn't think of anyone less suited to the job, not just in Villa, in football. Balotelli maybe (edit: or Barton).. Other than the fact he isn't all there, being lazy and not dependable are good reasons why he will never be captain of a football club. It will be Dunne or Given for a guess.