Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Wiggz on May 15, 2013, 09:10:58 AM
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Morning All,
Way back at the start of the season I commented on a few sites (not sure which) and Twitter that what Lambert was attempting to do was a HUGE gamble. No doubt brave, but could just as easily be foolhardy. It's obvious that both Randy and Lambert are bought into the vision of youth at the club. Not only in an attempt to run the club better but also to save oodles of cash in the process. And why not; it's a business afterall.
My worry, back then, was that the gamble was flirting with relegation.
Thankfully it's paid off, and I couldn't have been happier when I saw the Arsenal result last night.
My question to all however is....what's phase 2 of the plan? Is there a phase 2, or is this THE plan from now on?
- Continue with the youth we have and squad for next season?
- Bolster the squad with a couple of quality names?
- Sell our bigger names outstanding talent and pull from youth/reserve ranks again?
I'd just love to see a sprinkling of premier league talent. For example, Huddlestone, Olsson? Our biggest positives this year have been Guzan, Wiemann and Benteke. One of those came through the youth setup, one was brought in some years ago and not fancied until this season, and one was purchased for big bucks as a gamble. 2 out of 3 of those don't fit our model it seems.
I'm VERY positive for next season. The youthful squad can sit in the dressing room knowing that THEY survived and as such are premier league material (however slight the survival). My only concern is where we go from here. I've got faith in Lambert however....I hope he's doing what we all hoped O'Neill would do; build a long term sustainable club.
Thoughts? :)
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Youth don't stay youth forever, trust them and play them enough and they will become experienced premier league players.
Not all of them will make it so I would expect us to continue to buy more prospects and hope that we might supplement the starting 11 with a couple of older heads to help them develop.
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I think we can forget any big names arriving on big fee's or big wages. What we spent last summer was almost entirely off-set by what we brought in the year before and i believe that's the plan long term. If we sold someone like Benteke for stupid money then i could only see us spending a percentage of that fee. A more miserly version of the Everton model i'm guessing, with the emphasis still firmly on the youth team to keep us competitive and generate money.
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1 - Definitely no cast-offs from teams like Spurs (e.g. Huddlestone).
2 - Play football that's enjoyable to watch.
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A cup win and/or Europa qualification
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Progression is these players having a year's tough experience under their belts now. We suppliment with some young and hungry and some experienced and hungry players. We'll become the Dortmund of England.
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@myf - You are kidding right? I'll be happy for a nice gentle mid table stroll thanks very much. Baby steps I believe should be our new mantra, not Be Prepared.
@Can Bent Be Bettered - The "cast offs" might be the supplements to the team we require in terms of experience. It's no coincidence that when Vlaar came back into the team we looked more solid (not rock solid though) and when Gabby came back in we looked, dare I say, more cultured going forward. Experience does count for something.
I agree that youth should be the way forward, and the guys will take huge confidence from the fact that they've kept us in the league. I'd like to think that we don't want to follow the Wigan route of doing the same things every year and expecting different results. Look where that got them this year.
Realistically, anyone talking about big name Charlies and cup wins for next season, is having a laugh. We're not at that stage yet...we're at the stage where we need to build slowly. With that in mind we NEED to supplement what we have with a few more solid Premier League players in my opinion.
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@myf - You are kidding right? I'll be happy for a nice gentle mid table stroll thanks very much. Baby steps I believe should be our new mantra, not Be Prepared.
@Can Bent Be Bettered - The "cast offs" might be the supplements to the team we require in terms of experience. It's no coincidence that when Vlaar came back into the team we looked more solid (not rock solid though) and when Gabby came back in we looked, dare I say, more cultured going forward. Experience does count for something.
I agree that youth should be the way forward, and the guys will take huge confidence from the fact that they've kept us in the league. I'd like to think that we don't want to follow the Wigan route of doing the same things every year and expecting different results. Look where that got them this year.
