How would you feel....

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I have seen us play well under him and be well organised before. Having more senior players than Vlaar would boost the squad and the apparent fragility of our youngsters.

I also have seen us play well which is why I don't believe the excuse that it's the players not being good enough. Apart from the Arsenal game this season, I haven't seen us look 'organised'. Last season when we played well it was gung-ho, relying on the power and speed of our strikers. After 18 months of Lambert in charge I'm struggling to define his team's style of play. Counter-attacking is probably the closest description but that rarely works. The other description that probably sums us up best is disjointed and rushed.

What really concerns me and has since the Rotherham game is we don't get the basics right. We can't pass, can't tackle, give teams too much time on the ball, play too narrow which invites opposition wingers space and time to run at us. Set pieces are generally wasted, our midfield ignored, desperate long balls and hoofs up field seem the norm and despite having a fantastic striker we fail to play to his strengths which are numerous, making it extremely frustrating both for the player and the fans.

Our home form is the real evidence of how little we are progressing as a footballing side. That alone is enough to replace Lambert. Additionally the players are so low in confidence and there's very little chance of that changing in the near future. It's little wonder they look like "lower league or cheap, European selling league" players, they're like an young, classical orchestra playing with a thrash metal conductor. It doesn't sound good and it's very unlikely it ever will.

The vision of buying up young and promising players it a great one providing you've got somebody in charge that is a technically gifted coach to guide the players and develop them to their potential. It's obvious Lambert is not that man, like MON, he's tactically clueless. Replacing him with the right man is essential and it may mean waiting until the summer to get the right manager for the job. If it means bringing in a caretaker manager until the end of the season I'd go for it. This squad are too far gone under Lambert to make any realistic type of recovery. A huge boost of confidence is needed and a game plan the players can understand.

One thing is for certain, whichever division we are in next season, unless something changes, there won't be many renewing their season tickets, something I'm sure Paul Faulkner and Randy Lerner are fully aware of. It was a good bet with Lambert but it didn't work out. Best to cut our losses now and move on before it's too late.

[pooligan]

Good post Rudy

[pauliewalnuts]

I have seen us play well under him and be well organised before. Having more senior players than Vlaar would boost the squad and the apparent fragility of our youngsters.

I also have seen us play well which is why I don't believe the excuse that it's the players not being good enough. Apart from the Arsenal game this season, I haven't seen us look 'organised'. Last season when we played well it was gung-ho, relying on the power and speed of our strikers. After 18 months of Lambert in charge I'm struggling to define his team's style of play. Counter-attacking is probably the closest description but that rarely works. The other description that probably sums us up best is disjointed and rushed.

I think one of the problems is that we've started to believe the hype about us being such a dangerous counter attacking side. We then find ourselves happy to do that, even at home, but too often we fall back, defend, and start lumping it long in the desperate hope it'll create some sort of outlet.

You are right, we did chase and harry and make pains of ourselves at Arsenal, and we got the points. I'd also say we did the very same against Chelsea shortly after, even if we got fucked over by the referee, there was plenty to take as a positive from that match.

The problem is that since then, we just haven't played like that. Too many players taking the option to slouch around and just let things happen around them, there's no excuse for that.

Is it the players or is it the manager? Well, if it is the players, it is the manager's job to fix it, and there isn't much sign of that yet.

[john e]

Lambert couldn't organise a football team to beat a lowly League 1 side. For me, Sheff U had us sussed very early on in the game and that has to be a worry.

It's amazing he ever got a league one side all the way to the prem

Norwich were a big club in league one and you'd expect them to get promotion - there have been several managers who have won promotion and then slipped down the divisions - phil brown, Owen coyle, paul Jewell, billy Davies, Ian dowie, to name a few - I thought lambert might be the right man for villa but I have seen more than enough to admit I was wrong - he will never get a club as big as villa again .

