markavfc40

You are correct in saying he gave GH the best part of 30 mill but that was mainly made up of the 20 odd mill profit we made on transfers the previous summer. As for the 15 mill McLeish got to spend we sold Downing, Ashley Young and Luke Young for around 38 mill so he made a profit on transfers of approx 23 million pound. As for O’Neill he had a net spend of around 70 - 80mill over 4 seasons so 17.5 – 20 mill a season. With that we went form finishing 16th and battling relegation to season on season improvement, a club that challenged for top 4 for a couple of seasons, finished top 6 three seasons on the spin for the first time in over 50 years and reached our first cup final in a decade. During those three top 6 finishes we had the 8th, 6th and 6th highest wage bill in the league. The fact that Lerner couldn’t get our income up to a level to sustain having the sixth highest wage bill is worrying because it is highly unlikely we will again become a consistent top 6 side if we are not in a position to have a wage bill that reflects that. Of course that is not to say we couldn’t as Newcastle showed last season have the odd very good season. It is maintaining it that will again be an issue.

Totally agree with PompeyVillan. Lambert is a perfect fit for us and is the right man at the right time. I'm confident he'll get the backing of the fans and be given time. Vast majority of supporters know their stuff and will know that after the two previous **** ups we are on to a good thing with Lambert.

I think there is possibly something in this comparison. Not in terms of style of play but in that he feels like the right man at the right time. A perfect fit and exactly what is required. The comparisons to when Taylor left Watford who were a club at that time a division higher than us to Lambert who left a club doing very well and that finished higher than us last season are quite similar. Taylor at that time saw what a massive opportunity it was to come to a much bigger club that having just been relegated was under achieving big time. Now whilst we were not relegated last season we were extremely fortunate not to have been. Lambert like Taylor in 1987 is a young manager who has cut his teeth and done exceptionally well at smaller clubs. You get the feeling with Lambert that he has something about him, a great belief in his own ability, a real passion for the game and the job he does, will not tolerate under achievers and will grab this club by the scruff of the neck, get the best out of each and every player and get this great club as a whole believing in itself again. What Taylor achieved taking us from the 2nd tier, and a total shambles from top to bottom, to finishing 2nd in the top flight with in 3 years was nothing short of a minor miracle. I'm not sure Lambert can get anything close to that kind of turnaround but it won't be for the lack of trying and I have a feeling he'll do something special with us and at the very least get us back competing amongst the top 6 over the next 2 -3 years.

Have to say watching that video and him getting emotional nearly had me going. If we could put 11 players on the pitch every week with Stans attitude we'd be flying.

If he doesn't then its a bit of a joke. Before being loaned out he was with us for the best part of 8 months and his loan ended a couple of months ago. Given the amount of downtime players have he should have at least got a decent grasp of it. It would also indicate his eagerness to knuckle down and do all he can to be a success with us. If reports are to be believed and we are looking to off load him then I hope we can get a couple of mill back of the 6 mill we paid for him. Mark I know you don't like the player but don't use MON type figures, it was actually 5Million Euros. According to the report below from the bbc at the time we signed him it was 6 million pound. Think we'll be lucky to get a 3rd of that back. From the BBC

If he doesn't then its a bit of a joke. Before being loaned out he was with us for the best part of 8 months and his loan ended a couple of months ago. Given the amount of downtime players have he should have at least got a decent grasp of it. It would also indicate his eagerness to knuckle down and do all he can to be a success with us. If reports are to be believed and we are looking to off load him then I hope we can get a couple of mill back of the 6 mill we paid for him. Do you honestly believe it's a joke if he hasn't learned English in 8 months? If you mean speaking English by knowing some basics then I agree with you. If you believe he should be at the same level as say Weimann after 8 months of learning a completely new language , then I would dare say that your expectations are ridiculous. Besides that I said he should have a decent grasp. I don't expect him to be fluent. He has had longer than 8 months though. He joined us 19 months ago. He was with us 8 months before being loaned out and his loan ended a couple of months ago. It would be a sign of him wanting to succeed here if he has at least made a real effort to learn the language. Its the least you'd expect from any player in all fairness.

I'm sure his 4 months working under him saw a complete turnaround in that opinion

If he doesn't then its a bit of a joke. Before being loaned out he was with us for the best part of 8 months and his loan ended a couple of months ago. Given the amount of downtime players have he should have at least got a decent grasp of it. It would also indicate his eagerness to knuckle down and do all he can to be a success with us. If reports are to be believed and we are looking to off load him then I hope we can get a couple of mill back of the 6 mill we paid for him.

Looks a very decent signing for a couple of mill. Welcome Karim.

Really informative post mate but most importantly good luck with your on going battle. You have clearly been through a hell of a lot and its great to hear you can now see light at the end of the tunnel.

He didn't. He made 86 appearances in 2 years under O'Neill and in 09/10 started all but 2 league games.

I hope and expect so. Well I'll be continuing it until he has won this battle and I'd expect everyone else to as well.

And he wouldn't be here without the right backing for a medium to long term project Hopefully. So far I'm still leaning towards the view that Lambert's using us as a stepping stone. In my 30 odd years followng this great club I have only seen one manager leave Aston Villa and step up and that was Graham Taylor when he took the England job. If Lambert gets the opportunity to move to a bigger club than us, and in this country you are looking at only a handful of clubs that would be a step up, he will have done an exceptional job with us. In fact if he were to get us into the Champions League then the clubs that would be a step up would be very limited.

