Manager Paul Lambert

[KHV]

MON's team struggled at home and drew too many games but he had better quality players, then Houllier and McCallister tried to make us more patient and keep the ball for longer. I think they were heading in the right direction with that idea, its a route i would like us to go down again. We have the worst ball possesion in the leauge at 40%, its no wonder we dont keep clean sheets when we give our opponents so much time with the ball. I think this is what we need to change. I dont mind the way we play away from home, infact i enjoy watching us away from home a lot more. I often dread home games, you can feel it in the stadium too. I have an overwhelming sense of doom before home games. Surely Lambert must see our pattern of play must change at home?

[VillanousOne]

Under MON we had one very limited style of counter attacking play, granted at times that worked very well and with a fairly decent although unspectacular defensive/midfield background we did well at times. But still, stick two players on Ash Young and we were nullified.

 

My expectation from Lambert was he would set us up to play passing football, with players constantly looking for spaces to run into and creative midfield play. Granted I didn't think this would bring success instantly, just a level of stability.

 

Maybe we just don't have the players to play this way but I kind of thought that was what Lambert was going for, experience or no experience. But the fact we can't even get basic possession football right is what alarms me, too often if there is no break on, the ball goes back to the keeper and it get's hoofed to Benteke.

 

I think things have conspired against us a little this season and we've just not got into our stride properly. Too many injuries, ridiculous reffing decisions and strange drops in form from certain players.

Of the new signings Bacuna actually gives us more options as defensively he seems quite sound and he is actually able to take a decent cross or free kick.

Kozak, Tonev, Heleniius well get better as they get more game time - but I don't think the latter two will make a big difference to our squad for quite some time.

Luna - whilst clearly has a good footballing brain and some really good passing and pace related attributes, isn't a massive improvement on Bennett defensively - and i'm talking about the Bennett of the end of last season form.

 

I do think at some point Lerner and Lambert have to realise that the only way the team is going to improve is to rethink our transfer poiicies, i don't mean free spending and stupid wages, just a more calculated high risk signing. Gambling on the type of players we are now signing means at best - the turn out to be above average with potential that could mean they over achieve at times, at worst they are league one standard.. I would rather have one decent 10 mil midfielder on 60K a week than KEA, Bowery, Tonev (ok harsh on Tonev).

 

[Butterfingers]

 

 

 

If Lerner is ever going to loosen the purse strings again (and it is a big 'if'), then it will surely become plausible to expect it soon assuming a few things happen this season. There were a few other things that needed to happen in order to fully come out of the mess created by Randy trusting O'Neill too much. Lambert has achieved most of the financial obligations while hopefully putting together a side that can grow and mature together while trying to climb the table. With the likes of Ireland* and Hutton financially gone at the end of the season and hopefully followed by Given & Bent, if we found ourselves sitting midtable with a very pretty wage bill then it would be the ideal situation for Randy to allow Lambert to spend a little more than he has. If however we get to that point and he still only gives him what he has been giving him to date, then we'll know just how interested the owner is. The big variable in all of that is how much Benteke leaves for and how much of that we get - or rather whether it gets added to a pre-existing budget. But basically, this is going to be a very interesting season for more than the usual reasons.* We're not 100% sure how much, if anything, we're paying towards his wages at Stoke.

Lambert has been given a rough net spend of £30m or so to fill out the squad, hopefully if he can get another £15m net spend next summer plus £35m for Benteke we could really start bringing in some special talent in more than one key area. Of course this is all ifs and buts but it seems the most logical way at looking at how things have been going these past 14 months or so, rather than panicking that the club has no interest in progressing any more.

 

You need to understand that it doesn't matter if we get £100 million for Benteke, we will only be signing the same standard of player due to the wage structure. The people claiming that there are bargains at £2.2 million are either high on drugs or are living in cloud cuckoo land.

.......Defeatist

With that attitude we would never of found Benteke or even Dwight Yorke, Andy Gray would have been dismissed as too cheap and David Platt something similar.

I just don't buy your excuses.

I fully support Lambert, but there will come a time when he will be accountable and the quality or quantity debate will be aired...some of these signings will have to come off, (despite the modest fee's) in order for the fans/owner to have faith in progression.

 

 

I fully support the manager & the players. I've said on this thread that there's a challenge. It might not be to get into the CL but we still have a challenge to improve on last season & continue moving forwards for the first time in 3 seasons.