Realistically, anyone talking about big name Charlies and cup wins for next season, is having a laugh. We're not at that stage yet...we're at the stage where we need to build slowly. With that in mind we NEED to supplement what we have with a few more solid Premier League players in my opinion.
We reached the semi-final of one cup this season, so why not?
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@myf - You are kidding right? I'll be happy for a nice gentle mid table stroll thanks very much. Baby steps I believe should be our new mantra, not Be Prepared.
@Can Bent Be Bettered - The "cast offs" might be the supplements to the team we require in terms of experience. It's no coincidence that when Vlaar came back into the team we looked more solid (not rock solid though) and when Gabby came back in we looked, dare I say, more cultured going forward. Experience does count for something.
I agree that youth should be the way forward, and the guys will take huge confidence from the fact that they've kept us in the league. I'd like to think that we don't want to follow the Wigan route of doing the same things every year and expecting different results. Look where that got them this year.
Realistically, anyone talking about big name Charlies and cup wins for next season, is having a laugh. We're not at that stage yet...we're at the stage where we need to build slowly. With that in mind we NEED to supplement what we have with a few more solid Premier League players in my opinion.
Bollocks to experience. When we got hammered 7-1 by Chelsea under MON, the team was this:
01 Friedel
02 L Young
05 Dunneyellow card
25 Warnock
29 Collins
04 Sidwell
07 A Young
08 Milner
19 Petrovyellow card (Downing 63)
10 Carew (Delfouneso 63)
11 Agbonlahor (Beye 71)
How's that for experience?
Maybe we looked better when Gabby and Vlaar came in because they're better players than those who they took the place of.
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@myf - You are kidding right? I'll be happy for a nice gentle mid table stroll thanks very much. Baby steps I believe should be our new mantra, not Be Prepared.
@Can Bent Be Bettered - The "cast offs" might be the supplements to the team we require in terms of experience. It's no coincidence that when Vlaar came back into the team we looked more solid (not rock solid though) and when Gabby came back in we looked, dare I say, more cultured going forward. Experience does count for something.
I agree that youth should be the way forward, and the guys will take huge confidence from the fact that they've kept us in the league. I'd like to think that we don't want to follow the Wigan route of doing the same things every year and expecting different results. Look where that got them this year.
Realistically, anyone talking about big name Charlies and cup wins for next season, is having a laugh. We're not at that stage yet...we're at the stage where we need to build slowly. With that in mind we NEED to supplement what we have with a few more solid Premier League players in my opinion.
I'm not joking. If Swansea and Wigan can win cups why can't we? Don't need big time charlies for that.
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Solid Premier league players cost big wages. The club may well spend decent money on fees, I can see £30 million going out the door on fees this summer, but sell on value and their wages will be closely watched. Olsson is going to command 50k a week for example... is he really worth that? Is he that good? Not a chance in my opinion. Was woeful against Wigan and Norwich from what I saw. Huddlestone? Please god no. Awful for Spurs in the game at Wigan, and always battling with his weight. If we sign "older" players, I can see them being statesmen type players, maybe a bit like Barry who would be the model pro and teach the kids, or players that are still ready to prove a point to make international squads etc, and even then, I can't see us paying say Lescott 60k a week on a 4 year deal at 30. We are not in that marked now.
As for the model of following Everton but a more miserly version, I think probably Spurs 5-6 years ago would be a better example. Buy talent young, bring it through, sell high, re-invest into the side. It is the only way to become self sustaining. The new TV deal will help if using the money in a sensible way too.
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Lambert deserves all the credit for keeping faith with 'his' players and keeping us up. He is correct in that there is a growing affinity between fans and players (something we have all complained about in recent seasons). PL has stated that he has learnt a lot from this season and so we shall soon see what as I think he will act quickly in the transfer market. With the rise in TV money he should get decent backing in the market aswell as moving on the remaining duds.
Personally I hope that we can get off to a decent start next season (unlike this season). If so, anything is possible (10 - 6)?
