Popular Post CrackpotForeigner Posted September 29, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted September 29, 2013 (edited) Arguably our four best outfield players were injured for this game: (Benteke, Gabby, Okore, Westwood). Lambert was still able to put out a team that kept Man City to a goal advantage at half time. He then turned the game on its head at half time by saying whatever it was that needed saying. The most expensive Lambert signing in the team cost five million pounds. We're in the top half of the table on a budget that relegation candidates would sniff at. How Lambert is still criticised, rather than hailed as a minor miracle-worker is beyond me. He's exactly the kind of young, intelligent, ambitious, attack-minded manager we've all been wanting for so long. Now that he's here we're seeing what an impossible job it is to keep 100% of Villa fans happy. Edited September 29, 2013 by CrackpotForeigner 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnbull Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Football is a results driven business and until they start rewarding "exciting, attacking football", points gained are what it's all about. And we are making progress IMO, ok, perhaps it's too early to be 100% sure, but the signs are there. Maybe we should wait until 19 games before deciding one way or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 (edited) crikey, if I want a sermon, I'll go to church this morning, thanks. Some of us have been supporting this club for a lot longer than you lot have been on the scene and will have perspectives on the current regime that may not be totally in line with your thinking. I think this is a site where people are free to express a range of views and should be able to do so without worrying what the club's management think. The difference Briny, is that the people who (over) congratulate a win, don't seriously mention Champions League/ Title challenges/ Lambert being the Messiah. Whereas, when some people (over) criticise a loss, they appear to seriously mention relegation/ Lambert out/ Lerner out/ tactics & signings not being good enough etc. This really is reflected in Villa Park too. We were playing poorly Today, and the amount of people around me in the Holte saying "El Ahmadi is shit, get him off", "Bacuna is shit, get him off", "Weimann's been shit since last year, get rid!", "Another goal conceded from a corner. **** off Lambert".... Etc etc.. Despite that, we won. (Those were genuine things all being shouted from people around me in the Upper Holte). If we were a bit more patient or supportive in the ground then the players might not be so wary of the moans and groans in the ground if they misplace a difficult pass (but they are, so they seemingly don't try it as often as we should at home). It was completely different when O'Neill was here. The fans were more optimistic, and even when we went behind, the fans still cheered and got behind the team. (so unless half of the people from 5 years ago have left and been replaced in the ground, attitudes have changes and people aren't as supportive as they were). Agreed the fickleness of our supporters was never mor eevident than those comments being made in the Upper Holte in the first half. Although your recollection of MON days isn't quite right, I remember several games - in fact one in particular against Man City we went behind after 20 minutes and the Holte complainers were off in force then i think carew equalised and the same people jumping for joy - I remember having a go at this one guy for being such a fair weather fan. his answer was along the lines of 'I pay my money so I'll complain all I like' - -- pretty much summed up the lack of self awareness of a certain type of fan. Like children with no sense of patience, perspective, or anything else. Mind you, also like children, once it went well for us what a fantastic atmosphere, like a party. Edited September 29, 2013 by terrytini 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 We've come on in leaps and bounds over the past 13 months, or even the past 8 months. Obviously there are still areas that need to be improved upon but it's ridiculous that some people refuse to acknowledge this improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 I am always very critical of Lambert, but he has certainly made us into a incredibly high spirited, hard working team who rarely give up. again we still need depth and creativity and it could only take one or two players to take us to a new level. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 also not sure what Okore has done to be labelled one of our best outfield players, he's barely played i'm sure he will be just saying he's not quite earnt that yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackpotForeigner Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 also not sure what Okore has done to be labelled one of our best outfield players, he's barely played i'm sure he will be just saying he's not quite earnt that yet. You weren't impressed with the performances for us and with the CL performances v Chelsea then? He is a weapon. Sorry you haven't noticed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfingers Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 also not sure what Okore has done to be labelled one of our best outfield players, he's barely played i'm sure he will be just saying he's not quite earnt that yet. You weren't impressed with the performances for us and with the CL performances v Chelsea then? He is a weapon. Sorry you haven't noticed! Don't think anyone actually said that anyway. The point being that he would have been in the starting 11 if there was a fully fit squad to pick from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackpotForeigner Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 also not sure what Okore has done to be labelled one of our best outfield players, he's barely played i'm sure he will be just saying he's not quite earnt that yet. You weren't impressed with the performances for us and with the CL performances v Chelsea then? He is a weapon. Sorry you haven't noticed! Don't think anyone actually said that anyway. The point being that he would have been in the starting 11 if there was a fully fit squad to pick from. I said it on page 707. 