 

I'm sure Lambert would prefer the war chest that Man City have but he accepted the job on the terms Lerner laid down (which in laymans terms was "I've f####d up & I want my money back")

 

So far you've named one player for £2.2 million that was way out of our reach. You'd probably never heard of any of our summer signings before they came here yet you are now an authority on who shouldn't have been signed.

 

Why not tell us who you would have bought with the £12 million Lambert spent-Remember £20K a week maximum wage

[TRO]

If Lerner is ever going to loosen the purse strings again (and it is a big 'if'), then it will surely become plausible to expect it soon assuming a few things happen this season. There were a few other things that needed to happen in order to fully come out of the mess created by Randy trusting O'Neill too much. Lambert has achieved most of the financial obligations while hopefully putting together a side that can grow and mature together while trying to climb the table. With the likes of Ireland* and Hutton financially gone at the end of the season and hopefully followed by Given & Bent, if we found ourselves sitting midtable with a very pretty wage bill then it would be the ideal situation for Randy to allow Lambert to spend a little more than he has. If however we get to that point and he still only gives him what he has been giving him to date, then we'll know just how interested the owner is. The big variable in all of that is how much Benteke leaves for and how much of that we get - or rather whether it gets added to a pre-existing budget. But basically, this is going to be a very interesting season for more than the usual reasons.* We're not 100% sure how much, if anything, we're paying towards his wages at Stoke.

Lambert has been given a rough net spend of £30m or so to fill out the squad, hopefully if he can get another £15m net spend next summer plus £35m for Benteke we could really start bringing in some special talent in more than one key area. Of course this is all ifs and buts but it seems the most logical way at looking at how things have been going these past 14 months or so, rather than panicking that the club has no interest in progressing any more.

 

You need to understand that it doesn't matter if we get £100 million for Benteke, we will only be signing the same standard of player due to the wage structure. The people claiming that there are bargains at £2.2 million are either high on drugs or are living in cloud cuckoo land.

.......Defeatist

With that attitude we would never of found Benteke or even Dwight Yorke, Andy Gray would have been dismissed as too cheap and David Platt something similar.

I just don't buy your excuses.

I fully support Lambert, but there will come a time when he will be accountable and the quality or quantity debate will be aired...some of these signings will have to come off, (despite the modest fee's) in order for the fans/owner to have faith in progression.

 

I fully support the manager & the players. I've said on this thread that there's a challenge. It might not be to get into the CL but we still have a challenge to improve on last season & continue moving forwards for the first time in 3 seasons.

 

I'm sure Lambert would prefer the war chest that Man City have but he accepted the job on the terms Lerner laid down (which in laymans terms was "I've f####d up & I want my money back")

 

So far you've named one player for £2.2 million that was way out of our reach. You'd probably never heard of any of our summer signings before they came here yet you are now an authority on who shouldn't have been signed.

 

Why not tell us who you would have bought with the £12 million Lambert spent-Remember £20K a week maximum wage

You clearly don't read what is being written.... And yes I did give more than one example of players who have gone on to great things and for modest sums...and so did av the obsession quoting MIchu.

You don' t ask a trainspotter which locomotives to buy, but they will tell you which are the best on the line, but it's the job of the railway management to do that.....thats their job, that's what they do.

It's the job of the Manager and his staff with all the resources at their disposal to get the players that will enhance our progress...in the same way that Ron Saunders found the gems in the shadow of the great LIverpool team that gobble up every bit of talent at that time....not to mention the talent spotting of Bobby Robson with the fabulous Ipswich team of the day....this is the guy who mentored Mourinho and AVB ...that's what Saunders, Barton & McLaren had to compete with.

The likes of me may have an opinion on how the game should be played, but in terms of buying players or the finer arts of running a football club, I wouldn't have a clue...why would I be expected to.

I have said a million times on here, that Lamberts signings may turn out ok( bet you did'nt read that bit) but right now they ain't that good.

[Butterfingers]

Good enough to beat Arsenal & Norwich though

[1974Centenary]

Good enough to beat Arsenal & Norwich though

You realize what the reverse of your answer is don't you?

 

 

Liverpool

Newcastle

Tottenham

Chelsea

and ill add Man city

[StefanAVFC]

I'm sorry but have we lost yet?

