Paul Lambert Breaks a New Record in Aston Villa History

Villa Park home form reaches a whole new level

 

The 2-1 loss against Fulham, yet another home defeat against a team that were bottom of the league before kick-off, sees Villa notch up their 10th home league defeat of the season. Villa have never gone into double figures before, so it’s the most home league defeats in the history of Aston Villa Football Club.

Lets not forget Villa recorded nine home losses last season, so the current Villa boss already held the record.

Add to the league defeats of this season, two further home losses in both of the cups – to Spurs and Sheffield United – and you’ve got 12 home defeats for the season, so far. Not exactly a statistic that puts joy in the heart of Villa season ticket holders.

‘Long-term projects’, ‘transitional periods’, ‘rebuilding’, however you want to dress it up, it’s no excuse for such poor home form and 10 home losses. Villa have been relegated and lost less at home. Villa have had Alex McLeish in charge and lost less at home. It’s not good.

If Villa had not gained unexpected victories against the current top four, which contributed to a 10 point haul against them, then they’d be in the bottom three now and without a fit Benteke in serious trouble in terms of staying in the Premier League.

This is not a negative spin, but a realisation of the dangerous tightrope Paul Lambert has Villa walking with such poor home form.

For a club like Aston Villa, it is blatantly unacceptable.

Is Lambert’s youth overhaul of Villa’s team, ultimately like Icarus trying to fly too close to the sun?

That’s a debate for another time. In the meantime, supporters need their respect back at Villa Park, as at the moment, we are like lions distinctly lacking in any pride.

UTV

 

 

 

26 COMMENTS

  1. Budgie makes a good point – I travel from Derby to watch our home games with my 14 year old son who has gone to AVFC games since he was 5. He is not so bothered about going anymore (recently we went to Burton Albion and had a great afternoon) he goes because I go….it is a thing we do together. When the likes of Budgie and I stop going where is the next generation of loyal supporters?? I really don’t want to go to the next home game but will be there due to emotional loyalty to AVFC…..no season ticket for me next season.

  2. colin gale has said the wisest thing here so far. Getting angry about things we cannot influence is foolish. I live a mile from Stafford Rangers. Lincoln are in clover compared to the Rangers.There is no comparison between Marston Road and Villa Park. And two of my friends have partners or daughters fighting brain tumours, so football has to be kept in perspective.

    But it does matter, and we do have some leverage if fans unite. Not to sack people that is not realistic. But we pay good money to the club, and a fans forum or fans parliament with proper channels to express our views would make a difference.

    The supporters consultation group does not work, and the club must now worry about attendances next year.

    Lets use this. Every crisis is an opportunity.

    Trevor Fisher

    • You keep banding this word ‘crisis’ around. Define ‘crisis’? It’s not time for the pitchfork brigade and the protests you moot. Nevermind protesting against, but what would you be protesting for? In terms of the picture of the current situation at Villa, Lambert’s defining season was always going to be the third one. He’ll have the chance to add quality rather than quantity this summer.

      It wouldn’t be wise to give him a new contract before Christmas, that’s a given. Will he go in the summer? Highly unlikely, and if he did, Villa would be starting all over again, with the eternal excuse of another transitional season being trotted out by the club again.

      Moyes at Everton experienced some rotten seasons early on, as did Ferguson. Is Lambert under-performing in year two of his ‘project’, damn right he is. But in the name of giving stability a chance and learning from the Everton & United examples of the past, it’s worth a shot giving him the summer and up to Christmas, before getting the pitchforks out.

      Meanwhile, the Aston Villa Supporters Trust is relaunching very soon with the website around a week away. That is the only body that has a chance of creating a representative supporter’s voice. And if everyone rallies behind it, we can all use it to ask the club the questions in the close season, that we all want the answers to.

      There will be mass surveying/polling of as many Villa fans as possible to determine future action.

      As a supporter base we haven’t got an infrastructure to do anything forceful at the moment, so I suggest we use the next few months wisely to create stronger foundations and the AVST is the best way. It will be a different beast from you one you knew Trevor.

