HanoiVillan

It's been as scrappy as you'd expect. Apart from that howler on the left (was it Bennett?) where we set their striker through on goal, we've mostly managed. Don't know how anyone was expecting anything other than this from this fixture. Two really bad sides, the only difference is we have something more in the locker when we have players fit. They are this rubbish all the time. Even if they sneak a winner, they'll not be staying up this season. We will.

Albrighton looking good again! Really happy for the lad.

J Bowz to start up top this weekend?

To be honest, the logic was questioned, repeatedly and great length, during the transfer window thread. Not looking to start any arguments about this, but it really was. Now we need Holt. In the summer, we're going to need to spend some big money on a striker, which wouldn't have been in the plan before.

I'm not convinced. Especially after this season. I haven't seen enough of an improvement in how we play our football this season to suggest that we will improve next season, or that we even have a plan we are trying to follow. I hear a lot about the squad quality and the limitations placed upon Lambert - and perhaps that is warranted. But what I don't hear much about is what we are doing now in preparation for our assumed "quality" signings to come in the summer. Are we suddenly going to be playing better football with a few quality signings? What happens when they are unavailable? Or take a while to settle in? We should be playing now the type of football we want to see later. Our squad should be versed in how the system works, what their role is and what tactics we are using regardless of their supposed lack of ability. It may not work out immediately, but the few quality additions would then actually make a difference with our existing players providing cover already experienced in the way we want to play. That gives us realistic options for rotation due to injury, suspension or form. Instead, I see one-dimensional football with little improvement in style/tactics/formations/roles within the squad after (almost) 2 full seasons. The majority of our football is poor - even some of our basics are awful (watch Bertrand try to find a Villa shirt from a throw in, for instance) - and having to "start again" with a better quality squad really means the last 2 years are for nothing and more seasons of struggle are to be expected till we finally start playing decent football. Just what is the plan, exactly? I don't see enough evidence that we are working to one other than "survive". Just highlighted this bit as interesting. Why do we always seem to lose possession following throw-ins? Surely we must turn the ball over more in those situations than any other team in the league. It's fascinating that even someone who's come in on loan can be just as bad at them.

We'll get five or six points out of the remaining games. Given who we are, we're probably more likely to do it against Man City and Tottenham than Fulham or Hull, but we'll manage it somehow. Don't know how anyone could want Albion to go down - one of the few teams we nearly always take points off! Especially given how gutted they must be we came back from two goals down each time. Think they're in real trouble after the events of the weekend though. Also, got to assume that Norwich go down if they don't win this weekend.

Presumably so, but no matter how daft the lad was, it doesn't warrant lamping him. Apparently the club are 'conducting an investigation', which seems like another Anelka disaster brewing. It's remarkable that the immediate decision hasn't been 'suspend Morrison without pay'. How hard is the situation to parse? Guess the problem is that the manager has little control over, or respect from, the players, and there's a coterie of long-serving players who are basically dressing-room untouchables, but this seems like an absolutely calamitous situation. Odds massively shortening on their relegation after this week.

Can't stand either team, but I find it a lot easier to respect Liverpool. United have been number one since I was a lad, and I'm absolutely loving their disastrous season, I almost wish it would never end.

You can't honestly believe that. PL is such an incredible con artist that he's stealing a living as a professional manager without so much as even giving a vague game plan. You're thinking of Tim Sherwood. Why has the booting not been addressed? It's been happening since August. What is the game plan? It must concern Lambert that if he has been trying to get them to play a certain way, all they still do is boot it? Why are they not carrying out his instructions? He even got Grant Holt in to get more 'proper men' in the dressing room. Tim, what a joker You're assuming that playing direct is bad and small passing is good. Who says we would have won more if the 'booting' had been addressed? Would we have beaten Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea if we had played it around all day? Would we have won against Southampton if we didn't play by 'booting' - the 3 points that have pretty much ruled us out of relegation this season? The Homer Simpson approach has served us well in games granted....but we have lost nearly twice as many as we've won this season which implies the approach isn't all that effective. You can't compare two approaches by simply looking at the statistics for one - that's a logical fallacy. Nobody's denying we've lost a ton of games, but the only question that matters is whether we'd have lost more games with a different approach. Bluntly, I think we would have done. We don't tend to do a lot with possession even when we have got the ball.

With Lowton to Leicester or Derby looking so suitable, we are almost certainly going to be in the market for a right-back. Whether Bacuna is good enough there or not, we can't have only one player in the squad who can play there. Whether we're interested in this guy who knows, but the papers are right, RB has a good chance of being one of our main targets this summer.

