Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: pauliewalnuts on March 23, 2014, 05:56:55 PM
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Here.
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We got what we deserved, fuck all. A good first 5 minutes followed by total shit all over the pitch.
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abysmal. Truly abysmal
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Players went missing today-Shame on you all.
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Just how, how, how do you explain that performance after last week. Defies belief. Except that there appears to be no plan b again.
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Normal service resumed
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Id like to know why we decided to stop playing after 15 minutes
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Players not good enough.
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Absolutely diabolical from 10 minutes on, one of the worst displays I've seen. Baker was absol ately atrocious and his lack of positional sense cost us 3 goals, Bacuna was pathetic, Gabby was hopeless, Albrighton is never a central player, Sylla is not good enough, Bertrand was poor and we had no clue what to do. We were utterly terrible and embarrassing.
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It's time to admit it's not working out with Lambert. A nice win last week but these performances are becoming the norm and that really pisses me off.
Our worst ever home record, heaviest ever defeat, constantly going out of the cups to lower league opposition (but especially the two legged defeat to Bradford) are some of the lowest points I've experienced as a Villa fan. He's been worse than Mcleish and there just hasn't been any progress at all. Enough is enough and I want him gone.
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Garbage - stoke had 6 goals away all season and pissed all over us - sick of these displays and false dawns under lambert .
We have seen what this team is capable of - we need someone who can get the best from these players on a regular basis - talk of a new contract for lambert is depressing - get rid in the summer !
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Thickie Villa comes bounding back like a great big stupid dog in a supermarket, knocking over the baked beans and generally getting into a right old silly mess.
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Oh well. This match sums up why i'd never buy a ST.
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Normal service resumed. Tactic at start of game - pour everything down the left wing using the usual three men upfront and leaving midfield short of numbers. When he have got the ball generally just pass back to the keeper. No movement. No passion. No ideas. Chasing the game? No, why bother. Just play the same tactic you've been using all match, simple punts up into the air and hope for the best when the ball drops. Worst Villa boss ever who doesn't even get up off the bench once. "Fucking rubbish" shouted Delph and hes not wrong. More of this next season? No thanks.Lambert out.
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I'm starting to think that when we get results, it is despite Lambert as much as it is because of him.
NINE home league defeats already and still three home games left.
I just have no confidence at all in his ability to improve us so we play consistently well.
I understand that mid table teams are inconsistent, but really, how is it acceptable to lose nine times at home?
I honestly think we'd be best off just saying goodbye to him this summer.
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Simply awful defending both Bacuna and Baker were pub players today.
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To a man, we were shit.
So Jekyll and Hyde.
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Thickie Villa comes bounding back like a great big stupid dog in a supermarket, knocking over the baked beans and generally getting into a right old silly mess.
Classic post
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I'm starting to think that when we get results, it is despite Lambert as much as it is because of him.
NINE home league defeats already and still three home games left.
I just have no confidence at all in his ability to improve us so we play consistently well.
I understand that mid table teams are inconsistent, but really, how is it acceptable to lose nine times at home?
I honestly think we'd be best off just saying goodbye to him this summer.
right on.
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Staggeringly shit most of the game. Baffling after last week.
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I'm starting to think that when we get results, it is despite Lambert as much as it is because of him.
NINE home league defeats already and still three home games left.
I just have no confidence at all in his ability to improve us so we play consistently well.
I understand that mid table teams are inconsistent, but really, how is it acceptable to lose nine times at home?
I honestly think we'd be best off just saying goodbye to him this summer.
Yes, enough is enough.
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Such a strange team, unbelievably inconsistent which is why I for one rarely look up the table even when we win a couple of games, Stoke's first away win since August, ah well back to being fuckin miserable again.
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I am in the "I can not believe what I am seeing camp". Sadly there have been just too many of these performances under this manager.
For so many players to play crap is truly astonishing.
Bacuna played like he had his laces tied together.
Baker was all over the place.
Gabby just awful, no brain no nothing.
Silla oh dear worse than Tonev on a bad day.
Grant Holt, what is the point?
No pride no passion no skill no idea.
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Hands up who DIDN'T see that coming? I'm guessing there can't be many.
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He's thick, I've said it so many times and I stand by it. Harsh but true....
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At least when I play on the pitch in May, I can be sure it won't be the worst performance there this season.
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Well, it's difficult to argue now, I think, that the good results we have enjoyed are anything other than flukes; today is much more typical of Villa under Lambert.
Another (another!) woeful home performance against a pretty poor team who, due to our shambolic performance, looked like Champion's League winners. Stoke today looked like they were from a higher league, as have other teams who have come to Villa Park this year.
It's crap, and I have seen nothing to suggest that Lambert really knows what he is doing.
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Our problem is that every now and then we will get a good result - sometimes two but usually just the one - and we will then follow up with a sequence of truly awful performances.
It isn't just inconsistency, it is veering from one extreme to another. It's great that he gets such good results against the top four, but the vast majority of teams are not in the top four. What about those matches?
I honestly expect this summer we will have the addition of three or four players of the same mediocre quality, and more or less the same shitty season we've had this season and last.
Except we won't have Benteke, of course.
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We just don't have any really foundations to how we play. When we play well it all seems precarious, based on instinct and timing and touch and the players having confidence, not all of which have nothing to do with Lambert. However, when things go wrong it all flails and falls apart, and the players get the ball with no idea what might be done with it. That is Lambert's fault.
This.
We do not have a gameplan.
It seems that the two last wins had come by chance.
I have wanted PL when he was at Norwich, and I would never expect that he would bring me to hate football.
We are lucky enough to have just gained as many points as we need to gain the safety.
This is not my Villa, the mighty and proud Aston Villa.
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Out of the woods? I think not, this team is capable of not getting another point before May, I haven't changed my opinion on Lambert either, still think we'd be better off without him.
There were some woeful performances out there today, Vlaar was the worst I've seen in a long while, Baker, Bacuna, KEA, all poor and as for Sylla, Christ on a bike that lad is championship at best.
After 2 great wins at home, what on earth went on in the last 7 days is what I'd like to know? Does Culverhouse train it all out of them?
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I'm as livid after that garbage as I was delighted last week.
What is still abundantly clear to me though is i cannot stand this manager and his methods/tactics. Or complete lack of them.
Fucking rank.
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Directionless from top to bottom of this club.
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Simply awful defending both Bacuna and Baker were pub players today.
I have played some pub games and that is an insult to those chaps who drink a gallon of cheap lager, down a madras on Saturday night and run around a football pitch on a Sunday morning
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I didn't see such a heavy defeat coming. Stoke came to play and battered us. We showed nothing, absolutely nothing, in return.
Another heavy defeat under Lambert. I want him gone. He isn't showing that he knows how to address the problems with the team.
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I jokingly said at half time "that better not be our good half". It was.
Bacuna, Baker, Sylla, Westwood. What the fuck was that?
Think Delph summed it up from the pitch side microphones..."fucking rubbish".
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Bacuna and Bakers positioning and lack of marking was truly abject, unforgivable from professionals. Im not sure what the fuss over Bertrand is either. He is piss-weak and is constantly nudged off the ball. Only once did we sting the hands of Begovic and that was in the last minute.
At least Deaos Mullet got to see his hero give (pretty poor) punditry.
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We looked utterly clueless today, especially in defence. After recent improvement Baker reverted to diving in and running around as if he had a bag over his head. Crouch mullered him. And Vlaar wasnt much better, and both full backs woeful as well. Oh well at least we should stay up, but that was relegation defending today.' Only realised yesterday that Gabby has only scored 3 goals all season - nowhere near enough especially when he's not really contributing in other ways. Ditto Wiemann. We need to sign much better players in the summer.
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We just don't have any really foundations to how we play. When we play well it all seems precarious, based on instinct and timing and touch and the players having confidence, not all of which have nothing to do with Lambert. However, when things go wrong it all flails and falls apart, and the players get the ball with no idea what might be done with it. That is Lambert's fault.
This.
We do not have a gameplan.
It seems that the two last wins had come by chance.
I have wanted PL when he was at Norwich, and I would never expect that he would bring me to hate football.
We are lucky enough to have just gained as many points as we need to gain the safety.
This is not my Villa, the mighty and proud Aston Villa.
Great post Archie - heartfelt and my feelings too - lambert is killing my love of football.
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Dean Saunders looked like he'd just had root canal treatment. He still speaks of us with passion. You can see this hurts him too and he's right, our defenders are not Prem League quality.
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This is the third year in a row for Lambert that he has presided over a team that is good one week then bad for three....as a football club AVFC have to decide if that is his limit or if he has it in him to push on...personally I have veered towards push off for months!
Today was horrendous, after the first 10 mins that was a rudderless ship, Delph aside the team were hopeless with no plan or structure coming from the touch line or leadership from on the pitch.
Bacuna is never a full back, at a push a wing back if a pacey centre half covers him, his attempts at tackles today were abysmal.
Bertrand, lucky to play over Bennett, at least he tried to get us on front foot.
Vlaar, ponderous & poor with the ball...surely that was a pen when he was obstructing 2nd half?
Baker - well and truly schooled by Crouch, not sure he won a ball in the air?
Westwood - Lambert sees something I don't, weak, average passer - any chance you track a runner
Sylla - really, there is no way on earth Gardner or Johnson couldn't have matched his non existence in a Villa shirt, French League 2, it shows.
Gabby - yet another pointless performance, sometimes I wonder if we won't improve until he is gone, maybe harsh but I think we set up to accommodate him too often.
Weimman - as pointless as Gabby too often.
Benteke, great finish, tried...but....that dive, have a word with yourself!
Seems the real Villa stood up - the wimps, the gutless ones.
Seems an apt time to name us the Stephen Ireland of clubs, do enough when need to, inept the rest of the time
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I jokingly said at half time "that better not be our good half". It was.
Bacuna, Baker, Sylla, Westwood. What the fuck was that?
Think Delph summed it up from the pitch side microphones..."fucking rubbish".
The lack of a second half response was baffling.
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Stoke were good
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Gabby is a waste of a squad number. I've said it for years he's garbage and needs to move on.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
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Stoke were good
I thought they were a well organised physical outfit who are prepared to revert to thuggery when needed.
They won every physical battle.
We made them look a lot better than they are.
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This match reminds me a bit a bit of that 0-3 game v Wimbledon all those years ago under Sir Graham - after the Lord Mayor's Show and all that. There were some poor performances out there today but I think an awful lot of it was to do with the immaturity of certain players as much as anything else. Everything went right for Stoke (fair play to them) and some of our younger lads have to take this on the chin as a lesson. I'm surprised we let in four but I'm not totally shocked that we lost, that's where we are at at the moment.
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Was impressed by Stoke john e.The guy on the left in partic, Odemwinge wouldn't have been the worst signing, he's a far better player than Gabby or Weimann.But , yes, Stoke played well.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
That's exactly my thoughts.
What is the point? Maybe keeping a squad of kids and cheap dross in the top flight really is an achievement? Who wants to watch that year after year, though?
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Stoke weren't afraid to hold onto the ball - as some one else said when we have it its like we're handling grenades.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
It's fuc*ing true.
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Stoke were good
Hughes is a better manager.
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Our problem is that every now and then we will get a good result - sometimes two but usually just the one - and we will then follow up with a sequence of truly awful performances.
It isn't just inconsistency, it is veering from one extreme to another. It's great that he gets such good results against the top four, but the vast majority of teams are not in the top four. What about those matches?
I honestly expect this summer we will have the addition of three or four players of the same mediocre quality, and more or less the same shitty season we've had this season and last.
Except we won't have Benteke, of course.
There will be question marks whether both Delph and Vlaar will stick around too?
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Poor. Not good enough. I don't think there's light at the end of the tunnel. I'd trade the Man City and Chelsea home wins for 4 home wins against sides like this that we should be beating on our patch.
Lambert consistently comes up short unfortunately and a lot of our players will never be good enough to play week in, week out at this level. Sylla in particular look like he'd walked in from the stands and nicked someones playing shirt. Baker will forever be a liability.
Just when you think there's a glimmer of forward progress, we take 2 steps back again and make a side like Stoke look like Barca.
If we scrape over the 40 point mark come the final game, Lamberts position needs to be reconsidered. I'm not sure I trust him with another transfer window to get it right. Will we ever have a comfortable season under him? I'm not sure.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
That's exactly my thoughts.
What is the point? Maybe keeping a squad of kids and cheap dross in the top flight really is an achievement? Who wants to watch that year after year, though?
It annoyed me listening to the commentary when Niall Quinn was excusing our display because our team is 'kids'. Well frankly they're not that young and most of them have been exposed to nearly two full seasons of the Premier League now, it is nowhere near good enough.
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Stoke were good
Hughes is a better manager.
you must have forgotten the miracle he worked at QPR prior to Stoke then. Not saying he's not doing a good job there with his resources but let's not get too carried away. I know this will be batter Lambert week, and I'm really blaming anyone but this is how it starts. By the end of the evening Bruce, Pulis and Poyet will all be better managers.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
There isn't any anymore and it's why I've not been to Villa Park for the last two seasons. Lerner has ruined this club and dumbed down our expectations to the point where we'll soon be celebrating getting to 10th in the league. We are now truly at the same level of the West Hams, Stokes and Southamptons and can't even attract better players than them anymore
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Our problem is that every now and then we will get a good result - sometimes two but usually just the one - and we will then follow up with a sequence of truly awful performances.
It isn't just inconsistency, it is veering from one extreme to another. It's great that he gets such good results against the top four, but the vast majority of teams are not in the top four. What about those matches?
I honestly expect this summer we will have the addition of three or four players of the same mediocre quality, and more or less the same shitty season we've had this season and last.
Except we won't have Benteke, of course.
There will be question marks whether both Delph and Vlaar will stick around too?
Vlaar isn't even that good, he just looks it compared to the rest of the shit in the team. It's like Kyle Walker, he looked like Messi in our team which wasn't very difficult at the time
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Four points better off than this time last season. Such is progress.
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I think the inexperience excuse that even Niall Quinn was trotting out, is really starting to wear thin now. It's not like it's a team of 18/19/20 year olds anymore.
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Stoke were good
Hughes is a better manager.
you must have forgotten the miracle he worked at QPR prior to Stoke then. Not saying he's not doing a good job there with his resources but let's not get too carried away. I know this will be batter Lambert week, and I'm really blaming anyone but this is how it starts. By the end of the evening Bruce, Pulis and Poyet will all be better managers.
Hughes got great results with wales.
Got blackburn into Europe, finished top 5 at city and top 8 at Fulham - he kept qpr up and did a poor job there in honesty but I'd rate him well above lambert .
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Stoke were good
I thought they were a well organised physical outfit who are prepared to revert to thuggery when needed.
They won every physical battle.
We made them look a lot better than they are.
I thought they played some decent football at times, not something that's often said about Stoke
And the thuggery was from both sides what there was of it
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
There isn't any anymore and it's why I've not been to Villa Park for the last two seasons. Lerner has ruined this club and dumbed down our expectations to the point where we'll soon be celebrating getting to 10th in the league. We are now truly at the same level of the West Hams, Stokes and Southamptons and can't even attract better players than them anymore
I haven't been in that time either. you couldn't pay me to go there right now.
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Stoke were good
Hughes is a better manager.
you must have forgotten the miracle he worked at QPR prior to Stoke then. Not saying he's not doing a good job there with his resources but let's not get too carried away. I know this will be batter Lambert week, and I'm really blaming anyone but this is how it starts. By the end of the evening Bruce, Pulis and Poyet will all be better managers.
Not much in it but i believe he's better.
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Why was Bennett dropped? (why did we change a defence that comfortably dealt with Chelsea)
How is Sylla our only central midfield cover?
Why was Sylla playing wide right?
Why was Albrighton playing the number 10 role?
Why are we still searching for a plan B at home?
