Lambert in or out? Poll reset with majority 'in', 7th May

[Dave]

How many jobs in England are bigger than Villa, and how much success would he need to be offered and accept one of them? Not many, and quite a bit.

I meant bigger as in a Champions League team. Either here or abroad. And yes, he would need quite a bit of success to warrent their interest which was pretty much my point.

Is there any Briton managing abroad?

If you mean abroad as in Europe, then no.

Brian Deane is managing in Norway.

The thing is that not many British players go and play abroad - but as Lambert is one of those who have and made a real success out of it, you'd expect him to be one of the managers who is more likely to be open to it as well.

I'd be really surprised if he doesn't manage in Germany at some point if he is even a partial success with us.

[Eigentor]

Lambert in. I can smugly claim that I've been saying that all season.

At the start of the season I predicted a Houllieresque season: shit in the start and close to (or in) the relegation zone, then gradually improving into safe midtable mediocricy.

After the Spurs defeat on Boxing Day (?) I felt we were very likely to go down unless we strengthened significantly in the transfer window. When we didn't, I felt we would probably be relegated due to our shit defence. My confidence in Lambert wavered, especially after the cup exits and as he seemed to be completely unable to improve our defence. The reason I didn't want him to go, is that he had assembled the team (which I thought was probably to poor for the Premier League regardless of the manager) and more likely to get the best out of it than a new manager (of the calibre we would be likely to attract).

When we played West Ham at home I thought we would almost certainly go down if we didn't win this. When we did, there was suddenly hope. When we won against Stoke I felt pretty confident that we would stay in the division.

It hasn't been a glorious campaign, but certainly with enough positives for Lambert to keep his job. I can see us doing better next season than fighting relegation, but I am pretty sure we'll hit a glass ceiling if Lambert doesn't do a more serious attempt at sorting out our defence.

[andyh]

I will freely admit to doing a complete 360 on Lambert. I was please when we got him last summer, but by Christmas I honestly believed the job was too big for him. I thought moving to a big city club with big expectations was too much too soon in his career.
I happy to say that since Newcastle (second half) he has,  changed my mind again and I am genuinely excited about how we will develop under him.
My one concern is his apparent reluctance to bring in ANY experience.
I don't think we will struggle next year like this, BUT, will it really hurt us to bring in a bit of nous and experience?
Personally, I think it will invaluable, because the way it is panning out, only Gabby will have had any significant premiership experience next season.
There is no doubt the youngsters have learned loads this year and it will put them in good stead, but lets help them out with the right players and try and bring them up to the next level.
For me, Barry and Lescott would be perfect acquisitions to the squad for next year.

[not3bad]

I think my answer to the article is that sometimes you need to fall down a bit to regroup.  It's happened to Newcastle in recent seasons (though they seem to have taken another fall) and it's happened to Villa.  And yes, the jury is till out on Lambert in purely impartial terms, but sometimes it's just a matter of believing, and I'm very confident things will be much better for us next season.

[pauliewalnuts]

Interesting to watch Lambert's Wigan press conference on AVTV, he talks a bit about the players.

Lowton cost 'a million', Westwood '900,000'. Impressive.

[TopDeck113]

I was delighted when we got him, tempted to give him the boot in January and now looking forward him being our manager next season and beyond.  There's going to be up and downs, but in the fullness of time expect him to deliver a team that will challenge for trophies and possibly knock on the door of Champions' League qualification. 

[ozzjim]

Interesting to watch Lambert's Wigan press conference on AVTV, he talks a bit about the players.

Lowton cost 'a million', Westwood '900,000'. Impressive.

When you consider what we thought - 2.5 ish each - it hammers home just how much a bargain they were. You would not see change out of 16-18 million for the pair now. If they cost 2 between them, it really is quite something. The squad as a unit must be at about its most valuable for as long as I can remember.

[LeeB]

Interesting to watch Lambert's Wigan press conference on AVTV, he talks a bit about the players.

Lowton cost 'a million', Westwood '900,000'. Impressive.

He's built a team on a 1980's budget.

That's fucking brilliant.

[pauliewalnuts]

Lambert in. I can smugly claim that I've been saying that all season.

I thought right through the season that even if we went down, we should keep him on. That's not necessarily the biggest shout of belief in him, it is also a reflection that the whole new manager every year thing doesn't work and has to end somewhere.

However, in defence of those who wanted him out at whichever point in the season, whilst I think some of the suggestions (bring in Fat Sam / Di Matteo / Keane were gigantic kneejerks), I entirely understand why some people wanted him sacked.

There were plenty of points this year where, if you just looked at his record, it was hard to argue that he didn't merit the sack. That's not the same as saying you think he *should* have got it, just an admission that you could mount a decent argument in favour of him going.

[neo_Villan]

Interesting to watch Lambert's Wigan press conference on AVTV, he talks a bit about the players.

Lowton cost 'a million', Westwood '900,000'. Impressive.

