Paul Lambert

[Dodgyknees]

Awww someone doesn't get sarcasm.

 

Apparently it is the lowest form of wit.

 

On a positive note, delighted with todays game. We have really started to set out to win and not just to contain/hit and hope. Long may it continue

[Villarocker]

Really liking our new style of play, its quite refreshing. However, whenever we have a good portion of the ball sometimes we seem to struggle what to do with it.

Something we have struggled with for the last 5 years. Lambert either needs to give grealish a chance or buy a no 10 in January because Joe cole will play about 42 minutes this season with his injury trouble

Is that 14 x 3 minute appearances or 3 X 14?

[markavfc40]

You have to give credit where it is due and fair play to Lambert after a terrible run of results we have both picked up points and put in some very good performances.

I felt at the start of the season that he had done really well in assembling our best squad for the last 3-4 years and had done it on a limited budget. Over the course of the season we have also looked much more solid at the back and over the last half dozen or so games have played some decent football and kept the ball much better. Even though it should be a given it has also been great to see in recent games a real determination from the players to dig in and to a man put a real shift in.

I do still worry that under Lambert another extended run of dire results may not be a million miles away but maybe just maybe we are now seeing a chink of light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel and I am very hopeful that we will be well clear of relegation come the last coupe of months of the season. We can then look for a comfortable mid table finish and a positive end to a season and something to build on. Here's hoping.

Edited December 20, 2014 by markavfc40

[Dodgyknees]

Can anybody work out what has happened?

 

I guess it is simple, Lambert has realised 'plan a' was not working, right?

 

It's more than Benteke returning. He isn't dictating the fact that we are passing it from the back, players aren't giving the ball away and there is now movement. Such a change.

 

The fact is, last season with Benteke in the team we were playing Stoke tactics of hoof it to him. Where-as now we seem to have more than one option and are doing a lot more than just hit and hope, or trying to counter all of the time! We are seeing the rewards too, we look like we might score goals in each game.

 

Answered my own question I think.

[The_Lions_Roar]

You have to give credit where it is due and fair play to Lambert after a terrible run of results we have both picked up points and put in some very good performances.

I felt at the start of the season that he had done really well in assembling our best squad for the last 3-4 years and had done it on a limited budget. Over the course of the season we have also looked much more solid at the back and over the last half dozen or so games have played some decent football and kept the ball much better. Even though it should be a given it has also been great to see in recent games a real determination from the players to dig in and to a man put a real shift in.

I do still worry that under Lambert another extended run of dire results may not be a million miles away but maybe just maybe we are now seeing a chink of light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel and I am very hopeful that we will be well clear of relegation come the last coupe of months of the season. We can then look for a comfortable mid table finish and a positive end to a season and something to build on. Here's hoping.

But hasn't our terrible run of results this season come against last seasons top 5? Hardly a terrible run of results, a terrible run of fixtures.

[Keyblade]

Can anybody work out what has happened?

 

I guess it is simple, Lambert has realised 'plan a' was not working, right?

 

It's more than Benteke returning. He isn't dictating the fact that we are passing it from the back, players aren't giving the ball away and there is now movement. Such a change.

 

The fact is, last season with Benteke in the team we were playing Stoke tactics of hoof it to him. Where-as now we seem to have more than one option and are doing a lot more than just hit and hope, or trying to counter all of the time! We are seeing the rewards too, we look like we might score goals in each game.

 

Answered my own question I think.

 

Begs the question why it took him this long to change things, but I'm not complaining.

[DCJonah]

Can anybody work out what has happened?

I guess it is simple, Lambert has realised 'plan a' was not working, right?

It's more than Benteke returning. He isn't dictating the fact that we are passing it from the back, players aren't giving the ball away and there is now movement. Such a change.

The fact is, last season with Benteke in the team we were playing Stoke tactics of hoof it to him. Where-as now we seem to have more than one option and are doing a lot more than just hit and hope, or trying to counter all of the time! We are seeing the rewards too, we look like we might score goals in each game.

Answered my own question I think.

Begs the question why it took him this long to change things, but I'm not complaining.

It really does and it seems such a strange point. You'd think something like that would be implemented during a pre season where it can be worked on. Like you say i'm not complaining because this is what i've wanted to see. I believe this team is capable of playing better than we have for the last 3 years and it's nice to see some attempt to now do that. Edited December 21, 2014 by DCJonah

[piav_k4]

We've been a lot more adventurous going forward, it reminds me of the strong run at the end of Lambert's first season.

 

One thing that I can't get my head around is the way we deal with opposing wide men.

 

Lambert seems to like to play 1 v 1 with there wide man which means our fullbacks tends to be sitting ducks sometimes. The way the opposition used to stop Ashley Young for us was to double up on him.

 

We just don't seem to do it. It's as if Lambert is happy for the cross to come in and to deal with it. 

