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

[mr underhill]

I imagine a line on a graph would plot it just above the one for TSM had he stayed. Unless matters take a distinct turn for the better, of course, and Lambert can show he can truly cut the mustard at a proper football club

[villa `cross the mersey]

If I was Lerner I would wait to see just how bad season ticket sales are this summer before even considering rewarding Lambert with a new contract - Even allowing for the "work on progress" mantra I feel he has been a huge disappointment especially in terms of tactics and style of play. Travelling to the home games has turned into a chore and only done because of the committment I made to buy a season ticket - thankfully Viagogo has bailed me out !!
However its not all Lambert`s fault  that we now appear to be competing with the likes of Hull, Swansea, rather than Everton and Spurs.
The lack of leadership and football knowledge will be our overall downfall.

[Mister E]

On Football Focus yesterday, Matt Upson was describing his rejuvenation at Brighton. During this unusually interesting interview (players often have so very little to say of substance), he opined that the way a team plays is a reflection of the manager's character.

Hmmm, if that's the case then I would not like to know Lambert at a personal / social level.

[supertom]

We play like someone hitting a golf ball in a squash court. When that becomes fashionable in football and/or significantly improves our final standings, then Lambert can have a contract extension.

[achilles]

For Lerner its just the 'easy option', he really hasn't got that much interest and the club is doing 'okay' in a very limited way with worse teams in the league than us to fill the relegation spots... all is 'okay'!
The contract is just Lerner's way of saying that I can't be bothered to be pro-active and try and improve Aston Villa, I have tried that approach and failed, therefore I will just 'go with the flow'.

Its all really sad if you care about the club and would like to see some excitement and passion brought back to the club!

[Jimbo]

Lambert will get his contract extension because he's doing what he's paid to do, and Lerner hasn't got the stomach - or nous - for yet another farcical manager search. Lambert may not know how to win home matches, play consistently exciting and attractive football, get his players to pass to their colleagues, get his players to retain possession of a football, speak intelligently to the media, or beat lower league opposition in cup competitions, but he knows the way Lerner's mind works, and he knows his job is safe. That lack of pressure to up his game is not necessarily a good thing for an under-performing manager, but that's where we are as a club, and it's all of our own making.

[supertom]

I don't know why Lerner needs to do it. If Lamberts only got 18 months left, then so what? I'm sure if he's doing a good enough job this time next year, they can then talk about an extension. I don't see big clubs poaching Lambert at all.
All this does is set Lerner up for a potential big payoff again, if he has to take action and pull the trigger on Lambert. Because honestly, if I were a betting man I would wager Lambert will get canned before he'll have us competing, consistently at the right end of the table.
But there-in lies the problem, is 10-16th and scraping by good enough for Lerner now? It probably is. It's more sustainable than being 6th every year but paying almost your entire first team squad over 40k a week each. In some regards I can't actually blame him. The likes of Citeh and Chelsea have killed the league.

It's just a sad state that our lot in life is now scrapping it out with the likes of Swansea.

[Witton Warrior]

I don't know why Lerner needs to do it.

My own opinion is that Randy has had a gutful of employing managers in the last 4 years and will stick with this one so he doesn't have to start the process again...

[eastie]

I don't know why Lerner needs to do it. If Lamberts only got 18 months left, then so what? I'm sure if he's doing a good enough job this time next year, they can then talk about an extension. I don't see big clubs poaching Lambert at all.
All this does is set Lerner up for a potential big payoff again, if he has to take action and pull the trigger on Lambert. Because honestly, if I were a betting man I would wager Lambert will get canned before he'll have us competing, consistently at the right end of the table.
But there-in lies the problem, is 10-16th and scraping by good enough for Lerner now? It probably is. It's more sustainable than being 6th every year but paying almost your entire first team squad over 40k a week each. In some regards I can't actually blame him. The likes of Citeh and Chelsea have killed the league.

It's just a sad state that our lot in life is now scrapping it out with the likes of Swansea.

Excellent post.

