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Paul Lambert


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The mandate for any manager coming in was to reduce the wage bill. That means many players have gone and we have had to replace them with younger, hungry, players. That is totally sensible way to approach those financial restrictions. With those restrictions what else could he or any other manager have done? What other approach would give us even a chance of sorting all this mess out?

 

We were always going to have a weaker squad. It's a transition period anyway. And face it, we're not that much worse than last year, and to think two years ago with Downing Young and lots of experienced players we were in the relegation zone outright at this stage, your principle accusation that HE made the squad worse is short sighted for so many reasons. You ignore all the facts surrounding what he is having to do in the job and how the club have been since MON left. You are also ignoring the fact that his approach was always going to take time to come to full fruition, and requires stability. It is a job very much started and the process is only in the beginning. 

 

Good post.  A couple of points I would add.  I think we all agree that what Lambert managed to do in the summer by way of transfers was stage one, not the desired end point.

 

When it came to stage two, this window, something had changed.  Money was available, not loads but some, and he was hopeful of making signings.  Clubs were approached, but we are told the fees and wages were too much.  How come?

 

Seeing who he signed in summer, and with what we hear is a smaller sum available, I don't believe for a moment he was approaching targets which were just out of the price bracket.  I think it's more likely that the budget assumed that some of the costlier members of the squad moved on, but at some point it became not a working assumption, but a condition which preceded new signings, or at least new signings above a very low figure.

 

I don't know this, I just don't see a better explanation for what seems to be Lambert's surprise and disappointment that approaches he's made have been ruled out.  You would have thought that the string of results we've had, the worst in living memory, would have loosened the purse strings, but instead it seems to have paralysed the cheque-writing hand.  I'm also mindful that although the circumstances of MON's leaving are shrouded by a secrecy condition of whatever was agreed, the common view is that he found previous agreements changed as well.

 

Yes, Lambert's approach was always going to take time.  But I'm wondering if the things which are needed to make the approach stand a fighting chance, especially a couple of new signings right now, might have been taken away.

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You would have thought that the string of results we've had, the worst in living memory

And for me Lambert has to take a lot of the blame for this.

It's all well and good talking about a vision, a plan and how wage restrictions haven't helped but as the manager he has made mistakes that have lead to this.

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And for me Lambert has to take a lot of the blame for this.

It's all well and good talking about a vision, a plan and how wage restrictions haven't helped but as the manager he has made mistakes that have lead to this.

"It's all good and well these valid points but I'm going to completely ignore them."

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And for me Lambert has to take a lot of the blame for this.

It's all well and good talking about a vision, a plan and how wage restrictions haven't helped but as the manager he has made mistakes that have lead to this.

 

Do you think there's a single living person, including Lambert, his mum and his kids, who don't understand and acknowledge that he's made mistakes?

 

I suppose you must, or you wouldn't repeat it so.

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I've clearly acknowledged them.

You're the one who has decided to ignore a set of valid points as you continue to defend Lambert of any blame.

Some people are a bit like religious zealots. Blindly following and supporting their messiah in the face of overwhelming evidence proving that he is just an ordinary man.

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Er. so he bought Ireland, Given, Hutton, Bent, etc, etc. 

 

Players on massive wages doing very, very little.

O'Neill spent 120m on transfer fees during his four years and recouped 39m in sales during the same period leaving a loss of 82m.

2006-07

 

IN

 

Stilyan Petrov=6.5m

Didier Agathe=Free

Chris Sutton=Free

John Carew=Swap

Ashley Young=9.65m

shaun Maloney=1.1m

 

OUT

 

Kevin Phillips=700k

Matthieu Berson=1m

Ulises De La Cruz=Free

Peter Whittingham=250k

Eric Djemba Djemba=Free

Milan Baros=Swap

Mark Delaney=Retired

Juan Pablo Angel=Free

 

Spent: £17.25m

Bought in: £1.95m

Net Spent £15.3m

 

2007-08

 

IN

 

