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

[PaulWinch again]

Worryingly the vast majority of this squad has now been assembled by Lambert and he doesn't seem to know how best to use them. We are incredibly tactically inconsistent, which suggests he's just having a stab in the dark and hoping for the best.

[brian green]

Worse than his lack of tactical nous is his wilful alienation of players.  He makes enemies too easily. The clue is in the job title, you manage the players the quiet ones the bolshy ones the over eaters the drinkers. Each player has to be managed not confronted with bomb squad threats.  As somebody said about DaCanio it's management by hand grenade.

[Lee]

There really is no point in a new manager whilst Nero carrys on regardless.

There has to be change at the top with football people involved, not necessarily Villa people, but someone that has a track record in football administration. I'm not talking about a DOF position as they rarely seem to work, but the so-called "Masterplan" has to have some guidance because at the moment we are floundering without any direction despite the musings that they trickle out.

[Mister E]

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

It reads as if the journo has simply read a couple of threads on here for his material ... but there is an implication that RL is unlikely to tolerate the sort of season we're having, which is encouraging.

[PaulWinch again]

In his second season at the club to lose 10 home games should be enough to get the bullet without looking at any of the other issues.

[supertom]

Worryingly the vast majority of this squad has now been assembled by Lambert and he doesn't seem to know how best to use them. We are incredibly tactically inconsistent, which suggests he's just having a stab in the dark and hoping for the best.

It's strange indeed. Helenius scores his first goal, plays reasonably well (albeit a rare bright spot in the shite of that Sheff game) and hasn't played since.

Bacuna was bought in and Lambert initially stated that we'd see the best of Leandro in a year or twos time IIRC. He was a utility player to cover the first choice players as and when. He's played all season. And yes, the lad has done very well considering he's playing out of position most times. He's been a success but partly down to the fact that Lambert hasn't go the best out of other players or sorted out problem areas. Indeed when Bacuna has a poor run of games, he's now become so key to our side, we have no one to replace him. If Lowton ever comes in, Bacuna still plays in midfield.

He openly said he doesn't play with wingers. He buys Tonev, a winger.

Bowery, a signing so strange it even left Bowery's manager, and Bowery himself, scratching their heads.

Again, I like Kozak, but that's still 6-7 million quid we didn't necessarily need to spend on a striker when our midfield was more pressing.

His left backs. Both Bennett and Luna appeared to be second choices for one thing, as we seemed to be linked with Cresswell both summers. In retrospect now, Cresswell was overpriced, but we could have bought him as opposed to two left backs who aren't good enough. Of course whether Cresswell is any better is also another matter.

The whole Hoolahan courting was a little embarrassing. We appeared to be chasing him all window when clearly we were gonna get nowhere. It just came across as small time. And in the end, for the second January running, we were left short of what was required.

The fact we're building a very young side. Commendable in principle, but we buy a lot of players from lower leagues or small European clubs, when we've got an academy which is one of the most productive. If we're gonna play youngsters why not play a few more of our own? How much worse could Johnson do than Sylla for example? Robinson is excelling in the reserves at the moment. Carruthers had already broken in under McLeish but hasn't had a sniff. Gardner hasn't had a chance. We're desperately short of quality in midfield, so why not try? They're not too young to play, because our squad is very young as it is. Too young isn't an excuse any more. How many of our ex-academy players still play in the Prem and Champ? Loads. Look at a lot of Lambo's signings, Sylla, Bennett, Tonev, Luna, Bowery. None are Prem quality. It's debatable if some are even Championship quality.
Even players like Lowton, Bacuna, Westwood for example. They've been okay, but even so, I'm sure we can produce better ourselves.

[pauliewalnuts]

There really is no point in a new manager whilst Nero carrys on regardless.

There has to be change at the top with football people involved, not necessarily Villa people, but someone that has a track record in football administration. I'm not talking about a DOF position as they rarely seem to work, but the so-called "Masterplan" has to have some guidance because at the moment we are floundering without any direction despite the musings that they trickle out.

I'm not even sure that would make too much difference, Lee.

I suspect anyone who came into the club - at whichever level - would still have to play the financial game as they want it. Despite having to watch the wage bill and finances, Lambert - by the looks of it - seems to have wasted a reasonable amount of money.

