abdomlahor Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) I just find it so odd that ever since he had that conversation/meeting/whatever it was with Pep Guardiola, he seems to have gone through yet another little phase where his brand of football has changed. Make up your mind Paul. I get that adapting your philosophy and style of play is important, but that's only when it's actually been proven to be relatively successful. And when you do choose to change it, make sure you have the personnel to make it work. We do not have the personnel for the play he's attempting at the moment. I understand that the hoofball wasnt working, but at least it played to Benteke's strength. Right now all we're doing is making our defenders uncomfortable under pressure and wasting our best player. Edited January 3, 2015 by adz.villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 My main gripe with PL is his decision making and tactics. As soon as I saw the starting line up I knew what was going to happen. We cannot play with wide fullbacks and have Gabby and Weimann playing narrow as our main creative outlets. It will never work at home. Never. We have one of the best strikers in the air and yet we have no one to put crosses in. Cissokho is a good defender but poor going forward yet we rely on him to put that killer ball in. We have Bacuna with excellent delivery and Grealish who can attack from wide. Play them in attacking positions! How bad of a manager do you have to be to play Gabby as a number 10? The main positive for PL is his signings. He has signed some quality players. Okore and Sanchez were fantastic today. Bacuna showed glimpses of what a good footballer he could become. Cleverly was ineffective yet again. I hope he doesn't spend £7.5m on him. I would have PL as a DOF not a manager. this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 There is a lot of negativity towards Paul Lambert which saddens me. I think that Paul Lambert is a top bloke. As a player he has proved himself as hardworking, adaptable, driven and successful. He's had a solid and successful career, winning domestic and European trophies, as well as gaining unique experience and insight into top German football. I admire his approach and demeanor (never too high or too low - just stay the course), and I genuinely want to see him succeed. Look I was as depressed as the next Villa fan to see the 0-0 result come in, and I feel sorry for the 28k who went to see it, but unfortunately the Premier League has changed over the last 20 yrs. Money talks, the top clubs have the monopoly on players, trophies and titles, and the rest of us are left to feed on scraps. Realistically we have a chairman who wants to sell (and who can blame him after £200+ million investment with nothing to show for it), and limited funds for wages and transfers. We need to find a path that gives us some development and consistency, and some hope of happier times ahead...and I 100% believe that Paul Lambert is the man to lead us on that path. Paul Lambert is 45 years old, and is in only his 4th Premier League season as a manager. He had great success at Wycombe and Norwich, and as of yet is yet to emulate that level at Villa, however he, like many of our squad is still learning. We must give him respect, time and our support. There are plenty of positives if you look a bit deeper: - Shrewd Transfers: Benteke, Okore, Vlaar, Guzan, Cissoko, Sanchez (remember when O'Neill was splurging millions on Davies, Harewood, Reo Coker and Heskey, we all wanted transfers like these) - Financial Control: Luna, Bennet, Bowery, El Ahmadi didn't work, however due to lower wages and fees it wasn't the end of the world - Man management: players love him, and he's developing/bringing through youth/young players - Grealish, Clark, Baker, Wiemann, Okore, Westwood, Delph For me, the main area we need to work on, is for both Lambert and Villa to find their perfect playing style and system (something we are yet to do). He's tightened up the defence, and actually got a really strong core in the team Guzan - Okore/Vlaar - Sanchez/Delph - Benteke, however you can tell we've not yet settled on a style of play. Think about how many goals we banged in in Lamberts first season GF47 vs GA69, last year it was 8 less scored and 8 less conceded, this year were on for GF21 vs GA42 (actually a +1 overall GD improvement on the last 2 years). If we can add a few more goals into our season whilst still staying firm at the back, we can become a top 10 side. I actually thought the 'we're trying a new passing style' quote from Lambert almost quite naive and endearing. I really relate to a young manager who is trying to learn and develop and improve our clubs fortunes. I genuinely believe if we are patient and stick with it, we will improve in the long run. Why get rid of Paul Lambert and substitute with some other poor