Wainy316 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 It wasn't until I finished my first season on career mode on FIFA that I was like, shit Bennett, Tonev, Sylla and Helenius are all still Villa players! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 based on what he's had to deal with I think the transfer market has been utilised well. There have been inexpensive gambles that haven't worked out, but for low cost at a time when RL was even more keen on cutting the expenditure and we needed numbers. Westwood has proved to be a very good buy Benteke - outstanding Cissokho - very solidSenderos - better than any of us expected Vlaar - good value for money Kozak - very unfortunate with his injuries, had certainly showed some utility for the side before being injured Guzan - some will dispute this - but he had the choice not to re-sign him, but he did sign him, so he is an acquisition that counts for me, as he soon then replaced Given in the line up early on that season. Okore - again very unlucky with a long term injury but showing signs now of the talent that could see him be a great player for the club Sanchez - jury is still out, but I think many people accept he is developing game by game, and come the season's end may have shown himself to be very valuable, still a way to go so can't say either way yet Cleverley - I like him, others less so, but he's certainly not a flop, and if he does deteriorate in performance we don't have to buy him. Personally I think he has been useful and is improvingRichardson - cheap but solid and done better than expected when he's started. Not amazing, but certainly no flop Joe Cole - a cheap gamble, who but for a penalty almost won us 3 points in one of his limited showing's so far. Unlikely to feature heavily, but given the apparent deal is structured on appearances, not expensive, and a useful option in the squad, not a flop Bacuna - cheap, in his first full season he had good and bad games, now out of favour it seems, pushed down the order by better players, but has scored big goals for us before, and for the money paid, again not a flop, he has simply been replaced with upgrades. Lowton - looks to be a failure now, but his first season did show some promise, for whatever reason something's gone on, and I suspect he'll be moved on. Has scored two memorable belters, and any loss on his transfer fee would be negligible at best. Bennett - yup, failure. Not been good enough. Steer - back up goalie, young for the future, clearly wasn't bought for now, so can't call one way or another yet. Helenius - failed - possibly suffered some serious issues last year, we don't know all the details, but either way even when fit didn't add enough to the team to be selectable, but a cheap failure. Sylla - ok failed hasn't been good Bowery - failed but cheap. There's no multimillion write-offs here. Very much agree. Senderos and Richardson were free, we need to take that into account with how well they've done for the squad. Sanchez and Cleverly it's too early to tell but both are first team players now so deserve credit for results where they have played and results going foraward. Bacuna, was cheap, is being paid low wages and did a job and is still young. Lowton was great in first season, lost his way last season. But for what £3mil ?? A line goes through Helenius, hope he is doing well back home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor. That's a good strike rate that. Especially given all of those marked as "poor" cost peanuts. Also; jury it's still out on a few of those, they could improve or go the opposite way. Maybe too early to call Okore excellent, conversely Senderos and Cole were better than OK in unfortunately fleeting glimpses. Still, very good work in the market IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jenko#4 Posted December 11, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted December 11, 2014 based on what he's had to deal with I think the transfer market has been utilised well. There have been inexpensive gambles that haven't worked out, but for low cost at a time when RL was even more keen on cutting the expenditure and we needed numbers. Westwood has proved to be a very good buy Benteke - outstanding Cissokho - very solid Senderos - better than any of us expected Vlaar - good value for money Kozak - very unfortunate with his injuries, had certainly showed some utility for the side before being injured Guzan - some will dispute this - but he had the choice not to re-sign him, but he did sign him, so he is an acquisition that counts for me, as he soon then replaced Given in the line up early on that season. Okore - again very unlucky with a long term injury but showing signs now of the talent that could see him be a great player for the club Sanchez - jury is still out, but I think many people accept he is developing game by game, and come the season's end may have shown himself to be very valuable, still a way to go so can't say either way yet Cleverley - I like him, others less so, but he's certainly not a flop, and if he does deteriorate in performance we don't have to buy him. Personally I think he has been useful and is improving Richardson - cheap but solid and done better than expected when he's started. Not amazing, but certainly no flop Joe Cole - a cheap gamble, who but for a penalty almost won us 3 points in one of his limited showing's so far. Unlikely to feature heavily, but given the apparent deal is structured on appearances, not expensive, and a useful option in the squad, not a flop Bacuna - cheap, in his first full season he had good and bad games, now out of favour it seems, pushed down the order by better players, but has scored big goals for us before, and for the money paid, again not a flop, he has simply been replaced with