Mantis Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) If Benteke does find form then the bottom 3 will eat our dust. We've got to 11th with a passenger up front. Vlaar is also key. Without him we look bottom 3. If Vlaar stays fit I think we'll finish comfortably mid-table, with or without an on-form Benteke. Our record with him in the side is pretty decent. Edited January 17, 2014 by Mantis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa-revolution Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 There is an old saying & it's a true one: `You are only as good as your last game.` Based on that & the other Premier League teams performances of last weekend I would say mid table is about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) There is another old saying : "don't count your chickens before they have hatched" we just need to target avoiding the drop.....the rest is a bonus. after,2 wins at home to date, thats my expectation. Edited January 18, 2014 by TRO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh621 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Harder and harder to defend him with financial constraints. Signed 2 lbs and 4 strikers and yet here we are in January bringing in a striker and a lb. Its become clear he's not spent his limited budget well. 4 strikers: 1 was a brilliant signing; 1 was decent but has a broken leg; 1 cost nothing and is being introduced slowly; The other one cost less than nothing. 2 lb's: Both young and cheap: Hello? Financial constraints! Why not consider the facts a bit better before allowing your agenda to write your posts for you? A really good post The lack of funds is making some lose perspective - In the past players like Bowery would have come and gone without barely a mention. Bowery, Helenius, Luna and Bennett were all signed for about the same cost as Warnock but unlike Warnock we will get our money back and more. Players have been bought in to do a job - steadying the ship and retaining our premier league status. From next season I expect two or three 'Bertrand-level' permanent signings each window. Patience No one thinks he's had it easy and no one expects him to be perfect in the transfer market. But at the same time you can't just dismiss poor transfers and excuse it. Kind of a win win for Lambert in your eyes. Picks up a bargain, he's great in the transfer market. Signs a dud, no problem he hasn't got much money. Hardly seems a balanced view. And all these cheap mistakes start adding up to one expensive one. We're a professional sports club yet we class our failures not costing much as some sort of success while we perform terribly on the pitch. This is very true. Gotta say though he has a team around him full of scouts, couches etc etc he can't scout and train all by himself! Although he has people under him following his 'philosophy' he still entrusts other people to do things for him and take their own jobs in their hands. Not making excuses for him I'm just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh621 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) If Benteke does find form then the bottom 3 will eat our dust. We've got to 11th with a passenger up front. Vlaar is also key. Without him we look bottom 3. If Vlaar stays fit I think we'll finish comfortably mid-table, with or without an on-form Benteke. Our record with him in the side is pretty decent. Gotta agree with this! People are getting worried about the tough run of fixtures and will inevitably slate the team and lambert for losses that are expected to come but then we play the teams that we should/have to be beating and that should take us back up the table! Edited January 18, 2014 by tomh621 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3te Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Are they just performing poorly or are they actually worse than us? I'd say some are worse and some are performing badly. Were performing badly too and still she'd of the other teams performing badly. Surely that's something in itself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post villa-revolution Posted January 18, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 18, 2014 Give Lambert some credit. He has been so unfortunate with injuries this season it's unreal. For God sake people we have even lost Nathan Baker to the 5 day ruling on concussion. Lambo invested heavily in the Summer on Okore & Kozak.We have even lost a big player in Vlaar due to calf problems. Did Lambert inflict these injuries on them himself? Get real people. Lambert 110% In. Paul lambert's Claret & Blue Army. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers13 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) Before you write off this post and says stats are bullshit, blah blah blah, everyone uses stats. Most of the people that have an issue with Lambert cite the lack of possession as the main reason why, and possession is a stat. A lot of people who studies stats in soccer say there is a higher correlation between the number of shots you take compared to your opponent, because that's a closer estimate to how many chances you create, as opposed to how much you merely have the ball, which can be largely meaningless. (Having the ball is good, but shots and chances and hopefully is the object of having the ball) This is shown in something called TSR, which is total shots ratio. TSR is calculated simply by doing shots for/total shots in your games. Not surprisingly, the top nine teams in TSR this year are also the top nine in the standings, although United are the last of the nine. Anyway, getting back to VIlla, they've taken 47% of the total shots in their games this year. That's not amazing, but it actually is 12th in the league. Swansea and WBA are the two sides below Villa with higher TSR's (not surprising given Swansea's strength and West Brom's number of hard luck results under Steve Clarke this year) So using this metric, which has a very high correlation with results, Villa have been 12th best in the league this year. The season hasn't been perfect, and I've been more disappointed than anyone in Lambert's tactical change from "all out attack" (as I heard it described from Norwich fans) to a lot of longball and defensive football. However, Villa shouldn't go down or even be near a relegation battle, because even with the number of injuries and out of form players, the team is still 10th in the table and 12th in TSR. Given this and the financial constraints, sacking Lambert would be ludicrous.. He hasn't been perfect, and the transfer work has been disappointing, but overall he's done a good job, and is still a very good manager. One added thing, though it's purely speculation, it seems reasonable to think the side will be more attacking in the second half of this season. Last year, the first half of the year contained a lot of long ball (Reading at home stands out), and even some clean sheets. In the second half of the season, the side became much more attacking, and I don't think a similar switch can be ruled out this year. Edited January 18, 2014 by Rovers13 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstonMartin82 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Before you write off this