Lambert: I want to build a top team

[danlanza]

I would respectfully suggest that a team that has conceded in 19 Prem games on the bounce does not get ahead of itself.

Fair point but if you can't enjoy the day after a 6-1 win what can you enjoy?

Chocolate chip ice cream and a Bacardi and coke ?

[danlanza]

Lambert: I want to build a top team 

VCTM: I want to bang Halle Berry.

Let`s face it neither are gonna happen ! 

I volunteer to drown him in the Mersey. Should my services be needed just PM me. Ta muchly. UTV.



If we carry on like last night, you never know you might be getting across the fair Halle after all

[not3bad]

Lambert: I want to build a top team 

VCTM: I want to bang Halle Berry.

Let`s face it neither are gonna happen ! 

If we carry on like last night, you never know you might be getting across the fair Halle after all

He can't hear you, he's too busy doing Halle Berry.

Ya know I'd love Villa to win 8-0 on Saturday, but then I'd love to shag Scarlett Johansson!

[ozzjim]

Back onto the building project

There is a good interview with Delph, who I feel deserves as much credit as any in the upturn since the end of Jan, he and Westy have become really well suited to each other.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/396085/Christian-Benteke-s-raw-power-is-lifting-Aston-Villa-to-safety

Christian Benteke’s hat-trick in Monday’s 6-1 win stunned Sunderland and made Villa favourites to beat the drop.

Benteke now has 22 goals in his debut season in English football – with 14 in 2013, he is behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in Europe – and his value has more than tripled the £7SHrSmillion it took to buy him from Genk in the summer.

At 6ft 3in tall and 13st, Benteke looks so formidable that team-mate Fabian Delph asked him if he ate raw meat when he first arrived at the club.

“He is an absolute monster,” said Delph. “Defenders must come up against this boy and think, ‘He is 22, let’s try to rough him up’. But every centre-back who has tried has failed.

“Benteke is a natural monster. He doesn’t do any upper bodywork whatsoever. He works on his core strength. He works on his legs.

“I have never met anyone like him. When he came here I asked him whether he ate raw meat. He said, ‘No, it is just natural’.

“John Carew, who played for us, was very similar. He was very strong. But Christian is 22. John was much older.

“Benteke has dragged us through so many games. I was surprised he didn’t get young player of the season. He came second, but he should have won.

“He is my pal so I am biased but, even from the outside, you would have thought he would be up there – if not getting it, then very close.”

Eighteen of Benteke’s goals have come in the Premier League and he needs two more from three games to become the first Villa player since Peter Withe 32 years ago to score 20 in the league.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Delph. “Benteke looks like he could get more. We have three games to go and I could put a bet on him to score at least another three or four. He is young as well.

“It looks like we are building. We aren’t clear yet, but if we are building around players such as Benteke and we manage to keep him – which I think we are going to – then the future has to look brighter than it has done for years. Benteke is really happy here. We are like a little family. People on the outside probably think it looks like a creche, we are just full of kids.

“But we are all very mature boys. We all live good, clean lifestyles. There are no egos in the dressing room.

“Sunderland was a massive win for us. The teams around us must be thinking, ‘Oh, we did not expect that’. We have been down at the bottom most of the season. We are comfortable down there. There is no pressure on us. We are a young team, we have fire in our bellies and we give it our all.”

Manager Paul Lambert, who was recommended to watch Benteke in the Belgian league and bought him while others dallied, labels him “world class”.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Benteke,” said Lambert. “He has been outstanding in a season that has been full of pressure games in his first taste of playing in this league. He can go on to be whatever he wants to be.”

Villa are in the driving seat in the relegation race now and Lambert would suck his old club Norwich into the situation if he follows up the demolition of Sunderland with a victory at Carrow Road on Saturday.

“It might sound mad but we are not feeling that much pressure,” added Delph.

“We have been selected to do a job and that is what we have been doing. I hope we have put the frighteners on other teams.”

[Louzie0]

Back onto the building project

There is a good interview with Delph, who I feel deserves as much credit as any in the upturn since the end of Jan, he and Westy have become really well suited to each other.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/396085/Christian-Benteke-s-raw-power-is-lifting-Aston-Villa-to-safety

Christian Benteke’s hat-trick in Monday’s 6-1 win stunned Sunderland and made Villa favourites to beat the drop.

“It might sound mad but we are not feeling that much pressure,” added Delph.

“We have been selected to do a job and that is what we have been doing. I hope we have put the frighteners on other teams.”

They probably have.

[PeterWithesShin]

Delph has been great this year, shows what fitness, a run of games and confidence can do for a player many had written off long ago. I can see Bennett doing the same.

[Steve R]

What has stood out about Delph, Lowton, Westwood and Bennett has been the way they seem comfortable accepting the ball under pressure and have the confidence to carry it clear of opponents if the situation suits.

We've had Villa teams trying to pass the ball about in the past at times, but have lacked the basic skills to do it effectively.

