Manager Paul Lambert

[sne]

Edit double post

Edited January 10, 2013 by sne

[bradarmstrong_]

Yeah I remember us all drafting the contract and approaching his agent - boy, what a day that was.

Your sarcastic comments are so inspiring.

[lexicon]

Your sarcastic comments are so inspiring.

I'm glad you appreciate them, cheers.

[TRO]

Morning all,

Would like to canvass opinion since it seems everyone is discussing the manager without knowing the difficulties he is facing.

There has been criticism of his summer signings - with the exception of one or two despite the fact he had to use £18m to sign 12 players - puts it in perspective when Harry Redknapp is making£5m bids for West Brom defenders doesn't it! But what if Lambert wanted specific players but had to settle for third and fourth choices because of the financial situation. Does that take the sting out of that arguement.

What if he targetted two experienced players this month to come in and play at the centre of defence and the middle of the park only to be told the club couldn't afford either of them even although they aren't as expensive as the £5m QPR are using to buy their way out of trouble. Is that also his fault that the teams he is competing against are spending money yet he can't.

What is the board at Villa came out and said they can't give the manager the money they would like to give him to spend because of a need to make financial cuts? Because that is very much the situation at the club right now.

I'm not saying new players won't arrive but how far up Lambert's wanted list would they be? Perhaps that is something for supporters to consider. If anyone thinks he doesn't know the defence isn't good enough or the team is especially weak in the middle of the park then they are very much mistaken. But is it still your fault when you expected money to be made available to invest only to find out that actually isn't the case.

Just a thouight............

If That is the case it places a whole different dimension on things.

The biggest problem for us is that we simply have to rely on rumour/innuendo....facts seem to be in short supply from B6

You would rather hope that some plain & straight talking could take place from the senior members of the staff to enable the supporters to take a fair view of things.

Edited January 11, 2013 by TRO

[Harry]

If That is the case it places a whole different dimension on things.

The biggest problem for us is that we simply have to rely on rumour/innuendo....facts seem to be in short supply from B6

You would rather hope that some plain & straight talking could take place from the senior members of the staff to enable the supporters to take a fair view of things.

I agree Tro that if that is the case it changes everything. I could see Lambert walking in that scenario as I think most would see another mismanagement by the club and Lerner.

[Morpheus]

So its just a case of the right defensive coach, just get someone in and we'll be picking up clean sheets in no time?

Brilliant, i'm sure nobody else has thought of that.

You cold argue that Lambert has done better than expected, we're basically a promoted team with the amount of experience we have, whilst the likes of QPR and Wigan have better more experienced players than us and are doing equally as shit.

You forgot the right manager which was also stated in my post. I also didn't say that no else had thought of a better defensive coach so stop putting words in my mouth!

So the excuse is now that we're a promoted team with less experienced players than teams around us.

Who allowed Cuellar and Collins to go while replacing those players with one centreback who had no Premiership experience.? Who then alienated our most experienced striker while then spending 7m on another striker when that money could have been spent on the experienced DM we so desperately needed? Who then spent the majority of our budget on lower league and other players without Premiership experience?

It could be argued then could it not that the lack of experience you talk about was self inflicted.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Morpheus

[AvfcRigo82]

You forgot the right manager which was also stated in my post. I also didn't say that no else had thought of a better defensive coach so stop putting words in my mouth!

So the excuse is now that we're a promoted team with less experienced players than teams around us. Who allowed Cuellar and Collins to go while replacing those players with one centreback who had no Premiership experience. Who then alienated our most experienced striker while then spending 7m on a striker when that money could have been spent on the DM we so desperately needed. Who then spent the majority of our budget on lower league and other players without Premiership experience.

It could be argued then could it not that the lack of experience you talk about was self inflicted.

Well what else was he supposed to do under what looks to be a pull the carpet from under you board?

If he is told he has to cut the wage bill then what choice does he have?

What part of it do you purposely fail to grasp??????

.

[Morpheus]

Well what else was he supposed to do under what looks to be a pull the carpet from under you board?

If he is told he has to cut the wage bill then what choice does he have?

What part of it do you purposely fail to grasp??????

.

Which part do you purposely fail to grasp that there were other players available costing not much more than he purchased? If he had to cut the wage bill why did he go for Dempsey?

