As we all know, this season starts with a fair sense of optimism – the era of Alex McLeish is banished to the history books and a new era starts under the tutelage of Paul Lambert.
In the words of our new manager, he spoke highly of the opportunity presented to him when approached to be a manager of Aston Villa, suggesting that an opportunity as good as managing Villa isn’t something that comes along too often.
In hearing those words, it filled many of us with pride. Whilst McLeish spoke highly of his chance of managing Villa, his appointment wasn’t anywhere near as well received and, in the eyes of many, our former manager was unlikely to change his spots from a perception of defensive based football.
Getting back to the present day, Lambert’s appointment is invariably a positive for the club. Few can doubt that his Norwich team did more than many had expected with several pundits suggesting both the team from Norfolk and Swansea City were both doomed to relegation.
As we all know, it turned out not a single promoted team went down, instead leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bolton Wanderers, and Blackburn Rovers as the casualties.
Despite Villa’s often turgid performances,
those three clubs displayed even more inept ability with relegation being a fair result for the relevant clubs’ efforts over the season.
Norwich, Lambert’s former club, finished in comparative upper echelons when contrasted with the relegated teams. In fact two of the three teams promoted finished above Villa – something that says half about how well Norwich and Swansea did, and half about how poor Villa were. Nobody can doubt that Norwich over-achieved last season.
Which brings me back to the move made by Lambert. Why move? The obvious answer is simply that the Villa job is bigger – a true statement for certain – and that Lambert wanted a bigger and better challenge.
In part, this is obviously true. There would be little chance for Norwich fans, without being overly critical of their team, to finish as high as Villa might manage when back at full strength.
One thing Lambert would have been aware of had he stayed at Norwich was the increased pressure at Carrow Road. As we all know, success breeds expectation, and failing to meet expectations leads to managers falling out with clubs. If Norwich’s expectations are, for this coming season, to finish in mid-table again, Lambert may well have struggled to deliver again.
Let me make it perfectly clear that this article isn’t meant as a sleight on Lambert’s ability – I for one think highly of his talents – but rather a way of asking fans to think about the fact that moving to Villa was a chance to have an easier time of it.
Think about it – with McLeish gone and Randy Lerner learning hard lessons about how austerity can almost cost a team their Premier League status, the circumstances had to change.
Just as Norwich’s expectations were elevated from performing better than expected, so Villa’s have been comparatively lowered. There are few Villa fans stating with any vigour that our target will be the top six this year. On the contrary, Villa fans seem altogether more pragmatic this time around.
I myself have said I would be happy with a 12th placed finish come the end of the season. 12th is far from a huge demand from a club the size of Villa, especially with the financial backing of the board and it is, in all honesty, highly achievable.
Had Lambert stayed at Norwich, he may well have had his board asking the team to aim for mid-table safety following their successful campaign last year. After all, in the eyes of their board at least, there are three teams who have higher odds for relegation than them this time around and Norwich, like any club, will want progress, albeit incrementally.
So which would be easier in the eyes of any person? Getting 12th with Villa, a club who have been poor in recent years but who are being supported by their board? Or getting the same position with a much smaller club with far less resources? The answer should be fairly obvious – the Villa job is, for this season at least, the easier job.
With managerial longevity a concern for many people in football management, sometimes a manager can be reluctant to see their future mapped out too far – we all know how quickly the tide can turn for any manager, and how it is more likely nowadays that a manager is sacked than moving on due to success.
Lambert has, to date, managed to progress up the ladder, riding the crests of waves up to his current role at Villa. For that, the young Scottish manager must be congratulated because it is as much about timing and luck as it is about skill in terms of knowing when to move up.
However, the decision will have been made far more easy by the fact that a troublesome second season at Norwich may well have led to Lambert’s credentials dropping rather than rising, something I feel Roberto Martinez should be considerate of after publicly shunning bigger roles in favour of staying at Wigan Athletic.
Make no doubt about it – Lambert has stepped up by assuming his position at Villa, but he has also cut himself an easier season based on better support and lowered expectations.
For Paul Lambert, the future offers a great chance for him to rise to the crest of another wave with the club from B6. If he does as well with Villa as he has managed at his prior clubs (barring Livingstone), Villa fans’ only concern will be keeping hold of the promising manager.
That page is yet to be written though and whilst few can doubt Lambert’s potential talent, as well as his past successes, moving to Villa provides less of a challenge this year than had he remained at Carrow Road.
Fans would be foolish to think Lambert didn’t know this and thus factored such a thought into his move to Villa Park. All that matters now is that the manager delivers – something that would be expected whether he was at Villa or not. I await the future of our club with baited breath.
*** FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE ***
It is that time again folks! We have decided to stick with the official Premier League fantasy football league (accessible via http://fantasy.premierleague.com). To join our league, input the following code, and you will be joined up!
League code: 1004194-245439
Good luck!
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