[Butterfingers]

 

Good enough to beat Arsenal & Norwich though

You realize what the reverse of your answer is don't you?

 

 

Liverpool

Newcastle

Tottenham

Chelsea

and ill add Man city

 

 

Yes-Of course I do.

 

I'm not claiming we're going to win every game.

 

I believe we will trade blows with a lot of sides this season & finish between 14th & 9th

 

The point is, we don't play any worse football than the teams in that bracket, our signings are no worse than the teams in that bracket have made & our results are no worse than the teams in that bracket have achieved.

 

If the team are as bad as TRO is making out, we wouldn't have 6 points chalked up already

[TRO]

Good enough to beat Arsenal & Norwich though

You realize what the reverse of your answer is don't you?

 

 

Liverpool

Newcastle

Tottenham

Chelsea

and ill add Man city

 

Yes-Of course I do.

 

I'm not claiming we're going to win every game.

 

I believe we will trade blows with a lot of sides this season & finish between 14th & 9th

 

The point is, we don't play any worse football than the teams in that bracket, our signings are no worse than the teams in that bracket have made & our results are no worse than the teams in that bracket have achieved.

 

If the team are as bad as TRO is making out, we wouldn't have 6 points chalked up already

Butterfingers, we clearly ain't on the same wave length....you are majoring on results, I'm majoring on performances and substance.

Rocky Marciano never lost a fight, but wasn't widely regarded as the best heavyweight in history. That distinction went to the likes of Joe Louis, or Muhammec Ali ....both lost fights but they had the claim placed on them by their RIng Craft.

I am aware our style lends itself to way games...I was at the emirates, had a great day, we applied ourselves fantastically well....but it had no effect on the Newcastle game two different issues....and incidentally I still believed Arsenal was a better team, but not necessarily on the day.

My issue right now is in the main our home form and thats why I' m talking about holding the ball, distribution, pressing, making the right decisions with regards to movement, generally keeping a bit of control of the game.

Of course a win would be nice too.

[foreveryoung]

In reality, I believe how we are playing at the moment, winning the odd game, we are no better than any team in the premier league. There's not one team I would bet on a win. I don't want my team to be like this. I want to go to games knowing there's easy win occasionally.

A huge problem as I see it, is we are seriously inconsistent and for me unfortunately this can only be down to Lambert.

[Big_John_10]

I was watching an interview with Martinez and he said it took him about 9 months to change the way Swansea played. Looking at Stoke it hasn't taken Hughes long to improve their style of play.

So why is it going to take a very good manager in lambert years to do it here? What happens in a couple of years when we lose players, does it start again and we have to wait a few more years?

[samjp26]

I was watching an interview with Martinez and he said it took him about 9 months to change the way Swansea played. Looking at Stoke it hasn't taken Hughes long to improve their style of play.

So why is it going to take a very good manager in lambert years to do it here? What happens in a couple of years when we lose players, does it start again and we have to wait a few more years?

If you don't think Lambert has completely changed the way we play you're deluded.

[terrytini]

 

 

 

Good enough to beat Arsenal & Norwich though

You realize what the reverse of your answer is don't you?

 

 

Liverpool

Newcastle

Tottenham

Chelsea

and ill add Man city

 

Yes-Of course I do.

 

I'm not claiming we're going to win every game.

 

I believe we will trade blows with a lot of sides this season & finish between 14th & 9th

 

The point is, we don't play any worse football than the teams in that bracket, our signings are no worse than the teams in that bracket have made & our results are no worse than the teams in that bracket have achieved.

 

If the team are as bad as TRO is making out, we wouldn't have 6 points chalked up already

Butterfingers, we clearly ain't on the same wave length....you are majoring on results, I'm majoring on performances and substance.

Rocky Marciano never lost a fight, but wasn't widely regarded as the best heavyweight in history. That distinction went to the likes of Joe Louis, or Muhammec Ali ....both lost fights but they had the claim placed on them by their RIng Craft.

I am aware our style lends itself to way games...I was at the emirates, had a great day, we applied ourselves fantastically well....but it had no effect on the Newcastle game two different issues....and incidentally I still believed Arsenal was a better team, but not necessarily on the day.

My issue right now is in the main our home form and thats why I' m talking about holding the ball, distribution, pressing, making the right decisions with regards to movement, generally keeping a bit of control of the game.

Of course a win would be nice too.