What has happened to Gabby?
Why are our players so weak?
Why don't we leave a man up when defending a corner?
Why do teams with awful away records always win at Villa Park?
Grant Holt?
How many utterly dreadful, soul destroying performances are we going to have to deal with before Lambert gets sacked?
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Stoke were good
I thought they were a well organised physical outfit who are prepared to revert to thuggery when needed.
They won every physical battle.
We made them look a lot better than they are.
I thought they played some decent football at times, not something that's often said about Stoke
And the thuggery was from both sides what there was of it
I think they intimidated a few of our players and won most 50 50s, yes they played decent possession football from 3-1 up. They were hardly put under any pressure though.
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Unfortunately we were piss poor against a cynical, attritional team managed by a complete arsehole and supported by a fanbase that is mainly subhuman. Best to chalk it up to experience and move on.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
Welcome back. We have missed you for couple of matches.
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Unfortunately we were piss poor against a cynical, attritional team managed by a complete arsehole and supported by a fanbase that is mainly subhuman. Best to chalk it up to experience and move on.
We were piss poor against a team that outplayed us in all areas of the pitch and fully deserved the 4-1 win.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
That's exactly my thoughts.
What is the point? Maybe keeping a squad of kids and cheap dross in the top flight really is an achievement? Who wants to watch that year after year, though?
I am pretty sure that the owners think he is doing a terrific job though, that is why nothing will change except when and I say when it comes to relegation next year, year after whenever.
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Stoke were good
Hughes is a better manager.
you must have forgotten the miracle he worked at QPR prior to Stoke then. Not saying he's not doing a good job there with his resources but let's not get too carried away. I know this will be batter Lambert week, and I'm really blaming anyone but this is how it starts. By the end of the evening Bruce, Pulis and Poyet will all be better managers.
Hughes got great results with wales.
Got blackburn into Europe, finished top 5 at city and top 8 at Fulham - he kept qpr up and did a poor job there in honesty but I'd rate him well above lambert .
Well above ? No chance
stoke played very well but they have also played as bad as we did today at other times
No, Lambert, Hughes, Bruce, Moyes not a lot between the lot of em
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Unfortunately we were piss poor against a cynical, attritional team managed by a complete arsehole and supported by a fanbase that is mainly subhuman. Best to chalk it up to experience and move on.
Thanks that has cheered me up.UTV
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Unfortunately we were piss poor against a cynical, attritional team managed by a complete arsehole and supported by a fanbase that is mainly subhuman. Best to chalk it up to experience and move on.
Thanks that has cheered me up.UTV
It did make me LOL to
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@RobbieSavage8: I remember all those fans telling me they didn't rate mark Hughes , given time he does very well !
@RobbieSavage8: Wales euro play off, blackburn finished 6th, city 5th/6th not enough time , Fulham 8th, qpr saved them ,then poor, stoke top 10 possibly
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
Welcome back. We have missed you for couple of matches.
He was probably out celebrating those rare home wins. Now we're all depressed again there's nothing else to do but come here or stare at the ceiling.
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And we're back! Pathetic performance, ground 2/3 full about 200 poor souls left at the final whistle, sick of it!! We're a shambles 95% of the time, thank f**k I don't have to pay to sit through it any more I feel for ya!!
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Stoke were good
I thought they were a well organised physical outfit who are prepared to revert to thuggery when needed.
They won every physical battle.
We made them look a lot better than they are.
I thought they played some decent football at times, not something that's often said about Stoke
And the thuggery was from both sides what there was of it
You probably had to be at the game to see that they are still a bunch of snidey, cheating, cynical bastards. That isn't as better fan than yow typer post, more the cameras wouldn't have picked up on a lot of it.
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Lets face it we can only play our brand of quality football against the top teams in the league, against everyone else we just turn into a load of tossbaskets
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The good thing is that 9 days ago I would have taken these last 2 results, I still feel warm when I think about what we did to Chavski last week.
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Didn't realise the crowd was only 30k - poor souls!
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Stoke were good
I thought they were a well organised physical outfit who are prepared to revert to thuggery when needed.
They won every physical battle.
We made them look a lot better than they are.
I thought they played some decent football at times, not something that's often said about Stoke
And the thuggery was from both sides what there was of it
You probably had to be at the game to see that they are still a bunch of snidey, cheating, cynical bastards. That isn't as better fan than yow typer post, more the cameras wouldn't have picked up on a lot of it.
Fair enough,
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It was the emptiest I've ever seen Villa Park at the final whistle. Must have looked great on TV.
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Good one week, shit the next. That's Villa.
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Stoke were good
I thought they were a well organised physical outfit who are prepared to revert to thuggery when needed.
They won every physical battle.
We made them look a lot better than they are.
I thought they played some decent football at times, not something that's often said about Stoke
And the thuggery was from both sides what there was of it
You probably had to be at the game to see that they are still a bunch of snidey, cheating, cynical bastards. That isn't as better fan than yow typer post, more the cameras wouldn't have picked up on a lot of it.
It showed up on my TV 3000 miles away. We looked intimidated by it at times.
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Stoke were good
I thought they were a well organised physical outfit who are prepared to revert to thuggery when needed.
They won every physical battle.
We made them look a lot better than they are.
I thought they played some decent football at times, not something that's often said about Stoke
And the thuggery was from both sides what there was of it
I think they intimidated a few of our players and won most 50 50s, yes they played decent possession football from 3-1 up. They were hardly put under any pressure though.
It was Villa who made the what I would call cheap pooe challenges, KEA was lucky early on and there were many occassions when petulance took over and snidey challenges. We were a fucking disgrave and the tactics throughout were awful. We were crying out for width, but Lambert chose to play him in the number 10 role.
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Just knew something like this would happen only Villa could beat Chelsea then get hammered by this rubbish.
Got to say I don't think I can take much more of the guy behind us 20 years we've had to listen to his crap he excelled himself today willing Stoke to score every time they went forward and actually cheering when the fourth went in. He's like that every game moaning how shit we are does your head in.
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If there was one team to bring us back down to earth it was Stoke at Villa Park.
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Every now and again the Villa will come up with a performance like that. Its something we have to live with Im afraid.
Probably win the next two and posters will be saying positive things about Lambert again.
In essence Lambert is a mediocre manager. Weimann is a very mediocre forward and Sylla doesnt even rate as mediocre.
There is no chance of any positive changes whatsoever.
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That was shocking. All I need now is to hear the word excellent in Lambert's post match interview!
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Every now and again the Villa will come up with a performance like that. Its something we have to live with Im afraid.
It's not really every now and again though is it ?, as this seasons home form shows quite bluntly
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Stoke were good
Hughes is a better manager.
you must have forgotten the miracle he worked at QPR prior to Stoke then. Not saying he's not doing a good job there with his resources but let's not get too carried away. I know this will be batter Lambert week, and I'm really blaming anyone but this is how it starts. By the end of the evening Bruce, Pulis and Poyet will all be better managers.
Of those you have mentioned I think Lambert is the weakest manager.
Hughes was dreadful at City and QPR. Seems like a good fit at Stoke but I wouldn't trust him with too much money.
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It was the emptiest I've ever seen Villa Park at the final whistle. Must have looked great on TV.
A headache for the marketing department selling season tickets after the wins against Norwich and Chelsea. Our poor home form brought right back into the spotlight.
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That was like the Norwich game in reverse.
Stoke are a decent mid table team who play a bit more possession football nowadays but really that was embarrassing making more look like Barca for the first half.
Only us yet again could come up with this sort of result and performance after the Chelsea game. This is increasingly Lambert's calling card as a manager, following up a great result with an awful run of form. Can't see us getting anything next week other than another thumping.
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Eleven home defeats now this season,must be another club record under Lambert. Just how bad must it get,before our clueless owner wakes up and realises he needs to change this clueless manager.
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Every now and again the Villa will come up with a performance like that. Its something we have to live with Im afraid.
Probably win the next two and posters will be saying positive things about Lambert again.
In essence Lambert is a mediocre manager. Weimann is a very mediocre forward and Sylla doesnt even rate as mediocre.
There is no chance of any positive changes whatsoever.
Every now and again Ron?!?! Last week was the 'every now and again' performance, today was the much more par for the course unmitigated shit
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Every now and again the Villa will come up with a performance like that. Its something we have to live with Im afraid.
Probably win the next two and posters will be saying positive things about Lambert again.
In essence Lambert is a mediocre manager. Weimann is a very mediocre forward and Sylla doesnt even rate as mediocre.
There is no chance of any positive changes whatsoever.
Every now and again ?
We've just lost our 9th home game and the season isn't over yet
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Stoke were good
Hughes is a better manager.
you must have forgotten the miracle he worked at QPR prior to Stoke then. Not saying he's not doing a good job there with his resources but let's not get too carried away. I know this will be batter Lambert week, and I'm really blaming anyone but this is how it starts. By the end of the evening Bruce, Pulis and Poyet will all be better managers.
Of those you have mentioned I think Lambert is the weakest manager.
Hughes was dreadful at City and QPR. Seems like a good fit at Stoke but I wouldn't trust him with too much money.
I would be looking at koeman as next manager but I daresay lerner thinks all is fine in 11th place .
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Eleven home defeats now this season,must be another club record under Lambert. Just how bad must it get,before our clueless owner wakes up and realises he needs to change this clueless manager.
You've already answered your own question. He's clueless so he doesn't know and he doesn't care either. Just ask any fan of the Cleveland Browns. He has turned us into the English equivalent
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The 2nd half today was just out and out depressing. Not that the 1st half was anything to write home about.
We were so slow and turgid on the ball, when urgency was called for. There was absolutely zero movement from our forward players and the balls into the box were abysmal. Baker reverted to type and Vlaar appeared to be trying to emulate him today.
We're like the bloody samaritans at times. Newcastle had lost 5 home games in a row, and then we rock up and get them out of that particular funk. Now Stoke who are worse away than we are at home, and it looked like they were a top 3 team easing to a victory at bottom 3 strugglers.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
Welcome back. We have missed you for couple of matches.
Only because I've been in Barbados watching England lose.
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to all season ticket holders and the hardcore fanbase.
following 22 years as a season ticket holder until 2008 I had enjoyed many ups and downs as a Villa fan however I did not regret one moment in the holte end followed by the trinity rd upper. But in the last 3 years I have never known such a period as a Villa fan, I know we have had relegations, poor seasons, boring football ( thanks for that David o'leary, I almost slept through a game once).
But the never ending trawl towards premiership survival and then the yearly celebration by the chairman the most important thing for Aston Villa is being ignored the season ticket holder and weekly fan, the lack of entertainment,communication and a total disregard for the financial and emotional commitment is at best corporate suicide.
hearing yet another bunch of inbreds celebrating a victory at the fucking home of football makes me want to puke, so here is my point, to all of you at the game today and who will be there next week and the week after that I salute you all.
Its you guys that remind me of my favourite saying.
VILLA TILL I DIE.
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
Welcome back. We have missed you for couple of matches.
Only because I've been in Barbados watching England lose.
Jonah
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Quite a wounder that. Only villa can go to such extremes in a week. What an opportunity today was to reach safety and go a run. Aside from a number of poor players and a lack of tactics, we really do lack leaders on the pitch. It all turns to shit much too quickly
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Hardly a surprise, and this more than anything else, damns the manager.
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At least when I play on the pitch in May, I can be sure it won't be the worst performance there this season.
Me too, I just hope Nathan Baker is marking me!
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After last week's high, normal service at Villa Park has been resumed...
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Unless we had one after I left (83 mins) we went the whole of the second half without a single shot on goal!
And that follows on from only 2 or 3 in the first half, with none after Gabby's blast over after about 25 mins.
How the fuck does that happen... 3-1 down at the start of the second half, at home, and we still can't muster a single fucking shot !!!
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Guess what? Post match interview with His Mumbleness. "WE GO AGAIN". Well, I am not going again this season. Just binned plans to buy Fulham & Southampton tickets.
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Something needs to be done, we should stay away from the remaining home games. I am sure Randolph would take notice if the attendances tumble!
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We must have a good chance of beating Man City and Man Utd but the rest of the games this season you can just about write of
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"It was the first time the Potters had done a home and away double over their Midlands rivals since 1966."
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Cheer up..... cooooop cakes....
Good result for our lads today, most Stoke fans thought that we where going to get a battering today.
Don't believe everything that you read in the papers about Stoke, Mark Hughes is doing a good job here. We are improving with every match. We have taken some big scalps this season at home, and it was just a matter of time before things started t happen away from home. Good luck for rest of season, always want midlands clubs to stay in the Premiership. It keeps it a bit more interesting for all of us..
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I live in S-on-T I've got to put with this all week
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Cheer up..... cooooop cakes....
Good result for our lads today, most Stoke fans thought that we where going to get a battering today.
Don't believe everything that you read in the papers about Stoke, Mark Hughes is doing a good job here. We are improving with every match. We have taken some big scalps this season at home, and it was just a matter of time before things started t happen away from home. Good luck for rest of season, always want midlands clubs to stay in the Premiership. It keeps it a bit more interesting for all of us..
Can we have the red carpet our players rolled out back please?
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
Welcome back. We have missed you for couple of matches.
Only because I've been in Barbados watching England lose.
That sounds great. Barbados not England losing.
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Cheer up..... cooooop cakes....
Good result for our lads today, most Stoke fans thought that we where going to get a battering today.
Don't believe everything that you read in the papers about Stoke, Mark Hughes is doing a good job here. We are improving with every match. We have taken some big scalps this season at home, and it was just a matter of time before things started t happen away from home. Good luck for rest of season, always want midlands clubs to stay in the Premiership. It keeps it a bit more interesting for all of us..
Fair play mate, you fully deserved the 4-1 win !
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Cheer up..... cooooop cakes....
Good result for our lads today, most Stoke fans thought that we where going to get a battering today.
Don't believe everything that you read in the papers about Stoke, Mark Hughes is doing a good job here. We are improving with every match. We have taken some big scalps this season at home, and it was just a matter of time before things started t happen away from home. Good luck for rest of season, always want midlands clubs to stay in the Premiership. It keeps it a bit more interesting for all of us..
Fair play. You deserved it from the 4th min onward. You had a good mix of skill and physicality, but we helped as we were woeful.
I cant wish you good luck for the rest of the season as I wouldn't mean it
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No surprises today. This is what we really are not the team that beat Chelsea. What's more depressing is that nothing is going to change,we'll probably avoid relegation, Lambert will get a new contract, Summer signings will be more of the same and next season will be another flirtation with relegation. Just what's the point?
Welcome back. We have missed you for couple of matches.
Only because I've been in Barbados watching England lose.
That sounds great. Barbados not England losing.
Yup, Barbados was the good bit. Nice to able to crow about our defeat of Chlesea to the locals who love the Premier League.
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Utter garbage from the moment we scored.
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The first 10 minutes apart, we were out muscled, out fought and we had no idea how to cope with them. Playing Albrighton behind the two strikers was bloody ridiculous. Like someone else has already said, it was a result no-one really saw coming after the last two results. Everyone on the pitch had a poor game. A game to forget
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Said after Everton away that Lambert needed to go and got slaughtered for it, gven it followed the Tesco bags win
Two home wins don't paper over the cracks. He is dire but then again so are most of the team.
Was going against Fulham and Southampton but not now.
However, he will still be here next season as he is doing exactly what Lerner wants, keeping us in the prem....just
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Unless we had one after I left (83 mins) we went the whole of the second half without a single shot on goal!
And that follows on from only 2 or 3 in the first half, with none after Gabby's blast over after about 25 mins.
How the fuck does that happen... 3-1 down at the start of the second half, at home, and we still can't muster a single fucking shot !!!
94th minute shot from Bertrand I think
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Cheer up..... cooooop cakes....
Good result for our lads today, most Stoke fans thought that we where going to get a battering today.