guy we can all moan about and demand their resignation? Lambert has a plan, and I belive he will lead us up to table in the seasons to come. Think how long it took David Moyes to build his style and 'brand of football' at Everton, where he joined at a similar stage to Lambert in his career and with a similar budget. Moyes' Prem finishes were (15th, 7th, 17th, 4th, 11th, 6th, 5th, 5th, 8th, 7th, 7th). So far Lambert has (15th, 15th, and currently 12th). In Lambert we trust!!!!! you make some really good points (in Bold) but is what he's doing going to kick us on? I fear not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders129 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 There is a lot of negativity towards Paul Lambert which saddens me. I think that Paul Lambert is a top bloke. As a player he has proved himself as hardworking, adaptable, driven and successful. He's had a solid and successful career, winning domestic and European trophies, as well as gaining unique experience and insight into top German football. I admire his approach and demeanor (never too high or too low - just stay the course), and I genuinely want to see him succeed. Look I was as depressed as the next Villa fan to see the 0-0 result come in, and I feel sorry for the 28k who went to see it, but unfortunately the Premier League has changed over the last 20 yrs. Money talks, the top clubs have the monopoly on players, trophies and titles, and the rest of us are left to feed on scraps. Realistically we have a chairman who wants to sell (and who can blame him after £200+ million investment with nothing to show for it), and limited funds for wages and transfers. We need to find a path that gives us some development and consistency, and some hope of happier times ahead...and I 100% believe that Paul Lambert is the man to lead us on that path. Paul Lambert is 45 years old, and is in only his 4th Premier League season as a manager. He had great success at Wycombe and Norwich, and as of yet is yet to emulate that level at Villa, however he, like many of our squad is still learning. We must give him respect, time and our support. There are plenty of positives if you look a bit deeper: - Shrewd Transfers: Benteke, Okore, Vlaar, Guzan, Cissoko, Sanchez (remember when O'Neill was splurging millions on Davies, Harewood, Reo Coker and Heskey, we all wanted transfers like these) - Financial Control: Luna, Bennet, Bowery, El Ahmadi didn't work, however due to lower wages and fees it wasn't the end of the world - Man management: players love him, and he's developing/bringing through youth/young players - Grealish, Clark, Baker, Wiemann, Okore, Westwood, Delph For me, the main area we need to work on, is for both Lambert and Villa to find their perfect playing style and system (something we are yet to do). He's tightened up the defence, and actually got a really strong core in the team Guzan - Okore/Vlaar - Sanchez/Delph - Benteke, however you can tell we've not yet settled on a style of play. Think about how many goals we banged in in Lamberts first season GF47 vs GA69, last year it was 8 less scored and 8 less conceded, this year were on for GF21 vs GA42 (actually a +1 overall GD improvement on the last 2 years). If we can add a few more goals into our season whilst still staying firm at the back, we can become a top 10 side. I actually thought the 'we're trying a new passing style' quote from Lambert almost quite naive and endearing. I really relate to a young manager who is trying to learn and develop and improve our clubs fortunes. I genuinely believe if we are patient and stick with it, we will improve in the long run. Why get rid of Paul Lambert and substitute with some other poor guy we can all moan about and demand their resignation? Lambert has a plan, and I belive he will lead us up to table in the seasons to come. Think how long it took David Moyes to build his style and 'brand of football' at Everton, where he joined at a similar stage to Lambert in his career and with a similar budget. Moyes' Prem finishes were (15th, 7th, 17th, 4th, 11th, 6th, 5th, 5th, 8th, 7th, 7th). So far Lambert has (15th, 15th, and currently 12th). In Lambert we trust!!!!! you make some really good points (in Bold) but is what he's doing going to kick us on? I fear not It's a tough one Grasshopper, and I get everyone's frustration and disappointment. At the end of PL's first season we all expected the team to carry on with the form they showed late on and really kick on, but injuries, lack of form and the competitive nature of the Prem have proved a struggle in the last year and a half. Look at least we've improved on some fundamentals...set piece defending, general defence, and man for man the squad is far better than 2 years ago. It all comes back to style of play...Interestingly I found a youtube vid of our 2-0 win vs Chelsea in 07 under O'Neill (link