Are Things Really Better ?

[Norfolk Stats Man 0]

I Know Lamberts gone, and I havn''t come on here to start another boring debate on Lambert v Houghton, so lets call it "Attacking Football" v "Defensive Football" . After 31 games last season as opposed to 31 games this season :- Attacking Football          Pd        W   D    L    F     A    Gd    pts           W   D    L    F     A      Gd    pts   total Gd    total pts        1st April 2012 >      31         6    5    4    23    19   +4    23             4    4    8    19    30    -11    16        -7            39Defensive Football        1st April 2013 >     31         6    6    3     16    15   +1    24             1    7    8     12    32    -19    10       -19          34        1st April 2012 >     Scored 2 or more - 13 times                            Conceeded  4 or more  -  1  once        1st April 2013 >     Scored 2 or more  -  6 times                            Conceeded  4 or more  -  6  timesI feel sorry for Grant Holt and his fellow attack minded colleagues, because the team is not set up to play to there strenghths, as it was last term, the emphases this year being on Bassong and Martin & co at the back. I dont think Grant is any lesser player this year he is just frustrated, at the role he is being asked to play. Ian Culverhouse is a big miss, but he will be back on May 4th when "Defensive Football" plays "Attacking Football" who''s your money on ?

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

Interesting that we got more points at home going for all out defense[:^)]

[Highland Canary 76]

No, but they will be next season. We''ve bought RvW presumably with the intention of trying to score goals next season (and, possibly, to go out and try and win football matches).

[Aggy 752]

You do remember that it was Lambert who left us? We didn''t sack him because we thought Hughton was a better manager.

Lambert left. We don''t need to be better than him. We just need to stay up. If we do that, then I couldn''t care less about any comparisons whatsoever.

[K Lo 221]

Furthermore, look where Lambert is with Villa right now:____Pl__W__D__L____W__D__LNor. 31__6__6___3____1__7__8Villa 31__4__4___8____3__5__7How would we know Lambert would have replicated or bettered last season? Besides, as mentioned, he left so there''s not really much point going on.

[Jim Smith 2,314]

The thing that we did so much better last season was to beat the teams around us and below us in the table. It was a hallmark of Lambert''s management that we were very efficient in those games and I think if you look at the few games Villa have won this season he is kind of doing the same there albeit slightly less successfully. What that did was as well as keep our points tally ticking over it also denied those teams down the bottom points thus keeping them at arms length.

At present we are not doing that, We are just tending to draw with the teams around us or below us in the table which means that when they get an unexpected win against the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool (both of whom have screwed us a bit this season by turning in some particularly inept performances against some of our rivals whilst playing really well and taking 6 points against us) the gap suddenly closes and we all start getting nervous.

I know Hughton can;t control Holt''s penalty taking but under Lambert last season we would have beaten Southampton and then even if we had lost at Wigan but the net result would have meant Southampton were still 3 points behind us rather than level. This season we are not taking points off the relegation rivals as regularly which is why we are still looking over our shoulders at that 3rd relegation spot. We need to change this an in particular beat Villa at home. If we do that then we will probably be alright even if we only scramble 2 or 3 draws from the other fixtures.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

Interesting that the OP doesn''t compare the number of clean sheets this season with last season...

 

The fact is we''re 5 points behind our position last year, so last year we were safe (all but mathematically) by now, this year we''re still very much in the relegation scrap, albeit better off than the 6 teams below us.

 

Views on how we''d have done if Lambert had stayed are personal gut feelings.  My view is that he left mainly because he felt he''d taken us as far as he was able to, so I think that if he''d stayed, we''d have performed more like Villa this year than City last year.  I think our swashbuckling approach last year left us open to the counter attack and also relied on us being very clinical in front of goal.  Other teams would have worked this out and done better against us if we''d tried to repeat the same approach.

 

You''ve just got to look at the defenders who have left us since last year.  With the exception of Naughton (who''d have been kept if we had any choice) all the rest are now playing in the Championship and only RM remains from our regular back 4 last year (and he''d probably be second choice if Whittaker had stayed fit).

 

Also there''s the fact that we''ve been missing our first choice goalkeeper for what seems like forever now.  While Bunn has done a good job, I think this has cost us a few points - probably only 3 or 4, but as the OPs stats show, we''re only 5 points worse off than we were this time last year.