How would you feel....

[caster troy]

Apologies if posted already.

[Loxton01]

If Lambert was sacked I would not be too bothered. He has not progressed the team at all this season other than we concede less goals per game. The football is terrible and totally unimaginative.

Lambert needs to swallow his pride and learn the following:-

1. Stop buying unknowns for a pitance. 1 in 10 will work 9 in 10 wont.

2. Stop saying we will go again

3. To use the loan market

4. To buy experience which will improve the team

5. Find an identity a brand of football a formation and stick to it. We must have played 5 diff formations this season.

I am prepared to give him till the summer. If he does not learn and correct his errors he must go. The fans are turning and he needs to get a grip

[oldhill_avfc]

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.

My perception of the McLeish team around this point of the season was that they had missed loads of opportunities to take more points especially at home and this would come back to bite them if there were injuries to key players.

The feeling this time around is that we've got more points than we ought based on the performances and we've got key players coming back from injury or not yet hit their best form.

Only a small crumb of comfort I know.

[paul_e]

1. His record is better than 1 in 10 so I don't agree with the numbers, I also don't want him to stop with this, however it needs to be balanced with point 4 (and 3 to an extent).

2. I really couldn't care less what catch phrase he uses, I've never understood why so many people slag him off for this, what else do you want him to say?

3. As above, this ties closely with 1 and 4, to add to it though I couldn't care less whether we loan players or not, Lambert just needs to get the right players in, either as loans or permanent signings I don't really care.

4. I think Lambert is well aware of this and I think we'll see 1 or 2 more experienced players this window.

5. This is the most important thing for me.  He needs to decide how he wants us to play, I don't care about formations, that should only be a starting point anyway and they are largely only really important when you're defending.  How you utilise the players in whatever formation you choose is the key and that's where we falling down, fans in general have a habit of seeing the team lose and suggesting the formation is the problem but it's not that simple for me.  433/4231/451 is the standard at most clubs now (and they're all largely the same) but how you use that midfield is the key and Lambert, so far, has struggled to find a balance in there.

[Steve67]

I watched sky sports news for much of the day today expecting the yellow strap at the bottom to say Villa had parted company with Lambert.  He's here for the season unless he chooses to walk himself, I guess we have to er, just go again.  I hope for at least three signings this month and someone more exciting that Hoolihan!!

[john e]

1- nothing wrong with spreading the net and not just going for regular average bob a jobs as MON did

2- all the best and famous people have a catchy catchphrase

3- we did last window with Dawkins

4- we are looking at Samaras and Carlton Cole how much more experience do you want

5- it's Lamberts brand of total football, every player capable of playing equally well in every position

[LeeB]

The problem isn't that the midfielders are too small or physically lightweight.

It is that they're not good enough.

I also think that with the upturn of results at the end of last season (and let's not forget, even with that upturn, we weren't safe mathematically until four days before the end of the season), we got a bit carried away and looked at the likes of Westwood, Sylla, Lowton, Weimann, and maybe thought that they were better than they actually were.

Yes, we improved enough to avoid relegation, but these are players who looked woefully out of their depth for the major part of a whole season.

Sometimes a teams poor performance can because of an array of complex issues, but in our case it's because too many of our players are not good enough.

Tactics, formation, confidence etc. go out the window when your not up to job. I think for the last few months of last season we got a few of them going full pelt just to be competitive but that's it.

[adrenachrome]

1- nothing wrong with spreading the net and not just going for regular average bob a jobs as MON did

2- all the best and famous people have a catchy catchphrase

3- we did last window with Dawkins

4- we are looking at Samaras and Carlton Cole how much more experience do you want

5- it's Lamberts brand of total football, every player capable of playing equally well in every position

5. Good call John E. Surely the time for the rotating diamonds formation, also known as the Catenaccio Enigma Variation, has arrived.

In this set up there is a sweeper stopper at the back, then a defensive diamond of 4; a link player (generalissimo) then plays behind the attacking diamond.
The really cool  thing about this setup is that both diamonds rotate in both directions so that the opposition don't have a clue what is going on or whom to mark and often break down laughing.  Alan Hutton is without a doubt the man for the generalissimo role which requires a cool head and tremendous communication skills. 
PL is getting there; slowly but surely.

[mike]

1- nothing wrong with spreading the net and not just going for regular average bob a jobs as MON did

2- all the best and famous people have a catchy catchphrase

3- we did last window with Dawkins

4- we are looking at Samaras and Carlton Cole how much more experience do you want

5- it's Lamberts brand of total football, every player capable of playing equally well in every position

1. Agreed, but buying any old tat is not a good alternative
2. It's not a catchy catchphrase it's fucking annoying and bland and been proved not to be true a billion times
3. This is the answer that reassures me you're probably joking
4. Ditto (Carlton Cole!)
5. Phew, now I know you were just kidding.

[Matt C]

It all went tits up when he ditched the track suit.

[N'ZMAV]

5- it's Lamberts brand of total football, every player capable of playing equally well in every position

I'm yet to see any players have 3 good games in a row this season in their proper position, let alone a flexible system. However, i do sense a hint of sarcasm in your post....

[Dave Clark Five]

5....but how you use that midfield is the key and Lambert, so far, has struggled to find a balance in there.

The midfield is nowhere near good enough. Struggling to find a balance suggests to me that it only needs fine tuning, when it needs a major overhaul. If the addition of one player can do this, I would be surprised.

[paul_e]

5....but how you use that midfield is the key and Lambert, so far, has struggled to find a balance in there.

The midfield is nowhere near good enough. Struggling to find a balance suggests to me that it only needs fine tuning, when it needs a major overhaul. If the addition of one player can do this, I would be surprised.

I don't know, but I think Delph and Westwood are good enough, add someone who can play between them and the strikers and find space and I think we'd be in a better place.  I'd like a big strong guy in there as an option as well, and I'd be happy if that was someone who covered central defence as well.  On top of that I'd like to see someone who can play right across the front with a bit of trickery about them to give us something different, Gabby is very quick and uses his pace well, Benteke is big and bruising and Weimann, at his best, offers great movement, but none of them have that bit of guile to make something from nothing, which is why we've struggled to create chances at times.

[KevinGage]

5....but how you use that midfield is the key and Lambert, so far, has struggled to find a balance in there.

The midfield is nowhere near good enough. Struggling to find a balance suggests to me that it only needs fine tuning, when it needs a major overhaul. If the addition of one player can do this, I would be surprised.

Agree 100%

[edgysatsuma89]

It all went tits up when he ditched the track suit.

You ever seen that shit film* 'The Tuxedo' with Jackie Chan? ... Bit like that.

*Jennifer Love Hewitt pulled me through.