Avflife Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Fairplay for Lambert taking the time to write that letter, let's look at it like this 10 points though from the opening 7 games against Arsenal (a), Chelsea (a), Liverpool, Norwich (a), Newcastle, Man City and Hull (a) isn't the form of a relegation or even mid-table team, more like a top 6/8 side at least. I personally thought we would get 11, but 10 is good enough for me so far I'm personally going to be optimistic for once, we have one of the best strikers, goalkeepers and midfielders (at the moment) in the league so if all stay fit I can't see why we won't get into the top 6, top 8 at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 On behalf of the team and my staff, this is a genuine note of appreciation for your ongoing support of the Club and for the strong contribution you have made to the vibrant, passionate atmosphere that has typified our games here at Villa Park and at away games up and down the country. From the outset, we knew that establishing a tight, robust relationship between the fans and what has essentially become a new group of players in the Villa shirt would be crucial in our efforts to build the Club again. The support of the fans has been a key element in the team’s growth and emergence and that mutual bond has been very evident again this season. Collectively, we all want to see a team that is exciting, a team that wants to try to attack and a team that steps out in every game to try to win. We have started off playing really well, the team is doing well at the moment and this is very pleasing. Inevitably, we experienced growing pains last season but over the second half of the campaign there was a big coming together and a massive effort to secure the results which gave us that platform to continue to build and develop. We’re a different team from that now. Everyone can sense this and see it, too, and some of our results so far have provided a real measure of just how far we have travelled in not much more than a year. The level of performance has been particularly satisfying. Even the most dyed-in-the-wool optimist might have struggled to see too many points coming from the run of games we were dealt at the start of the season, including Arsenal away, Chelsea away, Liverpool and Manchester City. These teams will aspire to be right up there when the Barclays Premier League comes to a conclusion in May. That we competed all the way with each of them is testament to the work ethic, the sense of team and the quality within the group in addition to the powerful collective desire which underpins their effort on a daily basis. The players enjoy coming to work, they work hard, they enjoy representing this Club and they have taken upon their young shoulders a massive responsibility based on expectations which inevitably exist given the heritage and history we are proud to have here. Your backing of the team has helped enormously. It will continue to take time for the group to realise its true potential but the foundations are strong now, the players’ increased resilience will help them to deal with setbacks and to overcome them and the further strengthening of the squad that took place in the summer augurs well for its continued development. We won’t always experience days like we did against Manchester City, for the squad is still predominantly young, still learning and that level of consistency will be difficult to maintain. But that’s our challenge over the coming weeks and months – to continue to strive to move forward as a Club and to build on what we have, an ethos and a philosophy which sees the players and the fans at the very centre of what we want to achieve together.i'm thrilled he's our manager 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 (edited) Nice letter, but time will tell. Actions not words. Can you not see the actions? High paid parasites shipped out-Young, hungry players in their place No more Heskey/Harewood type strikers signed-Benteke & Kozac signed for similar amounts (when wages taken into account) After 3 years of anxiety & relegation battles, stability & progress instead (early days this season admittedly but signs are great) The club running on a more even keel in terms of wages paid to players A complete re-vamping of players like Fabian Delph & Brad Guzan-Both of whom have developed into top 6/8 players under the current regime Lets stick with this bloke & get behind him. I honestly feel theres a lot more to come. The majority buy into this but you have the hardcore few who still moan. Lambert works with these lads on an almost daily basis. He is more equipped to decide what is best for our club than people like us (who care deeply about it.admittedly) Only one man can make the decisions & we need to trust that man. We've proved in recent weeks that we would all pick different starting line ups/ formations etc.We will never all be right & never agree with PL all the time. His job is to manage the playing side of things-We need to support him & get behind the team. We're moving in the right direction whilst shopping at the lower end of the scale. How can anyone criticise while we are improving whilst doing this? I think this is a complete misunderstanding of what is involved in supporting a club, particularly if you've been doing it long-term. It's perfectly possible to support a team passionately whenever they take the field in Villa shirts, yet still be critical and questioning about performance and skill levels, managerial decisions, investment strategy etc. And, really, it would be a horrible world if that wasn't allowed, wouldn't it, and we all just had to keep our heads down and support the current manager on the basis that "he knows best"? I wonder how Sunderland fans and the doings of Madmano di Canio fit into that world view? At any time, the current chairman/board, manager and players are really just like stewards of the club they are involved with, and fans - particularly long term ones - will quite legitimately ask, "how well are they serving our club?" I think it's much too early to answer that question about Lambert and his current