  3. it’s very sad ,me and my son travel from lincoln to watch the villa, i’ve been taking him on and off since he was three…it used to be seen as a treat for both me and him….now i find it difficult to justify it…the optimism has gone …the excitment has been replaced almost by a feeling that you half expect to lose to on every trip to vp ….he’s fifteen now and has recently starting to go to watch lincoln city with his mates…he does’nt ask to go to the villa anymore …..however as shit as they are i still love them and always will ….when will the bells ring again for claret and blue….!

    • Is not a sign of the times that we all have to make choices about how far we stretch our finances ?
      As for a 15 year old choosing to be with his mates instead of his father ,as much about generations as it is about the footie ?

      But having expectations of Villa losing are sad . But expectations are the root of much of the anger being expressed . But why are expectations so high or low as the case might be ?
      Football is after all just a game , or is it ?
      The problem is that Footie means a lot more to supporters than just the game . Love for the club indicates a far more emotional attachement to the club , but is that true for all ?
      But what of those emotions ? Are they the same for all ? I suspect not ! And I would go as far as to question what drives the emotional out bursts from some that I read .

      But getting angry about matters one has no control of solves nothing

      Can Villa get back to winning ways ? I hope so .
      Does Villa have the potential to do so ? Yes it has the potential , but the question is will that potential be allowed to develop & be built on ? Or will those over eager for success allow it to fizzle into nothingness once again ?

    • Villa’s problems are small change compared to the Imps. I’m originally a Lincoln man myself and always keep tabs on them. Being stuck in the Conference is terrible. I was there when they were in the conference the last time around, at the final game against Wycombe, when they needed to win to come straight back up. A great day, but part of it was the relief of going straight back-up. We saw what happened to the club later, when this doesn’t happen.

      Villa have been too close to relegation in recent seasons for comfort. There’s an assumption from fans that they would come straight back up refreshed and revitalised. That’s what happened to both Villa and the Imps in the late 80’s, but what’s happened to the Imps since is a cautionary tale.

      Leeds, Forest, Sheff Wed and others have all found to their cost that relegation from the top tier can be like quicksand. Thus I would rather Villa not flirt with relegation any further!

  4. Almost two years ago, I made a post on here about PL…saying he was NOT the Messiah so many of the “Away Fans” wanted when we played Norwich.
    I followed it up when Randy’s first 2 choices declined – (thank you Cardoff for proving that) !
    PL was a 3rd or lesser choice,
    The fudging and resigning chaos of Lambert at Norwich was a direct echo of the McLeish
    “Resign and Sign” TACTIC……that tactic didn’t work in either case..
    WE paid out Compensation on both if them..blew money away through INCOMPETENT stategies.
    I didn’t want either Manager, but out of the Two, I’d have settled for McLeish’s ‘nous’ rather than Lambert’s ‘ignorance’

    I’m not posting to say,….. “I told you so”……….I’m posting this to prove that SOME OF US always regarded Paul as a lucky manager at Norwich, where he confused his sudden media-praise with his ability….imo…he was 3rd or 4th choice at ours.

    I’m embarassed when colleagues (blues fans) yell across the office about our match.
    Mind you, I’ve done the same to them — 🙂

    Funny how both Blues and Us are so rubbish at Home? Look at the Tables. – it’s uncanny!

    Our 3rd or 4th choice Manager really needs to be P45’d… rather than be negotiating a longer contract for himself..when every decent player we have has been put on hold till summer over their contacts.

    I never wanted Paul…I never wabted Alex.

    Is there ANYONE at Us who understands football ?

