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

[Irish villain]

This isn't solely a manager issue, the whole club is being run in a pretty amateur fashion. However the manager saying that he doesn't know what to do to change the home form suggests time is up for him. But if we don't start to invest adequate funds in the squad then we are going to struggle.

I wonder who they would appoint next?

Actually, I'd rather not.

Just been having this conversation with an Arsenal and Manure fan in the office.
None of us could come up with a good alternative to Lambert - a lot the same mind!

Get rid now and let Sid sort them for the last few games...

Would Sid want it though? I think he'd get us those few points we need. Then go get McGath in the summer and rip up whatever we have been doing since 2010 and start striving for the best again.

[mr underhill]

yes I just can't buy into the status quo argument that there is no one else. There must be; especially so given that Lambert just  simply doesn't know how to turn things round at home.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

There are plenty of alternatives to Lambert out there, Lerner just needs to open his eyes. As an example:

Carlos Querioz is available after the World Cup. One of the best around for developing talented young players, tactically understands more than most and would jump at the chance of returning to England. Talk in the last few weeks about him returning to the Plastics but it seems Moyes has now got things back on track.

[supertom]

There comes a time where you just need a change. Lambert isn't working and I don't see him ever finding the tactical nous required all of a sudden. Better managers than him have suffered relegation.

Will Randy and Faulkner get the next appointment right? I wouldn't bank on it, but we need a fresh managerial perspective now. Lambert's results are sackable. You cannot let that go on.

There's a few half decent managers out there at the moment, and probably more will be available in the summer. Perhaps we could think of getting an experienced guy who can use Sid as his number 2, and perhaps get him ready for the main job in a year or two's time. If indeed Sid wanted it.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Lambert isn't working

If ever there was a banner to be made, that's the one.

[JUAN PABLO]

Querioz  with a Martin Laursen would be fine by me . Cant be any worse than now , I mean Culverhouse , oh dear .

[Monty]

Very sensible article in the (swallows vomit) Daily Heil:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2598411/Paul-Lambert-needs-miracle-save-job-Aston-Villa.html

Full text:

There comes a time where you just need a change. Lambert isn't working and I don't see him ever finding the tactical nous required all of a sudden. Better managers than him have suffered relegation.

Will Randy and Faulkner get the next appointment right? I wouldn't bank on it, but we need a fresh managerial perspective now. Lambert's results are sackable. You cannot let that go on.

There's a few half decent managers out there at the moment, and probably more will be available in the summer. Perhaps we could think of getting an experienced guy who can use Sid as his number 2, and perhaps get him ready for the main job in a year or two's time. If indeed Sid wanted it.

They're one of seven ever-present clubs in the Premier League and have had nearly 26 consecutive years in the top flight, but mediocrity has been Aston Villa's only consistent theme in recent years.

The feeling after the 2-1 defeat by Fulham on Saturday was more of familiarity than shock, more of continued misery than knee-jerk anger. It is now extremely difficult to argue Paul Lambert's side are making progress.

By many Villa fans' reckoning, he has until December at the latest to produce a miracle and save his job.

It is in vogue to plead for faith and time in a manager but patience comes with signs of progress. For lack of these signs, Lambert's reign will be over soon, but only after the formalities of a 'three-year plan' are completed. That is, give the man two-and-a-half years.

Villa should be safe for this term - they may do it with fewer than 40 points. For the first time in their 140-year history they have lost 10 home games in a season. Last term they clocked up nine. Many other managers would have been axed with such a record.

Lambert's young side do not feel at home in the second city, and from front to back show a frantic nervousness you don't expect to see in the Premier League.

The high standards inside Villa Park do not help, but the groans represent a frustration present since Martin O'Neill abruptly left five days before the start of the 2010-11 season having attempted to lift Villa from mid-table to fourth with a big kitty.

Much of the blame has been directed towards the club's quiet, vigilant owner Randy Lerner, the easiest of targets. Fans feel the American has not helped Villa out when they need it most. The opposite is true.

The club cannot offer hefty wages, haven't spent over £8million on a player since 2011 and are forced to buy cheap. This much is true.

