Ok, now I'm sure everyone is now aware that Paul Lambert may have left his position as manager at Norwich City. I'd like to firstly say an enormous thank you to him for everything he has done for the club. To be perfectly honest, without him I fully appreciate that we'd probably be in either League One or League Two. The job he has done is remarkable and may never be matched by another City manager. I genuinely wish him success in whatever he goes on to do in his career.
I feel that many fans, myself included are a little bit stunned that Villa is his choice of destination - that's assuming he still goes there. He may well have resigned out of principal - if we denied him permission to speak to them, though I doubt it will happen, it would be quite funny if he then didn't accept the Villa job and waited for something better. Lets work on the assumption he goes to Villa Park.
Aston Villa are a bigger club than Norwich, no question. Are they a better team? No way! Not a chance. Its a massive rebuilding job for him and I think its extremely risky for his career to go there at this stage. However, I think having thought long and hard about this last night, the reason for going to Villa is more to do with how Lambert feels things are going at City than what he can achieve in Birmingham.
Let me explain. Having spoken to a few people I believe Lambert feels he is becoming a bit stale at Norwich. He will only become staler by staying next season. A change of scenery may well be what he needs, even if its not what we wanted to hear. I genuinely believe he didn't want to leave but feels it is for the best that he moves now rather than waits and jeopardises his chances of progressing. He can't do any worse than McLeish did, that's for sure - in that respect, he's on to a winner.
Anyway, that's enough about Lambert - he is now consigned to the history books. We thank him and move on because frankly, he's left us in a fantastically exciting position! We have a young and vibrant squad and there will be a long queue forming to take over because our job is now one of the most exciting for an up and coming manager in Europe. Big potential to move the club forwards for a young manager.
There are many possibilities and we'll all have our favourites but here's my handful who I think could take us forward...
In no particular order;
1) Malky Mackay
2) Lee Clark
3) Karl Robinson
4) Ian Holloway
5) Gus Poyet
6) Gianfranco Zola
7) Chris Hughton
8) Alan Curbishley
9) Eddie Howe
10) Paul Tisdale
The above managers will all be considered I would have thought. Malky is the first name to jump out because of his connections but I'm always wary of bringing former players back to the club. My personal choice would be between four: Karl Robinson, Ian Holloway, Gus Poyet and Chris Hughton. Robinson plays wonderful football at MK Dons and would fit in well - he's very young and it would be a big step up. He also hasn't managed to get promotion but I still feel he has massive potential and I like the way he operates - he is also (as I understand it) close to McNally who rates him highly. Holloway would be fun, no question. It could end in disaster but his style is very attacking and we have the sort of players at our disposal that would work well with his tactics. Poyet is an outsider for me - not because he isn't great but because I think if anyone tempts him from Brighton it'll be Swansea. The other one who creeps into my thought is Chris Hughton - but I feel he may be tempted by West Brom before Norwich. He'd be a good fit at our club.
Whoever comes in, I feel happy with where the club finds itself today. Lambert has laid the foundations for the club to be successful, in a similar way to how Dave Stringer did for Mike Walker in the early 90s. Losing Lambert is extremely disappointing because I felt he could achieve more with the club, but if he felt otherwise then its only right he moves on. He owes us nothing, absolutely nothing at all.
I don't feel bitterness towards Lambert - he has done what he thinks is best for him and I actually think he feels he's done what is best for us too. If he needed a fresh challenge he may not have been the same for us next season. That could have been a big problem. People will no doubt say 'we told you so' but I doubt you'll find many City fans who didn't think this would happen one day - we're all just a bit surprised it's happened this summer rather than next. What is great is that we are not being left in the lurch - we can move forwards with positivity, even if it'll take a few days to come to terms with what has happened. Also, funny how both Lambert and Rodgers left on the same day... if you're a provincial club, expect to lose your manager if you have any kind of success at all seems to be the message, but then I suppose it's always been like that to a degree.
