Paul Lambert

[GENTLEMAN]

According to the Express article, Lambert has known about Lerner wanting to sell for a few months. I think HH did mention around Xmas that Lerner was looking to sell up too. I think a sale is closer than we think guys.

ASTON VILLA have insisted there will be no firesale of their top players while the club is in limbo.

Manager Paul Lambert will have little scope to buy new players as owner Randy Lerner puts a lid on spending.

But that doesn't mean Lerner will cash in on prize assets Christian Benteke, Ron Vlaar, Fabian Delph, Ashley Westwood and Brad Guzan.

Vlaar and Delph are in the last year of their contracts, as is Lambert himself, but all new deals are on hold.

Lambert will get a maximum of £15million in transfer money and Lerner would like some of that offset by sales. But Lambert is adamant that if anyone leaves Villa it will be only fringe players.

Marc Albrighton is an early target for Sunderland and Leicester and Newcastle are looking at Darren Bent, deals Lambert will do if interest is firmed up.

"Everything is open because the club is for sale but I'll still have the final say with who comes and goes," said Lambert. "I don't visualise anyone leaving without my permission."

 

Lambert hopes to persuade Lerner to up the wage ceiling to allow him to bring in bigger name free transfer players.

"Up until the club is sold it's going to need everyone to pull in the same direction. That's vital, to get your sleeves rolled up and meet that challenge," said Lambert. "It's going to be really, really tough but you keep going."

Villa will get £70m in TV money, but Lambert says that won't help his budget.

"It doesn't work like that. Finances go to different places, that TV money I'm pretty sure will go to help the club.

"If you're up for sale that's the big statement. Everyone is clear on what's happening and it's up to me to go and get players that this club deserves.

"If the club had been relegated, plus gone up for sale, I wouldn't want to imagine what it would have been like."

 

Lambert was told months in advance by Lerner that he was intending to sell but had to keep it private until the official announcement.

"It was my job to protect the club, that's what I did," said Lambert. "How did I feel when I went over to New York at the weekend to speak with Randy Lerner? Tired. It had all been on my shoulders, all the problems of the season, I had to protect everything and I did that.

"Even if we were to get off to a flyer to the new season, I don't think it would change Randy Lerner's mind about selling. The chairman has been great and honest but I don't think it'll change his mind.

"With regard to selling players, Randy will let me decide. You have to understand and respect his good work here. That shouldn't be overlooked. But you have to respect he wants to do his own thing.

"When the new owners come in they will judge what I've done with their own eyes.

"I've never been one to be self-centred. The most important thing is this club. All I can do is my best. It's really unsettling but it is what it is. You can't change it.

"I'm relieved it's out there, I knew what was happening but my job was to protect everything.

"I don't regret anything. If it all ended tomorrow you would take an unbelievable experience. The pressure is big, but there's always something good to come out of it and Aston Villa can be big again."

Click

[samjp26]

I like that he is still adamant we can be a big club again, but judging by what he has said I'd assume Randy has been working on this sale for a while now

[Rovers13]

I said £11m, not something I got from hairyhands.

However, I was partially wrong. The club made €8m in sales, not £8m. So I suppose the spend was a bit higher than £11m.

€3m makoun

€2.4 bent loan fee

€2.1 bannan

€600k Ireland loan fee. http://www.transfermarkt.com/aston-villa/alletransfers/verein/405

Yeah sorry, my comnent about the £10m figure was aimed at the original post in the conversation.

With you I was just challenging the £11m net-spend figure but as you've pointed out, you mixed up euros with pounds. Though I would still challenge the Bannan figure, by most accounts we sold him for a nominal fee.

This article from the birmingham mail is pretty vague, but does state that one add on was palace staying up.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/aston-villa-barry-bannan-joins-5830846

And that the max value with add ons was £2m. So it's unlikely it was nominal.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Rovers13

[briny_ear]

 

 

"Everything is open because the club is for sale but I'll still have the final say with who comes and goes," said Lambert. "I don't visualise anyone leaving without my permission." 

Villa will get £70m in TV money, but Lambert says that won't help his budget. "It doesn't work like that. Finances go to different places, that TV money I'm pretty sure will go to help the club.

He doesn't sound 100% sure that players won't be sold over his head.

 

But more sure he won't get any of the TV money. Wonder what "help" for the club Lerner is envisaging between now and the time he leaves?

 

Got a feeling the "help" is for the club's accounts and that is how Lerner will deliver the prediction that the club will become profitable in 2014/5.

 

Felling a bit gloomy about all this.

[suttonpaul]

I saw a report of 2 for makoun and 2 for bannan

[Rovers13]

So the point is, regardless of exact numbers, lambert wasn't given £20m net last summer. He was probably given a couple million more than £10.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Rovers13

[SeanO]

So the point is, regardless of exact numbers, lambert wasn't given £20m net last summer. He was probably given a couple million more than £10.

 

Pretty much, you can't run a Premiership club on league one money and survive for long.

 

Lerner has had his problems but right now all Villans are worried just what the immediate future holds. No investment this summer then we probably struggle however on the positive side we do have players coming back from injury.

[Rugeley Villa]

He's staying then, can only seeing him having the bare minimum to spend again.

[TrentVilla]

I believe the £10m figure to be accurate for last summer, Sid has said that, HH said that and I've also heard it from elsewhere.

 

As for this summer as things stand I would imagine he will have less.

