I think Lambert will go soon...

[dpit 1]

Re Julius Seize-Her''s last post:

Can I just offer this post to City First as a model of how to contribute to a thread without resorting to hectoring and braying. The poster has offered a well thought out point of view that moves the exploration of possible scenarios forward, while displaying no level of disrespect to others who have expressed different ideas.

[dpit 1]

Actually, I am now referring to the penultimate post by Julius as he obviously posted again while I was composing my last piece.

[First Wizard 0]

IF, Lambert goes ( and I don''t think he will...yet) he goes with my eternal thanks...but...not my best wishes....because why would I wish a rival well?

 

No one is bigger than our club, no one!

[Jim Smith 2,317]

[quote user="canariesaregods"]Why do people like to whip up a frenzy? The Burnley situation should teach you all that Lambert is straight down the line with these things, he is an old school you get what you see gent. If you trawl through last summers stuff he said very similar then, he just wants to get the maximum budget he can and be as succesful as possible[/quote]

Just playing devils advocate I would say that the Burnley saga did not quite show us that Lambert plays these things "straight down the line" because none of us know what actually happened behind the scenes during those couple of days and certain people connected with Burnley clearly believed they had been given some encouragement. Had Lambo played it strictly "straight down the line" he could have just said in his press conference 24 hours earlier that he wasn;t interested and was staying at Norwich. Just as he could have said that last week when linked with the Villa job. I will acknowledge that he is consistent in the sense that he generally refuses to comment but sometimes a bit of comment might be helpful!

For what its worth i agree with the original poster that he will leave soon and believe that (if they stay up) he will most probably end up at Villa. When he does go (whether now or at some point in the future) he will go with my best wishes and heartfelt thinks for the fantastic job he has done in the last three seasons. If he is thinking of leaving then this is where Mcnally has to again earn his corn, not just in terms of finding a good replacement (which i am sure he will do) but also in terms of trying to control the timing so that is causes minimum disruption to our season next season. If for example Lambo does want to go to villa this summer then Mcnally needs to be lining up possible successors now in case the worst happens and my preference would be to just get it all over and done with at the start of the summer so we have a proper pre-season to prepare.

If, however, Lambo stays and is still our manager next year then i will of course be delighted.

[dpit 1]

Yay! Another balanced, well thought out post on this thread. Well done, Jim. If this is interpreted as nay-saying, doom-mongering and City-hating by certain others, you will have my support for maintaining common decency and mutual respect in expressing a viewpoint.

[PurpleCanary 5,558]

[quote user="dpit"]I tend to agree. Lambert will realise that there is every chance his stock will fall next season if we end up in a relegation battle. So for him, now may be the best time to go. I also think that Villa may well be the most logical place for him to move to (unless they go down) . It would be sad for us but not the end of the world. McNally is the real key for our continued development and he, no doubt, will have a plan B and C ready to go if Lambert were to go.[/quote]

 

I would be wary of overestimating McNally''s role in the choice of the next manager, important as it will be. I am not so much referring to this post but many others, which tend to assume it will be his decision, to be rubber-stamped by the other directors, and that his decison will automatically be a sound one.


This view seems to be based on what happened before, when - as far as one can tell - he was the prime mover both in sacking Gunn and appointing Lambert. But there were special circumstances that helped him carry out those manoeuvres. Particularly his knowledge of Lambert from Celtic.


That advantage - of being able to advocate one candidate so strongly from personal experience  - is unlikely to apply again. There are bound to be several potential successors to Lambert with impeccable credentials. Nor will McNally be acting as the magician solving the problem in the way he was before.

 

[dpit 1]

Fair enough. I do think (and hope), however, that McNally and the rest of the board will have been forward thinking enough to have already identified possible strategies for implementation should Lambert decide to go.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

I don''t see what all the fuss is about here. Lambert has always played down expectations and stated how the club will never over commit and risk its future. The latest comments from Lambert are just typical Lambert comments. He''s not going anywhere yet.

