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

[silhillvilla]

I remember driving back from the final game at Norwich where we played 7 defenders in a dead rubber with Heskey up front and just feeling really empty. Normally I can muster enthusiasm, but the glass was definitely empty after that with only the hope of McLeish being sacked acting as a ray of light.

I feel pretty similar now to be honest. Leicester was easily the worst away performance since the defeat to Spurs under McLeish, even worse than all the drubbings, because we played the poorest side in the league, with the best squad we have had (alright, it isn't great) since Houllier and we mustered nothing. Not a bean and we could, if Leicester weren't terrible, have lost 4 or 5 nil.

The difference now though, is that there isn’t the comfort that the manager will be sacked, because it’s clear what Lerner wants to do and it doesn’t involve anything positive or proactive. So you’re left with this feeling that we will keep repeating this negative and insipid football for another three seasons at least, making it 8 years of struggle.

We have now gone full circle and back to how we played at West Ham in Lambert’s first game. Keeping the ball, but going nowhere and never threatening. We have had occasional moments of joy where we have looked good again, Swansea, Sunderland and Chelsea at home is probably the sum total across two and a half seasons. Liverpool, Stoke and Arsenal away stand out too, but you’re clutching at a handful of results out of nearly 100 league games and that is without looking at the repeated failures against second, third and fourth division rubbish in the cups.

It’s a never ending cycle of tedium and its got very, very boring.

So what do you suggest ?

[JUAN PABLO]

The media have really started to get on Villas shitness now. I went on three football programmes on TV yesterday with journalist saying villa will go down , they are rubbish , Lambert hasn't a clue and I put talk sport on for traffic news and Durham had summed us up on there , three midfielders who create nothing.

[ROBBO]

Who else remembers Lerners statement when he bought the club that if he couldn't improve us he would get out of the way and let someone else have a go, he should have also said that he would want all his money back.

[Ads]

I am not suggesting anything. My message is a cheery one of despair as I cannot see anything changing in the short, medium or long term.

We are stuck with Lambert for as long as Lerner is here and given the scarcity of people seeking to buy football clubs, especially now the ladder has been pulled up by the Champions League clubs, I think we have years and years of this to come, maybe a decade or more.

It’s going to cost £150-200 million to buy Aston Villa and then a lot of investment to make us competitive at the top end of the division. There is nobody out there willing to part with that sort of money.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

As I put on another thread, everyone's been very patient with Mr Lambert.
But, at last, the media have begun to realise what we've been experiencing for some time - we're not just whinging Villa fans - we're being served up some awful shite very consistently and have every right to be concerned. His various crap records that most have ignored are turning into the evidence that something is seriously wrong and the journos (as above) are now much more on the case.
The focus in the article about Lambert's version of our expectations/reality is spot on. He says our expectations are too high - can he not see the facts?
We have just played 4 teams below us in the league... we lost 2, drew 2 0-0, and scored NO goals! 2 points from a potential 12.
What are his expectations if he thinks this kind of stuff is ok?
That's the shittiness of our reality Mr Lambert, and it's YOU who's serving it up!

[Malandro]

Who else remembers Lerners statement when he bought the club that if he couldn't improve us he would get out of the way and let someone else have a go, he should have also said that he would want all his money back.

Its a bit like the chavs who buy beat up Rovers/Corsas/Saxos and then mess with the suspension, add recaro seats, big stereos and over the top paint jobs. It doesn't mean they are worth more money because of it.

[Phil from the upper holte]

'Metro' have also just printed a damning article : http://metro.co.uk/2015/01/13/paul-lambert-has-his-head-in-the-sand-if-he-thinks-aston-villa-fans-expect-too-much-5019528/

About time.

Must be a fan, refers to the Mighty Aston Villa as "WE"

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

'Metro' have also just printed a damning article : http://metro.co.uk/2015/01/13/paul-lambert-has-his-head-in-the-sand-if-he-thinks-aston-villa-fans-expect-too-much-5019528/

About time.

