Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
The Great Mass Debater

Paul Lambert

Recommended Posts

Was thinking about how at present we seem to have a lot of talent, but players who are underperforming.

Typically we see players give scintillating debuts like Redmond and Naismith, but then seem to go backwards. Players come into the club looking great, then rapidly going off the boil like Bassong and recently Klose.

The theme of late seems to have been managers who cannot get the best out of what is at their disposal.

So I was thinking about Lambert, as really the only manager I can think of in recent times where you could argue the opposite was true. Limited resources, but seemed always to get players playing above their accepted level, something evidenced by their usual return to base level on leaving the club.

Can anyone think of any players who went backwards under Lambert? It seemed to me he seemed to always get the best out of what he had and moved them on if he suspected they didnt have what it took to sustain that.

Odd that in a variety of jobs Lambo has never really replicated this success.

Wouldnt it be great if our new manager had a similar track record? Lambert always stated ''young and hungry''. Perhaps this highlights how important mental attributes are in player selection

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I always wonder with Lambert how much was him, and how much was down to Karsa & Culverhouse.

 

He seemed to have problems at Villa with their highly paid established (and very much not hungry, at least for football achievement) stars.  But since then he''s dropped down and should have been able to work again on the "hungry player" model, with complete lack of success thus far.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I wonder if Jurgen Klopp is similar to Lambert in that he has a way of playing and will select players suited to it, perhaps not just in terms of ability but attitude to.

His Liverpool side is a work in progress but expected him to sign plenty of industrious workhorse types rather than racehorses.

Though fans have been quick to criticise work horses like Lee Croft and Andy Hughes in the past, maybe our player selection has been guilty of late of not picking players with the right mental attitude or work rate.

Workhorses were necessary due to a lack of resources, but in a time the club has had funds perhaps were guilty of selecting a few pampered preeners?

Look at Ngolo Kante for instance, considered best player in the league for the last two seasons by some.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Lessingham Canary"]Dont get me wrong Lambert was great for us at that time, the stars aligned so to speak. But don''t underestimate the influence / impact of Karsa & Culverhouse.[/quote]I would say Holt was one of the biggest factors in our success from 2009 onwards.  A huge character at the club and apart from goals, his positivity and determination to succeed was there for us all to see - the goal at Anfield for example - after that, everything seemed possible. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="lake district canary"]A huge character at the club and apart from goals, his positivity and determination to succeed was there for us all to see.......[/quote]You could just as easily be describing BJ there Lakey - or Snoddy. [:D]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="They call me the Chihauhau"]Hmm hadn''t thought of Lambert as head coach but now your talking[/quote]

You surprise me. Not.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Very few if any under performers but easy to think of those who played above themselves while they were here. Crofts, Wilbrahams, Cory Smith, MacNamee, Tieney and others. Just shows what a big influence a good coach/manager can do.

Personally I don''t take this argument that Lambert has failed since he left us. Just keeping Villa up was an achievement. Look what happened to them when he left. Same can be said of Blackburn, another basket case. Wolves we will see.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sorry for nitpicking but I remember Redmond''s debut quite well, he showed flashes of what he was about but I thought Bennett on the other side had a much better game and looked to have finally adjusted to the Premier League...only to get injured straight afterwards, typically!

But yeah, people find it much easier to support a team with a lack of quality that play above themselves most games to one full of expensive stars who just can''t click and appear to go through the motions at times. Whatever happens next year I mainly just hope we get to see a hard working, determined team playing an exciting, effective style that we can all get behind!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="lake district canary"]A huge character at the club and apart from goals, his positivity and determination to succeed was there for us all to see.......[/quote]You could just as easily be describing BJ there Lakey - or Snoddy. [:D][/quote]Ahh, the Snodgrass thing again....See West Ham''s results have dropped off recently [;)]

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Lakey, i thought of you as West Hams form dropped the last few weeks and your ''Good Player, bad Team Player'' theory ref Snoddy ...and behold a dyed in the wool Hammers fans asked me about his very own theory ref Snoddy......very similar to yours actually. He wanted to know if i felt the same about his time here, and i do, a bit. So, although unprovable, there are one or two out there that agree with your theory on this one, sort of. Only this one mind,  De Gea/Rudd, not so much.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
A head coach''s job is to work with the players on the training pitch. I don''t believe that Lambert did a lot of that when he was here. I would think Culverhouse is more suited to the head coach role TBH.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest
I don''t often agree or even read what Lakey says but on this occasion I did and fully agree that Grant Holt was a massive influence on the rest of the squad.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="wcorkcanary"]Lakey, i thought of you as West Hams form dropped the last few weeks and your ''Good Player, bad Team Player'' theory ref Snoddy ...and behold a dyed in the wool Hammers fans asked me about his very own theory ref Snoddy......very similar to yours actually. He wanted to know if i felt the same about his time here, and i do, a bit. So, although unprovable, there are one or two out there that agree with your theory on this one, sort of. Only this one mind,  De Gea/Rudd, not so much.[/quote]

Give it time...Rudd will prove his worth imo!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...