Mat Kendrick sticks the boot inShould Aston Villa sack Paul Lambert? Yes, now!Mat Kendrick delivers a no-hold barred verdict on Paul Lambert and says it is time for Aston Villa to relieve him of his duties
Remember the Paul Lambert who breezed into Villa Park with a self-assured swagger, bold promises to play exciting football and a reputation as one of the brightest young managers in the game?
Whatever happened to him?
In his place stands a cautious, battle-weary pale imitation of that man. Villa are seemingly damaging him every bit as much he is damaging Villa .
Perhaps this is the way it is destined to be - a long, lifeless slog towards 38 points each year, with goals deemed a luxury item rather than a necessity.
After all 38 0-0 draws would do it.
His task in keeping Villa in the Premier League has certainly covered a multitude of sins and papered over the cracks - and he finally admitted when the going got tough last season that survival was the height of the club’s ambitions.
It might be good enough for the chairman and the manager, but it is not good enough for the claret and blue fanbase.
Villa are not even taking the scenic route to mediocrity and have recently been dubbed the most boring team in Premier League history.
Whether planned protests take off or not - and Lambert is more than capable of emptying the Holte by himself - demonstrations on top of the recent anti-Lambert chants show fans have reached the end of their tether.
Despite previously displaying remarkable restraint they have been accused of being fickle for finally losing patience with the man they excitedly serenaded at Norwich during the final day of the McLeish era.
But this is not the Lambert Villa fans thought they were getting. Surely if something is not as advertised and is malfunctioning then the best course of action is to dispose of it?
“He’s a wishy washy manager,” is the most apt description I’ve heard from a Villa fan.
Wishy washy, illogical, a walking contradiction.
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert
From young and hungry and foreign finds to old and experienced.
From long-ball counter-attack to possession-based counter-productive.
From “The only stat you need to know is you have to try and win games - that’s the name of the game.” to “We had 752 passes against Blackpool and we had 69 per cent possession.”
Maybe he should be credited for trying different approaches in the quest for a winning formula? But if he gets fed up of his own philosophies what chance have the rest of us got?
I accept there have been difficult circumstances - from cash constraints, to a disinterested chairman, injuries, suspensions and so on.
But even taking into account all of those things - he should be doing better.
He is not solely the problem, but neither is he the solution.
This is not a knee-jerk reaction. He has taken charge of 97 Premier League matches, which have yielded 97 goals.
That’s just one goal a game - and while we would gladly take any goal right now, that is a shocking statistic to add to a charge sheet of shocking statistics.
Maybe the confusion on (Tom) Fox News earlier this week was that parts of Birmingham were becoming no goal areas populated entirely by must wins?
The points tally is no better. 101 points from 97 games. That’s an average of under 40 points a season.
If Lambert deserves credit for keeping Villa up, then so do their perennial saviours - three worse clubs.
Lambert has broken so many records that he would probably choose the late Norris McWhirter as his next assistant manager were he still around.
Speaking of number twos, to lose one may be regarded as misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness.
Having one armed tied behind his back is no excuse for the strait-jacket he has inflicted on Villa this season, and this with a group of players he has described as his strongest squad.
Right now they are performing less than the sum of their parts.
If Big Ron’s swashbuckling Villa reflected their manager’s bubbly personality, then so too are Lambert’s Villa playing in the Glaswegian’s image.
Never mind ‘strange’ comments in the name of self preservation, trust me, six-year-old boys falling in love with football don’t care for lame explanations about expectations or realism, they want to see goals. And the same goes for their mums, dads, brothers, sisters and so on.
It costs money to watch this. It is supposed to be entertainment.
Instead we get a manager inhibited by fear, drilling players to be so robotic they are barely capable of free thought. Off-the-cuff is off the menu. Even after the Guardiola pep talks it lurches between functional and dysfunctional.
Lambert gives the impression it is acceptable to be also-rans, taking defeats and dismal performances as ‘our lot’, when Villa Park is crying out for a manager who seethes when standards drop even a fraction below the absolute maximum.
He has become better at excuse management than actual football management.
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert at The Hawthorns Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert at The Hawthorns
Calling for him to be sacked is probably futile. But this is a change that can be made within the football club, whereas the stuttering search for a buyer relies on outside influences. A quick glance down the road - in either direction - shows that things can improve by replacing the unpopular figures in the dugout even if the unpopular figures in the boardroom remain.
Sometimes to re-energise a flailing football club it just takes a can-do attitude, an increase in tempo, a tweak to the tactics, a fresh perspective that a new manager can bring.
If Lambert isn’t prepared to take a risk then Lerner must because right now keeping faith is becoming an even bigger gamble.
Maybe the suffocating nature of the job would have the same effect on whoever next clutches the claret and blue chalice...
But without hope, Aston Villa are simply hopeless.
