The Paul Lambert thread - poll reset after our capitulation to Hull

[Ads]

I don't think we are a shambles, that implies a mania and a frantic struggle one way or the other.

We resemble something more terminal almost, we know what it would take to do something great, but lack the energy and ambition to do it. Like a war weary veteran who just doesn't have it in him to get back up and get back in the fight.

[brian green]

Or like Blackadder stick pencils up his nose and work his ticket.   Villa make me feel like pushing pencils up my nose for sure.

[brontebilly]

TThink Lambert is starting to spout some sense in the media at last. Finally coming across some bit articulate rather than a cliched mumbling wreck.

Advertising for his next post I guess. Might be an alright sort behind it all, as his predecessor was in fairness.

[Villafirst]

Lerner has proved a complete disaster. He really hasn't a clue how to run a football club. Everything has to be in secret, almost cowardice. Bright future?

[rob_bridge]

I don't think we are a shambles, that implies a mania and a frantic struggle one way or the other.

We resemble something more terminal almost, we know what it would take to do something great, but lack the energy and ambition to do it. Like a war weary veteran who just doesn't have it in him to get back up and get back in the fight.

A zombie of a football club

[Clampy]

Lerner has proved a complete disaster. He really hasn't a clue how to run a football club. Everything has to be in secret, almost cowardice. Bright future?

I'm not too sure what you mean by 'everything has to be in secret'?

[Meanwood Villa]

I'm sure you'll all be delighted to know that I am now of the opinion that Lambert is useless and the sooner he fucks off the better. We are as bad now as when he took over. No progress at all in 2 years.

[rob_bridge]

I'm sure you'll all be delighted to know that I am now of the opinion that Lambert is useless and the sooner he fucks off the better. We are as bad now as when he took over. No progress at all in 2 years.

There is a catch though.

[steamer]

He want's to stick around apparently.

http://t.co/1HzX6jWLwI

TSM was talking about his plans for the following season straight after the Norwich game, too.

Lambert has got his faults - lots of them - and we have seen almost all of them at some point this season. He's the luckiest man in football to not have got the boot for the dreadful results and even worse football he has served up this season.

When you pile on that this situation where - on his watch - his coaching team were abusing and bullying people, as well as coaching the team to play long ball tactics, then you wonder what the fuck he has done to have managed to avoid carrying the can for this season and last.

However, sadly, I suspect his boss is even more clueless than he is, and unless Lerner finds a decent buyer, this financial regime will continue into next season. If that happens, my money is on us being relegated.

Lambert should go, but the continuation of the current owner and his financial policy is a much bigger issue that needs to be sorted out if things are to improve.

I just hope that this "addressing of the ownership situation" Lerner said he'd tackle in the summer doesn't mean announcing he's looking for a buyer, and actually means he's well on the way to signing a deal, because otherwise we face a summer with a chairman who won't invest, and has publicly admitted he's had enough, and a manager proven over two years to be not up to it, who will be lingering on waiting to see what happens with the ownership.

That is the absolute worst situation you could wish on a struggling football club over the summer.

How many of us doubt Randy's ability to plunge us into precisely that situation? I don't.

A perceptive view on what could happen.
I had resigned myself to staying up by the skin of our teeth, a bit of a flurry in the transfer market and Mumbles being given to Christmas.
Now I am not sure, it seems one way or another Randy will make an announcement at the end of the season.
If he intends to stay , he should give some intent of purpose.
If he is selling, I think the deal will be announced and then it is a whole new story.
The Yanks do not pussyfoot around. TSM was gone before you could say , who the fuck is Trevor.
Every year, I hoped that Doug was on his way and that hope was around the corner.
This summer could be interesting .
How many Premier league managers are sleeping easy ?

[Morpheus]

There have been several glaring weaknesses throughout our team even since the inception of the Barry, Petrov partnership in midfield and one of those has been a lack of balance in our midfield.

Generally the best teams have one powerhouse defensive mid, one attacking mid (playmaker) and a box to box midfielder.

It is no surprise then that the last time we had that balance we did quite well by beating Man U in the league cup final and further back winning the European Cup.

I'm not saying that with a new manager and owner we would repeat the latter but I would fancy us to at least compete and win a cup or two and indeed break into the top six again.

