Howard's Way: Paul Lambert - Why the faith?

Howard Hodgson wrote:

After the latest very disappointing result on Saturday, Aston Villa have now mustered only 15 points from the last 17 games, winning just 4, drawing 3 and losing a whopping 10!

This is long term poor form which stretches over nearly half a season so cannot be considered a mere blip. In my fall out with Paul Faulkner and Randy Lerner I predicted a slow crawl to 40 points back in early Jan and was virtually laughed at and accused of being unsupportive.

The truth is I would much rather see a progressive rosy picture developing and still being sat in Directors with Faulkner and co but I have to call it as I see it and the football being produced by this manager is simply nowhere near good enough and the warning bells in my mind at least were ringing then despite our reasonable points tally at the time.

It’s at best dull and predictable and the vast majority of teams have worked out how to play us hence the severe dip in points accumulation since Dec 4th.

Supporter’s who still have faith in Lambert all point to a lack of spending power and are adamant that if he gets money to spend on quality this summer we will see a very different Aston Villa next season both in approach and in results. I have to say I am not convinced. I would ask where is the proof in coming to that conclusion? Certainly not based on the style of play we have largely seen at Villa in the last two years and he only had one season at Norwich in the top flight where they largely played counter attacking football as it was their first season in the Premier league so every team played to win against them. No team would have been going to Carrow road that season looking to park the bus or play defensively which suited Lambert’s tactics down to the ground.

Where Villa have really struggled under Lambert is in games where teams still do come to Villa Park and sit deep knowing that is the best way to nullify Villa’s threat. At no point has Lambert looked like solving that problem. He said this weekend “We only know one way to play” and he has never said truer words since he has been here. I know better players will create more but all footballers have two legs and it’s the lack of willingness to run off the ball and beyond the ball that grates with me especially as the team does have ability when in the right mindset. At home I would have liked to see us try Lowton and Bacuna down the right hand side.  Also Agbonlahor and Weimann who are both good players, have been poor for sometime yet are picked every week regardless. What message does that send out to the likes of Tonev, Helenius, Albrighton and even young Robinson? You will note two of those players mentioned are in fact players he signed last summer who were meant to take us on this season which brings me on to Holt.. Why on earth was he signed and why is he on the bench every week when it’s clear for all to see he is a shadow of the player he was under Lambert at Norwich?

In my opinion Lambert is very similar to O Neill. They have a very similar approach to tactics, big centre forward, deep lying, counter attacking style. There are subtle differences like O Neill liked wingers where as Lambert doesn’t but the ethos is the same.

No doubt that approach will bring some good results as we have seen. O Neill had far more money to spend hence the better results but it still had a ceiling of ultimately where it could take us and my big fear with Lambert is that like O Neill he doesn’t know any other way or frankly believes in any other way whether you give him better players or not. As we all witnessed O Neill had fortunes but we never stopped being a counter attacking side and our home form was never great and in fact deteriorated the longer O Neill was at the football club.

After eight years of this sort of football with the exception of the Houllier season where he wanted to take us in a different direction I am eager to see something different at Villa. I want to see a team that looks after the ball better, passes and moves more and is prepared to attack in numbers giving the player on the ball multiple options. It won’t always work and sometimes you’ll get beat but at least it will be building something that when the better players do come along we’ll have a base to truly compete again. I have serious doubts Paul Lambert is the man to deliver that. He has openly admitted he has little regard for possession and whilst possession stats can sometimes be misleading its no surprise that the teams that play the most attractive football ie Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal Everton and Southampton all have high possession stats and take great care of the football. All their managers have a total football ethos.

A small club like FC Basel play a lovely expansive game which has troubled many of our big clubs in European competition like Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in recent seasons. Have a look how much they have spent. Not very much. Money helps but its not the be all and end all as we have seen so clearly at Manchester United this season who have been largely average despite spending £65 million on 2 players!

I tweeted yesterday about wandering if Lambert had got the Liverpool job would he have booted out Carroll like Rodgers did? Rodgers had no intention of building a side around a big number 9. I feel Lambert would certainly have kept Carroll and Liverpool would have been playing a very different brand of football.

Nearly all Lambert supporters believe money to be the answer to all his/our problems under him. I have my doubts and would urge anyone to give me evidence to back up their argument. Right now the evidence points to one way of playing.

One thing is for sure. I can’t wait for the season to end and for the club to have a long hard look at itself and ditch the excuse management, ditch the apathy and look to provide some much needed hope and entertainment next season as the vast majority of us have had enough of this continued struggle.


UTV

Howard Hodgson

Follow me @HodgsonHoward

Trotters wrote:I'd like to see the kind of vision that made Villa great. True pioneers that will revolutionise things in English Football.

When the Acorns sponsorship was announced, I really thought that we were maybe getting back to the days of William McGregor when, once again, Villa would be at the forefront of everything that was right.

