Lambert's Vision for Villa

[Ron Manager]

If the plan is a long term plan, how can it be deemed a failure?

Very good point. But as others have stated how can you expect the supporters ,who in these austere times are paying out huge sums of money to view very poor quality football, to keep turning up. The answer is obvious. The Villa Park employees from Lambert down are paid very good wages ,I would imagine, wages that most of us could never hope to attain. How long is 'the long term plan' thats what we would like to be told. 5yrs, or 10yrs, or maybe 20yrs?  If its 20 then I shall be probably sitting in the fabled Trinity Road stand up above looking down.

But I suspect there is no plan just empty words. Anybody who has  worked for major companies in the last forty years or so gets used to this kind of thing. It usually means jobs are at risk. I suspect Lambert is worried, but not too worried ,at the moment. If, however, there is not an upturn by the middle of February I suspect he will be out.

I think,in many ways,Randy has done a good job. Unfortunately, like his father, when he got involved in the sporting arena he has not found success...consistently!

To sum up Randy is a very decent man who would be better off spending his fathers money on something he would enjoy more.

But as he keeps himself to himself and doesnt speak to the media we have no way of finding out what his future intentions for the club are.

Which is a great pity.

[Ron Manager]

There is no plan.   There is no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny, no Tooth Fairy no crock of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The concept of a plan by its very definition requires a beginning, a middle and a conclusion.   A plan to win a war, solve a crime or cure a disease starts somewhere, proceeds and finishes up somewhere, even if the "somewhere" it terminates is admission of failure.

Paul Lambert has had his job for a year and a half.   If there was a plan in place there must be evidence of it by now to prove its existence.   There is nothing whatsoever.   There have been bright spots of success, there have been short spells like a run of a few games at the end of last season which have been better than what has gone before but that is no proof of a plan.

It is like the gambler betting on the numbers of the birthdates of his family as an infallible system of winning a fortune.   Make enough bets and the number of your granny's birthday and your uncle's birthday will win now and again but that is not a betting plan, it is random choice.

We are being massaged into believing that the buying of Bennett and Helenius and Tonev and Kozak and KEA and Luna and Bacuna and Lowton and Woodward is all part of some grand plan to establish Villa as a force in the premiership.   The bare, unvarnished, unmassaged, unmanipulated facts, the statistics, show otherwise.   Lambert denies this by saying that "statistics fry your brain".   No they don't they demonstrate the reality behind the lie.

Make one simple test of the claim that there is a "brick on brick" plan in place.   Ask yourself why we signed Kozak for £7 million.   We already had Benteke, Weimann, Gabby, Fonz, Helenius and Bowery.   Our side was screaming out for midfield strengthening and has been ever since we sold Barry and Milner.   It was an unplanned impulse purchase of the very worst kind.   It was me walking through a tool shop or my wife walking through a handbag shop.

I do not want to see Lambert sacked.   My stand is that I do not think a new manager of any kind would make any difference whatsoever to our decline.   What I do want to see is Lambert to be his own man and stop being the mouthpiece of Faulkner and Lambert and insulting our collective intelligence by giving us the hard sell of a non existent master plan.

The sea change in our fortunes came when the owner and the CEO decided that Aston Villa Football Club was no longer a great and glorious page in the history of the Beautiful Game but a "brand" to be marketed.   The motor which is driving the direction in which we are heading is the desire by Paul Faulkner to impress the boss.   Every word and every statement which comes out of the club, whether it is in the media, on the public address system or in the junk mail we have cascading through our letter boxes is marbled through with American management and marketing methodology.

I do not want to see us go broke.   I do not want us to go down into the third division again, I have seen that movie.   I am in favour of solvency and good housekeeping.

What I am totally and absolutely and utterly against is the unforgivable lie that slashing the cost of owning the club is a plan for anything other than slashing the costs of owning the club.

As Ricky Tomlinson would say "Master plan My arse".

Woodward? ,Brian. John Woodward?  Very intelligent post that!

[Jimbo]

I'll say it again: if there's a plan, tell the fans who are ploughing their hard earnd cash into this 'project' what on earth it is.

If you'd read anything at all about the club since Lerner took over you'd know.  I've lost count of the times since day one when he said he wanted us to be self-sustaining.  Self-sustaining isn't spunking 90-odd percent of your turnover on wages.

