Aston Villa v West Ham United Post-Match Thread

[UK Redsox]

One final point. I now Gabby is Villa through and through but everytime we give him the armband he has a shit game. We so badly needed an experienced leader out there yesterday it was excrutiating to watch. Give it to Delph, give it to Guzan, fuck give it to Clark but not Gabby just becuase he's the most senior.

When Vlaar's out, Delph or Guzan should be captain.

[Marton]

Haven't won back to back at home for 3 years or something...why should yesterday be different.

[FrankyH]

Lambert singled out Allbrighton for having an impact when he came on, fair enough he was my man of the match.Whats the odds though he starts KEA next match and Mark is on the bench.

[saunders_heroes]

One final point. I now Gabby is Villa through and through but everytime we give him the armband he has a shit game. We so badly needed an experienced leader out there yesterday it was excrutiating to watch. Give it to Delph, give it to Guzan, fuck give it to Clark but not Gabby just becuase he's the most senior.

When Vlaar's out, Delph or Guzan should be captain.

I don't think it makes any difference who the captain is in football. It means very little in reality.

[Mister E]

I've read through most of the posts here with the immediate post match ones showing the inevitable frustrations and the later ones more considered.

Me I still feel strangely numbed.  I was at the game today and can't understand the views including lamberts that we were "fine" in the first half. To me we created nothing and were vert fortunate to go in level. But I took heart that we hadn't conceded and felt sure we would come out fired up for the second half. How wrong I was.  Wet Spam looked like the home team for the first half and till they were 2-0 up. We didn't start to try playing till then.

I recognise the limited budget and quality of the players but they are all Lamberts choice. If he can't motivate them - and clearly he can't - until we are two down there is
Little hope.  The weaknesses are recognised by all on here why not lambert? 

I can see ST sales massively down in  starting with mine. I don't mind the long journey and recognise that outside the top six which we now demonstrably are we have zero chance of glory but I expect effort, passion and an attempt to play football. Strangely PL sees this every home game but I rarely do. Maybe I'm in the wrong seats?

I do think there are 3 worse teams but I can't take much more

well, I posted earlier that I thought we were toothless in the first half but in the second the Beast should have had a hat trick. Through the game, we did only have one shot on target, but we had 10 off, of which two strikes were on the woodwork. We also had over 60% possession.
The frustration for me was that in the first half, if Weimann and Gabby had run the channels a little more, and got wide more often, we'd have had more chance to really open up the flaky Hammers defence. Instead, we were horribly static upfront and I really didn't get what Weimann's brief was.

We were poor, but we could and should have won that game with something to spare.

could have done  but didnt again

dont forgot Downings miss kick and his other chance , Jarvis had a good and bacuna blocked off the line  , Lambert set it up wrong AGAIN and we deserved nothing , again got beat at home by a poor side.

Agreed, but at 0-0 we also missed two gilt-edged chances (Westie and Gabby) to net and at 0-2 we could have gone on and scored a bagful.
My problem is that we all seem to be able to identify the issues - static attackers, pointless side passes, lack of width, an absence of defending from the front, players not on form and playing in roles in which they seem to have no idea what's expected of them, an apparent absence of good communicating between one defender and the next - but Lambert's coaching staff do not.

Where is the improvement? - that's the biggest concern.

[Pete3206]

Square, square, square, square, hoof!

Paul Lambert's plan A. Plan B is to bring on Holt and forget the square bit. An unmitigated shambles.
 

[kippaxvilla2]

Just watching Gaz Baz playing for Everton.  He never ever misses a pass and is so calm in possession.  Just having him alone in our side this season would have made so much difference.

[barrysleftfoot]

 Spot on Mr E.

 We can blame Baker, Westwood, Gabby, whoever as much as we like, the fact is the leadership, direction, input, motivation, tactics, ideas, encouragement, from the manager is non-existent.Two lumps up front yday, they had 2 lumps at the back, we, the players, manager, had no idea of how to break them down, completely devoid of inspiration or ideas.Useless manager, i'd have anybody instead of him tbh.

[supertom]

Spot on Mr E.

 We can blame Baker, Westwood, Gabby, whoever as much as we like, the fact is the leadership, direction, input, motivation, tactics, ideas, encouragement, from the manager is non-existent.Two lumps up front yday, they had 2 lumps at the back, we, the players, manager, had no idea of how to break them down, completely devoid of inspiration or ideas.Useless manager, i'd have anybody instead of him tbh.

