You are Paul Lambert...

[TRO]

we just seem to go from one extreme to another, with little common sense on show. in relation to the austerity programme.

 

I think there is a need for a extra ordinary injection of transfer capital and suspend the austerity programme until we are getting out of this shit on the pitch.

 

blimey if Bill Kenwright can do what he does at Everton.... we have some serious questions to be answered.

Edited December 23, 2013 by TRO

[VillaAndLoyal]

"1) You have a full squad to choose from.

2) You have £10m to spend and an extension of 40k P/W on wages to use - be reasonable.

3) You can do whatever you like for selection, formation and signings. You can buy three players, or just one. But you must be reasonable, no Messi or Ronaldo, think of who you can get for the money.

 

Now put that all together and tell us your tactics."

 

First thing I would do is sell Benteke for £12m as well as getting rid of Bent, Bowery, KEA and Tonev. I think that is a realistic price for Christian going off his recent poor form, but potential to rediscover last season's form elsewhere. That would take the transfer kitty to £22m+, plus a healthier amount to spend on wages with the offloading of Christian and Darren.

 

I would then target three key players in Micah Richards, Youssouf Mulumbu and Nikica Jelavic. Micah is injured at the moment and has fallen out of favour at Manchester City under the new regime. Being from Birmingham, I think we could tempt him here and give him the chance to rediscover the form he had when he first burst onto the scene. He's a big, athletic defender who is young but has good experience already and is exactly the type of player we need to help shore up our defence but also offer more going forward as a unit. I think an offer of £7 million and 35k a week would be a realistic offer to put on the table.

 

Youssouf is a player which has consistently impressed me at our friendly neighbours and, alongside Yacob, they have cemented a good Premier League midfield. People may say, but what about a creative midfielder? But I would actually like to give Delph the freedom to play there. Delph can beat players, can pass well and decisively and given the chance I think he could improve his shooting and general creativity. Mulumbu would be that anchor in midfield to help break up play and start attacks. He is also 26 so has that PL experience to help our younger crop, but is by no means over the hill and probably has another 3/4 years playing at a good standard. WBA would be reluctant to sell, which may force the transfer fee up, but now that they are without a manager I'm confident a deal could be reached for this player. Probably 8/9 million, on 30k a week.

 

Jelavic used to be first choice striker at Everton so I'm sure he won't be very happy at having to play second fiddle to a loan player this season. He is good in the air and on the ground and has proven he can score goals in the top flight. He can act as a target man but also has a bit of pace and likes to make runs off the last man, something we haven't really got at present. I would initially try to loan Nikica, and I haven't got a clue how much he is on at Everton etc so for arguments sake I'll pluck a figure out of thin air and say he would cost 30k a week.

 

I think one of our biggest weaknesses at the moment is that the core of our team is not strong enough. Signing these three players would go some way to addressing that, and also addressing our lack of experience, without breaking the bank.

 

---------------------Guzan------------------

 

M.Richards--- Vlaar -- Okore --- Lowton

 

------------Bacuna --- Y. Mulumbu -------

 

Albrighton ----- Delph ----- Agbonlahor

 

---------------- N. Jelavic ----------------

 

I think that team has pace, more creativity than at present and the ability to adapt our style of play depending on the circumstance. The formation would vary depending on the opposition and whether playing home/away but there would obviously be an emphasis for Gabby and Marc to make lots of forward runs to support Jelavic, as well as supplying plenty of crosses into the box to capitalise on Jelavic's aerial presence. Jack Grealish and Gary Gardener would be on my bench and Kozak and Wiemann would be used as impact substitutes when needed. I would also stress the absolute importance of passing and moving and being comfortable on the ball when in possession and pressing high up the pitch when we don't have the ball. Delph would work on his ability to feed clever through balls and to spot the runs of Jelavic.

 

I think this is a fairly realistic team and, whilst not setting the place on fire, I think it would be a solid top 8-10 side and something to build on.

Edited December 23, 2013 by VillaAndLoyal

[Rovers13]

Sell Benteke for £12m?!!!!!!

Edited December 23, 2013 by Rovers13

[Jonoridge91]

So where are we? – at worst, “a disgrace to this great club and its history” or at best “lower mid-table overachievers” dependent on which posters you ascribe to

 

To post my colours to the mast (and this should come as no great surprise), I’m a Lambert supporter. He wasn’t my first choice after McLeish, but he didn’t look a bad appointment either – certainly back-to-back promotions with Norwich and a very decent debut season in the Premiership (without massive resources) pointed to a manager with real promise.

 

In my opinion, Lambert was certainly at the very top end of managers that we could attract at the time, given the incredibily difficult brief that he seems required to work to. I have no inside knowledge, but my educated guess is that managers like OGS or Martinez gave the job a wide berth because of the impossibility of short-term progress due to the swingeing cost cuts that were required.