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="lincoln canary"]I don''t see what all the fuss is about here. Lambert has always played down expectations and stated how the club will never over commit and risk its future. The latest comments from Lambert are just typical Lambert comments. He''s not going anywhere yet.[/quote]I agree. It''s work in progress at the moment. The January signings of Jonny Howson and Ryan Bennett shows that Lambert is building a team that should start to peak two or three years down the line. Add in the fact that the club should be virtually debt free in a years time giving him more cash for team building so the young team Lambert is moulding should start to realise it''s potential in the not too distant future. Can sides like Villa offer him more than that. I doubt it. Have faith in Lambert. He owes us just as much as we owe him. He won''t leave until he sees the exciting young team he''s built competing with the very best.

[William Darby 0]

[quote user="City1st"]It''s only the usual suspects, LDCThey have merely hopped from one ''host'' subject to another now that the ''relegation fears'' tactic has become non usable

by their words ye shall know them

[/quote]And after this ''host'' subject of doom has died down. The next will be, we''re about to sell all our best players.

[Shyster 0]

[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="lincoln canary"]I don''t see what all the fuss is about here. Lambert has always played down expectations and stated how the club will never over commit and risk its future. The latest comments from Lambert are just typical Lambert comments. He''s not going anywhere yet.[/quote]I agree. It''s work in progress at the moment. The January signings of Jonny Howson and Ryan Bennett shows that Lambert is building a team that should start to peak two or three years down the line. Add in the fact that the club should be virtually debt free in a years time giving him more cash for team building so the young team Lambert is moulding should start to realise it''s potential in the not too distant future. Can sides like Villa offer him more than that. I doubt it. Have faith in Lambert. He owes us just as much as we owe him. He won''t leave until he sees the exciting young team he''s built competing with the very best.[/quote]

Debt free in a years time!?!? Compared to most clubs in this Division, our debt, if any, will be miniscule - so Lambert should be given the funds required to acquire the quality and experience needed to nurture the Howson''s & Bennett''s -- cherry-picking the lower Leagues for talent is growing less of an option and the inexperience will not keep us in the Premier next season.If Lambert were to go to Villa, they''d likely offer him a kitty of 15 to 20 million -- and no prizes for predicting which club the Howson''s & Bennett''s would wind up playing for.

Good to have you back, Lapps [img]http://services.pinkun.com/forums/pinkun/cs/emoticons/emotion-21.gif[/img]

[City 2nd 191]

Sorry but I just don''t buy all this bullshit regarding Lambert and what HE has done for the club, and he cannot take us any further blah blah blah.

Lambert may be manager of this club, but throughout his career he openly admits that HE is indebted to Ian Culverhouse and Gary Karsa. And why is this - because they are recognised as two of the brightest young coaches in the game, and tactically our game plans are a combination of the three working together which has brought the success in the last three years. Lambert is an exceptional man manager, that is his best forte, so our greatest loss would be the coaches - if of course they decided to go with Lambert should he leave. Lambert HAS NOT taken us to where we are alone, and credit should be given our coaches too!

[Rock The Boat 1,332]

[quote user="RUDOLPH HUCKER"]Am I alone in thinking PL is still learning his craft at this level?

I cannot imagine a bigger EPL side than us taking a chance on him yet.

PL has huge autonomy here and knows he has been backed as best NCFC can so why make a sideways move to a similar sized club?

We owe PL a great deal but the reverse is also true and he knows it. He was simply answering a question.[/quote]

Rudolph, you must keep a pretty good hammer beside your computer because once again you nailed the essential truth in your post.

PL can either go sideways or up. Moving to a club competing at the same level as us (WBA, Stoke,Fulham etc.) makes no sense as he will be expected to perform from day one, whereas at Norwich he has earned the right to experiment and fail from time to time. I can''t see other clubs giving him the same freedom, and it must be great to work for an employer who lets him do things his way. Remember the QPR documentary and the interference from the owners? Who would chance their arm, working in such an environment?