squad, although this season is certainly looking better than last. Randy Lerner has been around long enough to be assessed and the judgement has to be: "probably well-meaning, but mediocre outcomes so far". If it's OK with you, I'm going to continue to take a critical interest in how the club is progressing and not kowtow to the manager just because he's the manager. At the same time as cheering them on and following the emotional highs and lows of every match we play. Oh, and it's probably not great to use phrases like "the hardcore few who still moan". It's good to work on the basis that everyone on here has an individual opinion that needs to be respected in its own right, even if it is completely bonkers. Excellent post briny_ear. Edited October 12, 2013 by Morpheus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Fairplay for Lambert taking the time to write that letter Do you honestly think he has written that? Fair enough if you do but it's very similar to other letters coming out of the club supposedly written by the manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Bloody hell Morpheus, cut the cynic act. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Fairplay for Lambert taking the time to write that letter Do you honestly think he has written that? Fair enough if you do but it's very similar to other letters coming out of the club supposedly written by the manager. That's because all such letters are going to be fairly generic, praising the fans and the players whilst portraying an optimistic vision of the future and promising more hard work to come. The PR staff have probably changed as often as the managers at the club so I doubt there has been one PR person writing these letters on behalf of the manager since the O'Leary days. Most likely it was just something Lambert wrote out on his Sunday night in front of the TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mantis Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 I heard Lambert doesn't manage the team either - someone from the PR department does it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfingers Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 i'd hate to be stuck on a night out with these people, they'd have you wanting to slash your wrists by 9 o clock. only if you allow the person you are out with to influence your thoughts, so you no longer have your own. folk have every right to be critical as they have the right to be praise worthy when it is not always justified, which can be equally as gauling to some these forums are to voice our opinions....doesn't mean to say we are right, we only think we are. Their negativity is constant-Real doom & gloom merchants been stuck next to these cranks for 90 mins on match days can be really unpleasant.. We are a hard team to beat, have been in the top half of the table standard since the start of Febuary. What more do people want or expect given the squad inherited and the budget available? As I've posted before, we've had 5 top 4 finishes in the past 60 years and spells in the 2nd & indeed 3rd tiers. What is this benchmark Villa must aspire to? What must Lambert do in order for these "experts" who take a "critical interest" in how the club is progessing to accept that he's doing a good job? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandaq Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Leave Lambert alone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avflife Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Fairplay for Lambert taking the time to write that letter Do you honestly think he has written that? Fair enough if you do but it's very similar to other letters coming out of the club supposedly written by the manager. Why are always so negative Morpheus, sure you aren't a fan of the Blues?? How many points do you think we will get from our next 6 games, 0 I'm guessing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 (edited) Fairplay for Lambert taking the time to write that letter Do you honestly think he has written that? Fair enough if you do but it's very similar to other letters coming out of the club supposedly written by the manager. Oh come on Morpheus, what are you going to do next? Tell the kids there's no Santa? Oh course Lambert wrote the letter, probably by hand with a big feather pen Edited October 12, 2013 by sne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulver Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 He's on a 6/10 at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TrentVilla Posted October 12, 2013 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted October 12, 2013 I heard Lambert doesn't manage the team either - someone from the PR department does it. We so shouldn't have signed up another member of staff to the PR department when we had limited money, we should have added to another department like an attacking sales person. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 I heard Lambert doesn't manage the team either - someone from the PR department does it. We so shouldn't have signed up another member of staff to the PR department when we had limited money, we should have added to another department like an attacking sales person. We should have signed up a 23rd year old who is a mate of the owner of the son. No wait a minute...