EssexVilla

While obviously there is a correlation between money spent and success achieved I wouldnt say it is th sole reason for their success. Significant amounts of money spent poorly and badly managed results in QPR-like problems whereas I think southampton have signed players on ability as well as reputation and had a clear ambiton as to where they were headed. Southampton have also looked into maintaining their tradition of bringing through youth players as evidenced by shaw and lallana starting every week and Ward-Prowse and chambers on the verge of breaking into the first team.

I agree with MCTW and Voinjama in that he's a decent manager without being spectacular. Also I very much doubt he would've been given free leash on the finances so for him to take the sole blame is harsh albeit he obviously was the instigator in the financial circumstances his previous clubs are now in or were in. Also, I believe his target set by his superiors would be to try and compete with larger clubs which would require similar budgets with less income which would inevitably lead to financial decline unless the club managed sustained success. To clarify I' not a Rednkapp fan and would much rather Lambert over Rednkapp, especially at club level. However, I dont think he is as poor as is made out on here and if I supported a regularly battling relegation club than I probaly would be more than happy with his appointment.

Up until spurs first goal they couldn't get the ball past the middle of the field. The goal was their first dangerous attack at all and if Clark was in he probably wpildve prevented it. Then the second goal was when villa pushed forward for an equaliser We needed to keep the ball and pass better, that's nothing Clark would have had an effect on. We'd have played the same with him in there and we'd have probably conceded eventually. Why? We play better when we play on the counter. We were set up fine and were probably looking the more likely to score although we weren't being especially threatening. Spurs scored a lucky goal which had a major impact on the game. If it was still 0-0 by the time Benteke came on I doubt we would have lost the match.

Hmmmm, I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a fashion but I do think it has become a bit more regular in the same manner as kissing the badge has become. Onto other things I like that Lambert is able to present the message that players do genuinely want to play for him or at least enjoy playing the game under him even under difficult circumstances. He also has the capability to prepare his team tactically for another team. Even if it doesn't pay dividends on a particular day you would expect that preparing for a specific team week in week out would generate mpoe points than the regular defensive output mcleish had..

First off, I'll repeat myself - I think Guzan is a great keeper, I just don't think he is beyond reproach like some here are claiming. Also, just because I offhandedly referred to a couple of mistakes he made towards the end of last season does not make these his only two mistakes all season. Nor the only type of mistake he made. It was merely a response to the poster who could not recall a single mistake he had made. He is human. His poor decision-making at times proved that. I am sure you are only too aware we let in 69 goals last season. Worse than QPR. Worse than any club that stayed in the division. Surely, it is difficult to claim we have the best keeper in the league when we conceded such a ridiculous amount. I am not saying all these goals are Brad's fault - he was tragically our MOM when we got spanked 8-0 at Chelsea - however, it's a phenomenal amount of goals and in my opinion Cech or Lloris would have done better. Guzan looks to have continued his good form into this season and I'm delighted at that. I just think some on here are all too quick to become caught up in our own player's form/ relative success. The Matty Lowton thread was littered with comments that he should be in the England squad, some even said he should be first choice for his country - but after a below average start to his season, he's not even starting for us. For the record, I really like Lowton - he's just an example. All I am doing is attempting to reign the hyperbole. Obviously no-one beyond reproach as no player should be. I'm struggling to think of other mistakes he has made (though I'm sure he has), particularly those where I've seen him allow someone to score and then thought 'he should have saved that'. My point was that his occasional poor decision making is a result of him coming to claim so many balls into the box which other more appreciated keepers do less than him IMO. This attribute is vital for a defence such as ours with the centre backs being smaller/worse in the air than the average central defence in the premier league. Therefore it is potentially arguable that Guzan is the goalkeeper most suited to our needs. I do agree that it is difficult and wrong to argue that we have the best goalkeeper in the league but the more important question is who would be the best goalkeeper for aston villa and guzan for me would be very high on that list from goalkeepers in the premier league.

It isn't black or white. We need more goals from our midfield to move up the table but the midfield taking shots at every opportunity isn't the answer. The odd shot from distance if the opportunity arises is good. The sole objective of shooting every time you get the ball in an advanced position is bad as it pisses away possession when there is a chance to create a better opportunity. In my opinion Tonev has potential but judging from the little I've seen of him he needs to improve his decision-making. However, he seems reasonably proficient technically, has the pace to create a half yard and tracks back defensively. Definitely a project for Lambert and his staff to work on. Especially as some of his decisions to shoot may be a result of the pressure to impress early on in a big step up in his career.

I like Westwood a lot as a player but not sure if he suits our counter attacking style and don't think he provides enough to play when the emphasis is on us to break another team down. Think he has the potential to be a part of both styles if he develops and improves his ability to prevent opposition attacks and start our own.

One of the key players in our team right now. Think he has the skills to play a variety of roles within the midfield and I'm very happy to see that he is looking to occasionally get beyond/support the striker. His ability to beat players on a regular basis should create space for others to exploit or give him the chance to play the killer pass if he can. Hopefully he continues the improvement and becomes a driving force for us in the years to come.

