Really? Why do you think that? As far as I can make out, Villa have gone backwards. I would even go as far as to say they have made no progress since he took charge.
Inevitable really with the run they were on. For all the talk of him spending little money and blooding kids, he's made plenty of signings and very few of them have come off. Will be interesting who takes that job next, it's not the most attractive role.
I think he inherited a team worse than the one he left and is currently possibly worse than the one we got relegated with. I think he's done a reasonable job there given his players of which the squad seems paper thin and berift of quality. Big mistake not to offload Benteke to Arsenal for stupid money when they had the chance to strengthen elsewhere.
I strongly believe Karsa and Culverhouse were more than instrumental in our success, loosing them was fatal.
A bit harsh? Seriously???!!! What is it, 12 goals all season? Even Hughton managed more than that! I think all this talk of having no money to spend is absolute bollocks too, he's spent plenty of money. Villa have not improved at all since he's been there, not in any way. I can't believe he's managed to hang on this long.
Can´t understand all this ill feeling towards the man, move on for heavens sake, he did a great job while he was here, without him for those years we would have been in a far worse position than we are today. He decided to move on, it happens in football all the time, end of story, that it´s ended in this way should surprise no-one, the majority of managerial appointments end this way. Hope he finds somewhere new to continue his work, I´m sure he will.
Don't let facts get in the way of a hate campaign. Net spend of £40m in 3 seasons - £13m per season is less than we spend in the Championship!!! Ordered by the owner to get rid of all the high earners and replace them with youngsters and lower earners. He never stood a chance. I just hope he gets another good job as I have no doubt that he remains a very good Manager.
I don't see much "ill feeling" on here rbf, think you're exaggerating a bit there chap - don't give the sad Ipswich fans a bigger stick to do their **** stirring with. I think people are giving their opinions based on what he's done at Villa, and I personally can't agree that he's done anything like a reasonable job. He's had three years to build a squad and failed, he's not even been able to build a system and God knows what kind of football he's trying to play that has returned 12 goals in 25 games this season! They've gone backwards every year in terms of points, goals scored, chances created, style of play, entertainment value and backing of the fans. Also incredibly he's managed to break a few club premier league records n such a short space of time - heaviest defeat, most games without a win and most games without a goal. 36 is the all time club lowest goals in a season, and surely they were nailed on for that the way they were going. No identity, no confidence, nothing to get excited about in the slightest terrible signings as well - Benteke and Gil aside the other big name transfers have been toilet, and Benteke isn't interested this year and they won't be able to replace him. He's had the best part of three seasons and I can't see much positive at all. They also got to the semis of the League Cup and got embarrassed by Bradford over two legs, it's been nothing but a tail of woe and I'm just amazed he was something like the third longest serving top flight manager until today. I mean him no ill at all, he'll get another job and do well, very possibly Celtic I'd imagine and I wish him all the best. That was a long time ago with us, I'll always be grateful for the job he did and my memories will be good ones of many good times rather than the way it went a bit sour at the end. Just think he's done a pretty shocking job at Villa and has massively come up short of many people's, and certainly his own, expectations.
If Lambo had of come out and said that he left us because of issues with the board then that would have been fair enough. It was the idea he was going to a bigger, better club, which just wasn't the case. He tarnished what was a fantastic time at Norwich for no gains. No one seems to have benefited from the situation, not us, Not Lambo, not Villa. That's my main issue, it was a poor decision at an important time for Norwich. I don't know if we would have gotten better or worse if Lambo had of stayed in charge, but he bailed when the going got tough. Was the issue between the board and the likes of Lambo and Holt because the board felt the 2 we're getting too big for their boots? Thinking they were better than Norwich? Supers seems to be the only one with any insider knowledge of the time. I know I could only guess and speculate.