Must be a fan, refers to the Mighty Aston Villa as "WE"

that's a good article. We are much better defensively this season, I hated the way we had become a long ball team constantly giving the ball away. I much prefer the style of play that we have now adopted in keeping possession but I hate the fact that we aren't able to do it in areas of the pitch to hurt teams. I live in the hope that Lambert can now solve that problem by doing 2 things, finding someone to link the midfield to the attack (may be a fit Joe Cole getting a run of games, he made a difference at Burnley, or may be the new guy from Valencia if the deal goes through) and also by getting the forwards to actually move. Gabby is way too static and means that the midfield don't have an outlet, Weiman moves around a lot but his first touch is so poor that he loses the ball, and Benteke seems to either be losing motivation or is getting weighed down by the expectations placed upon him and his performances in the last couple of games have suffered

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

'Metro' have also just printed a damning article : http://metro.co.uk/2015/01/13/paul-lambert-has-his-head-in-the-sand-if-he-thinks-aston-villa-fans-expect-too-much-5019528/

About time.

Must be a fan, refers to the Mighty Aston Villa as "WE"

that's a good article. We are much better defensively this season, I hated the way we had become a long ball team constantly giving the ball away. I much prefer the style of play that we have now adopted in keeping possession but I hate the fact that we aren't able to do it in areas of the pitch to hurt teams. I live in the hope that Lambert can now solve that problem by doing 2 things, finding someone to link the midfield to the attack (may be a fit Joe Cole getting a run of games, he made a difference at Burnley, or may be the new guy from Valencia if the deal goes through) and also by getting the forwards to actually move. Gabby is way too static and means that the midfield don't have an outlet, Weiman moves around a lot but his first touch is so poor that he loses the ball, and Benteke seems to either be losing motivation or is getting weighed down by the expectations placed upon him and his performances in the last couple of games have suffered

Largely agree CABB. Gabby's standing and waiting for the ball is embarrassing for someone who has plied his trade as a speed merchant, often playing wide, and getting in behind defences. If Lambert was to add wingplay (Gil?Gabby?), the odd incisive pass (Sanchez to Benteke v Blackpool) to our possession and accelerate when near the opposition goal I think Benteke would be much more gainfully employed. At the minute he looks lost and adrift in a sea of slow moving shite.   

[LTA]

Not sure where the stuff with Real and Bayern comes from, as we only 2 seasons in the European Cup, but a lot of good points here.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2907842/Aston-Villa-mixing-Bayern-Munich-Real-Madrid-right-Paul-Lambert-s-useless.html&sa=U&ei=jAy1VK2QGMiX7AbPjoHoBQ&ved=0CCEQqQIwAw&sig2=j-5btZnzK_6RF3FcRS3J7w&usg=AFQjCNFzJ_hg4ZmliY67r_o_yShxJtcLAw

[saunders_heroes]

Agree with everything he says in this.

[richardhubbard]

Total sense spoken in that article

[PeterWithesShin]

From the comments, I wonder who David from Solihull supports?

I don't buy the 'big club' stuff. They haven't won a trophy for nearly twenty years, they rarely come close to filling Villa Park, and unless they're battling relegation they could usually hold their end-of-season party in January each year.

[saunders_heroes]

From the comments, I wonder who David from Solihull supports?

I don't buy the 'big club' stuff. They haven't won a trophy for nearly twenty years, they rarely come close to filling Villa Park, and unless they're battling relegation they could usually hold their end-of-season party in January each year.

Sty Dweller alert!

[PeterWithesShin]

From the comments, I wonder who David from Solihull supports?

I don't buy the 'big club' stuff. They haven't won a trophy for nearly twenty years, they rarely come close to filling Villa Park, and unless they're battling relegation they could usually hold their end-of-season party in January each year.

Sty Dweller alert!

Or maybe it's that Bolton fan?