Paul Lambert

[Swerbs]

Paul Lambert ready to rebuild Aston Villa as fan unrest grows

Manager is safe in his job with plans to clear out his transfer failures and bring in quality signings to avoid third successive relegation battle next season

Paul Lambert ready for summer of rebuilding at Aston Villa as fan unrest grows after another poor campaign

Nail biter: Paul Lambert looks on as Aston Villa slump to defeat at Crystal Palace Photo: GETTY IMAGES

John Percy By John Percy10:30PM BST 14 Apr 2014 CommentsComment

Paul Lambert is ready to drastically reshape his Aston Villa squad this summer as he battles against growing unrest from supporters.

Lambert will clear out a number of his transfer failures and introduce a new philosophy in an attempt to avoid a third successive relegation battle next season, with the backing of chairman Randy Lerner.

Aleksandar Tonev, Nicklas Helenius, Antonio Luna, Yacouba Sylla and Jordan Bowery are all likely casualties in a clear acknowledgement that Lambert’s previous policy of buying young and hungry players at cheap prices has not worked.

Christian Benteke has proven a huge success after signing for around £8  million from Genk two years ago and Lambert will hope to bring in quality signings for similar fees, focusing less on simply bulking up the squad.

The 44-year-old is facing increasing criticism from supporters after another bitterly disappointing campaign, with Villa’s chief executive Paul Faulkner issuing an unprecedented plea for unity ahead of the crucial game against Southampton on Saturday.

Lambert’s position remains secure, with negotiations over a new contract postponed until the end of the season, but patience is running out, the clearest signs yet of mutiny from a frustrated fan base emerging with Saturday’s defeat at Crystal Palace.

Lerner, the club’s American owner, has been the main focal point of anger with accusations that he has lacked ambition after significantly stripping back investment. However, Villa’s results and performances, plus Lambert’s tactics and signings, are coming under greater scrutiny this season.

Villa fans have endured 10 home defeats in the Premier League this season and a humiliating FA Cup exit to Sheffield United, while the 1-0 defeat at Selhurst Park leaves the club only four points above the relegation zone.

Villa’s move to start discussions with Lambert over a new deal, revealed by the Telegraph in February, has also been an important topic of debate. Villa remain fully behind Lambert, however, and are reluctant to avoid any further upheaval by changing managers.

Despite their lingering fears of relegation, Lambert is already planning for next season and will significantly adjust his transfer policy to recover from two years of mediocrity.

When he was appointed in June 2012 he was under instructions to lower a bloated wage bill and has spent almost £40 million in four transfer windows on 15 players.

If Villa avoid relegation, his funds this summer will be boosted by a minimum £63 million from the new television deal, while the club will look to offload their highly-paid players Darren Bent, Shay Given and Alan Hutton permanently.

Lambert is also keen to retain the core members of his squad and will offer new contracts to Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar.

A defeat by Southampton on Saturday, however, will only add to the growing discontent in the stands.

Faulkner admitted in a statement on Monday: “We are hurting. Fans are hurting, players and the manager are hurting. The frustration is shared by everyone who loves Aston Villa.

“Now more than ever it’s time for us all to pull together – fans, players, the manager, everyone at the club. Our immediate focus and combined efforts need to be concentrated on our game against Southampton this weekend and on our remaining games this season.

“We need to channel our energies into creating a positive atmosphere and getting the result we need on Saturday at Villa Park and in the games that follow.

“We know we can handle adversity. What we need now is for everyone to stick behind the team and continue to show the great support that is a hallmark of our club.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/10765882/Paul-Lambert-ready-to-rebuild-Aston-Villa-as-fan-unrest-grows.html

[The_Lions_Roar]

I can't see him staying if he's lost the fans. Needs something Saturday to not lose them completly.

He hasn't lost the fans. I back Lambo 100% & I am not the only poster who holds that view on VT either.

The reality is he has only lost the impatient fans & not the one's who believe in the Lambert Project & see that as the bigger picture.

Some fans have only turned recently out of frustration at having to stick with a long term project that has been derailed mainly due to the loss of our talisman Benteke.

Get over the line & many of these fans can easily be won back again.