Two things strike me. 1. Had Lambert stayed with City and done the exact same job here as he'd done at Villa (and let's face it, he arguably had a better structure in place here behind the scenes in terms of stability, so you could argue we had more immediate potential than Villa), he would be rated higher than ever. Spending the bare minimum each summer, signing players from lower leagues and giving them a chance. The problem is, Villa's expectations have been for a long time, and continue to be utterly ridiculous. I noticed on Twitter last night their former player Lee Hendrie saying Villa should go all out to secure Diego Simeone. Ok......... 2. It's a real shame that it has gone wrong for a promising young manager. Yes he left our club in controversial circumstances but what he did for us was exceptional. He was good for us and we were good for him. It was a perfect match for that period in time and in Grant Holt, he had a player at the peak of his powers who was able to produce time and time again - everything snowballed. At the time he left he was declared on a par with Brendan Rodgers (in my opinion, I still think that's a fair declaration), but going to Villa (the term 'poisoned chalice' was invented for that club) was a disastrous move and one that screamed 'get me out of here (at any cost)'. It was well known that his success here was based on his 'team' of Culverhouse and Karsa, whose defined roles allowed Lambert himself to do the 'managing'. As soon as he lost them it was likely he'd be sacked sooner rather than later. Ultimately his desire to get away from McNally's strict regime (one which has done our club wonders) means he may have to start again, from scratch, with another club. He won't be getting any Premier League jobs for a while. I certainly never took pleasure out of seeing him struggle - though I wish he'd not got his team so fired up against us that in both the last two seasons his team would have been relegated had they not played (and beaten so frequently) us. Our best ever manager? Nope. Our most inspiring manager? One who gave us numerous, unforgettable moments in a short space of time? Yep. Respect for that.
I understand you Munky, and no, he hasn´t taken Villa anywhere in the time he´s been there, but there have been several or perhaps more than several on here, wishing him ill the whole time he has been there, for leaving us when and how he did - that seems to me to be a bit unnecessary, as it´s never been completely ascertained why he left in the first place.
I disagree With this on a few points. Do you really think the Carrow Road faithful would be happy turning up to watch that dross every week? 12 goals in 25 games is embarrassingly bad, you really think folk would rate him as highly after that? Any faith fans would have in him would be based on past glories, that's if he'd done the exact same job as you say. These stats of how they have compared with other PL teams since he's been in charge make pretty shocking reading and surely aren't lying http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/asto...s-with-truly-dreadful-statistical-record.html In the eight seasons before he took over they finished 6th in the Premiership no less than four times, the finished 6th the season we were relegated from the Championship and again the season after, Lambert's first with us. They got to the FA Cup semis and League Cup final that year as well. They are the biggest club in England's second biggest city, with a 40k capacity ground that was sold out and rocking not so long ago. I think the fans have generally been patient with him which is surprising as they quite rightly have a far higher level of expectation than our fans should. Totally agree about Simeone though
I don't think you can compare Lambert's time against their finishes 2006-2011. Under the likes of O'Neil, Villa were amongst the biggest spenders in the league. £40m odd on players season after season. And we know that the PL is a league where you have to invest to stay up. Even Lambert's heavy spending in his first season at Villa was merely on par with other relegation battlers. Since then he's spent, what, £10m for each of the last two seasons? Despite reducing the wage bill and having the new TV money. In the Prem you have to spend money not to get ahead but simply to keep pace. I agree that his statistics are shocking and there's no excuse for that, I would also add that his transfer activity hasn't been impressive at all - at times absolutely awful. But you have to compare like with like, and the fact is Lambert has had substantially worse conditions than previous Villa managers and just about every other team in the PL during his time at Villa. When a club of Villa's stature (as you rightly point out) isn't even close to competing with promoted teams on spending power, there's obviously something wrong. No, he hasn't impressed in those circumstances, but I find it difficult to criticise him. He certainly isn't entirely to blame for their plight - Lerner's the one who has drawn the purse strings despite the massive influx of cash that all other teams are reaping the benefits of. I think Lambert did the best he could in the circumstances, but it would have taken a genius to match Villa fans' expectations in them and, while Lambert was brilliant and perfect for us at the time we got him, I do think his genius was always going to fall short there.
