DamsonwoodVillan

N'Zogbia Weimann Benteke and Agbonlahor did all play together a few times last year. Apart from the West Brom away game I didn't think it worked. Left us too open and Westwood and Delph couldn't cope. We looked a lot stronger when Sylla came in to the midfield and we started getting results. Maybe if it was to happen now things may be different. Who knows.

100% agree the last three seasons have been a horrible horrible time for us in general. But is there enough evidence now, that with the playing squad younger and more energetic, and the finances in a more reasonable shape, that the next 100 league games will be a lot more pleasing??

Famous last words but this is a good time to play them... Guzan Bacuna Vlaar Baker Bertrand Westwood El-Ahmadi Delph Weimann Benteke Agbonlahor Think we might just sneak this. 1-1 or 1-2 !

Don't think we will ever see Zog play again. Have a feeling there's more to it than the injury.

We probably can't match the wages Merson gets at Sky.

Houllier and McLeish were gash. End of.

Ron Atkinson

This happened about this time last year and we ended up ok. Give him until the end of the season.

Pin-balled to him in the box, took it well I thought. He's something different, if only he was stronger in the tackle/aerial challenge. I'm wondering if he could play just behind Benteke? Maybe this combination could work?.... Bacuna Westwood Delph Agbonlahor Helenius Benteke

I still have faith. We were never going to win this competition. Got a break now until the Arsenal game, hopefully we can do some business by then.

Gone with a strong line up hopefully to open a new chapter of Villa Park results and performances for the New Year. Pleased and hoping for a good solid win with a few goals. Get Sylla and Gardner on if we're controlling it after an hour. And possibly this may be the day for Tonev to showcase some talent against a tiring League One defence in the second half.

Mat Kendrick just tweeted he has been left out of the Norwich squad vs Fulham. This suggests to me our interest is quite firm. Could be a go-er this one.

Absolutely gutted for the kid. Some of the criticism of him has been born out of sheer frustration and has been way over the top. He's done well considering he's a young lad coming to the Premier League from another country. In a struggling team to boot. 4 goals. Let's just say over the season he had converted that into 8 or 9 overall. That would've been a very decent first season considering his role from the bench and occasional starter. Talking about replacements I actually think we'd be best off playing Benteke and Gabby up front together from now on with Weimann, Helenius and Bowery as back ups. We need some new quality to come into the wide positions.

The press have gone off on one about it because a Premier League manager has just come out and said what he actually thinks. Joke if you ask me. Other managers feel the same, no doubt in my mind, they probably just not so blunt about it. Look out for the 20 Premier League starting 11s for the cup games and count how many are unchanged or only 1 or 2 changes. I would rest all of the 11 from Sunderland because we need them for the more important January league matches.

Can this whole thread just be re-named 'The Paul Lambert Thread' or something? The title of the thread makes a mockery of the majority of Villa fans. I would be fuming if we sacked Lambert at this stage. Give him to the end of NEXT season at least. I would stop going down if we sacked Lambert and replaced him with someone like Clark.

Steer Lowton Clark Baker Luna Sylla Gardner El-Ahmadi Albrighton Kozak Tonev Honestly not too bothered. I know that's bad because I like the cup but I don't think we can win it and I'd rather get over the disappointment earlier and focus on leagye points.

Is without a doubt a tough run. Think we'll take 4 points from the Sunderland and West Brom games, none from the others. If 3 or 4 is all we can hope for I'd rather get them on Wednesday. Put some points on the board quickly and leave Sunderland in the mud.

Certainly wouldn't say he was poor. He reminds me a bit of a Baros type in that he can have a largely quiet game but he can still get on the scoresheet with an isolated chance on goal. I agree with the view the way we are playing at the moment just isn't working for him. To me he looks like a decent penalty box player, but for this he needs an abundance of crosses, or short passes in an around the box from midfielders close around him. Unless we get players like Bacuna, Albrighton and this elusive attacking midfielder giving him this kind of service, I think 7 or 8 scruffy goals a season is all he can hope for.

