Aston Villa News 24/7Writer: Jake Findlay 
Date:Sunday January 13 2013
Time: 7:34PM
UK time is: 08:38:53
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How Do We Turn This Around
Excellent piece from Jake today that I imagine will strike a chord with many.
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When times are bad and you have made mistakes and when things are going against you in life I have always found that the best thing to do is to face up to your mistakes, admit you are wrong and remedy the situation as soon as humanely possible. I believe Randy Lerner and Paul Lambert need to do this to help save Aston Villa.
Let`s start with Lambert. He came in with a record that was impressive, he has had three seasons in a row of unqualified success, he therefore has not had to deal with failure. David Moyes commented that in his first difficult year at Everton he did not know what to say when the team went on a bad run as he had never experienced failure as a manager. I believe Lambert is in the same situation now.
His belief that youth, enthusiasm and his ability to motivate are enough to create a winning formula has been found to be fatally flawed. It doesn`t work at a massive club, particularly one which is experiencing a steep decline. The club expects more and when a big club is in a tailspin they drop harder and faster. A big club needs the fans to believe, it needs a good sized squad, it needs to be organised and sure of its direction and it needs a style of play that it can be proud of.
Lambert now needs to start using all of the resource he has available.
He needs to galvanise the squad and create a feeling of togetherness. He has to stop ostracising senior pros like Bent who he has treated disgracefully. How can a man of his talents not even be included in two match day squads in a row when he was fully fit? Lambert did this to him and it sends out a message of arrogance and naivety. He has to stop doing this.
Similarly sending two experienced pros, like Warnock and Hutton, to train with the youth team when we are stretched for talent is criminal behaviour. We are paying these players wages so we should use and motivate them. They may not be top drawer but they are better than Stephens, Lihaj and Bennett. To discard them and disrespect them in this manner is disgraceful.
If we have no money to spend then Lambert needs to use the entire squad at his disposal - including Gabby, Bent, Dunne, Warnock and Hutton. He needs to start again, admit that his current direction is folly and his experiment has failed.
We just have to get through this season, he can start again in the summer and create the squad he wants but now is the time to use all at his disposal and forget the policy of divide and rule.
Similarly Randy Lerner and Paul Faulkner need to stop concentrating on the bottom line and once again reinvest into this squad. Three years of asset stripping and balancing the books has brought about the loss of key personnel and drained the squad of the quality required to stay in the Premier League. They need to bolster the squad and insist that Lambert uses all his senior pros instead of trying to make their life so intolerable that they will hand in a transfer request.
There can be no more 'bigger picture` policy for the remainder of the season. We need to regroup, re-galvanise and admit that the management of this club have got it very badly wrong. We have the three weeks of January to do this or it will truly be too late.
Finally we fans have to keep going down and supporting the club. To date we have been magnificent in backing Lambert despite his glaring errors and tactical inadequacy.
Perhaps we need another 12th man campaign. It worked last time, perhaps it can work again. Over to you Mr Fear!
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Your Comments
Appreciate your passion Jake. We certainly need a few experienced heads (CB and CM) and I think most are agreed on this. I think we had experience last year mixed the youth and we were in the same boat because the experienced players were not of the required quality or character. Can Lambert motivate Warnock, Hutton and Dunne? If he believes so much in his motivational talents then maybe he should try though I think there is more behind their exclusion than finance which leaves us looking for a Billionaire to underwrite the club which is... going round in circles again. Personally, I think we need a real leader, an iron man on the pitch to galvanize everyone. Vlaar is far to quiet for me. They need someone in the middle who they can lean on and be inspired by; someone with real character and presence. I think that would make a massive difference right now above anything.
Villa_Grizzly
we are desperate for quality not experience. we do not need players looking for a final pay day, however where we get them from i dont know and nobody else sems to either. i cannot remember another window when we have been linked with so few realistic targets. i realy do not know where we are going from top to bottom
madforit
We need to buy players, that is the only way to avoid relegation, it's simple. If we don't buy, Randy Lerner is relegating us and my god I hope he suffers for it, we might in the process but oh well.
