avfc_in_essex

Never been a fan of 3-5-2. Our most influential attacking players are Grealish, Gil and potentially Traore and we would struggle to accommodate more than one of these in this formation. Feel far more comfortable with a back 4. I think we should start with a 4-2-3-1 like we did today and then revert to a 4-3-3/4-5-1 when protecting a lead, like we should have done today!!

What the hell was he doing bringing putting Ayew on when we were 2-0 up?! When Mahrez came more central, we needed another body in midfield. Westwood and Sanchez got totally over run and that's why we lost. Should have brought Hutton on earlier and pushed Bacuna into midfield or brought on Veretout. We could all see it, and Sherwood is really starting to worry me. Whether it's naivety or stupidity, only time will tell.

His 1 on 1 yesterday really sums him up. He had time to either open up his body and try and curl it round the keeper with the inside of his right, or smash it with his left. Instead he did neither and pointlessly flicked it with the outside of his foot with no pace or precision. It's all well and good blaming individual errors at the back for dropping points, but by not taking chances like this it will cost us just as much. I find it hard to dislike Gabby for obvious reasons, and I think he still has something to offer by being in the squad, but I see no reason why he should be starting. By Tim giving him the 'club captain' title instead of on the pitch, I'm hoping he views him as a squad player at best.

I agree with the Ayew comments. His first two games he was quiet but he needs time, plus he didn't have a playmaker behind him to open things up. Even as a loan striker I think he would look a lot more effective with either Grealish or Gil behind and Traore wide (all 3 would be exciting but we'd be very vulnerable on the counter attack).

It is just another example incompetent the current regime under Lerner has been Had Delph been offered a new contract 18 months ago, there could have been a release clause of 3 times the amount. So if he was still to leave, we'd be in a much stronger financial position to rebuild. Now the club, and Sherwood in particular, will be under immense pressure to replace one our best players and an England regular with a far more limited budget (assuming there is no take over)

Ooops sorry, didn't mean to copy and paste 3 times.....bloody smart phones!!

I disagree, I think playing a deeper back line and having a compressed midfield will frustrate Arsenal. Swansea made a fine example of this Monday night....followed by typical Wenger comments. By pressing high up, it will leave gaps and allow the likes of Sanchez, Ozil, Ramsey etc the space they love to operate in, and we will see a similar result as we saw at St Mary's. Back on topic, Okore has looked better when partnered with Clark and hopefully Tim will make this his first choice CB pairing next season, even if we do bring in new players I disagree, I think playing a deeper back line and having a compressed midfield will frustrate Arsenal. Swansea made a fine example of this Monday night....followed by typical Wenger comments. By pressing high up, it will leave gaps and allow the likes of Sanchez, Ozil, Ramsey etc the space they love to operate in, and we will see a similar result as we saw at St Mary's. Back on topic, Okore has looked better when partnered with Clark and hopefully Tim will make this his first choice CB pairing next season, even if we do bring in new players I disagree, I think playing a deeper back line and having a compressed midfield will frustrate Arsenal. Swansea made a fine example of this Monday night....followed by typical Wenger comments. By pressing high up, it will leave gaps and allow the likes of Sanchez, Ozil, Ramsey etc the space they love to operate in, and we will see a similar result as we saw at St Mary's. Back on topic, Okore has looked better when partnered with Clark and hopefully Tim will make this his first choice CB pairing next season, even if we do bring in new players

Usually I take the first exit off the expressway and then take the first left (don't know the road name) there are usually spaces either on the road if you get there early enough, or you'll come to some parking areas which are about £5 for matchdays.

Does anyone know who the co commentator is?

