Lambert in or out? Poll reset with majority 'in', 7th May

[SoccerHQ]

I haven't been in this thread for a while as we've been playing well and actually winning a few games.

However a major problem still exists, we still only played well for one half of football.

Think about it, even the games we've won, West Ham 1st half poor, second half two goals. Reading we did well to come back 1st half but then spent the second half hanging on. QPR we should've been a couple of goals down but got away with it and improved.

Going back to January, fantastic in the first half at WBA and then collapsed and then a weak later there was a QPR type game against Newcastle.

Today we actually had a quick start at home for once and should've been more than 1 up but all that thrown away by an awful opening 15 minutes.

It's not a case for me as with most inconsistant teams of playing well one week and toss the next (Liverpool), it's more a case for me that for most of this season we've swung from one extreme to the next in two halves of football.

[supertom]

I think we've actually been like this for years. Even under O Neill, it was very rare we sustained a good performance over 90 minutes.
That said we had enough talent to nick games when we were actually quite poor. We don't have that now, besides Benteke who makes things happen by himself.

But yeah, the polar opposites between one half and the other this season has been shocking.

If matches ended on 45 minutes we'd actually be a top 6 side. Again it boils down to tactical naivity and players who aren't good enough or experienced enough to hold out for a full game. O Neill actually got by thanks to having the talent he had at his disposal. And though he signed a lot of experienced players who weren't particularly great, sometimes their experienced actually helped pull us through. Sidwell is often pointed out as one of our monumental wastes of money but O Neill had his best run of results when Sidwell was in the side and we were playing a 4-5-1/4-3-3. Zat Knight as well. On the whole, not exactly money wisely spent but in fairness to him he had a few outstanding games and help us scrape some points here and there.

I'd even take Curtis Davies over Baker and Clark at the moment.

[Witton Warrior]

While I would not want to get rid of Lambert at this time I sure as hell hope we are looking for a successor a couple of years down the line because I have little that tells me this is a guy that will take us places. He is an improvement over TSM - that is not a hard act to follow.

[Eigentor]

I've been sticking with Lambert the whole season, allthough I was wavering after the cup fiascos and the Christimas horror. But now is not the right time to change: we have made some improvement, and a new guy won't have time to improve our chances of survival nevertheless.

If we are relegated, he should be sacked. If we stay up, I would like him to stay but also to make a serious attempt at building a decent defence. A serious attempt would mean changes both in the playing and coaching staff.

[TheSandman]

I agree with what you say Eigentor. If we had to give him the push we should have done so before the January window. In other words, the time that I was fulsome in my belief that we should stand by him...

Lately we've been looking a lot better than we were during December and January anyway.

[villan from luton]

Get a fecking grip, have to say no Bent on the bench pissed me off though, but he seems to be the only player who is not up for the fight

[villa `cross the mersey]

Should have gone after the awful set of results around Christmas - He has been an unmitigated disaster for me - the cups results were the final nail in the coffin. Wow we have beaten Reading and QPR - but just look at the results against Southampton, Wigan and Newcastle.
The buffoon is taking us down without a whimper from the Villa faithful. The club appears to be in freefall... the hardest thing to take is the likes of Wigan, Bolton,Blackpool and Burnley fans at work feeling sorry for me  

[eastie]

Should have gone after the awful set of results around Christmas - He has been an unmitigated disaster for me - the cups results were the final nail in the coffin. Wow we have beaten Reading and QPR - but just look at the results against Southampton, Wigan and Newcastle.
The buffoon is taking us down without a whimper from the Villa faithful. The club appears to be in freefall... the hardest thing to take is the likes of Wigan, Bolton,Blackpool and Burnley fans at work feeling sorry for me  

Hard to disagree - although there have been some bright signs in recent weeks it has been a catastrophic season
So many times he seems to be out thought by opposition managers change of tactics.

[Ads]

But he is not taking us down without a whimper?

Wow he beat the sides we need to beat. Great isn't it? I look forward to smacking Stoke, Sunderland, Fulham and Norwich who fit into that bracket too.

[Matt Collins]

It's been a bad season. But this is exactly where we heading at the back end of last season remember.

I'm utterly enfuriated by the failure to get better defenders in. That's the massive mistake made. But I genuinely think we're improving. We have an identity. We're actually passing the bloody thing. And we look a real threat in attack.

I think I'd keep him even if we go down. He's made mistakes, but when was the last time we had a manager who didn't make some really big mistakes?

[eastie]

But he is not taking us down without a whimper?

Wow he beat the sides we need to beat. Great isn't it? I look forward to smacking Stoke, Sunderland, Fulham and Norwich who fit into that bracket too.

Are you trying to convince us or yourself ads ? Keep saying it often enough and you might believe it

[Ads]

I am already convinced.

This side is never going to grind its way to safety like Norwich or us last term; its going to score its way. Its been a very poor season and the minute the safety feeling has washed away I will be left feeling angry and annoyed that yet again we have been in this mess.

[villa `cross the mersey]

But he is not taking us down without a whimper?

Wow he beat the sides we need to beat. Great isn't it? I look forward to smacking Stoke, Sunderland, Fulham and Norwich who fit into that bracket too.

Read what I said Ads - "without a whimper from the Villa faithful" which is slightly different is it not from "taking us down without a whimper"?

Please remind me- just who we have smacked this season? We have recently beaten teams below us however we are not so good beating those above us - when you are 18th in the league that tends to suggest you will get relegated or am I missing something?
Home to Southampton, Newcastle and Wigan ....by how many did we smack them?

[Ads]

There has been a change in the way the side looks going forwards since half time against Newcastle. Since then only Tevez has stopped us from scoring against the meanest defence in the league.

We have won three out of the last seven against the sides that we really had to beat and I think we are more than capable of outscoring Stoke and Fulham in the next two.

Stoke have failed to score in 17 of their last 30 games, they have one as many games as us in the past twelve months. Going to a side on the slide, who are incapable of putting a side under sustained pressure is the sort of place I would like to be going to hunt down three points.

We have shown we can handle the pressure against Weat Ham, Reading and QPR. Our generosity extended in those games too, but our firepower was too much and it will be again. If the players would like to take responsibility at any point then great, as I am up for winning games where the excitement and nervous intestine twisting feeling isn't present.

[mr underhill]

we have failed to beat Stoke in the last six games we've played against them and despite them being as out of form as we are, i can't see us winning there, much as i would like us to.