MOMS Aston Villa Supporters Survey Results
Part 2 – Supporters’ Views on Villa Management
Having the worst Premier League record of any Aston Villa manager, Paul Lambert’s tenure at Aston Villa perhaps only continued into this season because the club was put up for sale. Randy Lerner’s action created a limbo situation, where it seemed suddenly natural and even sensible that Lambert should remain at the helm.
At least it would give the Villa boss a chance to atone for the previous misdemeanors of his first two seasons.
Despite finishes of 41 and 38 points with consecutive record amounts of home defeats in the club’s history, Lambert is currently the sixth longest-serving manager in the Premier League.
With the league’s average duration of managers in their jobs clocking 2.23 seasons, Lambert has done very well to keep his job considering the lack of tolerance shown at other clubs in the league.
The longest serving Premier League managers
1. Arsene Wenger – Arsenal (from 1st October 1996)
2. Alan Pardew – Newcastle (9th December 2010)
3. Sam Allardyce – West Ham (1st June 2011)
4. Nigel Pearson – Leicester City (15th November 2011)
5. Brendan Rogers – Liverpool (1st June 2012)
6. Paul Lambert – Aston Villa (2nd June 2012)
Lambert split
Since Alex McLeish was sacked on 38 points and 40 points is normally the relegation safety mark, MOMS asked Villa fans that since Lambert only managed 38 points last season, should he have been given the chop?
The question completely split the Villa faithful down the middle.
Yes – He didn’t deserve to continue – 49%
No – He can still turn Villa around – 49%
(2% failed to answer the question)
The polarised views have both been justified this season already, the fans who think he can turn it around will be buoyed by his unbeaten start in the league, while Lambert’s naysayers will point to the cup defeat against Orient (where their anger was voiced after the game) and will have the attitude of ‘lets see where we are after we play last season’s top six in the next seven games’.
When fans were asked overall with all things considered how they felt about Lambert’s management out of a score of 10, the average score was 4.5
The majority (65%) of scores were spread between 3 to 6 , with 8% scoring him 1/10 and 9% scoring him 2/10. At the other end of the spectrum, 1% gave him a 10/10 score with another 1% giving him a 9/10.
Who’s to blame?
Despite not scoring too greatly overall, Villa fans on the whole don’t blame Lambert exclusively for the ills of the last couple of seasons. Only 5% said it was all his fault, while 46% blamed Lerner and his board.
Who do you blame most for Villa’s current position?
Randy Lerner and his board – 46%
Paul Lambert – 5%
A combination of them both – 47%
The players – 12%
As it can be seen, the more rational blame to Villa’s current predicament is down to a combination of both manager and board – with 47% of the vote, but there’s no doubt Lerner carries the bulk of the blame from fans within that .
The road to improvement
Interestingly, when it came to a strategy needed to improve fortunes at Villa Park, only 22% said it was a simple matter of splashing the cash. Ironically, 37% voted for the ideology of Lambert’s initial policy of building a youthful team with infusions of quality in key areas.
Lambert’s chargers had shown that the exuberance of youth could beat the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea on their day, but perhaps he didn’t add the required quality and squad-depth to back-up the likes of Benteke and Vlaar to provide a consistent foundation for a sustained Premier League campaign.
What’s the best way to get Aston Villa back into the top-tier of the league?
Spend, spend, spend – 22%
Focus on building a youthful team and add quality where necessary – 37%
Focus on the academy and buying in players with sell-on potential to create profit to reinvest into team – 14%
Hiring a top-class manager – 15%
Others – 10%
And what about Roy Keane?
Initially at the time of his appointment, it seemed Roy Keane becoming the assistant manager at Villa was met with mixed views. But according to the survey it seems the majority of Villa fans actually warmed to his appointment from the get-go, with 71% of fans stating it was a positive appointment.
What was your reaction to Roy Keane coming in as assistant manager?
Positive – 71%
Not fussed – 18%
No thanks – 8%
Conclusion
With the addition of a new number two and a new CEO, plus a more experienced squad at his disposal, Villa boss Paul Lambert has firm foundations to redress the problems at the club and potentially earn a new contract – either under Randy Lerner or any incoming new owners.
Essentially, Lambert is on his third and final strike. There’s nothing like the virtue of patience paying off, especially in the Premier League, which is often guilty of knee-jerk managerial sackings every season. It’s a league that rarely offers manager’s time to learn from their mistakes, which is normally the best way to learn.
