The Paul Lambert thread - poll reset after our capitulation to Hull

[Rudy Can't Fail]

'We'll definitely try [to play a more entertaining brand of football],' the former Norwich manager said. 'We'll go and try and win every game we can. I'm not going to try and sit back, I've not been used to that. We'll go and try and win. If we can do that with style, then great. If you nick the odd one by doing it the other way, then great, we'll take it.

'Norwich were like that [playing entertaining football] for three years. It wasn't just the Premier League that they did that, they'd done that in League One and the Championship. There's too many people who come and watch you — especially here where you get 40,000 at your ground. I'm pretty sure they're not going to sit there and wait for you to take 40 minutes to get into the game and have your first shot at goal. They won't accept it, so you have to get the crowd going.That's what we'll try to do"

I think from his opening presser, the quote I must remember was him commentating on some of the McLeish home games where we barely had any shots at goal and he said that wouldn't be happening anymore.

First game against Everton took 42 mins for our first shot and too many similar home games since.

I think he's like a contestant on Master Chef, he runs into the pantry, runs around looking at what's available, picks up what he thinks looks good then gets back to his station to discover he's got flour, pasta, potatoes, cousous and a tin of maple syrup. He then serves up a disgusting plate of crap and despite nobody wanting to eat tell, turns to the camera and tells the world how good it was - given the restrictions.

If you were to give him the finest rib eye streaks, the best organic vegetables and 90% cocoa I'm damned sure he'd boil the lot in a huge pot. Decent fella that he is, the man's clueless. Let's be honest, he doesn't even look like he understands the basics.

[supertom]

'We'll definitely try [to play a more entertaining brand of football],' the former Norwich manager said. 'We'll go and try and win every game we can. I'm not going to try and sit back, I've not been used to that. We'll go and try and win. If we can do that with style, then great. If you nick the odd one by doing it the other way, then great, we'll take it.

'Norwich were like that [playing entertaining football] for three years. It wasn't just the Premier League that they did that, they'd done that in League One and the Championship. There's too many people who come and watch you — especially here where you get 40,000 at your ground. I'm pretty sure they're not going to sit there and wait for you to take 40 minutes to get into the game and have your first shot at goal. They won't accept it, so you have to get the crowd going.That's what we'll try to do"

I think from his opening presser, the quote I must remember was him commentating on some of the McLeish home games where we barely had any shots at goal and he said that wouldn't be happening anymore.

First game against Everton took 42 mins for our first shot and too many similar home games since.

I think he's like a contestant on Master Chef, he runs into the pantry, runs around looking at what's available, picks up what he thinks looks good then gets back to his station to discover he's got flour, pasta, potatoes, cousous and a tin of maple syrup. He then serves up a disgusting plate of crap and despite nobody wanting to eat tell, turns to the camera and tells the world how good it was - given the restrictions.

If you were to give him the finest rib eye streaks, the best organic vegetables and 90% cocoa I'm damned sure he'd boil the lot in a huge pot. Decent fella that he is, the man's clueless. Let's be honest, he doesn't even look like he understands the basics.

That's possibly the best description of Lambert I've heard.

[Richard E]

Sounds like I'd better stop serving my classic maple syrup potato cakes with couscous pasta to visitors if it's that bad.

[supertom]

Sounds like I'd better stop serving my classic maple syrup potato cakes with couscous pasta to visitors if it's that bad.

It depends. If your visitors are all pregnant women then you can carry on. Don't forget the pilchard salad on the side.

[adrenachrome]

Brum Mail

Aston Villa: I want us to play with freedom, says Paul Lambert

EXCLUSIVE: Boss keen for his players to be creative following tough spell of fixtures against Premier League heavyweights

Oct 23, 2014 06:45
By Gregg Evans


Paul Lambert will allow his players the freedom to express themselves as Aston Villa look to end a run of four successive defeats.

The claret and blues have been dealt an exceptionally difficult start to the season but are still sitting in a healthy mid-table position.

Lambert admits he has had to remain somewhat conservative in recent times as his side have played last season’s top five in their past five fixtures.

He told the Birmingham Mail that he is looking for more from his attacking players in the coming weeks but admits it has never been his intention to sit back and defend.

“Against the big teams, you can’t go gung-ho,” he said.