I'm going to have to call you out on this one. In my opinion, Guzan is better than De Gea, Cech and Hart. I can't say for Lloris cos I haven't really seen him. And I would say that Mignolet is probably the best keeper in the league. I don't think this is being bias or unrealistic either. When does Guzan ever make mistakes??? And with a defence like the one he has to put up with it's a wonder he has done so well. I think he is a fantastic keeper but he does make mistakes. I remember when he needlessly flew out of his goal against Norwich (A) last season and was beaten to the ball to give them an open goal - luckily they missed. He did something similar in the 6-1 against Sunderland too, if I remember right. I think mikeyp was fair. For me, he's behind Lloris and Cech definitely. De Gea improved a lot last year and is probably a better prospect than Guzan - not sure I'd swap them on present form, though. Hart seemed to regress last season - perhaps he is no longer with the elite. In my opinion, Guzan is amongst the next tier with Begovic and Mignolet. A masterstroke by Lambert to, not only re-sign him, but to drop Given amidst overwhelming pressure too. Him flying out of his goal is a by-product of him actually commanding his area and coming to claim crosses. I'd rather have the odd-mistake which you can easily point out every half a season then then him staying on his line for every ball into the box which would cost more goals over an extended period of time albeit less obviously. De Gea, Cech and Hart are all better shot-stoppers in my opinion but if you offered them to me over Guzan it would be a very difficult decision, especially in a defence like ours which is in need of a loud commanding presence behind them.

Any idea what time the burns fight will be tonight?

So when Westwood tries it, it's an "ambitious pass". When Bannan does it, it's a "hollywood ball". The reason Westwood is making those kind of passes is because Bannan is not in the team and someone has to do the creative work, because Delph is too busy passing 40 yards back to Guzan to do it. Fact is, Westwood isn't as good as Bannan at creative spreading the play. I don't post much, you can't generalise me with other posters who call a similar pass something else. The fact is that westwood has been making those passes all season and due to the low percentage of success with those sorts of passes he will get them wrong. IMO Bannan, who I believe does have technical ability, tries those passes too often and as a result wastes possession too often whereas westwood for me knows more about when to play that sort of pass even if he doesnt complete it every time. @woodytom I'd say due to the low percentage nature of the pass the player will get it occasionally wrong (not sure what pass you are actually talking about, dont remember from the game and havent watched it back so my judgments are from your description). He isn't carrick or alonso, he plays for a team at our current level for a reason. I think what me and maybe what other posters have been saying is that at the moment he is good enough to play for a lower half or relegation battling team with his current level of ability. However, when you take into account that this is a big step up from league 2 where he was playing last season he has done pretty well and that he could be a very good player in the future for us once he improves on his game through experience of playing at a higher level to what he was used to and once he gets used to improves he will be a player good enough to help us to a similar standard as to what we were a couple of years ago.

Eh? You seem to to criticising him for trying an ambitious pass and that he should have played the simple pass in the 1st half of your post before saying he spends too much time playing the simple pass in the 2nd half of your post. You can't have it both ways.

IN fairness to his goals to games ratio, I think he's been used out wide for a lot of his time at Blackpool

Agree with this. But apart from that I think he was good yesterday and has been quite good during the whole season when he's played. not sure I agree with this, when watching the goal I thought Clark was more at fault for not tracking Zamora or stepping up to play him offside.

He would have been out of position with at least 4 west ham attackers on at most 3 defenders with west ham definitely receiving the ball if it had got past him. Admittedly it would have been Carlton Cole on the ball so he'd have probably **** it up but Clark couldn't take that chance. Good free kick to give away and motm today in my book.

Cant find any stats yet so just my opinion. Would say Weimann was more involved in creating chances in the short time he was on than Ireland was in his whole time on the pitch. Failed to provide much required width to support Lowton in the 1st half. The only time he did he was able to supply a half-decent ball which Benteke nearly managed to manufacture something out of. Just seemed to drift in and out the game to me and didnt look like he wanted to get involved.

The guy is useless right now. Did **** all when he came on. People can comment on lack of tactics which is partly true but Weimann was in the same boat and he managed to score and cause other problems and he'd been shoved out of position on the right wing. Moment which epitomised the difference between the two was when Weimann did well down the right to create room to fire a ball across the 6 yard box, the kind of ball which Bent should be thriving on but he was 15 yards behind play and couldnt be arsed to make a run. WOuld say get rid but could see someone like QPR or newcastle snapping him up which could have potentially disastrous results for us. Weimann is twice the player right now.

He was **** awful, barely did anything. Strolled around the pitch without giving a **** about anything. How he lasted the 90 I'll never know. Only player worse than him was Bent but of course neither will get much stick because Lambert doesn't play them much and it's become fashionable to disagree with just about everything Lambert does

That is absolutely disgraceful. Disgusting amount of bias to the big teams, the only reason his arm was **** up there was cause he was pushed and then it didn't even **** hit his arm.

Bent doesn't normally do that, not that I've seen anyway. He does watch the next time he plays if he misses a chance hell just stand there feeling sorry for himself for a bit. Like at Arsenal? I'd expect Bent would've scored the header any way. Pleased with Weimann though and he should definitely start next game.

I'd rather have him in for Morgan. I don't think Morgan is quite up to test match cricket yet. He's still our best ODI batsman though.

In fairness it turned out to be the right decision. Its just the linesman completely bottled it.

No not yet, I think its on after Burns Katsidis.

As a holding midfielder though, not an attacking playmaker/winger.

Does anyone else think cech was at fault for the third and fifth goals?