I agree mate it sounds absolutely ridiculous. However something is clearly a miss somewhere. I don't think that Delph, Sanchez, Cleverley and Westwood are all finding themselves with in yards of our back line pretty much all in a line in a very narrow area of the pitch off their own backs. I think that is what they are being told to do. Even if we were to say they are doing it off their own backs then surely the manager should have told them pretty much straight away this is not what he wants and instructed at least one of them, most likely Delph who is more than capable, that their role was to play further forwards, break beyond the striker every now and again, get themselves in the box etc. They have been playing this way all season though. Either they aren't taking a blind bit of notice of the manager and he is still picking them or they are doing exactly what is asked. I think it is the latter. As I said earlier it is not just in the centre of the park either. We have Weimann, Gabby and NZogbia frequently seemingly picked as wide forwards to support Benteke spending most of their time chasing back and positioning themselves in our own half. I genuinely don't believe for a second that can be the natural game of three players who would if asked describe themselves as forwards, certainly in Gabby and Weimanns case. I agree with all of this. Whether your midfielders are naturally more defensive or like to sit deep, if the manager wanted them to get forward more, they would do.

Totally agree that this is a coaching issue. If you take our midfield, there is no forward running made from any of CM's, whether this is to receive a through ball or to try and get on the end of a cross. And due to neither Hutton or Cissohko being particularly good at crossing the ball, we create very little. We have four CM's who are all capable of playing at this level. However, they have been limited in their play, and only Delph has shown any real quality. And even then, how many goals? How many assists? I would like to see Westwood get forward more often as he's the only one with the ability to play a quick, forward pass that could split defences. Would also like to see Delph played in a wider forward position. The goal he scored against West Brom last season, it's very rare for Delph to even have the ball in those types of positions. I'm convinced if any one of Delph, Westwood or Cleverley were to play under a more forward thinking manager (Martinez, Koeman, Pochettino), they would have more assists and goals to their name. Unfortunately, all the signs point back Lambert and his limited tactics. Only time will tell if Gil and Sinclair will bring the creativity we so desperately need, but we have a lot to rely on them for.

i just could not have put that any better. ....its like the worst pub in the uk, there will always be one person in it, just to defy them that say its the worst pub. I respect everyone of the posters that still want the manager to stay and have a lot of time for a couple of them but for now in terms of debating with them around this issue I have decided to throw in the towel. The way I see it now is that the results speak for themselves, the dire performances speak for themselves and the breaking of Christ knows how many negative records in this clubs history speak for themselves. If non of that is enough to convince some supporters that enough is enough and that the manager should go then nothing I can say as a mere fellow supporter will change there mind. I'll still dip my toe into this thread to give my two penneths worth though ....and long may you continue to dip in your toe, but I rather favour the foot and the leg too....how avaricious of me. seriously Mark... my pub comment was tongue in cheek, of course folk are entitled to their opinion and how are we ever going to enrich our opinions if everyone agrees. Yes your right of course. For those that think otherwise I am not trying to change peoples mind but I am now seeing little point when someone says Lamberts should stay me coming back with a list as long as your arm as to why I think he should go. His record speaks for itself. For as long as he remains our manager I desperately want him to turn things around. I get that people like him. Despite thinking he is way out of his depth I like him as well and I would love to find something to cling to in all this. I have acknowledged that the manager has done well in the transfer market but that is nowhere near enough and almost meaningless as he gets nowhere near anything approaching the best out of what he himself said months ago is the best squad he has had. I look across his whole reign here and there is nothing to make me think he can turn this around. You look at his long term record and it is terrible. You look at just this season with a decent squad and it is terrible. You look at the last dozen games it is terrible. We started at pretty much rock bottom when he arrived having just taken 38 points from 38 games. Overall he hasn't improved on that and over the last 19 games (half a season) we have just taken 12 points. We are therefore heading rapidly backwards. For me his record is indefensible. This is pretty much my view. I don't dislike the guy, and we all know the restricted budgets he has had to work to etc etc but.....tactically he just been clueless on too many occasions. I had the misfortune of attending the Emirates on Sunday and tactically he got it so wrong. To try and take the game to a club like Arsenal and play a high defence is suicide, especially in out current state. How he can't see this I don't know. And I can't see the visit of Chelsea at the weekend being any more pleasant. It's a shame as Lambert has shown that he has a good eye in the transfer market. But getting a squad to gel together has not happened in his two and a half years. If you look at our squad,even before Gil and Sinclair were added, it should still be enough to not be in a relegation fight. The only glimmer of hope I can muster up is that we can string a run of results together with the recently added flair. Or atleast look at getting on the scoresheet.