Actually, no, that's probably not right, because it makes it sound like he's only bought shit players. I don't know, maybe Bennett or Luna will settle into the top flight game at some point. Maybe they'd (and I only refer to those as the first two off the top of my head) would settle much quicker if they were surrounded by more experienced players rather than a team which is largely made up of equally inexperienced players.

The problem is that too many of these players are not good enough *right now*. That gets reflected in the quality of play some times, but also in the collective confidence of the team, too. it's difficult because we are ultimately in a situation whereby it's relatively easy for confidence to get blown and to find ourselves struggling.

I think the biggest problem, though, isn't the players he did buy, but the players he didn't buy. The main mistake was last summer where we didn't increase the quality of the squad enough, we mostly worked on the quantity. I appreciate Okore might have turned out to be a belter of a player, but once more, he's not really experienced at this level.

If he stays, he absolutely must address that, he must improve the "high points" of the squad. Another summer of spreading it around will not do.

[Walmley_Villa]

The Board should be asking themselves why OGS and Martinez turned them down but have since moved to clubs with a perception of little money or a nutter in charge......

[Rudy Can't Fail]

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

It reads as if the journo has simply read a couple of threads on here for his material ... but there is an implication that RL is unlikely to tolerate the sort of season we're having, which is encouraging.

I fear the journalist is purely guessing. My guess is relegation aside, Randy Lerner will stick with Lambert no matter what. Very much like the McCleish appointment, it's his call and his call alone. Despite the poor football and shocking home record, even when season ticket sales dramatically drop, he'll stubbornly continue with his masterplan until the day he has to hand over a very large cheque in compensation. We could buy a world class playmaker with the money Randy's paid out in compensation to managers.

[pauliewalnuts]

The Board should be asking themselves why OGS and Martinez turned them down but have since moved to clubs with a perception of little money or a nutter in charge......

To be fair to those two, I think it was the wrong time in both cases. The Molde chairman told OGS if he went he'd remove all financial backing for the club, which would mean it folding. Martinez felt he owed Whelan something at Wigan.

I genuinely think it is a bit harsh to give them stick over those two.

[pbavfckuwait]

To add insult to injury according to the Meaning Evil, he is going to ask Randy for a bigger budget, because of the injuries suffered this year. Mr. Lambert I would not give you the key for the petty cash box, please please accept this is not working and move on.

[Villandan]

It seems clear to me that Lerner is not interested and hasn't been for quite a while. He's therefore not going to go through the hassle of sacking Lambert, paying off the rest of his contract and then having to recruit another manager who is going to want substantial financial backing.

It is far easier to offer Lambert an extension to his contract.

It's not working and I wish they would both move on!!

[Rudy Can't Fail]

The continuation of Lambert will have a serious knock-on effect across the whole club with finances being further and further reduced every season. I think it's far too easy and wrong to keep asking Lerner to provide more cash when the real commercial areas aren't being fully exploited. A reduction in ticket sales is nothing in comparison to the millions we are missing out on through final league position prize, additional TV revenue and more importantly sponsorship through shirt, advertising and corporate packages.

You'd have thought Paul Faulkner, who to his credit has done a very decent job on the commercial side, must surely realise he's never going to increase the revenue whilst Villa are such an unattractive team, despite having some of the best facilities in the country.

[Walmley_Villa]

You would have thought that the Finance guys would have told RL/PF that the bomb squad approach would write-off any potential re-sale value of the so-called 'bad-eggs'. Another example of Villa's financial mismanagement.

[Billy Walker]

I've read all the suggestions here and it's made me more convinced that we have to see it through with Lambert.  He needs this summer's transfer window and the next January window for me.  Lambert has turned a club heading for the trap door into a more secure, mid-table outfit.  It's progress in baby steps and, while it's frustrating beating the team top of the table one week and then losing to the team bottom of the table a couple of weeks later, it is a sign of where we are at the moment.  The squad is still relatively small and lacking in quality cover (and I'm sure Lambert knows this) but, like I say, a couple more transfer windows should sort this.  I'm keeping the faith on this one.