Will Aston Villa be relegated?

[Langers]

I think Villa will get out of it - just. But they deserve to go down, their football is amongst the worst I've seen in the Premier League in recent years, and Lambert's transfer policy is frankly appalling, as Deutsch pointed out. After signing the likes of Cole and Senderos, the signing of Scott Sinclair was typical Villa - didn't they see what happened to him at Albion? When you're constantly failing to score/entertain, the last thing you want is a half-arsed mercenary type player who showed no sign of wanting to play for his place during his previous loan spell, and was just happy picking up an extortionate wage.

I don't actually want Villa to go down as I've a lot of time for them as a club, and a lot of friends support them - I'd take no comfort in seeing them in the Championship, but one person who would deserve it is Paul Lambert. He's been absolutely appalling for Villa.

 

[Paul]

My mates a Villa STH, and he wants them relegated, if it gets rid of Lambert, but he did also say the same for McLeish, Houllier, O'Neill and Oleary
They cant keep relying on three teams being worse than them !

 

[east-coast-wolves]

The Birmingham Mail actually calling for Lambert to be sacked. Don't see that too often from a paper.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

My mates a Villa STH, and he wants them relegated, if it gets rid of Lambert, but he did also say the same for McLeish, Houllier, O'Neill and Oleary
They cant keep relying on three teams being worse than them !

Your mate sounds like he has absolutely zero perspective. No-one would pretend O'Neill was perfect - the football wasn't the easiest on the eye (very much based on soaking up pressure, heading everything away with a succession of massive centre halves and hitting teams on the break) and he wasted quite a lot of money (Reo-Coker, Davies, Sidwell, Beye, all horrendous flops) - but he had them consistently finishing in the top six. Got them to a League Cup final. Had a decent European run - albeit stopped when he bizarrely played a reserve team in Moscow. A core of very decent players, many of them British and Irish. And he'd rather have got relegated than kept him?

I would say you only get to that point when relegation - which is NEVER a good thing, no matter how some people try to dress it up - is worth the short term hit because the manager is so shit as to make following the club at the present time unbearable. Like how we were with Saunders and I could understand that applying to Lambert now. Not because someone who has about the 6th best squad in the league is making you finish 6th every year.

 

[Paul]

To be fair to him, I was typing from memory, I distinctly remember his distain for Oleary, and the relegation to serve a purpose was for both Houllier and Lambert, I may have included the others for chronological convenience

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

You should apologise to him for casually libeling him on a Wolves forum.

 

[Paul]

No, I revel in his pain

 

[Langers]

No, I revel in his pain

He's a Villa fan FFS. He's suffering enough. Callous bastard.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Some arse on Villa talk has suggested retaining Lambert but bringing in an assistant. Glenn Hoddle. Fucking unbelievable.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

To be fair their assistant manager situation is a complete nonsense. Karsa and Culverhouse suspended and subsequently sacked around 10 months ago for bullying. Leaves it to the end of the season with Given and Cowans helping out. Then brings in Keane which was always unlikely to last long. He went two and a half months ago and no replacement. Who chooses to operate without an assistant manager for crying out loud? There's no-one in the entire footballing world who they could afford and could help out?

Obviously having no-one would be better than Hoddle and his non-magic. They're already scoring no goals away from home and seem committed to a possession based game which produces no attacks so half his work is done anyway.

 

[Alan]

Can't see the bottom three changing all that much from here on out. Maybe Burnley will get out of it but I think Leicester and Villa are as good as sunk unless something changes drastically for each of them.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Those two goal leads Burnley chucked away vs Palace and Albion when they were cruising - terrible goals to give away as well - look like a real body blow. Especially given their upcoming run:

Man Utd (A)
Chelsea (A)
Swansea (H)
Liverpool (A)
Man City (H)
Southampton (A)
Tottenham (H)
Arsenal (H)
Everton (A)

They might as well go for it tonight against Louis Long Baal's lot. Represents as good a chance as any of getting something.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Ouch - that is a horrible run of fixtures. Anything from that lot has to be a bonus.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

A club like Aston Villa should not be in the mess they are, but clearly their inability to score goals is why they are in the bottom three. I think they will stay up, but it could be very close.

 

[Langers]

Those two goal leads Burnley chucked away vs Palace and Albion when they were cruising - terrible goals to give away as well - look like a real body blow. Especially given their upcoming run:

Man Utd (A)
Chelsea (A)
Swansea (H)
Liverpool (A)
Man City (H)
Southampton (A)
Tottenham (H)
Arsenal (H)
Everton (A)

They might as well go for it tonight against Louis Long Baal's lot. Represents as good a chance as any of getting something.

Saw Dyche's pre-match interview earlier today and it was so refreshing to see a manager not moan about the fixture lists. He basically said they've got to play all teams twice so why should it matter when that is? He then said that it's these kind of games they've been looking forward to since their promotion was confirmed.

A decent attitude. Fair play to him - I have a lot of time for Sean Dyche.

 

[Alan]

In principle I agree, Langers, but equally it must take a more severe physical toll to play against that caliber of competition consecutively.

 

[YoungWolf]

Dyche is brilliant, I'm surprised he hasn't bee linked with moves to other clubs with the recent sackings. Seems very committed to Burnley as you would be I suppose with them having given him the opportunity after he'd been sacked (unfairly) at Watford.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

Lambert saying that every game now is like a cup final. Trying to rally the troops maybe.

 

[Kenny]

Lambert saying that every game now is like a cup final. Trying to rally the troops maybe.

or rolling out a boring cliche as he has nothing else he can say.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

or rolling out a boring cliche as he has nothing else he can say.

You are probably right. But I do wonder when a club is struggling as Villa are, what else can a manager do?