Lambert: I want to build a top team

[rob_bridge]

How does where small heath finished a year previously have anything to do with us finishing 9th?

Surely by that argument you could claim every January transfer is a panic buy? Let's remember that if was the first transfer window Houllier had.

As for Pires, i'm sure many businesses have different rules for long term and short term staff.

Yep and it certainly causes friction. Especially if seen as place person.

Que?

Pardon. Pires was a Houllier protege 15-20 years earlier.

[dave.woodhall]

And how many trophies did he win?

[PeterWithesShin]

Houllier got sacked by LFC for finishing nearer relegation than champions despite spending more than Wenger or Ferguson overall. In fact IIRC DOLs team ran his close and O'Leary managed 6th from a similar position in January (at Villa) with tighter purse strings in 2004.

Liverpool qualified for the Champions league in his last season. How else would they have won it the following year?

[PeterWithesShin]

How does where small heath finished a year previously have anything to do with us finishing 9th?

Surely by that argument you could claim every January transfer is a panic buy? Let's remember that if was the first transfer window Houllier had.

As for Pires, i'm sure many businesses have different rules for long term and short term staff.

Yep and it certainly causes friction. Especially if seen as place person.

Que?

Pardon. Pires was a Houllier protege 15-20 years earlier.

Who was out of contract that we could have signed that would have been viewed as better? Pires was probably the best option in the world at the time we signed him. It was obvious he was only here for 6 months so I don't blame anyone for not making him move. I doubt many others do either.

[saunders_heroes]

I doubt if moving closer to Birmingham would have made him any better for us anyway. He was finished when he got here. Doesn't matter where he lived.

[PeterWithesShin]

I doubt if moving closer to Birmingham would have made him any better for us anyway. He was finished when he got here. Doesn't matter where he lived.

We had a squad ravaged with injuries. We were relying on unproven youngsters and were struggling (sound familiar?). We brought in the best and most experienced player available in the world at that time to help out.
Lambert is damned for not doing that, and Houllier is damned for doing it.

[saunders_heroes]

I doubt if moving closer to Birmingham would have made him any better for us anyway. He was finished when he got here. Doesn't matter where he lived.

We had a squad ravaged with injuries. We were relying on unproven youngsters and were struggling (sound familiar?). We brought in the best and most experienced player available in the world at that time to help out.
Lambert is damned for not doing that, and Houllier is damned for doing it.

Just because the Pires signing wasn't successful shouldn't mean we should give up trying to strengthen a struggling squad in January.
You're not actually suggesting that are you?

[ozzjim]

He had a tremendous 70 minutes in the win against Blackburn though. Looked a player in that game.

It is also conveniently forgotten that Houllier suffered the worst run of injuries I could remember at the time, only troubled, more briefly, by the run Lambert had at one point this season.

The comments of Di Canio on Sunderland seem to point to how the dressing room was here when MON left too, the only trouble was Houllier wanted to cut it out like a surgeon and did not have the time or leeway to do so. All in all he did ok, and Walker and Bent were terrific signings at the time. Injuries IMO have hampered Bent as much as anything else in the last 18 months, and his confidence and movement is just not the same now. It will be very interesting to see where he ends up.


I just hope Lambert actually gets time to finish what he has started.

[PeterWithesShin]

I doubt if moving closer to Birmingham would have made him any better for us anyway. He was finished when he got here. Doesn't matter where he lived.

We had a squad ravaged with injuries. We were relying on unproven youngsters and were struggling (sound familiar?). We brought in the best and most experienced player available in the world at that time to help out.
Lambert is damned for not doing that, and Houllier is damned for doing it.

Just because the Pires signing wasn't successful shouldn't mean we should give up trying to strengthen a struggling squad in January.
You're not actually suggesting that are you?

Pretty obviously I don't as i've never said that.

Maybe i'm suggesting that no matter what is done by a manager, unless it works perfectly some people will moan. Some moan that Lambert brought in no experience when we needed it to help the youngsters, some moan that Houllier DID bring in an experienced player to help the youngsters. Does that make it clearer?

[saunders_heroes]

I doubt if moving closer to Birmingham would have made him any better for us anyway. He was finished when he got here. Doesn't matter where he lived.

We had a squad ravaged with injuries. We were relying on unproven youngsters and were struggling (sound familiar?). We brought in the best and most experienced player available in the world at that time to help out.
Lambert is damned for not doing that, and Houllier is damned for doing it.

Just because the Pires signing wasn't successful shouldn't mean we should give up trying to strengthen a struggling squad in January.
You're not actually suggesting that are you?

Pretty obviously I don't as i've never said that.

Maybe i'm suggesting that no matter what is done by a manager, unless it works perfectly some people will moan. Some moan that Lambert brought in no experience when we needed it to help the youngsters, some moan that Houllier DID bring in an experienced player to help the youngsters. Got it yet?

Fans will criticise managers. That'll never change.

[ROBBO]

They have been discussing Ferguson over here saying in his first five years there were times when supporter groups were calling for his head, MON would have eventually sent the club broke at least now we will have the opportunity to see if Lamberts ideas work without worrying too much about being insolvent..

[junxs]

As has been explained many times before, we finished ninth.

If you looking Houlliers record then its only fair to take the position we were in when he had to step back and not where we finished in the end. Think McAllister deserves credit for the back to back wins v Arsenal and Liverpool, he got more points as well.

[junxs]

What exactly did Houllier do that was so wrong?

His press conference on day 1 - "Its no Liverpool.. Villa belong 12th" - A club thats just finished 6th 3 years running and above Liverpool the season before. It was all downhill from there, how can  anyone defend him?

At least Eck never said a bad word about the club no matter how poorly we treated him.

[PeterWithesShin]

As has been explained many times before, we finished ninth.

If you looking Houlliers record then its only fair to take the position we were in when he had to step back and not where we finished in the end. Think McAllister deserves credit for the back to back wins v Arsenal and Liverpool, he got more points as well.

That was a sneaky edit 

Just to confirm, we weren't 17th or only 2 points above the drop zone when he was taken ill. We were actually 10th.

[Matt Collins]

I doubt if moving closer to Birmingham would have made him any better for us anyway. He was finished when he got here. Doesn't matter where he lived.

We had a squad ravaged with injuries. We were relying on unproven youngsters and were struggling (sound familiar?). We brought in the best and most experienced player available in the world at that time to help out.
Lambert is damned for not doing that, and Houllier is damned for doing it.

He was 38!