Next season we expect Norwich City to push on and PL knows that we are a work in progress and I feel he wants to take it further and not have to start afresh with an unknown squad of players.

The only other possibility is moving to a bigger club. But he is a big risk for the big clubs who can recruit proven managers from abroad. The top six don''t need to take the risk.

And with WBA providing the new England coach, the resulting managerial reshuffle will take place at a lower level than we are at.

Don''t panic, PL is going nowhere except on his holidays.

[. 0]

Unfortunately what must be remembered is that Paul Lambert will see NCFC as his employer and that being the manager is ''just another job''. Likewise the players who have no emotional bond to Norwich or Norfolk. When the moment suits Paul Lambert he will leave.... just like someone working in corner shop moving on to a better job at Sainsburys.

[K Lo 224]

[quote user="Jeremy Cluckson"]Unfortunately what must be remembered is that Paul Lambert will see NCFC as his employer and that being the manager is ''just another job''. Likewise the players who have no emotional bond to Norwich or Norfolk. When the moment suits Paul Lambert he will leave.... just like someone working in corner shop moving on to a better job at Sainsburys.[/quote]So you decided to ignore that he stated that he loves living in Norfolk and loves the (mostly) positive reactions he gets from the fans.

[. 0]

[quote user="K Lo"][quote user="Jeremy Cluckson"]Unfortunately what must be remembered is that Paul Lambert will see NCFC as his employer and that being the manager is ''just another job''. Likewise the players who have no emotional bond to Norwich or Norfolk. When the moment suits Paul Lambert he will leave.... just like someone working in corner shop moving on to a better job at Sainsburys.[/quote]So you decided to ignore that he stated that he loves living in Norfolk and loves the (mostly) positive reactions he gets from the fans. [/quote]Errrr.... yes.Heard it all before unfortunately.

[anonamoose 4]

I''ve started to worry a little recently as well. Lambert is vital for our success. I think that same squad would have been well relegated without him and culverhouse.

Why am I worried? Another very small hint listening to him talk about the Arsenal result.

"As good as in my time. I thought Tottenham was absolutely huge and I never thought I would see that in my time again but I thought we surpassed it."

''never thought i would see that in my time again''

Is he not hoping for another one or two of those next season?

I think there has been lots of little hints/clues that he would go if a ''big'' club comes in who can offer him a bigger transfer budget. Villa I''m sure will approach in the summer

[yoda 0]

Read in too it too much you do . Lambert isn''t going anywhere for a while yet .

[Mr McGoo 0]

Lambert won''t be going this season he''s halfway through his job here all the talk of him going to villa is nonsence as is all this "big club talk" falling attendences a board room in a mess its hardly an attractive proposition for lambert when he''s got hero status at our club. I personally think lambert will go to a good sized club abroad poss germany. He''s unlikely to get offered a top 6 club here and who''s to say we can''t match any of the clubs below the top 6 next seasonor the season after. OTBC

[basil brush 0]

It''s been suggested by Agent ITK on Twitter that Aston Villa have contacted Norwich regarding Lambert. This may back up some of the rumours over the weekend that Villa had already tapped up Lambert in recent weeks and are now going through the ''official channels''.

Whether this is true or not only time will tell, but it isn''t just about Lambert, as Culverhouse would come with him and I''m sure Paul has sounded him out about a potential move to Villa, if indeed he had been approached.

The Villa notice boards are mixed to favourable about Lambert potentially joining them, with some suggesting that the club must of already approached him. What does make me laugh is how big Villa fans think their club is. Yes, they are bigger than Norwich and have undoubtedly more potential, but they talk as though they are much bigger than what they actually are. They are not a top 6 club and are miles off getting back.

I would love it Lambert did talk to them and say ''I don''t fancy it, I''m staying at Norwich'', but I''m not confident that he will be here next season unless we hear something positive from Carrow Road in the next few days.

[Mello Yello 2,293]

"If" and "when" Lambert decides to go to pastures new.....I would think that there would be an exodus of other NCFC coaching and playing staff departing and joining him......wherever he goes.....  