P.Avfc
Buy,sack or do nothing. Everybody knows it will be do nothing.
tarzansbrother
Give him some more bloody tools then !!
http://www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7512455
son_of_cher
Excellent article but Lerner isn't going to change. He brought into the Bubble that is the EPL when a club like Villa could dream of the Champs (Chumps?) League and when the mad Russian at Stamford Bridge still held the biggest stick. Sheikh Mansour at Citeh changed everything. Spurs have shown the glass can be broken at the top but Levy is a far more experienced and canny operator than Lerner. Spurs probably have footie men in high places at WHL. Villa, seemingly, have none. Agree entirely about the disgraceful treatment of Bent. The fact that so many so-called supporters have been slagging him off is also disgraceful after his contributions to the cause. He'll never be world class but neither are Villa at the moment and his goals have been and could be the difference between the EPL and the Championship. Lambert might possibly believe that Villa can be like the terrific young Man Utd and Ajax sides of the 90's. Villa can't be. Not yet. There are no Beckham's, Scholes, Giggs or Nevilles much less Litmanen's, Kluiverts, Seerdorf's or de Boer's. To get that quality Randy Lerner needs to invest. He is unlikely too.
VillaWillRiseAgain
Really missing Petrov right now.
Lock
Having once called James Milner a 'Judas' on this site is a big personal regret. His performance for Citeh today is an illustration of what Villa lost. No wonder MON quit. Milner isn't a 'Judas' but a terrific player who deserves his Champions medal. Being a harsh critic of MON -- for all his faults -- is also a regret. The MON years seem like halcyon days compared to the Lerner-Faulkner inflicted mess of 2012/2013.
VillaWillRiseAgain
I don't understand the criticism for Lambert. I don't think we (as Villans) have realised how poor our squad is! PL inherited the cheapest (excluding Bent) and youngest squad in the entire premier league. Even worse though is that the quality in our team is pathetic. I can't name any team in the premier league that would table a bid for any defender or midfielder at our club. Who thinks Q.P.R. would table a bid for a Villa player outside of Bent? The worst team in the league might only want 1 player from our club... How pathetic is that! Is it PL's fault that he inherited kids? Is it PL's fault that he received no backing from RL? Is it PL's fault that most of the best performing players (Benteke, holman, westwood,vlaar,guzan) are all his signings???? What else can the man do? We are sitting 18th with the WORST squad in the premier league. Everyone can see we need a left back, a quality DM, creative CM/winger and a quality CB. Do you know what happens if we sign them? We end up playing a team that consists of virtually ONLY PL signings. Yes PL was given such rubbish that the only way we can compete is to BUY AN ENTIRE NEW TEAM! PL has not been perfect but please give the guy a break. Randy Lerner and his waste of space board are to blame. We could have Jose Mourniho here and he would do nothing with this squad.
Astriel
I don't understand the criticism for Lambert. I don't think we (as Villans) have realised how poor our squad is! PL inherited the cheapest (excluding Bent) and youngest squad in the entire premier league. Even worse though is that the quality in our team is pathetic. I can't name any team in the premier league that would table a bid for any defender or midfielder at our club. Who thinks Q.P.R. would table a bid for a Villa player outside of Bent? The worst team in the league might only want 1 player from our club... How pathetic is that! Is it PL's fault that he inherited kids? Is it PL's fault that he received no backing from RL? Is it PL's fault that most of the best performing players (Benteke, holman, westwood,vlaar,guzan) are all his signings???? What else can the man do? We are sitting 18th with the WORST squad in the premier league. Everyone can see we need a left back, a quality DM, creative CM/winger and a quality CB. Do you know what happens if we sign them? We end up playing a team that consists of virtually ONLY PL signings. Yes PL was given such rubbish that the only way we can compete is to BUY AN ENTIRE NEW TEAM! PL has not been perfect but please give the guy a break. Randy Lerner and his waste of space board are to blame. We could have Jose Mourniho here and he would do nothing with this squad.
Astriel
Apologies for the double post! :)
Astriel
Is going down really that bad? What are we doing in the Prem anyway - above relegation, not in Europe - what's the point? Villa need to try a different direction and not be pressured to get results. A young team, with a manager that can get them thinking and playing football (possibly with some experienced players to help) is the way to go (Swansea are an example). Until Villa 'sell out' they can't afford to buy success (or even survival). Lerner has created a club - excellent training facilities, changes to the stadium (and around), a scouting network (beginnings of) and a whole socially responsible side. Fans need to support the manager and the players on the pitch - they know they need to get better, they don't need the pressure being put on them - especially as a young team
Football is Life
Thats how I feel Astriel he has made plenty of mistakes and at times hasnt helped the situation but its a thankless job and the only support PL has received is fan support...
CDX_EIRE
I also would love to see how OGS and Martinez would have done in the job just for comparison... or Gus Poyet any other manager really just to see how good or bad they wud have done...