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The one place where I would agree it might be good to get some more 'solid' experience would be central defense (i.e. Lescott). Apart from that, premier league experience? Lowton, Westwood, Guzan, Sylla, Weimann, Benteke... name one player among that lot that hasn't got premier league experience.
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Huddlestone and Olsen...No thanks
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Really interesting question - while it's tempting to think we can get 2 or 3 key players who will immediately take us to the next level, I don't think it'll happen. I'll go for 'continue with the current squad' - I'd like to think that Randy's long-term plan is for gradual development over 2-3 years, in particular Lambert showing he can do it, and he'll then chuck in £100 miilion for 2 or 3 real stars who will take us into the Champions League.
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Really interesting question - while it's tempting to think we can get 2 or 3 key players who will immediately take us to the next level, I don't think it'll happen. I'll go for 'continue with the current squad' - I'd like to think that Randy's long-term plan is for gradual development over 2-3 years, in particular Lambert showing he can do it, and he'll then chuck in £100 miilion for 2 or 3 real stars who will take us into the Champions League.
Trouble with that scenario is keeping the players to get to that point where Lerner would maybe risk it. We all know the score - if the players continue playing well then we'll sell them or they'll demand to leave.
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Really interesting question - while it's tempting to think we can get 2 or 3 key players who will immediately take us to the next level, I don't think it'll happen. I'll go for 'continue with the current squad' - I'd like to think that Randy's long-term plan is for gradual development over 2-3 years, in particular Lambert showing he can do it, and he'll then chuck in £100 miilion for 2 or 3 real stars who will take us into the Champions League.
Trouble with that scenario is keeping the players to get to that point where Lerner would maybe risk it. We all know the score - if the players continue playing well then we'll sell them or they'll demand to leave.
The trick is to buy now so that we already have (or can develop) a replacement before they leave. This is where we have been spectacularly crap and have failed over the past few years. This really is the essence of the young and hungry model that we are trying to follow. Lets clear the decks of old guard over paid players and buy Benteke mkII before Benteke mkI gets sold for a profit.
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Really interesting question - while it's tempting to think we can get 2 or 3 key players who will immediately take us to the next level, I don't think it'll happen. I'll go for 'continue with the current squad' - I'd like to think that Randy's long-term plan is for gradual development over 2-3 years, in particular Lambert showing he can do it, and he'll then chuck in £100 miilion for 2 or 3 real stars who will take us into the Champions League.
Trouble with that scenario is keeping the players to get to that point where Lerner would maybe risk it. We all know the score - if the players continue playing well then we'll sell them or they'll demand to leave.
The trick is to buy now so that we already have (or can develop) a replacement before they leave. This is where we have been spectacularly crap and have failed over the past few years. This really is the essence of the young and hungry model that we are trying to follow. Lets clear the decks of old guard over paid players and buy Benteke mkII before Benteke mkI gets sold for a profit.
Or at a minimum have scouted and found 2 possible replacements and have a deal in place before selling and seeing the price hike by 3 million.
But going back to Greg - every other club in the league is in the same boat - players play well other clubs buy them. Only United, Chelsea and City are able to fight that, but their players still look for better things.
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Really interesting question - while it's tempting to think we can get 2 or 3 key players who will immediately take us to the next level, I don't think it'll happen. I'll go for 'continue with the current squad' - I'd like to think that Randy's long-term plan is for gradual development over 2-3 years, in particular Lambert showing he can do it, and he'll then chuck in £100 miilion for 2 or 3 real stars who will take us into the Champions League.
Trouble with that scenario is keeping the players to get to that point where Lerner would maybe risk it. We all know the score - if the players continue playing well then we'll sell them or they'll demand to leave.
The trick is to buy now so that we already have (or can develop) a replacement before they leave. This is where we have been spectacularly crap and have failed over the past few years. This really is the essence of the young and hungry model that we are trying to follow. Lets clear the decks of old guard over paid players and buy Benteke mkII before Benteke mkI gets sold for a profit.
