Manager Paul Lambert

[Zatman]

4 points off top 10

[Didiersix]

Before yesterday, we hadn't won back to back games since May 2011. And to be fair they were slightly freakish end of season wins.

The rot, the decay in our club runs a lot deeper than Lambert. It started before he joined us.

As he said, don't underestimate the magnitude of the last two results.

We are not out of the woods by any means but the last few weeks we look like a proper side and, as Lambert has said, we have probably deserved a few more results in our favour.

When I walked out from the Bradford semi final I was shell shocked. I thought we were down and oblivion beckoned.

The fact we are not, and the fact we have won two on the bounce is a huge credit to the players and the coaching staff.

It is also a monumental credit to the supporters of our club, who turned out in big numbers to support our team against QPR. That shows you what kind of club we are.

There is a unity around our team and fans that I love and hope it will see us safe.

If we can pull it off, I believe there is reason for genuine optimism looking forward. I've always believed in Lambert - the last few weeks have shown just why.

[sonic_bouma]

it's a little bit pathetic to already read the comments about how having faith in Lambert is proving to be the right decision

 

we've won 2 games against the shittest teams in the league other than us

 

QPR could have been 3-1 or 4-1 up at half time

 

that doesn't warrant comments like "he seemingly has turned it around" and "the pieces are starting to fall together"

 

as a manager and as a team we have still been totally and utterly inept this season and Lambert is still very lucky to be managing this football club

 

the last 2 results have been a brilliant boost but they should have arrived months ago against Wigan and Southampton at home

 

if Wigan beat Newcastle tommorow things don't look as rosy

 

so let's just take a step back before we think everything is falling into place

 

UTV

[Delphinho123]

I like Lambert.

[Mantis]

To be fair to him, he does deserve credit for reversing the Christmas/January slide. That was absolutely dire and he got the criticism he deserved during that period but he deserves praise for what's happened recently.

[Keyblade]

Really happy for him. He looks a very relieved man. And those celebrations! Proud that he's our manager, whereas last year I was absolutely embarrassed by McLeish.

[Ooh-Ah]

 

 

There has been a knee jerk and over the top reaction, IMO, of some fans screaming for the manager to go.

We haven't all touched him in a corridor once, Percy.

i met houllier and Mcallister too you know, had different opinions of them. So meeting the bloke has two fifths of feck all to do with it and it is to your discredit that you feel it does to be honest.

As I said I felt the over reaction knee jerk screaming for him to go was wrong and far to premature. I am glad that the las two results have gone our way and that lambert is showing it may be right to have a more long term pragmatic view, in my opinion of course.

Over reaction? We've just won two on the bounce and we're still one place above the relegation zone. That suggests a quite dreadful season so far. I'd say Lambert's got away with it so far. If this was a McLeish side he'd have been hung drawn and quartered by now.

 

The difference with Lambert is that under him the players are genuinely trying and even in the predicament we were in pre-Reading, they still had enough confidence and team spirit to pull off two massive comebacks in a row. We're not out of the woods yet but I'd fancy our chances of staying up. Also as a team we're actually attacking the opposition and trying to score goals. That's why people are happy with Lambert in spite of our league position.

 

Under McLeish the players looked disinterested and completely bereft of confidence. We rarely even looked like scoring a goal, let alone getting a win. His tactics were sickeningly negative. I doubt I was alone in thinking that we were certainties to go down around this time last year, and but for the referee missing Alan Hutton's handball against WBA we would have. We were utterly pathetic for the entirety of his reign. That's why people weren't happy with McLeish.

[ciggiesnbeer]

I have never wavered in my support of him. No really. No need to check my post history, I have always believed.

[legov]

 

 

 

There has been a knee jerk and over the top reaction, IMO, of some fans screaming for the manager to go.

We haven't all touched him in a corridor once, Percy.

i met houllier and Mcallister too you know, had different opinions of them. So meeting the bloke has two fifths of feck all to do with it and it is to your discredit that you feel it does to be honest.