upgrades. Lowton - looks to be a failure now, but his first season did show some promise, for whatever reason something's gone on, and I suspect he'll be moved on. Has scored two memorable belters, and any loss on his transfer fee would be negligible at best. Bennett - yup, failure. Not been good enough. Steer - back up goalie, young for the future, clearly wasn't bought for now, so can't call one way or another yet. Helenius - failed - possibly suffered some serious issues last year, we don't know all the details, but either way even when fit didn't add enough to the team to be selectable, but a cheap failure. Sylla - ok failed hasn't been good Bowery - failed but cheap. There's no multimillion write-offs here. I'd pretty much agree with this. Depending on where you get the figures from Lambert has only spent above £3m on 6 players (Benteke, Vlaar, Kozak, Sanchez, Lowton and Okore) and I would say of them only one has been a flop (Lowton). When he has money to spend he generally does well, Also, he confirmed his interest in Tadic 2years ago, which if given the money, would probably have been the missing piece of the jigsaw. QPR and Hull went out and bought Caulker (8m), Fer (8m), Livermore (8m) and Snodgrass (7m) in the summer, all more expensive than Lambert's highest fee, and in my opinion not much better than what we managed to get in for £6m million combined in Sanchez, Cissokho, Richardson, Senderos and Cole. When you are spending the change down the back of the sofa on players like Sylla, Helenius, Luna, Bacuna etc to fill out your squad you are always taking a massive gamble. Those 4 cost about £5m combined, yet they are not on massive wages, and arguably we'd make a profit if we sold them. If, hopefully, QPR go down, then how hard is going to be to recoup any of the Caulker and Fer money? Lamberts transfer dealings are not a stick to beat him with at all, I just wish he'd been given more money to find the next Benteke or Okore. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor. So to list out the poor Lowton, Bennett, Luna, Sylla, KEA, Helenius, Steer, Tonev, Bowery. I'd disagree. I'd say Lowton and KEA were OK over the course of the 2 years 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapal_fan Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 People are forgetting Elhamidi (sp) who I thought was a very decent player for us last year. I think we missed him when we went 6 losses earlier this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 People are forgetting Elhamidi (sp) who I thought was a very decent player for us last year. I think we missed him when we went 6 losses earlier this season. Who do you think KEA is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexbelowsound Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor. So to list out the poor Lowton, Bennett, Luna, Sylla, KEA, Helenius, Steer, Tonev, Bowery. I'd disagree. I'd say Lowton and KEA were OK over the course of the 2 years I'd second that. I'd also potentially move Sylla up, Maybe, just because he contributed to our decent run at the back end of the first season. Edited December 11, 2014 by sexbelowsound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oaks Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor. So to list out the poor Lowton, Bennett, Luna, Sylla, KEA, Helenius, Steer, Tonev, Bowery. I'd disagree. I'd say Lowton and KEA were OK over the course of the 2 years I'd second that. I'd also potentially move Sylla up, Maybe, just because he contributed to our decent run at the back end of the first season. Na Sylla is one of the worst players I've ever seen play...seriously awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexbelowsound Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor. So to list out the poor Lowton, Bennett, Luna, Sylla, KEA, Helenius, Steer, Tonev, Bowery. I'd disagree. I'd say Lowton and KEA were OK over the course of the 2 years I'd second that. I'd also potentially move Sylla up, Maybe, just because he contributed to our decent run at the back end of the first season. Na Sylla is one of the worst players I've ever seen play...seriously awful. Yeah he is pretty poor. I just feel that he contributed well during that period. For some reason going into the second season he looked exactly like what he was, a second division French player. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor. That's a good strike rate that. Especially given all of those marked as "poor" cost peanuts. Also; jury it's still out on a few of those, they could improve or go the opposite way. Maybe too early to call Okore excellent, conversely Senderos and Cole were better than OK in unfortunately fleeting glimpses. Still, very good work in the market IMO. Yeah I think he's signed some good players. Its his failure to get consistent results and performances out of them that has frustrated me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHV Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor. So to list out the poor Lowton, Bennett, Luna, Sylla, KEA, Helenius, Steer, Tonev, Bowery. I'd disagree. I'd say Lowton and KEA were OK over the course of the 2 years Lowton was okay in his first season, but utter wank ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post markavfc40 Posted December 11, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) So who do you think was better in this regard? Houllier? McLeish? O'Neill? Because I think Lambert has done better than any of them in terms of what he has got for the money he has spent. I agree. I have been critical of Lambert in terms of the way he has set us up to play and his tactical nous but one thing I can’t criticise him for is his transfer dealings. Given what he has had to spend I think he has done very well. Obviously Benteke is the jewel in the