Dodgyknees Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 So don't lay any of the blame on Lerner, the budget, or the players, it is all Lambert's fault? Its 'Lamberts' team, he built this! We have seen them perform (end of last season, begining of this season). Where's it gone????? Yes its the players, but they are Lamberts responsibility. If my staff started to not perform and make mistakes everyday, it would be me to blame no one else If the players are not moving, not trying and can't pass the ball more than two feet, whilst also being unable to find team-mates in the right areas - or if these players are missing easy chances... how is that anything to do with Lambert? I guess we could rest those who are not working, we have a lot of quality in reserve, right? All im asking is where has the football gone we saw at Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool. If the team had never really performed I could accept this. But because we have seen the passing game and some good entertaining football from this team, I hold Lambert fully responsible for the performances of late. I think we need to get a fully fit team together, stop thinking Delph is the best midfielder we have, drop Westwood and bring in some experience who have a better mentality to deal with teams who come to us and put ten men behind the ball - which in turn ends up with our players switching off. We need a bums off seats player, a midfield "idea man" and if we are lucky, a centre back who can assure we never ever play Baker and Clark together - otherwise known as the Chuckle Brothers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Lisa Ann is under 5'3" I've never seen her standing up. I've seen things stand up in her presence mind... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandaq Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I reckon Big Sam is the next one. They are really going down unless something special happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villan4Life Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I reckon West Ham will sack Big Sam after this result so they will be looking for new manager... seems other clubs are sacking managers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandaq Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 kid crying on the stands, three nill for forest lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaw_nuff Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Height is a guide but not everything. Just like CB's are traditionally tall, but there are plenty of smaller ones. True, wingers are traditionally small and tricky, but that doesn't mean that a tall player can't be one. It's fairly ridiculous to base your entire opinion on height. Almost as ridiculous as saying that because you're tall, you can't turn sharply.. You can call it ridiculous all you like but you still cannot give me an example can you? I'm talking PL, not comparing yourself to your fat mates down the park. And I am 6'3" too. I gave you one. Marko Arnautovic. I thought you were joking - I said a top side, unless we've become so shite that we consider Stoke a big club now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GENTLEMAN Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) Lambert should not have allowed the media to influence his team selection. There is no doubt in my mind that Lambert was going to play a more weakened team until his comments were apparently taken out of context. I do not agree. I think Lambert was always going to play the strongest side possible considering there was a eight-nine day break afterwards. We were beaten by the better team on the day, credit to Sheffield United. Now you could say that alone would suggest that in fact the media has done a number on Lambert but Lambert could have ignored the media fest and played a weakened team. Why would Lambert want to play a weakened team in the FA Cup? Even if PL did field an under strength team, the fans (most important people) would have been critical of him regardless. This was a huge game before Lambert's alleged comments about the competition. The media has done a hatchet job on him. They have themselves insulted the FA Cup by making it about Lambert's out of context comments rather than the competition. Why not congratulate the league one club on a giant killing? Is that not the spirit of the FA Cup? They are more interested in Lambert getting his comeuppance, it is very sad and undermines the FA Cup. I hope this spurs Lambert on in the future. The fact that he didn't would suggest to me that he allowed media opinion to change team selection and that for me shows a weakness in the manager's mentality which I'm sure both the media and opposing managers will take advantage of again. The above is just formed out of baseless assumptions and is not worthy of a real response. I am sure we will bounce back like we have done on numerous occasions under Lambert. Edited January 5, 2014 by GENTLEMAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSV Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Looking at the crowds at the fixtures this weekend and also some team selections from managers. I would believe Paul Lamberts opinion is probably spot on. A few managers spoke out to look good but the rest stayed quiet probably agreeing with every word. Media spun it to make a story. PL was probably better off just ignoring the question and saying he cant wait for the FA Cup. Next question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Looking at the crowds at the fixtures this weekend and also some team selections from managers. I would believe Paul Lamberts opinion is probably spot on. A few managers spoke out to look good but the rest stayed quiet probably agreeing with every word. Media spun it to make a story. PL was probably better off just ignoring the question and saying he cant wait for the FA Cup. Next question. Yes - He was right in what he said - but he would have been better just toeing the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 numerous