The chances created stat is more relevant than shots on target. If we were in the top 10 for created chances and in the same position for shots on target/goals then I would lay the blame at the feet of the strikers. But from the those stats above it's clear that the reason why we don't hit the target is that we don't create enough chances. Shooting from 30 yards, in my opinion, is not a chance and only a small percentage of these even trouble the goalkeeper, yet alone go in. The problem is lack of creativity. Lambert sets his teams up to attack through the middle with the only width coming the from the full backs. For this to be successful, you need to have players with good technical ability, be able to pick a pass, take on players and have a good movement off the ball. Qualities that the likes of Gabby, Weimann, N'Zogbia and Cleverly lack in abundance. And here lies the problem. Lambert persists with the same formation, with the same players with the same "if we keep doing what we're doing the goals will come" attitude every week. And every week, the goal scoring stat is the same. Sounds very similar to Einsteins definition of insanity....

It would be interesting to see how many shots we actually have inside an opponents penalty area per game. Whilst our finishing has been poor, I think the route of the problem has been actually creating clear cut chances. If we had more flair in the side with either Benteke or Weimann as a striker (and not playing wide!!) I think the above stats would look a lot better. But it all points back to Lambert and his poor tactics

The shots and possession stats are more important IMO. We had under 40% possession yesterday against the worst Spurs side I've seen in years. Whilst I appreciate a lot of this is down to Benteke's red card, Spurs were there for the taking yesterday and after going a goal up, we should have pressed high up the pitch against a very nervous defence. But in typical Lambert style, we sat back and invited pressure. A decent side would have finished Spurs off before half time! Against QPR we had more of the ball, but had no execution in the final third. We are still crying out for creative players. I was hoping Cleverley would offer something different but the last two matches he's played on the left. Gabby, Weimann and N'Zogbia, for all there efforts, aren't good enough and whilst recourses have been limited, this area in particular has needed addressing before PL arrived at the club. (I still believe a decent manager and back room staff can coach players into playing a certain way, but it is evident this can't/won't happen under the current regime.) Whilst I think his job won't be under any real threat unless we lose the next three matches, if Lerner and Fox are looking for a replacement, I really hope they are broadening their horizons. Whilst Pulis and Moyes would improve results, neither will bring with them this attractive brand of football we have been crying out for.

I don't believe that we dont have the players to keep possession. Ireland and Bannan are gifted players, techinically . "Possession football" all comes down to confidence with the ball. Unfortunately, in the past we have played with a very direct attitude, wanting to get the ball forward too quickly when in possession. One thing i liked about Houllier was that he wanted us to play a more "continental" style of football, aka keeping the ball more. I still think the jury is out on BB. His passing ability is obvious, and he COULD be a very good deep lying creative midfielder, so long as he doesn't get knocked off the ball too easily. In a 2 man midfield, I think he'd struggle, but next to a ball winner he could shine.

I hate the 4-3-2-1 formation. Against better teams it turns into a 4-5-1 very quickly with the gap between the 5 and the 1 usually about 40 yards This is more to do with how a team plays rather than the formation. Under MON, we'd sit so deep and invite pressure, the midfield would have too much ground to cover, in order to get forward quickly. When Petrov and Barry were playing together, we had no attacking threat from CM as neither had the pace to counter attack and make forward runs, as they spent much of the game protecting the back four. This only changed when Milner moved to a central position. It was the same with England at the Euro's. If we are able to keep posession and have a more attacking philosophy to our game, then 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-2-1 / 4-5-1 (really isnt much difference when you look at the position of each player in midfield) can work. And by all accounts, from some of the comments i've read from some of the players, this could well be the case.

Admittedly up until the age of about 8 or 9, I used to support Chelsea (cant remember why) even though most members of the family were Villa fans. Tickets for Stamford Bridge were too expensive so we went to VP for last game of 95/96 game against Man City. I remember we lost 1-0 and afterwards paraded the League Cup during the lap of honor. Since then, I remained a Villa fan......and since then Chelsea have won everything and we've won sweet FA. Never forgiven my Dad for that.