I think I have a good idea of where we are, and where we think we're going - through the gradual feed of soundbites and fire-fighting rhetoric issued from the club - but has the club ever come out and just said it? Lambert gave it a right good go recently, but he's not the most articulate person at the club. Perhaps Mr Lerner himself could explain, after all, it's his plan.

Whatever the plan, however, the problem is we've gone from A to C without stopping at B. This sudden austerity is too much, too soon, and doesn't it show?

[Dante Lavelli]

Just to add to your point about the others spending increasing amounts of money just to try to keep up with Man City, Rodgers has spent over £100m on players since he took over at Liverpool 18 months ago.  In doing that he's taken a team that had finished 6th 12 months before he took over, got them to finish 7th in his first year and is currently 5th.  Yes, their football might be better to watch at the moment but that's not sustainable in the long term.

Good posts.

It'd be pretty remarkable if Liverpool finished 5th this year and, despite having been brilliant for large parts of the season, being in trouble again that they've over spent.  Suarez would probably have to leave and I'd guess they'd have to balance the books a bit before they could 'have another go' and spunk big cash.

Of course, finish 4th and they'd be able to supplement the squad with one or two more players.

[Dante Lavelli]

I'll say it again: if there's a plan, tell the fans who are ploughing their hard earnd cash into this 'project' what on earth it is.

If you'd read anything at all about the club since Lerner took over you'd know.  I've lost count of the times since day one when he said he wanted us to be self-sustaining.  Self-sustaining isn't spunking 90-odd percent of your turnover on wages.

I think I have a good idea of where we are, and where we think we're going - through the gradual feed of soundbites and fire-fighting rhetoric issued from the club - but has the club ever come out and just said it? Lambert gave it a right good go recently, but he's not the most articulate person at the club. Perhaps Mr Lerner himself could explain, after all, it's his plan.

Whatever the plan, however, the problem is we've gone from A to C without stopping at B. This sudden austerity is too much, too soon, and doesn't it show?

Arguably Bent, Nzogbia, Given, Vlaar, Okore were our point B (i.e. reasonably established or expensive signings). 

There's no doubting that the club have not communicated 'the plan' very well.  As ever, there's seemingly a bit of a vacuum at the top (other than money) whereas Randy, Faulker, or ideally a President/DoF would sit. 

If they had been clear, do you the fans would have bought into the 'project' better or would there have been an adverse effect on attendences?

[villasjf]

There is no plan.   There is no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny, no Tooth Fairy no crock of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The concept of a plan by its very definition requires a beginning, a middle and a conclusion.   A plan to win a war, solve a crime or cure a disease starts somewhere, proceeds and finishes up somewhere, even if the "somewhere" it terminates is admission of failure.

Paul Lambert has had his job for a year and a half.   If there was a plan in place there must be evidence of it by now to prove its existence.   There is nothing whatsoever.   There have been bright spots of success, there have been short spells like a run of a few games at the end of last season which have been better than what has gone before but that is no proof of a plan.

It is like the gambler betting on the numbers of the birthdates of his family as an infallible system of winning a fortune.   Make enough bets and the number of your granny's birthday and your uncle's birthday will win now and again but that is not a betting plan, it is random choice.

We are being massaged into believing that the buying of Bennett and Helenius and Tonev and Kozak and KEA and Luna and Bacuna and Lowton and Woodward is all part of some grand plan to establish Villa as a force in the premiership.   The bare, unvarnished, unmassaged, unmanipulated facts, the statistics, show otherwise.   Lambert denies this by saying that "statistics fry your brain".   No they don't they demonstrate the reality behind the lie.

Make one simple test of the claim that there is a "brick on brick" plan in place.   Ask yourself why we signed Kozak for £7 million.   We already had Benteke, Weimann, Gabby, Fonz, Helenius and Bowery.   Our side was screaming out for midfield strengthening and has been ever since we sold Barry and Milner.   It was an unplanned impulse purchase of the very worst kind.   It was me walking through a tool shop or my wife walking through a handbag shop.

I do not want to see Lambert sacked.   My stand is that I do not think a new manager of any kind would make any difference whatsoever to our decline.   What I do want to see is Lambert to be his own man and stop being the mouthpiece of Faulkner and Lambert and insulting our collective intelligence by giving us the hard sell of a non existent master plan.

