How would you feel....

[peter w]

You seen the figure on those financial returns? Phwooar.

[ChicagoLion]

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.

I am not sure it is that much about the system, we have too many players that lack basic technique. How to control the ball, weight a pass, move the ball quickly. We just have too many poor footballers in the side.

[ozzjim]

It is coaching and style of play not the players. Westwood, Lowton, Delph, Benteke, Gabby (who looks like he could play central midfield pretty well actually), Clark, etc can all pass, trap a ball, but the movement and pressing is the key. Paulie has pointed out how little we press in a number of posts, and never in packs. When we have the ball we are then too spread, not moving and not acting as a team unit, getting into positions that the players know from the training ground people will be moving into.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I think one of the problems is that we've started to believe the hype about us being such a dangerous counter attacking side.

I said exactly the same thing earlier in the season but now I don't even think the players believe it anymore. They look lost and void of  ideas.

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.

The only player that can be accused of "slouching" is probably Benteke but like Bent with TSM, for all the service he gets he may as well not be on the pitch. A clever, tactically astute Houllier knew how to get the team to deliver for Bent, playing to his strengths. This season Lambert's team seem near clueless, hard working but still clueless. A better manager would not be making such basic mistakes with no sign what-so-ever of addressing them.

We're not half as bad as we pretend to be. The responsibility lies firmly at Lambert's door.

[paul_e]

It is coaching and style of play not the players. Westwood, Lowton, Delph, Benteke, Gabby (who looks like he could play central midfield pretty well actually), Clark, etc can all pass, trap a ball, but the movement and pressing is the key. Paulie has pointed out how little we press in a number of posts, and never in packs. When we have the ball we are then too spread, not moving and not acting as a team unit, getting into positions that the players know from the training ground people will be moving into.

I agree, I think the 'all the players work hard but have shit technique' comments are well wide of the mark.  Basis skills go to pot, like we're seeing, when players are struggling, for form, fitness, etc.  For years people slagged Delph for having a first touch like a pass, but he's had a run of playing well and being fit and those comments have largely disappeared (although it's creeping back into his game a little again now).  The players have the technique to be fine, but for whatever reason they're all playing like strangers who would rather be anywhere but on the pitch, especially when we're at home.  The biggest job for the manager, be it Lambert or a successor, is to work out why this is the case and fix it.

[Toronto Villa]

we don't press so we don't take command of games. When you press you tend to see more of the ball and in better areas of the pitch and you create chances. It gives you confidence with the ball. In fact, it's exactly what teams do to us.

[eastie]

we don't press so we don't take command of games. When you press you tend to see more of the ball and in better areas of the pitch and you create chances. It gives you confidence with the ball. In fact, it's exactly what teams do to us.

This is true and yet we did it so well against arsenal and Chelsea .

[SamTheMouse]

I don't see why Lambert shouldn't be trusted with the funds to buy some better players. I've seen plenty of people claiming he's wasted the money he's spent so far, but if you look at his signings, they are by and large ok. His transfer hit/miss ratio is no better or worse than most other managers. Don't forget, he's been spending pennies on building a squad, so by necessity has been looking in the lower leagues and inferior European leagues for players under 2 million, which is absolutely sod all these days.

Those players he's spent more on look fine. Benteke, Vlaar, Kozak, Okore. Nothing wrong with any of those, surely? Lowton and Bacuna are about what you would expect for the money, decent enough. Everyone else cost peanuts. He hasn't spent more than about 7 million on anyone yet. We need a couple more players in that bracket, and I'd like to hear who he has in mind.

[ChicagoLion]

It is coaching and style of play not the players. Westwood, Lowton, Delph, Benteke, Gabby (who looks like he could play central midfield pretty well actually), Clark, etc can all pass, trap a ball, but the movement and pressing is the key. Paulie has pointed out how little we press in a number of posts, and never in packs. When we have the ball we are then too spread, not moving and not acting as a team unit, getting into positions that the players know from the training ground people will be moving into.

The problem is that Baker, Tonev, Weiman cant. Check out how many times we give the ball away. It is almost impossible to get any rhythm when you just give the ball up and most times this is down to technique.

[pauliewalnuts]

Those players he's spent more on look fine. Benteke, Vlaar, Kozak, Okore. Nothing wrong with any of those, surely?

As an aside, i would preface this by saying I have nothing against the player and he might be brilliant, but I am interested in how people have decided Okore is a good signing when he's played so little PL football for us.

He came on at half time at Chelsea, played the whole match against Liverpool and then went off injured after 30 minutes at home to Newcastle - less than three hours of PL football for us, so how can anyone judge him as a signing?

Once again, I am not saying he's shit or a failure, I am just saying I don't see how he can be judged a good or poor signing. Which is the same reasoning I use when I read people slagging off Helenius, having seen ten minutes of him here and there.

[SamTheMouse]

Fair point, of course it's only a partial judgment and we'll need to see a lot more of Okore. But I thought he looked the part immediately, despite having only just arrived, and there's just something about his demeanour. He looked somehow commanding, if that's the right word. At any rate, although we can't call him a successful signing yet, we can't call him an unsuccessful one, so Lambert - for all his faults - can't yet be accused of paying big money for duds.

[SoccerHQ]

The pressing game has deteriorated massively this season. I remember Swansea at home last season, one of our most convincing wins in Lambert's tenure, with us pressing Swansea all over the pitch. O.k a lot of it was Holman running around like a headless chicken but still there was a plan and with the players on the pitch it was executed well. This season I just don't see any gameplan on the pitch, it's as bad as the McLeish season now really with the quality of the games.

Interesting point with his contract. A lot of managers sign rolling deals now, pretty sure Lambert signed a 3 year deal so this summer he'll have just 12 months left so we either offer him a new one or sack him as it won't cost a huge amount to pay him off I'd imagine.

[supertom]

At the same juncture as now in McLeish's season, we also had 23 points. We'd also scored more than he have this season. It was soon after this point that we then lost Petrov, Dunne and the one man who seemed to look like scoring for us, Bent.
Like this season we seemed in a reasonable position but you can see just how quickly things can change. The worry is, that we're having way too many injuries, and we're also playing an even more horrific brand of football too.
I'm not sure Lambert's got the nous to sort this mess out with this group of players. We just have to pray we don't get anymore long term layoffs, and Benteke can find some sort of form again. If not, we're gonna be struggling come the end of the season.

[eastie]

The pressing game has deteriorated massively this season. I remember Swansea at home last season, one of our most convincing wins in Lambert's tenure, with us pressing Swansea all over the pitch. O.k a lot of it was Holman running around like a headless chicken but still there was a plan and with the players on the pitch it was executed well. This season I just don't see any gameplan on the pitch, it's as bad as the McLeish season now really with the quality of the games.

Interesting point with his contract. A lot of managers sign rolling deals now, pretty sure Lambert signed a 3 year deal so this summer he'll have just 12 months left so we either offer him a new one or sack him as it won't cost a huge amount to pay him off I'd imagine.

Would probably have to pay off his backroom staff as well though .

[Damo70]

Where and when did he make the comment about needing to bring some experience in during January? I've seen it mentioned on here several times.