bobzy

I think the team should be playing consistent football, the likes we have seen against Chelsea and Norwich for example. The inconsistency is unexplainable considering how long the team have been playing together. They still don't seem to know what they are supposed to be doing. Then in random games they just click!

lol.

So when

 

 

I don't think Grant Holt has needed a bedding in period and he's certainly not a foreign youth player.

 

Unless "experience" = "quality" in some version of the English language that I'm not aware of, Holt is a Premier League experienced player but not a Premier League quality player.  I fail to see how that's being pedantic; it's two completely different things.

 

 

So you think that Holt was going to go straight from being a fat, unfit, unwanted Championship player to banging them in in the Premier League with no bedding in period?  You are Paul Lambert and I claim my five pounds.  Why would anybody want "experience" is that experience wasn't of any use?  Bizarre.

Holt isn't fat or unfit, though?  Lambert has worked with him before, knows his strengths and presumably has seen him as decent cover whilst Kozak is out - maybe even with the added boost of being more vocal around our quiet, young squad.

This experience is useful.  It doesn't make Grant Holt a good player.

 

 

Yes, experience means nothing if you aren't actually good enough to play at this level and Grant Holt wasn't even deemed to have the required fitness levels for the Championship by Uwe Rösler.

 

Agreed - and fair enough people saying "Grant Holt was a terrible loan signing", but you can't call a manager out for not following through on what he said... when he actually did.

 

 

Well, that's a level of pedantry that would make even me blush.  By "Premier League" experience, I think that most reasonable people would assume that it meant somebody who could come into the team and make some sort of positive impact straight away, without the need for a bedding in period.  Ie NOT another foreign youth player, and not some fat has been either.

 

I don't think Grant Holt has needed a bedding in period and he's certainly not a foreign youth player.

Unless "experience" = "quality" in some version of the English language that I'm not aware of, Holt is a Premier League experienced player but not a Premier League quality player.  I fail to see how that's being pedantic; it's two completely different things.

Where has this Lukaku idea come from?

If he leaves Chelsea, why would he come here? He has been vital for Everton, who are battling for europe and if they win their game in hand will be 1 point behind arsenal.

There would be so many more attractive offers for him to consider than a mid-tablr to bottom half team who, currently, don't pay big wages.

Yeah, of course.

But we should get him.

If lukaku goin for around 17m we can't expect much more for benteke. We should defo try holding onto him

Let's just spend £17m on Lukaku and play the 2 of them up top.

Screw the rest of the transfer window

Yes, experience means nothing if you aren't actually good enough to play at this level and Grant Holt wasn't even deemed to have the required fitness levels for the Championship by Uwe Rösler.

Agreed - and fair enough people saying "Grant Holt was a terrible loan signing", but you can't call a manager out for not following through on what he said... when he actually did.

 

 

 

What worries me is that Lambert said we needed premiership experience in January so he signs Grant Holt?........Joke!!!

 

 

You mean he said we needed Premiership experience and brought in a player (on loan, by the way) with... Premiership experience?

 

Paul Lambert, you liar!

 

 

He could have signed Mick Quinn in that case.  In fact, there probably wouldn't be a lot to choose between the two.

 

Yes, he could have - and he still wouldn't have lied.

I hope he starts against Fulham.

I agree actually - I think we're safe now (on the basis that the bottom 3 won't pick up enough points) so why not give him some relatively pressure-free games?

I'm not one for rushing youth into the side for the hell of it, but he seems to be teetering on the edge of the first team squad so might as well give him some game time.

 

What worries me is that Lambert said we needed premiership experience in January so he signs Grant Holt?........Joke!!!

 

You mean he said we needed Premiership experience and brought in a player (on loan, by the way) with... Premiership experience?

Paul Lambert, you liar!

Its interesting to see what Martinez has done this season at Everton with very little money, playing decent football along the way.

 

Yes he started with a stronger squad than Lambert but I do feel Lambert has spent the money without a major plan of how to improve the squad, nearly 2 years in and the spine of the team is not that much better than when he came.

Depends what you see as the spine of the team I guess?  I'm perfectly happy with Guzan/Vlaar/Delph/Benteke as "the spine" but there's a lack of quality outside of this that needs to be added in the summer.