Furthermore, if he was under such constraints, why did he then waste more money on Bowery who we didn't need?

I personally feel that if there is any truth to 'hairyhand's' posts then Lerner has pulled the plug now on Lambert due to how the team are currently performing.

[Ooh-Ah]

Who allowed Cuellar and Collins to go while replacing those players with one centreback who had no Premiership experience.? Who then alienated our most experienced striker while then spending 7m on another striker when that money could have been spent on the experienced DM we so desperately needed? Who then spent the majority of our budget on lower league and other players without Premiership experience?

Cuellar is terrible. A complete liability. I really don't think we'd be better off with him than with Vlaar/Clark/Baker. And Collins was shocking towards the end of his spell here. Not to mention his attitude, which by all accounts stinks.

Excuse me if I've misinterpreted your post, but are you unhappy that Paul Lambert signed Christian Benteke? You think we should have signed a DM, fair enough, but you can't be displeased with the signing of Benteke. I refuse to believe that.

[Morpheus]

No mate not now concerning Benteke.

What I'm getting at is this.

We have been informed today by a certain poster that Lambert was under transfer and wage constraints when he arrived. If that is true then why spend 7m from a restricted budget on a striker when you already have a 1 in two striker at the club?

Why then try and transform our method of play when you have a restricted wage and transfer budget?

The most sensible way to proceed is to use the players you have while bringing in one or two additions which will enhance the best system for players available.

Lambert has tried to change our style of play with an apparent budget which could never sustain the style of play he wants and if the restriction on budget is correct, then that has been his biggest mistake!

[AvfcRigo82]

Which part do you purposely fail to grasp that there were other players available costing not much more than he purchased? If he had to cut the wage bill why did he go for Dempsey?

Furthermore, if he was under such constraints, why did he then waste more money on Bowery who we didn't need?

I personally feel that if there is any truth to 'hairyhand's' posts then Lerner has pulled the plug now on Lambert due to how the team are currently performing.

I am not going over Dempsey with you as we have been there and done that and **** going round and round in circles until page 283 of this thread with you about it.

I would say that is a fair opinion that your entitled to but i disagree.

We have learned that PL makes his list and hands it to the board who then go on to make the signings!

now in this list he might have 2 goalkeepers 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 5 strikers he wants. Each position on his list ranges from good european quality as his top picks in each position down to promising lower league prospects for the future being the tail end of each position in terms of value and wages etc..

Now if the board are only allowing him a budget of 20m for arguments sake then after the signings of Benteke and Vlaar what else could be done? The people negociating and signing these players must have only decided well.. we have spent 11m already on 2 players... and then take it upon themselfs to realise he still needs 6 more players over these positioned areas and then decide to sign the players at the bottom end of the list instead!

If the case as it looks to be then PL has been shafted and dealt a poor hand that is not really any fault of his.

I have a gut feeling that if he was told this was how it was going to be once he got here after 6 months he would have told us to **** right off.

All in my opinion mind..

.

[ciggiesnbeer]

I dont beleive he has such contraints I really dont. I think he has just made some very bad selection calls and tactics. Also the fact we have not made any signings yet I put at Faulkner, Lerner and Lamberts door.

He has been given a lot of money already and I think has been given more. Frankly his halo has slipped in my eyes. I am beginning to think we made a mangerial mistake.. again. It absolutley sucks to say this because I have been behind him, but the past few weeks have just been appalling. It sucks to even think that, but the results and performances are just getting harder and harder to forgive

[DelboyVilla]

According to one guy on twitter who I think is known on here, Faulkner thinks that we have a big squad to choose from?? So any one who thinks that the fat ginger prick has no influence on the footballing side may need to think again!

[Daniel1Avfc]

The fact that villa had so many useless players on stupid wages before Lambert joined doesn't make it Lamberts fault. Lambert has said it will take him 2-3 seasons to sort villa out. If you want to point the finger at anyone then point it at Lerner for hiring Alex McLeish.

[Keyblade]

At the end of the day you can all believe whatever you want.

You can believe that Lambert is a useless manager if you want, you can believe that he signed a load of cheap kids in the summer because (insert whatever theory you want), you can believe he is blind to what we need in January if you want and that he has done knob all about getting players in. These all seem like quite common views reading various threads.

