How do you rate Lamberts purchases out of ten

[Legion]

Too soon to say.

[paulcomben]

Hi, I'm Randy. But don't let that worry you fellas. An average of TEN. They are cheap and I might not have to sell a Championship club for a knockdown price, if that latest coach works a miracle.

Hi, I'm a lifelong Villa fan old enough to enjoy 1981-2 and then get not much else. An average of 5. They show some promise, but not in the final third. They would not trouble the owner financially as a lower league club.

[Steve R]

I don't think it's too early at all to make a judgement bout Lambert's signings. We may well be wiser in a year's time, but we've seen enough to make some kind of call.

If the starter being put in front of me had a large Hutton-shaped bogey floating in it I wouldn't be too optimistic about the main course.

Taking 5 as the no pain and no gain line. i.e. they didn't do much but didn't cost much either.

Guzan - 9 Incredibly good decision to bring him back. Finding a reliable keeper troubles better budgets than ours. Over the next two years we're probably more likely to lose him to a better placed outfit than Benteke

Benteke - 8 Has added a lot to the squad, will improve and has it in him to be a top player. Couldn't have done better for the money

Lowton - 8 He didn't have to beat much to be better than the player he replaced. Has looked at times like an England international in the making.

Westwood - 7 Has looked very good. Impressive temperament and a good footballer. Excellent find.

Vlaar - 7 Hasn't been quite as commanded as expected but has played well. Current Dutch international for 3-4 mill? We'd get that back and more any time

KEA - 6 Looked very good to start with, but now seems to be taking the the apparent 6 months it needs for a foreign 

Bennett - 6 Has looked to be not yet ready for top flight football but has improved a lot since his early games.

Bowery - 5 No real impact at first team level but the few reports I've seen of him from u-21 games sound very encouraging. At 1 million it would be hard for his signing to be a failure.

All in all, 8 signings and not a single Balaban/Curcic/Alan Thomson amongst thm. Lambert's purchases have been our better players in most games. They have needed to be. It is quite an achievement to buy so many and make so few mistakes.

Looking at the squad and what needs to change for us to get into the top half of the table, as many as 9 players either will want to leave or will need to be replaced. Over the next 2 transfer windows Lambert is going to have to do the same again and possibly better.

He will probably also need to make a few 8 to 10 mill signings, something he ha snot done before.

[SoccerHQ]

Benetek 9- Magnificent. Maybe I'm overrating him a bit as he's only scored 3 league goals but this lad has everything and will go to the very top. Enjoy him while we can.

Lowton 8- Really like him, can't think of a shocker he's had this season.

Concrete 7- Thought he looked pretty dodgy first few games which is understandable but been really good since Fulham away.

Westwood 6- Hasn't played too much but clearly has talent so rating could be higher by the end of the season.

KEA 5- I thought he was our best player first 4-5 games of the season so disappointing to see him slump a fair bit since then. At least the KEA-Delph experiment has been binned.

Bennett 4- Haven't really been impressed, think he could've benefited from another year in the championship for Boro. LB is still a weak spot in our team and ideally I'd get someone else in January.

[not3bad]

They show some promise, but not in the final third.

Except for Benteke right?

[ozzjim]

Part of this is also about sell on value, it has to be for Villa after the disastrous signings under O'Neill and then Houllier and McLeish that will cost the club fortunes in never getting their money back following poor displays on the pitch.

Benetek 9.5 I defy anyone to find a better 21 year old centre forward for us to buy for in or under £7 million quid. Big, powerful, quick, good attitude and lovely touch for a big fella (tm P.Crouch) great in the air and knows where the net is. Frightening to think what he will be at 25, and even more so how good he would be in a good team. I reckon we would see little less than £20m if he were to leave next summer, judging on other fees such as Carroll, given his age too. Terrific signing.

Lowton 8- Really like him, can't think of a shocker he's had this season. Not much to add, doubled his value for sure, and reminds me of Mark Delaney without the slide!

Ron 8- Thought he took a bit of time to adjust, but since being captain has grown by the week. Big man, big heart and big player for us. Getting an international centre half for £3 million was robbery. We paid 5 for Collins and gave him more in wages. We paid 10 for Curtis Davies. Vlaar was a steal.

Westwood 8- Classy footballer. Rarely gives it away and has a maturity on the pitch. Very good signing for £2 million, considering what we paid for Delph, and again considering his age.

KEA 5- Looks a bit like Petrov did when he arrived to me, decent first outing, but then constantly struggling with the physical nature and the pace of the league. Not written him off having a very good second season, unless he is used to get another player out of holland in exchange. Paid so little I doubt we will lose out on the deal.

Bennett 5 - Rabbit caught in headlights so far. Needs bulk, heart and fitness to come good. 2-3 months in the reserves and he could re-emerge. Looked to have a very decent left peg. Can't see us losing money on him long term.

Guzan - 9 - It took Lambert coming to re sign Brad, so he should be seen as his signing. On a free, his performance after taking the lead the other night showed what a good keeper he is becoming. Brad Snr and Given would not have taken the pressure off their side the way Brad did by coming and getting the ball off the heads of the forwards. Not many better keepers in the league, and Given is very unlucky that he has had Hart and Guzan maturing behind him at City and Villa. Worth a fortune now, and very thankful we signed him.

The reason we are down the bottom is not these players. It is the depth of the squad around them being very weak, and I am sure given 2-3 seasons if Lambert is given time, he will continue to increase the size of the squad, increase the competition and sign some more good players. I am sure there will be the odd duffer too, but he has done bloody well with the 22-23 million he spent last summer for me.

[hawkeye]

1.Benteke   8

2.Westwood 7

3.Kea  3

4. Ron 7

5. Lowton 8

6. Bennet 4

7.Guzan 7

In comparison to the chosen one its a bloody good record.