Reflection - past three years

[GENTLEMAN]

 

 

 

It has been pretty depressing, especially to watch certain players' contracts slowly running down until we can tell them all to bugger off for good. I predict the next 3 years will be better if Lambert stays.

He won't . I give him 18 months max.

based on what?

Based on lambert needing to protect his career.

 

From what? Surely the objective is to build his reputation? He will not join a bigger club unless he achieves something remarkable in the next eighteen months. 

[villan_007]

 

 

 

I can't believe how differently I view things at Villa to so many of you.

 

I find it hard to believe that we watch the same football matches.

 

 

Not that anyone gives a shit but I'm taking a 'sabbatical' from this site, I just cannot read some of this tripe anymore and stand back idly and if I reply with what I want to say I get a warning point so zero benefit for anyone me being present on here.

 

I'll leave you guys to all wind yourselves up into a frenzy over absolutely nothing, as per.

 

TTFN

 

 

It's also the same fans that werre moaning Lambert was poor defensively - never happy.

 

 

Is it too much to ask that we don't veer from one extreme to the other?  We might be better defensively now, but our football is boring to watch and we're going down the Tony Pulis low possession, hoofball route.  We were poor for most of last season, and for some of this season we've improved slightly to be mediocre.  Nothing really to be "happy" about.  My worry with Lambert is that he plays a dull, limited very British style of football, and that even if he gets more money to spend, he'll just do the same but with better players.  A bit like O'Neill-lite.

 

 

If we were 4 yrs in then I'd be right there with you. We are barely over 18 months in, we will eventually find that balance, it will come.

 

I also find it hard to see how a manager who did his coaching badges in Germany, has very strong connections to football people over there still and loves everything about how they go about playing to be labelled a boring limited british manager. The Oneil link is lazy.

[Stevo985]

 

 

 

It has been pretty depressing, especially to watch certain players' contracts slowly running down until we can tell them all to bugger off for good. I predict the next 3 years will be better if Lambert stays.

He won't . I give him 18 months max.

based on what?

Based on lambert needing to protect his career.

 

Say what you mean. I'm not doing a fecking cryptic crossword.

 

Are you saying you think he'll leave because we won't be doing very well? Or he'll leave for a bigger club?

 

I'm not disagreeing. I'm interested.

[markavfc40]

 

 

 

 

It has been pretty depressing, especially to watch certain players' contracts slowly running down until we can tell them all to bugger off for good. I predict the next 3 years will be better if Lambert stays.

He won't . I give him 18 months max.

based on what?

Based on lambert needing to protect his career.

 

Say what you mean. I'm not doing a fecking cryptic crossword.

 

Are you saying you think he'll leave because we won't be doing very well? Or he'll leave for a bigger club?

 

I'm not disagreeing. I'm interested.

 

 

Lambert strikes me has some one who is very ambitious. I doubt very much he will attract any interest from a bigger club in the near future as there are still only a handful of clubs that are bigger than us. However he may attract interest from clubs with more ambition than we are showing.

With what he is being given to spend, especially in terms of wages, then he is not going to get us above being mid table fodder. We as supporters demand more than that and although I think it is totally wrong I can already sense that there is a bubbling up of frustration amongst some supporters. It happened at half time in the Cardiff game where some were booing.

With the backing from the chairman no manager is going to achieve any more than mid table but the manager along with the players is an easier target than the chairman.

With the above in mind if things don't change in terms of backing then I also would not be in the least bit surprised to see Lambert depart when his contract is up.

[Risso]

 

 

 

 

If we were 4 yrs in then I'd be right there with you. We are barely over 18 months in, we will eventually find that balance, it will come.

 

I also find it hard to see how a manager who did his coaching badges in Germany, has very strong connections to football people over there still and loves everything about how they go about playing to be labelled a boring limited british manager. The Oneil link is lazy.

 

 

It's not as lazy as the Dortmund link.  We're about as far from playing a continental (specifically German) style of football as it's possible to get.  Might as well claim that Steve McLaren is a great boss because he worked under Alex Ferguson and coached in Holland.

[BOF]

The only laziness in the Dortmund link is to misconstrue it as being a style of football, rather than as a way of using the transfer market to build a squad up.

[villan_007]

 

 

 

 

 

If we were 4 yrs in then I'd be right there with you. We are barely over 18 months in, we will eventually find that balance, it will come.

 

I also find it hard to see how a manager who did his coaching badges in Germany, has very strong connections to football people over there still and loves everything about how they go about playing to be labelled a boring limited british manager. The Oneil link is lazy.

