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

[PaulWinch again]

This is the real frustration for me. If we'd had success with his tactics, whilst I wouldn't have enjoyed watching it, I would have understood the continued use of those tactics. But they haven't been remotely successful, so not only are we atrocious to watch we also lose all the time. It makes no sense at all to continue along this course.

[NeilH]

I just refuse to believe that we are the sum of our parts and that he is simply working with the tools he has. I look at our first 11 and I do not see a top 10 team, but I also don’t see a team utterly incapable of creating chances. There were glimpses this season of the team that we could be and in my mind, this team is being held back by the man at the top and the lethargy of our non-existent owner.
On a personal note, it says a lot about how much my love of Villa has been eroded by the last few years that I am over for the Soton in two weeks and yet I have still to book my tickets, partly as I know there will be seats aplenty and secondly as I still haven’t mustered the energy to part with 37 quid to watch us struggle against a team we ought to be.

[Tom_Mc9?]

Thank goodness we've got an international break.

[Dave]

Another cheerful stat that I'd not seen mentioned elsewhere, from F365:

You have to feel sorry for Villa's travelling support. They've seen their side score five goals in their last 14 away matches in all competitions. January 18 was the last time they scored more than once on the road.
 
Because we're all about helping others at F365, a little tip for Villa fans to beat the traffic: Leave the match after 50 minutes. Villa haven't scored in the last 40 minutes of any away game in 2014.

[LeeB]

Another cheerful stat that I'd not seen mentioned elsewhere, from F365:

You have to feel sorry for Villa's travelling support. They've seen their side score five goals in their last 14 away matches in all competitions. January 18 was the last time they scored more than once on the road.
 
Because we're all about helping others at F365, a little tip for Villa fans to beat the traffic: Leave the match after 50 minutes. Villa haven't scored in the last 40 minutes of any away game in 2014.

Funnily enough I've just come off the phone to our kid, and said myself that 0-0 with 15 minutes to go you're never thinking we might go on and win the game.

[Malandro]

That is piss poor. I would have thought the worst attacking teams would get a goal through just luck alone in that time!

[Tom_Mc9?]

Well, we generally don't score at all so I don't know why the last forty minutes should be a surprise to anyone.

[usav]

Well, we generally don't score at all so I don't know why the last forty minutes should be a surprise to anyone.

It's not, it's just a way of packaging up 'we are shit' into a nice little parcel with a bow on the top.

[Malandro]

Randy should take note that a fair few managers have now openly admitted we are 'fragile'

[paul_e]

I thought Lambert would come in with idea's he learned from Germany football , and yet his management and tactics seem to come more from working under MON at Celtic.We are now just the same as we were under MON expect with much less goals and more goals conceded.

We completely rolled over to the big teams in the last few games meanwhile the likes of QPR and Swansea have gone toe to toe with them and gotten points.

2cb's on the Bench one of which is coming back from an injury but no Grealish shows his mindset.Even Cole he brought in himself seems to be a pointless signing as we simply won't deviate from this messy 4-3-3- 4-5-1 formation he continues with.

See I think he has come in with those ideas, it's just he's had no idea how to put them into practice and the pressure of getting it wrong has slowly broken him down until he's reverted to Mcleish style anti-football.  4231 works, most of the top sides use some derivative of that because it gives you as lot of of flexibility. Unfortunately he has no idea how to make up the 2 and 3 so we end up more like a 451/433 where we don't have the solid base in front of the back 4 or the support for the central striker who ends up isolated and chasing lost causes.

If he insists on playing this shape he needs to look at getting the right players for it, we all know the best back 4 but if you go (whilst Delph is out):

Westwood Sanchez
Bacuna Grealish Nzogbia
Benteke (Weimann for the next couple)

get them training around that shape and working on the 3 getting up around the box and moving defenders around.  At the other end Westwood and Sanchez (and Cleverley if he's here long term) need to learn to work as a unit.  2 in there means 1 can drift and help out the full back whilst the other fills the space in front of the back 4 and the 3 in front can go hunting for the ball and pressuring the opposition higher up the pitch.

[ChicagoLion]

I do have a theory has to why he hasn't been sacked before now. He dosen't seem to have lost the dressing room. The players seem committed enough, you only have to look at the defending on Saturday to see that. I'm sure there's one or two players there who don't believe in what he's doing but overall they seem behind him. We're just not good enough.

I think you have a point there based on the last game, they did battle, well most did.
There have been a few games in his 6 in a row defeats where it was as if they were told, " ye nae ken win tuday, jus keep ee score doon"

[mrastonvilla]

I thought Lambert would come in with idea's he learned from Germany football , and yet his management and tactics seem to come more from working under MON at Celtic.We are now just the same as we were under MON expect with much less goals and more goals conceded.

We completely rolled over to the big teams in the last few games meanwhile the likes of QPR and Swansea have gone toe to toe with them and gotten points.

2cb's on the Bench one of which is coming back from an injury but no Grealish shows his mindset.Even Cole he brought in himself seems to be a pointless signing as we simply won't deviate from this messy 4-3-3- 4-5-1 formation he continues with.

See I think he has come in with those ideas, it's just he's had no idea how to put them into practice and the pressure of getting it wrong has slowly broken him down until he's reverted to Mcleish style anti-football.  4231 works, most of the top sides use some derivative of that because it gives you as lot of of flexibility. Unfortunately he has no idea how to make up the 2 and 3 so we end up more like a 451/433 where we don't have the solid base in front of the back 4 or the support for the central striker who ends up isolated and chasing lost causes.

If he insists on playing this shape he needs to look at getting the right players for it, we all know the best back 4 but if you go (whilst Delph is out):

Westwood Sanchez
Bacuna Grealish Nzogbia
Benteke (Weimann for the next couple)

get them training around that shape and working on the 3 getting up around the box and moving defenders around.  At the other end Westwood and Sanchez (and Cleverley if he's here long term) need to learn to work as a unit.  2 in there means 1 can drift and help out the full back whilst the other fills the space in front of the back 4 and the 3 in front can go hunting for the ball and pressuring the opposition higher up the pitch.

I would consider giving something like this a go, especially in some of the games coming up against the poorer teams.

He also needs to be considering who we can bring in during January to give us better options in the attacking 3 part of the formation because at the minute making do with forwards/strikers playing in these positions just isn't cutting it (especially when Benteke is missing).

[McRusson]

I've been giving the matter some serious thought since Saturday and for my part would advise that we pick ourselves up and go again. Can I have a four year contract?

[supertom]

I would play similar too. Bacuna for example isn't a great player but he's quick and has shown he can finish a chance if he gets. That aside, if we have Zogbia and Bacuna it covers our options for direct freekicks on the left and right of the box and frankly we have to take any sort of chance we can get. Two Bacuna freekicks basically turned games for us last season which we honestly had no right to win.

I'd still play Gabby (once Benteke is fit). Either on the left, or behind Benteke, but I'd make his primary role to face the opposition and run at them. Commit defenders and try and win free kicks in good areas.

[David_Nab]

4231 is the formation we should be attempting to play with the personal we have. A 3 man midfield of Cleverly /Westwood and Sanchez is hardworking and tidy but thats it.They is no killer balls coming from them , no real running with the ball and a lack of goals.

In general I find we don't link well as a team the midfield don't cover the defence enough or add anything to the attack.We are left really with the fullbacks alone providing width to create anything.We have a fast striker in gabby who should be playing on shoulder of the CB's waiting for through balls to run onto yet we never do this.