19th post syndrome strikes again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 also not sure what Okore has done to be labelled one of our best outfield players, he's barely played i'm sure he will be just saying he's not quite earnt that yet. You weren't impressed with the performances for us and with the CL performances v Chelsea then? He is a weapon. Sorry you haven't noticed! Nope sorry haven't yet, apologies if that troubles you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skruff Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 I thought the first half against city was truly horrible and I couldn't see anything positive about it except for the strength the players showed while defending.Critizing the team and the manager for that is more then fair in my opinion. However, to come back from such a horrible preformance and turn it into a 3-2 win is absolutely amazing, and the player and manger deserves all the praise the can get from that. It speaks of great character. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackpotForeigner Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Nope sorry haven't yet, apologies if that troubles you. Let's just say I'm "saddened". If you've heard politicians say this, you'll know that it means "I couldn't really care less." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfingers Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 I thought the first half against city was truly horrible and I couldn't see anything positive about it except for the strength the players showed while defending.Critizing the team and the manager for that is more then fair in my opinion. However, to come back from such a horrible preformance and turn it into a 3-2 win is absolutely amazing, and the player and manger deserves all the praise the can get from that. It speaks of great character. I'm not quite sure how you could criticise either the manager or the players for the 1st half performance? We were playing one of the best teams in the world, they have the pick of players throughout the world and have an unlimited budget. The previous week, they had scored 4 against Man U & 5 against Wigan. We defended solidly & robustly & whilst we conceded possession, they were restricted to half chances & corners. We nearly got them in at half time at 0-0. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Biskitt Posted September 29, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted September 29, 2013 This place infuriates me at times. We've just beaten a team widely tipped to win the league, a team that contains 5 players ( +2 on the bench ) who individually cost more than our entire first 11. We did so by scoring 3 times, coming from behind twice and without our 2 top goalscorers and our highest assist maker from last season. We are not going to play brilliantly well every game and there are definite areas for improvement but I am unbelievably proud of the teams spirit, togetherness and resilience they showed yesterday. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Agreed Biskitt while i have been a fierce critic of Lambert at times he got it spot on yesterday and whether the team lacks quality in certain areas or not it may not have been a fine performance but it was a bloody brilliant result especially when many were predicting a slaughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 We're going in the right direction under his guy folks. Keep patient and don't go starting relegation threads again if Hull turn us over on Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulver Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 We've come on in leaps and bounds over the past 13 months, or even the past 8 months. Obviously there are still areas that need to be improved upon but it's ridiculous that some people refuse to acknowledge this improvement. I simply cannot see it at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 So on to the 5-3-2 from Lambert yesterday. I'll start by saying I liked it when we played the 5-3-2 last season. I think the mullering from Chelsea, Spurs and Wigan weren't especially down to the formation, more a Chelsea on fire then the fallout of the battered confidence. Yes it improved when we went back to 4-3-3 but I think a lot of this was to do with Vlaar returning and being able to drop Herd from the back 3 to bring an extra midfielder in. Yesterday Lambert decided to use Vlaar, Clark and Baker in central defence to pack out our box. This made us very difficult to break through and we conceded from 2 set-pieces, the first was poor marking, and the second came off Dzeko's back. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lambert stick with this, even when Gabby, Westwood and Benteke are back. Clark is turning into the cultured defender, Vlaar and Baker are proper 'blockers'. It would be even better with Okore in there. Counter-attacking is a great way to get behind the other team and is much more effective these days. If we're very difficult to break down but have the pace to break quickly, it's a no win situation for the other team. It's like being southpaw, it's difficult to play against. I'd like to see it with Benteke and Gabby up top, and Westwood, KEA and Delph in midfield. But the fact we have Sylla, Kozak, Weimann, all having just the same claims to their positions is great. Having Okore in with Clark and Vlaar would have been fantastic though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 I think a lot of it is down to expectation. I was more disappointed in the first half against Newcastle, than man city. Perhaps intrinsically I expected something against Newcastle, against man city I expected nothing and at least got containment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Nope sorry haven't yet, apologies if that troubles you. Let's just say I'm "saddened". If you've heard politicians say this, you'll know that it means "I couldn't really care less." i didn't know you were a politician Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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