Cizzler

Why is this headline news? "Shite players at Stoke being unfunny". It's hardly the aporkalypse. 

Anyone else hear the barrel being scraped?

Luke Shaw, Walcott, Bale, Oxlade-Chamberlain... Our graduates pale in comparison. Lallana and Dyer too. Imagine if Southampton had been playing at a level where they could have retained these guys...

I'd be pretty disappointed in him if he left as I feel like he owes us more. We've given him his break. 

That said, I think he'll sign. Lambert clearly values his work ethic and I'm confident we will offer him acceptable terms.

In my opinion Bent, Bannan and Given are all going to be sold. I can see a mid-table club stumping up around £8 million for Bent. A Championship club or Celtic signing Bannan and perhaps Cardiff/ Hull coming in for Given?

Dunne, Lichaj and Marshall's contracts are up. Dawkins' loan has ended. Makoun's been sold.

Hopefully Ireland will probably be released? He has a year left and I think we may offer him a severance package. I also hope Hutton has impressed someone somewhere at Mallorca and we can get rid of him too.

I would also try and sell Albrighton, Holman and Stevens. Perhaps harsh on Enda - but from what I've seen these three do not have the technical ability to take us to where I want us to be.

I'm willing to give Clark, Bennett, KEA and Herd one season to kick on - even if it just for the sake of keeping the impact of squad turnover lower. I feel Clark was put under intense pressure unfairly - captaining that grossly inexperienced back 5. Yes he made mistakes, but in my opinion there is a centre back in there somewhere. It can't have been easy for Bennett and KEA to step up to this level in the circumstances either. Herd for me is a useful utility player who has always given his all for Villa when he's played.

The rest of them, I'm delighted with. Guzan, Benteke, Lowton, Westwood and Weimann had outstanding seasons. Delph and Agbonlahor came good at the end. Vlaar and Sylla both had very promising first seasons. Baker has potential.  N'Zogbia offers something different from midfield. Would not be against Bowery being loaned out. 

He's failed 2 years in a row in the CL now, I can see the excuse for this year (Dortmund and Real).. But last year, they should have got out of that group.

It was still a tough group though! Bayern, Napoli and Villarreal. They also got 10 points - which is usually the threshold. United did not get through that year and their group was Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati...

It may be unfair, in my opinion he deserved to be sacked. When you spend that much, you shouldn't be judged by rational expectations.

Wigan - the type of club who are at the heart of why England has such a poor national team.

 

Figueroa, Boyce, Joel Robles, Di Santo, Crusat, Kone.  All cheap foreign crap that could've been the likes of Westwood or Bennett or Lowton.

 

The turd that wouldn't flush has finally been pushed round the u-bend by an Arsenal shaped bog brush.

 

Good riddance.

Boyce was born in Aylesbury! He came through Luton's academy.

Also think they'd be hard-pressed to have signed a better player than Kone for £3.5 million. I'd have taken Figueroa over Bennett too.

They survived for so long by unearthing players like Antonio Valencia, Rodallega and Figeuroa.

Although I agree there is a fair but of crap mixed in. It would be unfair to say they're at the heart of the reason why the national team is poor. Arguably our best left back (Baines) came through their academy.

They also gave Victor Moses his break in the Premiership - and back then it looked likely he'd opt to play for England.

Liam Bridcutt..

I agree. Tidy player who is ready to make the step up and fits into Lambert's ideology. Would give Westwood a good challenge.

I've seen quite a lot of Vydra this season. He was brilliant the first two thirds of the season but really went off the boil! However he did score a worldy this weekend. I would take him but I doubt he would be cheap.

Would love Kjaer/Dragovic to partner Vlaar. We really need a CB.

Anyone think he was unlucky to miss out on the u21 squad? Tom Lees and Craig Dawson chosen ahead of him despite playing Championship football all season. Hard to argue about Caulker being ahead of him - but Wisdom has played most of his football at right back.

Rambling off topic but it looks like a really poor squad. Forwards in particular.

Hogg and Deeney (both ex-Villa academy) linking up for Watford to send them through to the play-off final. I was actually at Vicarage Road for the game. Unbeleivable scenes! 

Malky Macaky told my friend yesterday to "put a quid on" him being the next Everton manager. Odds slashed from around 26/1 to 4/1 yesterday.

Now we know from the whole OGS affair that the bookies probably have as much clue as us - but I thought it was worth sharing.

Lambert clearly likes signing unproven players and using the fact he is giving them their chance at the top-level as a motivational tool.

I agree that the Football League has a pool of talent. Will Hughes, Tom Ince and Sam Byram have probably been hyped out of our price range but there are plenty of others who would dramatically improve our squad. Wouldn't be at all surprised if we picked up Luke Murphy from Crewe after the reports of Lambert watching him at Wembley.

Stevens seems to be the forgotten man. Honest question here. What has he done to fall seemingly completely out of the picture?

The penalty against Southampton? I know it was a dive but there was some horror defending before it.

EDIT: To remain on topic... I believe Bennett deserves one more season. He clearly has some footballing ability (his assist against Ipswich deserves a mention).  But his defending is currently a liability. It's improved marginally since Zavon Hines tore him to shreds but I still don't think I've seen him block a cross.

