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

[LeeB]

10/10 for the manager from me.

I think he's done a fantastic job, he's rolled three season's worth of work out in one.

[supertom]

Some strange subs again today.
Plenty of potential next season. Despite the fact we've finished 15th on a rather pathetic 41 points. I'm actually in a good mood, largely, about this season. I think in the last few months we've come on very well. We look a good attacking force.

Lambert has to sort the defence though and he has to really work on his tactics and substitutions too. If we start next season like we did this, and are struggling around Nov/Dec again, he has to go.

I believe we'll start okay though.

[SoccerHQ]

Aston Villa should never be happy finishing 15th and scraping survival.

But.....unlike other years when we finished in these positions, this year feels different.

I think we're on the right track, we have a real cutting edge going forward. Even  without Benteke we still scored twice. Vital we keep all the forwards together (even CNZ who still has more to give in this set up) and sign someone to replace Benteke. Would love to see us get an attacking midfielder from somewhere aswell.

Obviously we need a defender or two in. But even if we do, I don't expect us to suddenly start keeping clean sheets regularly. It's just not the Lambert way. Look back to Norwich and they conceded plenty but they still were successful as we were in 07/08 when we concede loads of goals most weeks.

[pauliewalnuts]

Regular clean sheets, no, but the occasional one would help.

[supertom]

At the very least we need to try and stop giving away so many stupid free kicks in dangerous areas. It almost killed us last season. It's been even worse this season. That's been a huge thorn in our side. Having no defensive lynch pin at the back doesn't help. Hopefully that is addressed. Positionally our youngsters (and Vlaar to be honest) are all over the shop. If get a Tony Adams type to keep everyone in order, we'll be far better.

If we can limit ourselves to conceding maybe 50 in a season, rather than near 70 goals, we'll be far better. I can see us scoring 50-60+ goals next season.

[SoccerHQ]

Well we kept about 5-6 clean sheets by xmas but still weren't winning many games as we didn't have a clue going forward.

How many goals did we concede in 07/08 compared to this one? We seemed to concede 3-4 goals on a regular basis but the attacking game worked a treat so we got away with it.

[supertom]

Well we kept about 5-6 clean sheets by xmas but still weren't winning many games as we didn't have a clue going forward.

How many goals did we concede in 07/08 compared to this one? We seemed to concede 3-4 goals on a regular basis but the attacking game worked a treat so we got away with it.

We conceded 51 that season, which wasn't too shabby. But yeah, going forward we were quality that year, and we scored an arse load from set pieces.

[PaulWinch again]

Regular clean sheets, no, but the occasional one would help.

Yes along with getting our key players signed up to new deals, this is absolutely vital.

[KevinGage]

10/10 for the manager from me.

I think he's done a fantastic job, he's rolled three season's worth of work out in one.

That I don't see.

He inherited a decent squad (albeit one with significant gaps) and had £23 million to spend on top of that - more than the likes of Everton, Newcastle and Sunderland spent. And clearly more than the Olbiyun, Swansea and Naarwich.

Yet for all that we are one place higher than last year, and -like last season- were only assured of staying up with one game to spare.

7/10 for me (for entertainment value, as much as anything else in the last third of the campaign).   10/10 would have been European qualification or a cup win, ie exceeding most reasonable pre season expectations.  Has he really done that this campaign?

[not3bad]

I'll reserve any mark until the end of next season.  This season saw a change of culture at Aston Villa.  It was, at times, a painful change.  If next season it brings the rewards we think and hope it might, then Lambert may have earned that 10/10.

[Greg N'Ash]

Well the game was us in a chestnut. The worrying thing is the likes of Lerner and Faulkner will probably take us staying up as some sort of vindication of their methods rather than a warning. The reality is we stayed up by the skin of our teeth. Ok, we weren't the only ones but when you consider the team we played today put 5 past us this season, its clear investment is needed. Only takes a few injuries and the likes of Benteke suffering 2nd season syndrome and we could be up to our necks in it again.

[saunders_heroes]

Well the game was us in a chestnut. The worrying thing is the likes of Lerner and Faulkner will probably take us staying up as some sort of vindication of their methods rather than a warning. The reality is we stayed up by the skin of our teeth. Ok, we weren't the only ones but when you consider the team we played today put 5 past us this season, its clear investment is needed. Only takes a few injuries and the likes of Benteke suffering 2nd season syndrome and we could be up to our necks in it again.

Agree with that. We conceded 69 goals this season, and any team who concedes goals for fun like we do will always struggle at the wrong end of the table. This has to be addressed in the summer.
For me I'd give Lambert 5/10. Just avoiding relegation should not be something to celebrate.

[SoccerHQ]

I'll reserve any mark until the end of next season.  This season saw a change of culture at Aston Villa.  It was, at times, a painful change.  If next season it brings the rewards we think and hope it might, then Lambert may have earned that 10/10.

Yeah I agree, top marks for him are way over the top purely because this season brought us the humiliation of Bradford let's not forget.

That said, I reckon next season we'll be back in the top 10 just if Benteke stays as going forward we have a real threat now which can often be enough in the premier league.

[Toronto Villa]

I fully expected Nasher and SH to be firmly on th negative side, worst case scenario side of the ledger. On reflection it's not as bad as it was at times, and we never consistently hit the highs. Lambert gets a 7.5 from the Toronto jury. The squad is significantly better than the one he inherited and in one season despite the lows he kept the players that mattered focussed and together. That bodes really well for next season. He'll be looking to add to the squad with the types of player that will remain motivated and true to the cause even when the chips are down. We will have sticky patches next season but what he's created as unfortunate as it was at times, stronger characters and players that really appreciate success.

As Lee points in many ways he has eradicated much of the ill feeling that has hung over the club for 3 years now. That was a monumental task, and once we rid ourselves of the remaining players that no longer represent what we are about in the future we will be free of the massive final anchor that currently burdens us and is holding us back.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

I give him full marks for keeping faith with the players and not panicking during the Xmas/January nightmare. 0-15 aggregate over 3 games, the Bradford debacle, the Millwall capitulation. I think every single one of us must have wondered at some moments if we were going to go into complete freefall.