Manager Paul Lambert

[praisedmambo]

 

I think people need to realise that we're never going to be in the top four unless we have a mega bucks owner. Best we can hope for is competing around 6 to 8 and a good cup run. That maybe passive acceptance in the eyes of some but there you go

 

I have not seen any posts were people are expecting the Villa to be in the top four.Would be nice if we were competing for the top 6-8 or even 10th places but were not,and that's the problem,not the lack of champions league football.

 

Be fair, we're only 3 points from 10th place. I think it's a bit early to say we're not competing for 10th! We did absolutely have a difficult opening to the season too. 

 

Here are facts: Last January there were people on here full of doom, because they couldn't see Villa's form ever changing. But form always changes, and I'm (smug?) happy enough that I stood by the team. I wasn't happy with the results through that awful period, especially not the Bradford results, but we had a lot of injuries, young players, etc etc. 

 

We do look more solid this season. We did play well to begin with. The last few games haven't been the best results, and there have been some sub-standard performances, but there was also a good performance against Everton. We really should have won/high score drawn that game. At least we're picking up points in games where we play bad, like against West Ham, rather than conceding goals all the time.  

 

A bit of perspective says form fluctuates. As I say, we were good at the start, we're not so good now, and so we can be good again. It happens every season to every team. 

Edited November 7, 2013 by praisedmambo

[PieFacE]

Weirdly for me I think that playing better teams than us suits us more than playing team like Hull, Cardiff and Stoke. Specially at home.

 

We've been found out so badly. Any manager with half a brain will sit deep and hit us on the counter. We struggle to break teams down, and we're not that brilliant defensively. 

 

At least when you play the better teams they have a go and we can counter (Arsenal, Man City). 

 

I'm really unhappy with the style of football that Lambert is having us playing. It's all well and good him saying "if we can keep this team together we'll be up there in years".... but surely we would be better off teaching this team how to play together in a positive manner, rather than just hoof it to Benteke? Because when Benteke leaves we'll do extremely well to replace him with anyone as good as he is. 

[praisedmambo]

I'm really unhappy with the style of football that Lambert is having us playing. 

But it wasn't always like that. So it doesn't always have to be like that. Things might not be quite clicking yet. For example, we played nice football against Everton. The next few games will be interesting. 

[PieFacE]

 

I'm really unhappy with the style of football that Lambert is having us playing. 

But it wasn't always like that. So it doesn't always have to be like that. Things might not be quite clicking yet. For example, we played nice football against Everton. The next few games will be interesting. 

 

Quite. Maybe i'm looking at the negatives too much and forgetting the positive way we play. But the way we played against West Ham was just embarrassing. 

[praisedmambo]

 

 

I'm really unhappy with the style of football that Lambert is having us playing. 

But it wasn't always like that. So it doesn't always have to be like that. Things might not be quite clicking yet. For example, we played nice football against Everton. The next few games will be interesting. 

 

Quite. Maybe i'm looking at the negatives too much and forgetting the positive way we play. But the way we played against West Ham was just embarrassing. 

 

Ha, the West Ham game is the only game this season I didn't watch. I caught the last 15 minutes, but it seems by all accounts I was fortunate. Maybe missing that game has kept me positive!

[SikhInTrinity]

Good points HH.

[Richard]

. Biggest disappointment of season so far for me was losing at home to Newcastle.

 

me too

[TRO]

we seem to have stopped getting busted, so there is a bit of defensive progress there.

I think that the type of teams we have faced due to such a tough fixture start and losing our best player has conspired against us a bit.

The teams we have faced can move the ball and keep possession, this has a habit of wearing you down and we have drifted in to a more direct style.

its like a boxer who keeps getting outpointed, your in the match, but getting worn down by the superior ring craft.

I have known for many years we need some better quality in midfield, I guess the tea lady knows too, so when are we going to take action or are we just going to drift and say the same things over and over again.

we have always found money for a centre half and centre forward and a goal keeper....all so very noble strengthening the spine, which basically keeps your head above water, but when are we going to put some meat on the bone, when is a bit of substance going to arrive?

[Morpheus]

 

 

I think people need to realise that we're never going to be in the top four unless we have a mega bucks owner. Best we can hope for is competing around 6 to 8 and a good cup run. That maybe passive acceptance in the eyes of some but there you go

 

I have not seen any posts were people are expecting the Villa to be in the top four.Would be nice if we were competing for the top 6-8 or even 10th places but were not,and that's the problem,not the lack of champions league football.

 

Be fair, we're only 3 points from 10th place. I think it's a bit early to say we're not competing for 10th! We did absolutely have a difficult opening to the season too. 

 

Here are facts: Last January there were people on here full of doom, because they couldn't see Villa's form ever changing. But form always changes, and I'm (smug?) happy enough that I stood by the team. I wasn't happy with the results through that awful period, especially not the Bradford results, but we had a lot of injuries, young players, etc etc. 

 

We do look more solid this season. We did play well to begin with. The last few games haven't been the best results, and there have been some sub-standard performances, but there was also a good performance against Everton. We really should have won/high score drawn that game. At least we're picking up points in games where we play bad, like against West Ham, rather than conceding goals all the time.  