Surprised by this recent criticism of Vlaar? Him being injured was a huge factor in the Christmas slump. His experience on the pitch is vital and I think he's a good defender. He's clearly better technically than Collins. He also just scored a screamer!

 

First half admittedly poor. But second half we were the better team! Benteke's one-on-one, Gabby's chance from Benteke's clever flick.. Weimann's sitter from the counter attack. Plus Weimann messing up that opportunity in injury time. He was poor today. Gabby MOTM. Great assist from Westwood too.

 

Even when he's off his game he still makes those runs so he's invaluable to the team.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I rate the lad. Just remarking he had an off day.

First half admittedly poor. But second half we were the better team! Benteke's one-on-one, Gabby's chance from Benteke's clever flick.. Weimann's sitter from the counter attack. Plus Weimann messing up that opportunity in injury time. He was poor today. Gabby MOTM. Great assist from Westwood too.

Kiraly

 

Hutton

Clark

Bennett

Agathe

 

Sylla

Djemba x2

KInsella

Sidwell

 

Bowery

De Bilde

 

This side, I guarantee, would NOT win the premier league. Seriously.

Sylla?! Come off it. Do you honestly think Sylla is one of our four worst midfielders in Premiership history? Try Craig Gardner who Sylla thoroughly outplayed on Monday night. Also think Sidwell's inclusion is harsh.

And that team probably wouldn't win a premiership game. Because it's devoid of any shape/sense whatsoever. Is Joe Bennett at centre back with Agatha left back? With Sylla and Sidwell on the wings? Hmmm

Kinsella, Djemba-Djemba, Berson, Bakke, Joey Gudjonssen, Osbourne.. We've had some seriously poor centre mids!

Guzan 7 - Top save at the end.

Lowton 10 - MOTM. His reading of the game was phenomenal. As well as his passing, tackling and touch. Looks full of confidence after that screamer and I'm very happy for him.

Vlaar 8 - Good goal. In my opinion, we'd be higher up the table if he had been fit all season.

Baker 7 - Solid

Bennett - 7 - Tidy on the ball, weak in the tackle

Westwood 7 - Our metronome. 

Sylla 7 - Unbelievable work ethic and stamina. 

Delph 8 - I think he's come on leaps and bounds. Less silly tackles and an improved touch. He adds balance to our midfield three.

Weimann 7 - Great finish! Could have grabbed another.

Agbonlahor 7 - Clinical goal. Happy for him too - especially after his first half miss.

Benteke 9 - Beast.

Stoke or Norwich?

Just came across an interesting stat 

'Given caught 36 crosses and punched away another 11 in the entire of last season. This campaign Guzan has punched 25 and caught an astonishing 85'

FFS how can the board be blamed for Lambert deciding not to play him?

Oh come on, We all know lambert is a yes man, Lerner says get the wage bill down so lambert  being the prick he is thinks by not selecting him will force him to hand in a transfer request.

 

Same treatment applied to given, ireland ect, Seriously If anybody thinks that trio will be here next season then more fool them.  

 

Lerner and faulkners small minded tactics have turned us into a small club again and more fool lambert for being there bitch! Pathetic excuse of men thats all!.

I don't really want any of them here next year? Maybe Bent? But if we get a decent bid, I'd snatch it. The other two I'd piggy back out of B6.

Don't know what they measure as mistakes but in my eyes he has made quite a few through the season..

No chance he will be called up to England, Johnson is the number one choice and walker is the second..lowton is a long way away from the squad

 

They'll want to take a look at him so I think he'll get a call up over the summer, if there are any friendly fixtures around then.

I like Matty Lowton a lot. He's had a good season and yesterday he scored a great goal.

But I think the calls for an England cap are premature. He has some serious competition. Obviously currently Johnson, Walker and Smalling. Maybe Micah Richards too. Additionally, there are players like Jenkinson, Naughton, Clyne who have also all had good seasons in the top flight.

There is a promising batch of right backs in this country currently. I think, at the moment, he's ahead of the likes of Kelly, Byram, John Stones, Jack Hunt and Nathan Thompson... but in a couple of years? Who knows if he still will be?

Out of Delfouneso's English peers at centre forward, in his age group, Wickham, Sordell, Zaha and Ince, right now I'd only rather have Zaha or Ince.

 

Ince and Zaha are more-like wingers than strikers though, which means in Delfouneso we potentially have the best English striker of that generation.

Welbeck? Sturridge?

In my humble opinion, developing your game as a young centre back is the hardest transition into first team football. A young winger or striker can revel in being an unknown and therefore unpredictable quantity (Albrighton, anyone?). However, a centre back has every mistake extensively scrutinised and often punished.

I remember Clark getting absolutely mauled by Andy Carroll, a couple of seasons ago, when they spanked us 6-1. In my infinite wisdom I decided that the lad did not have the physique, nor the footballing intelligence, to play centre back at this level. I was wrong, of course. He has the ability, he just needs to find consistency. And I imagine having the captaincy thrust upon his young shoulders in this unremitting season of shite hasn't really helped.