Manager Paul Lambert

[Shillzz]

 

 

Yes but he should have had a system in mind for the players he was not only going to purchase but those already at the club. He also had a spine of players at the club with Premiership experience but he chose to sell or let go two of those and alienate a third so i don't think it's fair at all to say he hadn't decent players to build a team around.

 

Whether under instruction or not the turn around was done too quickly and we very nearly paid for it with our Premiership status. Its very easy to forget now that with only one or two results going the opposite way we could still be biting our nails on Sunday.

 

I can't think of too many players who were shut out who shouldn't have been. You could say Bent, but it's hard to argue such a point when our attack has been the strongest aspect of our side. 

 

Dunne (injury), Warnock, Hutton, Makoun, Given & Ireland were all left out for good reason.

 

I was thinking of Collins, Cuellar and Bent as a spine to work with. I don't think we would have conceded as much with the two Cs in central defence and would we have scored less goals playing to Bent's strengths?

 

Its all conjecture of course and we'll never know for sure one way or another but Lambert did have a decent spine to work with if you also include Agbonlahor as well.

 

 

Yeah I'd actually agree with you there, particularly concerning Collins, Cuellar less so.

[SikhInTrinity]

Cuellar had left prior to PL joining, Collins was shifted out due to his lifestyle and high wages for being an average CB at best.

[Big_John_10]

Given how poor the spine was last season with all that "experience" and how we've already surpassed the points total amassed last year all while playing better football, am I the only one that thinks if Lambert had kept this spine that maybe we could've ended up doing worse?

 

Besides, I think if Dunne had been fit and Petrov had been healthy Lambert would've used both of them. He also used Gabby extensively.

We've broke a premiership record for goals conceded and games without a clean sheet.

So no I don't see how it could have been worse.

[Oaks]

Given how poor the spine was last season with all that "experience" and how we've already surpassed the points total amassed last year all while playing better football, am I the only one that thinks if Lambert had kept this spine that maybe we could've ended up doing worse?

 

Besides, I think if Dunne had been fit and Petrov had been healthy Lambert would've used both of them. He also used Gabby extensively.

We've broke a premiership record for goals conceded and games without a clean sheet.

So no I don't see how it could have been worse.

Less points and less wins like the season before.

[dudevillaisnice]

“The remit of bringing in young players is still there because of the finances."

 

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/paul-lambert-wants-more-young-3867511

 

 

Hmm that quote doesn't sit right with me and I don't know why.. Has he been put in this situation via the board/chairman or does he also want to bring in young players through his own accord rather than finance?

[Mantis]

 

Given how poor the spine was last season with all that "experience" and how we've already surpassed the points total amassed last year all while playing better football, am I the only one that thinks if Lambert had kept this spine that maybe we could've ended up doing worse?

 

Besides, I think if Dunne had been fit and Petrov had been healthy Lambert would've used both of them. He also used Gabby extensively.

We've broke a premiership record for goals conceded and games without a clean sheet.

So no I don't see how it could have been worse.

 

Relegation? Less goals? Less wins? Less points?

[Big_John_10]

Or more clean sheets, less goals conceded, less points dropped from winning positions and higher league finish.

[Mantis]

Or more clean sheets, less goals conceded, less points dropped from winning positions and higher league finish.

Yes those would all be nice but you were going on about how you couldn't see how it could be any worse, which is pretty strange really given that last season was worse than this one.

[Big_John_10]

I thought we were talking about it being properly worse. Not as in getting 2 to 5 points less worse.

And I think an experienced spine would have helped our defence which was a lot better last year.

So with a better defence and this years attack I think we'd have finished much higher and been much more comfortable.

[Mantis]

I thought we were talking about it being properly worse. Not as in getting 2 to 5 points less worse.

And I think an experienced spine would have helped our defence which was a lot better last year.

So with a better defence and this years attack I think we'd have finished much higher and been much more comfortable.

2 to 5 points less could potentially be the difference between relegation and staying up.

 

I disagree. This "experienced" spine was shit last year and just because we've been much worse defensively this season doesn't mean we'd have been better off with Collins and Cuellar at the back. Don't forget that McLeish was an extremely defensive manager so naturally we would concede less under him. If you actually look at our spine from last season I can't see many players I'd rather have playing for us this season.

 

Guzan > Given

Dunne's been injured and Collins and Cuellar were never that good

Petrov's been ill so nothing to do with Lambert

Benteke and Weimann have got 26 league goals between them in the league this season compared to the experienced Bent and Heskey who got 10 last year.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Mantis

[sharkyvilla]

Cuellar had left prior to PL joining, Collins was shifted out due to his lifestyle and high wages for being an average CB at best.

 

For all our faults this year, thank God we didn't have to put up with watching Collins.  Maybe if we knew Dunne would have missed the entire season it would have been wise to keep Collins but even so, I'm so glad we got rid.

[Oaks]

I thought we were talking about it being properly worse. Not as in getting 2 to 5 points less worse.