[TrentVilla]

 

Regarding Kendrick, would we all rather brown-nosers like James Nursey who just apologises for any manager here (including McLeish) in order to retain his privileges? No point in even having independent journalists if they will never divert from some sort of club approved script.

 

I agree, to a point.

 

Any decent journalist should be impartial and offer a balanced perspective based on all the information available. That goes both ways though I would say.

 

 

Oh and to add, a decent journalist covering a club should attend a press conference when there is one rather than opt not to do so then give the impression he did.

[Big_John_10]

I believe the £10m figure to be accurate for last summer, Sid has said that, HH said that and I've also heard it from elsewhere.

As for this summer as things stand I would imagine he will have less.

Which is why its a concern him staying on.

With limited funds and full support of majority of fans he achieved our worst ever premiership season.

With less funds and fans on his back straight away how's he meant to do better?

[Morkery]

 

I believe the £10m figure to be accurate for last summer, Sid has said that, HH said that and I've also heard it from elsewhere.

As for this summer as things stand I would imagine he will have less.

Which is why its a concern him staying on.

With limited funds and full support of majority of fans he achieved our worst ever premiership season.

With less funds and fans on his back straight away how's he meant to do better?

 

 

 

With no signings and a bit of luck with injuries we should do better.

 

I don't think the squad needs a massive amount of money spent to be in the top half.

 

If Lambert did have such a limited budget, the purchase of Kozak is really confusing (Even though I think hes a decent forward)

[TrentVilla]

 

Which is why its a concern him staying on.

With limited funds and full support of majority of fans he achieved our worst ever premiership season.

With less funds and fans on his back straight away how's he meant to do better?

 

I take no issue with people having concerns, I have them too although perhaps different to yours.

 

I wouldn't for one minute expect anyone who was dead set on wanting Lambert gone this summer to have completely changed their mind because of the current circumstances. 

 

I would though just like to clear up one thing, last season wasn't our worst ever premier league season. I'm sorry but this just isn't true and it doesn't matter how many times people say it.

 

We finished 15th, same as the season before. However we've finished 16th in the table on at least 3 occasions in 2011, 2006 and 2003. I would also add back in the days of a larger PL we also finished 18th one place about relegation in a year when 4 sides went down. It isn't even our lowest ever PL points total, we also got 38 points in 2011 I believe. So its not our worst PL season ever.

 

We didn't improve last season on his first season but then with a budget of circa £10m last summer I don't think it was realistic to hope we would or not greatly anyway.

 

As for this summer/season I don't think he can be expected to do better, that is kind of the point I'm making. I don't think he will do worse either but I personally would have been fearful if he had walked away because I think who we could have attracted in the circumstances probably would. 

 

As for the fans being on his back straight away, I honestly don't think that will be the case given the circumstances. I think they will get behind him. But neither of us know how that one will pan out, we shall find out in August I guess.

[Nabby]

A new season brings a clean slate however given how we finished season and looking like little to no new players to boost the squad , it will be very hard to turn things around I feel.

 

Our best chance really is we bring in decent coaching staff , you only have to look at Palace to see what can be achieved with right coaching or for more extreme results Athetico are doing pretty well in lines with what they have spent on fee's and wages.

[Richard]

 

 

I don't think many if any journos know what is going on with the sale.   Villa are being extra extra careful not to let anything out about the sale.  It is my slight glimmer of hope that a sale is closer than is being reported on in the media.  Slight glimmer.

 

Or alternatively, there isn't much happening.

 

But that is for another thread.

 

 

Why do you always have to give us the bad news eh?  One day your ITK will be positive.

 

Btw I've devised a new ITK list.  Not based on accuracy but a ranking system that takes in to account lots of factors.  Handling (ridicule on VT by posters who hate ITK's) skills is one of those factors. 

 

ITK heat map?  Con's your man

[VillaForever1970]

People also seem to base it on the fact we had a full team out at the end of the season we really didn’t, we had the worse record at one point last season for injuries. With almost 4 or 5 first team players out, only City could really cope with that; yet Lambert should have had them steaming up the league.

I’m not excusing Lambert, the home record was not good enough the football at times was awful. But also at times the football has been great, just not consistantly (like most of the premier league).

Its clear the team were also not playing for him the back end of last season, perhaps like Lambert they knew Randy wanted out, who knows.

A clean slate with hopefully the bomb squad back in and over any hump they might have, bit of luck with injures i think we might do okay, nothing else we can do really...

[TrentVilla]

I agree with much of that VF1970 except that they weren't playing for him, take a look at that Hull game or the way they were with him during and after. I've seen nothing to suggest the players aren't playing for Lambert, but to me they looked out on their feet towards the end of the season, low in confidence and all to aware that without Benteke they were up against it.

[turnbull]

I think the West Midlands press is anti Villa given the drivel spouted by Tom Dross and that Franksy on WM. They all take any opportunity to knock the Villa

TBF, that's a big pair of knockers.

[VillaForever1970]

I agree with much of that VF1970 except that they weren't playing for him, take a look at that Hull game or the way they were with him during and after. I've seen nothing to suggest the players aren't playing for Lambert, but to me they looked out on their feet towards the end of the season, low in confidence and all to aware that without Benteke they were up against it.

Yeah thats probably correct, the players seemed to be more pissed off with the fans at certain points.

[omariqy]

Lescott, new LB, Barry and Hoolahan will do us for now.  That is if Bent is back in the fold.