Zatman Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 think our ambition for season should be 7-9th. For me top 6 is locked for the moment but with Everton getting Martinez will see them move down a few spots and except top 6 I would say a lot of teams are of similar standard and level Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Yes, I think that 7th to about 15th is a pretty even standard and a club like ours could finish in any position in that range and not be too surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 from the Guardian best 6 bosmans The Bosman ruling changed many a player's life for the better, the currently incarcerated Jean-Marc Bosman being the exception that proves the rule. Steve McManaman is arguably the most successful British beneficiary of it, having left Liverpool for Real Madrid in the summer of 1999 to score a spectacular goal in the Champions League final a year later, before picking up a second winners' medal in 2002. But he was already established as a top-level act. Paul Lambert's Bosman bonanza was unquestionably more spectacular as a life-changer, because few had given him much in the way of consideration before he left North Lanarkshire for North Rhine-Westphalia in 1996. In the summer of that year, nine Scottish-based players were snaffled up on frees under the new Bosman rules. Paul Kane and Gary Smith left Aberdeen for, respectively, Stavanger in Norway and Rennes in France, the latter also making off with Allan Johnston of Hearts. Ionikos of Greece signed Steven Tweed of Hibs and Craig Brewster of Dundee United, while Motherwell lost Rob McKinnon to FC Twente of the Netherlands and St Mirren bade farewell to Jamie Fullarton, who left for Bastia in France. The most high-profile move was made by John Collins, who went from Celtic to Monaco, though the highest eyebrows were raised by Borussia Dortmund, the new champions of Germany, who plundered Motherwell for 27-year-old Lambert, and immediately installed him in the engine room of a team containing Matthias Sammer, Jürgen Kohler, Andreas Möller, Karl-Heinz Riedle, Stefan Reuter, Stéphane Chapuisat and Paulo Sousa. Few who had been paying any attention to the game in Scotland would have been archly arcing their brows, mind you. "It's an indication of the mistake a lot of English managers make when they think of Scottish football," suggested Lambert's agent, the former Partick Thistle and Leicester City striker Jim Melrose, at the time of the move. "They look no further than Rangers and Celtic and don't realise there are quite a number of good players outside of the Old Firm. I think some of the English managers have made a mistake, because they could have got Lambert at a reasonable fee. But it's Paul's good fortune that he's made it to Dortmund." Damn straight it was. Lambert, who had been picking up an annual salary of around £25,000 during his first eight years as a pro at St Mirren and Motherwell, suddenly found himself trousering £300,000 a year, while living in a rent-free pile and wheelspinning around in a club Merc. Dortmund coach Ottmar Hitzfeld had been impressed with the player when his side met Motherwell in the Uefa Cup a couple of seasons earlier, and needed no second invitation to make off with one of the best unsung defensive midfielders in the business. His judgement – and that of Lambert and Melrose – was proven right the following May, when the player snuffed out Zinedine Zidane as Dortmund beat Juventus to become champions of Europe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VILLAMARV Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 It just struck me that Lambert is up to 14 signings in his first year and has now signed an entire team: Guzan, Lowton, Okore, Vlaar, Luna, Bacuna, Sylla, Westwood, Tonev, Helenius, Benteke. Subs: Bennett, El-Ahmadi, Bowery 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 (edited) Would that beat the team that made up our XI when he first came in? Given; Lichaj, Dunne, Clark, Warnock; Delph, Bannan, Ireland; Albrighton, N'Zogbia, Agbag Yes. Yes it would. Edited June 25, 2013 by Tomaszk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMushroom Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Not sure if many agree but the way the gaffer has gone about his business so far, has shown an hunger and a desire we have not seen for a while. This will be infectious and will run right through the squad, and judging by comments on here and elsewhere, its spreading to the fans aswell. The future bodes well me thinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted June 25, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted June 25, 2013 Teams that do well can defend well. Lambert still has a lot to prove in this department. We're great going forward, but so poor at the back. If we can tighten up at that back and keep Benteke we could be a real force next season. Is Okore the answer to all our problems defensively? I don't think so. I still think we're gunna struggle at the back next season unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannedfromHandV Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Does anyone remember when we signed Lambert last year? Loads of people saying on here how he was MON mark II, he would only buy English players and had no experience of bringing people from abroad. How did that go! I remember arguing with people about this at the time. Pretty daft really when you consider the severe limitations of the three clubs he'd managed before us, I'd hazard a guess that most of Europe don't even know that Wycombe, Colchester and Norwich exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMushroom Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Teams that do well can defend well. Lambert still has a lot to prove in this department. We're great going forward, but so poor at the back. If we can tighten up at that back and keep Benteke we could be a real force next season. Is Okore the