Also, there is no shame in being wrong or frustrated because it is only due to the hurt & despair of seeing our beloved Villa languishing down amongst the dead men.

Lambert has balls & I like that.

As for the fans currently against him I would say "Don't Ball's It Up For The Rest Of Us!"

Are you honestly still coming out with this crap? Every time I put you right, you ignore my post and 20 pages later you're still bleating on about "impatient fans" and "Project Lambert" - it's getting really, really tiresome.

Everybody knows, pro-Lambert/anti Lambert, that the Villa fanbase has been extremely patient with Paul Lambert. Will you please, please. please stop typing tosh. On Saturday he lost the away fans, notoriously the "last line of defence" for a manager and everyone knows this. Yes, sure, if we went on a 20 game winning streak now then he'd win them back because all football fans are fickle but there's more chance of you shutting up about "Project Lambert" than that happening.

If you love Lambert, and think he can take us forward, fine. But please stop calling our dedicated away following "impatient" as if your viewpoint is the majority. It's not.

I think you'll find the last line of defence is the Chairman.

Wrong again. Chairman come and go, the fans are the constant. Give it a rest.

They don't come and go that quickly!

How many times have we seen fans wanting a manager sacked for the board to ignore it?

Fat Sam would certainly not be in a job if that was the case.

[lapal_fan]

I bet the few pro Lambert fans left on here never let go of there ex girlfriends either. Even when they got cheated on, they would say they didn't mean it

What a strange thing to say..

[villa-revolution]

 

 

 

 

I can't see him staying if he's lost the fans. Needs something Saturday to not lose them completly.

 

He hasn't lost the fans. I back Lambo 100% & I am not the only poster who holds that view on VT either.

 

The reality is he has only lost the impatient fans & not the one's who believe in the Lambert Project & see that as the bigger picture.

 

Some fans have only turned recently out of frustration at having to stick with a long term project that has been derailed mainly due to the loss of our talisman Benteke.

 

Get over the line & many of these fans can easily be won back again.

 

Also, there is no shame in being wrong or frustrated because it is only due to the hurt & despair of seeing our beloved Villa languishing down amongst the dead men.

 

Lambert has balls & I like that.

 

As for the fans currently against him I would say "Don't Ball's It Up For The Rest Of Us!"

 

 

Are you honestly still coming out with this crap? Every time I put you right, you ignore my post and 20 pages later you're still bleating on about "impatient fans" and "Project Lambert" - it's getting really, really tiresome.

 

Everybody knows, pro-Lambert/anti Lambert, that the Villa fanbase has been extremely patient with Paul Lambert. Will you please, please. please stop typing tosh. On Saturday he lost the away fans, notoriously the "last line of defence" for a manager and everyone knows this. Yes, sure, if we went on a 20 game winning streak now then he'd win them back because all football fans are fickle but there's more chance of you shutting up about "Project Lambert" than that happening.

 

If you love Lambert, and think he can take us forward, fine. But please stop calling our dedicated away following "impatient" as if your viewpoint is the majority. It's not.

 

 

I think you'll find the last line of defence is the Chairman.

 

 

Wrong again. Chairman come and go, the fans are the constant. Give it a rest.

 

 

No. Some fans go & never return. Fans are fickle. I know fans that have never gone back to Villa park because of Doug Ellis. The Chairman is the last line of defence because he ultimately chooses whether a manager stays or goes. That is my point & you know I am right.

[NSmith22]

I've seen very little to suggest that 2 or 3 more expensive signings in the summer will lead to big improvement.

2 or 3 expensive signings did wonders for Everton. Not saying the rest of our squad compares but it's hard to say with the injury woes this season. Can you imagine if Kozak, Gabby, Okore, and Benteke stayed healthy throughout this entire season? I almost gaurantee we would have already hit the 40 point mark and that would have been a decent improvement over last year.

[Hanky]

I can't see him staying if he's lost the fans. Needs something Saturday to not lose them completly.

Lambert has balls & I like that.

As for the fans currently against him I would say "Don't Ball's It Up For The Rest Of Us!"

