Is this what transition looks like?

[Toronto Villa]

As much as I hope I'm wrong I don't think this is transition, this could be it.

I don't believe that for a second. I cannot believe a manager that as a player played and won at the highest level have suddenly settled for outright mediocrity for the remainder of his career.

[pauliewalnuts]

Can somebody change the title of this thread and replace 'transition' with 'train crash'-

Oh behave you drama queen!  We're 10th in the league, 3 points behind Man United after almost half the season!!

So? We're not going to win the league or finish high enough to play in Europe, so why not play to entertain. The team is so fucking boring.

Where has the team from the end of last season gone?!?!

I think there are a number of factors, a few players clearly off form most notably Benteke; injuries preventing us playing any sort of settled side; the opposition knowing a bit more about how we play.

Just hoping we see a similar post Christmas improvement as last season.

I thought last season quite frequently when we didn't have the ball, we'd harry the opposition, chase them down, and try to get it back. We'd then try to use it.

This season there has been way less than that.

I appreciate that Benteke has been off form, as has Weimann, but I don't know what the answer is there - is that really a satisfactory explanation for anything? Isn't the manager supposed to get them in form? It's not like something that just happens and you can't influence it, surely?

[hilts_coolerking]

As much as I hope I'm wrong I don't think this is transition, this could be it.

I don't believe that for a second. I cannot believe a manager that as a player played and won at the highest level have suddenly settled for outright mediocrity for the remainder of his career.

What he's aiming for and what's he able to achieve might not be the same thing.

[dekko]

As much as I hope I'm wrong I don't think this is transition, this could be it.

I don't believe that for a second. I cannot believe a manager that as a player played and won at the highest level have suddenly settled for outright mediocrity for the remainder of his career.

Plus there was the Norwich chairman saying that Lambert was the most ambitious and driven person that he'd ever met.  No way is he going to settle for what we are now.

We've played pretty badly all season to be honest (although we have learnt how to grind out results instead of just capitulating) but I accepted a long time ago that if we're going to go about squad building in this way, then its going to take a while.  I'll wait and see where we are at the end of the season before drawing any conclusions on Lambert's tenure so far.

[Dave]

As much as I hope I'm wrong I don't think this is transition, this could be it.

I don't believe that for a second. I cannot believe a manager that as a player played and won at the highest level have suddenly settled for outright mediocrity for the remainder of his career.

Plus there was the Norwich chairman saying that Lambert was the most ambitious and driven person that he'd ever met.  No way is he going to settle for what we are now.

I've heard at least two journalists who report on Norwich say that for three years the one thing that could have made Norwich was great was Lambert and since he has gone it's just a case of making do and treading water.

That doesn't necessarily mean that he's right for us, but I'd imagine that what we're doing now isn't the culmination of his plan.

And I'm sure that even the most anti-Lambert person would have to accept that at the very least Lambert gives the impression that there is a plan.

[Toronto Villa]

As much as I hope I'm wrong I don't think this is transition, this could be it.

I don't believe that for a second. I cannot believe a manager that as a player played and won at the highest level have suddenly settled for outright mediocrity for the remainder of his career.

Plus there was the Norwich chairman saying that Lambert was the most ambitious and driven person that he'd ever met.  No way is he going to settle for what we are now.

I've heard at least two journalists who report on Norwich say that for three years the one thing that could have made Norwich was great was Lambert and since he has gone it's just a case of making do and treading water.

That doesn't necessarily mean that he's right for us, but I'd imagine that what we're doing now isn't the culmination of his plan.

And I'm sure that even the most anti-Lambert person would have to accept that at the very least Lambert gives the impression that there is a plan.

I have think that he believes slow and steady wins the race. Thing is slow and steady isn't going to win you many friends. I hope at some point there will come a time where we decide to accelerate again and get in players that moves the ultimate objective needle a little faster.

[London Villan]

And I'm sure that even the most anti-Lambert person would have to accept that at the very least Lambert gives the impression that there is a plan.

I wish he'd tell the players what this plan was...

[PaulWinch again]

I think we badly miss players for the present at the expense of prospects for the future. People have mentioned it on the post match thread, but we seem to be too focused on the future. Martinez appears to have the right balance at Everton, he has some really promising players but with some experienced heads. I really think we've missed a trick there and I don't believe Everton's budget can outstrip us by that much.