Moustapha Salifou=Undisc

Zat Knight=3.5m

Harry Forrester=250k

Eric Lichaj=Free

Marlon Harewood=3.5m

Nigel Reo-Coker=8.5m

Wayne Routledge=1.5m

 

OUT

 

Liam Ridgewell=2m

Jlloyd Samuel=Free

Lee Hendrie=Free

Chris Sutton=Retired

Didier Agathe=Released

Steven Davis=4m

Aaron Hughes=1m

Gavin McCann=1m

Gary Cahill=4.5m

Robert Olejnik=Free

 

Spent: £17.25m

Brought In: £12.5m

Net Spend: £4.75m

 

2008-09

 

IN

 

Curtis Davies=10m

Steve Sidwell=5.5m

Brad Friedal=2.5m

Brad Guzan=1m

Nicky Shorey=4m

Luke Young=5m

Carlos Cuellar=7.8m

James Milner=12m

Arsenio Halfhuld=Nominal fee

Emile Heskey=3.5m

 

OUT

 

Luke Moore=3.5m

Olof Mellberg=Free

Patrick Berger=Free

Thomas Sorensen=Released

Shaun Maloney=1m

Wayne Routledge=Undisclosed

 

Spent: 51.3m

Brought In: 4.5m

Net Spend: 46.8m

 

2009-10

 

IN

 

Stewart Downing=10m

Fabian Delph=6m

Habib Beye=2m

Andy Marshall=Free

Stephen Warnock=6m

James Collins=5m

Richard Dunne=6m

 

OUT

 

Gareth Barry=12m

Stuart Taylor=Free

Zat Knight=4.5m

Martin Laursen=Retired

Graig Gardner=3.5m

 

Spent: 35m

Brought In: 20m

Net Spend: 15m

 

2010-11

 

IN

 

None

 

OUT

 

Andy Marshal=Released

Marlon Harewood=Released

 

TOTALS

 

30 Players in: Total=120m

29 Players out: Total=38.95m

Net Spend: 81.85m

Edited by Morpheus
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Good post.  A couple of points I would add.  I think we all agree that what Lambert managed to do in the summer by way of transfers was stage one, not the desired end point.

 

When it came to stage two, this window, something had changed.  Money was available, not loads but some, and he was hopeful of making signings.  Clubs were approached, but we are told the fees and wages were too much.  How come?

 

Seeing who he signed in summer, and with what we hear is a smaller sum available, I don't believe for a moment he was approaching targets which were just out of the price bracket.  I think it's more likely that the budget assumed that some of the costlier members of the squad moved on, but at some point it became not a working assumption, but a condition which preceded new signings, or at least new signings above a very low figure.

 

I don't know this, I just don't see a better explanation for what seems to be Lambert's surprise and disappointment that approaches he's made have been ruled out.  You would have thought that the string of results we've had, the worst in living memory, would have loosened the purse strings, but instead it seems to have paralysed the cheque-writing hand.  I'm also mindful that although the circumstances of MON's leaving are shrouded by a secrecy condition of whatever was agreed, the common view is that he found previous agreements changed as well.

 

Yes, Lambert's approach was always going to take time.  But I'm wondering if the things which are needed to make the approach stand a fighting chance, especially a couple of new signings right now, might have been taken away.

good post, agree with that not much more to add
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Begs the question what the board were smoking summer before last though doesn't it, if they knew then they had to cut costs and still fell over themselves to give the likes of Given £50,000 a week for five years.

Beginning to feel a little more sorry for PL the more of this insipid unravelling of truth I read.

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Begs the question what the board were smoking summer before last though doesn't it, if they knew then they had to cut costs and still fell over themselves to give the likes of Given £50,000 a week for five years.

Beginning to feel a little more sorry for PL the more of this insipid unravelling of truth I read.

 

The papers reported, I seem to remember - I can't swear for either the papers or my memory - that after getting rid of/mutually agreeing termination with/being shocked by the untimely departure of MON (select option according to taste), the board, managerless, agreed to give Ashley Young more money for the same contract and the same job, though "saving money" was now the watchword.  A generous gesture, which he shortly repaid.

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