That's some trick though. Can anyone honestly say hand on heart that if say Arsenal make a bid this summer, we won't get Benteke making noises about wanting to play CL football? In a sensible world you'd have to say it would probably be in his interests to stay here another season learning his trade, but I doubt he'd see it that way once the pound notes are waived in front of him and his Agent. One of the crap realities of the modern game - as soon as you start getting good, you lose your players.
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Really interesting question - while it's tempting to think we can get 2 or 3 key players who will immediately take us to the next level, I don't think it'll happen. I'll go for 'continue with the current squad' - I'd like to think that Randy's long-term plan is for gradual development over 2-3 years, in particular Lambert showing he can do it, and he'll then chuck in £100 miilion for 2 or 3 real stars who will take us into the Champions League.
Trouble with that scenario is keeping the players to get to that point where Lerner would maybe risk it. We all know the score - if the players continue playing well then we'll sell them or they'll demand to leave.
The trick is to buy now so that we already have (or can develop) a replacement before they leave. This is where we have been spectacularly crap and have failed over the past few years. This really is the essence of the young and hungry model that we are trying to follow. Lets clear the decks of old guard over paid players and buy Benteke mkII before Benteke mkI gets sold for a profit.
That's some trick though. Can anyone honestly say hand on heart that if say Arsenal make a bid this summer, we won't get Benteke making noises about wanting to play CL football? In a sensible world you'd have to say it would probably be in his interests to stay here another season learning his trade, but I doubt he'd see it that way once the pound notes are waived in front of him and his Agent. One of the crap realities of the modern game - as soon as you start getting good, you lose your players.
This is, unfortunately, the reality nowadays. I think Lambert has a good chance of persuading Benteke to stay another season, but if he doesn't then we just have to get the best deal possible and look for a good replacement.
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I agree with you on that Greg. If someone waves big notes, he will go, that is the way of things in football. Sad, but true, and one of the things I hate the most. You almost wish there was a 2 season cap after a player moves that they cannot go, so at least a bit more planning and building could be done.
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A blind man can see that our defence is nowwhere near good enough. We need some re-inforcemnts, and they'll need Prem experience of that I'm sure. If we only buy 2 players we need them to be sufficiently experienced to help us right the wrongs of this season. Centre half and centre mid.
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I agree completely that he will eventually go elsewhere. So lets be proactive and plan for it rather than reactive and end up with signings like Ireland and to a lesser degree nzogbia. Villa should be at the top of the list for young players who are determined to succeed because we will give them a chance, not old wasters because we will pay them the money.
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I agree completely that he will eventually go elsewhere. So lets be proactive and plan for it rather than reactive and end up with signings like Ireland and to a lesser degree nzogbia. Villa should be at the top of the list for young players who are determined to succeed because we will give them a chance, not old wasters because we will pay them the money.
I'm hoping that potential replacements are being scouted and discussed as we speak. And if we've never heard of them so what? Who'd heard of Benteke before last summer?
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A blind man can see that our defence is nowwhere near good enough. We need some re-inforcemnts, and they'll need Prem experience of that I'm sure. If we only buy 2 players we need them to be sufficiently experienced to help us right the wrongs of this season. Centre half and centre mid.
Mostly agree. I am fully behind PL predominantly buying young and hungry starlets but the quality of the defensive minded players needs improving regardless of their experience. I don't necessarily believe we are missing experience but I am certain the problem is a lack of leadership and quality which an individual can have at any age. Two recruits minimum and let's get rid of the deadwood pronto.
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1 - Definitely no cast-offs from teams like Spurs (e.g. Huddlestone).
Why not?
Not specifically Huddlestone, but Andros Townsend has looked very good this season on loan to QPR. I'd take him.
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1 - Definitely no cast-offs from teams like Spurs (e.g. Huddlestone).
