It’s a bit anticlimactic, being appointed during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. A man in a track suit who will soon be holding a scarf over his head versus a monarch who’s now launched a thousand boats.
Nevertheless, it’s universally conceded that Paul Lambert will take the reins at Villa Park with a groundswell of support as opposed to protests. That has to be a good thing. We, as supporters, can at least start off united in our hopes, if not our prognoses. We can embrace the future, as it were. All together now.
Me, I think it’s a solid choice. Maybe not one that gets the heart fluttering, but a solid appointment…and Villa needed ‘solid’ as much as anything. Maybe more than anything. Let’s give Lerner just a little credit here.
What do I think will happen? I think Villa will get better: tougher, smarter, harder-working, more cohesive and more astute in lining up. I don’t think Villa will be cowed. I don’t think Villa will continue looking as…well, I think Villa will look as good if not better than we have since the height of Martin O’Neill’s turn at the helm.
Do I think it will all happen overnight? Not necessarily. But I think we’ll be seeing signs from the outset of better times…If all goes well.
What Could Go Wrong?
Right now, it’s hard to say. I’ve heard that in addition to a £20m-£25m transfer kitty, Lambert will also be able to spend whatever savings he realizes from sales. I’ve also heard that the sales will merely pay for what he spends first.
If Lambert is going to be hamstrung by whether or not he can move on Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Hutton and whomever else can rightly be considered ‘not good enough,’ then it might make for an underwhelming first season by Lambert’s recent standards.
Of course, it might not. We might find out that two years of underwhelming play from our back line were just a matter of personalities and systems. I wouldn’t necessarily bet on it, but, hey, you never know.
So, that’s question one. It’s one thing to be given a transfer kitty. Quite another to move on players who don’t need to go anywhere if they don’t want to, and don’t seem to be as highly valued by anyone else. Evaluating the squad and figuring out a plan for them in the summer window during preparations? That’s the first hurdle.
Second would be the transfer targets: A Burnley star? An aging Norwich star? An aging Socceroo (who got some very good press from Mr. Bosnich)?
Moreover, is there a system in mind for year one, or the first steps of systemic change, or simply the exigency of making the most of what he’s got?
This is what Lambert will get the big bucks for figuring out. Holman seems to still be coming. The rest? Again, we don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything except Heskey being re-signed. And I have to trust that the new gaffer knows what he’s doing and why he’d be bringing players in.
But you can imagine that good will might be unnecessarily squandered if the squad revisions can’t be as thorough as we’d like. To this I say…Give the man a little time before we assemble the circular firing squad.
The point? A little patience, please. I’m glad he’s got money to spend, but I don’t know the terms. Real change may be just around the corner…or another 12 months away. It really is anyone’s guess at the moment.
What Could Go Right?
Lambert shakes up the squad, ships players out, brings better, younger, cheaper ones in, and gets them playing together with discipline, energy, and belief and we we at least start winning more of the games we’ve managed to draw, never mind the losses.
The Other Bits
It’s said that Lambert has been very tactically flexible before and during games. I’ll vote for that. But being flexible isn’t necessarily a virtue. Ask a man without a backbone. It’s being flexible in the right ways and at the right times. And for this, a manager has to have some options.
David McNally…Please. The next step up from Norwich is not the Champions League. It’s a team that’s always been in the Premier League with more silverware and grander and deeper traditions than Norwich could ever imagine. Not to mention a bigger turnover with a bigger ground in a bigger city. I bear Norwich no ill will or disrespect. But…Well, they’re just part of the scenery, really, like a nice valley or shubbery or steelworks. Or something.
According to one report I’ve read, Paul Faulkner was “instrumental” in bringing Lambert to Villa. And that Lambert was always the first choice over Ole and Martinez. I didn’t mention this to cause choking fits or seizures. It’s just what I read. (Hint…there might be a “give credit where credit’s due column later…or not. But I’m watching you.)
Ahem…In Closing
More than anything, I’m anxious to see what a new man’s prescription is for Villa. I know he might not be able to do everything at once, and it’s unfair to ask him to. But as a young, ambitious and hard-charging personality, Lambert represents the perfect sort of leader to tell us things about the squad.
Whether it’s wholesale change or incremental improvement, we’ll learn a lot about Aston Villa’s past and future in the next couple of months. It should be rather illuminating…and, one hopes, maybe even exciting. I’d give you a big list, Paul, but I know the parameters of your first-season remit have yet to really be articulated. You get a pass, this week at least, from my prescriptions.
So c’mon, Paul. History is calling to you, greatness beckons. This is where you’ll actually consolidate your reputation or become just another once-promising lower-league starlet. You’ve hit the big time of expectations. Trust me on this. It may not be the theater of dreams, but it’s a damn big job. Big enough for you right now at any rate.
And we’ll stand by you as long as we’re pointed into the wind and giving a good account of ourselves.
In other words, keep doing what you’ve been doing. Take the reins, give ’em hell, and show no fear. We’ll readily sing your name if you can bring some pride, grit, intent, and results back to Villa Park.
Oh, and a little style never hurt anything. Just saying.
The Author
