Aston Villa v Crystal Palace post match thread

[Chris Smith]

We need to improve our striking options, all three of them had poor games yesterday. Benteke is starting to worry me, he spends more time moaning and berating others than he does trying to find space then when he gets a relatively simple chance from the pull back in the second half he balloons it. Delph might have made a difference as he does run at teams but we always seem to be looking to that one unavailable player as the answer.

On a positive note we do look well organised and solid up until the final third and are passing the ball much more and that is with a number of players missing. However, that in itself is not going to win you many friends unless a cutting edge can be found.

[Ron Manager]

I frankly couldn't give a stuff about possession or stats for that matter. The idea of football,when it was invented, is to get that round leather
object into the opposing teams net more often than they get it into yours.

As others have pointed out we have some good players . But we are sadly lacking in creativity in the middle of the park and support for the
the big man up front. He knows he is expected to do all the work up front and gives the impression that he is not happy doing it. He could try a little harder but why should he? Both of his support forwards are so lacking in technical skill and brainpower it must seem a wasted exercise battling away without any hope of getting any result from your efforts.


But we know all this, it is repeated on the match thread more or less after every match. Matters could improve if Mr Lambert decided to move on, but he shows no sign of doing this. Matters could improve if the club owner  found a buyer for a club he does not want to be a part of. But he has failed to attract a suitable investor.

Its exactly the same as 1968. Different eras but exactly the same in terms of very poor leadership from the people that run the club.

Any hope that  vibrant Doug and The Doc figures will appear and revitalise this ailing club?

None at all as far as I can see.

As Fred Rinder said.  'Only the best for Aston Villa'. He must be turning in his grave.

[Clampy]

Watching some of the other team's football on motd really showed up how poor we were yesterday. The other games were full of flowing football, chances end to end and clever running off the ball. The only players who run off the ball for us are the full backs. It was horrible to watch.

[Boz]

It's very simple with Lambert. His brief is to keep us in the Premier League. Whatever drab, tedious, soul-crushing method he can stumble upon to do that, then that's what we'll continue with. At the moment he thinks he's found a way of not losing. That's like winning the Euromillions jackpot to Lambert. He doesn't want any assistant coming in and interfering with that. But just wait until we have to play someone good again.

The words 'entertainment' and 'Aston Villa' don't belong in the same library. It's all about protecting Lerner's investment until he can get the hell out. But he can't, because nobody wants to buy the world's most boring and pointless top-flight football club - which he himself created.

Lambert is the safest manager in the league, because Lerner is the stupidest owner in the league. He bought us on a whim like an excercise bike in the January sales. First he installed it in the living room in front of the telly, used it every day, but now he can't arsed and it's out in the garden getting rusty and falling apart.

The only way it's going to get better in the long term is if it gets worse in the short term. That's what I'm dreading. Because it's either going to take some of the worst results in our history to get Lambert sacked, or the fans are going to have to take action. Knowing our current apathetic state, it's going to have to be the former before we can see Lambert gone. And Christ, I want him gone. It's a nightmare scenario.

Great analogy, Villa a rusty exercise bike ! It's heart breaking for the fans to see the club disintegrating at what seems an increasing rate.

There sees to me, a slight similarity of Lerner with Ashley at Newcastle where the owner is happy with mid table safety. Unfortunately Lerner hasn't got Ashley's hard nosed business nous and is hardly ever present at B6.

Lambert's sudden discovery about passing football will only work with players who can move the ball quickly and there's no sign of that, is this lack of creativity, lack of being able to think quickly enough or lack of fitness or just a manager who is unable to motivate his players?

I fear we will be struggling to keep out of the bottom three this season.

[jeowje]

It really is shaping up for another scrap down at the bottom. I reckon there may well be a few potential buyers out there hoping that we get relegated so that they can pick up a bargain... What a depressing thought.

[paul_e]

It's probably also why he doesn't feel the need to appoint an Assistant Manager who will want to point out his flaws and reveal him for what he is.

