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

[Toronto Villa]

Lambert's reaching the responsibility-ducking phase, where anything that goes wrong is everyone else's fault. There are only two steps beyond this: first, the 'I accept full responsibility' phase; second, the 'I accept my full pay-off' phase.

you wonder if he's getting any exit strategy advice from "the gaffer"

[Rudy Can't Fail]

We're been top 5 or 6 net spenders over the last 5 years. Lerner has done all that's expected of him which is to provide the finance. Lambert has failed to on his side to come up with anything worth watching after almost 2 seasons. If anything, it's getting uglier.

Good god. Do you not understand the wage issue? It's the reason no decent player will sign for us!

Tell me oh wise one which player has been turned down from signing because we won't pay his high wages?

I guess you want to scream at Lerner for not putting the club in further debt. Have you seen our turnover? Our commercial revenue? I think you just want a sugar daddy like at Chelsea and Man City but in the real world we have to cut our cloth and if anything, our transfer spend has been higher than it should have been. The problem is we want it all.

[Monty]

Lambert's reaching the responsibility-ducking phase, where anything that goes wrong is everyone else's fault. There are only two steps beyond this: first, the 'I accept full responsibility' phase; second, the 'I accept my full pay-off' phase.

you wonder if he's getting any exit strategy advice from "the gaffer"

Ah, the Five-Point Plan: 1) Stomp; 2) Sulk; 3) Bitch; 4) Moan; 5) Flounce.

[Steve67]

Shouldn't that be 1. Moan 2 sulk 3 blame 4 walk 5 sue ?

[KevinGage]

You would think at most well run clubs it would be form and results that would do for the manager.

But possibly the clincher for the board might be his recent comments.  I don't think Charlie Nicholas was plucking names at random this afternoon, and that plus the variation of 'there are things going on that the fans don't understand' that have made it into the newspapers could be seen as undermining them. 

Ellis would often tolerate struggling managers, but once they started having a pop at him (however vague) that was normally that.

[PeterWithesShin]

Lerner is living in a timewarp.

[b23]

Useless Manager, breaking records all over the place. Absolutely shocking.

Has he gone yet ?

[phildaniels]

This was my fear earlier in the week Toronto. The cracks are certainly widening rapidly now.




Just a note of caution.

We don't hear much from Lambert.

He's generally asinine in pre and post match pressers. To an extent it's part of their training. Sheff U in the Cup might be the exception but he's at length defended the circumstances of that perceived error.

There's a short piece on Sky today saying he needs to talk to Lerner/PF about injury cover.

An unusual candor. The first sign of defense, no matter how subtle? A public statement his role is impaired?

As a player he left club football in Scotland whilst contracted and headed for Germany on a whim.

When leaving Colchester United and Norwich City there were few pleasantries. Still none at Carrow Road. They recently blocked a player sale to Aston Villa out of spite whilst preparing to fire their own manager.

You might think his stock his low with us.

Do not underestimate his ambition and his close circle of friends. On the basis things aren't perfect in the B6 garden might he want to engineer a move? Possibly overseas? Could he have consulted someone who knows the current Aston Villa administration rather well for advice?

Ambitious, driven people with good networks in their field move around.

If he departs abruptly on his terms are we left in an even deeper hole than the one we're in?

I hope Lambet's reign turns out to be good for Aston Villa. 

If it doesn't, can we recruit efficiently and possibly at haste?
[/quote]

[mr underhill]

you hope Lambert's reign turns out to be a good one? The last 20 odd months have been a total calamity so something of biblical proportions is going to have to happen to fulfil your wish. Lambert isn't engineering   move anywhere IMO. He doesn't have the tactical awareness.

[Phil from the upper holte]

Regarding the new contract does anyone think it was done to test the waters with the fans?

[silhillvilla]

Is that a tribunal just appeared on the horizon

[Archie]

And I agree with paulie. Laying the blame solely at Lambert's feet is unfair if it's true about the board being unwilling to finance certain signings.

The symptoms are on the pitch for the malais the club is in, but the cause is to be found elsewhere.

The fact is that in England is different than in Italy and the rest of Europe.
In Italy coaches limit to coach the  team, whereas the players are chosen by another figure, a sort of director of football. A man that has deep footballing knowledges and contacts.
At Villa this role does not exist.
Lambert is coach but even manager.
It's he that bought the players.
Faulkner is not a man of football, he deals with marketing and communication, and probably he is excellent in this sector.

He gave all the responsability to Lambert as far the squad is concerned. It is coherent with the fact that in England coaches are managers.
The problem is that Lambert proved that is not able to do this role.
But when he was appointed he seemed perfect, an emerging manager that had done well at Norwich and Colchester.
For this reason  I do not blame Faulkner for appointing him and for buying the players he asked. The only thing that I blame the board for is  not having still realised, ad we have realised, that he is a clueless manager, without any tactical awareness, that will drive us straight to hell.
Probably he had luck in his previous teams because in England tactics in football are not considered important.
Villa is like a bus driven by a drunk and crazy driver now. And we are the passengers.

[silhillvilla]

Another positive, he's surely one step closer to going

[dl9]

And I agree with paulie. Laying the blame solely at Lambert's feet is unfair if it's true about the board being unwilling to finance certain signings.

The symptoms are on the pitch for the malais the club is in, but the cause is to be found elsewhere.

The fact is that in England is different than in Italy and the rest of Europe.
In Italy coaches limit to coach the  team, whereas the players are chosen by another figure, a sort of director of football. A man that has deep footballing knowledges and contacts.
At Villa this role does not exist.
Lambert is coach but even manager.
It's he that bought the players.
Faulkner is not a man of football, he deals with marketing and communication, and probably he is excellent in this sector.

He gave all the responsability to Lambert as far the squad is concerned. It is coherent with the fact that in England coaches are managers.
The problem is that Lambert proved that is not able to do this role.
But when he was appointed he seemed perfect, an emerging manager that had done well at Norwich and Colchester,
For this reason  I do not blame Faulkner for appointing him and for buying the players he asked. The only thing that I blame the board for is  not having still realised that he is a clueless manager, without any tactical awareness, that will drive us straight to hell.
Villa is like a bus driven by a drunk and crazy driver now. And we are the passangers.

That would explain why whenever I've watched his post match interviews on MoTD (when we draw or win at best - not that I've been able to watch many) I can't understand a damn word he says. Suppose it all makes sense now........because his slurring like an old Pisshead.

[ozzjim]

The wages issue is a bit of strange one for me. Any manager worth their salt would manage it in such a way where you have a set budget (and ours is still bigger than half the league!)

With what we have got out of the bill, then I just don't see how we cannot, providing we stay up, have a decent wage budget this summer. If we don't, and still play can't afford x, then Lerner needs to sell.