[TrentVilla]

You can't double up on two wide players at the same time as closing up the centre of the pitch. Lambert went for the later and opted to trust three CB's to deal with the crosses and I think he got it right.

[sexbelowsound]

We've been a lot more adventurous going forward, it reminds me of the strong run at the end of Lambert's first season.

 

One thing that I can't get my head around is the way we deal with opposing wide men.

 

Lambert seems to like to play 1 v 1 with there wide man which means our fullbacks tends to be sitting ducks sometimes. The way the opposition used to stop Ashley Young for us was to double up on him.

 

We just don't seem to do it. It's as if Lambert is happy for the cross to come in and to deal with it. 

 

Every formation or style of play has its pros and cons. In reality Lambert got it bang on yesterday. We got caught one time, yes it resulted in a goal but you take that risk. Aly had a great game on the other side especially when Sanchez moved across to support. I think Lowton was left exposed at times but I think if that was Hutton there its not an issue.

[Harry]

 

 

Can anybody work out what has happened?

I guess it is simple, Lambert has realised 'plan a' was not working, right?

It's more than Benteke returning. He isn't dictating the fact that we are passing it from the back, players aren't giving the ball away and there is now movement. Such a change.

The fact is, last season with Benteke in the team we were playing Stoke tactics of hoof it to him. Where-as now we seem to have more than one option and are doing a lot more than just hit and hope, or trying to counter all of the time! We are seeing the rewards too, we look like we might score goals in each game.

Answered my own question I think.

Begs the question why it took him this long to change things, but I'm not complaining.

It really does and it seems such a strange point. You'd think something like that would be implemented during a pre season where it can be worked on. Like you say i'm not complaining because this is what i've wanted to see. I believe this team is capable of playing better than we have for the last 3 years and it's nice to see some attempt to now do that.

 

Completely agree. The biggest frustration with Lambert is the way he blindly stuck to his hit and hope tactics. I know the correlation of the poor run against the top sides gets trotted out as an excuse but that ignores us losing games or playing ineptly against weaker opposition. I still think he is not the long term manager for us but its nice to see him attempting to do his job better.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Harry

[markavfc40]

 

You have to give credit where it is due and fair play to Lambert after a terrible run of results we have both picked up points and put in some very good performances.

I felt at the start of the season that he had done really well in assembling our best squad for the last 3-4 years and had done it on a limited budget. Over the course of the season we have also looked much more solid at the back and over the last half dozen or so games have played some decent football and kept the ball much better. Even though it should be a given it has also been great to see in recent games a real determination from the players to dig in and to a man put a real shift in.

I do still worry that under Lambert another extended run of dire results may not be a million miles away but maybe just maybe we are now seeing a chink of light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel and I am very hopeful that we will be well clear of relegation come the last coupe of months of the season. We can then look for a comfortable mid table finish and a positive end to a season and something to build on. Here's hoping.

But hasn't our terrible run of results this season come against last seasons top 5? Hardly a terrible run of results, a terrible run of fixtures.

 

 

I've certainly never denied it was a tough run of fixtures. However those 6 defeats on the spin did include a defeat against the side at the time bottom of the table and an Everton side who have been out of sorts all season. It wasn't just the results either, it was the manner of some of those defeats that was also a worry. Of course it can't just be brushed under the carpet that that run of dire results was quickly on the back of a run of 1 win in 9 at the end of last season and some of the most gutless performances from a Villa side I can remember in my 30+ years following us.

However I don't think this is a time to be going back over old ground. Over the last half dozen games or so we have put in some very good performances whilst picking up points and Lambert deserves credit for that. In fact he deserves credit for a lot of things. He has put together a good squad of players in my opinion and a squad of players that is too good to be battling relegation. I feared due to the managers tactics though that we may well have faced another season of struggle. Given our performances over the last few weeks though I now don't think that will be the case.

I'm in a positive mood about where we are now but of course there are many things that can still be improved on. We need to be more creative and score more goals and I believe we have the players who can do that. For the first time during Lamberts time here we can now try to put that creative side in place on a solid base as defensively we now look well organized and assured.

This season I am confident we will be fine and be comfortably mid table come the arse end of the season. However we seem likely to lose 2 or 3 of our best players at the end of the season and that is a real crime as for the first time in years we look to have a spine of players we can build something around. In that regard I really feel for Lambert as having now put a decent squad of players together that should be built on he will see it substantially weakened.

Edited December 21, 2014 by markavfc40

[Stevo985]

Can anybody work out what has happened?

I guess it is simple, Lambert has realised 'plan a' was not working, right?

It's more than Benteke returning. He isn't dictating the fact that we are passing it from the back, players aren't giving the ball away and there is now movement. Such a change.