Don't believe everything that you read in the papers about Stoke, Mark Hughes is doing a good job here. We are improving with every match. We have taken some big scalps this season at home, and it was just a matter of time before things started t happen away from home. Good luck for rest of season, always want midlands clubs to stay in the Premiership. It keeps it a bit more interesting for all of us..
Well done. Most teams would have folded after being outplayed so much up to the first goal. Great come back and you do play football now. I kept looking for hoofs from centre backs into the pen box and long throw ins but none of that. N'Zonzi bossed the midfield from about 15 on. Enjoy.
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Our players probably spent most of last week patting each other on the back for beating Chelsea. They heard the praise and read the nice words in the print and social media. So they felt no sweat Stoke at Villa park turn up and win. Amazingly the first 5 minutes proved them absolutely right. Rolled the ball about with immense ease, great movement, classy interchanges, Stoke players chasing shadows and culminating in one of the best footballing goals we have scored this season. That was probably the worst thing that could have happened today. What followed was a lesson in professionalism. Lack of it on our part and plenty of it with Stoke. What we needed today was a reminder that you have to respect every team and play for 90mins in every game. If you don't you will get a thumping and I am afraid we got what we deserved. Not going to mention any individuals because just as the same bunch of players were brilliant against Chelsea the same were absolutely shambolic today. They were all lethargic, inattentive, petulant and mostly disorderly. Clearly we can only play against teams that let us play. Put up against a determined functional teams like Stoke, West Ham, Palace etc and we have no answer.
Next week's performance is going to very different especially if manu play with a swagger and confidence based on their recent good results.
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Another thing... not a single mention today of the match in the Times. Shocking how a club our size can become such a meaningless entity at the national level and in the press
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
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Over- confidence today followed by total loss of it. Not fair on the fans and an insult to Stoke who we apparently seemed to think we'd walk all over. Time for the kids to grow up... but we'll be back.
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A good first 5 minutes and a well worked goal, and from there we should have been in the driving seat really, meaning Stoke would have to commit forward to try and get a goal, and we could get at them on the counter.
But oh no, we gift them some wonderfully cheap goals with some awful defending and we've then handed the advantage to Stoke, who can sit back and pick us off on the break.
The 2 things that stood out for me were that 1) we were out muscled in pretty much every 50/50 ball, and 2) i just couldn't work out the game plan for our getting back into the game. When a team sits back and defends with '2 banks of 4' behind the ball, we just don't know what to do. Do we want to go wide and whip the ball in or play through the middle? Neither it would seem, we just knock the ball around lethargically from the wings to the center, then back to the defence, and so on, until we lose possesion.
Much of the problem seems to be that our play is just far too slow in those situations. Every player gets the ball, controls it, looks around, maybe takes another few touches, then plays it to another player, who then does the same. This gives any well marshaled defence plenty of time to organise and position themselves appropriately and not give us any space to play in, or move into. Do we never practice one touch pass and move football?
A poor poor game overall.
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Normal service resumed.
If this is stability you can shove it up your arse.
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@RonVlaar4: Awful game. Looking in the mirror, I wasn't good enough today, made to many wrong choices, needs to be better... Really disappointed. #utv
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Benteke's goal (https://vine.co/v/MMIwWAhD6ip)
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
After 30 plus games this season, and 40 plus games last season, do you really think the next 8 games are going to tell us anything new about Lambert and what he can offer?
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
We'll I'm in the Lambert out brigade and I go to every match, home and away unless on holiday. I certainly didn't want today to happen although I wasn't surprised. I just want him to prove me wrong - but he won't. The only question is, how much damage will he have done before he us moved on on 2 years time?
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games.
What a load of utter bollocks.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
This was the usual fare though - look at the results they're not anyone's opinion.
How many wins/draws/losses - I have now watched 11 defeats at home this season - last week just highlighted the crap I normally watch the rest of the time.
I want Lambert and all the players to excel but he just doesn't seem to be that clever does he?
The Albrighton thing is a case in point - Marc is OK IMHO and injects a bit of pace and excitement but to just plonk him in the centre and see what happens is stupid.
I said on another thread that I would renew my ST if we put in a decent performance today (not necessarily a win note) - can't be arsed now.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
What a load of crap!
Take off your rose tinted specs and you'll see the emperor is wearing no clothes!
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games.
What a load of utter bollocks.
Isn't it, many people may have predicted it but no one hoped for it. And there's a reason many predicted it. I'll start going to games when it becomes an enjoyable experience again. Strangely enough, that's my criteria for doing most things in life and particularly when it costs an arm and leg from where I live
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@RonVlaar4: Awful game. Looking in the mirror, I wasn't good enough today, made to many wrong choices, needs to be better... Really disappointed. #utv
At least he's honest and can front up when he doesn't perform.
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Jesus arseraping Buddah but that was utter and absolute gash! I dont know what was worse - the pisstaking the Sturk players were doing on the pitch or the pisstaking their fans were giving us. And the absolute lowlight of this debacle? I cant even drown my sorrows 'cos i'm at work tomorrow - in Stafford! I hope for her sake that wench from the ticket office doesn't ring me up asking about renewing my season ticket 'cos i'm liable to go all "Mr. Angry" on her! >:(
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I'm beginning to wonder what Gabby brings to the table. 3 goals all season and not a lot else. Did bugger all again today.
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"It was the first time the Potters had done a home and away double over their Midlands rivals since 1966."
Another record for Lambert.
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Shambles, boys vs men, the players obviously spent the past week basking in the glory of the Chelsea win. One - nil up after 5 mins, job done. What followed was embarrassing. As pleased as they were with themselves last week, they should ashamed tonight.
Bacuna had an absolute nightmare, Baker not much better, Sylla is playing at 2 levels above his ability & it's frightening that he's as good as it gets for a midfield backup. It's also time we took our tinted glasses off with regard to Gabby.
What astounded me, but shouldn't have, was the decision to put Albrighton into the No:10 role, WTF? What was that expected to achieve against a team the size of Stoke?
We have the basis of a team that can play, if allowed, but very few teams will allow that. About 8 of the entire squad are good enough to play in the premiership week after week, the rest simply aren't good enough and like the manager that bought them, show no signs of improving.
Crowds of 30k will be the most they can expect next season.
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I'm beginning to wonder what Gabby brings to the table. 3 goals all season and not a lot else. Did bugger all again today.
He was atrocious and his touch was amateur.
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That was easily one of, if not, THE worst performance I've ever seen from us at Villa Park in all my years. It was astonishingly awful.
The squad aren't good enough. Too many lower league players out of their depth in the PL. I hope Lerner was watching because even someone as stupid as him could see we haven't the quality to compete in the PL.
This summer is huge - anymore cheap nobodies from the lower leagues and we may as well forget it. We need Lerner to open his wallet or bugger off, because he is failing us as a club.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
There would be no point making any actual decision (the people who make them, meaningful decisions, I mean) now rather than in the summer, but really, the fact we've lost nine league games at home this season is such a damning statistic, it's hard to look beyond it.
At some point, we've got to stop setting these awful records. We heard about loads of them last season, this season seems very similar.
It's great when we get results like Chelsea and the Norwich one the week before, but it won't mean much if we continue following up a decent result with several weeks of awfulness. We'll see what happens these next few weeks, but too often the last two years it has been very, very poor.
The fact that last week's win was the first time we've won back to back home league games in almost four years is just astonishing. It's not Lambert's fault that we didn't manage it in the almost two years before he came here, but he has to take the blame for the last almost two seasons.
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Our players probably spent most of last week patting each other on the back for beating Chelsea. They heard the praise and read the nice words in the print and social media. So they felt no sweat Stoke at Villa park turn up and win. Amazingly the first 5 minutes proved them absolutely right. Rolled the ball about with immense ease, great movement, classy interchanges, Stoke players chasing shadows and culminating in one of the best footballing goals we have scored this season. That was probably the worst thing that could have happened today. What followed was a lesson in professionalism. Lack of it on our part and plenty of it with Stoke. What we needed today was a reminder that you have to respect every team and play for 90mins in every game. If you don't you will get a thumping and I am afraid we got what we deserved. Not going to mention any individuals because just as the same bunch of players were brilliant against Chelsea the same were absolutely shambolic today. They were all lethargic, inattentive, petulant and mostly disorderly. Clearly we can only play against teams that let us play. Put up against a determined functional teams like Stoke, West Ham, Palace etc and we have no answer.
Next week's performance is going to very different especially if manu play with a swagger and confidence based on their recent good results.
Good point, Olaftab. My first thought was "how do you explain the Norwich result, then?", but on reflection they sacrificed a holding midfielder to play Hoolahan.
I was certain that Sterk would do us today, as will Hull when they visit.
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You really wouldn't put it past this lot to win at Old Trafford then follow it up by being hammered at home by Fulham.
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Happy to say I missed the game. Not really surprised we lost. We are an inconsistent team. Sounds like the players & Lambert are pretty disappointed as well. Oh well, onwards.
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Happy to say I missed the game. Not really surprised we lost. We are an inconsistent team. Sounds like the players & Lambert are pretty disappointed as well. Oh well, onwards.
Oh well, onwards. The polite retired gentleman's We Go Again.
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Happy to say I missed the game. Not really surprised we lost. We are an inconsistent team. Sounds like the players & Lambert are pretty disappointed as well. Oh well, onwards.
Oh well, onwards. The polite retired gentleman's We Go Again.
(http://i.imgur.com/1E67F.gif)
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Paul Lambert on Potters defeat.
Paul Lambert admitted Villa were "second best" as they went down 4-1 to Stoke.
Lambert was frustrated as his side produced a lethargic performance which he said was "unlike us."
He said: "We made a great start.
"For 20 minutes we looked really good and scored a really good goal.
"The goals we lost were poor.
"The two lads - Andi Weimann and Karim El Ahmadi - coming off never helped us. But I still thought we were second best. Stoke deserved to beat us.
"That whole performance was very unlike us after the start.
"We looked lethargic and never really got going.
"We tried to get a goal back but it never materialised. It was a performance that wasn't like us.
"We never got going after that opening 20 minutes.
"We never defended well at all. The goals were poor. We were second best.
"What disappoints me isn't just the goals, it was the lack of energy. Sometimes that can happen, you can be a bit lethargic when you think your legs aren't taking you when you want to go. I understand that. We never got going.
"The confidence was really high as we approached the game. We usually have a lot of energy but we couldn't get going for some reason.
"We were up for the game. We started really well. You get the goal and that gets the crowd going. The conceded goals were poor.
"I can't be too critical. The players have done great these past few weeks but they didn't deserve anything today.
"You don't dwell on it now. You pick yourself and go again. That's the important thing. We have a young group but we will bounce back from it.
"You get knocked down but you get up and go for more. That's what we will do this week."
Lambert revealed that Weimann and El Ahmadi were withdrawn through injury.
He added: "Andi had a severe dead leg which he couldn't shake off.
"I will have to see how Karim is to see if he has a little thigh strain there.
"It never helped us because they have been playing very well for us. It upset us a little bit but it's still no excuse."
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
What a load of crap!
Take off your rose tinted specs and you'll see the emperor is wearing no clothes!
Eastters I think you will find that some of us are consistent. We know what we are and try not to overboard after a win or a defeat. Damo70 is bang on.
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That performance was very like us though. I've watched the Villa put a shift in like that time and again over the last couple of seasons.
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Typical Villa?
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
What a load of crap!
Take off your rose tinted specs and you'll see the emperor is wearing no clothes!
Eastters I think you will find that some of us are consistent. We know what we are and try not to overboard after a win or a defeat. Damo70 is bang on.
You disappoint me affers , I expect you to see the wood from the trees ;)
No villa fan was hoping for a defeat today and to suggest that they were is bollocks.
Credit and praise is given when deserved as in the last 2 games but tonight criticism is fully warranted and deserved.
I bid you good evening sir and am going to watch El Classico!
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This match summed up us under Lambert.
In one game we looked a very good team for part of it and utterly useless in the majority. We went in with hope and confidence, and it was all blown with two stupid goals.
On this occasion, I have to say I lay complete blame with the players. We'd played well the last two home games and went into this game with great confidence. We started well and also played with confidence. What destroyed us was two moments of abysmal play by the players. This in turn drained the confidence out of the players, despite prior to that, and the previous two games, demonstrating we were clearly good enough to have the scoreline at the end of the match in our favour.
I don't get how they can play well and press opponents for only short periods in a match. It's bizarre. Can the players not see what happens when they work hard?
A few mentions regarding the players. Gabby is an awful football player (I would start Albrighton in his position next game). Nathan Baker is always going to be an accident waiting to happen. As for Sylla, I really can't believe he gets paid to play football. Oh, and more evidence that Bacuna isn't really a right-back, and Bertrand is not the player the majority of people seem to think he is. Bennett should've retained his position after his last performance.
Worst game of the season...so far.
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@RonVlaar4: Awful game. Looking in the mirror, I wasn't good enough today, made to many wrong choices, needs to be better... Really disappointed. #utv
At least he's honest and can front up when he doesn't perform.
Be nice to see him front up on the pitch, he is commander in chief when it comes to reacting to conceding a goal by turning round & standing still....when will we see a captain actually do more than toss a sodding coin?
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@RonVlaar4: Awful game. Looking in the mirror, I wasn't good enough today, made to many wrong choices, needs to be better... Really disappointed. #utv
At least he's honest and can front up when he doesn't perform.
Be nice to see him front up on the pitch, he is commander in chief when it comes to reacting to conceding a goal by turning round & standing still....when will we see a captain actually do more than toss a sodding coin?
In fairness to Vlaar he has been excellent for most of the season, and generally we are much worse without him in the side.
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A few mentions regarding the players. Gabby is an awful football player (I would start Albrighton in his position next game). Nathan Baker is always going to be an accident waiting to happen. As for Sylla, I really can't believe he gets paid to play football. Oh, and more evidence that Bacuna isn't really a right-back, and Bertrand is not the player the majority of people seem to think he is. Bennett should've retained his position after his last performance.
The thing about Gabby is he'll do it for us in the big games, or the derbies (in the past) but then he'll go 7 or 8 games where he has no discernible impact. He does just enough to not get people on his back.
I've no doubt he gets a much, much easier time of it because he is seen as "one of us".
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
What a load of crap!
Take off your rose tinted specs and you'll see the emperor is wearing no clothes!
Eastters I think you will find that some of us are consistent. We know what we are and try not to overboard after a win or a defeat. Damo70 is bang on.
He really isn't. He could have made his point about waiting til the end of the season without resorting to the deliberately confrontational language used.
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Was the Holt signing worth it. He can't run.
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@RonVlaar4: Awful game. Looking in the mirror, I wasn't good enough today, made to many wrong choices, needs to be better... Really disappointed. #utv
At least he's honest and can front up when he doesn't perform.
Be nice to see him front up on the pitch, he is commander in chief when it comes to reacting to conceding a goal by turning round & standing still....when will we see a captain actually do more than toss a sodding coin?
In fairness to Vlaar he has been excellent for most of the season, and generally we are much worse without him in the side.
Agree he has been generally good in performance but as a captain no one reacts when we concede, no gee-up, no recriminations - all too pally pally...maybe it's me being old school but I think a leader earns his chips when the said chips are down
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Typical Villa?
Post of the decade,says it all in 2 words.
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Typical Villa?
Post of the decade,says it all in 2 words.
I would have agreed but the question marked didn't do it for me.
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Utter garbage. Every single player was off form, outfought and we got what we deserved. It looked to me as if we'd told ourselves that the job was done last week...well today proved it wasn't. Lambert needs to give them a kick up the bollocks and drop a few of his favourites, Gabby included, because that today was unacceptable. Let's change it for United - we expect nothing there so as far as I can see it can't get worse than that shit today.
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Typical Villa?
Post of the decade,says it all in 2 words.