For me that has been the overriding problem with Lambert's reign and more recent managers at the Villa in that we have not had an attacking mid since Merson and certainly no bad ass powerhouse midfielder since god knows when.

What we have had is a midfield chocked by similarity and nothing for quite sometime to get us fans back on the edge of our seats. Someone who can do that something special that we all want to emulate with our children in the back garden or our local teams.

I remember Mark Draper and how I felt when we signed him. We finally had a playmaker who tore Man U a new one in the league but sadly Draper was crucified by injury.

Some might argue that Barry was a playmaker but for me he was more of a link player in the same way that Stan Petrov was and there we have that similarity again.

Look at our present midfield. I know it hurts to do that but while we have a box to box player in Delph where is the powerhouse defensive mid and where is the playmaker?

Instead of wasting millions on Tonev, Helenius, Sylla and Kozak why didn't Lambert purchase either a quality defensive mid or attacking mid? At least we would have been one third of the way to achieve that balance.

Hopefully with a new manager and a new owner to back that manager with more money then once again we will have a better balanced midfield to take us forward.

Oh dear, look who's turned up from villa talk. Disappointing.

What's even more disappointing is your reply.

[brontebilly]

There have been several glaring weaknesses throughout our team even since the inception of the Barry, Petrov partnership in midfield and one of those has been a lack of balance in our midfield.

Generally the best teams have one powerhouse defensive mid, one attacking mid (playmaker) and a box to box midfielder.

It is no surprise then that the last time we had that balance we did quite well by beating Man U in the league cup final and further back winning the European Cup.

I'm not saying that with a new manager and owner we would repeat the latter but I would fancy us to at least compete and win a cup or two and indeed break into the top six again.

For me that has been the overriding problem with Lambert's reign and more recent managers at the Villa in that we have not had an attacking mid since Merson and certainly no bad ass powerhouse midfielder since god knows when.

What we have had is a midfield chocked by similarity and nothing for quite sometime to get us fans back on the edge of our seats. Someone who can do that something special that we all want to emulate with our children in the back garden or our local teams.

I remember Mark Draper and how I felt when we signed him. We finally had a playmaker who tore Man U a new one in the league but sadly Draper was crucified by injury.

Some might argue that Barry was a playmaker but for me he was more of a link player in the same way that Stan Petrov was and there we have that similarity again.

Look at our present midfield. I know it hurts to do that but while we have a box to box player in Delph where is the powerhouse defensive mid and where is the playmaker?

Instead of wasting millions on Tonev, Helenius, Sylla and Kozak why didn't Lambert purchase either a quality defensive mid or attacking mid? At least we would have been one third of the way to achieve that balance.

Hopefully with a new manager and a new owner to back that manager with more money then once again we will have a better balanced midfield to take us forward.

good post, had great hopes for Draper too but not sure if it was just injuries that were his downfall.

I always despised when MON played Barry and Petrov together in a 442. He did it a lot during our great fall to accommodate Emile Heskey in the starting team. Both good players, Barry was outstanding for us for a long time, but they were too slow to play together. McCarthy at Everton is a player I'm not sure about but he is a good athlete and presses the ball very well. This complements Barry's playmaking ability from deep. Petrov could never do that for us even at his best. They were great when Reo Coker was with them in midfield as a three man midfield, Barry getting a few goals for us like against Ajax. Ironically I thought Petrov was better alongside Milner in midfield rather than with Barry.

Not sure if Westwood would be a starter on a good Villa side but I think he does well against sides that dont press us much. Delph has developed really well but is trying to do too much. If we had a defensive playmaker supporting Delph with one other I think we would have a cracking midfield. Think Delph can be our box to box man, he has added goals to his game this year and will get better I think. Townsend and Taylor were other very good midfielders for us I thought. Even Boateng was decent enough as a ball winner.

Lambert's antics in the summer worried many of us at the time, unfortunately this has come to haunt us. After the progress of the last third of the season it seemed like the Bradford tactics were being prepared as plan B with the Helenius and Kozak signings. For me the collapse in form of Weimann particularly but also Gabby has hurt us badly. Both need to be got rid of imo. I think their attitudes and conditioning are a disgrace.