As I said I felt the over reaction knee jerk screaming for him to go was wrong and far to premature. I am glad that the las two results have gone our way and that lambert is showing it may be right to have a more long term pragmatic view, in my opinion of course.

Over reaction? We've just won two on the bounce and we're still one place above the relegation zone. That suggests a quite dreadful season so far. I'd say Lambert's got away with it so far. If this was a McLeish side he'd have been hung drawn and quartered by now.

 

We're closer to the top half than the bottom 3

 

Stunning stat.

 

 

[Ghost]

I'm still firmly on the fence in my opinion of Lambert.

 

He strikes me as a dour man, very stubborn in what he wants to do. With regards to tactics and team selection, he has made many questionable calls. His handling of the media has also been awkward.

I'm fully aware of the restrictions he seems to be working under as pointed out by other posters but going out of the cups to lesser league opposition (especially in the Capital One Cup over two legs) was awful.

He has been in charge of a team that has served up some real dross in certain games.

 

On the flip side, he has also been in charge of a team that has played some beautiful stuff at times and probably should have won more games if we'd had that little bit of extra luck.

We have now won two games back to back for the first time in forever with a young team still finding its feet in the league. You can see signs of what Lambert is trying to do with the emphasis on possession based football, but the players aren't able to put it into practice well enough on a consistent basis just yet.

 

This talk of turning the corner or pieces falling into place is a little premature in my view. Surely everyone can see from our performances this season that we are incredibly inconsistent?

 

We are far from safe this season. A couple of surprise results and we could find ourselves back in the relegation zone.

However, in saying that, the team seems to be united and right behind the manager. They look like they're fighting for each other, for the fans, and aren't going to throw the towel in just yet. You can see the passion that Lambert has on the sidelines from the way he encourages the players on and celebrated our goals.

 

It's too early to judge Lambert's Villa managerial career. It certainly hasn't turned out how we (and he) would have wanted but there is still fight in this manager and his team. It's up to them to push on from this base and keep going. The time to judge the managerial staff will come at the end of the season. For now, it's important to get behind the team and give them the support they need.

[Big_John_10]

it's a little bit pathetic to already read the comments about how having faith in Lambert is proving to be the right decision

 

we've won 2 games against the shittest teams in the league other than us

 

QPR could have been 3-1 or 4-1 up at half time

 

that doesn't warrant comments like "he seemingly has turned it around" and "the pieces are starting to fall together"

 

as a manager and as a team we have still been totally and utterly inept this season and Lambert is still very lucky to be managing this football club

 

the last 2 results have been a brilliant boost but they should have arrived months ago against Wigan and Southampton at home

 

if Wigan beat Newcastle tommorow things don't look as rosy

 

so let's just take a step back before we think everything is falling into place

 

UTV

Well said.

Beating the 19th and 20th placed teams was massive for us and I'll give him credit for it.

But it's a disgrace that playing the 19th and 20th placed teams were so important to us with 8 games to go. 2 wins does not suddenly make the rest of the what's happened disappear.

People are saying he deserves praise for keeping us up with kids? How on earth does that work? It was his decision and his transfers that built such a young side that has struggled this season. If I'm underperforming in my job due to stupid decision making then i certainly don't deserve praise if after months and months of shitness i suddenly start to make the right decisions, i should have been doing it from day 1.

Worst ever premiership start.

First time we've ever lost by 8 goals

And for a long time the worst defensive record, worst goal scoring record and worst goal difference in the league.

Other shit club records broken or come extremely close to being broken.

And that should all be forgotten because we beat the two teams below us? Haha Lamberts a lucky man.

I hope he does become the manager I thought we were getting in the summer, but he's got a long way to go before I'm convinced.

