Finally Paul Lambert was fired after Aston Villa’s woeful form continued. While we always hoped he could turn it around, enough had to be enough. Below is Paul Lambert’s statement issued through the League Managers Association.
[quote_center]”I pay tribute to the supporters who are among the most passionate I have ever encountered.”- Paul Lambert[/quote_center]
Paul Lambert Statement
“I am extremely proud to have managed Aston Villa, a founder member of the Football League, and this sentiment will always remain with me.
My initial remit was to conduct a massive overhaul of the playing squad, lower the overall wage structure of the playing staff and achieve this whilst keeping the club in the Barclays Premier League.
There was also a concerted effort to purchase and develop younger players who would provide a solid footing for the football club to move forward and enhance the value of the playing squad in the future.
When I came on board the club’s owner, Randy Lerner, warned me that I was embarking on the toughest challenge of my working life and he was not wrong.
But I have never stepped away from hard work and I put my heart and soul into the job from my first day until my last.
There are many people throughout my time at Aston Villa to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude.
Firstly, I’d like to thank Randy Lerner for not only providing me with the opportunity to manage one of the most illustrious clubs in world football but also for the support and friendship he offered me throughout my time at the club.
I’d also like to place on record my appreciation to Paul Faulkner who conducted affairs at the club with unstinting integrity and constant dignity during his tenure as Chief Executive.
I leave behind some wonderful people at both Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park and express my gratitude for their dedication and loyalty. A special mention must also go to my coaching staff for their commitment.
To the players, my sincere thanks to each and every one of them. They are a fantastic group of players and I wish them every success for the rest of their playing careers. I hope to see many of them achieve great things in the game.
Finally, I pay tribute to the supporters who are among the most passionate I have ever encountered. They rightly hold huge expectations for their beloved football club and I sincerely hope they are rewarded with the success they deserve.
I completely understand their frustrations and always shared their view that the football club is too big not to be competing at the top end of the table. I hope that can happen.
You never stop learning in football management and I certainly believe the invaluable experience from my time as Villa manager will prove hugely beneficial in the next stage of my managerial career.”
Well said. A new manager and hopefully £50mil in the summer by way of a long overdue apology from Mr Lerner, they are all playing for their careers.
“we are crap at corners, crap at direct free kicks, crap at crosses,and pathetic in the last third”
Sorry Dave but we’ve been like that at least as far back as MON’s last season , except perhaps for the odd occasion .And try as they have managers since that time have tried & failed to solve that problem . And yes back then we did have a few 6th place finishes but what else was there to show for it ? Will a new manager save us from relegation time will tell but I fear for the clubs future .
And that’s not because I have been backing Lambert , but because I am worried that despite the squad appearing good on paper a team good enough can not be fielded, but I hope I’m wrong ! And I say that because despite trying hard the players do not have the confidence in themselves to win . And that’s not down to the manager , it’s down to them as a manager can only do so much to fire up the team . And when a team is as low on confidence as Villa’s squad seems, the slightest set back is enough to knock them back & destroy any affect pre-match & half time pep talks might have had . Team tactics can not change that but opposition tactics can and it seems other clubs & especially Hull have picked up on that & rather than play good footie they have used tactics aimed at destroying our teams confidence so as to make winning easy . But then winning is the nature of the game .
Lambert has gone so let’s stop slagging him off & wonder when the next win might come
Remembering that contrary to a misconception by some, the team were still backing our ex manager & apart from the outcasts many will not be happy he has gone !
That statement shows the scale of the job that Lambert had to do. Unfortunately, he did not succeed. Good managers do not become bad overnight. Yes we can lay into him till the cows come home, but he seems a genuinely good bloke, who gave this club everything he had.
For me, I lay the blame at the feet of the twenty two, first-team, individuals who are sitting in the dressing room, wearing the claret and blue. There is only so much coaching one can do and so much effect that tactics can have. Once the players cross that white line, it is very much their responsibility, nay their job (as they frequently like to remind us when they tantrum to move onto bigger and more expensive things) to play football. I’m pretty certain that at the beginning of each game Paul Lambert wouldn’t have said don’t worry about not scoring today guys, just go out and play like eleven people who have never seen a football in their lives. So I would, for a change like to call the players to account. The return they have provided so far this season has been nothing short of pathetic, a derisory and listless brigade; I would like them to look at themselves and say that they have cost, by all accounts, a very decent man his job. A man that we all wanted to manage the football club.
To the players, you have been nothing short of disgraceful, you have thirteen games to restore your reputation gentlemen, good luck.
Think that all the villa fans would have loved him to succeed bit was always going to be impossible under lerner after he pulled the plug following Oniel. It will be the same for the next manager. Our only hope is lerner sells up to someone who wants to invest in the club. Good luck Mr Lambert
blah blah blah – how much wedge did he pocket? I’ve seen £3m and £10m. If its the latter there should be a comment in the accounts in three weeks’ time. What would be monumentally unbelievable, is if they didn’t change the payout clause (contract in full) when they renewed/extended etc 21 games ago. What is monumentally unbelievable is that this guy was apparently on the kind of money we pay Benteke, Delph now, and close to Bent’s rumoured salary. I heard that before September it was 25 a week, if they uplifted that considerably then someone needs shooting.
Paul Lambert throughout his tenure had a positive attitude, unfortunately his confidence did not transfer to the team. His ability to articulate his thoughts during after match interviews conveyed a message that he is not the sharpest knife in the box and led to a lot of Lambert bashing on social media. His dismissal has come very late in the season and adds to an ever increasing feeling that the management of the club at very senior level is not in safe hands. The one positive to be drawn from this debacle is that whoever takes over cannot do any worse because there is no doubt, at the current rate we are destined for relegation.Let us hope that we get a firebrand of a manager who is able to motivate a sorrowful group of underachievers.
Just shows what a true gent the man is, and the Villa players need to look hard at themselves for what they have condemned the man to. They got him sacked lets see if they can get the next man sacked aswell. Time to take responsibility now Villa players for god sake, not all about money you know!
For what its worth, i think its nice of Paul to come forward the day after and say all this. I wish him the best for the future. Most would have struggled under Lerners remit, but hey ho its done now.
Can we stop with the Lambert bashing now, he’s gone ffs, everyone can chill now we’ve got what we asked for surely, well until we find something new to moan about. Lambert is the past, lets look to the future. UTV SOTC
Nice comments thank you but time to move on now
He’s gone. With dignity. No need to rub it in.
Well said
the naivety of the current tactics was truly breathtaking,,,
it made us worse against the poor teams and poor against the best
it nullified the attack to such an extent that he thought a couple of half chances was acceptable
it stopped us playing on the counter which was our strength and the high line made it easy for everyone to score against us
and the reliance placed on the two full backs who are poor crossers to supply the crosses still makes me angry
he displayed a complete lack of understanding and willingness to accept that this new system needed to be changed to allow us the space to counter
we are crap at corners, crap at direct free kicks, crap at crosses,and pathetic in the last third
i have no doubt that with coaching many of the problems could be addressed,, but you have to
walk before you can run,, and lambert sprinted into this new way of playing
a good manager will sort this team
and lambert was not a good manager