Yet that's the very list of managers who we will be considering next because they will be the ones who will take any job and work within the tight financial constraints set by Randy

If you say to me sack Lambett and appoint Bielsa I'd snap your hand of,
but its not going to happen
You yourself were promoting Hoddle, last year it was Allardyce and as you say before that it was Lambert,
I never wanted Lambert I nailed my colours on to Martinez when we were appointing Houllier, you know the chap you said would be a failure at Everton

Any fool can say get rid and bring in the latest name, but in 6 months time we are saying get rid and bring in the latest name, again and again
 I actually have more respect for the biggest critic on here Saunders H as at least he has always said the trouble lies at the top with Randy, until there is a change there it doesn't matter who the manager is,
I don't go along with it, but its a consistent argument which makes some sense

[villa `cross the mersey]

He has to go - having witnessed the debacle against Bradford and his total lack of tactical nous to cope with them and now the Sheffield United result, I have to say the guy is very poor. How on earth we were convinced he was the man to take over just shows how bad things were under TSM. Would Clarke be any worse than Lambert? 

[pauliewalnuts]

Lambert couldn't organise a football team to beat a lowly League 1 side. For me, Sheff U had us sussed very early on in the game and that has to be a worry.

It's amazing he ever got a league one side all the way to the prem

Norwich were a big club in league one and you'd expect them to get promotion - there have been several managers who have won promotion and then slipped down the divisions - phil brown, Owen coyle, paul Jewell, billy Davies, Ian dowie, to name a few - I thought lambert might be the right man for villa but I have seen more than enough to admit I was wrong - he will never get a club as big as villa again .

That strikes me as very unfair.

Whatever your criticisms of Lambert - and I have as many as most - it seems very unfair to lessen his previous achievements like that.

Norwich were a big club you'd expect to get promotion? Destined to float to the top, like, say, Leeds? Or Forest?

Even if you think that was the case in League One, what about the promotion to the Premier League? And finishing well within safety?

[eastie]

Lambert couldn't organise a football team to beat a lowly League 1 side. For me, Sheff U had us sussed very early on in the game and that has to be a worry.

It's amazing he ever got a league one side all the way to the prem

Norwich were a big club in league one and you'd expect them to get promotion - there have been several managers who have won promotion and then slipped down the divisions - phil brown, Owen coyle, paul Jewell, billy Davies, Ian dowie, to name a few - I thought lambert might be the right man for villa but I have seen more than enough to admit I was wrong - he will never get a club as big as villa again .

Yet that's the very list of managers who we will be considering next because they will be the ones who will take any job and work within the tight financial constraints set by Randy

If you say to me sack Lambett and appoint Bielsa I'd snap your hand of,
but its not going to happen
You yourself were promoting Hoddle, last year it was Allardyce and as you say before that it was Lambert,
I never wanted Lambert I nailed my colours on to Martinez when we were appointing Houllier, you know the chap you said would be a failure at Everton

Any fool can say get rid and bring in the latest name, but in 6 months time we are saying get rid and bring in the latest name, again and again
 I actually have more respect for the biggest critic on here Saunders H as at least he has always said the trouble lies at the top with Randy, until there is a change there it doesn't matter who the manager is,
I don't go along with it, but its a consistent argument which makes some sense

I would take Hoddle ahead of lambert without doubt, but there is nobody in this country who I see that would fit the bill - ideally I would hope that there is some manager on the continent  with ability who fancies a crack at the premiership - that is down to the likes of Faulkner and the so called experts to find .

Lambert is not the man - best to cut our losses now and make a change before it's too late.

[Monty]

Very true Paulie. Lambert just strikes me as yet another manager who's good at a certain level but might, at kindest, not be ready for this type of job.

[eastie]

Lambert couldn't organise a football team to beat a lowly League 1 side. For me, Sheff U had us sussed very early on in the game and that has to be a worry.