post and says stats are bullshit, blah blah blah, everyone uses stats. Most of the people that have an issue with Lambert cite the lack of possession as the main reason why, and possession is a stat. A lot of people who studies stats in soccer say there is a higher correlation between the number of shots you take compared to your opponent, because that's a closer estimate to how many chances you create, as opposed to how much you merely have the ball, which can be largely meaningless. (Having the ball is good, but shots and chances and hopefully is the object of having the ball) This is shown in something called TSR, which is total shots ratio. TSR is calculated simply by doing shots for/total shots in your games. Not surprisingly, the top nine teams in TSR this year are also the top nine in the standings, although United are the last of the nine. Anyway, getting back to VIlla, they've taken 47% of the total shots in their games this year. That's not amazing, but it actually is 12th in the league. Swansea and WBA are the two sides below Villa with higher TSR's (not surprising given Swansea's strength and West Brom's number of hard luck results under Steve Clarke this year) So using this metric, which has a very high correlation with results, Villa have been 12th best in the league this year. The season hasn't been perfect, and I've been more disappointed than anyone in Lambert's tactical change from "all out attack" (as I heard it described from Norwich fans) to a lot of longball and defensive football. However, Villa shouldn't go down or even be near a relegation battle, because even with the number of injuries and out of form players, the team is still 10th in the table and 12th in TSR. Given this and the financial constraints, sacking Lambert would be ludicrous.. He hasn't been perfect, and the transfer work has been disappointing, but overall he's done a good job, and is still a very good manager. One added thing, though it's purely speculation, it seems reasonable to think the side will be more attacking in the second half of this season. Last year, the first half of the year contained a lot of long ball (Reading at home stands out), and even some clean sheets. In the second half of the season, the side became much more attacking, and I don't think a similar switch can be ruled out this year. I created this a few weeks ago... I support Lambert fully but possession needs to improve dramatically next season - TSR or no TSR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lions_Roar Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 People seem to think they be happy if we played nice football but lost games, this wouldn't be the case. I just can't see any sense in sacking him now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Villa were defensively shocking last season. Lambert went out and addressed that by buying a left back and centre back. We've not seen any improvement at left back so he's re-addressed that. The centre back area has improved but ONLY when Vlaar plays. Given his injury history, I would be very disappointed if Lambert failed to bring cover in at centre during this window. That's my biggest concern with the team going into the last half of the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lions_Roar Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Its a tough one, he could try and bring a centre back in on loan. We'll obviously have okore coming back for next season leaving baker and Clarke as decent back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaCas Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Villa were defensively shocking last season. Lambert went out and addressed that by buying a left back and centre back. We've not seen any improvement at left back so he's re-addressed that. The centre back area has improved but ONLY when Vlaar plays. Given his injury history, I would be very disappointed if Lambert failed to bring cover in at centre during this window. That's my biggest concern with the team going into the last half of the season. I don't think he will bring in Cb cover.....Okore should be back soon but anyway I think we have no funds to buy better than what is already here and I can't see a loan possibility out there who is achievable either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted January 18, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted January 18, 2014 Villa were defensively shocking last season. Lambert went out and addressed that by buying a left back and centre back. We've not seen any improvement at left back so he's re-addressed that. The centre back area has improved but ONLY when Vlaar plays. Given his injury history, I would be very disappointed if Lambert failed to bring cover in at centre during this window. That's my biggest concern with the team going into the last half of the season. I don't think he will bring in Cb cover.....Okore should be back soon but anyway I think we have no funds to buy better than what is already here and I can't see a loan possibility out there who is achievable either Okore shouldn't be back soon, He did his anterior cruciate ligament and will be out till April at least. If not they are rushing him back a bit too much! He'll most problem be on a weghtless running machine and in the pool a lot, but he definitely won't be kicking a ball for a while. Unless there are some miracle workers on the Villa medical staff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lions_Roar Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Yeah I'd rather we just didn't expect him back this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted January 18, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 18, 2014 More of that please Paul. Then we can close this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raymond Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 This thread does not exist if we played like that more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshVilla Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) We were amazing in the first half with 60% + possession but yet again in the second half we lost our discipline and composure then reverted to hoof ball I do not know if it was the players panicking because Liverpool were attacking or it was the inclusion of Holt which signaled the team to be lazy and just hoof it up to the big men but it was frustrating Either way blaming Lambert for either would be harsh and if you asked me if i would have taken a point today i would have bit your hand off He gets a well done from me but i want us to be like this on a consistent basis and take it into the next game Edited January 18, 2014 by AshVilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Superb first half but so frustrating we don't attempt to play like that more often. More like that please lambert. Thought the holt sub was the wrong choice but got to be happy with the performance and result, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) Absolutely spot on today. You really should change the name of this thread Mods. It's just another Paul Lambert thread Edited January 18, 2014 by Spoony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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