Lambert: I want to build a top team

[Concrete John]

1 more point, I'm fed up of seeing people type that we're 'relying on other teams to stay up' - no we're not, if we win the next 4 there is absolutely no chance we can go down, the same, technically, is true of Wigan as they have to play us, so as things stand there is no side in the race that is relying on other teams results at this point.

It's a bit of a daft staement anyway, as unless you win ALL your games, then to a degree you are always relying on other clubs not picking up more points than you.  Even at the other end, you could use it to say Man Utd won the league, but only did so because Man City didn't get more points than them.

About the project thing from a few posts ago:-

I can see why some will look on the bad bits of this season, and there have certainly been enough of them, and not see the groundwork that's being laid.  But that's why it's a longterm project and not an instant success.  Unless we start spending like crazy again, the other option is a Stoke like approach, where we play for results in the short term, which is also the transfer strategy.  You can only go so high doing that, as the MON years showed us, so if you really want to see us challenge again it's either this or the next oil magnate picks us.       

[itbrvilla]

At times this season we've been good and played some very good football.

Yet I can't think of many games where we haven't been completely outplayed.

[paul_e]

At times this season we've been good and played some very good football.

Yet I can't think of many games where we haven't been completely outplayed.

At times.  You'd also struggle to find many games where we haven't had a decent period of being the better side (Chelsea is the obvious one, probably tottenham at christmas and man city in november).

We've been inconsistent and we've made a lot of mistakes, the percentage of which that have been punished is very high.

[Concrete John]

We've mainly punished ourselves with ridiculous defending.

If we had simply been more competent at the back, that would translate to more confidence through the side and we'd probably be comfortably mid table.

[jeowje]

Man City away we more than held our own until they TWO dodgy penalties, could have been very different if we had scored from one of our chances, as in the LC match there

[PaulWinch again]

It's only Chelsea away, Spurs and Wigan at home where we've been truly awful for pretty much the whole game.

[PeterWithesShin]

It's only Chelsea away, Spurs and Wigan at home where we've been truly awful for pretty much the whole game.

And even then, first 45 against Spurzzzzz we looked okay, and against Wigan i'm still convinced if the Holman shot had gone in rather than hit the crossbar we would have got something from that game as we were well on top at that stage.

[not3bad]

It's only Chelsea away, Spurs and Wigan at home where we've been truly awful for pretty much the whole game.

And even then, first 45 against Spurzzzzz we looked okay

Lambert decided he wanted to chase the game at the break, made some substitutions (can't remember if it was 1 or 2) and things fell apart after that.

[paul_e]

It's only Chelsea away, Spurs and Wigan at home where we've been truly awful for pretty much the whole game.

And even then, first 45 against Spurzzzzz we looked okay, and against Wigan i'm still convinced if the Holman shot had gone in rather than hit the crossbar we would have got something from that game as we were well on top at that stage.

first 45 vs spurs we held our own but we were never on top.  I agree regarding Wigan, I thought we looked ok later in the first half and we started the 2nd half ok but conceding early in both halves just ruined our confidence.

Man city, like tottenham, I think we were holding them at bay quite well without ever really looking likely to win it, the 2 penalties so close together (about 10 minutes between them i seem to recall) completely knocked us out though and the rest of the 2nd half was pretty dire.

[villa `cross the mersey]

Lambert: I want to build a top team 

VCTM: I want to bang Halle Berry.

Let`s face it neither are gonna happen ! 

[Concrete John]

It's only Chelsea away, Spurs and Wigan at home where we've been truly awful for pretty much the whole game.

And even then, first 45 against Spurzzzzz we looked okay

Lambert decided he wanted to chase the game at the break, made some substitutions (can't remember if it was 1 or 2) and things fell apart after that.

Makes a change from last season when we would have made to changes to hold onto the 0-0 and then it fell apart.

[Jon Crofts]

It's only Chelsea away, Spurs and Wigan at home where we've been truly awful for pretty much the whole game.

And even then, first 45 against Spurzzzzz we looked okay

Lambert decided he wanted to chase the game at the break, made some substitutions (can't remember if it was 1 or 2) and things fell apart after that.

Makes a change from last season when we would have made to changes to hold onto the 0-0 and then it fell apart.

Without wanting to sound like a TSM fan, I don't recall us falling apart last season.  Dire, dreary, defensive yes, falling apart I'm struggling.

[LeeB]

Hope we pull it off tonight but I’m very worried. To be honest, it feels a bit “emperor’s new clothes” to me, this project we’re talking about. I haven’t seen a project developing this season, I’ve seen us struggle with formations, brittle when we concede, using players who have been completely out of their depth in some games, unable to play for 90 minutes, totally and utterly dependent on a single player, who we spent far too much time trying to lump the ball to and without whom we would certainly already have been relegated already. If that’s a project then we need to start looking again at the project manager.

There, said it. Please let me be wrong again....

Now let’s have a fucking scrap against Sunderland tonight and see who wants to stop up the most.

Come on me Villa babbies!!!

Pretty much my feelings, I don't care what the "project" is, putting the club in danger of relegation should never be part of it.

I remain of the mind that should we go down, Lambert should pay the price with his job.

But, I shall be making all too rare visits to Villa Park tonight and for the Chelsea game and will shout myself puce in support of the manager and the team.

I take issue with the "putting the club in danger of relegation" bit.

We were a Ricahard Scudamore brainwave away from it last season, it's not as if he's dragged us down there.

[paul_e]

It's only Chelsea away, Spurs and Wigan at home where we've been truly awful for pretty much the whole game.

And even then, first 45 against Spurzzzzz we looked okay

Lambert decided he wanted to chase the game at the break, made some substitutions (can't remember if it was 1 or 2) and things fell apart after that.

It was an enforced change with Baker going off.

The problem was Herd had been filling the space the Bale runs into and doing a good job cutting him off, when we went to a back 4 Bale started picking through the gap between lowton and herd and completely undid us.

[Rancid custard]

It's only Chelsea away, Spurs and Wigan at home where we've been truly awful for pretty much the whole game.

I thought we had an absolute shocker at Millwall too. about 5 minutes of good play combined, unless you meant just prem games?