It's amazing he ever got a league one side all the way to the prem

Norwich were a big club in league one and you'd expect them to get promotion - there have been several managers who have won promotion and then slipped down the divisions - phil brown, Owen coyle, paul Jewell, billy Davies, Ian dowie, to name a few - I thought lambert might be the right man for villa but I have seen more than enough to admit I was wrong - he will never get a club as big as villa again .

That strikes me as very unfair.

Whatever your criticisms of Lambert - and I have as many as most - it seems very unfair to lessen his previous achievements like that.

Norwich were a big club you'd expect to get promotion? Destined to float to the top, like, say, Leeds? Or Forest?

Even if you think that was the case in League One, what about the promotion to the Premier League? And finishing well within safety?

He did a very good job at Norwich in getting them to the premiership - getting them out of league one wasnt a huge achievement but getting to the premiership and surviving  was very good, although as I said several managers have achieved the same and then slipped down the divisions.
 
Lamberts teams were exciting and entertaining to watch at Norwich - he does not play anything like that sort of football here - its time for him to go .

[john e]

I don't go along with the argument that its up to Randy to find someone better suited, it's not our job to speculate
Well it's not our job to sack either but there is plenty of people advising it

Ultimately it obviously will come down to Randy, but he has appointed Lambert, so if we can't think of any better candidates who would work within the system set, there is no point calling for his sacking

It's just a massive cop out

[peter w]

I still support Lambert. He repeatedly said last season that we would be fine. He something in the players which came through in theway we played and we stayed up relatively comfortably in the end. But I think he's seen that the same young players are struggling this season and need some help to get them through the season, which is why he has publicly stated that we need some experience in there. We're better off then this time last season, but I think that they same team that looked battle hardened at the start of the season are nowlooking punch drunk. I fear relegation if we don't get the experienced players in, as I think, for the first time, does Lambert.

[supertom]

Lambert had a certain benefit in leaving Norwich after one season in the Prem to be fair. He was never given the chance to see things fall apart. They played in their way, for better and worse. Tactically very naive, though well motivated. If teams have work out his Villa side in the second season, I think they'd have worked out his Norwich side in all honesty and he certainly would have struggled to match what he did. They might not be in the Prem at this point, who knows?

I really don't see him as a long term Prem manager. He hasn't got enough about him. I put him in that Davies, Jewell, McLeish, Warnock, Coyle etc, category. They're good enough to get their 15 minutes in the Prem, but long term, no. He's been out-thought in recent weeks by managers like Pulis and Hughes. Average but have been in and around Prem management for a fair wedge now. Pulis might play poor football but he's sides are well drilled certainly.
Actually I rate Clough Jnr more than I do Lambert. I think in a couple of years he'll get a Prem job. Whether it's his 15 minute flutter, or longer term, is another matter. But he had as well and truly sussed from the first minute. 

[bertlambshank]

Teams certainly know how to play us, attack the full backs and you win at Villa Park.

[nick harper]

He has to go - having witnessed the debacle against Bradford and his total lack of tactical nous to cope with them and now the Sheffield United result, I have to say the guy is very poor. How on earth we were convinced he was the man to take over just shows how bad things were under TSM. Would Clarke be any worse than Lambert? 

Two banks of four, keep your shape and Villa won't pass through you. If teams like Bradford and Sheff U can do it pretty comfortably, it explains why we are such a desperate side at home.

We don't move off the ball, our full backs don't overlap, no player gets between the lines, and as we get more desperate, the ball is sent longer and longer. The pattern has been the same for 18 months.

[Pete3206]

Absolutely right nick harper. We were sat in the Trinity yesterday and it was plain to everyone watching, that Sheff U had a rigid formation that we had no way to get through. Also, we were screaming at Bacuna to go on the overlap every time Albrighton had the ball. He had acres of space to run into, but just stood back and watched. Lambert stood watching with his hands in his pockets, occasionally removing them to make the token clapping gesture.