This comment is ridiculous, trying to blame playing alongside Petrov for his poor form is laughable. We dont even play a 4-4-2 system either!!!!!!! There is nothing wrong with Delphs confidence, the simple fact is that he is nowhere near good enough to play in the premier league. we bought him after he had played about 20 times in league 1, it was a gamble and it failed. The quicker he is moved on the better If you read my post again, i didn't blame playing alongside Petrov for his poor form!!! I simply pointed out that someone that plays alongside Petrov will need to do more defensive work due to Petrov's lack of pace and his tendency to tire early How do you know there is nothing wrong with his confidence? He is still young and he was sidelined for a considerable amount of time due to injury. And for a lot of the games earlier this season, the central midfield pairing was Delph and Petrov with Gabby and N'Zogbia wide with Heskey and Bent up front. Whether you call it 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1, a lot of his time played has been in a 2 man central midfield, against sides that play with 3 central midfielders. Whether he becomes a successful PL or not is a different matter. I just think it's a bit early to be righting him off, based on what we've seen so far.

I've seen glimpses of Delph that tells me he could make it at this level. All be it, on rare occasions, but his touch and the conviction of his passing at times looked pretty good. Anyone who plays next to Petrov in a 4-4-2 has a lot of defensive work to do, especially against a 3 man midfield. With the lad being young, his confidence has been knocked by this somewhat. Extending his loan could do him the world of good. Bring him back fresh and high on confidence and IF used correctly, he could fulfill the potential that was once talked about.

Is it? Unless they get some serious investment from their new owners and either get a new manager in or Hodgson turns it round, they wont be playing CL football for years to come, let alone be title contenders. If Torres wants to win trophies, he'll be looking for a move elsehwere. He won't join RM, Liverpool will not sell to Utd so it just really leaves Barca, Chelsea or City. (I can't see him wanting a move to Italy). And, due to the fact that they'll need to replace their most important player, will mean they will be offering ridiculous money. I can see them be prepared to pay more for Torres than what RM paid for Ronaldo.

He played in the middle at Middlesbrough a few times and looked really good in the middle. When he runs at players full pace down the wing though they shit themselves, I wish he would do it more...keep the ball away from them on his left foot and run. Remember it well. If [can't remember their expensive striker] could have hit a barn door he would have had loads of goals and DJ would have had more assists than anybody that season. I love the way that he runs at players as well although I don't think he has the natural pace of Ash and Marc. He is the best technical footballer that we have, with the possible exception of Bannan, and this is why I would love to see him at the heart of the team and build the team around him. ----------------------- DCM ------------------------ ------------- Delph --------------------------------- --------------------------------- Downing ---------- Marc ------------------------------------------- Ash ----------------------- Gab ------------------------- Alfonso Alves you thinking of? I've thought this as well about Downing. He's far more direct in his approach play than Ash. Ash is all about trickery, sending a player one way then the other whereas Downing just sees the space and drives into it. I think he's got a better shot on him than Ash as well. However he'd certainly need two CM's behind him to play that role. But i do think him and Albrighton have been our two best players this season, far better than Young who seems to be getting alot more of the credit.

there is no way that the police would allow that many away fans at either game They don't have a say in how many away fans are allowed at a game, the minimum allocation is part of the rules of the competition. Never ever heard of an instance where the Police have been able to influence the numbers of fans attending a game. Kick-off times will be altered on their advice (see Sundays silly kick off for that) but actual numbers attending? Not sure they have the power to do that. Do away fans get double the allocation in CC games aswell as FA cup games?

Ipswich away please....seen as its 20 minutes away from me. Though i've got a sneaky feeling its gonna be SHA.

Looking forward to seeing more of Ireland. I also dont think Ash is that great in the role behind the front man either. He's very direct in his approach play, he'll aim to take players on, get it onto his right foot and any sign of the target go for goal which aginst experinced defenders, hes found out too easily. From what ive seen of Ireland in the past, he is far more unpredictable around the box, which i think is something we've lacked alot of recently, especially at home.