    • “Is there ANYONE at Us who understands football” clearly not “hamster” other wise some of the rants after yesterdays defeat would not be happening . 4 enforced changes to the team & one of those on the morning of the match is hardly good for success , as it leaves little time for the team to practice how the new tactics will be used
      The managers fault ? Clearly it must be as he evidentally does not have a good enough magic wand or the excellent crystal ball some of his critics seem to think he should have .
      But will Villa ever become the top club most fans want it to be ? It never has been in the past as statistics show that despite it’s success it has @ best been on average a mid table club .
      Could we have the team we desire ? Yes it is possible but the price is probably more failures before it will be acheived . But that will only happen if we have a manager who is allowed to slowly build a squad capable of success over several seasons

      • Colin – it’s not just yesterday’s game though, the main thrust of any reaction was due to the slow burn fact of it being the 10th home defeat. The four players were present for the Stoke game and we know what happened there.

        It is the manager’s fault if the defense are mking the same mistakes day-in and day-out.

        In terms of Villa being a ‘average mid-table’ club, my friends who support other teams used to have a running joke with me, that Villa were a bit pointless as they used to always qualify for the UEFA Cup and get knocked out the early rounds on away goals. That used to be the perception – I’d gladly be viewed as ‘pointless’ in that sense now!

  5. Lerner holds the purse strings, he wants the Players wage bills to be Lowered, Paul L. Took the job knowing this. Paul L has an Eye for the possibility of Potential, in Players, but out of every 5 players, only 1 has the IT FACTOR, the others are 4th rate players, that wouldn’t make the Starting 11, in Division 1!!! Out of our whole Squad there is only 3, maybe 4 players that would play in other Premier Teams & only 1 that would play for the Top 7 Teams!!!! That is F’n Crazy!!! All the rest of the players we have, can’t Cut It!! Weimar is trash, Gabby is trash, Baker, Clark, Holt, Bennett, Lowton, etc etc etc!!! You get what you Pay For, that is quite Obvious Now!! Bradford, Sheffield, Stoke, Fulham!!! Must I go On

  6. The problem is that this has been the normal standard during the reign of Lambert. This is obviously his level. Lerner has a choice. Keep Lambert and splash the cash a bit more. Or sack him and get a manager who can do what Martinez is doing at Everton. Paul Lambert is not good enough to do this on the budget he has been given and what he is producing is not good enough for Aston Villa.

    Basically, Back him or sack him.

    • Lambert has had money – £40 mil plus – but he’s spread it across rebuilding a squad from scratch, with the understandable emphasis on quantity over quality. The focus on quality will no doubt increase in the next transfer window. Most are aware of this, but the lack of real progress this season has put doubts in supporters minds that he can deliver often mooted ‘project’. The third season was always going to be vital in terms of gaining a clear picture. In terms of extended his contract, that should be left to at least Christmas, when we’ll have a clearer picture of whether he is working as Villa manager or not.

  7. Oh happy days another loss & the venom flows a plenty ! But will changing the manager @ this stage of a rebuild acheive ? And would any manager worth his salt want to come to a club where the whims of the fans dictate whether he stays or goes ?
    And just suppose Lerner does get tired of all the accusations against who would be foolish enough to buy the club off him in the knowledge that the fans would demand instant success .
    As for the idea of forcing the value of the club low enough for a consortium of fans to buy it , if the club is bought on the cheap where would all the finance come from to buy all the over priced primma donnas that some fans would demand be bought ?
    After all was that idea not mooted before Doug sold to Randy , as unviable? And the cost of running a club in the Prem has got a lot more expensive since then

  8. Lambert tactically is a disaster. Last home game he played Albrighton centre midfield, this week we had 4 full backs on the field and the two in midfield did not know who was playing where after 15 minutes. Even when we were in free fall in the seventies the players played with passion, only Mark and Brad showed that today. There is only one thing to do, get rid of the man who thinks we are excellent every time we loose.

  9. Hit Lerner in the only way he understands, his pocket. No Villa fans should renew their season tickets until the future policy is explained to us. Is he selling ( please God!) is Lambert getting a new contract ( no way )
    What’s the transfer policy for the summer? Of course we won’t get an explanation on any of this so the only way to get at Lord Lucan in the States is don’t renew your tickets regardless of any incentives to buy early.
    The sooner Lerner, Faulkner and Lambert go the better.