 

A bit of perspective says form fluctuates. As I say, we were good at the start, we're not so good now, and so we can be good again. It happens every season to every team. 

 

People last season were rightly 'full of doom' due to the fact that our Premiership status was only secured with one game to go and those very same people predicted a relegation battle which was ridiculed by certain posters at the start of the season so I don't believe anyone should be 'smug' concerning last season.

 

Just one other point. You say 'form always changes' and 'it happens every season to every team.' I'm sure most relegated teams would disagree with that. 

[Dodgyknees]

Only £10m was spent on seven new players this summer - one of which is a reserve goalkeeper and another who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after looking like being the pick of the bunch. When you spend so little on so many players, it's fair to presume every one of them is a gamble although not gambles that will break the bank.

Would the manager has rather brought in a Gareth Barry? Of course he would have. I'd also worth noting Lakaku was a player he wanted to sign on loan at the start of last season but the club couldn't/wouldn't pay the loan fee Chelsea demanding and his wages to go with it. So whether people like it or not signing young players, and young players who don't cost a lot of money, is the ONLY option open to the manager.

Now I've mentioned this before......look at what Norwich spent. Look at Cardiff who we play this weekend - they spend over £30m on five players who have all played in the Champions League or Europa League and £17.5 of it was spent on two defensive players. So when criticising the team, and I'm not saying they don't deserve any, I think it is only fair to be balanced and look and the money that has been made available to the manager.

Like last season, I expect some of the summer signings to improve as the season progresses. We are only in the first few months of the season. Out of our opening 10 games, six of them have been against teams who we all consider to be the top 7 in the country. We've drawn away to Hull and away to West Ham - I also don't think they were the worst results and we beat Norwich away. Biggest disappointment of season so far for me was losing at home to Newcastle.

But we've picked up 11 points from this ten games and are only one win away from moving to mid-table. We are now entering a run of games where our next five or all games where we would hope to take points - they are all winnable. I'm not saying we will win them all but it gives the team a much greater chance of getting points on the board and it will be interesting to see where we are at the end of that run of games.

And with the squad being so small injuries are a greater problem to us than other teams. No Gabby or Weimann is always going to be a big problem for us. No natural left-back either. So it is a tough gig.

But I believe we will be in a better position come the end of this month. I don't think it is fair to be overly critical of the manager at this stage.

Only my opinion tho........................

And this is why I do not blame the manager. He is doing the best with an awful budget and sometimes this means grinding out results.

[Morpheus]

Only £10m was spent on seven new players this summer - one of which is a reserve goalkeeper and another who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after looking like being the pick of the bunch. When you spend so little on so many players, it's fair to presume every one of them is a gamble although not gambles that will break the bank.

Would the manager has rather brought in a Gareth Barry? Of course he would have. I'd also worth noting Lakaku was a player he wanted to sign on loan at the start of last season but the club couldn't/wouldn't pay the loan fee Chelsea demanding and his wages to go with it. So whether people like it or not signing young players, and young players who don't cost a lot of money, is the ONLY option open to the manager.

Now I've mentioned this before......look at what Norwich spent. Look at Cardiff who we play this weekend - they spend over £30m on five players who have all played in the Champions League or Europa League and £17.5 of it was spent on two defensive players. So when criticising the team, and I'm not saying they don't deserve any, I think it is only fair to be balanced and look and the money that has been made available to the manager.

Like last season, I expect some of the summer signings to improve as the season progresses. We are only in the first few months of the season. Out of our opening 10 games, six of them have been against teams who we all consider to be the top 7 in the country. We've drawn away to Hull and away to West Ham - I also don't think they were the worst results and we beat Norwich away. Biggest disappointment of season so far for me was losing at home to Newcastle.

But we've picked up 11 points from this ten games and are only one win away from moving to mid-table. We are now entering a run of games where our next five or all games where we would hope to take points - they are all winnable. I'm not saying we will win them all but it gives the team a much greater chance of getting points on the board and it will be interesting to see where we are at the end of that run of games.

And with the squad being so small injuries are a greater problem to us than other teams. No Gabby or Weimann is always going to be a big problem for us. No natural left-back either. So it is a tough gig.

But I believe we will be in a better position come the end of this month. I don't think it is fair to be overly critical of the manager at this stage.

Only my opinion tho........................

Generally HH any criticism that i have seen has been balanced with more patience advocated due to who we've played and what period of the season we're in. Many have also mentioned the limited funding Lambert has had to endure and again i don't think there's a villa fan alive at the moment who has taken that into consideration along with the small squad we have. I've also not seen anyone expect top six either this season unless there was a distinct increase in finance and most have advocated waiting on our next batch of resullts before making a critical judgement on where we are currently heading so to be fair we all are showing patience. 

 

As i've stated elsewhere however there is concern at how our style of football has regressed compared to the run in last season and indeed some of Lambert's tactics which must be questioned particularly against West Ham. Personally my main gripe with Lambert has been his allocation of that limited funding but generally speaking i think the general fan base has been more than fair with Lambert.  