I would have agreed but the question marked didn't do it for me.
It should be on the big pre match flag.
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Why was Bennett dropped? (why did we change a defence that comfortably dealt with Chelsea)
How is Sylla our only central midfield cover?
Why was Sylla playing wide right?
Why was Albrighton playing the number 10 role?
Why are we still searching for a plan B at home?
What has happened to Gabby?
Why are our players so weak?
Why don't we leave a man up when defending a corner?
Why do teams with awful away records always win at Villa Park?
Grant Holt?
How many utterly dreadful, soul destroying performances are we going to have to deal with before Lambert gets sacked?
Only one I'd question is the Bertrand change given that Bennett has been crap for a lifetime. Everything else bang on.
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This match summed up us under Lambert.
In one game we looked a very good team for part of it and utterly useless in the majority. We went in with hope and confidence, and it was all blown with two stupid goals.
On this occasion, I have to say I lay complete blame with the players. We'd played well the last two home games and went into this game with great confidence. We started well and also played with confidence. What destroyed us was two moments of abysmal play by the players. This in turn drained the confidence out of the players, despite prior to that, and the previous two games, demonstrating we were clearly good enough to have the scoreline at the end of the match in our favour.
I don't get how they can play well and press opponents for only short periods in a match. It's bizarre. Can the players not see what happens when they work hard?
A few mentions regarding the players. Gabby is an awful football player (I would start Albrighton in his position next game). Nathan Baker is always going to be an accident waiting to happen. As for Sylla, I really can't believe he gets paid to play football. Oh, and more evidence that Bacuna isn't really a right-back, and Bertrand is not the player the majority of people seem to think he is.Bennett should've retained his position after his last performance.
Worst game of the season...so far.
on one hand Lambert has Bertrand who has not a bad game before today, on the other hand he has Bennett who's had 1 good game in the 18+ months since he's been here and should have been sent off in the 1 and only good game he's had. Yeah you're right Lambert is stupid not to pick Bennett over Bertrand
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Bennett has had a few good games.
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I'm not sure how much difference Bennett would have made bearing in mind everybody else was off their game as well.
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Bennett has had a few good games.
Name Them? i'll start Chelsea
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I'm not sure how much difference Bennett would have made bearing in mind everybody else was off their game as well.
Agreed, the majority of the team were well below par today .
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3 men up top doesn't work. Put another midfielder in there cos we are usually outnumbered and short of numbers and quality. Gabby was always at his best as part of a duo and thriving off service, Lambert uses him to merely run at defences these days. No point having three men up front if no one to provide service hence why we end up hoofing all the time and playing like the away side even when we are at home. Stoke City - yes Stoke City and this is no insult to them because they played well - passed us off the park, controlled the game and played some killer balls when they needed to. Barring 45 mins vs Liverpool and the odd spell here and there we've looked totally incapable - or Lambert has been unwilling to try - of controlling a match in the same way. As Dave Woodhall said, we're a lot better side when we go out positively which we did for 10 mins today and then just fell to pieces.
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I'm not sure how much difference Bennett would have made bearing in mind everybody else was off their game as well.
Agreed, the majority of the team were well below par today .
I agree we were nothing short of embarrassing today.
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3 men up top doesn't work. Put another midfielder in there cos we are usually outnumbered and short of numbers and quality. Gabby was always at his best as part of a duo and thriving off service, Lambert uses him to merely run at defences these days. No point having three men up front if no one to provide service hence why we end up hoofing all the time and playing like the away side even when we are at home. Stoke City - yes Stoke City and this is no insult to them because they played well - passed us off the park, controlled the game and played some killer balls when they needed to. Barring 45 mins vs Liverpool and the odd spell here and there we've looked totally incapable - or Lambert has been unwilling to try - of controlling a match in the same way. As Dave Woodhall said, we're a lot better side when we go out positively which we did for 10 mins today and then just fell to pieces.
Three up front works away but rarely at home and gabby and Weimann have both had poor seasons with only 3 goals each I believe - we need better options than those next season.
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I'm not sure how much difference Bennett would have made bearing in mind everybody else was off their game as well.
Agreed, the majority of the team were well below par today .
I agree we were nothing short of embarrassing today.
Second best (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26709787)
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This match summed up us under Lambert.
In one game we looked a very good team for part of it and utterly useless in the majority. We went in with hope and confidence, and it was all blown with two stupid goals.
On this occasion, I have to say I lay complete blame with the players. We'd played well the last two home games and went into this game with great confidence. We started well and also played with confidence. What destroyed us was two moments of abysmal play by the players. This in turn drained the confidence out of the players, despite prior to that, and the previous two games, demonstrating we were clearly good enough to have the scoreline at the end of the match in our favour.
I don't get how they can play well and press opponents for only short periods in a match. It's bizarre. Can the players not see what happens when they work hard?
A few mentions regarding the players. Gabby is an awful football player (I would start Albrighton in his position next game). Nathan Baker is always going to be an accident waiting to happen. As for Sylla, I really can't believe he gets paid to play football. Oh, and more evidence that Bacuna isn't really a right-back, and Bertrand is not the player the majority of people seem to think he is. Bennett should've retained his position after his last performance.
Worst game of the season...so far.
Gabby's pretty good most of the time but he does go missing at times when we need his experience to tell, like today.
Agree with you on Baker, and i would extend on your comments to say that he is a total fucking abomination of a footballer. If still regular in the side next season we might as well forget any kind of progression.
Bacuna is indeed not a right back but he's a good player with lots of potential and should be playing further up the field. Quite why Lambert doesn't see this is as big a mystery as that plane they've been on about the last few weeks.
Sylla has been a disappointment, but still might have a future.
If we carry on as we did today for the rest of the season, then yes Lambert out.
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Our problem is we don't actually have right back, because neither Lowton or Bacuna can really defend.
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I would disagree that gabby is pretty good most of the time - as a villa fan I think he's cut a lot more slack but his poor performances far outweigh his good ones .
Useful impact player off the bench maybe but not a regular first teamer for me.
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And yes, why continue to train one of Chelseas players whilst leaving our own on the bench especially when there hasn't been a dramatic improvement down that side.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
What a load of crap!
Take off your rose tinted specs and you'll see the emperor is wearing no clothes!
Eastters I think you will find that some of us are consistent. We know what we are and try not to overboard after a win or a defeat. Damo70 is bang on.
You disappoint me affers , I expect you to see the wood from the trees ;)
No villa fan was hoping for a defeat today and to suggest that they were is bollocks.
Credit and praise is given when deserved as in the last 2 games but tonight criticism is fully warranted and deserved.
I bid you good evening sir and am going to watch El Classico!
If you read what I put I said that from the over dramatic reaction from some "It seems like" some were "Almost hoping" for something like this. I have no problem with people like Paulie for example who make many valid points about Lambert's reign on the whole and have consistently said the same thing after both good and bad results. If anyone calling for him to go was as keen for him to go this time last week after the Chelsea result then fair play and today they will feel vindicated in their lack of faith. If anyone has jumped directly from happy to give him more time to sack him after today they are fickle. And trust me, I don't have rose tinted specs. I have missed one home game in all competitions since Lambert took over so like many others I have witnessed more than enough slow motion car crashes at Villa Park in such a relatively short space of time, with the added bonus of having to exit the North stand and walk up Witton Lane seeing and hearing celebrating away fans. Ger, I promise you I wasn't trying to be deliberately confrontational. And cheers to Olaftab for having my back. ;)
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I would disagree that gabby is pretty good most of the time - as a villa fan I think he's cut a lot more slack but his poor performances far outweigh his good ones .
Useful impact player off the bench maybe but not a regular first teamer for me.
He's definitely not a great force at home on the whole, saying that neither are the whole team. Our goal today showed how to open up teams who sit back, but we didn't learn from it.
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I'd say Agbonlahor is barely average most of the time.
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I would disagree that gabby is pretty good most of the time - as a villa fan I think he's cut a lot more slack but his poor performances far outweigh his good ones .
Useful impact player off the bench maybe but not a regular first teamer for me.
Well i think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. He's presently our second best attacking player after Benteke and 90% of the time looks easily good enough to be playing for us in our current state. We're hardly friggin Real Madrid. I would have said when we were challenging for top 4 a few years ago he looked a weak link with the likes of Young, Downing, Milner, Barry, Carew, Petrov etc but those days are well and truly gone.
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The major frustration is that for 10 minutes we played how a team should play at home, unfortunately we then abandoned that and got battered.
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Of course people will be happy after beating Chelsea but one swallow doesn't make a summer - I said then lets see where we finish before any decision is made on his future and credit was given to lambert and all concerned for last weeks display - however we have had too many false dawns under him - we know what these players are capable of and it is his job to get them performing at that level on a regular basis .
It is no good him saying he doesn't know what happened today or why it happened - he is the motivator , he chooses, coaches and buys the players and he has failed to deliver too many times .
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We were outstanding at the start then fell apart after we scored.
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Sir Graham said it, football is about results, nothing else.
Lambert might be getting a few notable ones, but tellingly, not enough good ones.
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I would disagree that gabby is pretty good most of the time - as a villa fan I think he's cut a lot more slack but his poor performances far outweigh his good ones .
Useful impact player off the bench maybe but not a regular first teamer for me.
Well i think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. He's presently our second best attacking player after Benteke and 90% of the time looks easily good enough to be playing for us in our current state. We're hardly friggin Real Madrid. I would have said when we were challenging for top 4 a few years ago he looked a weak link with the likes of Young, Downing, Milner, Barry, Carew, Petrov etc but those days are well and truly gone.
Saying he is our 2nd best attacking player doesn't say much for the others in that case.
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We were outstanding at the start then fell apart after we scored.
Yep we were and we actually played how a home team should, the goal highlighted that. The fact we fell apart so badly shows a lack of tactical awareness and leadership.
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I would disagree that gabby is pretty good most of the time - as a villa fan I think he's cut a lot more slack but his poor performances far outweigh his good ones .
Useful impact player off the bench maybe but not a regular first teamer for me.
Well i think we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. He's presently our second best attacking player after Benteke and 90% of the time looks easily good enough to be playing for us in our current state. We're hardly friggin Real Madrid. I would have said when we were challenging for top 4 a few years ago he looked a weak link with the likes of Young, Downing, Milner, Barry, Carew, Petrov etc but those days are well and truly gone.
Saying he is our 2nd best attacking player doesn't say much for the others in that case.
True, but they're way better than our bastard defenders. Which says a hell of a lot.
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Just home from the game. Where to begin. That was one of the worst performances collectively of any Villa side I have seen since the days of DOL. I am not a Lambert out man because I am a realist and do not think it is going to happen. There are enough downers following Villa without building up your hopes pointlessly. Stoke outplayed us in every department today. They muscled us and we capitulated. In my opinion the reason we can beat the better teams is because they come to play football and our players are not scared of them. Lesser sides come and play to get points at all costs and too many of our players have no stomach for the fray.
I was not surprised by the result because my diagnosis of the crux of our shortcomings is the gulf between how we can play and how we do play. We never play poorly, we never have an off day. When we are bad we are unspeakably bad and that is down to coaching and man management.
On the way to the game we heard Pat Murphy's interview with Lambert and on being told that we have not won three home games back to back for seven years his reply was "I expect I shall get blamed for that" I think he sees himself as a victim when so much of what goes wrong on the pitch is directly his and his staff's responsibility.
One thing which I found inexplicable was the complete absence of any greater effort or urgency in the second half. After a first half like that you would expect that they came out fresh from the mother of all bollockings but if anything they were more slap happy and lethargic than they had been in the first half.
If we scrape to survival nothing is going to change. We are going to go into next season on a wing and a prayer with most of the bomb squad bombed out and Hoolahan, Holt and a couple of bargain buys brought in. What we have seen in recent times is going to be the norm for the foreseeable future. If you are an optimist you will continue to be an optimist, if you are a pessimist you will continue to be pessimistic.
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If you read what I put I said that from the over dramatic reaction from some "It seems like" some were "Almost hoping" for something like this. I have no problem with people like Paulie for example who make many valid points about Lambert's reign on the whole and have consistently said the same thing after both good and bad results. If anyone calling for him to go was as keen for him to go this time last week after the Chelsea result then fair play and today they will feel vindicated in their lack of faith. If anyone has jumped directly from happy to give him more time to sack him after today they are fickle. And trust me, I don't have rose tinted specs. I have missed one home game in all competitions since Lambert took over so like many others I have witnessed more than enough slow motion car crashes at Villa Park in such a relatively short space of time, with the added bonus of having to exit the North stand and walk up Witton Lane seeing and hearing celebrating away fans. Ger, I promise you I wasn't trying to be deliberately confrontational. And cheers to Olaftab for having my back. ;)
Fair enough, damo. I just get a bit twitchy when I see that type of post put up (similarly to when I see "happy clapper" or some other nonsense posted). Tempers can flare easily on a night like tonight, I really doubt that there's very many on here who actually take pleasure in a game / result like today.
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Just home from the game. Where to begin. That was one of the worst performances collectively of any Villa side I have seen since the days of DOL. I am not a Lambert out man because I am a realist and do not think it is going to happen. There are enough downers following Villa without building up your hopes pointlessly. Stoke outplayed us in every department today. They muscled us and we capitulated. In my opinion the reason we can beat the better teams is because they come to play football and our players are not scared of them. Lesser sides come and play to get points at all costs and too many of our players have no stomach for the fray.
I was not surprised by the result because my diagnosis of the crux of our shortcomings is the gulf between how we can play and how we do play. We never play poorly, we never have an off day. When we are bad we are unspeakably bad and that is down to coaching and man management.
On the way to the game we heard Pat Murphy's interview with Lambert and on being told that we have not won three home games back to back for seven years his reply was "I expect I shall get blamed for that" I think he sees himself as a victim when so much of what goes wrong on the pitch is directly his and his staff's responsibility.
One thing which I found inexplicable was the complete absence of any greater effort or urgency in the second half. After a first half like that you would expect that they came out fresh from the mother of all bollockings but if anything they were more slap happy and lethargic than they had been in the first half.
If we scrape to survival nothing is going to change. We are going to go into next season on a wing and a prayer with most of the bomb squad bombed out and Hoolahan, Holt and a couple of bargain buys brought in. What we have seen in recent times is going to be the norm for the foreseeable future. If you are an optimist you will continue to be an optimist, if you are a pessimist you will continue to be pessimistic.
I fell even more depressed after reading this brian :(
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Ger, I can vouch for Damo70 being a level-headed, intelligent poster.
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
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Ger, I can vouch for Damo70 being a level-headed, intelligent poster.
Agreed, I do enjoy his contributions, just thought that one was a little bit off.
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Ger, I can vouch for Damo70 being a level-headed, intelligent poster.
Maybe so but it was the suggestion some were maybe hoping for this defeat which I took umbrage with , we are all villa fans and want to win.
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Just home from the game. Where to begin. That was one of the worst performances collectively of any Villa side I have seen since the days of DOL. I am not a Lambert out man because I am a realist and do not think it is going to happen. There are enough downers following Villa without building up your hopes pointlessly. Stoke outplayed us in every department today. They muscled us and we capitulated. In my opinion the reason we can beat the better teams is because they come to play football and our players are not scared of them. Lesser sides come and play to get points at all costs and too many of our players have no stomach for the fray.
I was not surprised by the result because my diagnosis of the crux of our shortcomings is the gulf between how we can play and how we do play. We never play poorly, we never have an off day. When we are bad we are unspeakably bad and that is down to coaching and man management.
On the way to the game we heard Pat Murphy's interview with Lambert and on being told that we have not won three home games back to back for seven years his reply was "I expect I shall get blamed for that" I think he sees himself as a victim when so much of what goes wrong on the pitch is directly his and his staff's responsibility.
