On-going progress..

[LeeB]

Kozak to me looks like a Bent style striker, in other words one that relies on chances being created for him. The fact that we got rid of Bent and then paid 7m for him knowing we'd have the same problem causes me a headache.

The way Lambert has us set up, we don't have the ability to create chances for a striker very often, Benteke has the exceptional talent to create his own and Kozak, like Bent doesn't appear to be in that same boat

Up until now you'd have to say our football has been pretty dire, well how is it going to get better knowing we'll almost certainly be relying on a hoof ball up pitch until Benteke comes back?

That is unless Lambert unearths some tactical nous or creative football plan we've not seen in his locker until now

You have a bee in your bonnet about Lamberts tactical approach. Could you explain in any detail how he's going wrong and what he should be doing to put it right?

[PaulWinch again]

Kozak to me looks like a Bent style striker, in other words one that relies on chances being created for him. The fact that we got rid of Bent and then paid 7m for him knowing we'd have the same problem causes me a headache.

The way Lambert has us set up, we don't have the ability to create chances for a striker very often, Benteke has the exceptional talent to create his own and Kozak, like Bent doesn't appear to be in that same boat

Up until now you'd have to say our football has been pretty dire, well how is it going to get better knowing we'll almost certainly be relying on a hoof ball up pitch until Benteke comes back?

That is unless Lambert unearths some tactical nous or creative football plan we've not seen in his locker until now

You have a bee in your bonnet about Lamberts tactical approach. Could you explain in any detail how he's going wrong and what he should be doing to put it right?

Away it's fine and we're pretty successful. At home it's not good enough, because we don't retain possession and build pressure. You need to be able to open teams up through the centre when they sit back and that's what we struggle with.

[LeeB]

Kozak to me looks like a Bent style striker, in other words one that relies on chances being created for him. The fact that we got rid of Bent and then paid 7m for him knowing we'd have the same problem causes me a headache.

The way Lambert has us set up, we don't have the ability to create chances for a striker very often, Benteke has the exceptional talent to create his own and Kozak, like Bent doesn't appear to be in that same boat

Up until now you'd have to say our football has been pretty dire, well how is it going to get better knowing we'll almost certainly be relying on a hoof ball up pitch until Benteke comes back?

That is unless Lambert unearths some tactical nous or creative football plan we've not seen in his locker until now

You have a bee in your bonnet about Lamberts tactical approach. Could you explain in any detail how he's going wrong and what he should be doing to put it right?

Away it's fine and we're pretty successful. At home it's not good enough, because we don't retain possession and build pressure. You need to be able to open teams up through the centre when they sit back and that's what we struggle with.

I know, it just makes me laugh when folk site 'tactics' as the reason for a defeat, without having the first clue about them, or even what they were.

[Stu]

I know, it just makes me laugh when folk site 'tactics' as the reason for a defeat, without having the first clue about them, or even what they were.

Although to be fair, you could also say that about the players.

BOOM. I'm so cool.

[LeeB]

I know, it just makes me laugh when folk site 'tactics' as the reason for a defeat, without having the first clue about them, or even what they were.

Although to be fair, you could also say that about the players.

BOOM. I'm so cool.

True dat.

[dekko]

Kozak to me looks like a Bent style striker, in other words one that relies on chances being created for him. The fact that we got rid of Bent and then paid 7m for him knowing we'd have the same problem causes me a headache.

The only two similarities between Bent and Kozak are that they're both strikers, and neither are as good as Benteke.  Completely different types of player.

[Stu]

I've had my usual post match whine and moan, so fuck it, lets crack on.

I'm not going to the City game though, I'm not mental.

[sirlordbaltimore]

You have a bee in your bonnet about Lamberts tactical approach. Could you explain in any detail how he's going wrong and what he should be doing to put it right?

You're damn right there Lee.

I'd have thought it obvious where we're going wrong seeing as our home form is absolutely chronic under him. He has no plan B, its attack on the break with pace or nothing at all. We have no finesse (despite Lambert having 3 transfer windows to add some), no creativity and basically no midfielder competent enough to take a game by the scruff of the neck and rally the troops (again, he's had time but failed to bring one in). We have a midfield that between them have gained something like 100 league appearances for Villa without scoring a goal. They all play the same game, in and around the middle third of the pitch with absolutely no attacking threat or even defensive cover at the other end. The only thing we seem to have actually going for us is Benteke (who'll be off next summer regardless) and Guzan who isn't being helped by having a defence weaker than a wet tissue in front of him.

And then the defence, which is an ongoing shambles.

So, its fair to say not only have i got a bee in my bonnet about the managers inability to buy in players to make us better, i've also got grave reservations he knows what he's doing at all. Some claimed O'Neill was a limited manager ... compared to Lambert he looks like a magician right now

This is Lambert's team. There can be no doubt about that. And it rests on his shoulders and his buys to show that he/they know what the hell they're doing. Becaus eas it stands you'd have to say they don't look like they have a fucking clue

[JUAN PABLO]

Kozak to me looks like a Bent style striker, in other words one that relies on chances being created for him. The fact that we got rid of Bent and then paid 7m for him knowing we'd have the same problem causes me a headache.

The only two similarities between Bent and Kozak are that they're both strikers, and neither are as good as Benteke.  Completely different types of player.

I would have kept Bent and spent the £7 million money towards a creative midfielder , but hey , Im not the manger , Lambert thinks he knows best and lets hope he does .    But we are looking  clueless at home.

