The Paul Lambert thread - poll reset after our capitulation to Hull

[PaulWinch again]

To be honest use stats however you like, I don't think there's any doubting that we're a fucking atrocious team right now with no real obvious plan or method to improve.

[Toronto Villa]

for me the team is only a small component of the problem. I honesty think we have some good players in their but their confidence is battered, mainly because we allow ourselves to concede the game before it has started. That is down to the manager. The way we approach games doesn't give the players confidence and we end up chasing the ball, and putting in last ditch tackles and Guzan pulling off heroic saves to keep us in it. It's unbelievable to me that the manager still believes not keeping the ball is the right approach,. Not pressing is the right approach. Counter attack almost exclusively as a tactic is the right approach when he can see all around him that the opposite gets results and his methods are not.

Fuck me.

[supertom]

At same stage in Lambert's first 2 seasons -
P 11   W  2  D 3 L 6  F 10 A 17 Pts 9
P 11   W 4  D 2 L 5 F 11 A 12 Pts 14

And now
P 11 W 3 D 2 L 6  F 5 A 16 Pts 11

Remarkably consistent!

Even last season when we seemed comfortable up until jan-feb, the signs were all there that an implosion was gonna happen. We'd really picked up some incredibly fortunate wins along the way. We had a couple of 3-2 victories against City and Southampton for example where we managed about 6-7 shots combined in both and average 30% possession. Pulling it off once is one thing, but twice was lucky.

But what Lambert never considered is that the style in which we were playing, though results were reasonably solid, mid-table, the performances themselves were that of a stinking, wretched side near the bottom. The results would inevitably turn at some juncture. Many of us saw that. We suspected what might happen. Lambert didn't.
We then had 2-3 months of people getting more and more frustrated on here. There were the Anti-Lamberts and the Lambonites. The latter would insist, even when we played woefully: "We're 9th though." Couple of weeks later: "We're 10th though."
"We're 12th."
"We're 13th."
"We're 15th...erm...but we're only 3 points from 10th."
Etc.

Even some canny folk during that reasonable run between Feb and May in Lamberks first season felt that though we'd achieved a game plan that seemed effective, it was one not based on any kind of discernable subtlety. That it would quickly get worked out and we'd need a back up option. They were right. We've got progressively worse again since May 13, and the entire year or 2014 has been diabolical.

If there's one thing Lambert has done consistently, it's fail. Fail to pick up results. Fail to sign the right players in the positions we were most crying out for. Okay, Benteke for example is a top striker, a great signing, but we were in more desperate need of fullbacks and mostly a playmaking midfielder. Lets not forget when Lambert inherited us he inherited an 18 million pound striker as well as Gabby, who whilst not in form always had potential to reclaim his best form (and for a time in feb-may 13 did).

He's also failed to address problems within our squad. He's failed to control the coaching staff he brought here. He's failed to get our squad fit enough. He fails to identify and rectify problems during matches. Why not try and cope with Leighton Baines running a game with ease the last three times we've played Everton? Or last season when Ben Arfa spent an entire game absolutely shredding an isolated Tony Moon to pieces.

His best records revolve around failure. Breaking record upon record.

And this season he's probably going to fail to keep us up. And it won't mean a thing to him. He'll shrug and say "We go again." Because this is good enough for him. We're playing well enough for him. From the magnicent captain Marvel Vlaar, to the consistently excellent Westwood, to the unplayable Gabby. It's all good enough in Lamberts skewed view of where our club is right now.

[PeterWithesShin]

Bent may have cost £18m but it's a bit of twisting to make out he was still worth that when Lambert arrived. Bent has sadly been done for since that injury at Wigan(?) which I reckon Lambert sussed which is why he wanted Benteke. Half a dozen goals in over 50 games for Bent since he that injury, that isn't inheriting an £18m striker, it's inheriting an expensive bag of crap. Without Benteke we'd already be in the Championship so I can't think of a signing we needed more.

[supertom]

Bent may have cost £18m but it's a bit of twisting to make out he was still worth that when Lambert arrived. Bent has sadly been done for since that injury at Wigan(?) which I reckon Lambert sussed which is why he wanted Benteke. Half a dozen goals in over 50 games for Bent since he that injury, that isn't inheriting an £18m striker, it's inheriting an expensive bag of crap. Without Benteke we'd already be in the Championship so I can't think of a signing we needed more.