One thing which I found inexplicable was the complete absence of any greater effort or urgency in the second half. After a first half like that you would expect that they came out fresh from the mother of all bollockings but if anything they were more slap happy and lethargic than they had been in the first half.
If we scrape to survival nothing is going to change. We are going to go into next season on a wing and a prayer with most of the bomb squad bombed out and Hoolahan, Holt and a couple of bargain buys brought in. What we have seen in recent times is going to be the norm for the foreseeable future. If you are an optimist you will continue to be an optimist, if you are a pessimist you will continue to be pessimistic.
I agree with a lot of this, but how then do you explain some of our good away results which were extremely physical? Sunderland is one obvious example.
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Sorry eastie. I have just travelled nearly two hundred miles with my son each of us unable to bring ourselves to speak. The silence was broken when he dropped me at my house and said "Take your chip wrappers with you."
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Just home from the game. Where to begin. That was one of the worst performances collectively of any Villa side I have seen since the days of DOL. I am not a Lambert out man because I am a realist and do not think it is going to happen. There are enough downers following Villa without building up your hopes pointlessly. Stoke outplayed us in every department today. They muscled us and we capitulated. In my opinion the reason we can beat the better teams is because they come to play football and our players are not scared of them. Lesser sides come and play to get points at all costs and too many of our players have no stomach for the fray.
I was not surprised by the result because my diagnosis of the crux of our shortcomings is the gulf between how we can play and how we do play. We never play poorly, we never have an off day. When we are bad we are unspeakably bad and that is down to coaching and man management.
On the way to the game we heard Pat Murphy's interview with Lambert and on being told that we have not won three home games back to back for seven years his reply was "I expect I shall get blamed for that" I think he sees himself as a victim when so much of what goes wrong on the pitch is directly his and his staff's responsibility.
One thing which I found inexplicable was the complete absence of any greater effort or urgency in the second half. After a first half like that you would expect that they came out fresh from the mother of all bollockings but if anything they were more slap happy and lethargic than they had been in the first half.
If we scrape to survival nothing is going to change. We are going to go into next season on a wing and a prayer with most of the bomb squad bombed out and Hoolahan, Holt and a couple of bargain buys brought in. What we have seen in recent times is going to be the norm for the foreseeable future. If you are an optimist you will continue to be an optimist, if you are a pessimist you will continue to be pessimistic.
I fell even more depressed after reading this brian :(
Yes, apart from the first 15 minutes, that was one of the worst performances collectively...full stop.
Players who suddenly looked quite capable last week looked incapable, and dynamic play was replaced by patternless, aimless slow and wayward play riddled with fouls.
Losing 11 games at home takes some doing and losing so badly to a team with a reserve midfield who are so poor away from home is unacceptable.
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The thing is it's not a one off , its a regular thing and has been happening for far too long - our home form is an embarrassment,
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Perhaps the difference 'chrome is that we had a referee who was fair and not card happy. I think we did try to man up a bit today but when we did we fell foul of vain Mr Clattenberg. As Legion pointed out Stoke are still the same narky game manipulators they have always been but Mark Hughes gets a good press and Stoke are now the good guys.
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The thing is it's not a one off , its a regular thing and has been happening for far too long - our home form is an embarrassment,
Precisely. It was a hideous performance, but not a one off. Most of our home performances under Lambert have been unacceptable. We're Aston Villa not some 'johnny come lately' club from the lower leagues who are just happy to be in the Prem for a season or two. Let's have a bit of pride in the club!
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For what it's worth I can see what Damo was trying to say. There is a bit of inconsistency with some posters on here and that will always be the way I suppose. Whilst no-one was saying Lambert was the best manager in the world last week, no-one was calling for his head either. A week later they are. I presume that's what Damo was suggesting and if so, I agree with him.
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When our options from the bench are French division 2 player and a championship teams reject - then we are in the shit - and will be for the foreseeable future.
Out thought - outmuscled - outplayed .
Pathetic .
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Fair play to you Brian, if only our players showed the same passion and dedication as you
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If you read what I put I said that from the over dramatic reaction from some "It seems like" some were "Almost hoping" for something like this. I have no problem with people like Paulie for example who make many valid points about Lambert's reign on the whole and have consistently said the same thing after both good and bad results. If anyone calling for him to go was as keen for him to go this time last week after the Chelsea result then fair play and today they will feel vindicated in their lack of faith. If anyone has jumped directly from happy to give him more time to sack him after today they are fickle. And trust me, I don't have rose tinted specs. I have missed one home game in all competitions since Lambert took over so like many others I have witnessed more than enough slow motion car crashes at Villa Park in such a relatively short space of time, with the added bonus of having to exit the North stand and walk up Witton Lane seeing and hearing celebrating away fans. Ger, I promise you I wasn't trying to be deliberately confrontational. And cheers to Olaftab for having my back. ;)
Fair enough, damo. I just get a bit twitchy when I see that type of post put up (similarly to when I see "happy clapper" or some other nonsense posted). Tempers can flare easily on a night like tonight, I really doubt that there's very many on here who actually take pleasure in a game / result like today.
The one comment I would take back is the dig at posters who don't go to games complaining. Like a lot of others I had years of not going regularly due to work, family, finances, moving away at one point.It still hurts and you still care. I think I was a bit bitter and twisted after yet another grim performance and result along with the aforementioned witnessing of yet another away fan party. Then I was reading posts from people who had the luxury of changing channels! ;)
eastie, I meant that the calls for Lambert to go in a few posts made it seem that some were almost waiting for an outcome like today. I probably didn't word it well but Clampy gets the gist of what I meant.
Cheers Legion.
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Thank you for the compliment Pooli but I am nothing more than a glutton for punishment.
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Perhaps the difference 'chrome is that we had a referee who was fair and not card happy. I think we did try to man up a bit today but when we did we fell foul of vain Mr Clattenberg. As Legion pointed out Stoke are still the same narky game manipulators they have always been but Ailsa Stewart gets a good press and Stoke are now the good guys.
Considering most of their players are over 7ft, a few of them went too down bloody easily. Like you said, despite the change in manager they're still the same horrible side to watch.
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Perhaps the difference 'chrome is that we had a referee who was fair and not card happy. I think we did try to man up a bit today but when we did we fell foul of vain Mr Clattenberg. As Legion pointed out Stoke are still the same narky game manipulators they have always been but Mark Hughes gets a good press and Stoke are now the good guys.
Yes BG, that is spot on. They did not miss a trick to niggle and time waste, and we end up with 5 yellow cards.
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Well thank heavens for the 2 previous results. Imagine the fallout tonight without them.
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Why did we constantly hoof the ball up the pitch when practically every Stoke player was over 7ft? Talk about playing into their hands!
Lambert's tactics are just laughable.
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For what it's worth I can see what Damo was trying to say. There is a bit of inconsistency with some posters on here and that will always be the way I suppose. Whilst no-one was saying Lambert was the best manager in the world last week, no-one was calling for his head either. A week later they are. I presume that's what Damo was suggesting and if so, I agree with him.
I was full of praise for him last week as he deserved credit as much as the team but I certainly wasn't calling for him to be given a new deal - there have been many false dawns under him.
Anyone last week calling for his head would look foolish after the Chelsea game and I prefer to praise when deserved and criticise when deserved .
Last week was a tome to celebrate but sadly they have been all too rare under lamberts reign.
I was amazed to see the vote swung from 70 % either wanting him out or unsure to only 20% against him on the back of two wins .
I have great respect for you damo and accept your point of view now clarified .
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Is losing 9 league games at home a record for us??
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
It is a petulant answer and doesn't impress me. However I think it should be taken in the context of the consistent attitude, manner and tone of Pat Murphy in his dealings with Lambert.
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
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For what it's worth I can see what Damo was trying to say. There is a bit of inconsistency with some posters on here and that will always be the way I suppose. Whilst no-one was saying Lambert was the best manager in the world last week, no-one was calling for his head either. A week later they are. I presume that's what Damo was suggesting and if so, I agree with him.
Anyone last week calling for his head would look foolish after the Chelsea game and I prefer to praise when deserved and criticise when deserved .
That's exactly Damo's point (I think). You say he didn't deserve calls to be sacked last week but today he does? What happens if we beat Man Utd next week?
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
Well of course not, but who's blaming Lambert for our record before he arrived? I don't think anyone is.
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The biggest thing that annoys me about games like today is these guys will pick up anywhere between £10 and £50k for this 'performance'. Did anyone see how pathetic Bacunas 'challenge' was for their last goal. I mean come one, £10-20k for that shit?
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The biggest thing that annoys me about games like today is these guys will pick up anywhere between £10 and £50k for this 'performance'. Did anyone see how pathetic Bacunas 'challenge' was for their last goal. I mean come one, £10-20k for that shit?
That was Bacuna's worst game today, he was woeful.
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There were many times today when passes, tackles and positional sense wouldn't have looked out of place at a Sunday morning pub game. We really were f@cking hopeless all over the pitch.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
Would you have given Alex McLeish any more time? Lambert is totally useless and must go, taking all of his ex-Norwich staff with him.
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The biggest thing that annoys me about games like today is these guys will pick up anywhere between £10 and £50k for this 'performance'. Did anyone see how pathetic Bacunas 'challenge' was for their last goal. I mean come one, £10-20k for that shit?
That was Bacuna's worst game today, he was woeful.
Yep terrible and he just gave up as well.
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Perhaps the difference 'chrome is that we had a referee who was fair and not card happy. I think we did try to man up a bit today but when we did we fell foul of vain Mr Clattenberg. As Legion pointed out Stoke are still the same narky game manipulators they have always been but Mark Hughes gets a good press and Stoke are now the good guys.
Yes BG, that is spot on. They did not miss a trick to niggle and time waste, and we end up with 5 yellow cards.
That was Hughes as a pkayer. Kick snything that moves snd fall over when came up sgainst soneone eho wouldn't budge.
Anyway dire performance. Hooofall into penalty area only tactic.
Hughes and Stoke had our card marked.
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
Well of course not, but who's blaming Lambert for our record before he arrived? I don't think anyone is.
The question itself does. The fact that some consiider him refusing to accept the blame for stuff that happened years before he got here is 'petuleant' does. The fact that part of this record occurred whilst we were heading for 3 6th place finishes & a league cup final & an FA cup semi final shows that this stuff means f all anyway.
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
Well of course not, but who's blaming Lambert for our record before he arrived? I don't think anyone is.
The question itself does. The fact that some consiider him refusing to accept the blame for stuff that happened years before he got here is 'petuleant' does. The fact that part of this record occurred whilst we were heading for 3 6th place finishes & a league cup final & an FA cup semi final shows that this stuff means f all anyway.
Again who is blaming him for our home form over the last 5 years or so? I don't think anyone is. If you want to raise questions about our home record since he arrived then that's a different matter, because it's been atrocious.
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Bad day at the office. Never mind, we'll play better soon enough.
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
Well of course not, but who's blaming Lambert for our record before he arrived? I don't think anyone is.
The question itself does. The fact that some consiider him refusing to accept the blame for stuff that happened years before he got here is 'petuleant' does. The fact that part of this record occurred whilst we were heading for 3 6th place finishes & a league cup final & an FA cup semi final shows that this stuff means f all anyway.
Again who is blaming him for our home form over the last 5 years or so? I don't think anyone is. If you want to raise questions about our home record since he arrived then that's a different matter, because it's been atrocious.
That's what I am saying - why ask him about 7 years of home form? The relative 'success' during that time show that such stats are meaningless. Why not ask him about the home form under his management? Then judge whether his responses are 'petulant'.
Our home form has been awful, even some of the wins have been hard to watch. Why not ask him about that rather than a set of result s that happened when more when Martin O'Neil was here than him? - which clearly show what a pointless argument this is.
I said this morning that I'd stick by him following what I fully expected to be another Stoke debacle, and I do, but that doesn't mean I just accept today.
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The biggest thing that annoys me about games like today is these guys will pick up anywhere between £10 and £50k for this 'performance'. Did anyone see how pathetic Bacunas 'challenge' was for their last goal. I mean come one, £10-20k for that shit?
That was Bacuna's worst game today, he was woeful.
Yep terrible and he just gave up as well.
That challenge was unacceptable in all honesty and really he should be benched for it , but seeing as Lowton has been awful at RB too I imagine he will keep his place.
We can complete against footballing sides but teams like Stoke we just are not physically strong enough its been a problem for 18 months.Also we have a poor squad take out the first 11 and whats left is not near good enough.Holt was a waste of time coming on and in al honesty his signing has turned out as many suspected , an utter waste of time.Albrighton tried his best but with Bacuna so awful he has no back up when he went down the wing.
Luna ,Tonev and Helanuis can't get on bench at all and shows for the most part the summer signings have not really produced hence why we really haven't picked up from last season.
The real shame today is Delph and Benteke both tried their best but were surrounded by utter shite , even Vlaar was all over the place.
This team simply under performs when placed in a position as favourites in a match and it needs to be addressed.
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Again who is blaming him for our home form over the last 5 years or so? I don't think anyone is. If you want to raise questions about our home record since he arrived then that's a different matter, because it's been atrocious.
No one is blaming him, he gave a petulant answer to something Murphy said that covered 7 years of home form. Tbh, anyone who gives that twat Murphy a shit answer gets bonus points from me.
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The worst performance this season after the best at VP in 2yrs. We are the Premier League's most consistent inconsistent side. It was two bald men fighting over a comb but to credit Stoke they have progressed post-Pulis with a mix of power and passing and we, er, haven't. Defensively we are held together with string and unravel as soon as the opposition get their first sniff of the Holte End. Coupled with a lame midfield today and the odd decision to play Allbrighton in a central role. Shambles,
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The decision to play Albrighton in the middle was very bizarre. I don't know whether to give Lambert credit for trying something different or to just think he is a loon.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
Would you have given Alex McLeish any more time? Lambert is totally useless and must go, taking all of his ex-Norwich staff with him.
My opinion of TSM was he should stay until the end of the season as he would grind out just enough points to keep us up. Then for a number of reasons he should go. My opinion of Lambert is he should be given the rest of this season and then a calm and balanced decision needs to be made one way or the other. Which given his contract situation I am sure is what will happen.
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Lambert can't be blamed for things that happened before he arrived, of course he can't.
The thing is, though, last season, he was very fortunate to get an extended - very extended - holiday period, and one of the reasons for this was precisely because what came before him was so utterly awful. So, if anything, he has benefitted considerably from that which came before, totally different from a suggestion he's getting blamed for it.
There is actually no need to be blaming him for stuff that happened before he came here, though. What has happened since he has been there is bad enough. Nine home league defeats already this season, with three home games still to play, and this isn't even his first season, so he can't point at someone else's squad.
When he came here, I really, really thought it'd work out. When we were utterly abysmal for most of last season, we could look at other stuff, the improvement in football, which, combined with the fact it was his first year and that we'd been so poor the year before, meant we gave him a lot more slack.
This season, though, he can't blame anyone else.
last season - under him - at home, we did this:
W5 D5 L9
That, already, is truly atrocious. That's 20 points from 57. Abysmal. Only three teams won fewer home games than us last year, and they all got relegated.
This season so far at home we are on:
W5 D2 L9
Again, atrocious.
There are a lot of things - previous wage bills, wasted money, poor squad management - which went on before he came, for which he can not be in any way held responsible, but if he is suggesting he's copping the blame for things that aren't his fault, then he might want to ask himself how many PL managers would deliver home form like the above and still be under absolutely no pressure for their job, and get as easy a ride as he does?
I still want it to work for him, but this has all got to be two-way. It can't be blind faith and an unending period of time where we just make allowances.
Mid table teams are inconsistent, that's true, but we seem to be stuck on some loop where we deliver one convincing performance - in this current case, it is actually two, which is novel - followed by a batch of 5 or 6 games where we deliver some truly atrocious results. That can't go on forever without people wondering what the manager is going to do to fix it. Watching that today, I started to wonder whether he actually knows what he's doing tactically, if he's the progressive manager we thought he was, or whether, actually, he's just the latest in a long line of home-bred managers who are all bluff and bluster and nothing of any real substance.
