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

[Jimbo]

I think Randy gave Lambert the new contract so that he (Randy) could have as little as possible to do with the club. He simply hasn't got the stomach for another embarrassing, drawn-out, farcical manager search, so a sacking is out of the question. The club is effectively in the hands of Fox and Lambert, but their hands, ultimately, are tied.

[aj2k77]

I think Randy gave Lambert the new contract so that he (Randy) could have as little as possible to do with the club. He simply hasn't got the stomach for another embarrassing, drawn-out, farcical manager search, so a sacking is out of the question. The club is effectively in the hands of Fox and Lambert, but their hands, ultimately, are tied.

He doesn't have the heart for a battle. His bullshit comment about ''fighting fires'' non stop for the last 3 years or whatever, well yeah, welcome to the world of football. Employ some people who know what they are doing and that might help a tad with avoiding monumental fuck ups that you have to sort out. The going got tough and Lerner and Krulak didn't have the heart for a fight.

[olaftab]

As has been repeated many times, does Lambert get more or less than he should out of the squad at his disposal. It's very clear he gets a lot lot less than he should. Therefore he should  and must be fired.

Agreed. Good coach 2+2=5 Lambert 2+2=1.

[olaftab]

I've been saying we will get relegated for the past two seasons, we didn't. This year I said we will be fine.

 Gulp.

Lambert has read this post and is planning to blame you directly if the horror does come to be!

[dave.woodhall]

The going got tough and Lerner and Krulak didn't have the heart for a fight.

Which is quite clearly ridiculous.

[olaftab]

even just on MOTD2 Henry Winter was sympathetic to Lambert's tough role with a want away owner.

I'm sympathetic to his tough role with a want-away owner as well. The fact that his role is tough doesn't mean that he gets a free pass at doing a shit job though.

Yes his management have given him exactly that for a full season and a half now. I am not counting the first season.

[aj2k77]

The going got tough and Lerner and Krulak didn't have the heart for a fight.

Which is quite clearly ridiculous.

How is it? Lerner said himself the last few years have been week in week out battles and it's time to move on. So what, that's life at a big club in the big leagues, it's not easy. Take out the first 4 seasons, pretty much as soon as things got consistently rough they pulled up the drawbridge and retreated. He was very visible during the good times and invisible during these bad ones.

[Drummond]

Part of the problem is that whilst Lambert shows some learning (albeit limited) the rest oft he league learns more quickly. Whilst he shows some ability, the rest show more, whilst we sign players, the others sign more and better.

Our youth set-up has been invested in, yet it's going backwards in comparison to many other clubs.

It's a gradual, miserable decline which is why the media haven't made a fuss. If we'd been 6th last year, they'd be all over it. Nobody gives a shit as in modern terms, we're an irrelevance.

[dave.woodhall]

The going got tough and Lerner and Krulak didn't have the heart for a fight.

Which is quite clearly ridiculous.

How is it? Lerner said himself the last few years have been week in week out battles and it's time to move on. So what, that's life at a big club in the big leagues, it's not easy. Take out the first 4 seasons, pretty much as soon as things got consistently rough they pulled up the drawbridge and retreated. He was very visible during the good times and invisible during these bad ones.

One minute you say he didn't have the heart, the next you're saying it's been four years of battles. He could have given the club away to the first shark who enquired. He may also have a completely different personal and business life to the one he had eight years ago. 

[Steve67]

I genuinely think Lerner has tried his best, but, just like at the Browns, he has proven not to be very good at running sports clubs. For me, lambert going would a) tell me that Randy still has some dignity b) would give the whole place, including our reputation, a very big lift. Sadly, I don't think Lambert will be sacked.

[dave.woodhall]

I genuinely think Lerner has tried his best, but, just like at the Browns, he has proven not to be very good at running sports clubs. For me, lambert going would a) tell me that Randy still has some dignity b) would give the whole place, including our reputation, a very big lift. Sadly, I don't think Lambert will be sacked.

Which is why I don't particularly want Randy to sell up, but I do want him to make a couple of football-related appointments, let them all get on with it and he can do whatever he wants from then on.

[kippaxvilla2]

Even Small Heath which is owned by nobody knows recognised the financial need for a change of manager.  We suspected it was down to Clarks dourness as is the case with Lambert and so it proved.  He just needs to go now.

[pauliewalnuts]

The going got tough and Lerner and Krulak didn't have the heart for a fight.

Which is quite clearly ridiculous.

Hmm, a bit melodramatic, maybe, but there's a certain amount of truth in what he said.

Considering General Krulak used to tell us over and over they were in it "through thick and thin", there was a pretty small time gap between things getting a bit thin, and them basically withdrawing their emotional investment.

If that's what they want to do, then it is up to them, and there's not a lot we can do with it. It is just very, very disappointing that they decided to do it so abruptly. It makes you wonder how sincere they were in the first few years, and how much of what they said then was all ultimately a bit empty.

For the last three or four years their management of the club has been abysmal. From ridiculous stuff like McLeish, to the sudden withdrawal of money, the jump from 60k a week players to 10k a week ones without stopping off at 30k a week ones, lots and lots of poor decisions.

We now have a dead duck manager who convinces absolutely nobody, but the one person who can do something about it doesn't seem too bothered.

I don't just want someone to throw money at the club, I also want someone who will use his head and invest a bit of love in the club, too.

Regardless of who Lerner appoints below him, the last word will always be with him, and that's going to remain a problem. I'd rather he just went and we had someone who at least showed signs of caring about the club, even if they're not going to throw money at it. It'd be a good start.

[kippaxvilla2]

I know we think things couldn't get much worse I do nevertheless worry about just who the hell he might sell the club to the more desperate he gets to sell. 

[aj2k77]

The going got tough and Lerner and Krulak didn't have the heart for a fight.

Which is quite clearly ridiculous.

How is it? Lerner said himself the last few years have been week in week out battles and it's time to move on. So what, that's life at a big club in the big leagues, it's not easy. Take out the first 4 seasons, pretty much as soon as things got consistently rough they pulled up the drawbridge and retreated. He was very visible during the good times and invisible during these bad ones.

One minute you say he didn't have the heart, the next you're saying it's been four years of battles. He could have given the club away to the first shark who enquired. He may also have a completely different personal and business life to the one he had eight years ago. 

He could have given the club away yes, if he was a complete scum bag who didn't give a shit, which I haven't accused him of. It has been 4 years of battles, to which he's let Lambert take the flak for most of the time, he hasn't been here and he hasn't really fronted up, he's retreated. In my opinion he did the easy part, tossing the cash around and coming watching us in front of big gates in pretty big games. He didn't do the hard part, building a proper footballing infrastructure at the club and being here when shit hits the fan. We've basically been a pass time for him until he got bored, one that's cost him a hell of a lot of money and us a lot of face and reputation.