[Yellow Rider 0]

It''s not so much losing PL that worries me. If that happened, the FCR vacancy would be one of the most sought after in the English game, there is no doubt aboout that. No, I''m not saying anything about us being ....''a big club'' or similar such rubbish. Just that there is a damn good squad of players here, damn good fan base (which is nowhere near as fickle as most other clubs), debt on the way down, a much more professionally managed business now that The Cook has basically ''retired'' from meaningful day to day involvement and we are held in very high regard by many top people in the game.

No - what would scare me is the fact that PL would come back and raid FCR for quality players - look at Fox and Tierney as examples, Russell Martin as well. If truth be told, I think a number of our players would jump at the chance to team up again with ......''the gaffer''. Look at Howson - that boy could turn out to be one of our best ever signings. Quite why a top six club failed to take him is beyond me. Has he any loyalty to Norwich as  a club, city or place to live? Of course not!  Has he loyalty to PL though as the manager who got him to The Premiership? You bet he has!!

Test for the boy McNally would be if he could (immediately) land a damn good replacement. Whether the guy he had lined up a long time ago now is still ''available'' we may be about to find out.  

[xymox 7]

Back to back promotions and keeping your team safe for the first premiership year seems like a good time to go to me, where can he go now with Norwich ? A couple of places higher next year or a relegation  fight? 

We have punched well above our budget and if that''s down to Lambert surely he would be tempted at doing that where he can spend 10 million on a player and pay them 40k a week turning villa into next years Newcastle and being able to put a little more away into his retirement account. 

Hopefully he sees his job is not done yet but no matter how big you think we are becoming, size as it was in the 70''s and is even more so now is measured by finances and as Brighton has been mentioned will use them as an example have a richer owner and will have a bigger capacity than us next season. Who went away to them 2 years ago?

I think his relationship with McNally will take us through next season

[yoda 0]

Lambert has said only good things about the club,players and fans so lets not be on a downer it''s almost like some want doom and gloom back again .

[Bury Yellow 2]

There is no doubt that Lambo is happy here but my fear is he knows we don''t have a financial backer to match most in the EPL.

He has mentioned in recent interviews that we can''t compete, even with the likes of Reading and Southampton, however, I just can''t believe he will leave next season and trust the comments are the usual positioning for money I also think McNally and Lambo get on really well. Am I clutching at straws??

["""""""""Ben """"""""""" 0]

I think the key to Lambert staying here is McNally. Since McNallys arrival at the club he has stated he wants to make this an established Premier League team. The job is only half done here and McNally won''t let Lambert go.

[GenerationA47 752]

Agree with the "work in progress" and "job half done" thoughts. It is true that he left his previous employer, who he was getting unexpectedly impressive results with, for a bigger club fallen on hard times and deep in the doldrums (us). However, even if only from a hard-headed perspective, surely both Mr L and the most likely predatory clubs would think that a better test of suitability is keeping NCFC competitive in season two.

 

Surely that will be the most comparable CV experience point for any rival mid-Prem club: seeing how he does without the promotional momentum and after the expectations of the fans are raised (viz. a few weeks back: "we can qualify for Europe this season!" posts, Norwich fans booing our team for not winning every game,...). Not to mention coping with the inevitable pressures of rising wage levels, scrapping for good-value transfers and desperately retaining our star players, that we could get dragged into to a point despite the board''s best intentions.

 

Game on next season!

[First Wizard 0]

I refuse to panic over one ruddy article in the Sun.

 

In Lambert we all should trust!   [:|]

[Shyster 0]

[quote user="Ben "]I think the key to Lambert staying here is McNally. Since McNallys arrival at the club he has stated he wants to make this an established Premier League team. The job is only half done here and McNally won''t let Lambert go.[/quote]

                         [url=http://www.waveevents.com/MyFilez/wavs/cartoon/looney.wav]CLICKSKI[/url]