The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[LeeB]

If the type of player you want isn't available or doesn't want to come do you then abandon any other potential transfers because of it?

you could wait a few months to the Jan. window - If you thought the funds would still be there

Had he done that, who would have scored Kozak's goals when Benteke was injured? I think the last couple of months of the season will answer that.

[levico]

Its at times like this you really see the power of the press. I always think im too clever to get duped by shit like this but its starting to turn and this nearly got me. First, well placed friends in the media start peddling stories about the constraints he has had to work uner and start telling us we should be greatful to have him. Even go as far as to try and guilt us into backing him with full support. Then he comes out with this sob story and low and behold everyone starts feeling sorry for him. I would suggest those who are now sympathising remember, this is his squad, his players. These were his coaches. This was his style of football. The recruitment policy was his, nobody elses. He decided to go for youth and enthusiasm and not not mix it with experience. As far as I can see the bomb squad was his idea. The substitutions or lack of them were his doing. The choice to alienate players, like Martin bloody O'Neil the second was his. The records and results are because of what he has done over the last two years.
Nobody forced him to come here and yes it has been hard, probably too much for him at this stage of his career. It will make him a stronger manager and in 5-10years time another club will benefit hugely from this because he has great potential.

I am glad he is here at the moment and thank him for sticking with us through this mess. But when we are taken over, he deserves a thankyou, a pay off and a glowing reference to take with him to his next club. A fresh start needs to be a fresh start.

Couldn't agree more. Nicely summarised.

[manic-road]

Agree 100% Malandro however Lambert needs to focus on task ahead and stop trying to make the world feel sorry for him.

I don't think he wants the world to feel sorry for him, he is just giving facts that the owner is a tightarse.

[Jon Crofts]

Agree 100% Malandro however Lambert needs to focus on task ahead and stop trying to make the world feel sorry for him.

I don't think he wants the world to feel sorry for him, he is just giving facts that the owner is a tightarse.

Yes, tight arsed Randy, I mean what's he ever put into Aston Villa over the years.

[Jimbo]

He's basically saying what David O'Leary said about Aston Villa, albeit with infinitely more charm and respect.

[ktvillan]

If the rather measly transfer budget quoted by Lambert is true, and assuming a sale is not imminent,  then it seems to be yet another strange approach by Lerner.  TV Income for the PL has just gone into the stratosphere and surely it makes sense to reinvest a good chunk of that 70m into the playing squad to safeguard that income stream for the future by making damn sure we are not flirting with the drop again.  By risking the drop, a very real risk given the current playing resources and manager,  he stands to reduce the value of the sale substantially.  It doesn't make any sense to me as a strategy - unless a sale is lined up.   

[rob_bridge]

If the rather measly transfer budget quoted by Lambert is true, and assuming a sale is not imminent,  then it seems to be yet another strange approach by Lerner.  TV Income for the PL has just gone into the stratosphere and surely it makes sense to reinvest a good chunk of that 70m into the playing squad to safeguard that income stream for the future by making damn sure we are not flirting with the drop again.  By risking the drop, a very real risk given the current playing resources and manager,  he stands to reduce the value of the sale substantially.  It doesn't make any sense to me as a strategy - unless a sale is lined up.

Mr Lerner's logic can be questionable at times though.

[Rolta]

Its at times like this you really see the power of the press. I always think im too clever to get duped by shit like this but its starting to turn and this nearly got me. First, well placed friends in the media start peddling stories about the constraints he has had to work uner and start telling us we should be greatful to have him. Even go as far as to try and guilt us into backing him with full support. Then he comes out with this sob story and low and behold everyone starts feeling sorry for him. I would suggest those who are now sympathising remember, this is his squad, his players. These were his coaches. This was his style of football. The recruitment policy was his, nobody elses. He decided to go for youth and enthusiasm and not not mix it with experience. As far as I can see the bomb squad was his idea. The substitutions or lack of them were his doing. The choice to alienate players, like Martin bloody O'Neil the second was his. The records and results are because of what he has done over the last two years.
Nobody forced him to come here and yes it has been hard, probably too much for him at this stage of his career. It will make him a stronger manager and in 5-10years time another club will benefit hugely from this because he has great potential.

I am glad he is here at the moment and thank him for sticking with us through this mess. But when we are taken over, he deserves a thankyou, a pay off and a glowing reference to take with him to his next club. A fresh start needs to be a fresh start.