If Lambert proves himself, lets hope he does so in style and Villa become the ‘surprise package’ of the League this season. UTV
More results coming soon… See Villa supporters general feeling at the moment here
* – The survey results are from the opinions of approximately 500 Villa supporters, so far.
If you haven’t already done the MOMS survey, there’s still a few days left to get your views across – click here
I’ve always had the impression that Faulkner was somebody who crawled into the club clutching @ Lerners coat tails and who clawed his way into the CEO’s job . Others have commented that they have found him charming but so is my spitefull money grabbing little brother unless your in his way !
The other thing is that Faulkner did the actual buying of players and it has been stated that few were Lambert’s 1st or even 2nd choice to fill positions in the team
So at least in part Faulkner should be blamed for at least some of what has happened
MOM’s, the comment on “ironically voted” was uncalled for and as one who who believes in a blend of homegrown youth and filling gaps where needed I can assure you there was nothing ironic in the way I voted.
Also the anti Lambert tone in the “whos to blame question” was apparent to me, so I did not respond. As a pro Lerner n Lambert advocate, would like to ask why no mention of Faulkner as a blame agent. As the CEO and Lerner’s adviser on football surely he should have had some ire directed his way. Who stipulated that players over a certain wage couldn’t play? Can’t think that was Lambert’s decision, and why if it was Lerner’s decree would he rescind it in June, not January when we were struggling. Also it cannot be missed that as soon as Faulkner was out the door AVFC bought Cissokho, For that I couldn’t blame “the board” as it has changed, so far Mr Fox has done all good.
It was meant as ironic that people voted the way to improve the team was similar to what Lambert was aiming for at the very start (I’ve made it clearer – we didn’t mean the voters were being ironic!)
‘Who’s to blame’ – is what it is. It’s not ‘anti’ anyone! It’s just a simple question.
I think you’re just singling out Faulkner because, as you state, you’re a pro Lerner & Lambert advocate. That’s how the mind works.
Faulkner was employed by Lerner and thus follows instructions in terms of the overall direction of the club and its budgets. The wage limit/ballpark was decreed from above to balance the books (managers don’t set wage limits).
Faulkner apparently argued with Lerner about the need to spend on players to improve the squad, that triggered him leaving. Lerner due to not selling the club, can’t let Villa rot or he’ll never sell it, hence in June deciding at least some money should be freed up for squad improvements.
In the context of the Premier League, Cissokho is hardly breaking the bank and neither was Sanchez. Consider the fact the club received a record TV rights payment, of which they have hardly spent anything on players.
Mr Fox has been here five minutes, so difficult to suggest he had any part to play in recent transfers, as they tend to be planned ahead. We’ll see what Fox has to offer come the time when the Macron & Dafabet sponsorship deals run out.
Thanks for the clarity, and I appreciate the platform to rant provided by MOM’s.
And after re-organising my thoughts, I don’t blame anyone right now. As I am happy with the current state of the club, in my opinion the biggest immediate issues are contracts. This will be the test of Mr Fox’s ability and Lerner’s appetite. If I see the likes of Grealish and Delph leave for nothing at the end of the season I will throw my toys outta the pram.
And yeah I remember the article that mentioned the reason for the fallout between Lerner and Faulkner. However Faulkner himself stated he was the one holding Lerner back from doing an Abromovich to get Champs Lge in an interview a while ago. Also the historical relationship they had was one of client to advisor, hard to completely change that mindset. Though I will probably never see the books or know the true story, so its hard to say with complete confidence, and ultimately Lerner has all the “free” cash as owner. Makes for good debate.
Totally agree we’ll get a better picture with more games played, but September is going to be rough and I won’t freak over some dodgy displays if it doesn’t seem to be habit forming. It’s cliche but all we gotta do is beat the teams around us in the league.
Haha, October might be shaky too, having looked at the calendar.
from the outside it looks like the good ship villa has finally got some fingers plugging the holes
but there are stormy seas ahead ,,, next few games will tell us if we are ok,,, i dont expect many points
but even in defeat many battles can be won,,,
i just want to see a few good performances that we can build on,,, and we still have to give lambert and
keane time,,,,, so many new faces and returning ,,,,ones from injury or being cast adrift,,,,
and it will take time,,,, but i think we have to be very happy with the recent signings and recalling hutton
has proved a very wise move so far,,,
so credit to all involved,,,,
and if we are to be sold at least the stench of death has gone away,,,,
for a while at least.
Yes, I would say, we’ll get a clearer picture after 10 games, but with the next four games against last season’s top four, and then the 5th & 6th teams to come within three games after that, lets say, after 15 games!
I think they are great. We are on the up again.