rjenkins

Home from the match, and all I can say is what a difference a goal makes. We were a completely different side after half time thanks to Weimann's tireless efforts. Don't get me wrong, it's horrible to concede in the last minute but I think we've gone a long way to stopping the rot. Clark, Lowton, Westwood, Albrighton and Weimann all gave it everything today, and got us a point that not many would have expected prior to kick-off.

I would go:

Guzan

Lowton Vlaar Clark Bennett

El Ahmadi Westwood Bannan

Holman Benteke N'Zogbia

I guess my answer depends on the type of owner we get, in terms of what they do for the community and how much time as well as money they put into the club.

To be honest though, in a lot of ways Randy Lerner is a good custodian for this football club, and whilst I would like to see a team full of high calibre footballers, I'd happily support Villa forever whether we were challenging for the Premier League or the Blue Square Premier.

I think Karim El Ahmadi is a tidy player to be honest. I'd start him in our midfield presently.

Had a good time in midfield with Petrov last season, but looks a bit lost playing in defence. I'm starting to think he's another Jonathan Hogg.

I still think there's a player there, but he can only really play one role at the head of the midfield, and it would have to be midfield three at that. Because of that lack of versatility, we either decide he's good enough to build a side around or he isn't. On that basis, as much as I've wanted it to work out, I think he's better off moving on.

At one point today Guzan was flapping.. Let's hope that doesn't creep into his game.

Conceding all those goals can't be good for his confidence.

That said i'd still keep him in goal as he has been our best player past few games.

If I'm not mistaken, that happened at the Wigan corner straight after the one they scored from. I too hope that it doesn't creep into his game but I can see why he may not have had total confidence in the defence in front of him.

Swansea are a very good team, and I will be amazed if we don't lose this game. I'm thinking 2-0 to them.

Lambert got it tactically wrong today. Sure we had some dodgy performances too, but what really killed us was the 5-3-2.

We have one fit centre-half at the club, who isn't exactly a seasoned veteran. Playing two players out of position alongside him just meant they all had a terrible game.

Our wingbacks are not Roberto Carlos and Dani Alves. They are not good enough to be our only threat out wide, or be so exposed by our formation.

None of our midfielders looked like they knew what their role was, and therefore on a number of occassions none of them offered adequate support to our frontline.

Our strikers were isolated and ineffective.

I'm not saying that Lambert should go, but it does worry me that he has persevered with this tactic in light of our injuries and also by how long he took to change things today. If we don't improve our form soon, we're very much at risk of being relegated. I think Lambert was as good a candidate as any we could have hired in the summer, but I can't think of many games where he's recorded a real tactical victory over an opposing team so far in his time here.

Holman is playing in the Weimann role and it's the same 5-3-2 I would think then.

Don't forget Bent, Agbonlahor, Baker, Clark. Good spine.

In fairness I've seen Clark and Baker have good games this season and last. I do think Gabby is on the wane though and I don't expect Bent to be here much longer.

I think Lambert is terrible tactically. He sets the team up as he sees fit, if it works it works and if it doesn't **** it, i'll try something else next week seems to be his plan. Worst attack and worst defence in the league plus he has also used more players than anybody else in the league. It suggests to me he doesn't really know what his best team or formation is. His constant tinkering with line ups and formations isn't really paying off. It seems like luck/guesswork most of the time he gets a result.

I've found Lambert to be frustrating at times as well I have to admit, but he doesn't have a huge amount to work with looking at our squad. I don't blame him for tinkering, because I have no idea what our best side is either. I do think we have about 5 or 6 genuinely good players and the rest are fairly good or worse. Guzan, Vlaar, Lowton, Westwood, Ireland and Benteke are the only ones I really rate.

This is going to be brutal if you ask me. I think Chelsea game will have set us back quite a bit and facing another good, attacking team straight after a result like that is going to be very tough. 0-3

I think we'll lose this one. I don't think we'll get hammered, but they are a good team and for us to win I think we'd need to play better than we did against Liverpool. I can't see Chelsea missing the chances that they did. Having said all that, we are moving in the right direction and will be in high spirits after our recent results and the cup draw. I just think it'll be games like today where that missing bit of midfield steel will show.

I think Lichaj gets an unfair amount of stick on here to be honest. He's a limited player but it could be worse, we could be playing Alan Hutton...

Lambert has played a bit of a stinker today. Starting Herd didn't greatly improve the solidity of our midfield and he was gutless with his substitutions. We still had half-chances to win the game but once they had lost M'Bia and Diakite we should have gone for it. If McLeish had made those tactical decisions today, we would be livid.

Before the match I would have taken a point and I still don't think it's a bad result given that QPR did have a lot of the ball, but winning that game was not beyond us and so to stop trying for the win just isn't acceptable.

For a good part of that first half we were the better side. However, I worry about how few shots we've had on goal and Lichaj could cause us some problems if he doesn't improve drastically in the second half.

We can win this, but we may need a little luck along the way.

Delph is the worst of the three for me, offers nothing besides dwelling on the ball and being caught in possession.

Atleast Bannan moves around a bit (even though he probably isn't good enough either) and i'd rather see what Westwood offers as opposed to knowing the shite performances we get from Delph who will never be the player people expect him to be.