[Big_John_10]

So whether people like it or not signing young players, and young players who don't cost a lot of money, is the ONLY option open to the manager.

So does this put to bed the absolute rubbish idea that lambert has chose to sign these players and he turned down the chance to spend more money?

[Big_John_10]

But form always changes, and I'm (smug?) happy enough that I stood by the team.

Funny how that form instantly changed when we played a system that many of us criticising lambert wanted. Made me feel a bit smug as well.

[briny_ear]

I think Lambert can be criticised for some of his selections, formations and tactics, even though we all understand that he has been given squiddledy push money by our billionaire owner and has done a decent enough job with limited resources.

 

Don't see that we can possibly sign up to an argument that he shouldn't be criticised at all (if that is what HairyHands's reference to "overt"criticism being unfair is intended to mean),

[Big_John_10]

Only £10m was spent on seven new players this summer

And people claim that we're not just trying to survive on the cheap.

[praisedmambo]

 

Pople last season were rightly 'full of doom' due to the fact that our Premiership status was only secured with one game to go and those very same people predicted a relegation battle which was ridiculed by certain posters at the start of the season so I don't believe anyone should be 'smug' concerning last season.

 

Just one other point. You say 'form always changes' and 'it happens every season to every team.' I'm sure most relegated teams would disagree with that. 

 

The doom depends on how you look at it. And it's clearly a glass half-full/half-empty situation, which we will never agree on!

 

It was always going to be a tough journey, and I have faith we have a good manager capable of working within our financial position. 

 

I still think by the end of this season we will have made progress. I'm not concerned by the bad football against West Ham. 

 

As for your last point, it is certainly true, but I guess I've never seen us being that bad: I've never seen us beyond hope. In fact, the closest I ever got to that was McLeish's season in charge. Back then I was full of doom. The outlook now is much better (in the long term, no matter one result, or bad home form, or some players not performing right now). I believe we will do better this season than last, and that in many ways we already are. You'd probably say our performances are more 'mature', even if they are a bit lacking at times.

Edited November 7, 2013 by praisedmambo

[Zatman]

 

Only £10m was spent on seven new players this summer

And people claim that we're not just trying to survive on the cheap.

 

 

thats for a different thread

[praisedmambo]

 

But form always changes, and I'm (smug?) happy enough that I stood by the team.

Funny how that form instantly changed when we played a system that many of us criticising lambert wanted. Made me feel a bit smug as well.

 

Lol yeah, and I bet he went on villatalk and read your posts. I remember discussing this with you at the time. It's also funny that the change in formation/change in form coincided with certain players coming back from injury, and also buying Sylla. (But there is no point going into that again.)

Edited November 7, 2013 by praisedmambo

[Big_John_10]

But form always changes, and I'm (smug?) happy enough that I stood by the team.

Funny how that form instantly changed when we played a system that many of us criticising lambert wanted. Made me feel a bit smug as well.

Lol yeah, and I bet he went on villatalk and read your posts. I remember discussing this with you at the time. It's also funny that the change in formation/change in form coincided with certain players coming back from injury, and also buying Sylla. (But there is no point going into that again.)

Really? I guess you didn't see the first half against Newcastle.

[praisedmambo]

 

 

 

But form always changes, and I'm (smug?) happy enough that I stood by the team.

Funny how that form instantly changed when we played a system that many of us criticising lambert wanted. Made me feel a bit smug as well.

Lol yeah, and I bet he went on villatalk and read your posts. I remember discussing this with you at the time. It's also funny that the change in formation/change in form coincided with certain players coming back from injury, and also buying Sylla. (But there is no point going into that again.)

Really? I guess you didn't see the first half against Newcastle.

 

Really!!!!! At half time in that game GABBY AGBONLAHOR and ANDREAS WEIMANN came on!!! having both been recently out injured!!!

 

And also, when they came on, there is no way we were playing the 433 we played for the rest of the season. It was more 343—the only defenders left were Lowton, Baker and Clark. As I pointed out to you way back, our poor form also funnily coincided with a period when we were relying on the likes of Herd, Lichaj, Stephens and Bannan in the team, and also at times playing Lowton at CB. You choose to see it as: we played 352, and that's why we were shit over christmas, but there is no way on earth it is as black and white as that. Not to mention playing that formation began when Vlaar and Gabby were injured. Injuries have been an enormous part of using that formation, which by the way has got us a result at Liverpool and recently against Man City and Norwich. 

 

We also did not use it in the 1-0 home defeat to Southampton, a game where we were robbed, and which was before the Newcastle game, so this miraculous change in the second half at Newcastle did not mark the moment we first changed formation. We also didn't use 352 in the FA cup against Ipswich, nor the League Cup games against Bradford—one a particularly shit result with the 433 system.

 

Also, before the Newcastle game, we drew 2-2 against West Brom—and I remember we were good in that game. We played 352!!!! When Weimann was injured. 

 

You're twisting history. 

 

The only consistent thing is: we were better last season when we had important players fit, irrespective of the formation. 

Edited November 7, 2013 by praisedmambo