You're clearly referring to James Nursey's article. James Nursey has been pretty consistent in his view on Lambert, so what he said is nothing new. Just because it's contrary to your opinion doesn't necessarily make it part of a bigger media game. To me there is more to the situation than, "We lost 10 home games this season, therefore Lambert Out." A total dismissal that there is an argument to defend our performances and Lambert's tenure (funds and youth) is for me missing some quite obvious points. What I'm saying is, it is quite possible that people like James Nursey wrote the article he did because he actually believes what he wrote is true.

I agree with him, and I'm just a Villa fan on a forum, so I'm not part of Lambert's synical Murdock-esque manipulation of the media.

The arguments against Lambert should be counterbalanced with an appreciation of the limits he has worked under, and also the small successes in his time here – most notably doing the financial job he was asked to do, and the fact that this has resulted in the youngest squad in the premiership. If you don't think youngsters are capable of showing the inconsistencies – losing to Bradford, indifferent form – then so be it, but anyone's purely negative spin, the simplistic reduction of Lambert's job down to a few soundbites, is worse than anything I have read anywhere in the media, good or bad.

[paul_e]

The issue there Rolta is that, for a model like that to be a success, you need to see improvement in the players.  If you buy 21-22 year olds you expect to see the team grow as a unit and see improvement from the players.  There's no evidence of that which leads people to assume this plan is in place to be cheap and hope it works.  I genuinely don't believe that was the goal, I' of the opinion that the intention was for us to run on a 'moneyball' approach where we buy a group of promising youngsters and try to increase their value, then use the profits to fund the next round of purchases.

Imagine if someone had made a £30m offer for Benteke last year, that'd have funded a replacement and 2-3 players from the Okore/Kozak level rather than gambles on the likes of Helenius, Tonev and Bacuna (who is another success, he'd sell for the cost of those 3 combined).

[rob_bridge]

Rolta I agree he had the hardest job of any Villa manager since SGT Mk I.
However over 2 seasons we haven't improved at all.

Going back to SGT - if it we'd had 2 seasons mid table with no sign of progression in the then Division 2 under Taylor he would have been binned.
In fact when he had a comparable season to Lamberts 2 seasons the 2nd time around he resigned due to failure.

[olaftab]

Agree 100% Malandro however Lambert needs to focus on task ahead and stop trying to make the world feel sorry for him.

I don't think he wants the world to feel sorry for him, he is just giving facts that the owner is a tightarse.

You mean the owner who employed him with agreed parameters? Where are the new facts he is stating?

[Stu]

It isn't even that the team is inconsistent - they aren't; they are consistently poor. The odd flash, like Arsenal, like Chelsea, isn't enough of a defence of Lambert's 'young and hungry' policy. On the other hand, he more than likely had his hands tied with regards to money for transfers. However, he also failed to make the most of the experienced players we had, who now he's opened the door to for a return. That is crap management IMO.

In terms of his situation now however, it's good that he's showing some loyalty to Randy just at the moment. If another team came calling for him though, I think he'd go. We really would be in the shit then.

[LondonBoy]

Have we finally come to the conclusion that there is no takeover...?

Come on geez

[Stu]

Where is London in Australia?

[SamTheMouse]

...The arguments against Lambert should be counterbalanced with an appreciation of the limits he has worked under, and also the small successes in his time here – most notably doing the financial job he was asked to do, and the fact that this has resulted in the youngest squad in the premiership. If you don't think youngsters are capable of showing the inconsistencies – losing to Bradford, indifferent form – then so be it, but anyone's purely negative spin, the simplistic reduction of Lambert's job down to a few soundbites, is worse than anything I have read anywhere in the media, good or bad.

I agree to some extent. But what concerns me is that after moving in the right direction last year when, despite the ups and downs, you could see gradual improvement in our play and an increasing commitment to more attractive football, this season saw us gradually become more and more dire, not so much in terms of results, but in terms of the overall quality of our play.

Our transfer policy under Lambert has been based on an overly simplistic assumption: that you can sign young players, endure an iffy couple of seasons and merely wait until they blossom into top-half pros. We've found to our cost that it doesn't work like that at all. I appreciate Lerner imposed stringent wage restrictions, but Lambert should have impressed on him the need for a balanced squad. Either he agreed and was wrong, or he went along with it when he should have stood his ground.

Having said all that, I might still have kept the faith with Lambert, who's clearly a nice guy, but the Culverhouse/Karsa thing was the last straw. A dereliction of duty.