dn1982

It's groundhog day again I see! Hopefully once safety is assured we can find the direction the club is too take then instead of a tit for tat forum we can have proper discussions about stuff. You can be unhappy we are where we are and still believe in Lambert and I understand people who have had enough. My main reason for sticking by Lambert is I want stability and progress now I know this year we haven't but I still think he can progress us and I expected it to get worse before it got better. Not this bad granted. I just want this season over a statement of intent from the club and then we can argue all day long about positive things like who should we sign Ronaldo or Messi.

Not sure if it means anything but Luna just tweeted:

Vamooooooooooooooooooooioooooooooooosssss coñooooooooo,dicen que nunca se rinde!!!!! Que grandeeeeeeee !!!!! #VamosmiSevilla

https://mobile.twitter.com/AntoniiioLuna

Which in my pigeon Spanish means something about 'never playing' 'how great' and the hashtag means I'm going to Seville. Hmm... does it mean we're more likely to sign Bertrand, or perhaps I've completely got the translation wrong!?

Sevilla have just got to Europa League final the Express and Star reporter made the same mistake last game!!!!

I wanted Lambert 2 years ago and was happy we got him as was nearly every one I spoke to even if not their first choice. I knew we would be cutting back and expected a lean period maybe not as lean as we have had and certainly not as long. I had high expectations this season based on the 2nd half of last season but somewhere the wheels fell off. The squad depth isn't there the quality of the first team isn't there and we still our a young squad who I feel struggle when things go against them. When our first team is fit and playing with confidence we are a top ten side. People saying Lambert is tactically inept discount our big wins as luck. They also say his transfers are awful but when he's spent decent money they've been good. For me Lambert is still a young manager making mistakes hopefully ones that don't get us relegated. He has worked under considerable constraints and he could have done things differently regarding the bomb squad etc but we are we're we are. I would like to see him given serious backing and see what he can do and if Lerner stays I hope Lambert does. If we are sold and have a lot of money to spend I wouldn't be too bothered as I think we would easily be able to attract a big name manager under such conditions. These are all things for the summer but for now until the end of the season at least Lambert and the team should be given as much support as possible they'll be time for dissecting once we know the future for our club.

Shocking what he has been involved with in our club, an then can walk straight into the FA. If it was the other way around, we would probably seem him as a great acquisition.

He's done okay though commercially for the club considering how bad our team is. He's obviously a very intelligent bloke.

I agree Faulkner is intelligent academically. Marketing wise I guess he has done well, but out of his league as a CEO of a large football club. Don't seem to much the leader!!

I think that's spot on IF he had a football man alongside him he'd flourish and his record would seem impressive sadly his football knowledge and leadership skills nullify that!

Winning the last 3 games will put fans back on his side. But it ain't happening... he's gone.

You reckon?

 

It will take a lot more than winning 3 games on the spin to get the majority of fans back on his side. Remember, we aren't fickle! 

I think so yeah.

 

I think if we beat Hull, Man City and Spurs a lot of fans would be willing to give him another chance. 

 

But the fact is, we're not going to do that :

TBF if Lambert stayed and bought a few quality players fans would start the new season behind him but he'd be on very short leash. At the moment I can't wait for the season to end but i know after a couple of days I'll miss it and a few signings and I'll be as positive as ever about next season. My hope for Saturday is we win and Lerner comes on to the pitch an announces our sale to a trillionaire. That's my Walter Mitty moment though!

People, people, people, please quit with this "he's lost the fans nonsense."

 

No he hasn't.

 

I bought my season ticket yesterday & so have many other Villa fans too to date.

 

I'd like to see the figures. There are lies and damned statistics just like the GDP figures. Perhaps Ken Dodd's accountant is involved?

 

He has lost the fans

 

Only a few weeks back after the Crystal Palace game there was a fans poll in the birmingham mail and 86% wanted him gone

 

After the drubbing in the Swansea game i can only imagine that figure has now reached 99% with only a select few wanting him to stay

 

Just because people are renewing their season tickets does not mean they still support the current clown in charge the majority are renewing just because they want to keep supporting the club and are praying that common sense prevails at the end of the season and he is swiftly removed

You can never put a figure on it as fans with negative opinion tend to shout louder than those with positive ones. All that matters Saturday is that the fans support the club 100% then once safety is assured let's see where we are heading! As for the % ratings if we win 5 nil that'll change dramatically. I'm also sure if Lambert stays and signs some big names it'd change but that's the roller coaster of being a fan!!

People, people, people, please quit with this "he's lost the fans nonsense."

 

No he hasn't.

 

I bought my season ticket yesterday & so have many other Villa fans too to date.

 

One good win & things change. Believe me!

 

The whole Club just need to survive this season & then we can look to seriously assess where we are currently & where we really intend to be longer term & what needs to be done to seriously help Lambo to arrest the decline & achieve his & our ambitions. You can tell by his recent comments that he is pig sick of where our massive Club is currently languishing right now & he knows that this is totally unacceptable. ( Though through no fault of his own IMO I hasten to add.)