He's lost in a battle of managerial wits this season with Big Sam, Tony Pulis, and Mark Hughes, which says a lot. The only games I felt Lambert got tactically right were Arsenal (A), Liverpool (A) and probably West Brom (A). The other victories relied on a huge deal of good fortune and more luck than judgement.

[LTA]

Massive disappointment in a game that should have been targeted for 3 points, and now puts uneccesary pressure on two games with Cardiff and Norwich.  Man City might be good enough to give teams goal starts week after week, be we certainly aren't.

Fair to say that we've been unfortunate to a point in that Vlaar and Okore have missed parts of the season, as I think they would potentially be a solid enough centre-back pairing (although given Vlaar's injury record, Lambert is naive to think we can get a full season out of him).

Gabby is Villa through and through, but isn't a captain (I seem to remember when TSM gave him the job after Stan fell ill that he said "I can't wait for the season to end" - hardly the sort of thing a captain should be coming out with.

[Boz]

My view exactly RM  I am just another old timer who does not care one way or another if Lerner owns the club or not.   It does not matter.   What matters is what goes on on the pitch in matches.

While we have a manager who goes through the motions of being "modern" and "progressive" and allows twenty passes to be made without gaining a yard of ground and then, not having gained a yard of ground launching to ball forward, we will be no hopers.

Managers like Lambert see how the top, top sides string passes together and assume that is all you have to do but there is infinitely more to it than that.   Passing the pall sideways without penetration is like steak and chips without the steak.   Once Marc came on yesterday possession became a platform for penetration.   You have to have players with the skills to get behind the opposition and make them defend their goal facing it like we were doing most of the first half and the first ten minutes of the second.   Rocket science it ain't.

Spot on, possession in our half with a dozen passes before losing the hoof ball into the other half is the tactics of a clueless manager who seems incapable of accepting what's in front of him.

Talking about Villa were OK the last 20 minutes when the Spam defended deeper confident we wouldn't score when we were useless the preceding 70 minutes are the comments of a despairing manager. He should be subject to the Laudrop treatment by Lerner, not given a new contract.

[Big Dick Edwards]

The club try and put a positive spin on our position saying we're doing better than last season but counting our two cup defeats we've lost TEN matches at home already this season, and it's only early February. Even if we ultimately finish half way in this season's crazy Premier League on the back of our away record, I can see a lot of season ticket holders not renewing in the summer. Our position in the table just doesn't reflect what we see at Villa Park. I'm struggling to recall consistently worse home performances in 45 years of watching the Villa. It is rubbish.

Now Joe Bennett's fit again and clearly back challenging for a first team spot judging by his introduction yesterday Lambert can potentially and realistically field a back four of Lowton, Clark, Baker and Bennett. That is a truly frightening thought.

[JUAN PABLO]

Lambert singled out Allbrighton for having an impact when he came on, fair enough he was my man of the match.Whats the odds though he starts KEA next match and Mark is on the bench.

yes I honestly dont think he is into Marc , he wanted HIS signing to work out and obviously most have been poor , I cant see Tonev ever being a prem regular and going back to Villa old boys kinda looks like he has to suck egg ( is that a saying )

I mean he has spent now £41 millon added to the players already here  Gabby , Delph , Albrighton , Clark , Baker and the so called young lads coming through  you would think he can beat the like of Sheff Utd at home  .

Its funny , I didnt think Marc would make it as a Prem regular and was happy to see him go a year ago , Is he good enough ? I dont know but I do know
he tried hard yesterday and put most the team to shame to be honest  , shows what we have become.

Will he start next game . I have not got a clue with Lambert .   I cant work Lambert out .  I wanted him to work , I wanted him as a manger for us , maybe I was desperate after TSM  but he is not what we need and I would get rid in summer.

[Villafirst]

I think the Liverpool 2-2 draw (a game we should've won) threw all of us. Just prior to that was the Sheff Utd debacle following not long after the Palace shocker. People at the time (me included) were quite rightly seething. I do really fear we'll drop this time. 8 home defeats out of 13 is pathetic. If we can pair Okore and Vlaar in March we might stand a chance.

[eamonn]

What is Villa's worst ever home record in the PL? Or is this it?

I'm assuming McLeish, 4 wins, 7 draws, 19 points.

I think the same. I'll check.

I just checked, and it is.

Last season's must run it close. I doubt we've ever had a manager with such appalling consecutive seasons home records.