I think you've been on the funny cigarettes today supers, you reacting very strangely!! Like others have said, many Norwich fans said Lambert would never leave when we all know from the past he has no loyalty. And most Norwich fans think he's the best manager they've ever had yet aren't that upset that he has gone!! I'm perplexed on this one, all I can think of is the 5 stages of grief model!!
Thankfully I was never in that category - I have always maintained PL has not been the best manager we have ever had, that honour still belongs to Mike Walker in my eyes and always will until someone else can take us to the top 6 of the PL and get European qualification again (as unlikely as that is). Bottom line for me is, if PL wants to go then let him go. Does not automatically mean the club are going to drop like a stone back down the football league (doesn't meant they wont either I grant you ). There are other managers who can do an equally good job, hopefully we will get one of them and then our worries or concerns will be gone again
I hope onlooking potential managers have noticed what despotic, hysterical loons the Norwich board appear to be. Couldnât give a **** about having unhappy players and managers, that lot. Just throw their toys out the pram and behave like slave owners. They REFUSE to let poor Holty leave. They REFUSE a perfectly reasonable approach from another club for poor Lambo. Then Lambo tries to break out of his chains and resigns â and they even refuse that. Why? So they can try and squeeze some compo out of poor innocent Villa. I see that theyâre now desperately trying to convince everyone there was something dodgy about Villaâs approach. They go from cheating on the field to cheating in the boardroom. Ban them. As for their idiot, dweeb fans, theyâre so desperate that that minor trophy they somehow won was 27 years ago they pretend finishing second in the Championship furnishes out your boardroom cabinets.
Oh dear Jonah you sound very uptight once again, whatever can the matter be buttercup? Maybe Spanish or hampy can help you relax a little?
or just shoot the idiot As much as I dislike some QPR fans on here, none of them come even close to this outspoken, over-opinionated lunatic. Self righteous is a word that springs to mind - I say it so it is true kind of mentality
i have never met a norwich fan who thought lambert wouldn't ever leave. total bollocks mate. i personally felt he'd stay one more year but its hardly come as a massive shock to any of us i do believe he is the best manager we've had in my lifetime though. i think we are all upset he's going but that doesn't mean its not an opportunity to move forward. there are good managers out there who are looking to be the 'next lambert'. with the right appointment we could do better next season than we did last season.
you asked me to explain what was wrong so here goes: were we in huge financial trouble? yes. correct. this has never been up for debate! did the board appoint lambert based on the 7-1 game? no. wrong. the reason we got in trouble was because we'd tapped him up prior to the match during the summer. mcnally needed a reason to sack gunn, that game gave him that. is the business plan to spend two out of seven years in the premier league? wrong again. we were in league one when the plan was set up! because the plan moved quickly it was adjusted to allow relegation last season but auto promotion the following year. this has been avoided so adjusted yet again. the plan is to remain in the top flight but there is a plan where by if we go down it is factored in so we won't struggle to cope financially. have the board chose not to roll the dice with the finances? of course they aren't going to chase the dream!! they'd be nuts to roll the dice after nearly going out of business three years prior! they still offered around £15m to spend on players this summer - that's hardly poor, probably more than villa will spend unless they sell first - but they won't jeopardise the clubs future and they are quite right not to. by april next year the club is debt free, regardless of which division we are heading for - then the club can push on. has lambert more ambition to manage a club aiming for europe? no, because norwich also are aiming for this. norwich are in a better position as it stands to achieve this too. villa made a £54m loss last season and the wage bill slashed by 50%. they won't be boosting that back up again any time soon. has he moved to a club where he may get noticed more by elite clubs? yes, fair enough on this point, though rodgers at swansea may argue differently (if you think liverpool are still a big club, which i do). has lambert taken a step forwards and norwich a step backwards? no, unless (as you probably are) you are basing this on history. villa are an awful side at the moment, truly awful - worst side i saw last year by a mile. they need major rebuilding and he has gambled his entire career on the move. norwich however, are in a strong position to move forward and stabilise the club to push on again.
I know most of you expected him to leave to bigger and better things eventually but maybe not for him to want to go to a club like Villa who aren't in great shape, so much so that he resigns. It's quite shocking I think. Things have been pretty perfect for Norwich the past 3 years and at the heart of all that is Lambert and the talisman Holt. Then they both suddenly want to leave, it is very odd in my eyes! For me a good appointment next season for you would be one to keep you in the PL, I know do not believe you will do better than this season unless you pull another rabbit out of a hat!! I've heard Lennon is being sounded out, IMO that's certainly no rabbit!!
thats fair, the point about villa. i think the more i think about it the more i wonder if lambert has made a mistake going there. i feel he felt he was going a bit stale at norwich - 3 successful years and they were very demanding too - i think he genuinely felt he'd have a pop at the liverpool job. he must be gutted he was never even considered - he's a far better manager than rodgers. the good thing with villa is he can start a fresh with a new challenge. maybe thats all he needed. i feel no bitterness towards him for the way its been dealt with. as far as i'm concerned neither party owed the other anything whatsoever. as for holt, he blatantly doesn't want to leave. that doesn't mean he won't, because if he doesn't get the security he wants then he may feel he has to, but this is all because he wants to end his career at norwich - he wants a longer deal but the club are hesitant (quite rightly) about giving a 31 year old an extension to take him towards 35 years of age. will he be a regular? he might not be next season, let alone in three years time! it's a lot of money to give to a guy who may not play. what happens if we go down and nobody wants him? i stand by the club who are doing the thing that ALL clubs should be doing - not caving in to players and managers demands to throw money at everything in sight. the only thing that matters is that the club is healthy and secured from debt. club first, players and manager a distant second in the pecking order. next manager, i'm excited by a few names. chris hughton would be the ideal man for norwich. he's so perfect for the position and i've thought that for a couple of years now. if he's not attainable then i think karl robinson would be a brave shout. his team are wonderful to watch and he is similar to lambert in approach. very young though, so would be a big step up. i'm not so keen on malky mackay. if he wasn't a former norwich player i doubt he;d be in the running, therefore he shouldn't be in the running, at least not at the top!
