Season turning point?

[eamonn]

Maybe, possibly, not buying anyone except Sylla in January. That must have been a confidence boost to the team. 

What an important signing he has been though. His signing could actually have been the turning point in hindsight.

Yep look at the points we've accumulated when he's played.

I inferred from Dave's post that he meant after 6 weeks of being torn to shreds by the press and fans alike, the squad realised that Lambert fully believed in them and wasn't going to ditch them for their poor displays. Maybe it made them believe and brave enough to express themselves better on the pitch.

I fully believe we could have brought in a couple of proven/experienced players in January and if we went on to get relegated I always thought it should be on the manager's head purely on that basis. It looks like the opposite has happened, the squad became galvanised and Lambert has been entirely vindicated.

However our results with Sylla can't be overlooked as you mentioned. He's been an astute signing certainly.

[not3bad]

Sylla is really good IMO.  Should have played him instead of Zog at Old Trafford, we might not have fallen behind so quickly.

[Brazilian Villain]

For me it was Everton away.

Yes I know we let a sickening 96th minute goal to let them equalise but so have many better teams than us. To go to Everton and be up 3-1 after the confidence sapping events of the previous 6 weeks gave me real hope that there might be a decent team in the making.

[PeterWithesShin]

The main turning point was when Benteke signed.

[Damo70]

I would throw the draw at Swansea into the hat. At a point when we needed anything just to stop the rot.

[eamonn]

I would throw the draw at Swansea into the hat. At a point when we needed anything just to stop the rot.

Problem was that the rot came back shortly after - at Bradford and at home to Saints and Barcodes.

[Percy McCarthy]

Hunt's 'equaliser' at Reading being chalked off for being minutely offside. Correctly of course, but to me it seemed our luck had changed at last.

[PeterWithesShin]

8 games ago I bought an '82 retro tracksuit top from the club shop.

[Percy McCarthy]

After the last three shit years, I realised I didn't have any lucky clothes whatsoever. So I bought new trainers the day I bought my ticket to the Sunderland game, and wore them to said match.

[PeterWithesShin]

After the last three shit years, I realised I didn't have any lucky clothes whatsoever. So I bought new trainers the day I bought my ticket to the Sunderland game, and wore them to said match.

Some way to go to match the fish pie and trackie top there Perce.

[supertommykN'iba]

Sylla signing and the fans since that second half against Newcastle for me.

Sylla has been excellent and as somebody else said, it allows Delph and Westwood to play their game, having him in the side.

Since the second half of that Newcastle game, the atmosphere at Villa Park has been electric in my opinion. That second half against Sunderland... the place was buzzing, as it has been for a while. Obviously with our away fans you expect to go and enjoy the atmosphere, but Villa Park has been amazing this season and I think that has spurred the players on to get results at times...

[eamonn]

After the last three shit years, I realised I didn't have any lucky clothes whatsoever. So I bought new trainers the day I bought my ticket to the Sunderland game, and wore them to said match.

Did you ever track down that Fred Perry Claret and Blue polo top?

[DeKuip]

I'd go for the day Paul Lambert realised that Stephen Ireland and a Villa shirt just don't go together

Also, results have been much better since the switch from fluorescent to white matchball.

[mazrimsbruv]

Not totally impressed by Sylla at all, still gives the ball away far too much for me and never plays a forward pass. I think Gabby's second goal on Saturday and Lowton's goal at Stoke were the important moments so far, but it's not totally over yet. I still want to see Chelsea have their 3rd place taken away from them by a win on Saturday, pay back for the xmas collapse.

It's true that Sylla plays too many backward passes when forward passes are on. Massively frustrating, but you can't argue with the stats, if they're correct, about how many games we've won when he's played.

Just shows how it really is a team game I suppose. Maybe his presence just gets the best out of Westwood and Delph.

As fans, we just want the team to do well but we probably fixate too much on what individual players do when they receive the ball, rather than what their presence allows other players to achieve.

It's more about getting the best cake with the ingredients you've got to work with at any given time and is almost certainly way more difficult than most of us think, which is probably why most of us think we're football managers but few of us are.

[Tucson Villain]

The West Ham win for me. We were really struggling and getting that win at home felt huge.