Or you can believe that Lambert is a good manager, a manager who did his best in the summer with the resources available to him and with the players from his targets that the board secured for him. That knows exactly what we need this window and has already identified those players but doesn't have the financial backing to make them happen.

Believe what you wish to believe.

I know which I believe and where I believe the blame lies for the problems that we have and have had for almost 3 years now far longer than Lambert has been around. There is a reason our fans sang his name away at Norwich last season and that reason is he has proven himself to be a good manager and what is happening here shouldn't change peoples view of that. Not in my book.

That isn't to say he hasn't made mistakes in selections, in tactics or any other area of the job all managers make errors but he isn't a bad manager and neither is he the real problem here.

People can agree with me, disagree with I don't much care I'm tired of trying to convince people we couldn't go signing X or Y in the summer and tired of saying we aren't going to pay £10m for Lescott. You don't have to be ITK to work that out it is just common sense based on everything that has happened to/at this club in recent years.

I've been critical of Lambert at times and I will be in future no doubt but right now I wouldn't swap him for anyone else because given what he inherited, what he is working with in terms of the players and the restraints I believe he is under it is amazing we aren't already in the bottom three.

As for me being able to vouch for Hairyhands, yes I can.

This.

[thefeet1980]

I am not going over Dempsey with you as we have been there and done that and **** going round and round in circles until page 283 of this thread with you about it.

I would say that is a fair opinion that your entitled to but i disagree.

We have learned that PL makes his list and hands it to the board who then go on to make the signings!

now in this list he might have 2 goalkeepers 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 5 strikers he wants. Each position on his list ranges from good european quality as his top picks in each position down to promising lower league prospects for the future being the tail end of each position in terms of value and wages etc..

Now if the board are only allowing him a budget of 20m for arguments sake then after the signings of Benteke and Vlaar what else could be done? The people negociating and signing these players must have only decided well.. we have spent 11m already on 2 players... and then take it upon themselfs to realise he still needs 6 more players over these positioned areas and then decide to sign the players at the bottom end of the list instead!

If the case as it looks to be then PL has been shafted and dealt a poor hand that is not really any fault of his.

I have a gut feeling that if he was told this was how it was going to be once he got here after 6 months he would have told us to **** right off.

All in my opinion mind..

.

I'm with Morpheus on this. Irrespective of the mistakes that the Board has clearly made, I still give them more credit than to operate a transfer policy in this way. There is no reason to believe that the memebrs of the Board consider themselves to have the requisite footballing knowledge to make decisions in the way you suggest. It's likely that Lambert did hand a list of players to the Board but to assume that as signings are made the Board "take it upon themselves" to decide the implications for the remaining targets seems pretty far-fetched. Anything other than a frequent dialogue between Lambert and Faulkner etc would be very odd indeed.

I'm pretty sure that Lambert was consulted on all signings over the summer and anticipated that the players he signed would be good enough to see us through to January when he could then reassess. He couldn't have anticpated the injury problems or the performances of some of the more senior players (whether he could have done more about the poor performances is for another debate). Hairyhands suggested that Lambert wanted to sign (at least) two players this Januaray but the Board won't sanction their purchase. He suggested Lambert will not be able to sign players that cost £5m. It is plausable that after the summer the Board made it clear to Lambert that no more players could be signed unless more of the higher earners (Hutton, Warnock, Dunne, Bent, Ireland, Gabby, Makoun) are sold. In which case, he must have been hoping that the desperate league situation might encourage the club to reconsider this policy. If hairyhands is right, then it begs a number of questions:

1) Why isn't more being done to shift the higher earners? Where does the responsibility lie - with Lambert of the Board?

It's understandable why it would be difficult to ship out Hutton and Warnock - Lambert's taken the decision not to put them in the shop window (presumably for team moral / because they're shit) - and also Dunne (injured). It's perhaps more questionable why he played (and cup-tied) Bent in the FA Cup, but perhaps being cup-tied for the FA Cup isn't a massive deal for potential buyers - alternatively there is also Julie's theory... Maybe he wants to hold on to Ireland and Gabby (and Makoun is on loan anyway). I just hope the Board are doing everything possible to get players off the books.