I have to agree with Jonah to a large extent. The Norwich board have made a complete balls up of the situation. There's also no way at all they have Europe in their sights. Financially sound now, yes and quite an achievement, but the expectation is relegation and the cloth is cut accordingly, hence Lambert packing his bags (that much is crystal clear, surely even through yellow-tinted specs). As for Villa, they have Given, Dunne, Ireland, Bent, N'Zogbia, Agbonlahor and they have a budget of 25m to spend in the summer. Their financial losses are relatively meaningless because they have a massive turnover and pots of cash to invest. If they keep underperforming then they'll be in financial trouble but I can't see that happening.
The other thing I find interesting is that it all seems to have gone a bit mad. Martinez was headed for relegation until his side went on an incredible run for about ten games. Being offered the Liverpool job on the strength of 10 games is bonkers. Likewise what credentials does Lennon have to manage Norwich? He's got the absolute easiest can't fail job in football and the model at Celtic is not comparable to Norwich in any way, shape or form. As for Hughton, he took over a fantastic Newcastle squad, he fluked getting that job at that time - Brum are nowhere near.
you do realise we were closer to european football qualification through the league last season than we were to relegation? of course, survival is the most important thing and that will always be the case for norwich city or indeed ipswich town should they ever go up, but the ambition is there to move upwards and upwards. if you think for one minute villa won't have to assure safety first then you're mad, barking mad. interesting that of the villa players you've mentioned, i don't think they are that good - and they are without doubt their stand-out players! shay given and darren bent apart, they have very little quality. decent youngsters, though not outstanding - lambert is going to have to weave some serious magic on that squad of players to get them anywhere near the top half of the table. and i assume you've got the £25m budget from a red-top. check the villa forums - they have to sell to buy. wage budget heavily reduced (though still higher than ours) - they are a sinking ship. lambert's job will be to keep them up first and foremost. bigger club than norwich, can't dispute that and big potential, but a very poor team as it stands. lots of work to do! i'm intrigued to see how he copes with the egos
They quite possibly have and will hopefully learn from it. I wouldn't quite so quick to rule that possibility out (although I agree it is unlikely), we were not that far off achieving this season. You can say, perhaps with some degree of truth, the the PL outside the top 6 is of a poor standard but that is pretty much irrelevant. If you finish 7th or 8th, then it is deserved regardless of the strength of the league. Without a fully functional and trustworthy crystal ball, no one can predict for certain what is going to happen next season. The new manager (and board) may well have a top 8 place in mind but that is not to say they are crazy to even think about it. Arsenal & Liverpool still aim to win the PL as their aim, but neither are anywhere near good enough to mount a serious challenge. I dare say Ipswich will be eyeing up a top 6 place next season, which to some other fans would seem to be equally as ridiculous based on what has happened in recent seasons
I'm quite surprised you mention Hughton, though he could be decent. Obviously did very well at Newcastle and decent enough for Birmingham but have you seen Birmingham play this season, their style of play is woeful!! For me it is a bit of a risk going for someone like Robinson, good manager but may be a bit too much to come straight into a PL club. For me I think Holloway would be a good appointment for you. Though if you want me to be 100% I would suggest going for a certain ITV pundit, I've heard he's already worked for you guys and therefore seems a natural replacement!!
i think hughton's style of play at birmingham has been dictated to him by the personnel he landed up with when he took over! that's actually the sign of a good manager that he can play to players strengths. he played excellent football at newcastle when the time was right and could go long when necessary too, much as lambert does. when you think of the mess they were in, and the fact they played about 12 games more than anyone else in the division thanks to europa league action, i think it was remarkable they got in the play offs. not sure about olly, plays good football but there's always a bit of a circus surrounding him. hughton for me is the complete package and would fit in seamlessly.
agree about martinez, but the guy has definitely got something about him. i still can't believe liverpool went for rodgers! can't see that working at all. agree about lennon too - no way he should be in line for any jobs in england in the premier league - he's nowhere near good enough. where you're wrong is hughton. ok, at newcastle he had a strong squad but they were in disarray - to handle the egos and mess that was at that club, and the media scrutiny which came with it, and blitz all before them was impressive. he also did well before being removed unfairly. same with birmingham, he's turned around a club that looked on the brink and made them competitive. that takes good man management and no lack of tactical nous and awareness. check out this article about hughton i found. http://www.football365.com/faves/7702725/F365-Focus
Oooohhhh didums. And from someone who left England to get away from “horrible people” because they’re sooooo much nicer somewhere else (not in the slightest ignorant, racist and patronising). Perhaps comments like that (in addition to coming onto someone else’s board to sneer and insult with occasional hiding behind a pseudo-reasonable comment to try and get away with it) would get him banned from as a visitor to the Norwich board? Who knows.