Disappointment today for sure, but its actually a very exciting time to be a Norwich fan. We have a CEO who knows exactly what he wants from a manager and will go out and get it. The club could not be in safer hands at the top.
IMcNallyWT!! OTBC
I feel that many fans, myself included are a little bit stunned that Villa is his choice of destination - that's assuming he still goes there. He may well have resigned out of principal - if we denied him permission to speak to them, though I doubt it will happen, it would be quite funny if he then didn't accept the Villa job and waited for something better. Lets work on the assumption he goes to Villa Park.
Aston Villa are a bigger club than Norwich, no question. Are they a better team? No way! Not a chance. Its a massive rebuilding job for him and I think its extremely risky for his career to go there at this stage. However, I think having thought long and hard about this last night, the reason for going to Villa is more to do with how Lambert feels things are going at City than what he can achieve in Birmingham.
Let me explain. Having spoken to a few people I believe Lambert feels he is becoming a bit stale at Norwich. He will only become staler by staying next season. A change of scenery may well be what he needs, even if its not what we wanted to hear. I genuinely believe he didn't want to leave but feels it is for the best that he moves now rather than waits and jeopardises his chances of progressing. He can't do any worse than McLeish did, that's for sure - in that respect, he's on to a winner.
Anyway, that's enough about Lambert - he is now consigned to the history books. We thank him and move on because frankly, he's left us in a fantastically exciting position! We have a young and vibrant squad and there will be a long queue forming to take over because our job is now one of the most exciting for an up and coming manager in Europe. Big potential to move the club forwards for a young manager.
There are many possibilities and we'll all have our favourites but here's my handful who I think could take us forward...
In no particular order;
1) Malky Mackay
2) Lee Clark
3) Karl Robinson
4) Ian Holloway
5) Gus Poyet
6) Gianfranco Zola
7) Chris Hughton
8) Alan Curbishley
9) Eddie Howe
10) Paul Tisdale
The above managers will all be considered I would have thought. Malky is the first name to jump out because of his connections but I'm always wary of bringing former players back to the club. My personal choice would be between four: Karl Robinson, Ian Holloway, Gus Poyet and Chris Hughton. Robinson plays wonderful football at MK Dons and would fit in well - he's very young and it would be a big step up. He also hasn't managed to get promotion but I still feel he has massive potential and I like the way he operates - he is also (as I understand it) close to McNally who rates him highly. Holloway would be fun, no question. It could end in disaster but his style is very attacking and we have the sort of players at our disposal that would work well with his tactics. Poyet is an outsider for me - not because he isn't great but because I think if anyone tempts him from Brighton it'll be Swansea. The other one who creeps into my thought is Chris Hughton - but I feel he may be tempted by West Brom before Norwich. He'd be a good fit at our club.
Whoever comes in, I feel happy with where the club finds itself today. Lambert has laid the foundations for the club to be successful, in a similar way to how Dave Stringer did for Mike Walker in the early 90s. Losing Lambert is extremely disappointing because I felt he could achieve more with the club, but if he felt otherwise then its only right he moves on. He owes us nothing, absolutely nothing at all.
I don't feel bitterness towards Lambert - he has done what he thinks is best for him and I actually think he feels he's done what is best for us too. If he needed a fresh challenge he may not have been the same for us next season. That could have been a big problem. People will no doubt say 'we told you so' but I doubt you'll find many City fans who didn't think this would happen one day - we're all just a bit surprised it's happened this summer rather than next. What is great is that we are not being left in the lurch - we can move forwards with positivity, even if it'll take a few days to come to terms with what has happened. Also, funny how both Lambert and Rodgers left on the same day... if you're a provincial club, expect to lose your manager if you have any kind of success at all seems to be the message, but then I suppose it's always been like that to a degree.
Disappointment today for sure, but its actually a very exciting time to be a Norwich fan. We have a CEO who knows exactly what he wants from a manager and will go out and get it. The club could not be in safer hands at the top.
IMcNallyWT!! OTBC