occasions Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Philosopher Posted January 5, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 5, 2014 Firstly I will say I think we have a very good manager, who needs to be given the time to properly implement the project. The home form has been dreadful, and is the main reason for the fans being on his back. If we had the same points and in the same league position only with our away wins coming at home instead then there would be a lot less fans on his back. I don't think anyone can argue with this and if you feel you can then clearly your expectations are unrealistic. At the start of the season 99% on this site said they would be happy with a comfortable midtable finish. We are in a comfortable midtable position right now. We are a team that clearly lacks creativity in midfield, but we have pace and power up front. So Lambert has simply set us up to play to that strength. Defend deep draw the opponents on to us and hit them on the counter. The problem is this doesn't work against teams around our level when playing at home. The reason we win more games when we have less possession is a clear indicator that our countering tactic is working, which is why we are 11th when on NET money spent over the last 2 season we are probably 17th or 18th in the league. The comments about the FA cup were bull, Lambert never said do without, he simply stated the obvious that The premier league is more important! Why because if we get relegated but win the cup like wigan it puts us in a WORSE position, where we would be right back at the beginning of the rebuild, instead of halfway through, only with less money to spend! VILLA namely the OWNER, CEO and MANAGER have taken a LONG TERM approach to rebuilding the squad and moving up the table, because to owner is not willing the be the clubs sugar daddy, he wants the club to stand on it own two feet! There is nothing wrong with this! If Lambert gets sacked now things will be MUCH worse! What top manager would want to manage a team that has no money to spend and whose fans boo their team at home if we aren't winning! Every halftime if we are drawing or losing BOOOOOOOO! It disgusts me! Get behind your team! These lads bust a gut almost every game! Until Benteke and then Vlaar got injured people were pretty satisfied (apart from the home form). We have had most of the season so far with Benteke out of form, Our new tasty looking CB out injured for the season, Then Vlaar gets injured and now Kozak (who has struggled to adapt but still got a almost goal every other game ratio) breaks his leg! Terrible luck with injuries to our best players, not to mention Gabby has missed a few and is probably carrying a couple of knocks. Lambert's record with transfers is solid, the players he has signed as a collective are worth more now then what we paid for them, he has got the wage down, and is preserving our premier league status, more than that at this stage is unrealistic. Compare this December / Jan period with last seasons, there is a clear improvement in results and league position. This team is a Benteke goal and sustained return to fitness of Vlaar away from a run of sustained positive results. We are going through a bad patch this happens with young teams, hell this happens with all premier league teams that aren't top 8 quality! And our Home form is one quality creative playmaker and a quality attacking mid of being turned around. Our defensive resilience this season (combined with the excellent work ethic) has meant we are very rarely out of any match, it certainly isn't pretty to watch but the foundation is there, the right midfielder and attacking midfielder in and we will have a good first team with everyone fit, with young hardworking and improving players to come in. This is the best first week of Jan league position we have had since MON's last season in charge, things are definitely improving albeit slowly, but slow and steady is fine because what the club needs more than anything is stability and we will destroy the little bit of stability we has got if we sack the manager now!. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GENTLEMAN Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) Good post Philosopher, I agree with the majority of it. Edited January 5, 2014 by GENTLEMAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) I'm through with him... was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt but not anymore. We're shit and not getting any better. I keep hearing of this 5 year plan but just giving someone time doesn't guarantee success at the end. The bulk of his signings aren't good enough and our home form is unacceptable. He made his comments about the FA Cup and while he may have this view privately, he shouldn't have broadcast it. He's left with egg on his face now that we have been knocked out at home by a struggling lower division team. The FA Cup is the oldest and grandest cup competition in the world and Lambert should have embraced that. It was the only chance we have of a bit of excitement this season and a good run can give the club a boost. I thought after an abysmal start to last season and all manner of records broken for shitness. culminating in the Bradford debacle, we had appeared to look a bit better towards the end of the season. Yet this season we have backwards in terms of quality on the pitch. I can accept losing games but its the manner of defeat. I think we're very lucky to be where we are in the league, which owes a fair degree to luck (some of our victories have been outright robberies) and the poor standard of the league. I think we'll survive this year but can't see any improvement in what we are doing. Time for a change. Edited January 5, 2014 by Xela 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacbuddies Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Oh no, here come the STABILITY POLICE again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I reckon West Ham will sack Big Sam after this result so they will be looking for new manager... seems other clubs are sacking managers I doubt it. The team selection shows he didnt give a shit about the cup and he has form for this when he was at Bolton. They also have the league cup semi final next week to focus on and trying to stay up. Gold and Sullivan seem to be fairly patient with managers and I still think they will just about stay up. But I dread to think of what the west ham forum are like at the moment- would make this a haven of postivity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GENTLEMAN Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Oh no, here come the STABILITY POLICE again! Oh no, here comes the reactionaries again! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isa Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I reckon Big Sam is the next one. They are really going down unless something special happens Sacking Allardyce not special enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshVilla Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I reckon West Ham will sack Big Sam after this result so they will be looking for new manager... seems other clubs are sacking managers If Lerner was chairman he'd be given a contract extension Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markavfc40 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 And his remit was building a squad, he was given 40m to do this, 7m on Benteke, 4m Kozak and 4m Okore is 15m, 13 players left for 25m, that is 2m per player, that is building a squad to win the championship. We needed players of quality who are worth around double that, if you want to build a premiership squad you are looking at at least 60m. I don't think anyone would dispute that Lambert has not been blessed with huge funds for fees and wages. What he has been given though is around 40 million and a wage budget to work within that was always going to mean he couldn't bring in quantity as well as quality. There was a balance to be struck and it was a tough task. Having said the above I think he could have spent the money more wisely. Did he need to spend 5 million on both Bennett and Luna when we had Lichaj and Stevens who are of the same standard. Did we need to continue to pay Hutton 30k+ a week and then bring in Lowton who again looks no better. Did we need to spend between 6 and 8 million on bringing in both Kozak and Helenius during the summer. The squad needed numbers but there was no point signing players who are simply way below the required standard to play at this level and hoping you can develop them into being good enough. We could have used more of our youth team for that. Lambert needed to bring in some experienced proven quality 18 months ago. He didn't. He had another opportunity to do the same in the summer. He didn't. The money spent on Tonev, Helenius and Luna during the summer would have been better spent on Barry or someone of that ilk. It now seems the penny has dropped for him at last that you can't build a Premiership team made up solely of players unproven and lacking experience in a top level league. This is now a massive window for the club. Failure to make the right signings now could well cost Lambert his job and much more importantly could see us relegated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 And his remit was building a squad, he was given 40m to do this, 7m on Benteke, 4m Kozak and 4m Okore is 15m, 13 players left for 25m, that is 2m per player, that is building a squad to win the championship. We needed players of quality who are worth around double that, if you want to build a premiership squad you are looking at at least 60m. I don't think anyone would dispute that Lambert has not been blessed with huge funds for fees and wages. What he has been given though is around 40 million and a wage budget to work within that was always going to mean he couldn't bring in quantity as well as quality. There was a balance to be struck and it was a tough task. Having said the above I think he could have spent the money more wisely. Did he need to spend 5 million on both Bennett and Luna when we had Lichaj and Stevens who are of the same standard. Did we need to continue to pay Hutton 30k+ a week and then bring in Lowton who again looks no better. Did we need to spend between 6 and 8 million on bringing in both Kozak and Helenius during the summer. The squad needed numbers but there was no point signing players who are simply way below the required standard to play at this level and hoping you can develop them into being good enough. We could have used more of our youth team for that. Lambert needed to bring in some experienced proven quality 18 months ago. He didn't. He had another opportunity to do the same in the summer. He didn't. The money spent on Tonev, Helenius and Luna during the summer would have been better spent on Barry or someone of that ilk. It now seems the penny has dropped for him at last that you can't build a Premiership team made up solely of players unproven and lacking experience in a top level league. This is now a massive window for the club. Failure to make the right signings now could well cost Lambert his job and much more importantly could see us relegated. Again, I think Luna and Bennett need to be seen in a team that is not facing 60-70% possession, they are under constant attack and part of the problem is the inability of our attacking players to keep the ball, or to use it wisely. This is causing us to face an incredible amount of attacks - where mistakes will happen. When something is relentless you will not hold off for long long periods. Secondly, Stevens and Lichaj are two of the worst full backs I have seen, Luna and Bennett's mistakes do not make these two good enough either. If anything perhaps none of them should be at the club - but we should also see what the two current full backs can do when the pressure is not on us constantly, after all, even last seasons top performer Lowton is struggling under the immense pressure caused by us having nobody who will keep the ball. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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