Why not?
Not specifically Huddlestone, but Andros Townsend has looked very good this season on loan to QPR. I'd take him.
My fear with Townsend is that he looks like the sort of player that's burst onto the scene and had a good six months, but will fade away once other teams work him out. The fact he's had 10 clubs in his career suggests he doesn't tend to replicate that form. Although I suppose he could be coming of age.
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OK, I see the consensus is keep the current squad largely intact.
My ONLY worry with that is that this is precisely what Wigan did, betting on the fact that experience of recent seasons and growth would help them slowly move up the table. It didn't They were hit with vicious injuries, but, similarly, if that happened at Villa we'd be screwed too.
So, I can see Benteke staying, simply because I can't see the other clubs stumping up the cash on a gamble. Yes, gamble. We'd seen many players storm into the league the first season and do well....I think there is a caution, luckily for us as I think Benteke is the real deal, when buying 1 season wonders now.
Furthermore, the rise in TV money benefits nobody....with the rise in TV money, so does the rise in transfer fees having to be paid as clubs know you have said money. It's a snowball effect and does nothing other than provide a better cashflow to make the books look better.
I'll nail my colours to the mast now....I want us to keep the same squad. I'd like to see us get a young hungry Goalkeeper as I can see Shay leaving. Guzan is great but again, I want a more than capable backup. I also want us to get another good solid Centre Back. I've been impressed with Baker's maturity over the last couple of months after a really rocky start. I still think Clark is the better option and remind me of Barry at left centre back all those years ago, and I'd love to have another experienced centre back to rotate him with.
Going forward, I'd be looking to offload N'Zogbia and look to bring in somebody creative with a bit of flair to replace him.....that's where I'd like to see the bulk of the money spent...on that one player. An x-factor. Counter attack works fine, but we need a plan B.
Other than that, I'd like to see us finish between the 12th-8th position and see some solid progress.
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I don't think it needs a big turnover of players. Lescott would be a great one to bring in and Lambert hopefully has an eye on one or two unknowns. I'm not sure how much Wet Spam would want for Diame but he's another that would improve us.
As for people moving on, Ireland, Dunne and maybe Given look likely to be off. I'd also let N'zogbia go if we got a decent offer. I'm happy to keep the rest.
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Huddlestone...are you MON in disguise? He looks shite enough in the Spurs team. Give me lower league youngsters and foreign unknowns ahead of established overpayed dross like that any day of the week.
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1 - Definitely no cast-offs from teams like Spurs (e.g. Huddlestone).
Why not?
Not specifically Huddlestone, but Andros Townsend has looked very good this season on loan to QPR. I'd take him.
I've never really seen Townsend play, but, as he's on loan, he's a player they rate, so wouldn't consider him a cast-off.
Cast-offs would be players from Man Utd/City/Chelsea etc. Players on their way down, generally, don't put in the effort that someone on the way up does.
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Huddlestone...are you MON in disguise? He looks shite enough in the Spurs team. Give me lower league youngsters and foreign unknowns ahead of established overpayed dross like that any day of the week.
Totally agree.
We need to trust in PL's judgement and accept he'll occasionally get one wrong, but overall keeps finding gems.
Seems to be after a Hull defender and Peterboro' forward currently.
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I don't think it needs a big turnover of players. Lescott would be a great one to bring in and Lambert hopefully has an eye on one or two unknowns. I'm not sure how much Wet Spam would want for Diame but he's another that would improve us.
As for people moving on, Ireland, Dunne and maybe Given look likely to be off. I'd also let N'zogbia go if we got a decent offer. I'm happy to keep the rest.
Does Diame still have the release clause? That would be an excellent signing for 3.5m.
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Don't really get Greg's forecast of us becoming a 'lesser-funded Everton', as we've consistently outspent them since Randy came in.
Liked Ozzijim's suggestion of a minimum tow-year stay to provide stability, though restraint-of-trade lawyers probably wouldn't.