Guzan Lowton Vlaar Baker Luna Bacuna Westwood Delph Albrighton Agbonlahor Benteke A loss here would really put us in it - and boy will they know that! Sunderland will be looking at it thinking they must not lose and allow us to get to 23 points. I don't rate the quality in their side although they will undoubtedly keep the ball better. Think we'll hang on for a draw. 1-1

The calls for him to go I feel at this minute do not fully take into account the implications of such a decision. If we changed the manager with this current squad and financial situation we would likely have to step back again before we see an improvement. I'm not happy with how things have gone this season but this is Lambert's squad and Lambert's situation, I have faith he is the one to see it through at present. When MON left I was gutted to be honest as I knew our hopeful big club mentality era was coming to an end. 1. But I bought into the Houllier vision - that we could be powerful in the transfer market, become a good passing team, and get back to the top six gradually. 2. I even bought into the McLeish project - we still had decent players, I believed he could deliver decent enough league finishes etc based on being tough to beat. 3. And I certainly bought into the Lambert approach... I've believed from day one it was going to be a slow and arduous journey with him back to the top half, and I'm not ready to give up on him just yet. For one reason or another we've been stuck in a cycle for a few years now of starting ok, becoming disgruntled, and then changing the manager every 12-18 months. And it hasn't worked. I see no reason why it would work out this time. This time especially as we would have an ultra difficult set of circumstances for any new man to take on. Names like Bruce and Clark are flavour of the month names at the moment for whatever reason, but I for one certainly wouldn't ditch PL to chase one of them. Stick with Lambert for 3 years is my shout, if I'm wrong then I'm wrong. Fine. This bad run we're on after we started the season solid enough has brought out far too many OTT comments.

In the midst of all the complaining about the signings he has made, it may also be relevant to discuss some of the players he has let go. I know not all of these have left permanently yet but Given, Hutton, Dunne, Bent, Bannan, Ireland and a few others. Long time high earner Gabby has earned his right to stay under Lambert. N'Zogbia it remains to be seen but the general feeling is he's going. Has he replaced what we used to have with younger, cheaper options? Yes definitely. Has he replaced what we used to have with better quality? A matter of opinion but possibly not. Assuming he was given this remit by the board we all assume he was (to slash wages, reduce the average age of the squad, and to keep us in the Premier League) then he has so far succeeded!! The signings he has made have been very hit and miss, but he has clearly added a lot of young squad fillers, and a lot of risks, and so far we have stayed up. I'm not trying to defend him or claim he's doing nearly as well as he should be doing. But I really think the board have asked the impossible if the task was to deliver top six and rebuild the squad so radically at the same time.

I'd love to see him get a few games now. Can't do any worse than the lads already in there. The worry I've got is how he fits in. If he has to just behind a Kozak or a Benteke then who do we play in a midfield four? Possibly this combination might work?: Bacuna Westwood Delph Agbonlahor Helenius Benteke

Guzan Lowton Clark Baker Luna Sylla Westwood Delph Tonev Kozak Agbonlahor From hoping that after Palace and Stoke this might be a bit of a bonus game, we're now saying this game potentially has a lot riding on it... Disappointing. Not so very long ago I remember fans saying we had come through a tough run of fixtures ok and had some winnable matches coming up in December! Times can change so quickly in football. I already think we HAVE to get something here. Another loss and larger sections of the support will start to turn on Lambert. 1-1

I don't know exactly what is owed to Lerner but it looks to me like he is pruning the club preparing to sell it. With our current approach the only way Lerner could hope to recoup any personal expense would be to sell at high prices and replace at little/no cost. Once Benteke and Guzan were gone I don't see how he could do that?

To be fair to Lambert I think we're now in a financially sustainable position so it's what happens from now really. Our young and hungry policy may work out ok, it may not, it's so unpredictable there's no way of telling. The squad as it is will have good days and bad days, that's the nature of it. People are saying we should invest heavily on proven talent - that's not going to happen. I know fans are now beginning to panic again but like someone else has said everything that could possibly be going wrong for us is going wrong at the moment. It wouldn't take that much for us to find a bit of form and sneak back into mid table. If at the end of this season we've stayed up again and we've cleared a bit more of the wage bill then I think some people will get their wish and Lerner will be looking to sell up. Have a feeling he's had enough now. And I'd rather he did that with us a financially sound Premier League club than one racked in financial meltdown.