[lexicon]

it's a little bit pathetic to already read the comments about how having faith in Lambert is proving to be the right decision

 

we've won 2 games against the shittest teams in the league other than us

 

QPR could have been 3-1 or 4-1 up at half time

 

that doesn't warrant comments like "he seemingly has turned it around" and "the pieces are starting to fall together"

 

as a manager and as a team we have still been totally and utterly inept this season and Lambert is still very lucky to be managing this football club

 

the last 2 results have been a brilliant boost but they should have arrived months ago against Wigan and Southampton at home

 

if Wigan beat Newcastle tommorow things don't look as rosy

 

so let's just take a step back before we think everything is falling into place

 

UTV

 

So it's wrong to get excited over things that actually happened (us winning two absolutely crucial games, back to back) because of some hypothetical scenario (QPR could have been 4-1 up at HT).... that's scraping the barrel in terms of thinking up excuses to be miserable. 

 

If Wigan beat Newcastle they are still 3 points behind us and Newcastle would lose any points they would have gained from a game in hand - leaving them just 3 points above us and easier to catch. 

[lexicon]

it's a little bit pathetic to already read the comments about how having faith in Lambert is proving to be the right decision

 

we've won 2 games against the shittest teams in the league other than us

 

QPR could have been 3-1 or 4-1 up at half time

 

that doesn't warrant comments like "he seemingly has turned it around" and "the pieces are starting to fall together"

 

as a manager and as a team we have still been totally and utterly inept this season and Lambert is still very lucky to be managing this football club

 

the last 2 results have been a brilliant boost but they should have arrived months ago against Wigan and Southampton at home

 

if Wigan beat Newcastle tommorow things don't look as rosy

 

so let's just take a step back before we think everything is falling into place

 

UTV

Well said.

Beating the 19th and 20th placed teams was massive for us and I'll give him credit for it.

But it's a disgrace that playing the 19th and 20th placed teams were so important to us with 8 games to go. 2 wins does not suddenly make the rest of the what's happened disappear.

People are saying he deserves praise for keeping us up with kids? How on earth does that work? It was his decision and his transfers that built such a young side that has struggled this season. If I'm underperforming in my job due to stupid decision making then i certainly don't deserve praise if after months and months of shitness i suddenly start to make the right decisions, i should have been doing it from day 1.

Worst ever premiership start.

First time we've ever lost by 8 goals

And for a long time the worst defensive record, worst goal scoring record and worst goal difference in the league.

Other shit club records broken or come extremely close to being broken.

And that should all be forgotten because we beat the two teams below us? Haha Lamberts a lucky man.

I hope he does become the manager I thought we were getting in the summer, but he's got a long way to go before I'm convinced.

 

It depends how we finish the season.

 

You can harp on about the start of the season being shit but it's totally immaterial if we manage to finish 10th or something. 

 

I've said time and time again that he deserved at least a season to show what he can do, and then be judged accordingly. 

[LondonLax]

it's a little bit pathetic to already read the comments about how having faith in Lambert is proving to be the right decision

we've won 2 games against the shittest teams in the league other than us

QPR could have been 3-1 or 4-1 up at half time

that doesn't warrant comments like "he seemingly has turned it around" and "the pieces are starting to fall together"

as a manager and as a team we have still been totally and utterly inept this season and Lambert is still very lucky to be managing this football club

the last 2 results have been a brilliant boost but they should have arrived months ago against Wigan and Southampton at home

if Wigan beat Newcastle tommorow things don't look as rosy

so let's just take a step back before we think everything is falling into place

UTV

So it's wrong to get excited over things that actually happened (us winning two absolutely crucial games, back to back) because of some hypothetical scenario (QPR could have been 4-1 up at HT).... that's scraping the barrel in terms of thinking up excuses to be miserable.

If Wigan beat Newcastle they are still 3 points behind us and Newcastle would lose any points they would have gained from a game in hand - leaving them just 3 points above us and easier to catch.

No, it is not wrong to get excited over a win. It is wrong to start the 'Everything's falling into place' 'We've turned a corner!' drivel just because we beat the two worst teams in the league.

We have had a shit season and Lambert has been a nightmare of an appointment but at least it looks like there is a chance he won't send us down.