I actually think he has lost his 'balls' so to speak. Newcastle away he tried to play it safe, going with three centre halves on Saturday was as bad as anything under the former manager. I'm not prepared to give him any more time to make any more mistakes, he is on borrowed time already. There was a very good argument to get rid after Bradford last year but a lot stood by him (including myself). I was lost after that shambles start to the second half at home against West Ham.

[The_Lions_Roar]

I've seen very little to suggest that 2 or 3 more expensive signings in the summer will lead to big improvement.

Really?

So you don't think that guzan, okore, vlaar, bacuna, Bertrand, delph, benteke, gabby. Along with 3 players of the same calibre will make much difference?

I beg to differ.

[TRO]

 

 

 

 

 

I can't see him staying if he's lost the fans. Needs something Saturday to not lose them completly.

He hasn't lost the fans. I back Lambo 100% & I am not the only poster who holds that view on VT either.

The reality is he has only lost the impatient fans & not the one's who believe in the Lambert Project & see that as the bigger picture.

Some fans have only turned recently out of frustration at having to stick with a long term project that has been derailed mainly due to the loss of our talisman Benteke.

Get over the line & many of these fans can easily be won back again.

Also, there is no shame in being wrong or frustrated because it is only due to the hurt & despair of seeing our beloved Villa languishing down amongst the dead men.

Lambert has balls & I like that.

As for the fans currently against him I would say "Don't Ball's It Up For The Rest Of Us!"

'Impatient fans'

'Project'

'Bigger picture'

I thought we'd moved on from this sort of post.

It's not a question of moving on, it's merely a question of acknowledging, understanding & recognising those realities.

Just from your own point of view what did you actually think of his tactics at the weekend?

Most people in the match thread before kick off were saying playing 5 at the back against palace and 3 in midfield would ultimately let us get over run. Which is exactly what happened.

If you check that thread you ll see a large volume of people on it calling for a subscription 10-20 mins before the goal as our formation wasn't working and Palace were all over us.

This is what worries me about Lambert and has become a more prevalent point as the season has progressed. These things above are blinding obvious to us and yet he can't seem to see it. Tactically as the season has progressed he has regressed.

Wrong formations, slow to adapt or change. Baffling substitutions or substitutions which are to little and to late.

This has little to do with money for me but far more to do with his coaching ability.

The more I see of Villa lately the more I lose faith in any plan he has or even if he ever had one to begin with.

 

 

Not having a pop at you & this is not personal but perfect hindsight (based on the result) is a wonderful thing.

 

Lambert was brave against Chelsea to play 3 up top & it paid ultimate dividends.

 

The point is the fans may have called it right on this occasion but do fans ever admit it when they get it wrong?

 

 

I got it totally wrong with O'Neill.....absolutely made up  when we signed him, he was the only man for the job in my eyes.I was convinced he was the next Ron Saunders....Oooopps

 

changed my opinion after about 12 months...also went to a sports forum where a fan asked a sensible, but prickly question and he tore his heart out.... was not impressed. the After math of Moscow and most of signings...left me underwhelmed....i think he thought he was Brian Clough - and so did I

[TRO]

The whole thing doesn't lend itself to a fighting spirit for me.

 

We do well against  the top teams almost like the players motivate themselves for those games, because nothing is expected of them.

 

and lose to the lower teams and lower division teams who have more stomach for the fight....whenever there is a bit of expectation we fold like a pack of cards.

[briny_ear]

That Telegraph article makes me feel like Doug never went away.

 

Coming to the end of another crap season? Brief the press that things are going to change in the summer, we will buy big, etc.

[TRO]

 

I've seen very little to suggest that 2 or 3 more expensive signings in the summer will lead to big improvement.

Really?

So you don't think that guzan, okore, vlaar, bacuna, Bertrand, delph, benteke, gabby. Along with 3 players of the same calibre will make much difference?

I beg to differ.

 

 

with the 2 obvious exceptions...the rest have regressed in recent weeks.

 

In my view Bertrand has notably gone backwards from when he first come....making many mistakes and looking passive

Edited April 14, 2014 by TRO

[VillaAndLoyal]

 

 

 

 

 

I can't see him staying if he's lost the fans. Needs something Saturday to not lose them completly.