 

In that case why did Lambert take the job? I think he has taken a calculated gamble, a gamble that said he had taken Norwich as far as they could go and so if he could keep the Villa in the premiership whilst books are balanced over the first couple of years of his reign, then there will be great potential and perhaps a promise of better things to come in years four and five of the project

 

In return for taking on such a tricky task, and helping Lerner out of the hole that he has dug for himself, he has been given almost unconditional support and (non-financial) backing.  I can’t envisage any scenario in which Lerner would sack Lambert, before Lambert would go of his own accord

Many here have looked back at the first season and a half of Lambert’s tenure using the 20/20 vision of hindsight and the criticisms seem to have a number of themes

• “Why didn’t he keep the existing squad?”  In my opinion this was not a viable option, the main reason being that this was probably specifically against the agreement made with Lerner when Lambert took the job on, but also this was a squad that had collected just 15 points from the previous half season – not just relegation form but humiliating, bottom of the table form.  There was nothing to suggest that this could be turned around
• “Why didn’t he integrate Bent?” I think he tried but I think Bent didn’t come to meet him halfway. A quote from one the Villa backroom staff was “Bent wouldn’t run 15 yards for you”. Certainly, from what we’ve seen at Fulham there is nothing to suggest that out-and-out poachers like Bent are anything but a dying breed
• “Why didn’t he sign fewer, more experienced players” Suggestions here have been players like Berbatov or Adam.  Overlooking the un-overlookable  fact that Lerner would never have sanctioned £60-£80k a week wages, adding a couple of very mercurial ‘talents’ to an unsuccessful and underachieving squad already awash with them (NZog, Ireland, Delph at the time, Bent) would seem a very risky strategy indeed. If that is the approach Lerner required he would have appointed Redknapp
• “Why didn’t he sign 4 x £10m players or 6 x £8m players (or some combination of this)” because this would have left us with a first team squad of around 15 (particularly as in the first season he would only have had the finance to sign 2 x £10m). On this point Faulkner’s comment of “Lambert is able to spend the budget in any way he sees fit” is less than helpful as it supposes that he had many more options than in reality

A recent addition to the criticisms are

• “Why didn’t he build a squad around the successful NextGen players?” There are many reasons why this is an absolute non-starter, not least of which is that these youngsters are still, in the main, 12 months away from being ready to integrate into the premiership were certainly nowhere near ready 18 months ago. A player like Baker who is really struggling would look like a monster and a world-beater in the U21 team
• “Why doesn’t he give Grealish / Doncien etc a game?” this criticism usually goes hand-in-hand with the bizarre comment that  “Lambert loves buying young players but hates giving our own young players a chance”. I’m certain Lambert would love nothing more than to have two or three academy players to drop in who would be ready for the premiership but much as we would wish otherwise they’re not

Finally we have a group of criticisms which say

• “Newcastle (for example) bought loads of new players last season and, at first, they struggled to settle but now they are pulling up trees”  except Newcastle bought a load of £60k a week footballers
• “The team is littered with inexperienced players not up to the standard of the Premier League” on this one it’s hard to know what type of players Lambert was expected to bring in on £8k-£10k a week, and even more puzzling that anyone might think that a bunch of these would be giving footballing lessons to even middle-table sides.
• “We just simply have no style, no shape, and seemingly no strategy under Lambert”  On this one quite the opposite is the case. Lambert has a clear style and strategy and has amassed points so far utilising that style. It’s not pretty and it’s not the style that Lambert would like to play I’m sure, but it’s necessary in order to allow these ordinary players to compete
• “He could have bought better players for the same money” and by implication the same wages. This is a very subjective one, It depends on how many better young players you believe are available out there and to some extent on how extensive and well-financed Villa’s scouting network is. I think the signing of Benteke hindered Lambert here as it started the expectation that Lambert could pull rabbits out of hats.  When signing players for such small amounts, in my opinion, it will enevitably by hit and miss. People moan why did we sign Vlaar when he had known injury problems, probably because if he was injury-free he would have been three times the price and in demand elsewhere. As it turns out his knee injury has not been a major problem and so in that respect the gamble paid off

Finally

 

“Why didn’t he sign a creative midfielder / another centre-back / a holding midfielder etc”  probably because he didn’t feel we could bring in anyone better than we’ve got using the money available.  Lambert wanted Sissoko, Kiyotake and Lukaku and it’s clear that we would be a different proposition with players like that in the team

 

Last season I was happy to stay in the premiership and we generally progressed as the season went on except for a terrible run over Christmas. This season my expectation was/is a 10^th-12^th place finish with perhaps a little less drama than last year.

 

Given the nature of the premier league, 10 points often cover the teams from 8^th place down to 18^th and so in the ups and downs of a season it is almost impossible for a mid-placed team to feel insulated from relegation.  Panic-mongers will spout “we are only two games (6 points) away from the relegation zone, but of course it doesn’t really work that way with most teams in the bottom half on average capturing around a point a game.

