The problem is the sense of hopelessness, and this is because of the style of football on offer at VP. So we're not going to win the league, we know this - then what precisely is the point of us if we're also going to be unfathomably boring?
Quote from: Montbert on January 16, 2014, 01:57:34 PMThe problem is the sense of hopelessness, and this is because of the style of football on offer at VP. So we're not going to win the league, we know this - then what precisely is the point of us if we're also going to be unfathomably boring?I'm hoping that the signing of the "No. 10" Lambert admits we need will improve things here.
No, but one player can raise the quality and confidence of the others. Matt Lowton, Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph are not hoofers. Besides which you can only raise the quality of a side one player at a time. So every step in the right direction is a step in the right direction.
Anyway, the point I want to raise is that given we all seem to accept we're an 8th-12th team is it really realistic to expect us to be any good? I know there's a lot of the season to go and things can get worse, they could also get better of course, but right now we're hitting the expected target of most people on the site (cup runs aside) Maybe it's the case that teams who finish 8th-12th in the table are crap and that's what we're seeing. Last season 8-12 was taken up in order by West Brom, Swansea, West Ham, Norwich, Fulham. Were any of these teams last season actually any better than we are now? Surely the fact that a team finishes halfway down a league table signifies that they're not very good? Can we really expect the fight, spirit, competency that people want to see without actually being a significantly better team and therefore in line to finish much higher in the table which we accept we can't achieve? It's a depressing prospect but if what we are is a mid table team then what we're seeing is how a mid table team play. Shit, isn't it?
By Robbie Savage | 16/01/14 What I’m about to say won't go down well with Aston Villa fans but, after watching yet another home defeat, against Arsenal on Monday, I fear Paul Lambert is running out of excuses about his team being young and inexperienced.As a manager, I have the highest regard for Lambert. He worked miracles at Norwich and I like his energy on the touchline. The man is a class act.He will be aware, though, of the growing anxiety among Villa supporters on phone-in lines and forums, who are increasingly fed up with his stock line about a young side still maturing.Yes, it was unfortunate that Lambert had to change his formation when Nathan Baker was carried off with concussion, but there was enough experience on that pitch for Villa to give anybody a game.Ron Vlaar, who defended well, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Karim El-Ahmadi and Brad Guzan have all got miles on the clock.Villa fans don’t want to hear how young their team is any more – they want to hear how good they are.In all honesty, Villa barely laid a glove on Arsenal. They had a real go in the last 15 minutes, after Christian Benteke pulled it back to 2-1, but they didn’t really create anything.Lambert reckons they played well in the second half, but if that had been Stoke pumping long balls into the box, they would have been slaughtered for being so direct.My biggest worry about Villa is their lack of creativity in midfield.Ashley Westwood is neat and keeps the ball well, but Fabian Delph – who deserved an England call-up last year – has been hit-and-miss this season. I fear international recognition has passed him by.And El-Ahmadi is busy, but there is little sign of him playing a killer pass and that lack of invention is worrying. I’m not sure that bringing Grant Holt in on loan from Wigan is necessarily the answer.Obviously, Lambert got the best out of Holt when they worked together at Norwich, and I’m a big fan of players who work their way up through the leagues - as Holt did, from being a tyre-fitter in Workington to a Premier League striker.But his arrival suggests Villa’s style will probably go even more direct – and it’s a leap of faith for Lambert to pin his hopes on a striker who has scored twice in the Championship this season and whose last goal was in August. The way things are going in this transfer window, if Holt can get a move to Villa, then I could sign for Real Madrid before the end of January!Seriously, though, it’s a great opportunity for Holt and I don’t blame him one moment for hooking up with Lambert again.But, last season, I tipped Villa to go down and had to take mountainous portions of humble pie when they proved me wrong and finished five points clear of trouble.This time, it could work the other way – after tipping them to be comfortable in mid-table, they could go down.One way or another, they are bang in the middle of a relegation dogfight.Villa’s home record – seven defeats and only eight goals in 11 games – is shocking, especially when you throw in the FA Cup third-round shock against Sheffield United.For such a great club, with its tradition, fan base and heritage, Villa should be competing with Everton, Newcastle and Spurs for a place in Europe, or aiming for a top-half finish at the least.It gives me no pleasure to see them struggling, but, sooner or later, Lambert will have to dispense with the excuses and deal with the facts.
Are we bang in the middle of a relegation fight? We kind of look on the periphery to me.
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