  10. Let’s review: We need four points from four games for even some semblance of safety (forget the last two, they’ll be must-wins for the home teams). I doubt entirely we can draw all four, so we need to win one. Ordinarily, looking at who those four teams are, you’d feel confident, right ?
    Even then, with four points, its conceivable that we’d be essing it through rounds 37-38 that two or three other teams are losing the games they’re supposed to. Welcome to the pleasuredome.

  11. so is complaining all that the fans can do? The club is in free fall and not even a suggestion that a protest can be organized? Still less a meeting?

    In the pub after the game the discussion might just as well have been about the man in the moon as Aston Villa, and this site reflects this< Apart from the suggestion of not renewing season tickets, which is going to happen in droves, what practical moves are fans going to make?

    Here is a couple,. NO NEW CONTRACT FOR LAMBERT. A petition with a minimum of 10,000 signatures.

    An Open Letter to Lerner to call on him to bring in fresh blood to the board and to stop Faulkner going on the FA committee when his job is running a club in danger of imploding.

    Stop moaning and you younger fans get mobilizing. You understand the electronic media. It is so much easier to organize protests than in the days when the Digbeth meeting (1969) took money to organize.

    Anything I can do to help I will. But the future of the club has to mean young people acting.

    trevor fisher. Former Treasurer, Aston Villa Independent Supporters Association (1999 to it close in 2003)

  12. Until lambert is sacked and replaced by michael laudrupp
    We are indecline ive e-mailed the powers that be and also
    Sent a letter to Randy lerner in America. Ask pep Guardiolla
    Of Laudrupp ,they have the same way 4years together at Barcelona
    Get Laudrupp in now for Godsake 40years villa fan.one foot. In
    THE GRAVE WITH THIS ONEIL CLONE

  13. Geoff lambert is to blame. He got lucky with Benteke but he couldn’t wait to go and only stayed for WC. We will have have for next season but under the wring circumstances. As for Delph all lambert has done is give him a run in the team as he had no choice with the rest of the midfield being rubbish. This was a luxury other managers could not do as he was always injured. Bottom line is under lambert we have the worst home record in our history losing 10 at home plus 2 home cup ties. We have lost at home to Fulham for the first time since 1966. Stoke have done the double over us first time since 66. We have lost at VP for the first time ever against a team at the very bottom of the table. Add to that out biggest ever hammering v Chelsea, the humiliation by Bradford and we have a manager who has given us the most unwanted records ever. How you can be a Lambert apologist after today is beyond me and you are clearly in the minority.

  14. Paul Lambert picks the team – Paul Lambert decides on the tactics – Paul Lambert signs the players he wants in his squad = Result, inept, inept, inept!

  15. Lerner is a Doug Ellis clone, it’s been like this since Saunders left and that was a dark day in villas history after we won in Europe everything went down hill from then on

    • We did get unlucky with Graham Taylor leaving for England. But apart from that Villa never kicked on (buying that extra player) when opportunity knocked under Atkinson and Gregory. We’re miles away from that now, and the way the league is set up, we won’t get back there fast, or any time soon.

  16. It is increasingly clear that the club is total mess. An owner who seems to have lost interest and a manager who seems to be competing with fellow Scots Billy McNeill and Alex McLeish to be the club’s worst ever manager. I acknowledge the financial situation that Lambert has had to work in but questions have to be asked about the quality of the bargain basement signings he has made and the ability of the coaching staff to improve them. We now have a team that is incapable of passing the ball forward to colleagues with any accuracy, defenders who can only clear the ball to an opponent and forwards and midfielders who totally lack guile. Lambert should be out this summer.

  17. I agree about Lerner he lost interest however the wages that lambert can pay players at villa thanks to Lerner will only attract low quality players or youngsters hoping fo a bigger club
    But remember who signed benteke and brought on Delphi also remember of the injuries that he was faced with today the blame lies with Lerner

  18. Lambert out you are a disgrace to this club. Totally inept totally clueless. If only we could get rid of Lerner to. I and about 10 if my mates wint be renewing next season as long as we have an incompetent manager and chairman it’s pointless

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