It´s these bloody International breaks robbie , if we had some football to talk about we wouldn´t need to start this sort of thing. If you´re listening PL We all love you laddie, I´m sure you can tell You´re like a good caddie, Worth his weight in gold Steering our play, Too good to be sold Now, or any day. OTBC
Cant really see the point of this thread but in answer to Robbie.......Wycombe,waited for a better opening,......Colchester,waited for a better opening....Norwich..???" "Ambition isnt incompatible with principle", you need principles before anything can be compatible with them, i'm sorry but the one thing PL lacks is princibles.
Obviously we don't want to go down the route of what happened with his leaving Col Utd, far too much said already. So with that put to one side, I don't think what you've described is anything other than most managers who make their way up the pyramid. All managers will look for a better position, and if one's offered, they'll want to take it. It'll certainly happen to us one day with Lambert, I won't like it, but I don't think it's unprincipled.
Agree Exile, my point was no one should think that PL will do a Fergie. If you stay in the prem for 2-3 seasons then yes he's found his niche, nice little earner etc,but dont expect him to be loyal, first little hiccup and a better offer and he'll be away, and personally i would'nt blame him no more than i blamed him for bettering himself by leaving us to join you, it was just the way it was done. Before i get a load of abuse, just want to say yours is the 2nd result i look for and was gutted that you did'nt stuff ManU, better finishing and they were dead and buried.
On the subject of management teams, I'm surprised nobody mentioned Martin O'Neill/Steve Walford/John Robertson. If I remember rightly, Steve Walford was already working with O'Neill when the latter was appointed City boss. John Robertson was brought in soon afterwards and the three have worked together ever since. Paul Lambert appears to favour a similar arrangement, so the idea that Ian Culverhouse might step into his shoes were he to leave is way off the mark IMO. Alex Ferguson, in contrast, changes his team on a pretty regular basis; I guess the old fox doesn't much mind who it is as long as they do what he tells them. And on the subject of No.2s proving able successors, what about City's John Bond and Ken Brown? I'm again going from memory, but I think they worked together at Bournemouth before taking over at City and everyone assumed it would stay that way (rather like Clough and Taylor). But Bond (in a move he later described as the biggest mistake of his life) was seduced by the lure of managing Manchester City. He took his No.3 John Benson with him, but not Ken Brown. That proved fortunate for City because Brown ably filled Bond's shoes and also brought in David Stringer who eventually succeeded him. As Bond -- and Mike Walker after him -- discovered, all that glitters is not gold. Yellow and green may be less glamorous but no less satisfying!
I don't think so. I don't believe he would have moved from Colchester to City without there being special reasons. I can understand Monarch's cynicism; I just think it's ill-founded. And by the way Monarch, Col U's result is always the one I look for after City and Arsenal. Things are starting to go better under John Ward.
At the moment, I think the top 6 clubs would look for an even better CV than Lambert can offer at present so don't think Spurs would be in for him. I think the danger clubs would be Newcastle, Sunderland and Everton. Big enough to tempt PL away but at a level currently where they would put him top of thier shortlist. The way the season is going I am desperately hoping that Bruce can turn things round with Sunderland cos I think he would be the favourite for any vacancy.
I think at present there's too much pressure on those clubs to win win win they will want a big name to go in, unless of course we get a top of the table finish this year in which case all bets are off hehehe
What are you saying, kickitoff? What would you rather have? Some silverware in the cupboard or a sensibly run, soundly financed club playing proper football at a consistently high level, with a manager who shows the kind of principled loyalty you'd all like to think Paul Lambert might show towards City and is prepared to invest in young talent and give it a chance? Would you really want a club like Man U whose shares have just been floated in the Far East to reduce their debt and many of whose supporters feel they have had their club stolen from them? Arsenal should be admired, not derided just because they've temporarily slipped below their usual, consistently high standard on the pitch. I don't understand everybody rushing to put the boot in to Arsenal and Wenger. For years they have quietly been doing what UEFA are now making everyone do to try and inject some sense into the game and how clubs are run.
Spot on, and despite all his wheeling and dealing over 15 years, by buying/selling astutely, he's spent circa £16m - that's just a shade over £1m per year of his tenure I'd love to see how Chelski, Man City and Liverpool's figures match up in the corresponding period
I agree, Arsenal are a properly run club. The only possible critisism I could level at them is that they have not given too much English talent a chance over the years. I know there are a few, but less than many of the other clubs who have been in their position towards the top end of the table. It is a minor thing, but as an English club there should be a little more loyalty to English players to assist the national game. Instead, Arsenal have spent quite some time developing foreign talent to the benefit of foreign national sides. Without the Arsenal development of young French talent, I doubt France would have been so strong around the turn of the century for instance.
Arsenal/Wenger are the biggest cheats/perennial whingers that have been around since I have been born. Have done nothing for the national game and Wenger is the worst loser in the game. That was fine when they at least won things but 6 years later its not acceptable anymore. A top 4 club losing 8-2 is bonkers. Compared to Ferguson, Wenger has achieved very little.
Not sure about that. You might be right about French youngsters in the early Wenger years, but I think you would find a similar dearth of English youngsters at other top clubs during that same period. Fact is that coaching in this country was still in the Dark Ages! But looking at the situation now, Arsenal have 4 home-grown youngsters playing regular first team football -- Gibbs, Wilshere, Walcott and Ramsey (OK Welsh I know, but signed from Cardiff) -- plus Oxlade-Chamberlain on the fringes, and others like Lansbury loaned out to other clubs. I would think this is pretty comparable with the likes of Man U, Chelski, etc.
I was trying to get the Cheers smiley but never did! Whole-lot-of-Holt. Keeping up the usual standard ...........
Dont get all hissy just because I pointed out that your loved (why by the way?) Arsenal are nowhere near as amazing as you make out. They are one of the least likeable clubs around and Spurs are better now. Whats happened to the likes of ColuMike, Gravy, CnaryMax, Huckerbytheholy, Paolo, Exile by the way? Those were the days when those greats roamed the forum