[ozzjim]

What has stood out about Delph, Lowton, Westwood and Bennett has been the way they seem comfortable accepting the ball under pressure and have the confidence to carry it clear of opponents if the situation suits.

We've had Villa teams trying to pass the ball about in the past at times, but have lacked the basic skills to do it effectively.

I was very impressed with the way we kept possession the other night, in tight spaces when being closed down especially towards the touchline, playing 1 touch triangles to get forward, or accepting the need to go backwards if need be.

[Fergal]

Difficult to talk about long term when we're by no means certain to even stay up.  I'd have a bit more faith in the long term planning if Lambert and the board had taken the necessary steps to strengthen the defence in January.

Like Newcastle and QPR did?

What a fabulous argument.  Other teams bought shit players so it's a reason for us not to bother.  Brilliant.  Worked out well that particular ploy.

Chucking money at the problem rather than developing those you have has worked out tremendously for those two clubs, hasn't it?

And if the Jawdees do drop, the business they did in January will just compound their problems.

I don't have a problem with developing our players, but sticking rigidly to a strategy that clearly isn't working is the mark of stupidity and a badly run and managed club.  If we go down, it'll set us back years, and our financial state is far worse than Newcastle's.

It's starting to work...

[not3bad]

Difficult to talk about long term when we're by no means certain to even stay up.  I'd have a bit more faith in the long term planning if Lambert and the board had taken the necessary steps to strengthen the defence in January.

Like Newcastle and QPR did?

What a fabulous argument.  Other teams bought shit players so it's a reason for us not to bother.  Brilliant.  Worked out well that particular ploy.

Chucking money at the problem rather than developing those you have has worked out tremendously for those two clubs, hasn't it?

And if the Jawdees do drop, the business they did in January will just compound their problems.

I don't have a problem with developing our players, but sticking rigidly to a strategy that clearly isn't working is the mark of stupidity and a badly run and managed club.  If we go down, it'll set us back years, and our financial state is far worse than Newcastle's.

It's starting to work...

Now we need to add consistency.

[Concrete John]

The bit that get's me from that is the 'clearly isn't working'.  How can you know that?  I'm sure they didn't expect or want to be in quite the position we are in now, but this season was never the focus.  When you see the development of players like Benteke, Westwood, Weimann and Lowton, then that shows to me it IS working.  If one or two seniors had contributed more (Dunne!) then we'd be in an easier position league wise, but still probably bottom half somewhere. 

[eastie]

The bit that get's me from that is the 'clearly isn't working'.  How can you know that?  I'm sure they didn't expect or want to be in quite the position we are in now, but this season was never the focus.  When you see the development of players like Benteke, Westwood, Weimann and Lowton, then that shows to me it IS working.  If one or two seniors had contributed more (Dunne!) then we'd be in an easier position league wise, but still probably bottom half somewhere. 

The fact that we are only 5 points off 9 th place shows how tight things are outside the top 6 - we have had a poor season but undoubtedly inproved in recent months and had we held onto to leads better on a couple of occasions  could have been top 10 this season.

The addition of 2 or 3 players and I feel this team could do well next season and finish top half .

[Concrete John]

The bit that get's me from that is the 'clearly isn't working'.  How can you know that?  I'm sure they didn't expect or want to be in quite the position we are in now, but this season was never the focus.  When you see the development of players like Benteke, Westwood, Weimann and Lowton, then that shows to me it IS working.  If one or two seniors had contributed more (Dunne!) then we'd be in an easier position league wise, but still probably bottom half somewhere. 

The fact that we are only 5 points off 9 th place shows how tight things are outside the top 6 - we have had a poor season but undoubtedly inproved in recent months and had we held onto to leads better on a couple of occasions  could have been top 10 this season.

The addition of 2 or 3 players and I feel this team could do well next season and finish top half.

You won't find me disagreeing with that, eastie!

However, I do think we need to set our sights a little higher financially.  A young CB signing may not solve our problems, but an experienced one might.  Our overall spend should be spread over less players this summer and we've also got more going out, thereby freeing more wages, so we should be able to do something like that, if Lambert wants to.   

[ExclDawg]

Isn't this sort of how everyone builds a team while managing a video game team anyway?  You trade out all the old guard and replace them with the wonder-kids who will be world class in 4 or 5 years?  Of course in life, you don't have the benefit of hitting the reset button when an opposing team gives you an 0-6 beatdown.

In actual practice though, this is has still shown to be successful.  You've got teams like the USA Hockey team of 1980 and the Yugoslavian basketball team of 1990.  Throw the kids together.  Take your lumps early.  Let them gel together and gain some chemistry, and in a year or so you've got a team that's not only young and talented, but also know how to play together.

[Ads]

Has Villa across the Mersey been on to celebrate yet or is he waiting until we lose our first game of next season to come on and have a whinge?

[smiling wink yellow man thing]