 

Serious lessons have surely been learn't by all those associated with the Club this season & most provocatively of all, it is the fan's, more than anyone, who are currently destabilising Lambert's sincere efforts to arrest the Clubs decline, because of their atrocious & negative attitudes, failure to grasp the true reality of how challenging the Villa Manager's job really is & their failure to recognise that he has been seriously handicapped, especially by injuries to key personnel, but most annoyingly of all it is their puerile action of spitting their dummies out at the worst possible time when the Club desperately need the 12th man to stand up & be counted & show what they are worth.

 

FFS! Stop moaning! Get behind the team, get behind the Manager & get behind the club 100% & prove that you too are also worthy to be recognised by the Club as being worthy of wearing the claret & blue scarf instead of constantly motivating the opposition by constantly dragging the Club down by creating a totally negative & detrimental atmosphere & slagging off the Manager & the team who are trying their very best to secure our future in the division.

 

To sum up:

 

Directors direct. Managers Manage, Players play & Supporters Support.( allegedly)

 

So, hopefully now my message is clear?

 

Support, support, support, support.

 

Don't moan about it - Just do it.

Fans buying season tickets does not mean that they support Lambert, his tactics (or lack of them), his poor purchases or the owner and his gross incompetence. Fans buying season tickets means that they support Aston Villa (the entity).

 

Fans bought season tickets when we were in the 3rd division. Don't be fooled by such an historic pastime. 

IMO the fans are turning not turned many still want Lambert to succeed either through thinking he is still a good manager or that regardless of who is in charge we are were any manager could get us. His tactics can be baffling but then so can the results beating the top teams and losing the others. His purchases are exactly the same benteke is countered with a Tonev yet when he has spent decent money we have got good players. Fans get frustrated easily some very easily I for one just want us safe. Then find out where our club is going. If Lambert stays and has money to spend I'll support him but he will be up against it after the last 2 years but until we know the future for our club I will support the manager. If we get new owners and they sack him I won't be too bothered but under the constraints placed by club and the injuries to key players this season I hope he gets given money to have a crack at getting us back to where we belong. If you read some of the tweets and message boards posted about Brendan Rodgers 12 months ago you will see how quickly things can change difference being LFC spent money!!

Ultimately it's a silly question as too many factors are in play. Will we have the same owner next year? Will the current one invest? Etc. I'm not one bit happy with Lambert but feel the constraints he's been under haven't helped. This year especially signings and injuries have hampered us. I feel he deserves a go with money but if he did go I wouldn't be to bothered. If we don't get a new owner I'd go for Eddie Howe as he seems to get his teams play to play football If Lerner invests I'd keep Lambert. If we got millions for a new owner I'd try for Simeone who I don't think will be able to repeat this years success as his team will get ripped apart by the big guns. realistic? money talks!!

I personally think Chelsea's three strikers next year will be Costa, Lukaku and Eto'o. Mourinho only ever plays 1 upfront so you don't need 4.

 

Eto'o only signed a 1 year deal. I'd be very surprised if he was there next season. He'll probably go to Qatar or MLS or something.

Swap Eto for Drogba who's on a free but I still think they'll get another one just no for massive money so hopefully that rules them out! Can't see Arsenal paying what we would want. So I reckon IF he goes it'll be abroad

I think the prime years thing is a fallacy. Some one like Gabby who relies on speed will not have the same peak years IMO as his pace will slow. He has also been playing for a long time and hasn't the football intelligence to adapt his game. I would offer him a new contract on lower wages with higher goal and app fee so if he is playing and scoring he will not lose out. He isn't worth the wages he receives now and if we are to progress every one on big money needs to justify it not just be a long servant. I do hope he signs as he is a Villan and always seems to turn it on when need just we need it more often now and not just in derbies!!

It's something that needs looking at IMO. We seem to take initial allocations which sell out with weeks to spare. I know after the initial allocation the club is liable for any unsold tickets so can understand not wanting to lose money but they need to come up with some way of getting as many tickets as possible. I don't think the information about away tickets from the ticket office is good enough especially regarding rate of sale. Not sure what the answer is but I've missed out through lack of information in the past and have heard loads of non ST holders have the same problem getting tickets. Maybe a ST holder then away scheme non ST holder sort of system would help??

According to the E & S he tweeted "There's still another extension before my game... So I think I'm screwed, I don't like these things".

Whatever that means.

Awful piece of journalism. Read a tweet put 2 + 2 together got 10. He had to retract it within an hour. How can a tweet be the sole source for an article is beyond me but that's what it's come to these days!

The Man City game was a bit of a fluke result. We were just better than Chelsea on Saturday.

What was flukey about it? They had 7 shots on target granted they had possession and we won without playing anywhere near how we can or did against Chelsea but we defended resolutely and they couldn't break us down and when they did we kept coming back. It says a lot about the spirit in the players!