 

He hasn't lost the fans. I back Lambo 100% & I am not the only poster who holds that view on VT either.

 

The reality is he has only lost the impatient fans & not the one's who believe in the Lambert Project & see that as the bigger picture.

 

Some fans have only turned recently out of frustration at having to stick with a long term project that has been derailed mainly due to the loss of our talisman Benteke.

 

Get over the line & many of these fans can easily be won back again.

 

Also, there is no shame in being wrong or frustrated because it is only due to the hurt & despair of seeing our beloved Villa languishing down amongst the dead men.

 

Lambert has balls & I like that.

 

As for the fans currently against him I would say "Don't Ball's It Up For The Rest Of Us!"

 

 

Are you honestly still coming out with this crap? Every time I put you right, you ignore my post and 20 pages later you're still bleating on about "impatient fans" and "Project Lambert" - it's getting really, really tiresome.

 

Everybody knows, pro-Lambert/anti Lambert, that the Villa fanbase has been extremely patient with Paul Lambert. Will you please, please. please stop typing tosh. On Saturday he lost the away fans, notoriously the "last line of defence" for a manager and everyone knows this. Yes, sure, if we went on a 20 game winning streak now then he'd win them back because all football fans are fickle but there's more chance of you shutting up about "Project Lambert" than that happening.

 

If you love Lambert, and think he can take us forward, fine. But please stop calling our dedicated away following "impatient" as if your viewpoint is the majority. It's not.

 

 

I think you'll find the last line of defence is the Chairman.

 

 

Wrong again. Chairman come and go, the fans are the constant. Give it a rest.

 

 

No. Some fans go & never return. Fans are fickle. I know fans that have never gone back to Villa park because of Doug Ellis. The Chairman is the last line of defence because he ultimately chooses whether a manager stays or goes. That is my point & you know I am right.

 

 

Oh dear, can you seriously not see that I am talking about fans as a collective here? Not individual fans    Without the fans, there would be no chairman or football club. Your attempt to tell me that certain fans do not return because of certain issues, in a perverse attempt to somehow prove a point, is laughable.

 

Besides the point, stop cherry picking one thing I said and understand my main point: the fans have not been impatient (as you keep wrongly suggesting) and when you lose the away fans, it is very, very unlikely you will ever win them back.

[Big_John_10]

I've seen very little to suggest that 2 or 3 more expensive signings in the summer will lead to big improvement.

Really?

So you don't think that guzan, okore, vlaar, bacuna, Bertrand, delph, benteke, gabby. Along with 3 players of the same calibre will make much difference?

I beg to differ.

It will make a difference but I don't see it leading to proper improvement. Giving McLeish more money would have made a difference but I doubt it would have lead to meaningful improvement.

[villa-revolution]

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't see him staying if he's lost the fans. Needs something Saturday to not lose them completly.

 

He hasn't lost the fans. I back Lambo 100% & I am not the only poster who holds that view on VT either.

 

The reality is he has only lost the impatient fans & not the one's who believe in the Lambert Project & see that as the bigger picture.

 

Some fans have only turned recently out of frustration at having to stick with a long term project that has been derailed mainly due to the loss of our talisman Benteke.

 

Get over the line & many of these fans can easily be won back again.

 

Also, there is no shame in being wrong or frustrated because it is only due to the hurt & despair of seeing our beloved Villa languishing down amongst the dead men.

 

Lambert has balls & I like that.

 

As for the fans currently against him I would say "Don't Ball's It Up For The Rest Of Us!"

 

 

Are you honestly still coming out with this crap? Every time I put you right, you ignore my post and 20 pages later you're still bleating on about "impatient fans" and "Project Lambert" - it's getting really, really tiresome.

 

Everybody knows, pro-Lambert/anti Lambert, that the Villa fanbase has been extremely patient with Paul Lambert. Will you please, please. please stop typing tosh. On Saturday he lost the away fans, notoriously the "last line of defence" for a manager and everyone knows this. Yes, sure, if we went on a 20 game winning streak now then he'd win them back because all football fans are fickle but there's more chance of you shutting up about "Project Lambert" than that happening.