And I think an experienced spine would have helped our defence which was a lot better last year.

So with a better defence and this years attack I think we'd have finished much higher and been much more comfortable.

Well the best centre back we had Dunne has been injured all season...not a lot he could have done (no pun) about that.

[praisedmambo]

 

 

 

Lambert had a full pre season to learn about our players and i'm sure he also new enough about us when he was manager of Norwich.

 

 

I do think you underestimate the reality of football management, and that explains the things you say. 

 

 

Seconded - total rubbish Morph to be honest. Fail to see how you think a pre-season at a club in turmoil and still not having signed all the players he wanted should mean the team should hit the ground running??

 

No-one said anything about hitting the ground running but then no-one predicted how bad we actually were at the start of the season and i refer the rest to my above post rubbish or not?

 

So what? What's your point? And, er, what matters...the first six games, or the whole season? Especially considering how much this club needed turning around. 

[Morpheus]

What matters is that we stayed up and i couldn't be bothered debating the rest as its been done to death now.

[praisedmambo]

What matters is that we stayed up and i couldn't be bothered debating the rest as its been done to death now.

Yep. I agree. 

[terrytini]

AAAAAAAgggggghhhhhh!!

 

Didn't come on here for ages and ages as I couldn't bear the endless premature complaiang of a couple of people who thought they knew better than the Manager.

 

I assumed I could come on now and see the most positive forum for years - how wrong I was.  But for the same reasons/people.

 

I would have thought ANYONE could see that Lambert has been the best thing to happen to this Club for many many years.

 

We are finally OFF the ridiculous 'star player' merry - go round (Samba anyone ?), we are breeding a real Team ethos, with young hungry players (who at worst will be sold off to enable continued re-investment).  We ar enow one of the best placed Clubs in the Country following last year which in so many ways was a modern day nadir.

 

We play exciting football, we will get better and better.  We cut and chopped and risked for a reason, and it has worked.

 

Yes only a few points off the bottom, but equally only a few off top 10, and so much to build on. 

 

I would agree that defensively there is work needed, but anyone can see how much tighter and better the Team got at that as the season went on.

 

I feel so sorry for those who still aren't happy - and pray I don't get sat next to them next year - bring back standing so the enthusiasts can be together !!

 

Roll on 2013/14

[slabsquare]

AAAAAAAgggggghhhhhh!!

 

Didn't come on here for ages and ages as I couldn't bear the endless premature complaiang of a couple of people who thought they knew better than the Manager.

 

I assumed I could come on now and see the most positive forum for years - how wrong I was.  But for the same reasons/people.

 

I would have thought ANYONE could see that Lambert has been the best thing to happen to this Club for many many years.

 

We are finally OFF the ridiculous 'star player' merry - go round (Samba anyone ?), we are breeding a real Team ethos, with young hungry players (who at worst will be sold off to enable continued re-investment).  We ar enow one of the best placed Clubs in the Country following last year which in so many ways was a modern day nadir.

 

We play exciting football, we will get better and better.  We cut and chopped and risked for a reason, and it has worked.

 

Yes only a few points off the bottom, but equally only a few off top 10, and so much to build on. 

 

I would agree that defensively there is work needed, but anyone can see how much tighter and better the Team got at that as the season went on.

 

I feel so sorry for those who still aren't happy - and pray I don't get sat next to them next year - bring back standing so the enthusiasts can be together !!

 

Roll on 2013/14

Hard to fault most of this. Blame Ellis, Lerner, O'Hissyfit, McBluen#se. But get real. Lambert was dealt a rotten hand by those who had gone before - he cut it fine but the very best we could have hoped for was that he would keep us up this season. And he did it with a commitment to decent football (which, barring Houllier, we hadn't seen for 6 or 7 years), and by assembling hungry, unproven youngsters to replace the mediocre mercenaries who were bleeding the club dry

 

The crisis of the wage hogs which the narcissistic dinosaur O'Hissyfit created is over. Now we cash in on Bent and N'Zogbia; offload Dunne and Ireland; upgrade on a few of the others; and hope that Benteke stays for at least one more year or sell him for a fortune. But I genuinely believe that the only way is up

 

I hate that Villa have become a bottom 5 club, that even next season we will probably only be mid-table. But we have to be realistic - we're rebuilding after an era where people with huge egos failed to be realise our potential, or recklessly gambled with our long-term livelihood to try to boost their own reputations, or dragged us into the mire with their breath-taking incompetence. The worst is over. With Lambert a better future beckons

[HeyAnty]

Unfortunitly it took a number of people on here to realise the hand lambert had been dealt and how its a 3 year plan instead of a 8 month plan. I always said if he managed to keep us up this season he should be paraded through the city on an open top bus.

I really hope we can keep him for a few years. Most exciting football Villa have been playing for a long time.

[Delphinho123]

To think, we are only just recovering from the O'Neill era. 

 

Lambert is the man for the future.

[Oaks]

I couldn't give a shit the defence is shit if we keep scoring more goals than we concede like we've been doing recently.