“Look at Man City, they scored four against Tottenham yet we conceded two against them and that was right at the tail end.

“If you go really gung-ho it can eat you up.

“I want us to create more.

“Look at our attacking players on the pitch on Saturday - there was Tom (Cleverley), Kieran (Richardson), Charlie (N’Zogbia), Gabby (Agbonlahor) and Christian (Benteke).

“That’s half of your team, and then we bring Joe Cole and Andi Weimann on as subs.

“I’d like us to be more productive in the end. I know the players have got it in their lockers to go and do it.

“I want them to play with freedom, they need that.

“I don’t want them to be robotic. I want them to have freedom and their own ideas at times. I don’t have a problem with that.

“You just have to get that balance.

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Hopefully that means we won't see Charlie or Gabby tucking into the midfield and instead trusting the players in there to provide cover, and allowing the forwards the chance to pull wide and move a bit.

I agree with him on the Man City point. If you go out and try and open up against them or Chelsea, you will get whacked.

[Tom_Mc9?]

The proof will be in the pudding.

[mr underhill]

he's already made that - a fusion signature dish called Paul's  seasonal fool

[Risso]

He's even starting to sound like McLeish now.

[paul_e]

The disappointing thing with that piece is that, just like McLeish, he's reeling off names of attacking players who played as if that somehow means the team played with attacking intent, it's almost a football manager (the game) approach to things, just buy players with the right stats and let them get on with it, with very little coaching or tactical input.

Give someone with a basic understanding of the game a day and access to all the footage from the everton game, along with a nice interface (like the sky one) to highlight players and draw on the pitch and they could explain that we struggle because too many of our players are static and happy to stand with a marker giving them an easy time of it.  It's why Benteke looks so good, he's the one player who's naturally capable of finding space.

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I take it as him saying he had a lot of attacking players on the pitch but we didn't create anywhere near enough and he wants that to change.

[Chico Hamilton III]

What I don't understand is that when Lambert comes out with this sort of nonsense, above, why no journalists really scrutinise him and ask him what the f*ck he's on about. Throw some of our truly shocking stats at him and ask him to comment, question him on what progress he has made since joining, ask him serious question instead of letting him talk the usual absolute rubbish.  Looking at the pressure that other managers seem to be constantly under and I really don’t understand the easy ride that Lambert gets. We just seem to accept that this is the way it has to be these days at Villa because Lambert is shit and Lerner, for whatever reason ( maybe Lambert’s got some incriminating negatives of him somewhere) won’t do the right thing.

Any road up, I’ve said this a million times before and I’m starting to bore myself

[pauliewalnuts]

I'm sure he wants us to create more.

That is the easy bit.

I am far from sure he knows how to get us creating more. Therein lies the problem.

Every team bar one across the four leagues has scored at least twice as many goals as we have so far. That is just beyond shocking.

Like Chico said, though, he seems untouchable, none of these horrendous statistics seem to create him any real problems. It's beyond belief.

Although not as beyond belief as giving him a four year contract. Nuts, just nuts.

[pauliewalnuts]

The disappointing thing with that piece is that, just like McLeish, he's reeling off names of attacking players who played as if that somehow means the team played with attacking intent, it's almost a football manager (the game) approach to things, just buy players with the right stats and let them get on with it, with very little coaching or tactical input.

That McLeish comparison is exactly what I thought.

[BoskoDjembaSalifou]

What I don't understand is that when Lambert comes out with this sort of nonsense, above, why no journalists really scrutinise him and ask him what the f*ck he's on about. Throw some of our truly shocking stats at him and ask him to comment, question him on what progress he has made since joining, ask him serious question instead of letting him talk the usual absolute rubbish.  Looking at the pressure that other managers seem to be constantly under and I really don’t understand the easy ride that Lambert gets. We just seem to accept that this is the way it has to be these days at Villa because Lambert is shit and Lerner, for whatever reason ( maybe Lambert’s got some incriminating negatives of him somewhere) won’t do the right thing.

Any road up, I’ve said this a million times before and I’m starting to bore myself

Similarly, I always wonder if Lerner, or Fox, or Faulkner before him, ever ask Lambert what's going on? Do they think, for example, our home record is acceptable?