[brian green]

This page of this thread says it all for me.   Of the two key characters Randy Lerner has ring fenced his investment and Paul Lamber has ring fenced his job.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Part of his job was to solve the home form garbage, he hasn't produced anything like an improvement on that, rewarding such ineptitude is crass IMHO.  Not sure we'll be selling many season tickets on the back of the retention of our world class manager! In fact I wonder how many will not renew on the back of the crap that we have witnessed at VP for the last 3/4 years...

For me, your home games are where you play your more expansive football, where you dominate teams, get the crowd on the feet and leave them happy and wanting to come back in a fortnight for more. Smash and grab away wins are great but our home form is where you measure the team, manager and club. Our home form this season says so much about how we play. We've already matched McCleish's record for home defeats (eight) since football began in 1992 and still have the likes of Chelsea to visit Villa Park. Add to that getting beaten at home by a bottom 3 League 1 team in the cup and the evidence is pretty solid.

Ignoring the top 4 and all the money they have, the only thing separating us and 6th place Everton is our home form. Our away records are almost the same. The question I ask myself is are there any real signs that Lambert can turn it around and the answer is sadly no. Tactics and formation just don't seem to be his strong point and if we need somebody to change our home form record he's not the man, no matter how much faith Lerner puts in him.

[lovejoy]

I think we should give Lambert more time, I am hopeful that soon we will click and the cracking performances will outweigh the rubbish ones.
Chin up!

[richard moore]

On Football Focus yesterday, Matt Upson was describing his rejuvenation at Brighton. During this unusually interesting interview (players often have so very little to say of substance), he opined that the way a team plays is a reflection of the manager's character.

Hmmm, if that's the case then I would not like to know Lambert at a personal / social level.

Upson, for all the venting of people's spleens about who he has played for and (not on this forum) the awful grief he receives regarding his alleged sexuality, has always struck me as a very decent bloke

[Monty]

I remember Guardiola talking about this. He said that he was very nervous and jumpy early on in his managerial career with Barca, and as a result there was a lot of nervous, jumpy football (he cited the desperate and controversial Chelsea semi-final, with the Iniesta goal). He said he calmed himself down both in training and on the touchline to help his team play with more control and calm in tight situations, and it clearly worked, and is working now with Bayern.

Under MON, we played on the crest of a wave of confidence, and when it went wrong we looked resourceless, fever-eyed but futile and out of ideas. GH was hard to gauge as we didn't play anywhere near as spikily as Houllier seems to live his life, but McLeish was perfect for this theory, dour and with the general impression of having given up already. Lambert, I think, fits the bill as well: we play with a kind of passionate hopelessness these days, trying very very hard but with the feeling that it'll probably all go wrong, combined with a total lack of patience for things to go right when we get the ball.

[Chris Smith]

Part of his job was to solve the home form garbage, he hasn't produced anything like an improvement on that, rewarding such ineptitude is crass IMHO.  Not sure we'll be selling many season tickets on the back of the retention of our world class manager! In fact I wonder how many will not renew on the back of the crap that we have witnessed at VP for the last 3/4 years...

For me, your home games are where you play your more expansive football, where you dominate teams, get the crowd on the feet and leave them happy and wanting to come back in a fortnight for more. Smash and grab away wins are great but our home form is where you measure the team, manager and club. Our home form this season says so much about how we play. We've already matched McCleish's record for home defeats (eight) since football began in 1992 and still have the likes of Chelsea to visit Villa Park. Add to that getting beaten at home by a bottom 3 League 1 team in the cup and the evidence is pretty solid.

Ignoring the top 4 and all the money they have, the only thing separating us and 6th place Everton is our home form. Our away records are almost the same. The question I ask myself is are there any real signs that Lambert can turn it around and the answer is sadly no. Tactics and formation just don't seem to be his strong point and if we need somebody to change our home form record he's not the man, no matter how much faith Lerner puts in him.

It's not comparing like for like by using Everton. They've had a long period of stability, with a patient owner who stood by Moyes even when they were regularly struggling for long stretches of the season and performances were dour.

Lambert should be given the opportunity to see through a plan. It may or may not succeed but what you can bet the house on is that if we change managers again the new bloke will have different ideas, want different players and we'll be starting the whole process from scratch again. After the shambles of recent years, that is the last thing the club needs.