Strangely he seemed as though he was lacking in confidence to me which is not something you'd associate with Young. Last night it was unbelievable how many times he gave the ball away although having said that every time he got the ball he seemed to be deep in his own half and with few options in terms of who to pass to. The only decent thing I think he did last night was that he put in a good defensive shift but that should not have been his role. In all fairness Hodgson dropped a bollock leaving him on. He should have came off for Walcott but it seemed as though regardless of who was and wasn't performing it was already decided that Walcott would again replace Milner. I also don't agree that the majority of the players performed well in this tournament. Overall apart from brief spells in each of the group games we were poor. Our ball retention was crap and whilst many players put in good shifts in terms of effort the overall quality was poor. We are light years behind Germany and Spain and a fair way off the likes of Portugal and Italy. I think we have some very good players but for whatever reason we fail to look like a team which is highlighted by the fact our ball retention is poor and we can't seem to consistently string anymore than half a dozen passes together.

Back to back promotions with Norwich and then a comfortable mid table Prem finish is a remarkable achievement and I don't see getting us back into the top 8 as being as tough as that. It won't be easy but with decent backing he will get us into the top 8 with in two seasons and then I'd expect us to push on from there. He is the perfect fit for us and I'm confident he will prove to be an excellent appointment. Back on topic as for Makoun if Lambert fancies him and thinks he can get something out of him then thats good enough for me. If he doesn't and lets him go then so be it.

Bizzare comment considering PL's team haven't even kicked a ball. I can only see big things for Lambert and very good things for us getting better the longer he stays. He will comfortably out last the combined tenures of the previous two **** ups. I am confident he'll be here for the next 4-5 years and then it being a case of us having to fight off others sniffing around him. If it pans out that way it will mean he has done an excellent job and that is something we will all want.

If he is to be given a fresh start he'll need to grab it with both hands. Its time for him to shit or get off the pot. I'm personally not sure he is suited to the Prem and having turned 29 I am not sure if he is too set in his ways/has the time to adapt. Hopefully he'll be chomping at the bit having only started 20 odd games in over 18 months.

Lambert was always my first choice. I'd have taken Laudrup over Solskjaer though. Lambert for me is a perfect fit for us and I can see us going from strength to strength under him. Still over the moon that after the two previous **** ups Lerner and Faulkner got this appointment spot on.

Well he has had 18 months to learn and given the amount of down time footballers have he should have a very good grasp of it by now. Based on what I have seen of him, which is every minute he has played in a Villa shirt, then I really couldn't give two monkeys **** if he stays or goes. If the lad is happy to give it another go though and Lambert thinks he can get something out of him then fine.

Been on holiday the last two weeks so had better things to do than post on here Have to say I am over the moon with this appointment. He was easily my first choice way over any of the other candidates. I think he is a perfect fit for us and with decent backing will get us back in to the top 8 at least over the next couple of seasons. Fair play to Faulkner and Lerner as well. I have given them plenty of stick after their previous two **** ups in appointing Houllier and McLeish but they have got this one spot on. It is only half the job though and he will need to be backed.

After the gutless negative tripe served up under Houllier and McLeish over the last two years it will be good to see us go into games where our first thought is to win and simply not to lose. That alone will have a massive impact on the atmosphere especially at VP. I can see us having a real go at everyone we face and taking a couple of unexpected scalps. Hopefully Lambert is given the backing he'll need, which is at least 20 mill plus what he can generate himself. If he is then if we can get a decent start, some real momentum going with VP rocking then I expect us to be in the top 10 this season then push on again from there.

How was he nailed on for the job? we spoke to him that was it as far it went as far as I was aware. It seems some got carried away with what a few self proclaimed itk's spouted on here and twitter and took it that he was definitely coming when in fact the most likely tail is, as it normally is, that these self proclaimed itk's like the rest of us no pretty much **** all. His odds tumbled due to the itk bollocks being followed, him initially seeming keen, and people putting a few quid on. As for an explanation on why we didn't offer him the job after speaking with him don't expect one because it isn't going to happen. Quite simply it is irrelevant. The club will eventually appoint a new manager and the last thing they will be doing is discussing who was and wasn't in the running and why they didn't choose some other candidate.

Self proclaimed ITK. More like FOS - Full of shit would be closer to the mark 99% of the time.

Froch was superb tonight. You can't help but admire the will of the guy. Not the most technically gifted but for shear guts and heart you'd struggle to find better. Have to say I thought the referee was a disgrace tonight. He was going to let that fight go on if Butes trainer hadn't have come in to the ring. If anything he should have stopped it earlier.

I really wouldn't pay too much attention to the odds if any at all. Last few days we have had Graysons and Gary Macs odds suddenly fall and now Benetiz. There is **** all in it. It takes very little money to make odds drop quite dramatically in this kind of market. A handful of people will know who we are after and its highly unlikely any of them are posting the info on twitter/message boards. Treat any rumour with a pinch of salt and show the drop in odds on a certain candidate even less attention. This will all play out in the next couple of weeks. I can't say I'm confident given the previous form of Lerner/Faulkner that we will get the managerial appointment this club needs to go forward but I'd love to be pleasantly surprised.