PL's reply to Guy Mowbray after the game today. "Will Villa will be okay? I have great belief we'll be totally fine." REALLY??? IMO, I'm not convinced. Had we been better at converting goalscoring opportunities, then we could have won by 2 or 3 goals and I'm sure some teams will score quite heavily against Villa. Thay defended well and I thought Guzan was quite lucky on a couple of occasions, by just sticking out a leg and the ball then flying out for a corner.
To be fair JR, JWM does have a point. He isnt exactly going to come out and say its going to be a long hard struggle, but you are right in the fact they will struggle and will concede many goals but to be fair so did we under his guidence but we managed to capitalise on that by scoring more where that looks a problem at villa. Hes taken on such a young inexperianced squad it will be tough and tougher than any season he spent with us but that was his choice and only he knows if he knew it would be as hard as it is or not! On another note, some prat phoned up 606 and said they have some of the most talented younsters in the prem and expects them to be in the champs league within 2 years Villa fans seem to stuck in the past or maybe most of them, they believe its there right to play in the top league forever cause of the fact they've been in it for the past 25 years. They go on about there ground, training facilities blah blah blah but how many teams do you hear of now who are the championship or even lower who also have these types of facilities! Some clubs fans just need to get a grip with reality
I'm not sure where they get this idea of the 'most talented youngsters' from, as I thought we made them look pretty ordinary and it will be interesting to see how they fare against the likes of the 'top 6' teams which they think is where they belong by divine right.
I was very disappointed with Villa today( not that I'm complaining) couldn't really see where PL has improved them on from what we beat easily on the last day of last season. His mojo is either not working on them or he's run out ? If they were to dish that up each week he'll be gone in January?
Next week Villa are away at Sunderland. Playing his "gaffer" seemed to have a demoralising effect on PL last year. Wonder if the same thing will happen this time round. Sunderland are in no position to be charitable.
I'd be very annoyed if Lambert is fired by villa before the end of the season. It would feel like they destabled our club for no reason.
For me the most interesting quote of the day from Lambert was this morning when he said he'd not spoken to Alan Bowkett for three years! He later retracted slightly and said it was more like two years, but nonetheless it suggests something went seriously wrong behind the scenes at the club. There have been all sorts of rumours suggesting he was trying to get away from the club a year before he eventually did, wonder if its all a product of that?
It does seem like he was off at the first available opportunity ? Bowket obviously had difficulty with PL's obvious lack of commitment behind the scenes. I believe they described it as " a little wobble" when Burnley came knocking, at the time it seemed to take forever for PL to come out and dismiss the speculation?
Do you think PL will be regretting leaving us for Villa? Not necessarily regret leaving us but jumping ship to a poor Villa... Thoughts?
For me it's the oddest thing about the saga.Liverpool,Everton or a club with potential I could have understood but recent events have demonstrated that it's a second rate club with skinflint owners.I wonder if he has been suckered into taking it by a sweet talking yank.It wouldn't be the first time.
Agree, he couldn't really say anything else. I know we are not that far into the season and things could change, but so far it's been proven that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
Watching Villa yesterday and they are in big trouble.Been flirting with the bottom for a while now and this could be the dreaded year for them.Tipped by a lot of people to go down this year.I cant see how they will get out of trouble to be honest.
I hope I am wrong but I think Lambert will turn it around as the year turns. Rebuilding a club in a shocking state in the premier league is different to doing it in league one and it will take time.
... great challenge for him though isn't it, much like we were at the time he took over, and he's clearly a man who thrives on the challenge so I can see why he went there. Long way to go yet this season and a transfer window in the middle and it would only take a run of a few wins at some point in the season - which we all know he is well capable of - to get them out of trouble so as bad as they are at the moment - and my God they were dreadful yesterday - it's way too early to write anyone off yet. Particularly when that gobshite Robbie Savage keeps banging on about them going down every week!
I too feel he will turn it round and it will take time, but wouldn't bet on them avoiding the drop. Their fans need to wake up from their dreams though as I feel it will be a few years before they once again break into the top 10 of the Premier League.
When PL took over at Carrow Road, he was able to bring in players he already knew well. At Villa he hasn't had that luxury. He's also got to deal with players with egos who have seen better days, like Bent and Agbonlahor. And on top of that, he's got to get it sorted quick time because Villa are " a big club" and relegation and regrouping isn't considered a practical option. That's the task ahead of him. Everybody assumes he is equal to the task, but if you look at his managerial career as a whole, it is relatively undistinguished. At Livingston, his first job, he failed. He got League Two Wycombe to a League Cup semi, but that can happen in the League Cup; in the league they got to the play-offs, but that was it. In his year at Col Utd, they finished mid-table. So it is only with us that he really had any sustained success. We know all about his tactical nous, his ability to read a game and decisiveness, and his attacking instinct. But there's a lot more required than that. The few leaks we get from behind the scenes, the talk that follows him of favoured players and others frozen out, etc. suggest someone who creates problems as well as solves them. He is far from proven managerially, and the idea that the Norwich miracle was wrought by him alone is wide of the mark. I'm tempted to say that turning Villa round is the biggest challenge he's faced.