The fact is, last season with Benteke in the team we were playing Stoke tactics of hoof it to him. Where-as now we seem to have more than one option and are doing a lot more than just hit and hope, or trying to counter all of the time! We are seeing the rewards too, we look like we might score goals in each game.

Answered my own question I think.

Begs the question why it took him this long to change things, but I'm not complaining.

It really does and it seems such a strange point. You'd think something like that would be implemented during a pre season where it can be worked on. Like you say i'm not complaining because this is what i've wanted to see. I believe this team is capable of playing better than we have for the last 3 years and it's nice to see some attempt to now do that.

But we did change things. We came into this season more defensive.

I think that was a deliberate change to address the fact that our defence has been woeful for the past couple of seasons.

Its clear that while we have looked better defensively, it came with sacrifices, mainly us looking pretty toothless going forward.

I think he's now trying to address that and building from the back.

I know it'll get labeled as excuses. But that run of fixtures, plus the QPR game, really did us in. I'm not saying we've been amazing in all the other games, but the fact those fixtures all came in one chunk has made this season feel worse than it really is IMO.

We still need to score more goals. That much is obvious. But we've seen two significant shifts this season and I'm encouraged so far.

And I'll admit that after the QPR game I was joining the Lambert out train of thought. But I stuck to the "give him until Christmas" vote, and I think that's been the right choice.

[ozvillafan]

Best decision I have seen Lambert make was the double substitution today.

 

Not particularly fussed with N'Zogbia - he can't even stay onside when looking across the line - but the substitutions meant a much needed change of formation.

 

We went to a 4-4-1 with Clark on the left against Young. This gave us 2 extra set of legs in midfield (N'Zogbia and Bacuna) with the latter providing good cover for the struggling Lowton. That pretty much stifled any ManUre attacks and gave us an easier out ball, meaning they looked less threatening and we could occasionally have a go at them.

 

Compare that to the mastermind that is LVG. Has Young shredding Lowton and swaps him. Brilliant

[TRO]

 .....getting Benteke, Okore match fit and Sanchez acclimatising to the premier league has been a major fillip to our fortunes.

 

we need to target a bit of quality now in influential positions like a schemer

[TRO]

I think Bacuna could benefit from a run of games and I do think he can cause problems for the opposition....suspect the defensive side of his game could be dissuading the manager from playing him

Edited December 21, 2014 by TRO

[AntrimBlack]

 

 

Can anybody work out what has happened?

I guess it is simple, Lambert has realised 'plan a' was not working, right?

It's more than Benteke returning. He isn't dictating the fact that we are passing it from the back, players aren't giving the ball away and there is now movement. Such a change.

The fact is, last season with Benteke in the team we were playing Stoke tactics of hoof it to him. Where-as now we seem to have more than one option and are doing a lot more than just hit and hope, or trying to counter all of the time! We are seeing the rewards too, we look like we might score goals in each game.

Answered my own question I think.

Begs the question why it took him this long to change things, but I'm not complaining.

It really does and it seems such a strange point. You'd think something like that would be implemented during a pre season where it can be worked on. Like you say i'm not complaining because this is what i've wanted to see. I believe this team is capable of playing better than we have for the last 3 years and it's nice to see some attempt to now do that.

 

 

Agree with this. Does seem strange to change things at such a random point of the season. Possibly the change in coaching staff, and Lambert being more hands on?

If it works, however, all to the good.

[AntrimBlack]

The last couple of performances have been excellent, although I think he needs to stop using Agbonlahor and Nzogbia, who do not add sufficient to deserve inclusion.

But Lambert needs to keep up this standard of performance to convince doubters like me.

I will be very happy if he can do that.

It almost looks like he is starting to find his feet in the Premier League. And I do not mean that in a derogatory manner.

[7392craig]

Lambert joined Bayern Munich a couple of weeks ago to watch their training sessions and speak to Pep Guardiola. Could that possibly be the reason for the sudden change in style? They are famous for building from the back and keeping possession after all. Maybe Pep has given him some pointers and told Paul to stay away from the hoof ball. The difference the last couple of weeks has been quite drastic, playing diagonal balls, keeping it mostly on the floor, putting proper crosses in. Plus he utilizing Gabby as a striker at last, he's a constant threat when he's up front but apart from his work rate he offers little else in other positions, also he's stretching defenders to make space when Tekkers has the ball, something we haven't seen him do in a long time. I can only imagine all of these things are linked to Lambert's recent trip to Munich.

[VillaCas]

 

Completely agree. The biggest frustration with Lambert is the way he blindly stuck to his hit and hope tactics. I know the correlation of the poor run against the top sides gets trotted out as an excuse but that ignores us losing games or playing ineptly against weaker opposition. I still think he is not the long term manager for us but its nice to see him attempting to do his job better.

 

 

Do you really think that this is what has happened? He's been pissing around for two years and has had a sudden realisation that it will all improve if he just takes it a bit more seriously?