StanBalaban Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) Pretty awful journalism there looking for headlines. You can go listen to the full interview. It was a leading question and Lambert was speaking about every team, not just Villa. http://www.freeradio.co.uk/shows/tom-ross/ Exactly, a pretty honest interview from Lambert there. I also think it's a way of saying to his own players that just because you may not have a winners medal in your cabinet yet, doesn't mean your career's for nothing. Edited January 2, 2014 by StanBalaban Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electric Avenue Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Aren't the U21s ... how should I put this ... a bit shit this season? They are struggling in the league. the u18's are doing much better . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 35% possession against a truly terrible team is still way short of acceptable and any other team would have given us problems today. However, I'm relieved to get the win and hopefully it will take some of the pressure off Lambert and the team because they need the fans behind them, and they need the stability that Lambert will bring. I'll judge Lambert by the end of next summer and see whether he has sorted our midfield out b then because this is the area which is by far our biggest problem. Why isn't it acceptable? We won which is the stat I am 100% pleased with. Fed up with all this football hipster shite about possession.That worked out really well when we placed Palace. I was really pleased we had 65% of the ball that day. Because it isn't a blue print for a successful football team. If we have ambition we can't be accepting this and as my post implies if a similar thing happens next season then questions have to be raised. This season we can win ugly and it will do with the squad we have. Next season it won't. About 80% of the time since I have been seriously watching Villa (about the last 10 yrs or so) we have either played crap and lost, or played average and ground out wins, with the occasional classic match. Villa never play free flowing Barcelona football or ever will. Its either functional or deeply depressing. Moving to the functional at present methinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Losing faith in Lambert a bit tbh. The FA Cup is one of two chances a club like ours has to win something rather than suffer the grim procession of grinding out a mid-table level of points every weekend. So stop whingeing and sodding well get out there and try to win it. BTW, just posted similar comments in HH's pro-Lambert thread. Isn't it a bit stupid to have two threads covering basically the same issues? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstonMartin82 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 35% possession against a truly terrible team is still way short of acceptable and any other team would have given us problems today. However, I'm relieved to get the win and hopefully it will take some of the pressure off Lambert and the team because they need the fans behind them, and they need the stability that Lambert will bring. I'll judge Lambert by the end of next summer and see whether he has sorted our midfield out b then because this is the area which is by far our biggest problem. Why isn't it acceptable? We won which is the stat I am 100% pleased with. Fed up with all this football hipster shite about possession.That worked out really well when we placed Palace. I was really pleased we had 65% of the ball that day. Because it isn't a blue print for a successful football team. If we have ambition we can't be accepting this and as my post implies if a similar thing happens next season then questions have to be raised. This season we can win ugly and it will do with the squad we have. Next season it won't. About 80% of the time since I have been seriously watching Villa (about the last 10 yrs or so) we have either played crap and lost, or played average and ground out wins, with the occasional classic match. Villa never play free flowing Barcelona football or ever will. Its either functional or deeply depressing. Moving to the functional at present methinks. I took the below stats off whoscored.com... we can conclude that if we want to be taken seriously in this league we need to improve our possession quite drastically. It is very rare for a club with such low possession to finish in the top half of the table. Of course there are exceptions to the rule as you would expect as if football was this easy then teams would be told just to knock the ball around defense for 90 minutes. As I stated yesterday, I think winning matches with 35% possession this season will suffice. But if we want to improve and ultimately try to compete to be a top 6 team on a regular basis then anything under 50% is not acceptable. The beginning signs of this changing HAS to be made by at least next season else there is no hope and we may as well all give up supporting a lost cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Losing faith in Lambert a bit tbh. The FA Cup is one of two chances a club like ours has to win something rather than suffer the grim procession of grinding out a mid-table level of points every weekend. So stop whingeing and sodding well get out there and try to win it. BTW, just posted similar comments in HH's pro-Lambert thread. Isn't it a bit stupid to have two threads covering basically the same issues? Im more and more suspecting Lambert is plotting his VP exit. - He wants to be able to point to a midtable finish - then job done. There's a little attempt to improve the style of play .....and ITK on here discussing how much each player is earning .....and what if we put in a poor showing in the cup on saturday ? - this is from the man who vowed to try and win every game - all IMO of course.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GENTLEMAN Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) Im more and more suspecting Lambert is plotting his VP exit I think Lambert is trying to get the fans on side rather than plotting an exit. HH has always maintained it was a five year plan, and Lambert has alluded to a long term project numerous times. Edited January 2, 2014 by GENTLEMAN 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 It's just a bit disappointing to read though....we only really need 4 wins and a couple of draws to stay up now from 18 games so really if we can't manage that playing extra games in the cup (which if we're lucky could be mostly against lower league opposition) then I give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post GENTLEMAN Posted January 2, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 2, 2014 Can we have Paul Lambert thread re-opened? I hate the title of this thread, it reeks of bitterness. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivevilla Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I find this all very interesting. We're talking about a third round encounter with a league one team. I'd hope we can make some squad changes and still be able to progress. Then let's see who we get next round. With a good draw we could get to the quarter finals without a major effort. By then we'd know more about our league position and be able to make a better decision about "going for it". With a shit draw, well, then we probably aren't going to get real far anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djemba_Villan Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Btw, managers quotes taken out of context. anyone who thinks he wouldn't want to lead Villa to FA cup is off their heads. But he doesn't want a Wigan - win it and go down! That's the point he was making - premier league survival main priority right now. I think most sane Villa fans know this, and rolled their eyes as soon as they read such. Guess with the midlands teams in general being a bit....beige, the local papers don't have much else to sensationalise. They can't wait to stick the boot in at any given moment, I get the impression Lambert isn't appreciated in the media circles due to his demeanour, and the fact he isn't their 'mate' McLeish or O'Neill. I hate the way this will be a stick to beat Lambert with in the foreseeable future should we not put together a good run. If we drop down the league, they'll all hark back to the false FA cup comments. Tosspots. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) At my most charitable, I add this the list of things that Lambert has yet to learn: how to handle a simple question from the press without creating massive headlines that say what you didn't mean to say. However, he comes over as someone who is losing his appetite for the job. If he's not up for the FA cup, he's losing his will to win. If he is up for it, of course what he said was totally misleading and he should clarify his position. (Not just do it by the rather sideways method of getting HairyHands to clarify on his behalf). Edited January 2, 2014 by briny_ear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 At my most charitable, I add this the list of things that Lambert has yet to learn: how to handle a simple question from the press without creating massive headlines that say what you didn't mean to say. However, he comes over as someone who is losing his appetite for the job. If he's not up for the FA cup, he's losing his will to win. If he is up for it, of course what he said was totally misleading and he should clarify his position. (Not just do it by the rather sideways method of getting HairyHands to clarify on his behalf). Or rather (IMO, of course): What various media claims to be what he said was totally misleading ... The original interview I've listened to is quite different from the bits and pieces I've seen online purporting to represent the gist of his interview. In the full interview, I think that he does not come across as someone who has lost his appetite, neither for his job nor for the FA cup, but rather as someone who recognises that the first and foremost task at hand for most PL clubs (including Aston Villa) is PL survival, and if possible, CL qualification, just because that's the way modern football works... If an extended cup run (or indeed winning the cup itself) is possible, that's desirable (even though he feels medals are less worth to the modern player than the value of the individual player's contract), but a bonus - PL achievements take precedence over memorable cup moments. I got the feeling that it's not necessarily what he wants, but simply an acknowledgement of what modern football has become. Oh, and he talks on behalf of most PL clubs and managers, not Aston Villa throughout.... The only thing in the interview strictly referring to Villa was what would affect his team selection most: the upcoming Sheffield United game or the following Arsenal game. IMO, of course. As English is a second language for me I might have misinterpreted what he said. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatAboutTheFinish Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 The proof of pudding will be in the eating. I have remained a faithful backer of Lambert despite the predominantly dross football he has served up in the (misguided?) belief that all mangers need time. Unless he plays his strongest eleven in the cup (or any side that runs out comfortable winners) then my faith will be lost. He should be desperate to give the beleagured home support something to cheer about and he will get no better opportunity than against League 1 oppostion ( )! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstonMartin82 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 So if we play a weakened side and win 5-0 he will have lost your faith? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatAboutTheFinish Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 So if we play a weakened side and win 5-0 he will have lost your faith? No...I think I wrote that quite explicitly, read again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstonMartin82 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 So you did... it's still early! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DamsonwoodVillan Posted January 3, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 3, 2014 Can this whole thread just be re-named 'The Paul Lambert Thread' or something? The title of the thread makes a mockery of the majority of Villa fans.I would be fuming if we sacked Lambert at this stage. Give him to the end of NEXT season at least. I would stop going down if we sacked Lambert and replaced him with someone like Clark. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 At my most charitable, I add this the list of things that Lambert has yet to learn: how to handle a simple question from the press without creating massive headlines that say what you didn't mean to say. However, he comes over as someone who is losing his appetite for the job. If he's not up for the FA cup, he's losing his will to win. If he is up for it, of course what he said was totally misleading and he should clarify his position. (Not just do it by the rather sideways method of getting HairyHands to clarify on his behalf). Yep - thats what I m sensing. Get us mid table whatever the cost. Mind you if he is limited to wages of 10-15k pw - then you can understand his fustrations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosofsaunders Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) Can this whole thread just be re-named 'The Paul Lambert Thread' or something? The title of the thread makes a mockery of the majority of Villa fans. I would be fuming if we sacked Lambert at this stage. Give him to the end of NEXT season at least. I would stop going down if we sacked Lambert and replaced him with someone like Clark. well said.. this talk of lambert getting the sack is ridiculous i say. he's doing a decent jobs so far and IMO will only get better now he has a squad. just a little tweaking here and there with better quality and we'll be a decent team. i really think were not that far away Edited January 3, 2014 by cosofsaunders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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