 

If you love Lambert, and think he can take us forward, fine. But please stop calling our dedicated away following "impatient" as if your viewpoint is the majority. It's not.

 

 

I think you'll find the last line of defence is the Chairman.

 

 

Wrong again. Chairman come and go, the fans are the constant. Give it a rest.

 

 

No. Some fans go & never return. Fans are fickle. I know fans that have never gone back to Villa park because of Doug Ellis. The Chairman is the last line of defence because he ultimately chooses whether a manager stays or goes. That is my point & you know I am right.

 

 

Oh dear, can you seriously not see that I am talking about fans as a collective here? Not individual fans    Without the fans, there would be no chairman or football club. Your attempt to tell me that certain fans do not return because of certain issues, in a perverse attempt to somehow prove a point, is laughable.

 

Besides the point, stop cherry picking one thing I said and understand my main point: the fans have not been impatient (as you keep wrongly suggesting) and when you lose the away fans, it is very, very unlikely you will ever win them back.

 

 

No. You claim that Paul Lambert has lost the fans & that they are the last line of defence. Who will sack Paul Lambert?

 

The fans or the Chairman?

 

Go back & re-read all my posts & you will see that I also stated that the fans who had lost their patience can just as easily be won back round again.

 

My overall point though is that Lambert has not lost the fans only some of them.

Edited April 14, 2014 by villa-revolution

[foreveryoung]

Again de-ja-vu. I remember McLeish quoting who he needed to sign and saying he had already started planning for the following season. All smells a bit to me. Still think Lamberts gone. I mean if he didn't win another game this season, you really think he will still be in a job. Would be boardering insane to risk big transfer money on a manager who is making no progress.

[samjp26]

I dunno, I mean, let's say we did go in for the players mentioned as targets who were too expensive.

Guzan

Bacuna Okore Vlaar Bertrand

Barry

Westwood Delph

Holtby

Lukaku Benteke

That is a very solid lineup. A few proper additions would make our squad top 10 quality at minimum IMO, with decent players on the bench too. I think we would improve.

Edited April 14, 2014 by samjp26

[Big_John_10]

I dunno, I mean, let's say we did go in for the players mentioned as targets who were too expensive.

Guzan

Bacuna Okore Vlaar Bertrand

Barry

Westwood Delph

Holtby

Lukaku Benteke

That is a very solid lineup. A few additions would make our squad top 10 quality at minimum IMO, with decent players on the bench too. I think we would improve.

Any fan of any team could put a few decent players in their line up and make it look better. What does it prove?

[TRO]

To be fair to the fans, you can not wonder why there are so many conflicting arguments, because there are so many hidden agenda's inside B6, you would fall over them.

 

No one has the honesty and integrity to face up to the mismanagement, misjudgment and procrastination that has manifested itself in this club....there is no doubt in my mind that the sheer existence of some of the staff has had a detrimental knock on effect to some of the others and its bringing the place down...some are victims I suspect others are just bare faced incompetents that want to blame others.....they must be like a pack of wolves right now....hanging on to their jobs.

Edited April 14, 2014 by TRO

[NSmith22]

I dunno, I mean, let's say we did go in for the players mentioned as targets who were too expensive.

Guzan

Bacuna Okore Vlaar Bertrand

Barry

Westwood Delph

Holtby

Lukaku Benteke

That is a very solid lineup. A few proper additions would make our squad top 10 quality at minimum IMO, with decent players on the bench too. I think we would improve.

That lineup would be more than enough to get a Europa League spot, hands down.

[foreveryoung]

I dunno, I mean, let's say we did go in for the players mentioned as targets who were too expensive.

Guzan

Bacuna Okore Vlaar Bertrand

Barry

Westwood Delph

Holtby

Lukaku Benteke

That is a very solid lineup. A few proper additions would make our squad top 10 quality at minimum IMO, with decent players on the bench too. I think we would improve.

But you still need the tactical nous and motivation to build a good team even with quality players. No one could do alot with even Chelsea before Mourinho came back. I still worry he will have no idea with quality in the side.