I'm almost ashamed when I think back to my indifference at his appointment believing him to be a MON clone. Seeing us actually signing the sort of bargains that I always used to look on in envy when other clubs signed them instead is a great feeling. It makes a change from my usual tirades of "Why the f**k didn't we sign him!" or 'What the f**k are our scouts doing!".

[dekko]

Y'know I'm really glad this site exists, I think the posters here tend to take a much more considered view of things.  We can see what Lambert is trying to do, we can see how far him and the players have come and we can be cautiously optimistic for the future.  God knows things have been awful this season, and we came damn close to the abyss, but the signs for the future are good.

Now I don't like slagging off other Villa fans, but on some of the other big Villa sites you'd think the Bradford cup exit happened last week.  Apparently those who believe in the new transfer policy have been 'tricked' into Lerner and Lambert's nefarious plan to turn us into the next Wigan, unless we pack the squad with players from top 4 clubs then we'll be relegated next season and (my personal favourite) the fact none of the friendlies are against 'quality' sides is another sign of the deliberate 'downsizing' of the club.

Some people just looooove to feel OUTRAGED about something.

[dave.woodhall]

Y'know I'm really glad this site exists, I think the posters here tend to take a much more considered view of things.  We can see what Lambert is trying to do, we can see how far him and the players have come and we can be cautiously optimistic for the future.  God knows things have been awful this season, and we came damn close to the abyss, but the signs for the future are good.

Now I don't like slagging off other Villa fans, but on some of the other big Villa sites you'd think the Bradford cup exit happened last week.  Apparently those who believe in the new transfer policy have been 'tricked' into Lerner and Lambert's nefarious plan to turn us into the next Wigan, unless we pack the squad with players from top 4 clubs then we'll be relegated next season and (my personal favourite) the fact none of the friendlies are against 'quality' sides is another sign of the deliberate 'downsizing' of the club.

Some people just looooove to feel OUTRAGED about something.

Some people/sites went overboard when Randy arrived and feel betrayed that we aren't at least the new PSG. Some of them also thought they'd be a bit more involved than has proved the case.

[dekko]

Y'know I'm really glad this site exists, I think the posters here tend to take a much more considered view of things.  We can see what Lambert is trying to do, we can see how far him and the players have come and we can be cautiously optimistic for the future.  God knows things have been awful this season, and we came damn close to the abyss, but the signs for the future are good.

Now I don't like slagging off other Villa fans, but on some of the other big Villa sites you'd think the Bradford cup exit happened last week.  Apparently those who believe in the new transfer policy have been 'tricked' into Lerner and Lambert's nefarious plan to turn us into the next Wigan, unless we pack the squad with players from top 4 clubs then we'll be relegated next season and (my personal favourite) the fact none of the friendlies are against 'quality' sides is another sign of the deliberate 'downsizing' of the club.

Some people just looooove to feel OUTRAGED about something.

Some people/sites went overboard when Randy arrived and feel betrayed that we aren't at least the new PSG. Some of them also thought they'd be a bit more involved than has proved the case.

Yeah, thats another thing - the way some of the mods and article writers talk on some of the other forums, its as though they are furious that the management aren't phoning them up in person to ask for advice.  The lack of communication from the board has been pretty galling, but I think thats just the way football is these days....

Again, I don't want to slate fellow fans, but jeez, we've had so much relentless negativity over the last year (or three years really) I wish people would just look at the positives for once!

[dave.woodhall]

Y'know I'm really glad this site exists, I think the posters here tend to take a much more considered view of things.  We can see what Lambert is trying to do, we can see how far him and the players have come and we can be cautiously optimistic for the future.  God knows things have been awful this season, and we came damn close to the abyss, but the signs for the future are good.

Now I don't like slagging off other Villa fans, but on some of the other big Villa sites you'd think the Bradford cup exit happened last week.  Apparently those who believe in the new transfer policy have been 'tricked' into Lerner and Lambert's nefarious plan to turn us into the next Wigan, unless we pack the squad with players from top 4 clubs then we'll be relegated next season and (my personal favourite) the fact none of the friendlies are against 'quality' sides is another sign of the deliberate 'downsizing' of the club.

Some people just looooove to feel OUTRAGED about something.

Some people/sites went overboard when Randy arrived and feel betrayed that we aren't at least the new PSG. Some of them also thought they'd be a bit more involved than has proved the case.

Yeah, thats another thing - the way some of the mods and article writers talk on some of the other forums, its as though they are furious that the management aren't phoning them up in person to ask for advice.

Again, I don't want to slate fellow fans, but jeez, we've had so much relentless negativity over the last year (or three years really) I wish people would just look at the positives for once!

One thing I learned very early on - anyone can become an expert on the internet, and if it's not done exactly how you want it to be, then it's wrong.

[PaulWinch again]

Right Mr Lambert get Benteke, Weimann, Westwood, Guzan and Lowton tied down to deals and get our defence sorted out asap. If we don't do that we'll be in big trouble.