crown but given what he paid for them I’d say Westwood, Vlaar and Cissokho are exceptional bits of business and although it is early days Okore and Sanchez could soon follow them into that bracket. I also think that Lowton was a steal based on his first season form but as can happen he seems to have gone off the boil . He could come again though. Of the rest most have proven their worth and if we do lose on any of them it won’t be for much. Edited December 11, 2014 by markavfc40 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor.That's a good strike rate that. Especially given all of those marked as "poor" cost peanuts. Also; jury it's still out on a few of those, they could improve or go the opposite way. Maybe too early to call Okore excellent, conversely Senderos and Cole were better than OK in unfortunately fleeting glimpses. Still, very good work in the market IMO. Yeah I think he's signed some good players. Its his failure to get consistent results and performances out of them that has frustrated me. Totally agree. I'm personally trying to get out of the habit of saying "I'm no Lambert fan BUT..." every time I praise him for something. It's tricky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Same for me. In fact I can't think of a prenmier manager who has bought better, particularly for the outlay and wages, than Lambert, over the last few years. What's more they don't seem to have been widely 'known' in the sense of being obvious buys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I'd say benteke, okore and guzan are in the excellent catergory. Westwood, vlaar, cissokho, cleverley anf sanchez are in the good category. Cole, senderos, Richardson, bacuna and kozak are in the OK category The rest are poor. That's a good strike rate that. Especially given all of those marked as "poor" cost peanuts. Also; jury it's still out on a few of those, they could improve or go the opposite way. Maybe too early to call Okore excellent, conversely Senderos and Cole were better than OK in unfortunately fleeting glimpses. Still, very good work in the market IMO. Yeah I think he's signed some good players. Its his failure to get consistent results and performances out of them that has frustrated me. I agree, the key to the frustration some fans such as yourself have had is that he's signed good players but still not got consistent performances So who do you think was better in this regard? Houllier? McLeish? O'Neill? Because I think Lambert has done better than any of them in terms of what he has got for the money he has spent. I agree. I have been critical of Lambert in terms of the way he has set us up to play and his tactical nous but one thing I can’t criticise him for is his transfer dealings. Given what he has had to spend I think he has done very well. Obviously Benteke is the jewel in the crown but given what he paid for them I’d say Westwood, Vlaar and Cissokho are exceptional bits of business and although it is early days Okore and Sanchez could soon follow them into that bracket. I also think that Lowton was a steal based on his first season form but as can happen he seems to have gone off the boil . He could come again though. Of the rest most have proven their worth and if we do lose on any of them it won’t be for much. Especially given we all wanted to have Clark euthanised based on last seasons form and look at him now. It would be interesting to see how Lowton would have fared in the past few games had hutton been inured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Whats also excellent is this year we've had lots of troubles, end of last season and the 6 game losing streak this season and yet he's never lost the dressing room. Not even a rumour of discontent. He even managed to stay on good terms with Alan Hutton despite freezing him out, testament to both of them tbh. A manager losing the dressing room is how teams implode and get relegated. Lambert has never managed a team where he's not had limited finanaces. It'll be interesting next summer if he has a decent season and is given the cash. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Good lord. Are my eyes deceiving me? There seems to be accord on Villatalk that Lambert's transfer dealings have been very good! One hurdle crossed. Now you just need to all agree with me that he is the best manager we have had in 30 years and we'll be fine and dandy Seriously his ability to operate well in the transfer market given the restrictions he has had is one of the main reasons I feel that way about him as I do not believe any other manager we have had would have been able to operate that way (obviously proportionately to the time they managed us) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dn1982 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I don't understand this lets have some solidity until the summer stuff. It's Lamberts 3rd year he's had enough time to get the sqaud his it's now time to progress. In the summer we will likely lose Delph Vlaar and Benteke what do you then say next season? That's we are in transition? Football changes very quickly that's why 5'year plans are stupid. You have to progress at every opportunity. If we develop a style of play that's good to watch and brings results we'll have a lot better chance of getting our star players to stay and attracting others. Who wants to play in a boring struggling side that doesn't improve?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenko#4 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 There definitely seems to be a bit less animosity towards the guy over the last couple of weeks. I think the below image sums up perfectly how I feel about him at the moment- 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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