[ROBBO]

toward the end of last season Lambert had us playing much better football and we could see the plan working, Benteke was our main man and the players around him lifted their game. For me the summer undid a lot of the gain, Lambert again went bargain basement but this time with little success, the players he bought in such as Tonev are a long way short of being Prem standard and others are getting no game time at all, not even on the subs bench. If Lambert had bought a quality midfielder and forward to support the improvement we would have been better and less unsettled.

[Ad@m]

I think we badly miss players for the present at the expense of prospects for the future. People have mentioned it on the post match thread, but we seem to be too focused on the future. Martinez appears to have the right balance at Everton, he has some really promising players but with some experienced heads. I really think we've missed a trick there and I don't believe Everton's budget can outstrip us by that much.

Everton are just significantly further along the path than we are.  Kenwright has been pleading poverty for years and Moyes had to run a very tight budget.  Credit where credit's due, he did this very well, using a good scouting network to pick up cheap players from overseas and bringing talent through to Prem standard.  Martinez has taken what was already an established top 8 side and carried on the same work.

On the other hand Lambert picked up a squad littered with overpaid, undermotivated, seasoned pros and an annual wage bill that was unsustainable.  He's had to rip that to pieces and start from scratch.  We're not going to match Everton overnight.

[PaulWinch again]

I think we badly miss players for the present at the expense of prospects for the future. People have mentioned it on the post match thread, but we seem to be too focused on the future. Martinez appears to have the right balance at Everton, he has some really promising players but with some experienced heads. I really think we've missed a trick there and I don't believe Everton's budget can outstrip us by that much.

Everton are just significantly further along the path than we are.  Kenwright has been pleading poverty for years and Moyes had to run a very tight budget.  Credit where credit's due, he did this very well, using a good scouting network to pick up cheap players from overseas and bringing talent through to Prem standard.  Martinez has taken what was already an established top 8 side and carried on the same work.

On the other hand Lambert picked up a squad littered with overpaid, undermotivated, seasoned pros and an annual wage bill that was unsustainable.  He's had to rip that to pieces and start from scratch.  We're not going to match Everton overnight.

I'm not saying we can match Everton overnight, but Everton's approach is the correct one. You mix upcoming, ambitious talent with the right sort of experienced players. There's no reason why we couldn't be doing that now.

[ROBBO]

Barry in place of Westwood.

[aj2k77]

There is no plan is there.

Every game is the same non style of play.
Every game the free kicks are the same.
Every game the corners are the same.
Every game the throw ins are the same.
Every game the tactics are the same.

We never do anything different on the pitch. There doesn't seem to be any signs of things being worked on in training. How many times has Lambert tinkered with the team or formation and out thought another manager? How many times has Lambert made a baffling selection or substitution and we've been fucking hammered?

I think the guy is absolute shit and he's spent shit too. For anyone asking who could do a better job, well we play the worst football in the division apart from fat sams lot so i'd say the majority of the divisions managers could do a better job anyway. 50% pass completion? You might aswell toss a fucking coin, heads we give you the ball tails we keep it for another 5 seconds.

Think small and appoint Norwich and Blues small time managers and that's what you become.

[pauliewalnuts]

Playing devil's advocate here, but why are we necessarily even on the same path as Everton in any case?

Maybe they're just a better side than we are, in which case, you could say that 'further along the path' thing about any team significantly better than us, surely?

They have certainly done a significantly better job of managing their assets over the last few years than we have (look at the wastage on our squad).

Don't get me wrong, I still like Lambert, I think his principles are sound, and I don't believe he actively wants us to play such a disjointed style of football - I don't think, for example, that he sends them out there and tells them to misplace simple passes, to deliver abysmal corners, or not to use space or chase the ball down, not for a second, but the flip side of that is that there has to be some evidence that he can get us playing better at some point.

There have been flashes of it - a half against Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea away - but, to my mind, not enough of it so far this season.

I'm not suggesting for a nanosecond that we should replace him, but the flip side of our backing is that he has got to get us playing better at some point, and hopefully soon, or I think that huge well of goodwill he had all of last season and most of this is going to start to get depleted quicker.

[Louzie0]

I think the guy is absolute shit

Bollux