I agree that some of the positivity for absent players goes overboard, but he really wasn't that bad.

Good news for American fans, hope we actually put in a decent performance for you all!

Oh no, the chance of relegation has gone up 0.1%, oh NOOOOOES!

This year, according to Transfermarkt. Think it's very obvious he won't be getting a new contract, but I hope he finds his level, and soon. Also hope he finds some way to get around whatever personal issues he's been having, he always gave his all on the pitch, even if he isn't good enough for a permanent role at the club. Fun fact! He's the third-longest serving member of the first team - only Gabby and Clark have been in the first team at the club for longer.

Would probably start him, because Gabby and especially Weimann have been a bit off-colour. Don't expect anything too positive though.

Tottenham want to sign Caulker back again. He will certainly be moving for more money than we can afford.

He really wasn't as bad as some of you are making out . . . he made some positioning errors, but none of the goals were solely his fault. He also made a few crucial tackles, which is easy to forget after a big defeat. Both Clark and Baker are good enough as 3rd or 4th choice centre backs. We're not going to be able to get anybody else better in the price range we're talking about.

They're Man Utd . . . They're 7th in the table, we're 11th . . . They're at home . . . etc etc. Get a sense of perspective. Did you watch them get raped by Liverpool and Man City? Man United have the worst home record that they have had for a quarter of a century. You seem to think that just because they are Man United they are untouchable and little Aston Villa have no right to be breathing the same air. You have a small minded attitude just like Lambert and the players. Yes, how could I forgot our title-challenge? We truly are just like Liverpool and Man City! I mean, I don't think Suarez or Toure would even improve our team.

They're Man Utd . . . They're 7th in the table, we're 11th . . . They're at home . . . etc etc. Get a sense of perspective.

Some people on here seem to be truly expecting us to be winning this game . . . on the contrary, we're playing a fired-up team in their home stadium in front of twice our capacity, and we're giving it a go. Nobody has complained more about our capitulation against them at home than me, but we're giving our all today. Ultimately, they're a bit better than we are, and they haven't made the mistakes we have. Players falling over is unfortunate though. Hope Lambert's put a rocket up a few of them. UTV.

Agree with everything said so far. On paper, a great tie for us, given their hopeless recent home form, our excellent record against the top 6, and the fact that they'll have to come at us and attack, which is what we love. Still, it's impossible to avoid acknowledging that we always hand them 6 points without ever putting up a fight. Out at them fast from the start is key. This game represents (or at least should represent) unfinished business. What was annoying about the loss earlier in the season wasn't the result, but the manner of the performance. Luna was atrocious, but nobody played well. They were on a poor run of form, in a season in which everyone has given them a game, and we rolled over without a fight. One of the three most disappointing performances of the season (also, Fulham away and last weekend). Thinking about tactics, they will revert to 4-2-3-1 after 4-3-3 went so badly for them yesterday. This means we need to be extra vigilant about closing down space (something we didn't do at all against Stoke, almost as if it wasn't part of the game), and that El Ahmadi is pretty much the first name on the teamsheet if he's fit. The formation change won't help us - Cleverley, Carrick and Fellaini are all having horrible seasons, the larger %age of the team they make up the better, and it'll be reduced by a third from last night. For us, Clark should replace Baker on point of principle, with no further changes possible or desirable due to our paper-thin squad. Need to pray KEA and Weimann are available. Guzan Bacuna Vlaar Clark Bertrand El Ahmadi Westwood Delph Weimann Benteke Agbonlahor Won't cry if we lose, but we must not capitulate!

You can't blame Lambert for this. He set us up right and we were a goal up after 5 minutes. Our defense has been daydreaming. Agree 100%. Lambert gets things wrong, fair enough, of course he does and we can all think of occasions. On this one, though, he chose the right team, and sent them out with the right spirit. All that's happened was 2 dreadful, give-away goals caused by total defensive nightmares. Then the third goes in because we're still shell-shocked and haven't recovered. Both Baker and Bacuna have been playing well recently, their utter ineptitude in the first half was not predictable before the game. It's sad, though, that this half we've headed back to the days of big-shoed, horn-honking clown car defending that defined so much of last season. Time for the hairdryer, and a number of radical rethinks.

Do you remember, about 48 hours ago, when people were suggesting selling Bacuna for £10 m to Arsenal?

Bacuna and Baker again. Dreadful game from the pair of them. Need to be dropped for the next game.

Oh great, Sylla for an hour.