I hope he's not, and i hope he convinces us of his credentials, but Jesus, it needs to start to look a lot more convincing, really quickly.
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The decision to play Albrighton in the middle was very bizarre. I don't know whether to give Lambert credit for trying something different or to just think he is a loon.
F in loon
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The decision to play Albrighton in the middle was very bizarre. I don't know whether to give Lambert credit for trying something different or to just think he is a loon.
In this case, the latter. Bearing in mind he's arguably the best crosser of the ball at the club, it was utterly barmy.
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Again who is blaming him for our home form over the last 5 years or so? I don't think anyone is. If you want to raise questions about our home record since he arrived then that's a different matter, because it's been atrocious.
No one is blaming him, he gave a petulant answer to something Murphy said that covered 7 years of home form. Tbh, anyone who gives that twat Murphy a shit answer gets bonus points from me.
I am surprised he hasn't twatted that twat Murphy. Murphy clearly has an agenda against Lambert to the point it is almost an in joke with the 5L anchormen. Unfortunately days like today totally suit that agenda.
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For what it's worth I can see what Damo was trying to say. There is a bit of inconsistency with some posters on here and that will always be the way I suppose. Whilst no-one was saying Lambert was the best manager in the world last week, no-one was calling for his head either. A week later they are. I presume that's what Damo was suggesting and if so, I agree with him.
I was full of praise for him last week as he deserved credit as much as the team but I certainly wasn't calling for him to be given a new deal - there have been many false dawns under him.
Anyone last week calling for his head would look foolish after the Chelsea game and I prefer to praise when deserved and criticise when deserved .
Last week was a tome to celebrate but sadly they have been all too rare under lamberts reign.
I was amazed to see the vote swung from 70 % either wanting him out or unsure to only 20% against him on the back of two wins .
I have great respect for you damo and accept your point of view now clarified .
I think you are under estimating the footy knowledge of most on here. Very few, including me, change our minds about the manager based on a couple of victories. Todays performance epitomises everything about Lambert's managerial acumen.
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I feel sorry for Benteke in all this he is quality playing alongside mediocrity, the onle real chance he had he put away with aplomb, the problem is the only player who can delever to him is Delph who played well again today. As for last weeks win you can always get players play above themselves for one week but as we saw today most of our players really are not of premiership standard end of.
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
Well of course not, but who's blaming Lambert for our record before he arrived? I don't think anyone is.
The question itself does. The fact that some consiider him refusing to accept the blame for stuff that happened years before he got here is 'petuleant' does. The fact that part of this record occurred whilst we were heading for 3 6th place finishes & a league cup final & an FA cup semi final shows that this stuff means f all anyway.
I didn't hear it, so I might be getting it wrong, I am just going on what I've read here, but if he was asked that, but if he said "I don't know, but I expect I'll get the blame for that" - isn't the pertinent point the fact that that answer suggests he thinks he's getting blamed for stuff he shouldn't be blamed for?
Pointless question, I agree, but the answer to it is telling. If that's what he said, anyway.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
Would you have given Alex McLeish any more time? Lambert is totally useless and must go, taking all of his ex-Norwich staff with him.
My opinion of TSM was he should stay until the end of the season as he would grind out just enough points to keep us up. Then for a number of reasons he should go. My opinion of Lambert is he should be given the rest of this season and then a calm and balanced decision needs to be made one way or the other. Which given his contract situation I am sure is what will happen.
I find the suggestion he should be sacked now, or at any point past Christmas really hard to accept. That strikes me as nuts.
To sack a manager at that point in the season, you need to be in desperate straits, which we are not. You're not just sacking the manager, you're committing yourself to finding a new one at a really inopportune time. To lumber yourself in that situation, you've got to really, really want the manager out very quickly.
I do think, though, like you said, that there needs to be a conversation at the end of the season about what happens next. We're not at the end of the season yet, but the way things are going so far, unless something amazing happens between now and the end, I'd be in favour of pulling the trigger, but as you said, let's see how it pans out.
FWIW I don't actually think there's a Lambert Out brigade at all.
I think what we have is a large Pro-Lambert grouping who are finding that their reasons to stay Pro Lambert are getting chipped away at week after week. It's not so much a growing anti-movement as a shrinking pro-movement.
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The home form is frustrating but the most depressing part of Lambert's tenure for me is the regular utter embarrassments he's led us to.
Biggest defeat in our entire history. Losing a two-legged match to a 4th division side. Regular cup defeats to lower league opposition. And now a total hiding at home to Stoke of all teams.
Lambert's creating a legacy at the Villa for all the wrong reasons.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
Would you have given Alex McLeish any more time? Lambert is totally useless and must go, taking all of his ex-Norwich staff with him.
My opinion of TSM was he should stay until the end of the season as he would grind out just enough points to keep us up. Then for a number of reasons he should go. My opinion of Lambert is he should be given the rest of this season and then a calm and balanced decision needs to be made one way or the other. Which given his contract situation I am sure is what will happen.
Once we are safe, which somehow we nearly are, what would be wrong with getting a new manager in? It would give him time to get working with the squad before the start of next season. I know that is unlikely to happen but just hope that Lambert has been told by the board that his card is marked.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
Would you have given Alex McLeish any more time? Lambert is totally useless and must go, taking all of his ex-Norwich staff with him.
My opinion of TSM was he should stay until the end of the season as he would grind out just enough points to keep us up. Then for a number of reasons he should go. My opinion of Lambert is he should be given the rest of this season and then a calm and balanced decision needs to be made one way or the other. Which given his contract situation I am sure is what will happen.
Once we are safe, which somehow we nearly are, what would be wrong with getting a new manager in? It would give him time to get working with the squad before the start of next season. I know that is unlikely to happen but just hope that Lambert has been told by the board that his card is marked.
Because finding a decent manager in April is virtually impossible?
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
Would you have given Alex McLeish any more time? Lambert is totally useless and must go, taking all of his ex-Norwich staff with him.
My opinion of TSM was he should stay until the end of the season as he would grind out just enough points to keep us up. Then for a number of reasons he should go. My opinion of Lambert is he should be given the rest of this season and then a calm and balanced decision needs to be made one way or the other. Which given his contract situation I am sure is what will happen.
Once we are safe, which somehow we nearly are, what would be wrong with getting a new manager in? It would give him time to get working with the squad before the start of next season. I know that is unlikely to happen but just hope that Lambert has been told by the board that his card is marked.
Because finding a decent manager in April is virtually impossible?
We certainly haven't got one now.
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It was dire stuff but it seems like the Lambert Out brigade were almost hoping for something like this after the last two home games. And some of the biggest vitriol is coming from people who don't actually go to games. I can't defend today but let's at least see how the rest of the season plays out before we get all the knives out of the drawer for him.
Would you have given Alex McLeish any more time? Lambert is totally useless and must go, taking all of his ex-Norwich staff with him.
My opinion of TSM was he should stay until the end of the season as he would grind out just enough points to keep us up. Then for a number of reasons he should go. My opinion of Lambert is he should be given the rest of this season and then a calm and balanced decision needs to be made one way or the other. Which given his contract situation I am sure is what will happen.
Once we are safe, which somehow we nearly are, what would be wrong with getting a new manager in? It would give him time to get working with the squad before the start of next season. I know that is unlikely to happen but just hope that Lambert has been told by the board that his card is marked.
Because finding a decent manager in April is virtually impossible?
We certainly haven't got one now.
That's not the major point, though, is it?
I am firmly in the "far from convinced" camp with Lambert, but if we're going to change manager, I can't even begin to see why we'd opt to do it at the end of March when we're very unlikely to go down rather than wait till the summer, when we will have other options.
Too many people thinking in terms of "bloodlust" - they want us to express the degree to which this isn't good enough by getting show NOW rather than at the most sensible time for the club.
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Today was a huge disappointment.
If he can't motivate them after the last two games and the chance to pull away from the mire then I don't know when he can.
But, he is just a symptom of the problems at Villa Park under three successive managers. What has been happening on the pitch is as much a symptom of the ineptitude in the dugout as it is of dysfunctional systems at the club headed by somebody who stopped attending games on a regular basis about the same time as our decline started.
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Was the Holt signing worth it. He can't run.
His signing summed up the lowering of expectations for me.
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
Well of course not, but who's blaming Lambert for our record before he arrived? I don't think anyone is.
The question itself does. The fact that some consiider him refusing to accept the blame for stuff that happened years before he got here is 'petuleant' does. The fact that part of this record occurred whilst we were heading for 3 6th place finishes & a league cup final & an FA cup semi final shows that this stuff means f all anyway.
Again who is blaming him for our home form over the last 5 years or so? I don't think anyone is. If you want to raise questions about our home record since he arrived then that's a different matter, because it's been atrocious.
That's what I am saying - why ask him about 7 years of home form? The relative 'success' during that time show that such stats are meaningless. Why not ask him about the home form under his management? Then judge whether his responses are 'petulant'.
Our home form has been awful, even some of the wins have been hard to watch. Why not ask him about that rather than a set of result s that happened when more when Martin O'Neil was here than him? - which clearly show what a pointless argument this is.
I said this morning that I'd stick by him following what I fully expected to be another Stoke debacle, and I do, but that doesn't mean I just accept today.
In answer to your question, which I have emboldened, the journo is throwing him a bone in the form a question which is really "Have a pop at your fans, why don't you?". To which he duly obliged. MoN was not only on a different planet, he was in a different stratosphere to this chap, in this repect.
The substantive question is: how many wretchedly poor home performances before the fans revolt in one form or another. I would suggest we are very near breaking point.
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We have become a dull club,I think it won't get any better for a long time.
Get used to it guy's it's been coming.
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'm in the pro Lambert brigade because I want to see him succeed. I'm also finding my justifications for him remaining Villa manager being eroded like the cliffs of Dover every day. It isn't just him. Today wasn't his fault entirely. If it was then the fast start and goal need to be attributed to him along with last weeks win. If he's going to take all of the blame then it stands to reason he should get all of the credit.
In reality the truth is in the middle, and while the buck stops with him the players need to be held accountable also. Today they gave up after our goal, which in itself is just bizarre. Because the way we played after the goal you'd think Lambert sent out new instructions to shut up shop and stop playing which you know he didn't.
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Was the Holt signing worth it. He can't run.
His signing summed up the lowering of expectations for me.
I have never known a more ineffective player in a Villa shirt.
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That's true, the players are far from blameless, but ultimately, they're his players, he trains them, he sets them up. It's not as if this is a one-off either.
I also think there's a decent amount of evidence to suggest he doesn't know what he's doing tactically. Albrighton through the middle? Really? For most of our really poor performances this season, there have been instances of tactical mentalness.
And that's even before getting to his outbreaks of utter mentalness (5 up front against Bradford, for example).
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Was the Holt signing worth it. He can't run.
His signing summed up the lowering of expectations for me.
I have never known a more ineffective player in a Villa shirt.
He's a proper man, though.
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Was the Holt signing worth it. He can't run.
His signing summed up the lowering of expectations for me.
I have never known a more ineffective player in a Villa shirt.
Balaban and Jenas.
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And that's even before getting to his outbreaks of utter mentalness (5 up front against Bradford, for example).
We were nearly there today with Benteke, Holt and Gabby upfront and Albrighton lurking about aimlessly behind them!
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Balaban and Jenas.
I honestly thought about them as well but remember Jenas making one telling pass before breaking down again and Bosko forced a save from a keeper once. Holt has had the ball bounce off him about a half a dozen times in all his time on the pitch!
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My reaction on waking up to see this result was the 'I'm not angry with you, I'm disappointed' line. A far more chilling feeling. A golden opportunity to nail survival and indulge in a stress-free end to the season totally missed.
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And my reaction was 'typical bloody Villa'. After goalfests around the country over the weekend I had thought that a scoreless draw was the most likely result but somehow failed to remember our uncanny ability to shit on our own heads.
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A low after last week's high.
Hope is another high coming up.
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My reaction was confirmation that last weeks performance was the blip and this weeks was normality.
It's all the more disappointing because I was looking forward to relaxing into the rest of the season safe in the knowledge we couldn't be dragged back into it.
Now with Manure coming up that's now probably delayed further.
Another season where I'm wishing it could just end now - 4th in a row. No wonder people are at the end of the tether with it all.
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Having slept a few hours on it we all knew that yesterday was going to be the big test. The pro-Lambert faction and the anti-Lambert faction knew that following a good quarter of a game against Norwich and a very good game against Chelsea the game against Stoke was going to show whether we had finally turned the corner and could start to build a less disastrous future. Stoke were the perfect opponents, tough, well disciplined and physical who would test us in every department in which we have showed such incompetence so many times in Lambert's tenure. By any measure we failed that test. We failed it so comprehensively that we got an early goal and still went to pieces.
Whichever way you cut it, whether you are violently pro Lambert and believe he has the vision and ability to at least take us to a position where every season is not a flirtation with relegation or whether you believe he is out of his depth and massively overrated, that Stoke game showed us and him for what we are. He is a second class manager with second rate staff around him. We have a second class squad who are poorly coached and poorly organized. We are rapidly becoming a second class club on the pitch.
He will not be sacked because those who run the club firstly have a massive guilt complex at the whole way the MON tenure and departure and everything that has happened since has been handled and secondly a posture has been adopted by those who run the club which is basically denial that anything fundamental is wrong. Having Paul Lambert as the manager fits their attitude of denial perfectly. He pleases them by buying cheaply and paying low wages. He occasionally gets lucky and finds a Benteke. Occasionally the players do their own thing and play very well. He uses the flashes of brilliance to promote the myth that we are a young team still in transition and gives assurances that it will all come good in the long run. When all these shaky assumptions are put to the test they collapse just like they did against Stoke.
Because he is not Alex McLeish his faults are glossed over by the majority of the fans. Because he is not Martin O'Neill his faults are glossed over by the board. He is never going to be sacked in the foreseeable future so it is pointless to demand it or expect it. He has secured his position by following the board's instructions to save money even to the point that players like Grant Holt are wearing Villa shirts. The board in turn will be loyal to him and will allow him to stay even if we are relegated.
That is what we the loyal fans are looking at, an absentee owner, an obdurate self-serving board, a manager whose principal quality is that he is not Alex McLeish and a squad of players put together on a low budget with little or no regard to whether they are better than the players we already have or needed at all, coached by Lambert's loyal staff who give every impression of total ineptitude.
The end game of all this is still some way off, maybe a season maybe two but when it comes it is going to be very nasty indeed.
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Spot on, Brian. We occasionally flatter to deceive but ultimately our home form remains dreadful. If Sunderland win one of their games in hand, we are a massive six points off the relegation places. I don't think we'll be relegated this year, there are more teams who seem eager to go this season. But I'm tired of the sum total of my ambition as a football supporter being to hope my team can stay up. Like Wigan, our luck will run out because, like Wigan, we buy cheaply and hope for the best.
I agree with you that the board don't seem to care, that statement they gave after sacking McLeish about Aston Villa aspiring to more than a relegation struggle just hot air. Lambert is cheap and does as he's told. In fact he makes a positive virtue of it. Buying from a pound shop is not prudent housekeeping, you just end up with a house full of broken tat.
The fans are tired of mismanagement by board downwards and I think there is a desperate wish for Lambert to come good. They say that one of the problems with social workers is that they get so personally involved in families that they don't always want to see how bad things are. There is a name for 'over optimistic because you don't want to see the truth' syndrome but I've forgotten what it is.
So, where we are is where we are. Just lost the Team of the Midlands derby to Stoke, a point above the mighty Hull and expect the same next year.