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Does Diame still have the release clause? That would be an excellent signing for 3.5m.
If West Ham finish 10th and we finish 12th-17th? won't he be looking a little higher?
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Does Diame still have the release clause? That would be an excellent signing for 3.5m.
If West Ham finish 10th and we finish 12th-17th? won't he be looking a little higher?
And even if he is the missing piece of our puzzle, are we really going paying the sort of wages that he will be looking for?
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Does Diame still have the release clause? That would be an excellent signing for 3.5m.
If West Ham finish 10th and we finish 12th-17th? won't he be looking a little higher?
And even if he is the missing piece of our puzzle, are we really going paying the sort of wages that he will be looking for?
Well Bent came to us when were were struggling although Diame's wages might be a problem. Not sure about his release clause (there was talk at the time of being £3.5m) but he'd be a good fit in our midfield i think.
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Diame's form has tailed since he was being hyped up in January anyway.
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The thing about our squad is that a few players could (or should) leave, and it won't make any difference to the team: Bent, Ireland, Dunne, Given, Hutton. All of these are on big wages as well. So without altering the current starting 11/subs, Lambert could change and hopefully improve the squad quite a lot.
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Diame's form has tailed since he was being hyped up in January anyway.
I know he was injured for a while but regarding his form, i'll take your word for it.
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I know it is pleasurable to speculate - and fun to be a fantasy manager - but to be honest - I don't have a clue what Lambert and Lerner will do. Was anyone on here raving on about a big unknown Belgian this summer? Was Sylla welcomed as a good signing? Or Lowton?
And what sort of nonsense is suggesting Villa will become a miserly Everton? Did you fail your maths exam? Lerner has spent and spent and spent since he came to Villa. Only under TSM did he hold back - and thank god he did. In case you have forgot - he gave Lambert nearly £30million to spend this season - and Lambert spent it well. I just don't get this miserly Lerner stuff - it is utter bollocks yet it still gets trotted out.
If there is one thing this season has taught me it is that we have a manager who can spot a player - and I personally trust him to make the right choices - though that could mean losing most of our 'experienced' players this summer - I won't be crying.
Lambert has shown a shrewd eye so far and I feel most of his signings will only get better - and those that don't will be moved on.
We can expect a busy summer in terms of ins and outs - and may not recognise our squad by the end - but that for me is a good thing - new blood - eager for success and determined to work hard to achieve it is better than complacent super stars anyday.
Roll on Phase 2 and UTV.
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I know it is pleasurable to speculate - and fun to be a fantasy manager - but to be honest - I don't have a clue what Lambert and Lerner will do. Was anyone on here raving on about a big unknown Belgian this summer? Was Sylla welcomed as a good signing? Or Lowton?
And what sort of nonsense is suggesting Villa will become a miserly Everton? Did you fail your maths exam? Lerner has spent and spent and spent since he came to Villa. Only under TSM did he hold back - and thank god he did. In case you have forgot - he gave Lambert nearly £30million to spend this season - and Lambert spent it well. I just don't get this miserly Lerner stuff - it is utter bollocks yet it still gets trotted out.
If there is one thing this season has taught me it is that we have a manager who can spot a player - and I personally trust him to make the right choices - though that could mean losing most of our 'experienced' players this summer - I won't be crying.
Lambert has shown a shrewd eye so far and I feel most of his signings will only get better - and those that don't will be moved on.
We can expect a busy summer in terms of ins and outs - and may not recognise our squad by the end - but that for me is a good thing - new blood - eager for success and determined to work hard to achieve it is better than complacent super stars anyday.
Roll on Phase 2 and UTV.
Best post on this thread ........
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Does Diame still have the release clause? That would be an excellent signing for 3.5m.
If West Ham finish 10th and we finish 12th-17th? won't he be looking a little higher?
No, unless he doesn't have the sense to realise we are the team on the up and Wham are only ever going to be mid to lower table make weights.