Completely agree. I want Delph to do well after all his injury problems, but I can't see him ever being good enough.

Very close to the line-up I suggested earlier in this thread. Whilst I like Weimann, if we're playing a front three then surely Holman would be better suited to playing in the wide position, or is it a 4-4-2 with Gabby and Bannan as our 'wingers'?

I think we'll scrape a draw today, but there is an outside chance we could get something more. Sunderland haven't been brilliant this season, although their side is more balanced than ours on paper.

I'd line-up:

Guzan

Lowton Vlaar Clark Lichaj

Holman Westwood Bannan Gabby

Ireland

Benteke

I think we've got to give this Westwood a chance as he seems a naturally defensive player and we surely can't go into a Premier League game with Bannan and Delph as our central midfield. Delph has been woeful in the last few games.

I was about 8/9 when I decided to support Villa. Where I grew up in Wales I was pretty much an equal distance from Cardiff, Newport and Merthyr and only an hour away from Swansea, so coupled with my family generally not being huge football fans, none of my 'local' teams felt more local than any other, and I didn't just want to support a side because they happened to be winning at the time.

Anyway, I was watching Aston Villa vs. Liverpool with my Dad on TV when he told me about when he was living and working through the week in Birmingham and home for the weekends when my parents got married and he would watch Villa if they played midweek and he wasn't working too late for something to do. My mother didn't want to uproot from the Valleys to Brum so my father moved jobs and remained in Wales. After hearing that, I felt a link with Villa.

(It may also have helped that we beat them 2-1. I think Collymore scored for us? Would have been 1998 or 1999 ish?)

I wonder if he's gone for the Swansea or Hearts jobs? Best of luck to him anyway. Loyal servant to the club.

Lastly though, does anyone know who this 'highly experienced and well known manager' might be? I'm probably being thick but I haven't a scooby.

The only name I've seen rumoured is that Jurgen Klinsman has been advising Randy about this managerial position and it is on his

recommendation that he was keen to speak to OGS.

The only other person I can think of TT is on about is Andreas - Villas Boas because we'd all agree with the surname as he said!!

TBF Paul Lambert & AVB have been the 2 rumoured off tweets since Mcleish got the boot until the emergence of OGS.

Cheers, Julie. We never have a simple transition between manages it seems

I had a day out yesterday, and this thread jumped by over 50 pages.

Looking through few points.

I think that Mr Lerner's covert (not overt, CI) operation would have gone off completely without incident, had I not reported things on here. That isn't a declaration of pride, quite the opposite today, as I have given discomfort to Mr.Lerner, OGS, and a number of people in Norway, something of which I am not proud, and do not intend to repeat.

I misread two things.

Firstly, the feeling that the fact that the man was being collected was more than just for a chat.

Secondly, that this would not be 'Big in Norway'. On a week where our sports media were overindulging big time on the impending '6th place in the league final' and the managerial search of one of English football's red aristocracy, Villa stories were very low grade. I was foolish to not think about the consequences elsewhere.

Thursday was great. We had the fun of watching betting markets move, and we had the first really positive thread on VT for a long time, the AM departure notwithstanding.

As someone who felt that there was a strong possibility of Lambert being hired, with the prospect of more of the same, I was /am excited and seduced by the thought of OGS as our manager

As the frenzy built up through Friday, things began to get messy, to the point that perhaps an OGS appointment may have been jeopardised.

To those of you who may stand to lose money, I told you that he was coming, and he came. If you end up winning some, don't thank me, just make a donation towards the running of the site (repeating myself, in case anyone missed it last time). If you lose all your money, that was your choice.

I had another candidate for you Thursday, which I dismissed on a number of points, and therefore did not offer up on here. It was based upon the arrival for the day of a private jet that is owned by someone closely associated with a highly experienced and well known manager. That person does not show up anywhere on the bookies, but does actually meet one important element of VT criteria, the letter with which his name ends :winkold: .I concluded that the visiting aircraft was nothing to do with the Villa as said person is extremely busy at the moment, but then he may have been over for an 'informal chat'

:winkold:

All jokes aside, I will no longer be reporting unusual movements of Mr Lerner's private jet. I will restrict myself to using my knowledge to stand up for the owner on here when the 'no longer interested' criticism is levelled at him.

I gave you running commentary during the takeover, Carew, Houllier and now OGS. I am retiring

I'm sad to hear you are retiring, TT. I think the Houllier spotting and this last week or so have been some of most exciting times on VT, and I certainly wouldn't say the resulting chaos at Molde is your fault at all.

Rokke is quite obviously petulant and a clearing in the woods. All of this could have been an excuse to pull out funding which he wanted to do anyway? We'll never know his exact reasons for doing what he did. If anything, all it's done is increased sympathy for OGS and now I think we're more likely to get him.

Lastly though, does anyone know who this 'highly experienced and well known manager' might be? I'm probably being thick but I haven't a scooby.

Phillip Cocu is an interesting shout. I'd like Martinez, Lambert or Rodgers to be honest, and I'd consider Malky Mackay, Steve McLaren and Owen Coyle if we couldn't get our first choices.