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

[tomd2103]

There was a United fan on 606 saying he's not getting a season ticket because he's no longer entertained. His decision, fine. It's a lot of money to spend on something you're no longer enjoying. Football has become such a business-minded game that entertainment is put aside at the cost of staying up. Look at Sam Allerdyce with West Ham the other day - got booed when they won. It's the same with Lambert - we win and it's often not pretty, we lose and we've played ugly and got no points. I understand why people are frustrated and saying he's got to go. I just don't think it's purely down to him, that's all.

I also think he'll improve, but when people ask me what basis I have for that, it'll be the usual answers - we've played well for some parts of some games. It's enough for me to believe our style of play will improve,

I too thought that, but since Christmas I'm beginning to have major doubts.  I just don't see a style of play being developed and I just don't see any real imagination when it comes to tactics and team selection.  When you factor in that his buying policy hasn't really worked on the whole (though he has made some good signings), it starts to look a bit damning.  I had really high hopes when PL came to the club, but he is beginning to look more and more like he's on his way to becoming another Allardyce, Pulis, Bruce etc. 

[olaftab]

I think a line has to be drawn  in the sand for Lambert's tenure. For me that is just before Christmas this year. By then he would have had 5 transfer windows with 2 full  and a half season behind him. If by then we are sitting on anything less  then 25 points from 19 games than he has to go. Paul Faulkner should plan for that possibility and draw up contingency plan for a replacement at the start of the next season.

[tomd2103]

I think a line has to be drawn  in the sand for Lambert's tenure. For me that is just before Christmas this year. By then he would have had 5 transfer windows with 2 full  and a half season behind him. If by then we are sitting on anything less  then 25 points from 19 games than he has to go. Paul Faulkner should plan for that possibility and draw up contingency plan for a replacement at the start of the next season.

I think that is a pretty fair assessment.  A steep decline in the take up of season tickets might force their hand though.   

[silhillvilla]

I still think he will walk in the summer. To preserve his cv

[Ads]

well he stays I go

Turn it in you big drama llama.

If that's how he feels that's how he feels.

If somebody rigidly sticks to the line that all's well and we have been going fine as a club they shouldn't be sneered at either.

I am not sneering, I am telling a man well into his fifties, who will have seen far batter and far worse times, to strap a pair on and drop the hormonal teenage girl flouncing act.

[rob_bridge]

I think a line has to be drawn  in the sand for Lambert's tenure. For me that is just before Christmas this year. By then he would have had 5 transfer windows with 2 full  and a half season behind him. If by then we are sitting on anything less  then 25 points from 19 games than he has to go. Paul Faulkner should plan for that possibility and draw up contingency plan for a replacement at the start of the next season.

Correct on Lambert's tenure. He has 9 months to improve assuming we can beat Fulham or Hull.

As for Faulkner - a succession plan. Well it would be a first. Maybe Appy Arry or Pardew will be available by then. Or maybe they can ask Siralex again and he can recommend TSM. Again.

By the way we will be neighbours fairly soon as me and better half moving back

[Damo70]

I think a line has to be drawn  in the sand for Lambert's tenure. For me that is just before Christmas this year. By then he would have had 5 transfer windows with 2 full  and a half season behind him. If by then we are sitting on anything less  then 25 points from 19 games than he has to go. Paul Faulkner should plan for that possibility and draw up contingency plan for a replacement at the start of the next season.

I agree with most of your posts olaftab but I'm not sure about that. Especially with what seems to be our very gentlemanly attitude towards not approaching managers of other clubs during the season. Also, I'm not sure it is a good idea to go into a season with the manager's contract in it's final year. I think we need to make the call this summer. Get rid or give him a new contract and at least another full season.