below), which I'd invite anyone to watch and pay attention to our style of football (especially in comparison to what PL is currently trying) I watched the first 20mins and it is so interesting to see the style of football MON implemented. It's 4-4-2 at a massively high tempo with and without the ball, crazy levels of pressing from the whole team, Ashley Young hugging the left wing when we win the ball, everything played long from the Goalie to Carew, nearly all passes are positive and moving forwards, but really simple and always with a delivery/pass into the box...also generally at least 3 Villa men getting into the opposition box each time. Also other little things like all set piece deliveries were in-swingers...MON had a really set style that he used (he took it to Sunderland and used it at Celtic and Leicester) I remember this style getting really stale at home against lower teams that sat back. Remember when MON would experiment with 4-3-3, or with A Young 'in the hole'? It's not easy to find a method of football that consistently works over a 38 game Premier League season, and I think we need to give PL more time. I'm also reminded of when Houllier attempted to change us away from MON's style to more of a passing game, and it was quite similar to what's happening now, with the added woes of lack of effort, late goals conceded, and bad defending from set pieces. By the end of that season though, things were just starting to click. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Lambert's record as a player is about as relevant to his abilities as a manager as his ability to do DIY when he's at home. As a manager he's failed repeatedly. I don't even really sign up to the idea that his transfer market activity has been good. He's signed a fair few duds amongst the good ones. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Oh dear, another failure with the quote button. I give up and am going to bed instead. Edited January 3, 2015 by briny_ear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 No matter what style of play we employ we're still going to be limited by the quality of player in the squad, there's no magic formula to get them playing like Bayern Munich. But I'm glad we're trying to pass the ball more at least it feels like something that can be worked on and hopefully the players will get better at, especially in terms of being an attacking threat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozvillafan Posted January 3, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 3, 2015 No matter what style of play we employ we're still going to be limited by the quality of player in the squad, there's no magic formula to get them playing like Bayern Munich. But I'm glad we're trying to pass the ball more at least it feels like something that can be worked on and hopefully the players will get better at, especially in terms of being an attacking threat. I agree with this. However, given it has taken 2.5 years to get this far, I have zero confidence that he can successfully introduce the movement and tempo this playstyle needs to be effective. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsmithusa Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 results have been disappointing either way.... But I would prefer to see the passing game we have now, to the hoof and hope we had before. Thank you very much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villaphan04 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 He is the 15th longest tenured manager down through the four leagues now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackbauer24 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 He is the 15th longest tenured manager down through the four leagues now. That's more a sad snapshot of football than anything else; too much 'now, now, now' child like reactionary decisions rather than building something solid. Funny to think that if Fergie had first been employed in this era he would have been sacked far before he had a chance to make them the most successful team in English history... But that's off topic. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 There is a lot of negativity towards Paul Lambert which saddens me. I think that Paul Lambert is a top bloke. As a player he has proved himself as hardworking, adaptable, driven and successful. He's had a solid and successful career, winning domestic and European trophies, as well as gaining unique experience and insight into top German football. I admire his approach and demeanor (never too high or too low - just stay the course), and I genuinely want to see him succeed. Look I was as depressed as the next Villa fan to see the 0-0 result come in, and I feel sorry for the 28k who went to see it, but unfortunately the Premier League has changed over the last 20 yrs. Money talks, the top clubs have the monopoly