And then it all kinda stopped.

HH 8166 wrote:

Trotters wrote:I'd like to see the kind of vision that made Villa great. True pioneers that will revolutionise things in English Football.

When the Acorns sponsorship was announced, I really thought that we were maybe getting back to the days of William McGregor when, once again, Villa would be at the forefront of everything that was right.

And then it all kinda stopped.

Agreed Troy.. Its basically been a rudderless ship for 4 years, drifting and we are in danger as iceberg dead ahead! Hopefully we scramble over the line and we can start being happy and positive again!

The Bald Eagle wrote:

HH 8166 wrote:

Trotters wrote:I'd like to see the kind of vision that made Villa great. True pioneers that will revolutionise things in English Football.

When the Acorns sponsorship was announced, I really thought that we were maybe getting back to the days of William McGregor when, once again, Villa would be at the forefront of everything that was right.

And then it all kinda stopped.

Agreed Troy.. Its basically been a rudderless ship for 4 years, drifting and we are in danger as iceberg dead ahead! Hopefully we scramble over the line and we can start being happy and positive again!

I assume you mean happy and positive on the basis that we might get a new owner and manager by remaining in this division? The mere act of reaching safety alone should not cause any champagne corks to pop. Being the best of a dreadful bunch is nothing to celebrate.

HH 8166 wrote:

The Bald Eagle wrote:

HH 8166 wrote:

Trotters wrote:I'd like to see the kind of vision that made Villa great. True pioneers that will revolutionise things in English Football.

When the Acorns sponsorship was announced, I really thought that we were maybe getting back to the days of William McGregor when, once again, Villa would be at the forefront of everything that was right.

And then it all kinda stopped.

Agreed Troy.. Its basically been a rudderless ship for 4 years, drifting and we are in danger as iceberg dead ahead! Hopefully we scramble over the line and we can start being happy and positive again!

I assume you mean happy and positive on the basis that we might get a new owner and manager by remaining in this division? The mere act of reaching safety alone should not cause any champagne corks to pop. Being the best of a dreadful bunch is nothing to celebrate.

If you have read any of my pieces or listened to me on the radio you will know full well I expect much more from the football club.

The Bald Eagle wrote:

HH 8166 wrote:

The Bald Eagle wrote:

HH 8166 wrote:

Trotters wrote:I'd like to see the kind of vision that made Villa great. True pioneers that will revolutionise things in English Football.

When the Acorns sponsorship was announced, I really thought that we were maybe getting back to the days of William McGregor when, once again, Villa would be at the forefront of everything that was right.

And then it all kinda stopped.

Agreed Troy.. Its basically been a rudderless ship for 4 years, drifting and we are in danger as iceberg dead ahead! Hopefully we scramble over the line and we can start being happy and positive again!

I assume you mean happy and positive on the basis that we might get a new owner and manager by remaining in this division? The mere act of reaching safety alone should not cause any champagne corks to pop. Being the best of a dreadful bunch is nothing to celebrate.

If you have read any of my pieces or listened to me on the radio you will know full well I expect much more from the football club.

Bit of a harsh reaction to a simple question, Howard. I've been around a long time watching the Villa so I tend to make my own mind up but am always willing to listen to a reasoned point of view.

HH 8166 wrote:

The Bald Eagle wrote:

HH 8166 wrote:

The Bald Eagle wrote:

HH 8166 wrote:

Trotters wrote:I'd like to see the kind of vision that made Villa great. True pioneers that will revolutionise things in English Football.

When the Acorns sponsorship was announced, I really thought that we were maybe getting back to the days of William McGregor when, once again, Villa would be at the forefront of everything that was right.

And then it all kinda stopped.

Agreed Troy.. Its basically been a rudderless ship for 4 years, drifting and we are in danger as iceberg dead ahead! Hopefully we scramble over the line and we can start being happy and positive again!

I assume you mean happy and positive on the basis that we might get a new owner and manager by remaining in this division? The mere act of reaching safety alone should not cause any champagne corks to pop. Being the best of a dreadful bunch is nothing to celebrate.

If you have read any of my pieces or listened to me on the radio you will know full well I expect much more from the football club.

Bit of a harsh reaction to a simple question, Howard. I've been around a long time watching the Villa so I tend to make my own mind up but am always willing to listen to a reasoned point of view.

Sorry I didn't mean it to be harsh. Just wanted to be clear that you understand I don't think 4 relegation battles in a row is anywhere near acceptable for Aston Villa. It deserves much better. Minimum should be achieving what Everton is but years of mismanagement have brought us to this point.
When I said "happy and positive again" I meant that hopefully once we get safe and the season is over we can get an owner in that vaguely knows what he is doing who will then appoint the right people to the board/management who can start restoring our pride. UTV