[Percy McCarthy]

I agree with a lot of what's been said, mainly by Monty, but as regards our budget I'm genuinely in the dark as to what Lerner's attitude is.  Is it:

a) he wants to spend more but simply doesn't have any more over and above that which we are already spending;

b) he does have more money in reserve but for whatever reason doesn't want to spend any more on the Villa than he has to;

c) he doesn't have any more money and wouldn't spend it on the Villa even if he did.

Unless he's had some catastrophic financial misfortune that I've not yet read about I find it hard to believe that a and c are true.  Which leaves b.  After O'Neill's profligacy I can understand he's now much more cautious with his money and I would be too.  But I can't help wondering whether this caution is more motivated by what's best for Lerner as opposed to what's best for the Villa.  I mean, since O'Neill left we've basically been getting two-thirds of the points we got under him and flirted with relegation at least twice.

I think we all recognise what a difference a £10M midfielder would make to our first team.  Okay, maybe Lambert couldn't find one and, rather than not spend the money, bought Kozak in perhaps with one eye on Benteke not being here much longer.  I'd like to think that in January, unless someone really steps up, we'll try our very best to get one one in then but we were in a similar position last January and, if I recall correctly, didn't address our defensive weakness.  It's that sort of thing which makes me wonder whether Lerner is really doing everything he can to give us the best possible chance to succeed.

Before the financial crash the Bank Of America shares he took in exchange for his share of MBNA were worth 2.5 billion dollars. After the crash they were worth over 2 billion dollars less. After a slight rally, they have now lost ONLY seventy percent of their pre-crash value.

Now I'd love to have 7/800 million dollars worth of BoA shares, but Randy is probably gutted about it.

[Monty]

Lambert has one tactic because he had to get a team together which has a plan, as opposed to the appalling aimlessness of the previous regime. That plan is sometimes great to watch, but it is limited.

The evidence that he has more in mind can be summed up in two words: Wes Hoolahan. Lambert made him look like a midtable Premier League standard playmaker through tactical adjustments which brought the best out of him. You also only need to look at his time at Norwich, when he had the squad he'd been building towards for years, for evidence of his tactical variety - Norwich players go on about it, Norwich fans go on about it, even Michael Cox and Jonathan Wilson went on about it: Lambert's Norwich were the most tactically varied and unpredictable team in the league.

I believe Hoolahan was a big part of that variety because it allowed him to play a more imposing, fluid style of football at home, as well as a terrific player of the outball on the counter-attack (like Barry for us years ago). Once he has his Hoolahan at Villa, I think that player will make a hell of a lot of difference. It's frustrating in the meantime, but we did have to get an actual style together first before building on it, and I think his tactical approach so far can be summed up by the word 'consolidation'. He has the reputation - let's hope he furthers it.

[mr woo]

Basing opinion on the season performances so far, and not just last night's defeat, I must admit my mood has changed from anger to worry and trepidation.

Paul Lambert has, rightly or wrongly, been backed by the vast majority of supporters up till now. In fact, I'd go as far as to say,  had the Holte turned on the manager/players during our dodgy spell last season, there's a real chance we'd have gone down - as we all know team morale, confidence and performances can be influenced by critical,  disenchanted supporters, both home and away.

Now, not for the first time, but certainly at its loudest since he came here, I am leaving the ground hearing others making repeated, uncomplimentary things about the way the team is playing. The difference being, this criticism is no longer being aimed at the players, the questions are being asked of the manager.

If this level of performance carries on, and dont forget we have City next up, I sense the crowd are very close to turning.

And once that happens we really will be trouble.

[hilts_coolerking]

Before the financial crash the Bank Of America shares he took in exchange for his share of MBNA were worth 2.5 billion dollars. After the crash they were worth over 2 billion dollars less. After a slight rally, they have now lost ONLY seventy percent of their pre-crash value.

Now I'd love to have 7/800 million dollars worth of BoA shares, but Randy is probably gutted about it.

Ta for that Percy.  Talk about your 'the value of your investment can rise and fall'.

[sirlordbaltimore]

Can you imagine the yearly interest earned on 700 million dollars ?

[Mister E]

"On-going progress"?
Like all big change programmes, there are some real rollercoaster times. Last season we hit the big dip before Xmas and only saw the (relative) heights in April-May.
This season, we've had some reasonably good games - the games against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Norwich all had some encouraging facets.
We've also seen the limitations of the Chariman's and Manager's strategy, in the Barcodes game and last night.

Given the players that were unavailable last night, I can see why Lambert played the way he did in terms of selection and tactics: he has to give the players he bought some chances to get into the P'ship pace - people like Bacuna, Tonev, Helenius and Kozak will be less effective later in the season if they haven't had some run-outs  now. He had to try and nullify the oppos obvious superiority in midfield by playing 5 across it.

Our on-going progress can only be assessed if we look at the progress of other teams in the P'ship: many of them have strengthened substantially -  particularly last night's opponents who have had the opportuntiy to buy some world-class players (at the moment they are streets ahead of us in terms of development). But so too have Liverpool, Everton, Southampton and Swansea. No need to talk about Citeh, Chelsea and ManUre (who haven't strengthened so much but still have a squad that we'd love to pick from).

So, our progress is still patchy - bound to be - and is dependent on whether the new players can adapt to the P'ship and blend their skills into the squad; and whether last season's better players can kick on.

Another season of ups and downs.