 

 

I agree with your comments a page or two back that just because I do view things as ultra positively as possible doesn't make me a better fan.  I never intended to suggest any such thing.  My point was it makes me hate my afternoon at the game if I get stuck near people who express, (how best to say this !) what I am sure you would call your 'realist' approach.

 

And of course there is nothing wrong in aspiring to improve.  I am sure we all want that, including the Manager, Owner, and all the fans on here.

 

But what we end up with is people having unrealistic expectations as regards the Owners money, unrealisitc expectations in respect of the quality of football, and unrealistic expectations in respect of success.  Just as we do on a National scale with the National side, just as Arsenal fans wre getting at Wenger after one game, and so on.

 

Ludicrously that peaks after every defeat and ebbs after every win.  It is the knee jerk tantrums of the child in people wrapped up as clever, analytical, informed  opinion, when it is none of those things.

 

We are in the Top 20 Clubs in the country.  Of that group of twenty we are considerably worse than the best, and pretty much the same as the rest, although tending towards the Top half, and (particularly under the now disliked ? MON) Top 6 - even in one of the last 3 seasons I heard someone describe as awful.  Even last year we were only 3 wins off 8th. (yes I know what the reply was, someone, John,  took delight in saying HO HO we cant get that sort of increase, almost seemed to be relishing it ?).

 

Throughout this season and all the others we will play well and badly, as will other Clubs.

 

My point was, and is, that the entire experience of watching a game -which in the end is the whole point - or even debating a game, is made immeasurably worse when it is shared with people who think this way, and it is growing (at home) which is one of the reasons VP is such a poor place to watch football most of the time.

 

Better fan or not, I would rather 10,000 people who saw the positives and were fully supportive of everything our Club was doing, than the other.

 

And on that TRO, I dont dispute for one second your support for Villa as a Club, but how on earth can you say, a Page ago, that you fully support Lambert, when you r Posts show clearly you dont ?

 

Fully supporting somebody is incompatible with criticising them, surely.

[Morpheus]

I made that point BJ10 several moons ago that we seem to be in a perpetual rebuild for several years now and i read posters replying to criticism of Lambert by stating that at least now we have a plan. Is it another five year plan? If it is then there's one major difference and that difference is finance. We just seem to be floating from one extreme to another and this one is keeping the chairman happy.

[Big_John_10]

I was watching an interview with Martinez and he said it took him about 9 months to change the way Swansea played. Looking at Stoke it hasn't taken Hughes long to improve their style of play.

So why is it going to take a very good manager in lambert years to do it here? What happens in a couple of years when we lose players, does it start again and we have to wait a few more years?

If you don't think Lambert has completely changed the way we play you're deluded.

I think he's improved some aspects. But I'm told by he's biggest fans it's going to take years.

[Keyblade]

Our style has changed dramatically since the days of McLeish, there are no 2 ways about it.  

[Kwan]

Ludicrously that peaks after every defeat and ebbs after every win. It is the knee jerk tantrums of the child in people wrapped up as clever, analytical, informed opinion, when it is none of those things.

.

Pretty much describes VT in a nutshell. No perspective. Perspective is just called excuses. One of the most misery forums I've ever seen.

[samjp26]

I was watching an interview with Martinez and he said it took him about 9 months to change the way Swansea played. Looking at Stoke it hasn't taken Hughes long to improve their style of play.

So why is it going to take a very good manager in lambert years to do it here? What happens in a couple of years when we lose players, does it start again and we have to wait a few more years?

If you don't think Lambert has completely changed the way we play you're deluded.

I think he's improved some aspects. But I'm told by he's biggest fans it's going to take years.

I'm not on about improving aspects I'm on about the way we play which you can't deny has completely changed.

[foreveryoung]

There's not doubt after a full season and a pre season, if we had any quality we would be a improved football team. To me I see no real improvement from last season. Lambert is the only one to blame for this. Even though he don't have the budget, do we really believe Lambert thought he would still be struggling this season with this squad.

[Raymond]

Ludicrously that peaks after every defeat and ebbs after every win. It is the knee jerk tantrums of the child in people wrapped up as clever, analytical, informed opinion, when it is none of those things.

.

Pretty much describes VT in a nutshell. No perspective. Perspective is just called excuses. One of the most misery forums I've ever seen.

We have to live up to the Villa fan reputation and tradition.