Something about Lambert's signings

[Pabs 0]

I am sure this could have been mentioned on here before but there is a real similarity in signings made by Lambert - namely that they are almost all in the same age bracket (23 - 26).  I know this seems a strange thing to mention as if you''re good enough, it doesn''t matter how old you are.

For me though, signing the players at this age is an advantage.  They are young enough to still be hungry to succeed, but also experienced enough to deal with defeats and problems. 

Crofts, Fox, Ward, Barnett, Jackson, Johnson, R Martin, Ruddy, McNamee, Surman.

They are all in this age bracket (I think) and also have something to prove at this level.  Either it is the highest level they have played, or they have been in the PL but need to prove themselves again at this level to make the step back up.  What this results in is good spirits, and probably a togetherness.  There doesn''t appear to be any egos in the team.  Fox, I think, despite a slow start is proving a real bargain now.

Just one more point too - Holt has been getting a lot of praise lately, and rightly so, but I would just like to praise up Chris Martin again.  If you look over the last season or so, he has had many challenges to his place in the first XI (Maric (haha), McDonald, Johnson, Elliott, Jackson, Daley) but has pretty much seen all of them off and retained his place.  It can''t be easy having that pressure, but I think he is a really important player.  People say his attitude isn''t great - I am sure it must be for him to have the spirit to see off all these challenges for his place in the team.  Technically, one of our best players and a good finisher.  If we manage to sign another forward in January, I have no doubts Martin will still do his best to keep his place.

All round, things are ticking along nicely.  In fact, this is the best we have had it since 2003/04.  I don''t want to get carried away, but this season seems fairly similar to that one in many ways.

[Mr.Carrow 392]

Good post. One thing that annoys me is this tendency of many fans to judge young players on how they are playing "now", rather than look at the type of player they are developing into. Lambert`s signings, in terms of age and attititude, have been spot on and the players you list already look very good yet are several years from their prime. R.Martin is a prime example- panned by numpty supporters, yet Lambert knew what he was doing and stuck with him, and he`s now one of our best players.

[king canary 8,268]

Good shout on Martin. Nothing more annoying than the ''Martin is lazy'' comments, simply because he doesnt run up and down all day.

[Yelloow Since 72 56]

I had my doubts about some of Lambert''s early signings (eg. Rose and Elliot) but his summer signings have certainly come good. Crofts has been far better than I expected, Fox has come on very well lately, and Russell Martin has improved dramatically (I suspect that Ian Culverhouse has helped him a lot). I also think that Jackson will get better as well, as he does a lot of effective approach work and more goals will come. Surman coming back in the new year will pose a few selection problems. Ward and Barnett have also come good, and, though not a Lambert signing it was a relief to see Nelson so solid after a long lay-off.

Would like to see a younger back-up for Holt who can be brought on over time - someone like Charlie Austin, or Leigh Griffiths, or even Jordan Rhodes from Huddersfield, just to show Keano he was wrong!

[Joanna Grey 0]

[quote user="Pabs"]

I am sure this could have been mentioned on here before... [/quote]

Yep, I did when Lambert''s first batch of signings were announced. 26 seemed to be the favoured age.

[city-till-i-die 7]

The man is simply GOD[Y]

Sooo looking forward to see who he brings in, in January[:D]

[Captain Holt 580]

I didn''t rate R. Martin ''til 2/3 months ago, but he''s one of our most reliable players now in my eyes.

[Nolly 0]

what PL does is he gets players who want to play, have a desire to play. Not the ones you see about who are only interested in there paypackets.

Then he gets the best out of them, his man management is of the top quality. He gets them to perform at there best for him and you rarely see a bad word spoken, even by those who hardly play

[Yorkshire Canary 118]

For the first time in over a decade i have total confidence in the management tean wether it be signings, picking/dropping players or team formations etc etc. Lambert will only add quality to this squad albeit value for money players. I guess permenant signings may be league 1 a division he has great experience in. Rhodes or Austin would be great and i suspect cheaper than Ched Evans. I have faith in Evans but the Blade will want at least half of their £3m laid out for him which i suspect is beyond us