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For what it's worth I can see what Damo was trying to say. There is a bit of inconsistency with some posters on here and that will always be the way I suppose. Whilst no-one was saying Lambert was the best manager in the world last week, no-one was calling for his head either. A week later they are. I presume that's what Damo was suggesting and if so, I agree with him.
Anyone last week calling for his head would look foolish after the Chelsea game and I prefer to praise when deserved and criticise when deserved .
That's exactly Damo's point (I think). You say he didn't deserve calls to be sacked last week but today he does? What happens if we beat Man Utd next week?
Beating Chelsea didn't mean he should keep his job but he rightly was praised along with the players -it was hardly the time or place for people to be calling for his head after that game but it didn't change most people's opinion of him .
The odd good performance is far outweighed by dreadful ones - last weekend was a rare chance to celebrate and be happy.
The calls for his head are not based on today's performance but his overall management record over the last 2 seasons.
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I still can't fathom the question that Grant Holt is supposed to be the answer to an along with Marc in the no10 role it was a very bizarre and disappointing afternoon. The back 4 had a shocker and Sylla played like the French second division player he is.
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Brian Green - take a bow sir ,best post I have ever read on this forum !
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but the really sad thing is this kind of total ineptitude only happens at Villa. At any other PL club management would see that virtually two full seasons in,the 'project' isn't working and take remedial action. We not only tolerate incompetence, we reward it. A fear grips Villa - not the fear of loss, which should act as a spur to achieve, but a fear predicated on not wishing to repeat the failings of the immediate past and believing continuity is the best chance we can have of survival. I don't think it is with Lambert in charge who has demonstrated he hasn't got the wit, intelligence or imagination to work within the constraints he has to at least produce and organise a workmanlike side who don't humiliate themselves and their supporters on a depressingly regular basis, particularly at home. And I don't buy into him overseeing a reduction in the wage bill either. Apart from that tool Ireland we still have a few mega wage hogs on the books who don't look like departing until their contracts are up or we incentivize their exit to the next mug meal ticket club. And won't it be just our luck to see Shrek bag a treble.Apart from that , brilliant.
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This match summed up us under Lambert.
In one game we looked a very good team for part of it and utterly useless in the majority. We went in with hope and confidence, and it was all blown with two stupid goals.
On this occasion, I have to say I lay complete blame with the players. We'd played well the last two home games and went into this game with great confidence. We started well and also played with confidence. What destroyed us was two moments of abysmal play by the players. This in turn drained the confidence out of the players, despite prior to that, and the previous two games, demonstrating we were clearly good enough to have the scoreline at the end of the match in our favour.
I don't get how they can play well and press opponents for only short periods in a match. It's bizarre. Can the players not see what happens when they work hard?
A few mentions regarding the players. Gabby is an awful football player (I would start Albrighton in his position next game). Nathan Baker is always going to be an accident waiting to happen. As for Sylla, I really can't believe he gets paid to play football. Oh, and more evidence that Bacuna isn't really a right-back, and Bertrand is not the player the majority of people seem to think he is.Bennett should've retained his position after his last performance.
Worst game of the season...so far.
on one hand Lambert has Bertrand who has not a bad game before today, on the other hand he has Bennett who's had 1 good game in the 18+ months since he's been here and should have been sent off in the 1 and only good game he's had. Yeah you're right Lambert is stupid not to pick Bennett over Bertrand
Bertrand hasn't had a bad game? Really?!?!? I'd contest that greatly. I'd say he's had one very good game, some alright and a couple of poor ones.
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Like Wet Spam, Stoke came well prepared and with a clear gameplan: defend well, close down the Villa players and target our right back. They duly did this.
Defensively, all four of our defensive line yesterday were awful. All made significant individual errors. Stoke targeted Bacuna very successfully and he had a mare and I really don't get why Lambert has to continue playing the lad out of position and eschewing the benefits of a specialist right back in the form of Lowton.
Baker was true to form - sometimes reliable but with significant errors: why he would have attempted a backheel in front of his own goal and under pressure from an attacker is beyond me. Baker's decision-making is terrible, and I do not believe he is a Premiership player.
Vlaar had errors in him and Betrand was ineffectual.
The killer for me was the double substitution: bringing on Albrighton into central midfeld and having Sylla on the pitch at all were massive mistakes by Lambert. I said to those around me at the time that the obvious substitutions were to bring on Bennett into left MF in front of Bertrand and Albrighton on the right, ahead of Bacuna (who was getting caught out of position regularly): doing this would not have exposed Sylla as being completely out of his depth and given us both width and fullback protection.
And I found it bizarre that in the second half Delph spent more time behind Betratrand than ahead of him ...
I will probably not make any further use of my ST this season: partly, I have some other commitments; partly because it just ain't worth the effort.
Saddened.
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Yesterday was a shambles, no desire no fight
Bacuna was torn to shreds by there winger, he is not a full back
Gabby - he has totally lost it, apart from a good 45 mins away at Liverpool - cant think of much else he has done recently, and to make matters worse there is a talk of a new contract for him!!!! WHY? apart from running quick (and he is not that quick anymore), what else does he offer to the team?
Super Mark - i am not a fan of his, for me he is a championship player at best, get rid in the summer.
Baker - for me he does not read the game that is why every tackle he makes is a desperate lunge at the ball or the man
Sylla - another Championship player
Betrand - lets hope that we dont waste any of our transfer budget on him
If Lambert is to stay he needs to get rid of a lot of players and bring in 3 - 4 quality premiership players
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Watching the sides before kick-off, Stoke took up their positions, we went into a huddle, it looked like an Adult side about to play a kids team, the difference in stature was unmissable, we just couldnt cope with them physically and were given no protection from the referee, it comes to something when your biggest most physical player (CB), hardly wins a header all day and spends most of the game flat on his face. Some Stoke fan was on Radio 5 after the game and said it was "Swan Lake" football, if that is stylish football to him, what the hell are they used to up there??. as for us, after Chelsea, back to reality, and the reality is, we are a rather poor football team.
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Why did we constantly hoof the ball up the pitch when practically every Stoke player was over 7ft? Talk about playing into their hands!
Lambert's tactics are just laughable.
Because invariably under Lambert that is both plan A and plan B in a nutshell. Only difference is that plan B involves the same tactic but with more forwards and less midfielders to bypass.
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Having slept a few hours on it we all knew that yesterday was going to be the big test. The pro-Lambert faction and the anti-Lambert faction knew that following a good quarter of a game against Norwich and a very good game against Chelsea the game against Stoke was going to show whether we had finally turned the corner and could start to build a less disastrous future. Stoke were the perfect opponents, tough, well disciplined and physical who would test us in every department in which we have showed such incompetence so many times in Lambert's tenure. By any measure we failed that test. We failed it so comprehensively that we got an early goal and still went to pieces.
Whichever way you cut it, whether you are violently pro Lambert and believe he has the vision and ability to at least take us to a position where every season is not a flirtation with relegation or whether you believe he is out of his depth and massively overrated, that Stoke game showed us and him for what we are. He is a second class manager with second rate staff around him. We have a second class squad who are poorly coached and poorly organized. We are rapidly becoming a second class club on the pitch.
He will not be sacked because those who run the club firstly have a massive guilt complex at the whole way the MON tenure and departure and everything that has happened since has been handled and secondly a posture has been adopted by those who run the club which is basically denial that anything fundamental is wrong. Having Paul Lambert as the manager fits their attitude of denial perfectly. He pleases them by buying cheaply and paying low wages. He occasionally gets lucky and finds a Benteke. Occasionally the players do their own thing and play very well. He uses the flashes of brilliance to promote the myth that we are a young team still in transition and gives assurances that it will all come good in the long run. When all these shaky assumptions are put to the test they collapse just like they did against Stoke.
Because he is not Alex McLeish his faults are glossed over by the majority of the fans. Because he is not Martin O'Neill his faults are glossed over by the board. He is never going to be sacked in the foreseeable future so it is pointless to demand it or expect it. He has secured his position by following the board's instructions to save money even to the point that players like Grant Holt are wearing Villa shirts. The board in turn will be loyal to him and will allow him to stay even if we are relegated.
That is what we the loyal fans are looking at, an absentee owner, an obdurate self-serving board, a manager whose principal quality is that he is not Alex McLeish and a squad of players put together on a low budget with little or no regard to whether they are better than the players we already have or needed at all, coached by Lambert's loyal staff who give every impression of total ineptitude.
The end game of all this is still some way off, maybe a season maybe two but when it comes it is going to be very nasty indeed.
Sums it up brilliantly
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
Well of course not, but who's blaming Lambert for our record before he arrived? I don't think anyone is.
The question itself does. The fact that some consiider him refusing to accept the blame for stuff that happened years before he got here is 'petuleant' does. The fact that part of this record occurred whilst we were heading for 3 6th place finishes & a league cup final & an FA cup semi final shows that this stuff means f all anyway.
I didn't hear it, so I might be getting it wrong, I am just going on what I've read here, but if he was asked that, but if he said "I don't know, but I expect I'll get the blame for that" - isn't the pertinent point the fact that that answer suggests he thinks he's getting blamed for stuff he shouldn't be blamed for?
Pointless question, I agree, but the answer to it is telling. If that's what he said, anyway.
Which was essentially my point, why does he seem to be under the impression that people are blaming him for things that were outside his control? I think he's had a pretty easy ride all things considered.
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Of our squad how many are genuine quality premiership class ? Guzan, Vlaar, Delph, benteke ?
There are several others good enough to be classed as squad players but regular starters ?
I expect the likes of Delph and benteke and maybe Guzan to attract the so called big boys in the summer .
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Lambert's response of 'I expect I'll get blamed for that' would explain why we have such a petulant side. We were pathetic and had no character today.
Yet expecting him to take the blame for 5 and a half years when he wasn't here is fine? It was shit today - but that record isn't all, or even mostly, his. In fact, half of it is with a manager who gave us more 'success' than we'd see n in a long time.
Well of course not, but who's blaming Lambert for our record before he arrived? I don't think anyone is.
The question itself does. The fact that some consiider him refusing to accept the blame for stuff that happened years before he got here is 'petuleant' does. The fact that part of this record occurred whilst we were heading for 3 6th place finishes & a league cup final & an FA cup semi final shows that this stuff means f all anyway.
I didn't hear it, so I might be getting it wrong, I am just going on what I've read here, but if he was asked that, but if he said "I don't know, but I expect I'll get the blame for that" - isn't the pertinent point the fact that that answer suggests he thinks he's getting blamed for stuff he shouldn't be blamed for?
Pointless question, I agree, but the answer to it is telling. If that's what he said, anyway.
Which was essentially my point, why does he seem to be under the impression that people are blaming him for things that were outside his control? I think he's had a pretty easy ride all things considered.
My point is two fold - the real question of why HE hasn't managed 3 wins in a row would have to be answered properly. A question about the last 7 years when he has only been here for just over a year and a half is a stupid question that makes him sound petulant, whilst also letting him off the hook.
My other point is that the figure of 7 years puts a pretty successful period within the 'not managing 3 wins in a row' range. So how important is it really? I think it might just be another pointless statistic. Winning enough games to attain the desired position in the league for this stage in our development is what is important. At the business end of the season, that is still where we are.
50% possession yesterday btw - how important has that one turned out to be?
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Me and the missus were sat in the Holte next to a bunch of American girls who looked like a university football side having their first experience of top-flight football. That they'll take away a memory of whines, boos and rabid swearing rather than a fine claret and blue performance is rather sad.
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Me and the missus were sat in the Holte next to a bunch of American girls who looked like a university football side having their first experience of top-flight football. That they'll take away a memory of whines, boos and rabid swearing rather than a fine claret and blue performance is rather sad.
Are you on about the group of about 20 odd girls all wearing red jackets? We were sitting behind them.
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Me and the missus were sat in the Holte next to a bunch of American girls who looked like a university football side having their first experience of top-flight football. That they'll take away a memory of whines, boos and rabid swearing rather than a fine claret and blue performance is rather sad.
Are you on about the group of about 20 odd girls all wearing red jackets? We were sitting behind them.
At least you could take your mind off the game then ;)
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A more pertinent question would have been "how do you explain the home record of 9 defeats, two seasons on the bounce..."
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A more pertinent question would have been "how do explain the home record of 9 defeats, two seasons" on the bounce...
He's a prickly one when criticised .
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...wrong thread...
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A more pertinent question would have been "how do you explain the home record of 9 defeats, two seasons on the bounce..."
Spot On, what would he have answered to that I wonder ???
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A more pertinent question would have been "how do you explain the home record of 9 defeats, two seasons on the bounce..."
Spot On, what would he have answered to that I wonder ???
"I think our home form has been fntastic over the last two seasons, World class infact."
Or something similar.
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A more pertinent question would have been "how do explain the home record of 9 defeats, two seasons" on the bounce...
He's a prickly one when criticised .
Which managers aren't?
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A more pertinent question would have been "how do explain the home record of 9 defeats, two seasons" on the bounce...
He's a prickly one when criticised .
Which managers aren't?
Indeed. Fergie wouldn't talk to the BBC for years.
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Well the result certainly didn't help my recovery from man-flu!
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A more pertinent question would have been "how do you explain the home record of 9 defeats, two seasons on the bounce..."
Spot On, what would he have answered to that I wonder ???
"I think our home form has been fntastic over the last two seasons, World class infact."
Or something similar.
It would have been a better question and we might have got a more enlightening answer.
Interestingly - a very different post match interview yesterday - he said that we were poor and deserved nothing from the game. I wonder what's changed? There have certainly been performances as bad as that when he has just talked about 'not being able to fault effort' etc. He obviously felt quite different about yesterday, and is more than likely as disappointed as any of us with them starting to show some form and then managing to revert to that shambles.
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"Whenever a side produces the kind of performance that saw Aston Villa topple Chelsea last weekend, they frequently become vulnerable in their next fixture. It’s one of those strange problems which seems to exist within football: the game after the ‘big result’ is often the harder one – players respond negatively to a perceived ‘lesser’ opponent, the crowd isn’t quite as feverish as it was the week before, and everything about the occasion just feels a degree or two less special."
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Just when i thought i could'nt read anything else about how awful yesterday was, i read that the 5 yellow cards we received has now put us bottom of the fair play league,replacing Stoke .We now have 69 yellows this season .Another unwanted record for Lambert
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Just when i thought i could'nt read anything else about how awful yesterday was, i read that the 5 yellow cards we received has now put us bottom of the fair play league,replacing Stoke .We now have 69 yellows this season .Another unwanted record for Lambert
I thought KEA's yellow was harsh. It looked a perfectly good tackle to me. Clattenberg didn't have the best of games.
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Just when i thought i could'nt read anything else about how awful yesterday was, i read that the 5 yellow cards we received has now put us bottom of the fair play league,replacing Stoke .We now have 69 yellows this season .Another unwanted record for Lambert
I thought KEA's yellow was harsh. It looked a perfectly good tackle to me. Clattenberg didn't have the best of games.
Having watched the replay he clearly deserved it - no complaints about the ref from me .
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"Whenever a side produces the kind of performance that saw Aston Villa topple Chelsea last weekend, they frequently become vulnerable in their next fixture. It’s one of those strange problems which seems to exist within football: the game after the ‘big result’ is often the harder one – players respond negatively to a perceived ‘lesser’ opponent, the crowd isn’t quite as feverish as it was the week before, and everything about the occasion just feels a degree or two less special."
That quote was taken from this rather good assessment of Villa's problems yesterday:
http://thepremierleagueowl.com/aston-villa-a-lack-of-guile-and-some-very-predictable-football/
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"Whenever a side produces the kind of performance that saw Aston Villa topple Chelsea last weekend, they frequently become vulnerable in their next fixture. It’s one of those strange problems which seems to exist within football: the game after the ‘big result’ is often the harder one – players respond negatively to a perceived ‘lesser’ opponent, the crowd isn’t quite as feverish as it was the week before, and everything about the occasion just feels a degree or two less special."
