The Lovely Mark Lawrenson

[sonlyme]

I am puzzled.

I don't go in for conspiracy theories - much.   But I'm getting the distinct feeling that 'football's number 1 expert' has it in for the Villa.


Lovely Lawro - but why does he hate the Villa?

Reading his latest Premiership predictions for the weekend on the BBC Sport website I was struck by yet another pessimistic opinion of the Villa.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20784357

Lawrenson says -

The Villa fans seem to have accepted where they are at right now under Paul Lambert. They know they don't have much quality but, if their team gives them absolutely everything, then they are happy with that.

The thing that gets me is the middle bit.

'They know they don't have much quality'

Do we?  I don't know that at all.  And if I try to be as unbiased as I can be - Villa's second goal against Lawrenson's beloved Liverpool last weekend still speaks of nothing but quality.  Indeed - if Liverpool, or Arsenal, or Man Utd had scored it we would have had ten minutes of MOTD dedicated to analysis and back-slapping such was its quality.  But still - it was scored by the Villa - so make some nice noises and move on.

But this is not all that preplexes me.  This does.



I know - we are in transition.  We only just escaped last year.  We've had a slow start, etc.  But compare where Lawro has us - and has QPR - and most of that is pre-Harry.

I may be alone but I am sensing a dismissive tone from Lawrenson when talking of Villa.

This is not like Lily Savage's prediction - which while annoying - was at least designed to get him some attention and boost his fledgling media career.  Lawrenson's ire seems to run deeper - have we done him some terrible injustice?  Because his view of where and who Villa are does not in any way tally with mine.

I shall keep watch fellow Villans.  And update where necessary.

[The Man With A Stick]

Perhaps his sister bought him some claret and blue curtains for the bedroom once, but they didn't quite go with his bedding.

I just hate the bloke's voice, it goes through me.  I only watch MoTD once in a blue moon, that's when Lawro or the Jug-Eared Goalhanger aren't present.  Last week I was in heaven, as the Villa won and neither of those pricks were on board.

[Eugene Fraxby]

I hate the bloke- he's seems permenantly pissed off to be doing a job most people would kill for and doesn't put much effort in to it.

However, I can't really argue with that synopsis of our team- we're not 3 points off the relegation zone for no reason and Benteke aside you can argue there's not a great deal of quality there.

If he said the same about Sunderland or West Ham you wouldn't bat an eyelid. In fact, I bet supporters of most teams in the Premier League think he's got it in for them.

Such is football.

[Somniloquism]

Perhaps his sister bought him some claret and blue curtains for the bedroom once, but they didn't quite go with his bedding.

I just hate the bloke's voice, it goes through me.  I only watch MoTD once in a blue moon, that's when Lawro or the Jug-Eared Goalhanger aren't present.  Last week I was in heaven, as the Villa won and neither of those pricks were on board.

Lawro was there with Shearer.

[Dr Butler]

was he actually that good as a player ? I know he won a few things with Liverpoo but most of their fans I know seem to hold Hughes,Hansen, Hysen, Scales, Thompson and even Skrtel in higher regard than the moustached Irish Maldini.

oh and by the way he is a Villa hating twat.

UTV
The Doc

[dave shelley]

I find him arrogant, sarcastic, sometimes ill-informed and decidedly unfunny, but he was a decent player. 

[The Man With A Stick]

Lawro was there with Shearer.

You're right, I must have got carried away in the joy of Lineker not being there.

[andyh]

he has NOT got it in for Villa.

He's just a c unt !!

[Eugene Fraxby]

I find him arrogant, sarcastic, sometimes ill-informed and decidedly unfunny, but he was a decent player.

Yes. This is biggest crime.

Also:

Happy Christmas Lawro
Since this is the last Mediawatch before the mid-point of the season, it seems a decent time to take a look at how Mark Lawrenson's predictions for The BBC Website are coming along.
 
If Lawro's foretellings came to pass, then Norwich would be in the bottom three, rather than their actual position of eighth. West Brom are 13th in Lawroworld, while back in reality they sit in seventh. Liverpool are of course five places better off in the world according to Mark, while all Arsenal's troubles are soothed by their position of second on the Lawrotable.
 
However, QPR are the biggest winners, sitting a very comfortable eighth place with 27 points in the Lawrostandings, as opposed to their actual position of 19th with ten.
 
Happy Christmas Lawro. Don't ever change.

(F365)

[The Man With A Stick]

I hate the bloke- he's seems permenantly pissed off to be doing a job most people would kill for and doesn't put much effort in to it.

The same applies to most of the MoTD team.  They showed themselves up in South Africa when one of the minnows (possibly New Zealand) were playing and they all admitted they knew nothing about them.

[Somniloquism]

The same applies to most of the MoTD team.  They showed themselves up in South Africa when one of the minnows (possibly New Zealand) were playing and they all admitted they knew nothing about them.

They need a clear out really. Sky, mainly because of the Gray fiasco, had a clear out and found in Gary Neville a fresh new outlook on punditry. They also regularly add new faces to the Soccer Saturday line-up albeit to mixed results. MOTD have had the same faces pretty much for the last 15 years with Linekar, Hansen and Lawro with only the addition of Mr Charisma as a regular. Their one good hope, Dixon, was lost to ESPN.

[UK Redsox]

Don't forget his very successful period as Newcastle's "Defensive Co-ordinator"

[E I Adio]

I agree with Somniloqism. Long overdue for a total clear out and rethink.

The current style is tired, insipid, lacking in any insight and in Lawrenson's case also lazy, and in Shearer's case lacking in anything worth listening to. In fact, I've got into the habit of either switching the sound off or flicking channels between games.

Hanson I still have a bit of time for, but it's really not good enough to rely just on animated computer wizardry to keep us interested during the punditry. (Which it doesn't anyway)

[bertlambshank]

"Rubber faced Prick"

[The Man With A Stick]

Pat Nevin's pretty good, but he seems to be confined to Five Live with that odious muppet Green.  I think he does the Euro Vase games on Channel 5 as well.