This guy needs to play every game whilst we have Benteke up front.  The only player who looks to cross every time he gets the ball, and there's more than a fair share of dangerous ones included.

His decision making is appalling but it's refreshing seeing someone at least run at the opposition.

His touch and composure when controlling a ball are crazy good.

It isn't harsh to lose when you concede four goals. Ultimately, they took their opportunities, we squandered ours.

It wasn't harsh to lose - the scoreline was harsh though.  Completely different things.

It should've been a 4-3 loss in all honesty.  Shame we played Emile Heskey upfront.

That probably has something to do with them actually giving their youngsters a chance.

That probably has something to do with Southampton being in League One four seasons ago.

This is more like it. Paul Lambert's useless tactics at their finest.

**** lol at blaming the tactics

This annoys me about Lambert!! Second half needs to be much better

What annoys you about Lambert?  Players making terrible individual decisions?

Once a hater...

 

 

 

He's superb on what basis? By just doing unrisky passes and let Gerrard, Sturridge,Suarez and Sterling do all the job. Seriously, had he played on a mid-table side he would be average at best.

I have to question whether you have watched Liverpool at all this season reading this.

 

I think the more prominent question is; Have you seen football? (given the range of comments across the threads)

Clearly not as much as you as you must hold the correct view on everything, right?

 

Way to misread dude

 

Welbeck and Henderson are probably the most overrated players in Premier League

Not sure who overrates Welbeck, unless you like strikers who cant score. Henderson has been quality this season

 

Seriously, this.

Henderson has been absolutely superb for Liverpool this season and Welbeck is underrated if anything (I don't think he's that great at all, mind).

Sigurdsson will want regular first team football somewhere, I don't think it's that out of the question and he'd certainly be an exciting signing.

He's played in 18 league games this season (out of 30) and also in 7 Europa League games.

I don't see why he'd move from a side pushing for CL qualification to come to Villa for the sake of an extra 10 games in a season?

 

I think we may surprise a lot of people, I am really looking forward to March.

 

You would surprise me if you came up with a realistic prediction.

 

 

I'm pretty sure (although it would need checking by someone with time on their hands) that the team who averages most possession per game, most passes per game and the highest pass completion rate per game is sat in 14th place in the table.

 

That's 4 positions and 5 points worse off than Villa.  Whilst we'd obviously like to see more of the ball, let's not get too tied up in how important possession is overaYou make

You make is sound like you either have to play like West Ham or Barca, like there is nothing in between

 

See bit in bold; I'm not stating that we wouldn't want to have more of the ball - just that it's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.  It's what you do when you have the ball that matters.

I'm pretty sure (although it would need checking by someone with time on their hands) that the team who averages most possession per game, most passes per game and the highest pass completion rate per game is sat in 14th place in the table.

That's 4 positions and 5 points worse off than Villa.  Whilst we'd obviously like to see more of the ball, let's not get too tied up in how important possession is overall.

Maybe it was punishment for Clark hoofing it every single time. I like Clark, but he's been extremely negative in possession this year.

Also, wasn't Clark dropped after the everton game? When he gave away the free kick?

Clark is much more positive in possession than Baker - Baker is a hoof monster.  (As an aside, kudos to Bennett against Chelsea.  He could've panicked in possession often but he didn't and always looked for a pass down the line).

I think part of Lambert's thinking with Baker is that the better central defences (on the whole) have one comfortable on the ball centre back and one brave, head on the line centre back.  Ferdinand/Vidic, Terry/Cahill, Laursen/Davies - if you have the right pairing, they often work well.  Both Vlaar and Clark are comfortable enough on the ball but neither are particularly brave to the extent that Baker is.  Can only assume this is why he's generally picked ahead of Clark.

I like both Baker and Clark as backup/subs/occasional first team options by the way - can't see the need for another central defender.

I'd agree if he was actually our player... but he's not.  If we can get Bennett both a) in good form and b ) in the team for a decent stretch, it may well do him/us the world of good.

Obviously, I'd choose Bertrand over him if you gave me a simple "pick one!" scenario, but there's no harm in playing Bennett right now for me.