 

The defeat to MU was predictable, but the defeats to Fulham and Stoke were much more disappointing.  We massively struggle when we have not got our first 11 available.  I doubt that even if we struggle in the next three games – which given the absence of Benteke and Vlaar seems likely, I think that it is still not on the cards that Lerner will support any great transfer activity in January

 

I’m sticking with Lambert for the time being – despite all the criticism I don’t doubt his determination to succeed. From the little I hear, he is an incredibly hard-working and dedicated man. I can’t see any possible advantage of bringing in another similarly skilled manager to the same circumstances and expecting a different result

 

Personally I’ll continue to support Lambert and the team for the rest of this season and reassess then. At the moment I can’t see how any criticism or vocal dissent can help the team

I understand those with genuine concerns but I think my position is pretty clear, I’m not going to spend Xmas responding to snipe-y or sarky comments cherry-picking one point or another, instead I’m hoping for a Xmas gift of three points against Palace and a decent return from the next couple of games

 

Jesus, what a read. If you could pin a post in a topic I'd request this to be pinned. Just covers everything and looks at things objectively. Nice to see and thanks for making the post.

[Zatman]

Sell Benteke for £12m?!!!!!!

 

[VillaAndLoyal]

Oh, my bad, I forgot Christian was next Luiz Suarez and will not be leaving for anything below £30m 

 

Things, and valuations, change quickly in football. Which means I'd hazard a guess my valuation at this moment in time is far more accurate than anything you would come up with. But, don't mind me, carry on laughing...

[Rovers13]

Oh, my bad, I forgot Christian was next Luiz Suarez and will not be leaving for anything below £30m

Things, and valuations, change quickly in football. Which means I'd hazard a guess my valuation at this moment in time is far more accurate than anything you would come up with. But, don't mind me, carry on laughing...

Right, they change quickly. Which means it'd be very stupid to sell him when he's not playing well and hasn't been fit, because when he starts to play well again his value will go way up.

[VillaAndLoyal]

Yes I'm aware of that but you are, of course, assuming he will recapture his form of last season and I'm far from convinced he will. For the purposes of this thread I intended to show what I would do without him because, whether he's sold for 12m or 30m, I don't think Christian Benteke is planning on sticking around here for any significant period of time and we need to plan for life without him. He won't save us from relegation every season.

[samjp26]

He just signed a new 4-year-deal. There would be no point in letting him leave for £12m.

[Zatman]

Andy Carroll went for 15 million in the summer and he has done **** all last 3 seasons. am sure we could do a lot more than 12million for Benteke who was one of Europes top marksmen before his injury

[VillaAndLoyal]

I take the point about Andy Carroll but then he is English so ridiculous price tags have always followed him around, just look at what Liverpool paid for him. If we are to believe the rumours, Spurs wouldn't match our asking price in the summer following a barnstorming season from Christian so even if he does improve in the second half of the season, I don't think we'll get the price some people think we will. I guess only time will tell.

[TRO]

I'd start making friends with as many people as I could.

[caw2510]

jump before i am pushed

[The Fun Factory]

I was (briefly) listening to talkshite this morning and Neil Warnock, a man I wouldn't normally argee with, said that Villa were poor versus Stoke and it is time for Lambert's young players to step up in that the manager has had a lot of faith in them and they are not delivering the goods at present. Sounded a fair comment, how much faith does Lambert now have in Herd, Baker, Clark, Albrington et al?

[Cliffy Biro]

jump before i am pushed

 

Nobody would shed a tear, put it that way.

[Rovers13]

Yes I'm aware of that but you are, of course, assuming he will recapture his form of last season and I'm far from convinced he will. For the purposes of this thread I intended to show what I would do without him because, whether he's sold for 12m or 30m, I don't think Christian Benteke is planning on sticking around here for any significant period of time and we need to plan for life without him. He won't save us from relegation every season.

Benteke has been playing with a knee injury since November, the medical staff screwed up. People saying, "he looked disinterested, he's off in January, he's a one season wonder." No he's been playing injured. Selling him for £12m is insane.

People forget how amazing he was last year. It wasn't just his goals, he was brilliant in overall play too. That's worth way more than £12m.

[Rovers13]

It's a bit of both. Medical staff and in the players head. Hopefully back for Sunderland game.

Well that's always true, ultimately the medical staff can only go off what the player says unless it shows up on a scan. But from what you said earlier I though it was more of a medical screw up, my bad for assuming.

[GENTLEMAN]

Edit. 

Edited January 3, 2014 by GENTLEMAN

[GENTLEMAN]

jump before i am pushed

I would not be hugely surprised to see Lambert resign considering his history of doing so at other clubs. We will have to keep rolling on whatever happens at our club, with or without Lambert.

Edited December 23, 2013 by GENTLEMAN

[Raymond]

I have faith in lambert because I think he is great man manager, and that is vastly more important than tactics.

I am also of the opinion our recent problems defensively come down to Vlaar. It is also ridiculous to slate Lambert for not getting another CB. We had four at the start of the season with Herd and Doncian for extra cover. Both first choice down at the same time is just unlucky.

That being said, he always seems to wait too long to change it up, both in games and with systems that are not are working over a series of games, and one good game from a player seems to give him a four game run no matter how he plays.

I think he could tactically be a lot better. That being said, I think you can learn that particular trait.