answer to all our problems defensively? I don't think so. I still think we're gunna struggle at the back next season unfortunately. I can still see a CB coming in. Also, getting the holding midfielders right will add some protection. Not only was our defence poor last term, but we offered them very little protection in leaving them exposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefa3011 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Surely Bent would have to be in the team before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Teams that do well can defend well. Lambert still has a lot to prove in this department. We're great going forward, but so poor at the back. If we can tighten up at that back and keep Benteke we could be a real force next season. Is Okore the answer to all our problems defensively? I don't think so. I still think we're gunna struggle at the back next season unfortunately. I can still see a CB coming in. Also, getting the holding midfielders right will add some protection. Not only was our defence poor last term, but we offered them very little protection in leaving them exposed. I think that was more to do with the formation we played. A narrow midfield with fullbacks who get up the pitch means we are exposed down the wings. I don't thing that would change even with the best defensive mid in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packoman Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 OS Paul Lambert has appointed Scott Marshall as first team coach ahead of the Villa players' return for pre-season training next week. With Michael Watts also joining the backroom staff as strength and conditioning coach, along with assistant Chris Lorkin, the Villa manager believes the enhancement to the team around him will be significant going into the new season. "It takes time to build a team and you also need time to build the staff around you and these appointments will help everybody," said Lambert, who has also brought in five reinforcements to his young, emerging squad in the close season. "Scott worked with me at Wycombe and he has really good mannerisms about himself, a very professional approach and he will enhance everything. "Definitely he will be a big hand for myself, Ian [Culverhouse, assistant manager] and Gary [Karsa, head of football operations]. "Michael I knew from previously working with him as well and he's another top guy at his job and Chris will assist him really well. "They'll be my staff and we'll all be striving for the same thing which is to continue to build the Club and make Aston Villa as good as it can possibly be." During a 10-year spell at Arsenal, Marshall was part of the squad which won the Premier League and FA Cup double in 1998, in addition to the league title in 1991, and the FA Cup and League Cup in 1993. In 1996 he was named Arsenal's young player of the year. The Scottish defender made his senior debut in 1993 against Sheffield Wednesday, just nine days before the FA Cup final against the same team at Wembley. He was unable to force his way past the likes of Tony Adams and Martin Keown into the Gunners' first team on a regular basis and joined Southampton in 1998. He made the step into coaching at Wycombe Wanderers, having also played at Celtic and Sheffield United during a 13-year career. Marshall joined Wycombe's Academy coaching staff under Gary Smith and it was at Adams Park that he met Lambert, who managed Wycombe from 2006 to 2008. Having moved to former club Brentford to manage the U18 team in 2007, he joined Chelsea's Academy staff in 2008. Spells with QPR and the Arsenal Soccer School in Oman followed before he was appointed Professional Development Coach at Norwich City in 2012, in charge of the club's Under-21 team. Watts began his career as a strength and conditioning coach at Sheffield United, spending three years at Bramall Lane before moving to China. After two years there he joined Norwich City in 2010 as the Head of Performance and Strength and Conditioning, managing the physical programme for the first team at Carrow Road. Lorkin also joined Norwich City in 2010 as the lead Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Academy, spending two seasons working with their youth teams from U9 to U18 level, as well as assisting with the reserves and first team. In 2012 he was appointed first team Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Canaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 What is Sid now then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted June 25, 2013 Moderator Share Posted June 25, 2013 I like to see this kind of thing. Staff wages are peanuts compared to player wages and if we can improve the whole management team tasked with preparing our players then we can improve the players we've got. All worthwhile investments IMO and probably all on a combined fraction of the cost of paying a player for a week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdomlahor Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Adrian Lamb has left, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SikhInTrinity Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Sid is still Development Manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Can we have a Lambert approval rating like we have had with previous managers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted June 25, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted June 25, 2013 Asked this in another thread where BOF said that Lambert wanted a number ten. Anybody got a source? It's a subject I'd like to read his thoughts on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Well makes sense, the present central midfielders don't really score goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 i remember the dark days of 2 years ago when we had strikers that couldnt score goals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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