I think he probably ended up making Benteke more prominent in our side quicker than he may initially have suspect, and indeed because Bent was in decline. But at the same time, he never played to Bents strength. He'd been our top scorer for two seasons running having only played half a season for us in each. Before his injury in McLeish's season he was on course for 15-20 goals.

When Lambert took over I thought we'd be seeing Bent scoring 15-20 goals easy. What Lambert likes is a target man though and he unsuccessfully tried to make Bent just that. Gerard built our side around Benty and knew how to use him.

I honestly believe Bent would still be decent at this level if we hadn't bombed him for a year and excluded him from training last pre-season. Turfing him out unfit to Fulham, he struggled to recover all season.
I don't think it's purely age and injuries or loss of desire (though they're undoubtedly factors) I think Lambert has contributed in no small part to wrecking a perfectly decent player.

5 windows in and our midfield is still shit and our attack is still one dimensional. And now it really seems like Benteke is starting to suffer playing for us because the way we originally played around him doesn't work and Lambert has no other way to set the side up. There's a danger we'll soon have an 7 million bag of crap, but I really hope not. If I were Benteke I'd be pushing for a summer move for the sake of his career.

[Richard E]

The fact that teams like Swansea, West Ham and Stoke are prepared to have a go just shows that there is no excuse for this supine refusal to try and compete.

[PaulWinch again]

I'm sorry but the excuses for Lambert have run out. If it looked like we were building towards obvious improvement then maybe I could understand retaining him, but we're not. He has had numerous atrocious runs during his reign and a catalogue of unwanted records. We play awful, submissive and dull football. We barely ever win and we barely ever score. If ever a manager has out stayed his welcome and has deserved the sack it's Lambert.

[PeterWithesShin]

It doesn't matter what Bent did before the injury, he's looked, and been, a spent force since it. Which is why no one has bought him, why he couldn't get into a shit Fulham side last season, and why he looks crap when playing for us the last 2 years. How good he was before the injury is an irrelevance as Lambert never had that player.

If the reason he looks crap is primarily from being bombed out, how come Hutton doesn't look done for after identical treatment and being the same age?

There are numerous sticks to (deservedly) beat Lambert with, Bent being shit isn't one of them imo.

[supertom]

The fact that teams like Swansea, West Ham and Stoke are prepared to have a go just shows that there is no excuse for this supine refusal to try and compete.

And there's no excuse for us not to financially compete with the likes of those and Southampton. This austerity drive in the time of immense Sky money is ridiculous. And even then the limited funds Lambert has had he's wasted in all but a handful of times.
You have to speculate a little to accumulate. You don't even have to go to the level we did under O Neill. Lerners gone from one extreme to another.
You buy better players to push up the league. You push up the league in order to keep your better players content that you're showing some ambition.
Simply scraping to survival every year doesn't allow to keep the likes of Benteke, Vlaar and Delph too long. Nor does it help you in attracting adequate replacements when they leave.

[caster troy]

Next up Southampton? When Lambert was brought in at Villa, they were a newly promoted side. They are light years ahead of us now. Can you imagine us winning 8 out of 9 scoring 22 goals in the process under Lambert? No chance, I wouldn't back us to do that if we were dropped into the conference for a couple of months. You could give him Ronaldo and Messi and I still think he'd fall short.

I remember jumping for joy when O'Leary was sacked, when Lambert finally goes I will be celebrating like I've won the EuroMillions.

[Clampy]

I found this on twitter courtesy of @avfc_clampy. It's difficult seeing Villa this bad, but for me it's how consistently bad we've been. How long can that continue?

That's not me by the way before anyone wonders. I have seen that list before though and it's not good reading.

[Matt Collins]

We can blame Lambert for lots of things but anyone claiming a) that Benteke's signing was anything other than a masterstroke - our best signing in years and years. £8m for God's sake!; and b) that Bent wasn't a busted flush by the time Lambert arrived, is just plain wrong.

[Legion]

It was originally posted on our FB Page and then widely distributed.

[ChicagoLion]

So Lamberts only positive is that he has managed to buy a couple of decent players. But after all this time he still seems unable to put out a team that looks balanced. We can only play one way it seems and that is pretty much backs to the wall hit em on the break.
I agree with those that say that many of the players are not that bad but I am not sure why he has bought who he has.
Our midfield options Cleverly Richardson Sanchez Westwood  No enforcer, no ball winner no creator no box to box player no goal scorer add Weiman Nzogbia and Gabby and you still don't get any thing more from the midfield options. Games are won in the midfield and this is why we don't win many.

[DB]

He is 3rd fav to get the sack in th Prem.