Best example of this was Bacuna who last week kept Eden Hazard quiet and yesterday was made to look stupid by the Stoke no 10 who appeared to have the same skill and pace of Grant Holt.
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Stoke's tactics were simple and effective; bomb down Villa's completely exposed left flank all the way to the byline, then cross back into the box for their unmarked forwards to whack the ball into the Villa net. That's literally all it was and Lambert did nothing, or couldn't do anything, to stymie this incredibly limited approach. We should be harder to beat than that.
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The thing about Stoke yesterday was that they were able to combine strength and size with a pretty impressive passing game. I know that our defending was atrocious and we stood off them all day long, but Stoke completely controlled the game after about 20 minutes and not just with hoofball and bully boy tactics. Looks like those days are long gone, and some people on here should recognise that. In fact I think that the five yellow cards we picked up were all pretty merited and there was some unnecessarily aggressive tackling going in borne out of frustration as much as anything. And as for CB's penalty appeal - that was embarrassing.
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Stoke's tactics were simple and effective; bomb down Villa's completely exposed left flank all the way to the byline, then cross back into the box for their unmarked forwards to whack the ball into the Villa net. That's literally all it was and Lambert did nothing, or couldn't do anything, to stymie this incredibly limited approach. We should be harder to beat than that.
How many passes did they string together leading up to Nzonzi's goal? If we could get anywhere near that I'd be very pleased.
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Stoke impressed me - much better than under pulis.
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One of the things that most people have not picked up on, is that ,Stoke had a reserve midfield out due to suspensions and in Ireland's case not being allowed to play and they still pissed all over us in the middle of the park
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Stoke's tactics were simple and effective; bomb down Villa's completely exposed left flank all the way to the byline, then cross back into the box for their unmarked forwards to whack the ball into the Villa net. That's literally all it was and Lambert did nothing, or couldn't do anything, to stymie this incredibly limited approach. We should be harder to beat than that.
How many passes did they string together leading up to Nzonzi's goal? If we could get anywhere near that I'd be very pleased.
We dominated possession for Benteke's goal, it really was brilliantly worked.
As for the goals against, Vlaar apart, we need a completely new defence. Baker, for the third goal, was completely shit. He ball watches far too often.
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Stoke's tactics were simple and effective; bomb down Villa's completely exposed left flank all the way to the byline, then cross back into the box for their unmarked forwards to whack the ball into the Villa net. That's literally all it was and Lambert did nothing, or couldn't do anything, to stymie this incredibly limited approach. We should be harder to beat than that.
How many passes did they string together leading up to Nzonzi's goal? If we could get anywhere near that I'd be very pleased.
We dominated possession for Benteke's goal, it really was brilliantly worked.
As for the goals against, Vlaar apart, we need a completely new defence. Baker, for the third goal, was completely shit. He ball watches far too often.
Agreed. Okore coming back will be a big plus. We desperately need to sort out the left and right back positions. Bertrand looked ordinary for the first time yesterday.
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This game confirmed two things for me:
1. We need better quality players (esp. for defence and our powder-puff midfield)
2. Stoke are a bunch of filthy thugs.
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The defending for the 2nd and 3rd goals was absolutely shocking, really poor individually from Bacuna and Weimann then Bacuna (again) and Baker. What worried me more however was how we didn't threaten at all in the second half. I can't decide whether that performance was one step back (after the two recent steps forward) or more.
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Stoke bullied us and we lost all discipline in the second half. Sometimes you just know which way the game is going and the second half had that feeling about it.
You cannot defend as we did though; Bacuna getting caught under the ball, Weimann too weak, Baker all over the shop positionally; an utter mess.
Nobody ever likes to watch Stoke at Villa Park, Stoke fans included, as their pitiful following was the only thing that could equal the embarrassment of our defending.
The likes of Sylla, Baker and Albrighton are not up to it. Good performances and results against Norwich and Chelsea do not change the fact that the midfield needs two players. Somebody big enough and ugly enough the hold Westwood's hand and do the ugly water carrying (he must be a footballer too) and an attacking player. Time and again Stoke's central two retreated and left space that only on occasions Delph would exploit.
You cannot quite believe that a side capable of scoring the goal we did could be undermined so significantly less than five minutes later. We are the epitome of a mid-table side and the curse of bookies and punters alike.
We will do Man United next week and follow it up with something insipid against Fulham. I'd probably take that to be honest.
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I thought Albrighton looked pretty lively considering he was played out of position.
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Was the Holt signing worth it. He can't run.
His signing summed up the lowering of expectations for me.
I have never known a more ineffective player in a Villa shirt.
Co-incidentally Wigan's form has improved immeasurably since they shipped him out
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A more pertinent question would have been "how do you explain the home record of 9 defeats, two seasons on the bounce..."
Correct.
Not sure why Lambert answered so apparently petulantly.
Not sure why we are blaming Murphy for asking a question. Maybe you would prefer he asked why he will likely have lost at least half of his home league games this season.
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Just when i thought i could'nt read anything else about how awful yesterday was, i read that the 5 yellow cards we received has now put us bottom of the fair play league,replacing Stoke .We now have 69 yellows this season .Another unwanted record for Lambert
None from me. I was surprised we finished with 11 men. Was it Albrighton or Westwood who made a shocker?
I thought KEA's yellow was harsh. It looked a perfectly good tackle to me. Clattenberg didn't have the best of games.
Having watched the replay he clearly deserved it - no complaints about the ref from me .
We were lucky to finish will 11 men.
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I thought Albrighton looked pretty lively considering he was played out of position.
I thought he ran round like a headless chicken and kicked a few legs.
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I thought Albrighton looked pretty lively considering he was played out of position.
I thought he ran round like a headless chicken and kicked a few legs.
much the same view here, he looked like he usually does, a championship player
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Shocking result after last week I thought we had turned a corner but we are still the same.
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Not sure albrighton has done enough to earn a new deal to be honest - looks like Gardner is in the same boat.
Under houllier albrighton looked promising but he's not delivered .
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I thought Albrighton looked pretty lively considering he was played out of position.
Has Lambert said anything yet on why he played Albrighton so central ?
Albrighton caused the Chelsea defence real problems last week and yet yesterday he hardly went wide at all. On the few occasions that he did, Stoke struggled to cope.
Why start the game with a striker out of position on the wing and then replace him with a winger that you play in the middle ?
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I'd definatley be giving Albrighton another deal I think. He's made a difference when he's come on in games, apart from yesterday.
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I think Albrighton is worth another 12 months to see if he can have a run injury free.
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I'd definatley be giving Albrighton another deal I think. He's made a difference when he's come on in games, apart from yesterday.
THe thing is clampy , we gave new deals to several players last season , Weimann, baker, Clark, Westwood, Lowton , benteke and none have really kicked on from last season - maybe a one year deal would suffice but albrighton hasn't done enough for a rise and a longer deal in my view.
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Not sure albrighton has done enough to earn a new deal to be honest - looks like Gardner is in the same boat.
Under houllier albrighton looked promising but he's not delivered .
You can't deliver a parcel if you are given the wrong address. Albrighton on the wing is more than useful but Lambert won't have wingers. Last season Lowton and Albrighton played well together on the right but now both have been overlooked.
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I'd definatley be giving Albrighton another deal I think. He's made a difference when he's come on in games, apart from yesterday.
THe thing is clampy , we gave new deals to several players last season , Weimann, baker, Clark, Westwood, Lowton , benteke and none have really kicked on from last season - maybe a one year deal would suffice but albrighton hasn't done enough for a rise and a longer deal in my view.
Has Lambert done enough for a longer deal?
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I'd definatley be giving Albrighton another deal I think. He's made a difference when he's come on in games, apart from yesterday.
THe thing is clampy , we gave new deals to several players last season , Weimann, baker, Clark, Westwood, Lowton , benteke and none have really kicked on from last season - maybe a one year deal would suffice but albrighton hasn't done enough for a rise and a longer deal in my view.
Has Lambert done enough for a longer deal?
Lambert has done more than enough - to be sacked :D
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Stoke impressed me - much better than under pulis.
Considering they were without Huth, Adam, Ireland, Walters and Assaidi, you have to give Hughes some credit. Not too much, obviously but he has them playing far better football than under Pulis.
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I'd definatley be giving Albrighton another deal I think. He's made a difference when he's come on in games, apart from yesterday.
THe thing is clampy , we gave new deals to several players last season , Weimann, baker, Clark, Westwood, Lowton , benteke and none have really kicked on from last season - maybe a one year deal would suffice but albrighton hasn't done enough for a rise and a longer deal in my view.
Yes but it could be argued that all the players you mentioned did well enough last season to earn a bit more money. If we hadn't for example given Benteke an improved deal, he wouldn't be here now. We can't argue about paying low wages and not award players when they do well.
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I think Albrighton is worth another 12 months to see if he can have a run injury free.
Me too. He has one dodgy game out of position yesterday but people forget that he set up last week's goal.
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I thought Albrighton looked pretty lively considering he was played out of position.
I thought he ran round like a headless chicken and kicked a few legs.
much the same view here, he looked like he usually does, a championship player
but probably one of the better players on the day . Sums up how shit we are at times
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I think Albrighton is worth another 12 months to see if he can have a run injury free.
Me too. He has one dodgy game out of position yesterday but people forget that he set up last week's goal.
If he wants to be a starter in the team that he has to have more than one string to his bow, i.e. be able to do more that just find a yard and whip the ball across. That's they type of player you bring on for 20 minutes against a tiring defence. So I was quite happy to see him given a go in a different role, it didn't turn out too well for him but he worked hard so I think probably worth giving it another try before the end of the season.
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I think Albrighton is worth another 12 months to see if he can have a run injury free.
Me too. He has one dodgy game out of position yesterday but people forget that he set up last week's goal.
If he wants to be a starter in the team that he has to have more than one string to his bow, i.e. be able to do more that just find a yard and whip the ball across. That's they type of player you bring on for 20 minutes against a tiring defence. So I was quite happy to see him given a go in a different role, it didn't turn out too well for him but he worked hard so I think probably worth giving it another try before the end of the season.
I agree to an extent but it just seemed a bit of a waste seeing someone who can cross the ball as well as he can trying to out muscle Stoke's midfield. Maybe something to try with another player, not Albrighton.
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Albrighton is well worth keeping as, if nothing else, and option from the bench to add width if things aren't working.
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I would keep Albrighton give him another 12 months at least.
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Without Albrighton coming off the bench what other "impact" player do we have - Grant Holt?
I know we aren't supposed to laugh at our own players players but...
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Bloody hell, it's all getting a bit desperate if Marky Mark is the answer to all our ills.
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Bloody hell, it's all getting a bit desperate if Marky Mark is the answer to all our ills.
No one has said that. He is a player who has shown some form and is out of contract in a few months, it's pretty obvious he's going to get talked about.
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Oh, I do understand why PWS.
I just think that he has been pretty poor since his breakthrough season, even considering his injuries, and a few very good cameo performances in the last few weeks haven't really convinced my that he can be a regular, consistent (the main thing) performer for us.
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Stoke impressed me - much better than under pulis.
Considering they were without Huth, Adam, Ireland, Walters and Assaidi, you have to give Hughes some credit. Not too much, obviously but he has them playing far better football than under Pulis.
true, but even he couldn't have imagined after 15-20 minutes the game would turn on its head as it did. He didn't even have to do anything. We simply imploded. Lambert didn't see it coming, Hughes didn't see it coming and neither did either set of fans. I was even following a bit of it on the BBC feed and reading what Sir Graham was saying. It was clear that nobody could have seen 1-0 becoming 1-4.
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Still struggling to get over yesterday, I told myself not to react to piss taking at work and I am usually pretty good at hiding how I am feeling but a Brummie Red riled me and I verbally kicked the shit out of him, everybody had a laugh and I felt a bit of a prat, need to be stronger when our next embarrassment comes along :)
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I work with several Arsenal and one Fulham fan so today was a day I didn't get too much stick, it was more of a mutual feeling-sorry-for-self day.
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I work with 3 Manchester Utd and a Liverpool fan. Of course from Utd it was Rooney's goal is the best goal ever scored and we're going to get stuffed next week, which we probably will. We might be inconsistent in the league but one constant is we get beat by those bastards.
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I can't bring myself to watch the highlights, but it looked for all the world like Odemwingie used his hand pushing the ball past Guzan as he equalised. Trick of the light?
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Without Albrighton coming off the bench what other "impact" player do we have - Grant Holt?
I know we aren't supposed to laugh at our own players players but...
Grant could be devastating if only he could move 5 metres in less than 10 seconds.
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I'm still pissed off 30 hours later at the abjectness of it all.
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I'm still pissed off 30 hours later at the abjectness of it all.
It's frustrating for me more than anything. I honestly think there's a decent group of players there. Like I've said a few times, I don't think we're poor, we're just inconsistent.
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One of the most worrying aspects is that we collapsed defensively with Vlaar present and fully fit. This was a new and most unwelcome development.
Most of this season, if one of the full backs was skinned early doors by a semi competent wide opposition player and RV was not playing, you could pile in with a massive wager that we would lose to mitigate the inevitable sadness on the horizon.
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Lower midtable inconsistency just doesn't sit comfortably with the pysche of the Villa fan. We are currently conflicted by hopes that just don't tally with realistic expectations.
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I'm still pissed off 30 hours later at the abjectness of it all.
It's frustrating for me more than anything. I honestly think there's a decent group of players there. Like I've said a few times, I don't think we're poor, we're just inconsistent.
Totally agree with that. Also can't remember a Villa team (or any team for that matter) with such fragile confidence. Whereas we saw the confidence boost that scoring two quick goals gave us against Norwich, we saw just how badly the confidence was dented after conceding two quick goals yesterday. The game was pretty much over after that second one went in.
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I can't bring myself to watch the highlights, but it looked for all the world like Odemwingie used his hand pushing the ball past Guzan as he equalised. Trick of the light?
Shoulder. One of the worst things about watching the highlights was any semblance of clinging on to the idea that we were partially put on the back foot by an abject refereeing performance, we're shattered. I thought he was giving them a free kick for everything, and giving us nothing, when I watched it back, we were flying into wild tackles, and hurling ourselves to the floor at every opportunity. You did the right thing not bothering with it.
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The trouble is, everytime we get anything approaching a good run of form, like two consecutive wins for example, we tend to then have a bad run. I can see us going another 2-3 games without picking up a point and struggling to hit the barn door.
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Maybe. I think we will take at least 5 from the next three.
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The trouble is, everytime we get anything approaching a good run of form, like two consecutive wins for example, we tend to then have a bad run. I can see us going another 2-3 games without picking up a point and struggling to hit the barn door.
So it can be quite a while before we actually do pick ourselves up and go again.
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I was going to post, as a joke, on the pre match thread that I was going to get there early to get my half and half scarf. Gobsmacked to see 3 of them and at least 2 of those were worn by Villa fans. I'm assuming they were Villa fans as they were in the Holte and it wasn't like they couldn't get a seat in the away end if they were Stoke.
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The trouble is, everytime we get anything approaching a good run of form, like two consecutive wins for example, we tend to then have a bad run. I can see us going another 2-3 games without picking up a point and struggling to hit the barn door.
So it can be quite a while before we actually do pick ourselves up and go again.
Yep, sadly. Often under Lambert we'll go a 2-3 games unbeatben, lose and then it takes a few games to regain our composure again. I'm sensing another 2-3 games of playing wretchedly. Villa under Lambert aren't really good at instant responses.
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I was going to post, as a joke, on the pre match thread that I was going to get there early to get my half and half scarf.
Half and half scarves are the new jester hat and face paint.
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How many teams play themselves into form against us?
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I think you're looking for today's thread.
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Yes I am, but appropriate for this one too!