The sea change in our fortunes came when the owner and the CEO decided that Aston Villa Football Club was no longer a great and glorious page in the history of the Beautiful Game but a "brand" to be marketed.   The motor which is driving the direction in which we are heading is the desire by Paul Faulkner to impress the boss.   Every word and every statement which comes out of the club, whether it is in the media, on the public address system or in the junk mail we have cascading through our letter boxes is marbled through with American management and marketing methodology.

I do not want to see us go broke.   I do not want us to go down into the third division again, I have seen that movie.   I am in favour of solvency and good housekeeping.

What I am totally and absolutely and utterly against is the unforgivable lie that slashing the cost of owning the club is a plan for anything other than slashing the costs of owning the club.

As Ricky Tomlinson would say "Master plan My arse".

Woodward? ,Brian. John Woodward?  Very intelligent post that!

I think we bought Kozak because Benteke was making waves at going, Bowery? he is not PL quality, The Fonz is doing nothing at Blackpool, Helenious, Lambert obviously doesnt trust him, Weiman what has he done since signing his contract, Gabby yes he is a Villa man but for every good game there or 4 or 5 bad ones. I think you meant Westward not Woodward. Still a good post though. Looking at the papers today it looks like there is a change of direction, he is looking for some experience at last, something we have all been asking for.

[mike]

If the plan is a long term plan, how can it be deemed a failure?

Because the long term plan is to drive to Edinburgh and we're currently driving along Brighton pier towards the Channel.

[mr woo]

Well written post Brian, but I'm afraid I side with the posters who feel you are a little harsh in your appraisal.

RL and PF are, I'm sure, intelligent men. They'd have to be to operate at the level they do. Like any failing business, the hierarchy need to step back, reevaluate and restructure accordingly. Surely that is what the club is doing and we have to accept that contactual bonds along with the nature of the football world mean things cannot be turned around overnight.

Just because you take short term backward steps, it doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a plan to move forward in the long run, all be it along a different path.

Really what we are seeing is the demolition of an old property built on unfit foundations in readiness for a less grand but more modern, solid rebuild.

Sometimes it's hard to picture the big plan when you're standing in a pile of rubble....

Maybe unfairly the biggest problem I have, is that I'm not sure we have the right site foreman in charge. Just when we need someone with experience in major construction, we give the contract to someone who built a small extension in East Anglia. Twice.

Well, let's hope he's up to the job.

[Ron Manager]

There is no plan.   There is no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny, no Tooth Fairy no crock of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The concept of a plan by its very definition requires a beginning, a middle and a conclusion.   A plan to win a war, solve a crime or cure a disease starts somewhere, proceeds and finishes up somewhere, even if the "somewhere" it terminates is admission of failure.

Paul Lambert has had his job for a year and a half.   If there was a plan in place there must be evidence of it by now to prove its existence.   There is nothing whatsoever.   There have been bright spots of success, there have been short spells like a run of a few games at the end of last season which have been better than what has gone before but that is no proof of a plan.

It is like the gambler betting on the numbers of the birthdates of his family as an infallible system of winning a fortune.   Make enough bets and the number of your granny's birthday and your uncle's birthday will win now and again but that is not a betting plan, it is random choice.

We are being massaged into believing that the buying of Bennett and Helenius and Tonev and Kozak and KEA and Luna and Bacuna and Lowton and Woodward is all part of some grand plan to establish Villa as a force in the premiership.   The bare, unvarnished, unmassaged, unmanipulated facts, the statistics, show otherwise.   Lambert denies this by saying that "statistics fry your brain".   No they don't they demonstrate the reality behind the lie.

Make one simple test of the claim that there is a "brick on brick" plan in place.   Ask yourself why we signed Kozak for £7 million.   We already had Benteke, Weimann, Gabby, Fonz, Helenius and Bowery.   Our side was screaming out for midfield strengthening and has been ever since we sold Barry and Milner.   It was an unplanned impulse purchase of the very worst kind.   It was me walking through a tool shop or my wife walking through a handbag shop.

I do not want to see Lambert sacked.   My stand is that I do not think a new manager of any kind would make any difference whatsoever to our decline.   What I do want to see is Lambert to be his own man and stop being the mouthpiece of Faulkner and Lambert and insulting our collective intelligence by giving us the hard sell of a non existent master plan.

