i do agree with that. i think he'll have to win something next season or they will say he has failed and they'll certainly have to be top half.
I remember John Bond saying how in hindsight, leaving Norwich was a big mistake. He thought it would be all rosy at Man C and the pressure to succeed was too much. At Norwich, the pressure is all of your own making. Lambert can keep the pressure off himself by being successful and I believe he will get them back in the top 8. Whether that is success to his new owners is when the pressure builds.
As a Club we over achieved last year and as soon as that happened it was inevitable that PL would leave if a bigger Club came in for him and, whether we like it or not, Villa are a bigger club. As soon as PL went it was inevitable that the other 2 would follow as they work as a team and they were surplus to requirements here. I do not buy into the line that their squad is no better than ours and on top of that they have more money to spend than us to buy players and to pay higher wages. They also have a lot of promising youngsters coming through from a well oiled academy - who have we got coming through? I am certain that PL will do well at Villa and I unreservedly hope he does. I hold no grudges and just thank him for everything he did at Carrow Road. After last year, success to the majority of Villa fans would be a mid-table finish and a decent Cup run and I have little doubt that he will achieve that and push on from there. PL is an exceptional Managerial talent with a ruthless streak who is determined to one day manage at the highest level. I think and hope that he will and I am just glad that he took our Club with him on one stage of his journey.
I know it's probably wrong, and it's probably a bit immature of me but I can't help hoping that they do fall flat on their faces (ok, more Lambert than Cully or Karsa, absolutely nothing against those two whatsoever) and that Villa have a **** season, relegation even. Sorry if that offends some people, it doesn't really bother me if it does however, it's just the natural feeling I get after this summer. Yes I can understand why Lambert left and of course I understand that he owes us nothing and that it is just a job at the end of the day but I still hope it goes tits up for him. I'm not bitter, I'm not looking back and I'm incredibly excited about our future under the stewardship of Chrissy bor Hootun. All I can liken it to is the way you might want it to all go wrong for an ex-girlfriend after she decides to leave you for someone "better" I guess (not that that's ever happened to me of course )
I'm with Sid on this one. I'd love us to butcher Villa home and away and see them struggle along the bottom all season and then go down. One of my best mates is a Villa fan and it's fair to say I've been taking a bit of grief on the subject so come on whoever plays Villa next season. PS if Villa do start badly do we think the Lambert out chants will begin in September or October?
What's that got to do with anything? I certainly won't be visiting the Villa boards bleating about it, I hold nothing at all against Villa the club or the fans, I am entirely grateful for everything that Lambert did for us, I can understand why he thought moving on was the best thing to do but at the end of the day despite admitting it's possibly a bit immature of me I still would rather he fail with them than be a success. Is that really too hard to comprehend?
So you'd like them to do well against us and have a good season at Villa? It will be a sad day when a football fan can't enjoy a bit of schadenfreude at the expense of his friends and a former employee who bailed on the club. I won't be wumm-ing a la Mike but my mate will be getting both barrels if villa do start to struggle.
In the world of football it is not difficult to comprehend because supporters always seem to want to see ex-players and ex-managers to fail but where else in society do we want people to fail when they are trying to better themselves? It is purely a matter of opinion but I am not only grateful to the man but I also greatly admire him and I hope he gets Villa to over perform and ends up with one of the top jobs.
There is a limit to my generosity. I hope Villa finish mid table or above but that we take 6 points off them.
Yes, I'll join you in wishing him well. He, along with IC and GK was responsibe for taking our great club from the depths of despair to finish 12th in our first season back in the Premier League. I just hope we finish above Villa next season!!!
I am extremely grateful for what Lambert did for our club - but he was paid well to do it, and he has created himself something of an aura during the 3 years at our club, whereas his previous track record was not exactly glittering. He has done am amazing job during his time at Carrow Road, but our club has given him the platform to move onto new challenges. Do I think Lambert is one of the best managers I have seen at Carrow Road - Yes. Did I ever warm to him - No. Will I boo him on his return - Never. Will I enjoy taunting him if we are winning - absolutely. Do I want to see him fail miserably at Villa - definitely.
Like I said previously, to me it's a bit like being jilted by an ex-girlfriend who dumps you for "someone better" - would you really want them to go and and live happily ever after? Not for the first few months certainly, though emotions fade over time and I'm sure in a year or two I won't be wishing him any ill. It's also the tribal nature of football, the "us against them" mentality that is one of the main reasons we are all as passionate about the game as we are. There are far more beautiful, graceful sports that contain far more skill and consistent moments of brilliance than football, but what sets it apart and makes us love it so much and gets the blood pulsing through the veins more than any other sport - like a drug almost - is the tribalism and the gang mentality that goes with it. Took the words out of my mouth
Agree completely Sid. At the end of the day, he is now the enemy. We may look back on his contribution with admiration and love and gratitude, but that's now in the past.
I am sorry but I stand by my views. The ex-girlfriend senario is a personal matter and entirely different. In the course of my career I moved from one Company to another 3 times to get promotion - did my ex-colleagues hope I fell flat on my face - I don't think so. Football is a career and Players and Managers move on to improve themselves. Could Lambert have improved on our position last year? Probably not. If we slip back down the table would he still have had the chance to move to a bigger club? Probably not. If he does a good job at Villa is he likely to get a top job? Probably. He is an ambitious professional Manager in a game which expects or gives no loyalty. Has he made the right decision for himself? Probably and good luck to him.
Sorry 1950, but I think you're missing the point. The whole point is that supporting a club is an intensely personal matter, so I think the ex-girlfriend analogy is a very apt one. If I was a member of the Carrow Road board and not a supporter of the club, I would take your view - just one employee wishing another all the best. But we're talking about our manager who has jumped ship and is now managing one of our rivals. He is now our enemy as he will be attempting to beat us.
Ok, so you decided to ignore the crux of my point, that being the bit about tribalism and the gang mentality You don't find that in the workplace I personally don't care about Paul Lambert or what he does with the rest of his career, I've never met him and more than likely never will. All I care about is Norwich City FC, and while I will never forget and will always be incredibly grateful for what Lambert did for us in the three years he was our manager, now that he is now the manager of someone else he is the enemy as has already been said and just as he owes us nothing, I personally certainly owe him nothing either. If you or anyone else wants to keep rooting for him and wanting him to continue to do well in his career then that is absolutely fine and entirely up to you. Doesn't mean that's the way I feel though, as I certainly won't, but like I've also emphasised unless he comes out and makes disparaging comments about NCFC (which I'm pretty sure he never will) then I certainly won't ever be booing him or anything like that either. I just don't want him to do well and want him to look back and realise leaving us was a mistake. I think we should just agree to disagree on this, we're all entitled to our own opinion
As you say we must agree to disagree but I must admit that what does worry me more is that if PL is true to past form then he could be coming back for a couple of players which could disrupt us more than the loss of Culverhouse and Karsa. I know we can say ' no' but the chance of a large pay increase can easily turn a players head as Arsenal have found to their cost in the last few seasons.
Yes, it's a concern isn't it, but the two likeliest in my opinion were Holt and Ruddy and we can breathe a sigh of relief on that front. Howson and Pilkington are possibilities I reckon, but I'm pretty confident we will keep hold of them.