Would go back to 4231 next year provided we can get the players in. Delph sitting deep in the 2, Guzan in goal, Benteke up front. Okore at right centre back - every other position up for grabs.

Nzogbia, Bacuna, Westwood, Kozak are ok for backup. Bent, Given and Hutton may aswell get backroom roles.

[Monty]

Brontebilly, I constantly have this thought that if we'd played a 4-3-3, with Gabby and Ash wide of Carew and a midfield of Milner, Barry and Petrov, we'd have breezed fourth. What a team that looks like now. Imagine if someone with the shallowest gradient of a leaning toward passing football had had that team. Almost makes me furious to think of it.

[ozzjim]

There have been several glaring weaknesses throughout our team even since the inception of the Barry, Petrov partnership in midfield and one of those has been a lack of balance in our midfield.loop

Generally the best teams have one powerhouse defensive mid, one attacking mid (playmaker) and a box to box midfielder.

It is no surprise then that the last time we had that balance we did quite well by beating Man U in the league cup final and further back winning the European Cup.

I'm not saying that with a new manager and owner we would repeat the latter but I would fancy us to at least compete and win a cup or two and indeed break into the top six again.

For me that has been the overriding problem with Lambert's reign and more recent managers at the Villa in that we have not had an attacking mid since Merson and certainly no bad ass powerhouse midfielder since god knows when.

What we have had is a midfield chocked by similarity and nothing for quite sometime to get us fans back on the edge of our seats. Someone who can do that something special that we all want to emulate with our children in the back garden or our local teams.

I remember Mark Draper and how I felt when we signed him. We finally had a playmaker who tore Man U a new one in the league but sadly Draper was crucified by injury.

Some might argue that Barry was a playmaker but for me he was more of a link player in the same way that Stan Petrov was and there we have that similarity again.

Look at our present midfield. I know it hurts to do that but while we have a box to box player in Delph where is the powerhouse defensive mid and where is the playmaker?

Instead of wasting millions on Tonev, Helenius, Sylla and Kozak why didn't Lambert purchase either a quality defensive mid or attacking mid? At least we would have been one third of the way to achieve that balance.

Hopefully with a new manager and a new owner to back that manager with more money then once again we will have a better balanced midfield to take us forward.

Oh dear, look who's turned up from villa talk. Disappointing.

What's even more disappointing is your reply.

It's a good post and no need for the response.

I am not sure about the better owner. Maybe less naive owner. But the midfield 5 is our biggest issue. The front 1 will score if the right balance is behind him. We are weak and have zero creativity. 4 players I would buy first would be to accompany Delph and Benteke.

[brontebilly]

Brontebilly, I constantly have this thought that if we'd played a 4-3-3, with Gabby and Ash wide of Carew and a midfield of Milner, Barry and Petrov, we'd have breezed fourth. What a team that looks like now. Imagine if someone with the shallowest gradient of a leaning toward passing football had had that team. Almost makes me furious to think of it.

Sounds good but Carew's fitness was always a worry I suppose. Not sure why Milner wasnt tried earlier in midfield. It was only when Barry had left and even at that some months after that he was given a chance in the centre. Would have been a lot of possibilities with those three in the centre alright. Throwing in Emile Heskey upfront instead.....ah its time to let it go

MON's preference to play Cuellar at right back and Luke Young at left back didnt exactly help us going forward. Or his moronic tactical changes to move one of our midfielders Barry, Milner, Reo Coker even Craig Gardner to full back when we were chasing a game. There were slightly comical games I remember when Barry was pushed to left back and still our players would pass back to him to create from there. If I remember correctly an unhappy Milner was shoved back right back towards the end of the League Cup final, could be wrong there.

To be fair Mourinho has a similar set up at Chelsea this year, centre back Ivanovic at right back and a right back Spanish guy at left back. Fergie had O'Shea and Brown play regularly in league winning sides at right back too.

[Monty]

Oh Christ the horrors of Reo-Coker and Cuellar at right-back. Ivanovic I think has played right-back for enough years to be considered naturalised in the position, but I'm not sure how regular O'Shea and Brown were - it was a fill-in if Neville was injured, if I recall correctly.

Milner in midfield was something many of us thought about well before O'Neill clocked onto it. It was quite a lesson as to how even the most well-regarded manager could turn out to be completely clueless about some things.