But Lerner is attempting to make Villa sustainable, self-sufficient, and more importantly, is not rewarding failure with cash. An old-fashioned yet commendable way of running a football club. In today's age of quick fixes, this was never going to sit well.

Criticism should be reserved. Recent accounts show how the American waived £90.1m of loans to keep the club moving along, a price to pay for his monetary faith in O'Neill between 2006 and 2010.

With £120m spent in four years, huge wage bills and no Champions League football to show for it during O'Neill's tenure (they were five points clear of Arsenal in March 2009 with a game in hand) Villa are still suffering from a big swing and an even bigger miss.

The accounts also indicate that if Villa were to be relegated, huge financial trouble could be just around the corner. Depending on which side you are on, this either justifies Lerner's budget cuts, or represents the huge risk he is taking.

CEO Paul Faulkner has also taken some hefty criticism, but that comes with the territory being the club's only spokesman on the board when the discontent from the stands reaches a crescendo.

Whichever view you take, faith should be put in Lerner to rebuild the team with investment when this period of recovery is over. That time will come, but the right manager is needed.

For the fans, the belief in Lambert has deteriorated. For every hit signing there have been two misses, somewhat forgiven on such a budget. But his tactics are glaringly deficient.

The away form should be of no concern. Sitting 10th in the travelling table this term and eighth last, Villa are almost entertaining outside Birmingham.

They use the ball in short bursts, moving at speed and hitting hard. But no team built a good season on away form alone, just ask Manchester United.

At home is where Lambert shows himself up. The Scot shows little variation in tactics from home and away, and his side look stumped when the ball is at their feet and the onus is on building an attack rather than counter attacking.

The result is bundles of possession but no edge. Side-to-side, a phobia of the final third and a fondness for the easy option, just what the fans don't want to see.

The shoestring budget excuse cannot constantly be used to explain away this tactical incapability.

Lambert spent £6.1m on Libor Kozak in the summer, a decent yet limited forward at a time Villa were crying out for creativity. They have suffered without it.

You can can count on one hand how many times they have outplayed their visitors in the last two seasons. The backbone is there; Brad Guzan, Ron Vlaar, Fabian Delph and the powerful, if sometimes hit-and-miss, Christian Benteke. But the belief, man-management and quality of those surrounding it is not.

So, who is to blame? The budget players? An owner who is quite literally paying for previous ambition? Or a manager who has had little to work with but does even less to help himself?

Fans face this dilemma: back Lambert wholeheartedly in an age of rash sackings, or call for his head. You can ask Manchester United how that feels, too.

The owner has the same conundrum. Lambert had a three-year plan, but after almost two years of mediocrity, he has done little to suggest he will take Villa to anywhere near Europe in the coming years. On December 15, 2012, after beating Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield, he said he would.

A decent top-half finish next season may save his job. The odds are stacked against him even reaching that target

[supertom]

Querioz  with a Martin Laursen would be fine by me . Cant be any worse than now , I mean Culverhouse , oh dear .

It'd be nice to get someone like SBL or SGT in a DOF/ambassador role. Whether they'd want it or not is debatable, but we need more football men at the club, who also understand the club, because Randolph and Faulkner look at things from a purely business point of view. They're completely naive to footballing matters.

What I will say in defence of Lambert is, that he doesn't really have anyone who can help him. Someone with a bit of nous. Of course he probably prefers it this way, but the DOF is fairly common at clubs, but we've not really adopted it yet.

I'd love to see Laursen back here as a number 2, or a coach. Get him in the managers team. Set in place someone who could potentially take the reigns once an experienced man has set us in an upward motion over a couple of years. I suspect Laursen would jump at the chance.

[rob_bridge]

Querioz  with a Martin Laursen would be fine by me . Cant be any worse than now , I mean Culverhouse , oh dear .

It'd be nice to get someone like SBL or SGT in a DOF/ambassador role. Whether they'd want it or not is debatable, but we need more football men at the club, who also understand the club, because Randolph and Faulkner look at things from a purely business point of view. They're completely naive to footballing matters.

