How would you feel....

[ciggiesnbeer]

If the Albion were being run the way the Villa is currently being run we'd - quite rightly - be pissing ourselves stupid.  I've said it before but ever since the day O'Neill walked out and Randy had to start making big decisions for himself, the club has been a shambles.

To be fair Albion are a shambles. I dont think they are in any position to be laughing at anybody.

[lovejoy]

Lambert is doing what he can with the resources available, you are barking up the wrong tree.

[eric woolban woolban]

Is he still in charge?

[VillaAlways]

Lambert is doing what he can with the resources available, you are barking up the wrong tree.

So does that mean that's acceptable going out to a league one side at home then?

[lovejoy]

Lambert is doing what he can with the resources available, you are barking up the wrong tree.

So does that mean that's acceptable going out to a league one side at home then?

No, it means if you sack him you will get a worse replacement and we will continue to go out to third tier teams.

[Irish villain]

On page 59 Pauliewalnuts just nailed it. You have just set out, in a coherent manner, what I have been too damn irritated, depressed and angry to express since the insipid defeat to Fulham.

Great post.

What a fine mess.

[curiousorange]

Lambert is doing what he can with the resources available, you are barking up the wrong tree.

No. The players may be of low quality but they should be expected to be able to play some sort of basic football. The fact they can't string five yard passes together suggests to me they have no cohesion or tactical plan. They've been together months, and they haven't just stood still, they've regressed.

Lambert is the main problem with this squad. Either he doesn't know what he's doing, or he does and the players won't listen.

[lovejoy]

I disagree, I think the players are playing their best, they are just not good enough at this level (with the obvious exceptions).

[curiousorange]

I disagree, I think the players are playing their best, they are just not good enough at this level (with the obvious exceptions).

But we played a team at a lower level today, and they were still made to look second best. And a level below that with virtually the same players last January. Twice.

[VillaAlways]

Lambert is doing what he can with the resources available, you are barking up the wrong tree.

So does that mean that's acceptable going out to a league one side at home then?

No, it means if you sack him you will get a worse replacement and we will continue to go out to third tier teams.

My sister came with me today, she has not a single idea about football but she kept saying consistently throughout the game "why are they standing like statues " why don't they move" It ain't rocket science m, clearly it is to Lambert.

[Steve67]

I am fed up with being told that we have to stay patient as this is a project, we are a team in transition.  Isn't every club a team in transition?  They all buy players in the summer and often the January window, surely this means that they are in transition?

Lambert is doing what he can with the resources he has?  Really? He has spent something like 35 to 40 million pounds in the transfer market, he chose those players, they are crap, nearly every one of the them, perhaps except Benteke, when he's interested, and Vlaar, and he ain't that great either! Terrible football being played by terrible players because they are coached by terrible coaches and managers.

[PaulMcGrathsNo5Shirt]

Judge him on his team he said, well Lambert...it's your team, your tactics, your players. It is also 6 wins in 26 at Villa Park under your management.
My message is, 'improve bloody quickly or get out.'

[Dribbler]

Supposedly Lerner watches all of our games. How the hell can anyone have watched us this season (and for much of the last) and really believe that this 'project' is working and that Lambert is improving us, or will improve us?

Yes sometimes you have to take a step backwards to take a few steps forward, but at the moment we seem to be running backwards very quickly, and i'm sure most of us can guess where to.  I just can't see any indication in what i've seen or heard from Lambert to think he can turn this around. He's obviously done well at his previous clubs, and especially Norwich, but i fear he's been found out at this level, and so many of his footballing decisions seem to point to that.

The problem is Lerner and Faulkner just don't seem to have any footballing insight or foresight either. If they've seen how dire our football has been this season then they should have a good idea that Lambert isn't up to the job and have made plans to get a good replacement in if they decide to pull the trigger. But i'm betting they haven't. Proper foresight would have been sacking him in December and getting OGS in, if they still really wanted him, rather than letting him go to Cardiff. But no, what i expect will happen is either, nothing, or we will lose badly in the next 4 games, we will be in the relegation zone and the fans will revolt, and he will be sacked in February after Lambert has spent any money available and the January transfer window is closed. I also expect that they wouldn't have anyone lined up for the role and would spend 4 weeks pissing around until making another yo yo appointment that will all leave us staggered by its inconsistency and stupidity.

Lerner and Faulkner have excelled in creating an excellent corporate brand 'Villa', they've worked on Villa Park, the pub, the training ground, our restaurant and allotment, charity work and our involvement with Acorns etc., etc. Yet where is 'brand villa' on the pitch? They've consistently let us down on the pitch in their tenure of this club as they've jerked and jolted from one type of manager to another, without any proper footballing philosophy and ethos. Well Monsieur's Lerner and Faulkner, you should be smart enough to know that all of the above is meaningless and will fail too if you don't do the business on the pitch. This is a 'football club' and without football it is nothing.

Maybe the club might be so kind as to make me a 90 minute animated video of our accounts and balance sheets, with a few shots of our restaurant and allotment for good measure, so i can watch that instead of the games when we play. As i sure as hell don't want to watch this turgid excuse for football and entertainment any more and they seem to be of more importance to the club.

[curiousorange]

Excellent post. A brand is certainly what were are, although what we're supposed to be selling is unknown.

[Dribbler]

I disagree, I think the players are playing their best, they are just not good enough at this level (with the obvious exceptions).

I think we've seen enough from most of these players to know that they can play a much better standard of football than they have been this season. We've seen some excellent football from a lot of these players at times, which would suggest that their downturn in form this season is more due to coaching and management than their own innate lack of skills. I'm not saying they're all world beaters, but that i think they could consistently play better than they have been if we had a good manager.