BG_Villa_Fan

Dunne and Collins had a full season in which Villa conceded 39 goals. Think about it, 39 - that's about as many as Man City have got this season and they're looking like certain champions. The Vlaar-led defence conceded 69 goals last season and is on course to conceed around 60 again this season. Talk about partnerships all you like, but Vlaar has never been even close to performing as good as Dunne and Collins for Villa.

Lambert is shit, but if there's no takeover and no major investment then the most sensible thing would be for him to stay - probably our best chance in order to avoid relegation again as he knows the shit squad he has and finds a way to get results, albeit so rarely. A new manager, even with progressive ideas, would struggle with this lot - they can't string 2 passes together after 2 years of training together ffs...

Horrendous idea. Could easily imagine Chelsea's and man City's B teams being at the top of the championship in a couple of seasons. Then what? The first two non-B teams would be promoted? A wage cap in football is useless and will never work, as has been dicussed in countless topics, however limiting the number of players that can be registered is good, probably should be less than 25 + home growns. Also, IMO teams should be allowed to loan only players from their own academy, the HGs, not buying 20 million players and loaning them out. What good is poaching a team's best player, say Sinclair, then not playing him, destroying his career, then having to get rid. If some of this talent that sits on Man City's, or Chelsea's benches is spread out to the less rich teams then the league would be far more competitive. Chelsea's loaned out players could form a team that'd probably be top 6, that's bullshit.

Both Stoke and Palace have got the double over us this season, so it seems like we're not that close. When you look at the squads you'd think we're close, but both of these teams play much more as a unit and have much more cohesion. Maybe it's the manager, not the players.

It's a sorry state of a club when some of its fans resort to slagging off the other fans in order to show support for a failing manager and players, none of which will likely be at Villa in a couple of years. Unlike the fans being slagged off of course. Shameful.

A bit like Lambert's brother-in-law. Good compensation was paid to bring him here. He came with the fancy, yet vague, 'Head of football operations' title and yet he turns out just to be a "bibs and cones" guy. but he was a world class "bibs and cones" guy. we wont get a better replacement Tbh, no other bibs-and-cones guy could have done better given the resources.

Did Lerner not state that Lambert had to work within a remit? I've my doubts that it was Lambert who came up with the reject squad. It was a stipulation by Lerner. The chairman tells you that you have to get rid of all the high earners and you only have 20 million to buy new players to replace them. You mentioned 'It was his choice was it not to then replace those players with lower league or players from europe not used to playing in the Premiership'. How can he replace all the high earners(say 10 players for arguments sake) with players of the same ability. It’s not possible. He bought players to full up a squad to keep us in the premiership. Yes the majority are useless but that’s what you get at that price bracket. I agree that Lambert has to go, but that’s because he has lost the support of most of the fans and not because he has had to work with his hands tied behind his back by Randy Lerner. Fans should be protesting more rigorously to get rid of Lerner than Lambert. First of all it was Paul Faulkner that has said that it's been entirely down to lambert how he's going to use the budget and wages and it's been Lambert's choice ( at the supporters meeting months ago ). Then, even if Lambert was told to get rid of all the high earners he didn't do it, did he? The only player he got rid of when he came was Collins. Ireland stayed, Bent, Dunne, Hutton, etc - all of them stayed and found themselves in the bomb squad at some point - again entirely Lambert's choice. He could have used them in the squad in some capacity until he sells them, but he didn't yet bought replacements before these were gone. So it's not like he sold all the high earners and bought new low paid players. Lastly, the latest accounts show the wage bill has actually been increasing. Facts.

Surely it's indisputable that he's working under the worst conditions? We can argue about how well he has done, but surely in relative terms with the wage budget it is a fact that he is having to work a lot harder than our previous managers. The question is whether people think he's still done a shit job, or an average one. I don't think anyone thinks he's done a brilliant job any more, what with our free fall since going 1-0 against Stoke. Worst conditions? How about the time when our main acquision was Gavin McCann? Or when we couldn't afford to get Eirik Bakke on loan?