CDX_EIRE
Probably not the right place to post.. But, assuming that we are all aware of our wage bracket.. Can anyone name any real possibilities for the CB / CM positions??
applesmoke
The high quality training facilities and stadium plus the scouting network are basic requirements for a modern top-flight club. They are aspects of the football club that are not exclusive to Villa. The clubs much vaunted academy isn't and won't produce top players. Brit and Irish lads weened on oversized piches where lunatic adults scream at them to 'get rid of it' aren't going to be the new Messi no matter what coaching they get at Villa. The talent has already been coached out of them by the time they get to the academy. Lerner does deserve credit for the clubs relationship with Acorns.
VillaWillRiseAgain
Im starting to only see lower league guys no point naming them we all know who they are... I reckon we could pick up Moussa Sissoko for 4 or 5m and 30k wages if offered some decent bonuses and we bet off any competition... Realistically who would want to jump on this sinking ship for rubbish a lower wage...
CDX_EIRE
I am sorry but thos sticking up for Lambert, have you seen his tactics !? I mean come on we play a 2 leg cup semi, first leg away and he players 3 up front ,I am sorry but that is just stupid, you try to get the opposition on the break but pack out the defence and midfield until we get to the home leg, pathetic, oh and he spent a lot on Benteke who we were saying wow but now he can't hit a barn door, Bent was captain for a game then dropped, Lambert got Bennett , not good enough, Westwood not ready for another 2 years at this level, Ahmadi not good enough, Vlaar injury prone and an ok sort of player, so no in my mind Lambert has a lot to answer for as well as the board, and I am fed up of him saying they gave me everything out there, what about they didn't try hard enough or they are cr@p
andy3221
Hutton, Warnock, Dunne and Collins were the experienced heads that got us into this run of awful results last season. PL has tried to change things, but going back to tried and trusted failures will take us nowhere. Vlaar plus a midfield old head (from who knows where) will still make a big difference. If I could have one player back from last season other than Stan, I am afraid to admit it would incredibly be Heskey, who actually slogged every last effort out on the pitch thse last few games last season to give us the few draws we needed to stay up. Left back remains a huge problem. Hopefully Stephens can't be that bad again, or switch Baker is the other alternative if Vlaar is back. Then the new midfielder please. Bottom line though is we need the confidence that a couple of wins would bring, and that could yet transform us into a team that can pick up enough points. A lucky win at Swansea was just seconds away. Ignoring that, if results had gone as they deserved to on we (however basd we were) would have got at least a point on Saturday, and Reading would have lost. Our luck must change soon ..... please. Up the Villa!
stennyvilla
Astriel funny to blame the board and then point out that Lambert bought virtually a whole team in the summer. Oh and lest we forget he himself said more funds were available but he was satisfied with what he'd got. It's all Lerner's fault of course. He has continually backed every manager under his tenure. At one point we were actually the highest spenders in England and possibly even Europe during a summer window. It is hardly his fault that the huge sums were wasted on ageing average players who had no resale value that have crippled the club ever since. Lambert picked his players, assembled this bunch (they aren't a team as that requires some form of cohesion) and behaved appaulingly towards several players who he decided were surplus to requirements, results are awful and he has failed to provide any leadership, tactics, organisation or coaching since his arrival. In answer to the article, the answer is nothing, there is nothing left to be done to save the club the time to act has been and gone and that is where Lerner needs to be accountable. Loyalty is admirable but failing to act when a need for change is obvious is simply weak management.
AVbornandbred
applesmoke - Palacios from Stoke would be affordable and exactly what we need in the middle! Is it also worth mentioning that the much praised signing of a new Head Scout has come to nothing, with rumours he has walked out. Lambert told us he knew who he wanted in December and that he would be making moves in January, yet not one new face at Bodymoor Heath in 2 weeks. Contrition and admission of guilt are absent from anyone at Villa, and they are walking this club in to the abyss blindfolded. No one high up the club has a clue about football and that is why we are in decline!
heavy d
Does everyone remember last season when Collymore was saying Villa fans should be patient and lay off McLeish and the Villa? He said that as long as we survived last season there would be changes happening at the club that would please us fans, and that the club would be moving in the right direction? He isn't saying any of that **** now though is he. Looks like he was blowing smoke. It was obvious to everyone over a year ago that this was the way we were headed but anyone who complained was lambasted in the media. Maybe if a few of the Villans in the media used there position to voice concerns earlier the club wouldn't think they could take the p*ss like they are. LERNER AND FAULKNER SHOULD SHIP OUT AND GET JOBS COUNTING BEANS AT A FACTORY......or managing a
heavy d
Good stuff, interesting snippet about moyes.
bikini inspector
It's a real mess, but 2 wins in the next 2 games buys us some comfort. I resigned myself to the fact that we will be relegated this season after losing at home to Southampton. Can it be averted? Possibly, but we need min 2 quality signings / loans. If I were lambert I would ask SAF Scotsman to Scotsman for some help with a loan!
thorpyuk
Also agree with getting Dunne, Warnock, even Hutton back- we need wxperience and fast!
thorpyuk
Palacios is agood shout and surely there must be someone in Scotland, Germany or Spain who can fill the role of midfield general who is available relatively cheaply. Unfortunately like our manager and many of our players the scouting system is crap.