The sea change in our fortunes came when the owner and the CEO decided that Aston Villa Football Club was no longer a great and glorious page in the history of the Beautiful Game but a "brand" to be marketed.   The motor which is driving the direction in which we are heading is the desire by Paul Faulkner to impress the boss.   Every word and every statement which comes out of the club, whether it is in the media, on the public address system or in the junk mail we have cascading through our letter boxes is marbled through with American management and marketing methodology.

I do not want to see us go broke.   I do not want us to go down into the third division again, I have seen that movie.   I am in favour of solvency and good housekeeping.

What I am totally and absolutely and utterly against is the unforgivable lie that slashing the cost of owning the club is a plan for anything other than slashing the costs of owning the club.

As Ricky Tomlinson would say "Master plan My arse".

Woodward? ,Brian. John Woodward?  Very intelligent post that!

I think we bought Kozak because Benteke was making waves at going, Bowery? he is not PL quality, The Fonz is doing nothing at Blackpool, Helenious, Lambert obviously doesnt trust him, Weiman what has he done since signing his contract, Gabby yes he is a Villa man but for every good game there or 4 or 5 bad ones. I think you meant Westward not Woodward. Still a good post though. Looking at the papers today it looks like there is a change of direction, he is looking for some experience at last, something we have all been asking for.

Westward? Do you mean Westwood?

[pauliewalnuts]

Being self sustaining is fine as an off the pitch plan, but when most people wonder what the plan is, I am pretty sure they mean on the pitch.

You're not going to pull in 40k every other week, behind our desire to balance the books, so what is the on-pitch plan?

I say plan, but what I mean is objective

I think the problem is that, rightly or wrongly, more and more people are starting to suspect that that objective doesn't extend far beyond not being relegated.

Nobody wants to sign expensive players purely because they are expensive but looking at where we so our shopping, we look like a low cost operation set to bob along.

Sure, going and hungry etc etc but this is not a radical departure in football management, buying players cheaply and young to have resale value is what lots of clubs do. Small clubs happy to be in the top flight mostly.

I appreciate we are not the immense power we used to be, but if that is the case, it is pretty depressing.

[Ad@m]

I think the objective on the pitch at the moment is to change our style of play to something more modern, whilst bringing players in based on a self-sustainable wage structure and not being relegated.  The first two of those won't happen overnight.

Do I think we'll be buying players from Crewe and Chesterfield long-term?  Absolutely not.  But the nature of footballers' wages is you have to harshly cut back to reset the wage structure or you're swimming against the tide as players will always compare their own salary to others at the club.  And yes, some of Lambert's purchases haven't worked out, but show me a manager with a hit rate on transfers much better than 50%.  You won't find (m)any.

Ultimately we're still a big club with the associated big turnover.  Once the wage structure is in place (and it surely can't be far off now with almost all the high earners from previous managers now off the wage bill) I think you'll see we'll continue to invest competitively with our peers (ie the Evertons and Spurs of this world) and we'll be able to attract better quality players.  The question then is whether Lambert is up to it.  Based on his track record at previous clubs you'd say he is but time will tell at the Villa.

[mike]

I can see both sides of this argument but we are playing with fire because if we are relegated the whole vision/plan is flushed down the toilet.

[Ads]

Kozak is certainly a piece in the puzzle. His movement is excellent and he offers something different from a entente in that regard, as although he is huge, he isn't a battering ram. We clearly lack an intelligent attacking midfielder, but if we could pick one up in the summer, I am glad we at least got Kozak.

The decision makes even more sense when you look at how poor Weimann has been.

[Ad@m]

I can see both sides of this argument but we are playing with fire because if we are relegated the whole vision/plan is flushed down the toilet.

That's just it.  The work being done now should mean that if the worse did happen we won't do a Leeds/Forest/Wednesday.  That's not to say we're planning for relegation - we're just running the club in a responsible way which means we don't implode if something horrible happens.

There's been a lot of talk recently about how well Newcastle and Southampton are doing.  In 2010 Newcastle were in the Championship and Southampton were in League One.  If a club is run properly (and I know others will say about Ashley at Newcastle but his 7 year contract was a real sign of faith in Curbishley to work on a longer term project) finding yourself in a lower division doesn't have the same impact as if you find yourself there when you've been reckless.

[Jimbo]

I can see both sides of this argument but we are playing with fire because if we are relegated the whole vision/plan is flushed down the toilet.

Maybe that's where the plan really begins?