“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
“Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.”
“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”
As you may have guessed from the quotes, I am going to talk about the changes Paul Lambert is making, and will be making, within Aston Villa – ones that have been made for the better, even though they may not seem like it now.
Getting back to a (admittedly paraphrased) quote, Mick McCarthy said:
“It’s tough. If you try to change a whole ethos at a club, everybody has got to be brave enough to stick with it. He’ll always get the best out of his players [speaking re: Paul Lambert]”
The brutal reality is that there is no quick fix – we could throw more money at the issue but even that doesn’t necessarily guarantee things. Even then, the club has to deal with its issues sooner or later as we can’t spend repeatedly to dig ourselves out of holes. I personally am glad we are dealing with the situation sooner rather than later.
I think Lambert’s task has been over-simplified by some fans so that he is solely perceived to just be tasked with cost cutting or working to a budget. Whilst these are governing factors for him as a manger, there are other facets that get overlooked by the media and the fans.
I raised the point the other day regarding attitude of players, and their willingness (or lack thereof) to make themselves into a part of a team. Nobody is bigger than the team and that it the case whether you are an academy player who is yet to sign his first contract, or the club’s record signing on £100k – if you don’t work hard for the man next to you, you shouldn’t be playing the sport.
The problem Paul Lambert faces is that half the team seems young and ready and the other half seem more concerned about themselves than the club that pays their wages.
I know it’s been a struggle – It has been desperate at times, and inconsistency, poor decision making and a lack of quality has made all of us upset. However there are highs in wins against Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as the potential of turning the semi-final around to get to Wembley.
The ethos of the club is changing and everyone knows what is expected of them, both individually and as a unit. Nowadays, it isn’t just about how good you are, but how you play together as part of the Villa unit. If Lambert panics and throws the older, more self-centred players into the team whilst they still consider teamwork below them, then what does it say to the squad? Should the squad be built on teamwork or not?
The manager has drawn a line deep and long in the sand and has to stand by it now. Whilst some fans will call that insane or arrogant, I do think they are getting the picture – look at how Bent performed at Ipswich versus his “old” self.
There has been a stink at the club for years. Gerard Houllier tried to get rid but couldn’t, and therein was his downfall. Alex McLeish tried to befriend them to take a different tact and that didn’t work either. Put simply, there are no simple solutions.
It shouldn’t be enough just to be talented at the game – you should earn your spot and be fighting for it. Right now competition is lacking, but that will change, and for the better.
Many worry about the plan being to “buy youth from League 1” When did Ron Vlaar, Christian Benteke, and Karim El-Ahmadi play in that league? Am I missing something?
We have bought a mixture of youth and experience. Many have the ability to perform but it has been a steep learning curve for them, and they still have weaknesses.
However, we need to keep some kind of faith. I’m not saying Lambert is beyond reproach, but he has tried, and is trying to fix the situation – the football we play is much better in terms of development than last year in terms of building.
Young players, repeatedly called for under McLeish, are given a chance. Some may not have been good enough, but they had the chance – the chance many of us actually asked for.
Some, like Andreas Weimann, have done really well. Nathan Baker is doing well too but has been given a tough hand in a young back four. Others will get their chances too.
Fingers crossed this is our bottom, our lowest point. If we can build from here, we’ll be OK, even if it doesn’t seem like it.
The manager is juggling many balls at the present and, in my opinion, is doing a great job. Is he perfect? No, but he is doing as good as any man could at present. Those who want to sack him? I honestly don’t know who you think is going to do better – we are building something and building takes time.
Guzan, Vlaar, Clark, Baker, Lowton, Bennett, Westwood, N’Zogbia, Weimann, Bent, Benteke.
Isn’t it clear that we can do a lot better by adding only a few players – a Brede Hangeland for instance? It’ll take time though, and patience.
Of course, the manager can’t manager our expectations – we have to do that ourselves. In doing so, we have to be realistic. I mean that in the true sense too – forget the chest beating, we are where we are and pretending we deserve better won’t change a thing.
If we can stay afloat now, in our toughest times, we have the potential to make better, and bigger things happen in the future. All it takes it a little faith, patience, and support – I’m sure you all have that in you.
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