A few things got me thinking about writing this thread, firstly, after reading a few articles about Clough, I began thinking about how he failed at Leeds despite taking on the the best squad in English football. It seems odd that despite being amongst the most talented managers football has ever known, he couldn't carry on the success that Don Revie brought to Leeds, although I acknowledge there were other factors involved in this. The second thing which made me finally get round to writing this thread was seeing Carlos Tevez claiming that Mancini treated him "like a dog". Tevez is without a doubt an excellent footballer, but ultimately his attitude has been too much for Mancini to manage, was this down to Tevez, or Mancini? Can certain managers simply not control the attitude of their players? This brings me on to the subject of this thread: Can Paul Lambert manage "big" name players? During his tenure at Norwich he has certainly gone out of his way to avoid signing the types of players which have talent in abundance but not the right attitude to help the club, why? Is it an unwillingness on his part to risk upsetting the balance, or is it simply that he isn't good enough to manage these types of player? Who would honestly turn down a Carlos Tevez or a Joey Barton if they could be controlled and give 100% every day like the current squad do? These are just people after all, who happen to be immensely talented at what they do, but have a dodgy attitude. I, like the rest of you, believe Paul Lambert to be an amazing man-manager, so why not look to bring in lads who have the quality but not the attitude? I can't really draw a conclusion to this article, and I'm hoping you chaps can help me out, because I simply don't know the answer. OTBC PC PS: I am aware of the financial restrictions PL is operating under, but even if we had megabucks to spend, do you think he would risk it with Barton or even Beckford?
I think Lambert values and respects total control of the footballing side of the Club business. Thats what he gets at Norwich. Upon taking over a new "Bigger" club I think he'd demand to be allowed to bring in his own personnel and get rid of players he doesn't like the attitude of. This could scare potential club owners. For example, If Lambert was manager of chelsea do you honestly believe he'd have carried on with torres? He;d have been dropped after 3 games, and he'd have never bought him in the first place and if he'd been bought by the board without his say-so i'm not sure he'd want to stay at the club. I think Lambert would want to harness a big clubs youth system and bring in very select, very loyal and very hard-working players. Basically he'd buy Scott Parker but he'd tell Tevez to do one, regardless of shirt sales. I'm not sure he'd be keen on the media circus either, he barely likes Norwich press so big club exposure would be something he'd have to deal with. Basically, Lambert COULD manage a big club, but he'd do it HIS WAY.
Probably sums it up really! Good points raised by Beef, Lambert is his own man and demands that things are done his way, and who can question him for it?!
Here's a hypothetical eleven of interesting characters. What would Lambert do with them? GKaddy Kenny LB: Ashley Cole CB:John Terry CB:William Gallas RB:Glen Johnson CM: Joey Barton CM:Ravel Morison LM: Cristiano Ronaldo RMavid Bentley CF: Mario Ballotelli CF: Carlos Tevez Subs: Suarez Rooney Evra Adebayor Arshavin Bullard Sylvester Stallone (Goalkeeping sub)
Lambert wouldn't want either Tevez or Barton. In the case of Tevez, yeah he makes headlines, and plays ok, but at every club he has been at he was bought in as a stop gap and left when better players kept him out of the team. He also causes far more trouble than he is worth. Many people blame him for Argentina's decline. Go and read the QPR board to find out what they think of Barton. The fact is that the current Norwich squad is full of big name players, and Lambert seems to manage them just fine.
Looking at the list I think Lambert would be ok. Can't see him taking any rubbish from anyone and he could always set McNally on them or get Holt to sit on them until they saw sense.
I think there's a fairly simple answer to this. You can't equate "big name" and "big ego". Giggs and Scholes spring to mind: brilliant players, no "attitude". The secret to handling very talented players is being able to command their respect, and I've little doubt that PL has what it takes on that score. Big egos, on the other hand, don't sit easily with respect for anyone but themselves and I'd guess PL thinks the job is hard enough without any of that!
Lambert is quite a brave fellow and I reckon he's probably a force to behold should you cross him. I think he would have no problem dropping a player for attitude look at Chris Martin. Lambert would never have brought those players in. Also being good doesn't make you arrogant and being arrogant doesn't make you good, look at Scott Parker.
Re. Brian Clough, Trevor Francis tells the story of Clough's instructions to him on his arrival at Forest as the first ever £1 million transfer. As I remember it, Clough's words to him were: "Just give the ball to John Robertson, he's a far better player than you". To Trevor Francis's credit he apparently didn't bat an eyelid, but I doubt if anything like that would go down well at Leeds.
Absolutely excellent article and one that I was discussing with other Canaries fans after we beat Burnley in the cup. As has been said, PL gets and demands respect (something so sadly laking with many of today's youth - don't even mention some 'big ego' footballers!!!) and I agree that PL wouldn't want them at the club where he's manager. As I said in a previous post - the reason his mangement style works so well at Norwich City is that he has the full backing of the board, the players and the fans - not many other teams can claim that!!! Long may it last!
3 reasons spring to mind. 1. As Thomas Edison said 'Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.' Even if you can do amazing things with the ball, you can't unless you put the effort in to win it in the first place. 2. People rarely knock money off a players valuation for bad attitude. Look at Tevez, Barton, or Cisse. Big wages, being thrown at a player who is often unavailable due to their conduct. Small name / Big attitude is where the smart money goes. 3. Lambert could manage these players, but i don't think he'd want to. Would he put up with a player on £200,000 a week breaching contract mid game because his management style was a bit angry? No way. Would he understand Suarez petulantly not shaking another players hand as per agreed, during a professional engagement for which he is being paid thousands of pounds? Hell no.
Lambert wouldn't take no squit from no one. He was asked at the weekend whether the FA should have sacked Terry as Team Captain. He was completely clear. Choosing the captain is the manager's job. What's the point of having a manager if he's not in charge? The dimwit interviewing him didn't go on to ask whether he would have kept Terry as captain- that would have been interesting and maybe given a clue about how he would manage any big egos and flawed characters, he might find in the dressing room before the big clear out.
I haven't heard squit for such a long time. Down in Cornwall, they have their own terms and the Norfolk ones are fading from my memory.
