Crystal Palace v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[aev]

Abject - very little fight today apart from the Villa fan who was escorted off by 5 stewards.

It all started going wrong when some of our support were singing during the Hillsborough silence.

[Oscar Arce]

Even if we scrape through we are going nowhere with this manager. He is clueless, inept tactically, cannot motivate, reactive not proactive, in short I would place him right up there with Billy McBingo with the worst all time Villa managers, the talk of giving him a new improved super duper contract just sums up why our CEO and owner are even more clueless than he.
This is one of the poorest Villa sides I've ever seen, right up there and allowing comparisons to the late sixties sides that got us relegated to the Third Division.
I wouldn't be bothered if one of this current squad left, such is their quality, and it is a squad that Lambert has assembled.
Aside from Benteke (and anyone could see he was going to be a good player) his judgement in transfers has been poor, but he has set the team to play in this defensive and hit on the break style now and there is no plan B.
To get a win now we need to score a goal, the useless Agbonlahor, fat and slow Holt, and overrated and crap Weimman will not score the goals that can keep us up I'm afraid.
If we survive it will be by the skin of ou teeth, and even if we do, I implore the custodians of our once great, but now insignificant club, to do the right thing.

[Astral Weeks]

Well I only saw the second half, but from what I saw we were atrocious. Gutless, clueless, pathetic.

Put Sid in charge and we may not win every game but at least we will try. If we stick with Lambert for Southampton we are guaranteed a tense atmosphere and as soon as they score the knives will come out big time.

I am praying he is gone by Monday lunchtime. We are on the brink and basically sleepwalking into the Championship at the moment. We need a change, something to galvanise the club. We can't change the players so there is only one option.

The only thing that is going to galvanise us in the immediate short term is the fans.  When the players take the pitch v Southampton they need to know they can step on the pitch without fear and with total backing for ninety-plus minutes.  If we do that I'm confident of three more points.

Sounds good, but you're more confident than I am, mate.
Last season I went to the QPR and Sunderland games although I don't go down too many times a season, because I believed it was time for Villa fans to stand up and be counted.
This time, I just can't bring myself to go again. I've lost belief, which is a sad admission to make, but there it is. If we don't go down this year we probably will next, unless there are really radical changes.

[Ads]

A cracking atmosphere underneath the stand before the game and at half time at least.

[Billy Walker]

Get the orange dot out for the Southampton match, we need Villa Park to carry the side over the line.

Didn't exactly work very well this afternoon.

It was out this afternoon?  I didn't see that ... Right, well, we need a big dot out for the next home match; we need totally focused positive vibes and we need to get those three points. 

[Mortimer's Bear]

Abject - very little fight today apart from the Villa fan who was escorted off by 5 stewards.

It all started going wrong when some of our support were singing during the Hillsborough silence.

That last bit if confirmed is shameful.

[Stu]

He didn't set his side out for an all out attack. He played it patient, knowing that if they sat deep and invite us to try and dictate things, we'd fall short.
We played right into Palace's hands. They set up, possibly much the same way as McLeish often set us up, to soak up any pressure and try and nick a goal. We had no answer to that and we never threatened. The onus was on us to break them down and of course, without the ability to play quickly on the counter, we had nothing going for us.
Lambert altered things too late as per usual, and as per usual made the wrong decisions.

I'd say the opposite was true; Palace went for the jugular in the second half and we were set up to nick a goal. They utterly dominated us from 45 mins onwards and we showed little in return other than punts forward.

[Legion]

Get the orange dot out for the Southampton match, we need Villa Park to carry the side over the line.

Didn't exactly work very well this afternoon.

It was out this afternoon?  I didn't see that ... Right, well, we need a big dot out for the next home match; we need totally focused positive vibes and we need to get those three points. 

First page of both the pre-match and match threads.

[Billy Walker]

Well I only saw the second half, but from what I saw we were atrocious. Gutless, clueless, pathetic.

Put Sid in charge and we may not win every game but at least we will try. If we stick with Lambert for Southampton we are guaranteed a tense atmosphere and as soon as they score the knives will come out big time.

I am praying he is gone by Monday lunchtime. We are on the brink and basically sleepwalking into the Championship at the moment. We need a change, something to galvanise the club. We can't change the players so there is only one option.

The only thing that is going to galvanise us in the immediate short term is the fans.  When the players take the pitch v Southampton they need to know they can step on the pitch without fear and with total backing for ninety-plus minutes.  If we do that I'm confident of three more points.

Sounds good, but you're more confident than I am, mate.
Last season I went to the QPR and Sunderland games although I don't go down too many times a season, because I believed it was time for Villa fans to stand up and be counted.
This time, I just can't bring myself to go again. I've lost belief, which is a sad admission to make, but there it is. If we don't go down this year we probably will next, unless there are really radical changes.

We've got to be mentally tough in this situation and that's what's going to get us over the line.  Keep the belief going Astral Weeks, lift the lads to the points.

[wolfman999]

The fact that we all knew this would happen is the saddest part. We all saw this coming and yet mumbles didn't.

No way am I defending Lambert, I think he's a very poor manager, but the blame for the situation we are in lies firmly at the door of the owner. Lerner has to be the most useless owner around, as evidenced by the way he ran the Browns in the US. I wouldn't trust him to pick up litter in the car park. The TRULY scary part is they think they're doing a good job.

[saunders_heroes]

Abject - very little fight today apart from the Villa fan who was escorted off by 5 stewards.

It all started going wrong when some of our support were singing during the Hillsborough silence.

That last bit if confirmed is shameful.

Let's not make a big deal of it. I'm not a fan of minute silences. Fans are full of adrenaline (and beer) right before kick off and it doesn't take much for them to make a bit of noise. Besides it was probably a tiny minority.

[KevinGage]

Well that was awful. 

The hope is that when we play Soton, Swansea, Hull or Tottingham, at least one of them has an off day. 

Because that is the only way we are going to get another point this season.

[Loxton01]

We have got to get one win! 37 will do it!

34 will not be enough!

We have to find it in the next three games!

He has to get back to basics! Stop changing the team the formation! Work on a system and stick with it!

To me with the players we have left I'd go 4-3-3!  Albrighton one side weimann the other gabby up top! Drill them to chase balls down the flanks use their pace!

Holt cannot play 90mins!

He needs to stick to a system and a side work hard in training ala palace and win one game!

If we do stay up then things have to change no more unknown buys! We need proven experience! If not get rid of him as no matter what this team should be doing better than losing twice to Fulham and palace ten home defeats

He has had so much patience from the fans get a grip or get lost lambert

[PeterWithesShin]

34 may well be enough to stay up. It's not enough for Aston Villa FC though.

[Zouch Villa]

I've tried to keep positive and think of the long term 'plan', but after some of the worst football and performances in my living memory it really is time for Plumbert to go.

Unfortunately, we have an owner and executive team incapable of taking decisive action or attracting a progressive management team.  This has truly become an embarrassing chapter for a once great football club.