2) Just how much more does the wage budget need to be trimmed?

I can't be bothered to go over the 'ins' and 'outs' from the club, but surely after Beye, Cueller, Collins, Heskey etc left the wage bill is looking a lot healthier? You would have thought we can afford to bring in a few more players - particularaly with the anticipation of Warnock's contract expiring and so on...but I'm not privy to the books or to what Lerner considers to be a balanced set of books.

3) Would the Board really be willing to risk our premiership survival by refusing to sanction players that are desperately needed?

No, I don't think so. Having thought through this, I think that the most likely scenario is that Hairyhands' information is half correct. Lambert has quite possibly lined up a couple of £5m players (and maybe a couple more beyond this) but the club are waiting to see if they can shift some of the players that are surpluss to requirements (in particular Bent, Hutton, Warnock and Ireland) before they bring them in. Without shifting players the Board faces the risk that Lambert brings players in and we still get relegated - this would make the financial implications of relegation even greater. It's a much easier decision to maintain the status quo with a 'one in, one out' policy than have to take the decision to increase the wage bill with the threat of relegation still looming. They've probably gambled that they could get through the League Cup semi's and the Southampton game without making any signings - although the first-leg result is making this gamble look all the more risky - and one would hope they are doing whatever they can behind the scenes to shift players. If they're not able to shift players going in to the last week of January, they can then take the decision on whether they sanction more signings.

[Nabby]

I agree with the above they will buy the players but will leave it as long as they can to shift players first.However in that time we play 2 games against teams near us and a local derby given we have taken 1 point from the last 12 available and conceded 17 I can see us taking more beating we are already in a down turn by the end of Jan even with players then it may be too late.

[Morpheus]

I am not going over Dempsey with you as we have been there and done that and **** going round and round in circles until page 283 of this thread with you about it.

I would say that is a fair opinion that your entitled to but i disagree.

We have learned that PL makes his list and hands it to the board who then go on to make the signings!

now in this list he might have 2 goalkeepers 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 5 strikers he wants. Each position on his list ranges from good european quality as his top picks in each position down to promising lower league prospects for the future being the tail end of each position in terms of value and wages etc..

Now if the board are only allowing him a budget of 20m for arguments sake then after the signings of Benteke and Vlaar what else could be done? The people negociating and signing these players must have only decided well.. we have spent 11m already on 2 players... and then take it upon themselfs to realise he still needs 6 more players over these positioned areas and then decide to sign the players at the bottom end of the list instead!

If the case as it looks to be then PL has been shafted and dealt a poor hand that is not really any fault of his.

I have a gut feeling that if he was told this was how it was going to be once he got here after 6 months he would have told us to **** right off.

All in my opinion mind..

.

It's all conjecture at the moment based on one poster's revelations which we have been asked to believe. I can't say that I'm not appalled at those revelations if true but if there are such budget constraints that our club cannot afford to pay 5m for one player then we're going down.

I am hopeful however that there aren't such constraints in place and both Lambert and the board are working hard in the background to bring in the players we need which is so evident after our performances this season. Anything less than that would be negligence of the highest degree.

[jacketspuds]

Lambert needs to be given some funding this month if we are to survive in this league. I appreciate the need to trim the wage bill and this will happen naturally in the summer with Warnock (45k) and Dunne (55k) being out of contract. Plus we will be able to shift Bent (65k) this window or in the summer anyway if need be so there's 165k (estimated) per week that we can easily get off the wage bill in the summer.

If Lerner gave Lambert half of that now he could get in 3 quality players to sort our squad out.

Really hope PL is backed this month.

Edited January 11, 2013 by jacketspuds

[Jarpie]

Lambert needs to be given some funding this month if we are to survive in this league. I appreciate the need to trim the wage bill and this will happen naturally in the summer with Warnock (45k) and Dunne (55k) being out of contract. Plus we will be able to shift Bent (65k) this window or in the summer anyway if need be so there's 165k (estimated) per week that we can easily get off the wage bill in the summer.

If Lerner gave Lambert half of that now he could get in 3 quality players to sort our squad out.

Really hope PL is backed this month.

If we don't sign anyone in this window, I'm 100% sure we're gonna get relegated.