Well you've always been an optimist.

Van Gaal is too abrasive to be a long term option. He'll be there for a couple of seasons to instill some of the lost discipline and system, put on some foundations for someone else ( Jose? ) to carry on from there. Probably a good choice for them considering where they are right now but I doubt they'll be fighting for the championship next season. Top 4 would likely be nailed on though, otherwise a few player might be hanged outside of Old Trafford.

Clearly no other manager could have got a better result with this team. [/sarcasm]

Mauled by the Tigers!!! Potato head > Lambert

A bit of both I guess, be interesting to compare the starting 11 wages with the other teams, I'd bet we'd be lower than our league placing has us. So his ability to run a premier league first team on a shoestring is evidence of how good he is at getting poor results but not as poor as they might be. I think I'm getting the hang of this argument now. Put it this way, one caller last week after the game told the presenter we have a league 1 standard team, the presenter said but you're still in the premiership so is Lambert over achieving a working a miracle with these league 1 standard players? This is very subjective though. Using the same logic MON must have been a genious to get top 6 with a team that had the likes of Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Cuellar, Sidwell, NRC, Gabby, Heskey, etc as important first teamers. Yet most would say he should have got top 4 with what he's had to work with. Again - same logic - the current team has players like Benteke, Guzan, Vlaar and Delph, that would be rated very highly by the vast majority of posters on Villatalk, yet Lambert hasn't been able to get more than around 40 points with them. Which players from teams who are in the relegation scrap, say from 10th down, would you take over these 4? Not too many, probably.

And? What would such a random fantasy thing prove? The actual accounts the club posted clearly indicate the wage bill has increased. random fantasy thing? i've got to work otherwise I'd try and find it for you. what it proves is that the starting 11's wages are saving us £200k a week. I think that's obviousl though right? Unless you can provide a source with the players actual wages, not the guesswork ones, it really isn't obvious.

And? What would such a random fantasy thing prove? The actual accounts the club posted clearly indicate the wage bill has increased.

Interesting stat from the TBAR forum. Can the constraints he's worked under really excuse that one? Or do you really think a man who took Norwich from League One to the Prem in successive seasons would not have done a better job if his remit wasn't to halve the wage bill and build an entirely new squad in 12 months with £40m? He did that? Accounts say the wage bill has actually increased.

Can see them winning all 3 home games left - West Brom, Cardiff and Swansea. Would put them on 38 points.

What the hell has that got to do with anything? If you've seen Deeney play then you will know there is a lot more to his game than his goals. He is far from a lower league gamble like you said he is. Not saying he couldn't possibly cut it in the premier league but how is someone who has never played in the premier league and has only ever played in the lower leagues not a lower league gamble?

Him and Lerner could compare tattoos. Meh.

I would have agreed, well somewhat, however the actual accounts point to the fact the wage bill has increased, not been reduced.

We actually don't know which one it is yet. Could be neither. Could be just wanting to keep surviving on the cheap while collecting the tv money. Thing is, as the accounts clearly show - they're not doing a good job at cost cutting at all. One thing's certain though, if anyone expected them to slash the wage bill in half only to spend again, even if more sensibly, then that's pure fantasy land.

As much as we like to think it's OUR club, according to the law the club belongs to a Mr. Randolph Lerner and whilst he is in charge I fear things will stay pretty much as they are. We will not progress without not only a new owner but a new and BETTER owner. Finding one of those is something that it is easier said than done. Just ask our neighbours. Thing is, I doubt that Randy even wants to sell the club and if that is he case then we are stuck with something slightly less than mediocrity for the foreseeable future. Custodian, tbh fwiw IMO.

They'll probably recall Macheda to get a hattrick or something like that anyway.

Because people were saying the same thing last season about Lowton and now they're unlikely to even get what they paid for him. I'd imagine anything above 6 - 7 mil for Bacuna and Lambert would bite their hands off.

And some don't realise that we wont ever get into top 8 with our current possession rate. I haven't seen anyone suggest that. True. But you're perfectly happy to throw the very same lame argument above. What gives?