Villans have seen their share of crises over the last two or three years, and it wouldn’t be a season without one. Autumn and turning leaves, sandwiches with cheese and mustard, Villa and crisis. They just go together.
And now, of course, we have the Darren Bent saga, brought to you by a no-nonsense manager and the most divisive player on our roster. Never mind a team with fewer points at the same point this season than we had with “the worst manager ever” in charge last term.
Who appointed this Lambert clown? What has he ever won? Does he know anything about football?
My guess is that he knows more than the rest of us. Even if he has fewer points to show for it than Alex McLeish did at the same point last season.
Patience
We often hear the lack of patience in the modern game bemoaned. And then we fail to show patience. And faith.
As many have noted over the last few days of discussion, Paul Lambert was not in a “we just need one or two players” sort of situation when he put pen to paper. He needed to remake the team from top to bottom.
Yes, there were some players at Villa Park, and yes he brought a few in. But a remake on the fly is not an easy thing to pull off. And no one really believes that what we had was the foundation of anything meaningful.
Moreover, we know there are basically three types of managers: 1) I’ll adapt to the talent I’ve got; 2) I’ve got a system and the players will adapt; 3) I know what I’d like to be doing, it’s not happening overnight (so I’ll do a 1 and a 2), and I’ll stick with it.
In other words, we’ve got a 3. Which means we’re seemingly confronted with Confidence versus Arrogance, Self-Belief versus Stubbornness, no clear answers and an indeterminate time frame for results. (Which really is always the case with managers.)
Nowhere is this better illustrated than with the apparent impasse with Darren Bent. Lambert is putting his stamp on things, even if it means benching the most prolific scorer in the side.
Is it hubris or principle on display? I’m going with the latter. And the man who forked over £18 million-£24 million on Darren Bent apparently is in tacit agreement. Never mind principle, though, many will say. Is Lambert simply being stubborn and arrogant?
I don’t think so. But fans are divided.
Supply lines
Here’s the deal with our Darren: He doesn’t make things happen on his own—he’s the guy that finishes off the work of others. The team has to supply him.
He does produce. But he’s the end of the move.
And when you’re lacking the sort of supply he thrives on, a player like Darren Bent doesn’t offer much else. You can’t dependably give him what he needs, because you can’t create the sorts of moves he finishes. Which means you either replace him, or bring in two or three other players we can’t afford. You’re starting to talk real-world things like budgets, depth, setup. And most other players costing as much Bent do offer more. Lambert’s not being crazy.
The thing that makes Bent’s case a bit difficult is that while he can finish, his inclusion dictates a lot about everything else, and he’s awfully lazy. This doesn’t sit well with a manager who prizes tactical flexibility, effort, passion, and commitment. We’re playing with nine on 10 when Bent’s on the pitch.
So Bent finds himself on the bench. I still applaud the decision. Lambert’s vision does not suffer lazy players gladly, whatever lifelines they might offer in the short term. And everyone else has bought in to the best of their ability, or at least kept their mouths shut. Bent’s the odd man out.
Yes, But I’m Goebbels, Right?
Alex McLeish had an unenviable remit: suffer the consequences of others’ mistakes, but keep the team up. He succeeded, if only by the skin of his teeth. I looked at the squad, and didn’t expect much more than what McLeish ultimately gave us. Well, maybe a little bit more, but you know what I mean. There wasn’t much to work with.
Lambert seemingly has it easier, but doesn’t really. While there’s some money to spend, he’s not expected to just keep us up. He’s expected to push us forward, now.
Yet he inherited a largely deficient squad. I think he’s made good buys, but he’s had to go with value and make speculative investments as a result. He’s well qualified, but it’s still much more of an ask than what Andre Villas Boas has been presented with. We can see it’s not easy based on the results so far.
Had Benteke done what he’s done so many times before (even at 21), we wouldn’t be dissecting a 2-0 loss. Had Spurs not gotten lucky twice, we wouldn’t be dissecting the implications of a 2-0 loss. But we are. Vlaar, Guzan, El Ahmadi, Bennett, Benteke (and Holman)—these were all good decisions. The jury’s still out on Lowton and Westwood. But all of the others are improvements on what we had. And even if Lowton has been up and down, he’s better than Hutton.
No, we didn’t buy a Champions League squad. Instead, we asked the manager to address a number of deficiencies in a relegation-level squad on a tight budget. And I think he’s done this while showing the courage to make massive changes and stick to them, in as aggressive a time frame as possible.
So, let’s try a little patience. Show a little faith. Villa are not in crisis—we’re working hard, playing better football, and moving in the right direction. And Darren Bent isn’t Van Persie, Tevez, Rooney, or Suarez, or even Lambert…(I could go on, but it’s a long list.)
And Paul Lambert isn’t Alex McLeish.
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