This is a fucking Premier League football club and we don't have an Assistant Manager. Not a club in League 2 who maybe can't afford one and makes do with a bunch of coaches. We are meant to be playing as one of the elite few and are being operated as any but. There are people in the game that could help him if he wanted it. Not only has he chosen not to accept help he steadfastly believes everything is fine and it is us who are the ones that need help.

Is there not a talk show we can get him on so the host can call him out, or an intervention we can hold for him?

Quoting from a few pages back so might have been mentioned since but I'd fucking love us to have no assistant and a bunch of coaches, that way we might look coached.


http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/FirstTeam/0,,10265,00.html


Look at the coaches listed at the bottom, there's Lambert then a defensive coach, a health coach, 2 strength and conditioning coaches and a physio (there's also the club wide GK coach who's not listed).  To me that looks like a coaching team where the best you can expect is a side that's solid and structured at the back and generally work hard but don't really work on anything going forward, which is exactly what we have.  Lambert should be sacked for not having a suitable backroom staff in place after 3 years and with seemingly no interest in doing anything about it.  Add a coach or 2 to work on the attacking elements of the game and I'd put money on us improving massively in a matter of weeks, the players are capable of more but we're doing fuck all to help them make the most of their talent, that's why most of our attacking players have stood still or gone backwards for 3 years.

[olaftab]

Benteke is starting to worry me, he spends more time moaning and berating others than he does trying to find space then when he gets a relatively simple chance from the pull back in the second half he balloons it.

Yes.  He has now become part of the problem whereas  the expectation  from both coaching staff and fans is that he should be the solution.

[andyh]

When you say coaching staff Olaftab, I guess you mean the manager?
Remember, we no longer need a coach/assistant. Having one is sooooo 2014, darling!

[paul_e]

Benteke is starting to worry me, he spends more time moaning and berating others than he does trying to find space then when he gets a relatively simple chance from the pull back in the second half he balloons it.

Yes.  He has now become part of the problem whereas  the expectation  from both coaching staff and fans is that he should be the solution.

I think deep down he's realised he made a mistake with the new contract, Lambert has a potentially world class striker on his hands but has done nothing to help make the most of him, 18 months as a target for long balls followed by a month of standing by watching the ball crab backwards and forwards across midfield before being punted in his general direction, he just looks like he knows it's all on him and he's fed up of it.

[Clampy]

Benteke is starting to worry me, he spends more time moaning and berating others than he does trying to find space then when he gets a relatively simple chance from the pull back in the second half he balloons it.

Yes.  He has now become part of the problem whereas  the expectation  from both coaching staff and fans is that he should be the solution.

Yet we can't expect him to score goals like the ones against Palace and Man Utd every game. There's other players on the pitch who need to chip in. When teams start relying on one player, they tend to be in trouble by the end of the season.

[olaftab]

You mean in trouble like Spurs with Harry Kane?

[olaftab]

When you say coaching staff Olaftab, I guess you mean the manager?
Remember, we no longer need a coach/assistant. Having one is sooooo 2014, darling!

Yes I meant Jose Lambert!

[Clampy]

You mean in trouble like Spurs with Harry Kane?

He's only scored 4 in the league though (i think, i stand correct on that though). Four different players scored for them yesterday and they've got players like Eriksen who can win a game for them.

[berneboy]

. Only mugs like me will their invest time or money in watching the shite being sold as entertainment.
...  I reckon we could well be looking at a sub 20,000 crowd on Sunday.             

I reckon we'll e nearer 10,000. I always go to the cheaper cup games and can't bring myself to travel this time.

[berneboy]

. Only mugs like me will their invest time or money in watching the shite being sold as entertainment.
...  I reckon we could well be looking at a sub 20,000 crowd on Sunday.             

I reckon we'll be nearer 10,000. I always go to the cheaper cup games and can't bring myself to travel this time.