I don't very much that a player who is being used regularly would be told mid season to find another club as it would demotivated them. His agent may be looking just incase no contract is offered but that's completely different. Also Lamberts Style? This season we have played loads of formations and that's one thing I think will continue and as the only winger at the club I'd say that would go in his favour. I'd sign him on a 2 year deal and sell next summer if he doesn't make an impact next year the same would go for Gardner.

Oh if Gary Neville said it, it must be true...

I'd be willing to put a fair bit of money on the fact that on average the team with the highest possession in a game, wins more often.

I'm not even a "possession junkie" I just agreed with the point made by the earlier poster, that we do need to keep the ball better.

We do need to keep the ball better but ultimately it's what you do with it. If a team sits deep and you aimlessly keep possession in your own half what's the point? I'd be more interested in a possession in oppositions half stat. This will at least show attacking intent not just keep ball. Also over 90 min it doesn't take much of a swing to make a stat look good or bad as I assume it's in ball play time.

Pushing it a bit imo saying the City game was a counter attacking win, it was a complete mugging (Not that I'm complaining).

It was a mugging but they didn't have many chances on target. It wasn't as if we got hammered still not sure how we did it but we seem to have a knack of it!

He tried to get a number 10 in the Summer too, but we couldn't afford the players he had identified.

Perhaps he should've scouted for players within our price-range then? Just an idea.

We know for a fact he tried to get a 10 in Jan and there was reports in the summer too so just because aLambert couldn't land the signings he wanted doesn't mean the windows were bad. I don't want the club panic buying any player ever. Any signing of note should be for the 1st team from now on not squad fillers.

That would be one of the very definitions of a 'bad window', wouldn't it?

No missing out on 1 player wouldn't constitute a 'bad' window. In the summer he added to GK Def Mid and attack so I would say it was a good window. It's only on FM that players hit the ground running every time and every player plays to their potential from the off. I would hope most people on here who have read these boards and seen several players written off early would realise this. Even in Jan we missed out on an AM but got in 2 others one as back up the other Bertrand has made a big difference to the team so how are they bad windows? Every window we have had signings that are now in the team!

Yeah I'm not blaming him for that it's the "number 10" signing I was talking about.

We know for a fact he tried to get a 10 in Jan and there was reports in the summer too so just because aLambert couldn't land the signings he wanted doesn't mean the windows were bad. I don't want the club panic buying any player ever. Any signing of note should be for the 1st team from now on not squad fillers.

So what constitutes a long ball then?

 

30 yards +?

40 yards +?

 

maybe even 20 yards+?

 

No-one knows, it's not definitive therefore it's irrelevant.

On Opta a long ball is 25 yards so a quarter of the pitch! So I assume most crosses corners are counted as long?? I'll use my own judgement and say we are not quite Wimbledon and not quite Barcelona somewhere in the middle like 90% of the league!!

Can any one clarify what is classed as a long ball these days? To me there's a hell of a difference between hitting and hoping a long pass and picking out a target man. I know we do play lots of passes down the channels for our wide men. Were as West Ham hit Carroll from all angles then feed off him especially at home. When does a short pass become a long pass?

I think at times people on here over simplify things regarding the hoof ball. We are no where near what Stoke were. Since Lambert has been here we have always tried to knock the ball about from defence sometimes our movement hasn't been good enough further forward so we end up lumping it which I agree at times was awful. I'd say there's games where playing the longer ball was a tactic but we don't aimlessly hit it. In Benteke we have someone who's very good in the air so why not use it. Unfortunately because he is so good it also becomes the easy ball out instead of trying harder to pass it. I don't think it's a coincidence that when we hit a bad run and confidence was low we resorted to it more. We can play good football and with confidence and more creative signings down the road it will get even better.

I don't think we have needed graphs to know there has been improvement this year (but I like them anyway). I am sure we will have a lot more ups and downs in the coming months and sometimes the improvements may be small but as long as we are improving we should stick behind Lambert. Thankfully Lambert seems to have the knack of getting results when we and him especially need them. Our home form will remain a concern and is the biggest thing that needs fixing but winning the remaining ones would set us up nicely for next year.

I've said it elsewhere but QPR will be desperate to flog Loic Remy for about 8-10m especially if they don't go up.

 

I don't see why it's that unrealistic given the current team he's playing for will probably finish one place above us in the league and we should have spare wages with Bent and Benteke moving on.

 

That is the sort of ambitious move I'm looking for, a top level striker with proven premier league pedigree. Sorry but some league 1 bloke coming in to replace Benteke simply isn't going to cut It this time.

I don't think the price tag would be an issue but the stupid wages thrown at him by QPR might be! There'll be better value and quality out there but I think we'd need 2 strikers to replace Benteke!

When was the last time this happened

What makes that even more amazing is we was robbed at Stamford Bridge and should have won at Anfield!! Just need to sort out against the other 15 now!

He showed decent form in finishing a few chances. He showed awful form in terms of his performances.

Well once he's settled and ups his awful performances to average he'll be scoring every week!