What I will say in defence of Lambert is, that he doesn't really have anyone who can help him. Someone with a bit of nous. Of course he probably prefers it this way, but the DOF is fairly common at clubs, but we've not really adopted it yet.

I'd love to see Laursen back here as a number 2, or a coach. Get him in the managers team. Set in place someone who could potentially take the reigns once an experienced man has set us in an upward motion over a couple of years. I suspect Laursen would jump at the chance.

What's Laursen's managerial record like so far?

[mr underhill]

I don't want Lambert to have another six to eight months though. A few weeks ago I thought he might just have deserved another transfer window but I don't think that would change anything; even if he buys the four or five quality players we need he hasn't got the ability to lead, motivate, or coach them.

[supertom]

Querioz  with a Martin Laursen would be fine by me . Cant be any worse than now , I mean Culverhouse , oh dear .

It'd be nice to get someone like SBL or SGT in a DOF/ambassador role. Whether they'd want it or not is debatable, but we need more football men at the club, who also understand the club, because Randolph and Faulkner look at things from a purely business point of view. They're completely naive to footballing matters.

What I will say in defence of Lambert is, that he doesn't really have anyone who can help him. Someone with a bit of nous. Of course he probably prefers it this way, but the DOF is fairly common at clubs, but we've not really adopted it yet.

I'd love to see Laursen back here as a number 2, or a coach. Get him in the managers team. Set in place someone who could potentially take the reigns once an experienced man has set us in an upward motion over a couple of years. I suspect Laursen would jump at the chance.

What's Laursen's managerial record like so far?

He steered a Danish club away from relegation, but hasn't taken up a job since. I'd like to see him working at the club. Get him in the coaching set up, or perhaps working with Sid.  If he then goes away to manage a lower league club like Gregory did, and come back ready, so be it.

[supertom]

I don't want Lambert to have another six to eight months though. A few weeks ago I thought he might just have deserved another transfer window but I don't think that would change anything; even if he buys the four or five quality players we need he hasn't got the ability to lead, motivate, or coach them.

I don't think he's going to do enough in the last 6 games to deserve a summer window. The biggest failing is his tactics and organisation. It's non existent. The budget excuse can get him so far, but playing like headless chickens more often than not (especially at home) tells us everything.

[mattjpa]

It really has gotten so desperate hasnt it? If we get beaten soundly by Palace I feel that is it for Lambert. Based on his tenure so far, watch us win 3-0 and save him. Of course this will be followed by another 3-4 defeats and he will amble into the summer break having done enough to avoid the axe again

[supertom]

I wonder if someone like Curbishley for a year or two might be an option. It's not greatly inspiring, but perhaps with someone like Laursen coming in on his team too to work with and Sid as his no 2, he might solidify us. He's a mid-table specialist and in all honesty, right now, that may help us. You only need look at what happened to Charlton since he left to see what a good job he did. People scoff at his West Ham reign but actually he didn't do too badly. He took over half way through his first season and kept them up when they looked dead and buried. Then they finished mid-table the following year. When he left, it went wrong for them again.
He's experienced, he's played for us (and granted not much, and was more known for his stint at the Blose) and he knows the club. He can work on a budget and he can get the best out of average players. Apart from anything else, we'll be well organised and well drilled.

[SteveN]

I welcomed Lambert's appointment and have supported him so far (he will be pleased to know) but clearly something has to change.  Hindsight is wonderful but by bringing in his previous backroom staff they have come as a package and presumably they will all have to go as a package.

I have no problem with a hard nosed manager who is happy to take on players where appropriate but he needs good coaches, tactitions and good man managers with him.  From a distance he appears to have none of these.

Replacement?  Given that our finances, aims etc, are unlikely to change then I would like a coach/manager whose priority is to entertain.  I look at Everton where Marinez has a good defense which he leaves alone and the remainder of the team are built to attack.  They might not win trophies but they are keeping the fans enterttained.  With Guzan, Vlaar, Okore and possibly Bertrand we have the basis of that core defence.  Unfortunately I don't think Lambert has the tactical nous to take it from there.