AVbornandbred
AVB. Really? So 22 million is enough to completely rebuild the squad? A net spend of 18 million actually. That equates to 2.8 million per player... Or maybe since MON left we have been one of the lowest net spenders in the premier league. Please do explain how you would have spent the 22 million! And maybe I'm a cynic but I can't imagine PL telling Lerner that he doesn't want more money... Seems unlikely to me. No thanks Randy, I don't need another 20 million to buy some proven premiership quality. I'm going to gamble my job on unproven championship players. Sounds very very unlikely...
Astriel
Thorpy, Fergie probably WANTS Villa to be relegated. 'Scotsman to Scotsman'? Do you think if -- when he was L'Pool gaffer -- Kenny Dalglish had gone to Fergie -- 'Scotsman to Scotsman' -- asking for help Fergie would have fell over himself to help him?
VillaWillRiseAgain
Danny Murphy, currently playing at Blackburn might fit the bill. Experienced, quality and maybe looking for a final fling in the P League.
chocolate teapot
Arsenal have a surplus of midfielders is Rosisky still there ? he had an eye for a pass as do most Arsenal players loan him till the end of season Palacious is also a good shout. As for what Lambert faced when he arrived dont forget several players had departed in the summer and to cut the wage bill he could not replace them on the same wages hence younger lower league players to make up the numbers. AS for those sceaming for Dunne (our own goal expert) Hutton (our best pub footballer) and Warnock the only one I am not sure about are you serious ?. Do not forget Chelsea beat us 7 with Dunne in the defence! .
Merlin128777
applesmoke - I know some (or all) will think I'm a bit demented but I think Craig Gardner could now do a good job for us. I know there's the SHA connection etc., but he was with us before since he was a young boy and it was MON who wouldnt give him a game and forced him out, and SHA paid daft money for him at the time. He's a lot more experienced now, he's hard as nails, bags of energy, likes a tackle and has one hell of a shot on him, and also has scored for Sunderland this season with a couple of excellent free kicks. MON has just bought a new midfielder and he plays Craig at right-back most of the time I think. Should Villa wanted him back I think he might just love to come back home to his alma-mater :-) Your shout for Palacios looked good, but looking at the stats it says that he has only made 4 sub appearances for Stoke this season? Has he been injured or attitude I wonder, bit concerning anyways.
OurtrACE
'over to you Mr Fear'............ Or maybe someone else could do something? Just a thought like!
The Fear
Good piece of writing Jake me old mucker. We are never too far apart in our thoughts and opinions, so its no surprise to report that I'm pretty much in full agreement with your article. In short though, how do we turn this around in glensider's rather simplistic world? Well we start winning games, particularly the home games, and wouldn't it be nice to actually win two top flight premier league fixtures back to back? Last time we managed that rarity, I believe I was back in school wearing short trousers. We bring in quality during the transfer window, something that is currently in very short supply here at Birmingham B6. I'm not so much demanding experience, it's quality throughout the starting line up that we need. Without it the few genuine talented youngsters that we have, will never survive and flourish. I dont like loan deals, but beggars cant be choosers, and in our current predicament, we need to beg, steal or borrow whoever and whatever we can. Time is running out, the clock is ticking, and while at this moment in time we look very much a team heading to the championship, hopefully come the closing of the witer window come months end, we will at least have a stronger squad available for the fight to avoid what would definitely be a disaster for AVFC. Relegation would set this club back years.
glensider
VWRA- that's because Liverpool are fierce rivals with Man U. Villa are NOT rivals at the moment as we are nowhere near a threat.
thorpyuk
Thorpy, Fergie does nobody favours, dude. Maybe he and Lambert can get the old kilts out and share a wee dram? Fergie doesn't take prisoners and he recognizes Villa as sleeping giants. He might do his son Darren the odd favour and maybe one or two former players like Mark Hughes (Park Ji-Sung went to QPR) but he ain't gonna do someone a favour just cos he's a fellow Scot. He's a professional.
VillaWillRiseAgain
Btw, L'Pool are 'nowhere near a threat' either and won't be for some time.
VillaWillRiseAgain
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