bobzy

Yes, of course. We're awful going forwards. Obviously, part of that has been down to not having our main striker but there must be something not working. I'm only saying that, tonight only, as a one-off event, I find it hard to see what he did that was so wrong. I thought we did well overall apart from our play in the final third.

You've seen this thread, right?

Find it hard to blame him tonight. Q.P.R. didn't look like scoring, but we made 2 mistakes and got punished. The problem is that we don't look like scoring either. Benteke looks rusty as anything and there was nothing between Sanchez/Westwood/Cleverley and the top striker to inspire much creativity. We kept the ball well and worked it into good positions but our final delivery was awful and we look toothless. Some fans just want the guy out no matter what - and I think that's what will get him the sack. People will lambast (no pun intended) him for literally anything. "We don't keep the ball enough and retain possession!" has been the most popular shout for ages and we've done that tonight. Laughable Ever heard the expression you can't polish a turd? Give it up The basic things that we needed to do from the back, we did tonight. Sanchez looked (for the most part) controlled on the ball and retained play well. The ball was played out from the back patiently, we worked it into decent crossing positions often - which, personally, I think is vital when you play Benteke - but our final ball was awful 95% of the time and we were utterly toothless. We only conceeded due to errors. It was a nailed on 0-0... that we lost.

Find it hard to blame him tonight. Q.P.R. didn't look like scoring, but we made 2 mistakes and got punished. The problem is that we don't look like scoring either. Benteke looks rusty as anything and there was nothing between Sanchez/Westwood/Cleverley and the top striker to inspire much creativity. We kept the ball well and worked it into good positions but our final delivery was awful and we look toothless. Some fans just want the guy out no matter what - and I think that's what will get him the sack. People will lambast (no pun intended) him for literally anything. "We don't keep the ball enough and retain possession!" has been the most popular shout for ages and we've done that tonight.

2 individual errors against a team that has done nothing = Lambert out :D

We've had much more of the ball and generally worked it out to wide areas nicely. The channels are definitely where we're getting more joy - their central midfielders are pressing well.

Versatility, experience?

We lost 4 out of 5 games against the best 5 teams in the league. Personally, I was expecting 5 losses.

Switch to a diamond, play Cole "in the hole" with Benteke and Gabby up top, Sanchez in as the defensive midfielder and Cleverley/Westwood in the middle. After 60 mins when Joe's legs go a bit, replace with Weimann/Grealish.

Aston Villa have suffered four straight league defeats without scoring - the last time this happened was between December 2000 and January 2001. That was also the last time Villa lost five consecutive league games, although they have never gone five games without scoring in the Premier League.

Its not really. We've been poorly run in a lot of ways. They haven't. Weren't Everton pretty much skint at the turn of the century with fans wanting Kenwright out because he didn't spend anything? Yes correct! Those toffee fans should walk an hour in our shoes? They'd have something to moan about then! They were on the verge of not existing. We've had 3 bad seasons. But sure, we're definitely in a worse place.

Its not really. We've been poorly run in a lot of ways. They haven't. Weren't Everton pretty much skint at the turn of the century with fans wanting Kenwright out because he didn't spend anything?

OK to a certain extent you're right but not completely. Arsenal and Liverpool were both there for the taking and for most of the first 4 years under Lerner we out spent Spurs and had a higher wage bill? What Everton and Spurs both had was proper football people at the helm not some silly kid from a credit card company's customer service department. Also remember that every time Lerner has changed manager we have changed the clubs ethos! This has caused constant unrest and chaos in the club and therefore the side. Then the one time Lerner seems to put some thought to may be consistancy is a good thing he chooses to do so with the manager with the worst record since he brought the club. Anyone would think he is trying to wreck us on purpose? Isn't the highlighted bit the entire reason we're in this mess? Obviously Lerner should've managed the club in a much better manner, but the whole big spending, big wages situation (in which we came 6th, 6th, 6th etc) is a big part of why we're now struggling. Lambert has had to deal with the entirety of this situation. He may not be a very good manager, but he's had to compete with a squad built from the transfer funds and wages of a Championship club. It's obviously not preferable to be struggling in the league (and if we do again this season, maybe we should look to a new manager) but, given the situation, it's entirely understandable.

Before there were 7 teams who were ever presents in the PL, there were 8.