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I think we will be in top spending team this summer apart from the big 3 Man City, Man Utd and Chelsea.
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We will not be buying and Premier League players, period. Lambert has made it abundantly clear he thinks they are always over priced. On current evidence I agree with him. A few lambert specials lower league/ foreign leagues will do me.
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Sell the wasters and reinvest what we get for them, especially as they're on big wages we can strengthen enough to finish top half.
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Diame's form has tailed since he was being hyped up in January anyway.
I know he was injured for a while but regarding his form, i'll take your word for it.
Probably not seen much of the ball as it spends most of the game sailing over his head.
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I know it is pleasurable to speculate - and fun to be a fantasy manager - but to be honest - I don't have a clue what Lambert and Lerner will do. Was anyone on here raving on about a big unknown Belgian this summer? Was Sylla welcomed as a good signing? Or Lowton?
And what sort of nonsense is suggesting Villa will become a miserly Everton? Did you fail your maths exam? Lerner has spent and spent and spent since he came to Villa. Only under TSM did he hold back - and thank god he did. In case you have forgot - he gave Lambert nearly £30million to spend this season - and Lambert spent it well. I just don't get this miserly Lerner stuff - it is utter bollocks yet it still gets trotted out.
If there is one thing this season has taught me it is that we have a manager who can spot a player - and I personally trust him to make the right choices - though that could mean losing most of our 'experienced' players this summer - I won't be crying.
Lambert has shown a shrewd eye so far and I feel most of his signings will only get better - and those that don't will be moved on.
We can expect a busy summer in terms of ins and outs - and may not recognise our squad by the end - but that for me is a good thing - new blood - eager for success and determined to work hard to achieve it is better than complacent super stars anyday.
Roll on Phase 2 and UTV.
Best post on this thread ........
Here Here
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Completely agree Sonlyme.
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The thing about our squad is that a few players could (or should) leave, and it won't make any difference to the team: Bent, Ireland, Dunne, Given, Hutton. All of these are on big wages as well. So without altering the current starting 11/subs, Lambert could change and hopefully improve the squad quite a lot.
Jumping four or five places next Sunday would help cover the pay-offs necessary to bin some of the unwantables. If they're not in our plans get rid asap. I don't want them leaving a smell round the place all summer.
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@myf - You are kidding right? I'll be happy for a nice gentle mid table stroll thanks very much. Baby steps I believe should be our new mantra, not Be Prepared.
@Can Bent Be Bettered - The "cast offs" might be the supplements to the team we require in terms of experience. It's no coincidence that when Vlaar came back into the team we looked more solid (not rock solid though) and when Gabby came back in we looked, dare I say, more cultured going forward. Experience does count for something.
I agree that youth should be the way forward, and the guys will take huge confidence from the fact that they've kept us in the league. I'd like to think that we don't want to follow the Wigan route of doing the same things every year and expecting different results. Look where that got them this year.
Realistically, anyone talking about big name Charlies and cup wins for next season, is having a laugh. We're not at that stage yet...we're at the stage where we need to build slowly. With that in mind we NEED to supplement what we have with a few more solid Premier League players in my opinion.
Bollocks to experience. When we got hammered 7-1 by Chelsea under MON, the team was this:
01 Friedel
02 L Young
05 Dunneyellow card
25 Warnock
29 Collins
04 Sidwell
07 A Young
08 Milner
19 Petrovyellow card (Downing 63)
10 Carew (Delfouneso 63)
11 Agbonlahor (Beye 71)
How's that for experience?
Maybe we looked better when Gabby and Vlaar came in because they're better players than those who they took the place of.
That game was in March though and the majority of those players were exhausted at that point thanks to MON not really believing in squad rotation.
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I know it is pleasurable to speculate - and fun to be a fantasy manager - but to be honest - I don't have a clue what Lambert and Lerner will do. Was anyone on here raving on about a big unknown Belgian this summer? Was Sylla welcomed as a good signing? Or Lowton?