on players, trophies and titles, and the rest of us are left to feed on scraps. Realistically we have a chairman who wants to sell (and who can blame him after £200+ million investment with nothing to show for it), and limited funds for wages and transfers. We need to find a path that gives us some development and consistency, and some hope of happier times ahead...and I 100% believe that Paul Lambert is the man to lead us on that path. Paul Lambert is 45 years old, and is in only his 4th Premier League season as a manager. He had great success at Wycombe and Norwich, and as of yet is yet to emulate that level at Villa, however he, like many of our squad is still learning. We must give him respect, time and our support. There are plenty of positives if you look a bit deeper: - Shrewd Transfers: Benteke, Okore, Vlaar, Guzan, Cissoko, Sanchez (remember when O'Neill was splurging millions on Davies, Harewood, Reo Coker and Heskey, we all wanted transfers like these) - Financial Control: Luna, Bennet, Bowery, El Ahmadi didn't work, however due to lower wages and fees it wasn't the end of the world - Man management: players love him, and he's developing/bringing through youth/young players - Grealish, Clark, Baker, Wiemann, Okore, Westwood, Delph For me, the main area we need to work on, is for both Lambert and Villa to find their perfect playing style and system (something we are yet to do). He's tightened up the defence, and actually got a really strong core in the team Guzan - Okore/Vlaar - Sanchez/Delph - Benteke, however you can tell we've not yet settled on a style of play. Think about how many goals we banged in in Lamberts first season GF47 vs GA69, last year it was 8 less scored and 8 less conceded, this year were on for GF21 vs GA42 (actually a +1 overall GD improvement on the last 2 years). If we can add a few more goals into our season whilst still staying firm at the back, we can become a top 10 side. I actually thought the 'we're trying a new passing style' quote from Lambert almost quite naive and endearing. I really relate to a young manager who is trying to learn and develop and improve our clubs fortunes. I genuinely believe if we are patient and stick with it, we will improve in the long run. Why get rid of Paul Lambert and substitute with some other poor guy we can all moan about and demand their resignation? Lambert has a plan, and I belive he will lead us up to table in the seasons to come. Think how long it took David Moyes to build his style and 'brand of football' at Everton, where he joined at a similar stage to Lambert in his career and with a similar budget. Moyes' Prem finishes were (15th, 7th, 17th, 4th, 11th, 6th, 5th, 5th, 8th, 7th, 7th). So far Lambert has (15th, 15th, and currently 12th). In Lambert we trust!!!!! you make some really good points (in Bold) but is what he's doing going to kick us on? I fear not He already has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozvillafan Posted January 3, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 3, 2015 He already has. That's one way to look at it. Here's another: 2013/14 played 20, GF 17, 23 pts 2014/15 played 20, GF 11, 22 pts 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 That's certainly the negative way of looking at it, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 There is a lot of negativity towards Paul Lambert which saddens me. I think that Paul Lambert is a top bloke. As a player he has proved himself as hardworking, adaptable, driven and successful. He's had a solid and successful career, winning domestic and European trophies, as well as gaining unique experience and insight into top German football. I admire his approach and demeanor (never too high or too low - just stay the course), and I genuinely want to see him succeed. Look I was as depressed as the next Villa fan to see the 0-0 result come in, and I feel sorry for the 28k who went to see it, but unfortunately the Premier League has changed over the last 20 yrs. Money talks, the top clubs have the monopoly on players, trophies and titles, and the rest of us are left to feed on scraps. Realistically we have a chairman who wants to sell (and who can blame him after £200+ million investment with nothing to show for it), and limited funds for wages and transfers. We need to find a path that gives us some development and consistency, and some hope of happier times ahead...and I 100% believe that Paul Lambert is the man to lead us on that path. Paul Lambert is 45 years old, and is in only his 4th Premier League season as a manager. He had great success at Wycombe and Norwich, and as of yet is yet to emulate that level at Villa, however he, like many of our squad is still learning. We must give him respect, time and our support. There are plenty of positives if you look a bit deeper: - Shrewd Transfers: Benteke, Okore, Vlaar, Guzan, Cissoko, Sanchez (remember when O'Neill was splurging millions on Davies, Harewood, Reo Coker and Heskey, we all wanted transfers like these) - Financial Control: Luna, Bennet, Bowery, El Ahmadi didn't work, however due to lower wages and fees it wasn't the end of the world - Man management: players love him, and he's developing/bringing through youth/young players - Grealish, Clark, Baker, Wiemann, Okore, Westwood, Delph For me, the main area we need to work on, is for both Lambert and Villa to find their perfect playing style and system (something we are yet to do). He's tightened up the defence, and actually got a really strong core in the team Guzan - Okore/Vlaar - Sanchez/Delph - Benteke, however you can tell we've not yet settled on a style of play. Think about how many goals we banged in in Lamberts first season GF47 vs GA69, last year it was 8 less scored and 8 less conceded, this year were on for GF21 vs GA42 (actually a +1 overall GD improvement on the last 2 years). If we can add a few more goals into our season whilst still staying firm at the back, we can become a top 10 side. I actually thought the 'we're trying a new passing style' quote from Lambert almost quite naive and endearing. I really relate to a young manager who is trying to learn and develop and improve our clubs fortunes. I genuinely believe if we are patient and stick with it, we will improve in the long run. Why get rid of Paul Lambert and substitute with some other poor guy we can all moan about and demand their resignation? Lambert has a plan, and I belive he will lead us up to table in the seasons to come. Think how long it took David Moyes to build his style and 'brand of football' at Everton, where he joined at a similar stage to Lambert in his career and with a similar budget. Moyes' Prem finishes were (15th, 7th, 17th, 4th, 11th, 6th, 5th, 5th, 8th, 7th, 7th). So far Lambert has (15th, 15th, and currently 12th). In Lambert we trust!!!!! you make some really good points (in Bold) but is what he's doing going to kick us on? I fear not He already has. Excellent. When the leagues finished I'm sure the premier league will award us some extra points and move us up the table because of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Lambert's record as a player is about as relevant to his abilities as a manager as his ability to do DIY when he's at home. As a manager he's failed repeatedly. I don't even really sign up to the idea that his transfer market activity has been good. He's signed a fair few duds amongst the good ones. I think on the whole his transfer activity has been OK. After outspending on a net basis all but 8 teams in the current premier league since he has arrived I would expect a half decent manager (after 2 and a half years) to be able to create a team that can score goals. Edited January 3, 2015 by Brumstopdogs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) He is the 15th longest tenured manager down through the four leagues now. That's more a sad snapshot of football than anything else; too much 'now, now, now' child like reactionary decisions rather than building something solid. Funny to think that if Fergie had first been employed in this era he would have been sacked far before he had a chance to make them the most successful team in English history... But that's off topic. Proves though, however long you keep a shit manager, its make no difference, they will still be shit 2.5 years later!! Its all about the results, no time for managers to learn there trade managing a Premiership team, they even know there stuff or they don't. If its the latter they won't last long, unless on the rare occasion you have some half arsed Chairman!!! There is no doubt whatever fans say, he is probably the luckiest manager in the League at the moment. Edited January 3, 2015 by foreveryoung 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 He already has. Excellent. When the leagues finished I'm sure the premier league will award us some extra points and move us up the table because of this. If we remain 7 points better off against the same fixtures as last season, we'll inevitably be higher up the table so, errr... I guess the Premier League sort of does that for us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 So you agree it's the points and league position that counts then? Lets see how much better we are than those 42 points in his first season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 If we remain 7 points better off against the same fixtures as last season, we'll inevitably be higher up the table so, errr... I guess the Premier League sort of does that for us Two of those fixtures (Chelsea at home and Arsenal away) are coming up in our next 4 league matches. I'll expect two wins in those games then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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