[lexicon]

Calm down misery guts. 

 

So what would you say if we finish, say, 12th?

[drat01]

it's a little bit pathetic to already read the comments about how having faith in Lambert is proving to be the right decision

 

we've won 2 games against the shittest teams in the league other than us

 

QPR could have been 3-1 or 4-1 up at half time

 

that doesn't warrant comments like "he seemingly has turned it around" and "the pieces are starting to fall together"

 

as a manager and as a team we have still been totally and utterly inept this season and Lambert is still very lucky to be managing this football club

 

the last 2 results have been a brilliant boost but they should have arrived months ago against Wigan and Southampton at home

 

if Wigan beat Newcastle tommorow things don't look as rosy

 

so let's just take a step back before we think everything is falling into place

 

UTV

 

So it's wrong to get excited over things that actually happened (us winning two absolutely crucial games, back to back) because of some hypothetical scenario (QPR could have been 4-1 up at HT).... that's scraping the barrel in terms of thinking up excuses to be miserable. 

 

If Wigan beat Newcastle they are still 3 points behind us and Newcastle would lose any points they would have gained from a game in hand - leaving them just 3 points above us and easier to catch. 

 

Lexicon I am struggling to find people who are not pleased that we have won the last two matches. The point that is being conveniently (IMO) missed though is that we still find ourselves in a bad position and the facts, and they are not opinions, that we have suffered so many times this last year, still bring into question (for some I give you that) the qualities that Lambert brings or more importantly does not bring.

 

I think you would struggle to find any real Villa fan who does not want success for the club, and if that comes with Lambert in charge then great, but we are not anywhere near success at the moment and a lot of the problems, a fair few that have been of Lambert's making are still there. We may well escape relegation this year, but can that really be classed as a success season, especially when you look at the long list of bad things that have happened, poor performance records broke, record defeats, losses to Bradford etc etc.

 

For most Lambert was a great appointment but so far (and yes that is a key part of this) his record and performance fall way short of what is expected and needed. Comparisons to McLeish, Houllier etc are meaningless in the whole scheme of things because a lot of the "praise" seems to be based solely on the fact that he is neither of these managers - both of which never had any major support from the fans - rightly or wrongly a whole other discussion point.

 

I am finding it interesting also the problem that some posters are having now re Lambert and the fact that Lerner did not sack him. That is the same Lerner who apparently is the cause of the problems, is he now to be praised for this action?

 

So great we won last two games (and we should be happier certainly at that) , still have a lot of things to improve on, still nowhere near safe, still have a lot of issues all over the club and massive change is still needed. Some are convinced by Lambert others not so. No abuse needed to posters for having different views on this, but hey ho and away we go ....

[Big_John_10]

You can harp on about the start of the season being shit but it's totally immaterial if we manage to finish 10th or something.

It would be a great finish but it wouldn't change what went before it.

We finished 9th under Houllier but that didn't change the fact that most of the season was absolutely abysmal.

Lambert's signings and decision making are the main reasons for this poor season. Him starting to improve now doesn't change that.

I'm glad the improvements are being made and like I said I hope he becomes the manager I thought we were getting. But at the moment 2 wins against the 19th and 20th placed teams doesn't make the numerous mistakes and awful season so far disappear.

[LondonLax]

Calm down misery guts.

So what would you say if we finish, say, 12th?

A second ago you were criticising the other poster for bringing up hypothetical scenarios to support his view point...

[lexicon]

Calm down misery guts.

So what would you say if we finish, say, 12th?

A second ago you were criticising the other poster for bringing up hypothetical scenarios to support his view point...

 

There's a massive difference between the past and the future - hypothesising about things that didn't happen and using them as an excuse to whinge (i.e. QPR scoring 3 goals in the first half) is in no way related to the question I asked you.

So answer it, or don't. 

[Big_John_10]

If we finished 12th I'd be happy and it would give me more confidence that Lambert can do better the following season.

But it wouldn't change this season and the reasons I've been unhappy with him.