bobzy

Of course shots on target is relatively meaningless. The only important stat is goals scored. If you have more than the other team, you win. You don't get prizes for having 20 shots on target compared to their 1 but losing 1-0. However, it is a concern that we've had 30 attempts at goal in our first 3 games (not too bad on paper) but only had 2 on target (terrible on paper). And of course, also, the manager can't affect what a player does on the pitch. He can give instructions to do <x>, can setup tactics to be <y> but if a player misses a chance in front of goal or makes a poorly timed challenge, that isn't down to the manager for **** sake.

Depends how he develops, but I agree to some extent. For some reason, people seem to think saying he's a good player automatically equates to him being one of the best midfielders in the league. Perspective etc.

Are you trying that say that you don't want him creating chances? I'm completely confused by all of your posts here :| I have no idea how you have come to that conclusion. See bold.

there were not 13 shots on target . According to all stats people we have only had 4 on target in last 5 games. Who is saying so many last night? He meant 13 shots, quite obviously.

Are you trying that say that you don't want him creating chances? I'm completely confused by all of your posts here :|

Precisely this. But then how do you explain the relative good results against much, much better opposition? Is it more to do with the manager then too?

Surely that top manager of ours will get him into shape. If only, perhaps he just needs a few games to get up to speed, I just can not decide with him if he has lost it or is just low on confidence. My personal opinion is that it is probably a mixture of a lack of fitness and a lack of confidence. I don't go with the notion that he suddenly isn't good anymore. At the level he has played and the constancy he has shown previously given the right conditions I think he could do OK. Goal scoring has a lot to do with confidence and sharpness. Bent's hardly going to be full of both the way he's been handled the last 2 years. Also has a lot to do with creativity. He thrived when he had Ashley Young and Stewart Downing feeding him the ball/getting to the by line and pulling the ball back. We literally have none of that in our team at the moment and Bent isn't the kind of striker that makes his own chances.

2 shots on target in 30 shots. It's crazy. But yeah, Lerner has basically packed us down the pooper. The game is getting more and more money pumped into it. Hull, Leicester, Cardiff, Fulham, Norwich... all teams that you'd assume would struggle in the league, and they're outspending us with considerable ease. A lot of it is to do with Lerner's mismanagement in the past which needed to be rectified and, thankfully, seems to have been - however he's still thinking spending £10m in a transfer window will definitely be enough to see us stay up. Sometimes I think Lambert made a bit of a rod for his own back by finding Benteke for £7.5m, Vlaar for £3m(?) and signing Guzan back on a free. It's like Lerner has set these as some sort of benchmark or something and thinks the same funds will always replicate as good a player. Lambert has flaws, no doubts about that. He's pretty much still learning his trade as a manager and maybe he's taken on more than he can chew. I do, however, find it hard to pin most of our poor results on HIM. There's no way our team loses to lower league opposition 4 times in a row. Once maybe, sure - upsets happen. 4 times though? That can't be mainly the managers' fault, can it? Surely Premier League players can finish off a lower league opposition at some point? Surely Lerner recognises we need more investment into the playing squad? I'm reckon someone else could come in and be a bigger motivational influence on the squad than Lambert is (almost in the way that O'Neill worked well with a lesser-able squad initially) but I'm just not convinced anyone would do much better than him. We need more quality in the team.

Probably should've gone gung ho against both Stoke and Newcastle with our (arguably) best two strikers out injured long term. Probably would've been 6 points rather than 4 and would've hammered Leyton Orient with our top notch back up strike force. Probably not wise to play to our defensive strengths at the moment. Probably.

I think you will find the 'months of exile' are actually called the 'closed season' and some of us have better things to do with our lives than read pages and pages of irrelevant garbage about takeovers and players that would never join us. Now the season has started again we can actually comment on something that is actually happening. Translation: When there's a chance of optimism in pre-season or excitement about links with players, some people have "better things to do". When a defeat happens, however, the only thing they have to do is populate Villa Talk and mouth (type?) off. It's good, I like it.

we had 1 shot on target didn't we? against LEYTON ORIENT. Thats shockingly bad, it's embarassing, more than enough to call for his head 1 shot on target out of 13, I think that generally supports the fact that it was the players' finishing that let the team down, not the way they were set up really. It's annoying that there are all these backward steps when things start looking up. He isn't going anywhere and we've done well in the transfer window considering the money. We've only had 2 shots on target in our first 3 games. 30 shots, 2 on target. I don't know if it's just me, but this suggests that it's probably the players that are under performing even more so than the manager. Sure, he gets things wrong but you've got to be kidding me that professional players can only hit the target 7%~ of the time. Garbage stuff.

Starting role yo.

He's not consistent though? Stand out player, maybe - but not consistent. His run against Newcastle where Williamson got sent off sums up Delph perfectly. Drives well with the ball, tries to make things happen then takes a terrible touch and loses the ball (in this case, got fouled leading to a sending off). You could substitute "terrible touch" for "terrible pass" too. Not to say I think he's a bad player - he's not. He's just terribly inconsistent. And Westwood nearly cost us a goal. The odd mistake in a game doesn't make a player inconsistent. No one in our team has perfect games on a regular basis. Delph doesn't make the odd mistake - hell, they're not even really "mistakes". It's just that his final product is more often than not, garbage. His pass out wide to Richardson in the same game was woefully under hit and stopped us in the final stages of a counter attack. Westwood doesn't make anywhere near as much happen on the ball as Delph, but you know exactly what you'll get with him. He's consistent as anything. In short, if you merged the two players together, the end result would be amazing.

He's not consistent though? Stand out player, maybe - but not consistent. His run against Newcastle where Williamson got sent off sums up Delph perfectly. Drives well with the ball, tries to make things happen then takes a terrible touch and loses the ball (in this case, got fouled leading to a sending off). You could substitute "terrible touch" for "terrible pass" too. Not to say I think he's a bad player - he's not. He's just terribly inconsistent.

I've never seen him play - purely know about him because of Football Manager/people saying he's good. What kind of forward is he?

In fairness, if you're a side that wants to be challenging for the title, you'd probably be a little bit alarmed at being linked with a defender who has regularly played in a relegation-threatened team that concedes a lot of goals. Said no-one ever.

Plus he loves a good celebration with the fans!

Delph is anything but consistent. If he added Westwood's consistency to his game (alongside making the right decisions!), he'd be some player.

Townsend doesn't create anything. He just shoots.

Did you see him last night? He was utter s**t a] He still showed a couple of bright moments. I remember, for one example, he took the ball across a couple of defenders before spinning and hitting a decent shot that went just wide. Weimann/Gabby simply don't do this. b] Did you see Benteke against Bradford? He was utter s**t. I think you get my point.

We're in the transfer window. Let's not panic until October, eh?

If Feyenoord behead the next person to mention anything regarding "cheeky", they get KEA.

If we're gonna have Isco and Song, surely they should both play in thongs?

Has he said that pubically though?

He would be a great signing. Hopefully Lambert wouldn't leaf him out of the team.