 

 

It's not as lazy as the Dortmund link.  We're about as far from playing a continental (specifically German) style of football as it's possible to get.  Might as well claim that Steve McLaren is a great boss because he worked under Alex Ferguson and coached in Holland.

 

 

I didn't metion Dortmund anywhere? I said he did his badges there, which means he probably has other ideas than being just a limited British manager. I also don't expect all of these to come to fruition in 18 months.

[Mantis]

Is it too much to ask that we don't veer from one extreme to the other?  We might be better defensively now, but our football is boring to watch and we're going down the Tony Pulis low possession, hoofball route.  We were poor for most of last season, and for some of this season we've improved slightly to be mediocre.  Nothing really to be "happy" about.  My worry with Lambert is that he plays a dull, limited very British style of football, and that even if he gets more money to spend, he'll just do the same but with better players.  A bit like O'Neill-lite.

 

 

Disagree with this. Unlike O'Neill and McLiesh I've seen nothing to suggest that this is how Lambert wants us to be playing in the long term. We even played some decent football at times last season. Lambert himself has said that this is a long term project.

[Spoony]

It makes sense to play dull, limited football. We are a dull, limited side. We are gradually improving, but we can't start tapping it about until we are good enough to actually do that. No losing and getting some messy wins every now and then is probably the best tactic sadly.

[Risso]

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we were 4 yrs in then I'd be right there with you. We are barely over 18 months in, we will eventually find that balance, it will come.

 

I also find it hard to see how a manager who did his coaching badges in Germany, has very strong connections to football people over there still and loves everything about how they go about playing to be labelled a boring limited british manager. The Oneil link is lazy.

 

 

It's not as lazy as the Dortmund link.  We're about as far from playing a continental (specifically German) style of football as it's possible to get.  Might as well claim that Steve McLaren is a great boss because he worked under Alex Ferguson and coached in Holland.

 

 

I didn't metion Dortmund anywhere? I said he did his badges there, which means he probably has other ideas than being just a limited British manager. I also don't expect all of these to come to fruition in 18 months.

 

 

He's been a manager for much longer than 18 months.  At Norwich, he got his team to hoof the ball up to Grant Holt.  At Villa, he asks the team to hoof it up to Benteke.  We have the lowest possession stats in the Premier League.  I don't see anything to suggest that that's going to change anytime soon, especially after he blew £7m on Libor Kozak.

[Zatman]

for the 100000000000000000000000000th time it wasnt 7 million 

 

though at least you got his name correct

[briny_ear]

I agree £7m on Kozak was a bit of a waste on the evidence so far.

[Isa]

Is it too much to ask that we don't veer from one extreme to the other?  We might be better defensively now, but our football is boring to watch and we're going down the Tony Pulis low possession, hoofball route.  We were poor for most of last season, and for some of this season we've improved slightly to be mediocre.  Nothing really to be "happy" about.  My worry with Lambert is that he plays a dull, limited very British style of football, and that even if he gets more money to spend, he'll just do the same but with better players.  A bit like O'Neill-lite.

 

Disagree with this. Unlike O'Neill and McLiesh I've seen nothing to suggest that this is how Lambert wants us to be playing in the long term. We even played some decent football at times last season. Lambert himself has said that this is a long term project.

Being a long-term project doesn't mean that the manager's philosophy isn't implemented from the start. I'm sure Martinez at Everton is a long-term project also but he has tried to implement his style of play from the off. Same with Pochettino at Soton, Rodgers at Liverpool etc. The fact we are 18 months into Lambert's reign and we are still a low-possession, direct, counter-attacking team means the comparisions with MON are legitimate.

[Mantis]

I agree £7m on Kozak was a bit of a waste on the evidence so far.

Could've said the same thing about Benteke this time last year.

 

 

 

Is it too much to ask that we don't veer from one extreme to the other?  We might be better defensively now, but our football is boring to watch and we're going down the Tony Pulis low possession, hoofball route.  We were poor for most of last season, and for some of this season we've improved slightly to be mediocre.  Nothing really to be "happy" about.  My worry with Lambert is that he plays a dull, limited very British style of football, and that even if he gets more money to spend, he'll just do the same but with better players.  A bit like O'Neill-lite.

 

Disagree with this. Unlike O'Neill and McLiesh I've seen nothing to suggest that this is how Lambert wants us to be playing in the long term. We even played some decent football at times last season. Lambert himself has said that this is a long term project.