I think our general tactics (I have no idea about the methods used in training, unlike many others) are fine to an extent but might not fully play to the "strengths" of the squad. The biggest problem for me is that we don't have creative, attacking players. Gabby, Weimann and N'Zogbia all do the odd thing well enough, but are nowhere near being creative enough - let alone consistent enough. If we had, say, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young playing in those wide/wing forward areas instead of any combination of the above 3, I think we'd be a much better side. Instead, we lack true quality in the final third. As sexbelowsound hints, why haven't we really tried out a 4-4-2 or, hell, a 5-3-2? If we don't have the creativity up there and we want to play counter-attacking football, double up on the attackers. There are huge periods of games where our sole striker is completely isolated - which I doubt helps with concentration et al either. Another huge concern of mine is that we don't use the ball well enough when we have it. It's fine to be a counter-attacking team (lots of clubs play in that manner), but if you're rarely effective with the ball then it becomes a tremendous burden on the defence and a major problem overall. I guess it might tie in with the Gabby/Weimann/N'Zogbia trio - some pace, some workrate but a distinct lack of skill - it might be a training ground issue but, whatever the cause, it certainly needs addressing quickly.

BBC Sport reporting he's about to declare himself to Ireland. From the same source perhaps? They'd normally only put stuff that's factual on their site.

"Excuses".

A defender that is fed up with defending? Interesting.

I'd welcome bringing Richardson in. Everton have two of the best full backs in the league - and Richardson's experience from playing on the left may well come in handy for covering against Coleman. I'd actually like us to go 4-4-2 in a weird way...

I've heard the bench is the new first team.

Southampton are pretty far ahead of us in both squad quality and club structure. Look at how Southampton replaced a good manager and players and look at how we did it. They're miles ahead of us in how they are run. It's fair to suggest that both are ahead of us in certain regards, but financially it's "easier" to develop coming up through the leagues. Southampton have done incredibly well (a lot of this has to do with how good their youth academy has been) but have also been a "big club" playing at a lower level. Like any relegated team (Norwich, Leeds, Forest etc. etc.), you need to strip out the high-wage players and re-build - something that we've had to do whilst still in the Premier League. We've also never sold £90m of players in a season - much easier to spend that "free money" on talent than it has been for us. Not to take anything away from Southampton, just an unfair comparison. Everton would be a closer one for me - and they've done well by, essentially, not gambling. Edit: For Delph, I can't see why he wouldn't stay outside of a European team (i.e: playing European football) coming in. Swansea, Southampton, Stoke, West Ham et al are all arguably better than us, but not by such a significant amount that you'd want to give up first team action for possible rotation imo.

Some debatable calls but, in their squads, more likely than not. Also shows that Lambert is good in the transfer market?

So.... that means he doesn't have to make do, doesn't have to try and improve the squad he already has and can't possibly try to implement a better style? I wonder what financial amount you think we need before he becomes responsible? No manager can plan for transfer budgets or wages as these things are outside their control - tight restrictions or not. You have to plan with what you have and using the former as an excuse means you are only ever treading water till something outside your control changes. Or, in other words, you aren't managing anything. The constant excuse of financial restrictions doesn't wash with me. I'm not expecting miracles - just signs of improvement, of an actual plan in place. I remain in serious doubt that Lambert can or will ever do different than what we currently see. Roberto Martinez is one of the most pragmatic managers in the Premier League. Pretty much started the "Swansea revolution" (to which they've stuck) and has Everton playing some great football - better even than when Moyes was there. He implemented that same style, slowly but surely, at Wigan Athletic and got some quite stunning results when playing, essentially, a 3-4-3 formation against Man Utd, Arsenal, etc. etc. However, ultimately, Wigan spent **** all and had a squad that was incredibly short on quality. They tried to play entertaining football, and most likely succeeded (even won a cup!) but, with not much investment and a poor squad, they came unstuck and got relegated. You can see financial restrictions as "an excuse" if you want, but it's a huge limitation in a Premier League where Hull City can fork out £16m on a strike force. Pretty football doesn't get you out of a mess - and Martinez is definitely one of the best for it.

This. I reckon Poland fans are fuming over their 33% possession stat after beating Germany as well. They should just play better football! That doesn't surprise me. I think it's obvious the more you control the ball the better you will do over a season. I think it's obvious that if you're a good team, you have better players than others and will therefore see more of the ball.

Of course everyone wants us to play better football. The main problem isn't a lack of possession, though - it's what we do with the ball once we have it. I'd rather see us break quickly and effectively than keep the ball for an extra 10% of the game; and I think most people would feel the same.