How would you feel....

[JUAN PABLO]

Time for the likes of Gardner, Robinson, Grealish, Johnson and Donancien to be given a chance in my opinion. They can be no worse at all then KEA, Sylla etc

That's the way to destroy a young player's confidence. It's what we suffered with last season and it won't help us this time around. We need PL standard experienced professionals alongside our emerging talent, to protect and to guide them. We're crying out for leadership, as the absence of Vlaar has demonstrated.

Yeah but our whole squad is young. We may as well play a few more of our own academy players, particularly some of our midfielders and attackers who have a bit of guile.

We do need more signings but I'd rather see players like Carruthers, Johnson and Grealish over Tonev, KEA and Bowery for example.

agree

[Phil from the upper holte]

According to Lambert experience brings high wages

[Damo70]

According to Lambert experience brings high wages

I'm not convinced, especially with the loan deals you can do (Wayne bridge where Brighton paid about 10% and I'm not convinced Stoke, Boro and Fulham are paying 100% of Ireland, Given and Bent's wages) that a Gareth Barry or Joleon Lescott will cost you £100,000 a week and I'm also not convinced that all our our cheap and cheerful recent signings are all on £10,000 a week.

[supertom]

According to Lambert experience brings high wages

It depends what we constitute high wages I guess. We could find players with experience and ability for 30k a week if we looked hard enough. But is that too much? It's chicken feed in this league though. We got Vlaar here though. He must be on around 30 grand I'd have thought.

With Ireland, Bent, Hutton and Given all but gone, those wages need to be re-invested in more quality and more experience. That's if Randy wants to have a Premiership club in the long term. If he can't get us competing financially with West Brom, he may as well sell up.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Put who you like in charge of this Villa side right now, when you've got players who can't take throw ins, kick the ball to a player in the same shirt or cross the ball you'd struggle with Shankly, Mourinho or Saunders in charge.

I think a bit of organisation and some sort of game plan behind them and all the schoolgirl errors would be cut out. Honestly, any footballer who's a professional, no matter if he's French second division, in the Polish division, or signed from League 2, should be able to take a proper thrown in or pass the ball 5 yards to a team mate.

Our players are going out looking like headless chickens. Lots of running but no composure or organisation. If a better manager sends them out with a clue of what they're doing, then they'll look twice as good right off the bat. We won't turn into Arsenal granted, but we need to get the basics better. The fact we've been so inept for months is down to one man unfortunately.

Agree wholeheatedly, Supertom.

It's so easy to say all the players are crap but we know from glimpses that's not the case. It seems obvious they haven't got a clue what they're supposed to be doing other than get rid of the ball as fast as possible. I mentioned a few months ago that we seem to believe the headlines that we're solely a counter attacking team. We're not even that. Right now we're a team without a plan.

[supertom]

According to Lambert experience brings high wages

I'm not convinced, especially with the loan deals you can do (Wayne bridge where Brighton paid about 10% and I'm not convinced Stoke, Boro and Fulham are paying 100% of Ireland, Given and Bent's wages) that a Gareth Barry or Joleon Lescott will cost you £100,000 a week and I'm also not convinced that all our our cheap and cheerful recent signings are all on £10,000 a week.

I don't think Everton will be paying anywhere near 100k a week for Barry either. Maybe they're paying half his wage at a push. City can afford to do that though, so we should certainly be considering the possibility of Lescott and/or Rodwell.

[Merv]

It's always been reported that Everton have had to be very careful, financially. So, no - I can't see that they'd be paying Barry a fortune.

Anyway, original question. Not as upset about it as I would have been six weeks ago. Beginning to get very frustrated with how we're set up, and consequently playing.

[Dave Cooper please]

It's not as if he hasn't had any cash and in the best MON-ism he now has a growing collection of players that seem to be surplus to the squad.... Bennett, Helenius, Bowery you can add the group of players he has totally de-valued (Bent, Given and Hutton) to that little group.

Bennet is injured, Helenius is only a youngster and might yet come good, Bent seemed to have given up, Given is old enough to be my dad and Hutton is just wank.
That leaves Bowery (bought for next to fuck all) out of your list.

[Villafirst]

It wouldn't really bother me if PL went; take the home form - 8 matches played, 5 defeats, 2 wins, and 1 lucky draw against Sunderland. 7 points from 24 is a disgrace. Only 6 goals scored in 8 matches with 12 conceded. Failed to score in 5 of those matches. Shocking stats - and to think mugs like me bought a season-ticket, hardly entertaining and value for money is it?

[Ads]

There is no such thing as luck.

[eastie]

There is no such thing as luck.

Of course there is !

[Ads]

No, there really isn't.

Ascribing events to a supernatural force, who shapes matters one way or the other is nonsensical. Beseech Fortuna all you like. She's not real and she cannot hear you.

[SamTheMouse]

Luck is just another word for randomness, chance. And it obviously plays a significant part in the outcome of individual games, or the pools coupon would be a piece of piss to fill in every week.

[supertom]

No, there really isn't.

Ascribing events to a supernatural force, who shapes matters one way or the other is nonsensical. Beseech Fortuna all you like. She's not real and she cannot hear you.

There's certainly an element of fortune when opposition strikers miss open goals, or you win two games in a season 3-2 with 30% possession and 3 shots on target in each game. Things like that aren't the norm. To some extent as well, you make your own luck as a side, but we've been playing a dangerous game for a few months now. Carry on like we are and we're more likely to see our form and comfortable mid-table position drop.
We average about 3 shots on target every game, and comfortably under 50% possession. There is of course only one stat that matters come the end, but get more shots on goal, and a lions share of the ball and chances are the important stat improves. Likewise, keep on playing like we are and we'll find ourselves desperately trying to get to 40 points again come the arse end of April.

[DrGonzo]

It's always been reported that Everton have had to be very careful, financially. So, no - I can't see that they'd be paying Barry a fortune.

Anyway, original question. Not as upset about it as I would have been six weeks ago. Beginning to get very frustrated with how we're set up, and consequently playing.

Statements in same order as above:

1, Everton have just received a significant sum of money for the be-afro Belgian and taken his, not insubstantial wages off the books, so an outlay on Barry's wages wouldn't be unimaginable.

2, I cannot see that changing manager at this stage of the season is going to do anything but create instabilty.  Who, for one thing, are we gong to replace hm with.  An alternative would need to be set in stone before Lambert was relieved of his responsibilities.  We have seen before that the choice of replacement coach has not always been one driven by the footballing ideals held by this great club we are privileged to support, nor indeed our own as fans.
  Another period of wandering in the wilderness and yet another period of "transition" would, I feel, only damage the young squad that is being built,  I think we must commit to a couple more seasons of ups and downs and try to be a club that can stand strong with it's convictions and carry through this remodelling which, as can be seen in Germany, can bear fruits.