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Nice letter, but time will tell. Actions not words. Can you not see the actions? High paid parasites shipped out-Young, hungry players in their place No more Heskey/Harewood type strikers signed-Benteke & Kozac signed for similar amounts (when wages taken into account) After 3 years of anxiety & relegation battles, stability & progress instead (early days this season admittedly but signs are great) The club running on a more even keel in terms of wages paid to players A complete re-vamping of players like Fabian Delph & Brad Guzan-Both of whom have developed into top 6/8 players under the current regime Lets stick with this bloke & get behind him. I honestly feel theres a lot more to come. The majority buy into this but you have the hardcore few who still moan. Lambert works with these lads on an almost daily basis. He is more equipped to decide what is best for our club than people like us (who care deeply about it.admittedly) Only one man can make the decisions & we need to trust that man. We've proved in recent weeks that we would all pick different starting line ups/ formations etc.We will never all be right & never agree with PL all the time. His job is to manage the playing side of things-We need to support him & get behind the team. We're moving in the right direction whilst shopping at the lower end of the scale. How can anyone criticise while we are improving whilst doing this? I think this is a complete misunderstanding of what is involved in supporting a club, particularly if you've been doing it long-term. It's perfectly possible to support a team passionately whenever they take the field in Villa shirts, yet still be critical and questioning about performance and skill levels, managerial decisions, investment strategy etc. And, really, it would be a horrible world if that wasn't allowed, wouldn't it, and we all just had to keep our heads down and support the current manager on the basis that "he knows best"? I wonder how Sunderland fans and the doings of Madmano di Canio fit into that world view? At any time, the current chairman/board, manager and players are really just like stewards of the club they are involved with, and fans - particularly long term ones - will quite legitimately ask, "how well are they serving our club?" I think it's much too early to answer that question about Lambert and his current squad, although this season is certainly looking better than last. Randy Lerner has been around long enough to be assessed and the judgement has to be: "probably well-meaning, but mediocre outcomes so far". If it's OK with you, I'm going to continue to take a critical interest in how the club is progressing and not kowtow to the manager just because he's the manager. At the same time as cheering them on and following the emotional highs and lows of every match we play. Oh, and it's probably not great to use phrases like "the hardcore few who still moan". It's good to work on the basis that everyone on here has an individual opinion that needs to be respected in its own right, even if it is completely bonkers. Well that is one way of thinking about it, and I have no problem if that is your view. But as you criticise the OP for, you also could do with not making statements that appear to be trying to be definitive. In my opinion it is not what supporting a Club is. I take the view that it is for other Teams and their fans to knock our owner, our Manager, and our Players. I will always look for the absolute maximum best and most positive I can in all of them, all the time, except and until they give me cause, factual cause, to do otherwise. To use an analogy, it seems to me my view of supporting the Club is like a parent supporting their kids, likely to be uncrtical and biased, whereas the one described above is more like the parent supporting the school - much more likely to be critical and objective. For a great example I spent my time along with everyone else wondering how on earth Heskey had a career in top flight football - until he joined us, from which point I supported him to the hilt. Now, I am not for a moment suggesting this is 'proper' support, or that people who view it differently are not 'proper'. But it shows there are different 'definitions' of what it is. Thats why I applauded Barry, Downing, Milner etc, when they played for us, but wouldn't dream of it now they don't. Within that, although it may sound like I cannot, I can still have enjoyable debates about tactics, players best positions and their performances in specific games, it doesn't restrict my fun at all. And it does nean that I, like the OP, do find it depressing and pointless to listen to those who sit in perpetual judgement - often critical, always without any expertise. And I'm not sure how these people give 100% passionate support to players on the pitch if they hacve this 'vrtical eye' approach. Aren't they, by definition, more likely to vent their criticicsm than someone who views it my way ? not all of them, but aren't they mor elikely (for better or for worse)/. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Bloody hell Morpheus, cut the cynic act. Still pushing for a higher position i see Stefan. I heard Lambert doesn't manage the team either - someone from the PR department does it. Probably the same Lambert you wanted sacked last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrytini Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Having said all that it really does puzzle me that people can't see that Lerner is spending about right according to his place in the pecking order, and that despite no tliving up to early expectations we really could be stuck with a lot worse. And for PL, I struggle to see how anyone can't see he is on the right lines. Not only do some results show it (only teams from Top 4 have beaten us away in the last year for example), but surely there is no-one left who still things multiple big buys are the future for this or almost any other Club ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakid007 Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Doin a great job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 I heard Lambert doesn't manage the team either - someone from the PR department does it. We so shouldn't have signed up another member of staff to the PR department when we had limited money, we should have added to another department like an attacking sales person. Or maybe we simply could have filled a vacancy without closing a department for wasting money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Fairplay for Lambert taking the time to write that letter Do you honestly think he has written that? Fair enough if you do but it's very similar to other letters coming out of the club supposedly written by the manager. You prat. Interesting form of debate that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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