[passitsideways]

I think it's fair enough to state that next season will be crucial to determining whether Lambert is really the one to take us forward or whether he's just a Bruce or Allardyce who builds useful mid-table teams and nothing more. I wouldn't set specific parameters in terms of points though - how would we approach keeping vs binning him if he sold Benteke and replaced him with three or four quality midfielders+attackers, our style of play improves drastically, but we then lack the striker good enough to capitalise on the new-found fluidity in attack? Surely in that situation he'd deserve another go, even if we end up with 40 to 45 points again.

This is of course assuming that he gets money to buy quality instead of bargain basement players this summer - if he doesn't, even after selling Benteke and getting rid of the remaining high earners for good, then that's more a reflection on upper management rather him, I'd say.

[caster troy]

Lambert should have been sacked about 5 times over by now, the most depressing thing about him is his apparent invincibility despite overwhelming incompetence.

Einstein said the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Personally I can't see any difference in how we play from Lambert's first game until now, and lo and behold the results haven't changed. If we carry this nightmare into a third season I don't know who is the most insane, Lambert himself or the owner for allowing it to happen.

[Sexual Ealing]

I completely abhor the short-termism in football nowadays. Manchester United plane was a fine example of it. If things aren't going right, it's the players' faults, the manager's fault, the chairman's fault, the fan's fault etc etc. You look at the Manchester United post match thread and have people 'furious' because we lost to a team that finished last season as champions. I don't care if they're having a bad season this season - they still have players above the quality we have and I think the score flattered them and we were unlucky not to score a goal or two more. I know there is an element of shoulda woulda coulda about it, but my point remains.
People could point towards the fact that the fury is the fruit of the frustration of the last few months, losing to teams like Palace, Stoke (convincingly) and Sheffield United isn't ideal of course. I'm not saying Lambert is perfect - of course he isn't. Look to the beginning of the season though when most people said they would like a season where we finish mid-table. It's where we will finish, I'd imagine.
Look at the votes - when we win, 80% of people want him in, when we lost 80% want him out. I'm not going to brand DOL's 'f' word about because it's pointless, irrelevant and insulting, but I think it's such an emotive game that people go with gut instinct on a day-by-day basis. It may be because we have far more coverage of the game rammed down our throats than we did ten years ago, twenty years ago, but either way, we criticise the smallest of things day in, day out.
On top of this, football has changed. We need a Sheikh or a Russian billionaire to waltz into the top four, it would seem. We can all say "We're Aston Villa, we should be higher!" but it's not that easy. Football stinks, it's not going to change and Lambert is not the problem, I'm afraid. He's just one of many managers we'll have over the next few years who can do precisely fuck all to help us improve much from where we are. For every crap defeat against Sheffield United or Bradford, there's a win at Arsenal, or against Chelsea or Man City. Can I see us improving on that in the next few years? No. Can I see fans criticising whatever manager is in charge for not elevating us to a much higher position? Yes. That's not just Villa fans - Spurs fans will be annoyed they can't get into the top four, Sunderland and Newcastle fans will be annoyed they can't get much beyond tenth-fourteenth, I daresay Southampton fans will soon get pissed off that they 'only' finish eighth each year. Football has now got a glass ceiling. It's shit but it's astonishing how quickly I've got used to it.

Post of the decade.

[Sexual Ealing]

well he stays I go

Turn it in you big drama llama.

If that's how he feels that's how he feels.

If somebody rigidly sticks to the line that all's well and we have been going fine as a club they shouldn't be sneered at either.

I am not sneering, I am telling a man well into his fifties, who will have seen far batter and far worse times, to strap a pair on and drop the hormonal teenage girl flouncing act.

Joint post of the decade.

[olaftab]

By the way we will be neighbours fairly soon as me and better half moving back

We all come home at some stage. Give me a shout when you do?

[olaftab]

Joint post of the decade.

Legendary Scandinavian kindness!

[silhillvilla]

There are no drama queens, football is all about opinion, over reaction and hapless optimism. It's what keeps sites like this running.

[richard moore]

We'll survive but we need a massive injection of quality into this squad.

You can forget that for starters