Being a long-term project doesn't mean that the manager's philosophy isn't implemented from the start. I'm sure Martinez at Everton is a long-term project also but he has tried to implement his style of play from the off. Same with Pochettino at Soton, Rodgers at Liverpool etc. The fact we are 18 months into Lambert's reign and we are still a low-possession, direct, counter-attacking team means the comparisions with MON are legitimate.

 

 

I wouldn't put Lambert in the same category as those managers. I don't think he's a manager that focuses on possession above all else but at the same time I wouldn't say he belongs to the other extreme where managers like Allardyce and Pulis reside. I think he's a pragmatist and I think our style of play at the moment is a reflection of what he has to work with at the moment - injuries to key players, a tight budget and a defence that was in desperate need of tightening up after last season.

 

I'm not a big fan of the way we're playing at the moment but I don't believe this is how we'll be playing in the long term if things go to plan. Results and the defence have improved and by the looks of things we'll be spending this season floating around mid-table as opposed to really struggling like last season.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Mantis

[cbr600rr]

AVFC have not kicked a ball in the champions league-unless man city type of plan is unleashed -we wont 

 

AVFC are stale, just making up the numbers in Premier League

 

AVFC have not won a trophy for near 20 years

 

AVFC -LOOK BEYOND THE LAST 3 YEARS,THE HISTORY OF THIS CLUB WE LOVE IS JUST THAT-HISTORY

[Morpheus]

 

Is it too much to ask that we don't veer from one extreme to the other?  We might be better defensively now, but our football is boring to watch and we're going down the Tony Pulis low possession, hoofball route.  We were poor for most of last season, and for some of this season we've improved slightly to be mediocre.  Nothing really to be "happy" about.  My worry with Lambert is that he plays a dull, limited very British style of football, and that even if he gets more money to spend, he'll just do the same but with better players.  A bit like O'Neill-lite.

 

 

Disagree with this. Unlike O'Neill and McLiesh I've seen nothing to suggest that this is how Lambert wants us to be playing in the long term. We even played some decent football at times last season. Lambert himself has said that this is a long term project.

 

The point is though no-one is sure how he wants to play as there have been conflicting styles of football during his time here and I'm not yet sure whether Lambert knows his best system to suit the players already here and the players he has purchased.

[Isa]

Is it too much to ask that we don't veer from one extreme to the other?  We might be better defensively now, but our football is boring to watch and we're going down the Tony Pulis low possession, hoofball route.  We were poor for most of last season, and for some of this season we've improved slightly to be mediocre.  Nothing really to be "happy" about.  My worry with Lambert is that he plays a dull, limited very British style of football, and that even if he gets more money to spend, he'll just do the same but with better players.  A bit like O'Neill-lite.

 

Disagree with this. Unlike O'Neill and McLiesh I've seen nothing to suggest that this is how Lambert wants us to be playing in the long term. We even played some decent football at times last season. Lambert himself has said that this is a long term project.

The point is though no-one is sure how he wants to play as there have been conflicting styles of football during his time here and I'm not yet sure whether Lambert knows his best system to suit the players already here and the players he has purchased.

Surely though you buy players to fit a system rather then deciding on a system after buying players?

[Isa]

I wouldn't put Lambert in the same category as those managers. I don't think he's a manager that focuses on possession above all else but at the same time I wouldn't say he belongs to the other extreme where managers like Allardyce and Pulis reside. I think he's a pragmatist and I think our style of play at the moment is a reflection of what he has to work with at the moment - injuries to key players, a tight budget and a defence that was in desperate need of tightening up after last season.

Let's hope so but until we do see an upturn in playing style, the MON comparision will remain.

[Risso]

for the 100000000000000000000000000th time it wasnt 7 million 

 

though at least you got his name correct

 

 

For the millionth time, either provide a reliable link to his true cost then, or I'll rely on sites that got last year's total spend almost spot on.  The same sites that say Kozak cost £7m.

[Risso]

 

 

 

I wouldn't put Lambert in the same category as those managers. I don't think he's a manager that focuses on possession above all else but at the same time I wouldn't say he belongs to the other extreme where managers like Allardyce and Pulis reside. I think he's a pragmatist and I think our style of play at the moment is a reflection of what he has to work with at the moment - injuries to key players, a tight budget and a defence that was in desperate need of tightening up after last season.

 

I'm not a big fan of the way we're playing at the moment but I don't believe this is how we'll be playing in the long term if things go to plan. Results and the defence have improved and by the looks of things we'll be spending this season floating around mid-table as opposed to really struggling like last season.

 

 

He's played the same style of football for the last 5 years, why is he going to completely change his approach?