And what sort of nonsense is suggesting Villa will become a miserly Everton? Did you fail your maths exam? Lerner has spent and spent and spent since he came to Villa. Only under TSM did he hold back - and thank god he did. In case you have forgot - he gave Lambert nearly £30million to spend this season - and Lambert spent it well. I just don't get this miserly Lerner stuff - it is utter bollocks yet it still gets trotted out.
If there is one thing this season has taught me it is that we have a manager who can spot a player - and I personally trust him to make the right choices - though that could mean losing most of our 'experienced' players this summer - I won't be crying.
Lambert has shown a shrewd eye so far and I feel most of his signings will only get better - and those that don't will be moved on.
We can expect a busy summer in terms of ins and outs - and may not recognise our squad by the end - but that for me is a good thing - new blood - eager for success and determined to work hard to achieve it is better than complacent super stars anyday.
Roll on Phase 2 and UTV.
Spot on.
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I know it is pleasurable to speculate - and fun to be a fantasy manager - but to be honest - I don't have a clue what Lambert and Lerner will do. Was anyone on here raving on about a big unknown Belgian this summer? Was Sylla welcomed as a good signing? Or Lowton?
And what sort of nonsense is suggesting Villa will become a miserly Everton? Did you fail your maths exam? Lerner has spent and spent and spent since he came to Villa. Only under TSM did he hold back - and thank god he did. In case you have forgot - he gave Lambert nearly £30million to spend this season - and Lambert spent it well. I just don't get this miserly Lerner stuff - it is utter bollocks yet it still gets trotted out.
If there is one thing this season has taught me it is that we have a manager who can spot a player - and I personally trust him to make the right choices - though that could mean losing most of our 'experienced' players this summer - I won't be crying.
Lambert has shown a shrewd eye so far and I feel most of his signings will only get better - and those that don't will be moved on.
We can expect a busy summer in terms of ins and outs - and may not recognise our squad by the end - but that for me is a good thing - new blood - eager for success and determined to work hard to achieve it is better than complacent super stars anyday.
Roll on Phase 2 and UTV.
Spot on.
Spot on indeed.
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A cup win and/or Europa qualification
europa qualification would be bad news .
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Roll on Phase 2 and UTV.
This come back to the opening posters question. What is phase 2?
The Swiss Ramble has done his usual excellent/long analysis of Dortmund since their implosion of the mid noughties, but it is difficult to identify what their stage 2 was, other than to continue buying 20-23 year olds and develop them. They also appear to have a strategy of having the replacements already in the squad.
Sahin > Kagawa > Reus
Therefore should we be signing Bridcut or the young Derby lad (Hughes) as a potential replacement for Westwood (when he replaces Carrick)?
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A cup win and/or Europa qualification
europa qualification would be bad news .
It raises the prestige of the club, gives us another chance to win a trophy and those European nights always live long in the memory (Bilbao, Athletico, Ajax...).
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It raises the prestige of the club, gives us another chance to win a trophy and those European nights always live long in the memory (Bilbao, Athletico, Ajax...).
Agreed, Id love to see us in Europe, but look at how all those extra european games screwed Newcastle over this season. European qualification is a fantastic thing if you have a big enough squad to cope. At the moment, we dont.
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It raises the prestige of the club, gives us another chance to win a trophy and those European nights always live long in the memory (Bilbao, Athletico, Ajax...).
Agreed, Id love to see us in Europe, but look at how all those extra european games screwed Newcastle over this season. European qualification is a fantastic thing if you have a big enough squad to cope. At the moment, we dont.
The format of the competition is ridiculous these days, I agree. But we'd be sure to have a few 'gimme' type games where we could blood the likes of Carruthers, Bowery maybe even Siegriest? I think Europa League is a step we'd have to take before ever breaking back into contention for Champions League places.