First things first, let's make no mistake here; Lambert completely stunk out Villa Park, especially in his final season. It's pretty much accepted as fact that we would've been relegated had he remained in charge. There was no fight or passion, and the football was the worst seen, with dreary barren runs of 6 or 7 games without even scoring, let alone picking up any points, becoming normality. We had scored 11 goals in 25 games before he bit the bullet.
However, Villa fans are sometimes quick to forget that we were pretty much unanimous in wanting Lambert to be our manager, even going so far as singing his name while playing Norwich City at Carrow Road whilst he was still in charge in the final game of the 2011-2012 season. The fact that the universally unloved Alex McLeish was in charge at the time probably contributed most of all to this, rather than the fact we saw Lambert as some sort of Guardiola or Mourinho figure for us. Still, the fact remains that he was the fans choice to take the hotseat.
The reasons we wanted Lambert to take over were obvious, but, at this point in time, largely forgotten. As a reminder, his managerial record up until that point was impressive.
Having struggled in the 8 months he was employed in his first managerial role at Livingston, where he was registered as a player still also, it was at League 2 Wycombe Wanderers where signs of a promising coach began to take shape. In his two years at Adams Park, he reached the League Cup semi-final, the first time in more than 30 years that a fourth tier team had progressed so far in the competition. It took a Chelsea side, in the 2nd leg at Stamford Bridge, to eliminate them, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. He also guided them also to the play-offs, before faring poorly and eventually missing out.
Colchester United, a division higher in League 1 came calling and after a respectable mid-table finish, his tenure was to be defined by the opening game of the following season, in which his side humiliated Norwich City 7-1. The Canaries sacked Bryan Gunn and instantly installed Lambert in his place. What followed in the subsequent three seasons at Norwich was a remarkable rise from League 1 to the safety of mid-table in the Premier League. During their back to back promotions, which hadn't been achieved since Manchester City did the same some 11 years previously, Lambert built an exciting attacking side who were difficult to beat; they didn't lose back to back games for two seasons.
He was, in many different ways, the logical choice for Aston Villa. After a season in which McLeish was never going to be able to win over the fans anyway, especially with negative football, Lambert seemed like a beacon for a brighter future; a younger manager, a British manager. A man who had worked his way up through the leagues and now also had Premier League experience under his belt. Most of all, a manager who could get a team playing attractive attacking football.
As we know, this did not translate. Lambert, to be fair, was always going to have a difficult job on his hands. A club still bearing the effects of the over-spending O'Neill era, the squad was a mish-mash of high earners with little motivation, and young kids with little experience. Tasked with reducing the wage bill whilst still remaining competitive in the Premier League is a frankly oxymoronic job to be given - is it possible to have one without the other?
In saying this, Lambert was still handed a respectable level of cash. The likes of Christian Benteke and Ron Vlaar, Matt Lowton and Ashley Westwood were, at least in part and varying degrees, what could be deemed as successful signings. However, for each of these, there was a Karim El Ahmadi, or a Joe Bennett, or a Jordan Bowery. I have always felt that the supporters gave Lambert the whole first season as a grace period; the fans knew the state the club was in and the limitations of the squad. This was the season that we were annihilated 8-0 by Chelsea, followed immediately by damaging 3-0 and 4-0 defeats to Wigan and Spurs respectively. Even at this point, there were very few calls for Lambert to be sacked (It is interesting to compare this to Tim Sherwood, who didn't even make it until November in his first full season). Perhaps the real disappointment came with the two-legged defeat to League 2 Bradford City; a total embarrassment and a rare chance of silverware gone. Still, there were highlights also; a 4-1 League Cup win at Lambert's previous employers Norwich and a 6-1 demolition of Sunderland at Villa Park.
Lambert's second season saw noticeable discontent rising, but still even at this point, I would say not an overall majority. We were by now a one dimensional counter attacking team with no plan B, and we would frequently give up at least 60% of the possession. Lambert was struggling. Was this limitations of the squad or limitations in Lambert?
By the time he entered his third season, Lambert was a dead man walking. A shift in transfer policy saw the likes of Joe Cole, Phillipe Senderos and Kieran Richardson brought in, which even at the time looked doomed. The logic was there to see; the cheap and youthful lower league experiments hadn't worked and it was difficult to know how a player would step up, but the quality in these new, more experienced old pro signings were poor. With an injured Christian Benteke for the start of the season, we were lost. And when Benteke was fit again, he was completely misused and isolated with no service. Lambert was sacked just in the nick of time for Tim to come in and rescue us.
In the end, Lambert was treated to absolute dogs abuse of which never sat well with me. Yes, he was failing, and yes, it was absolutely atrocious football and he smashed all sorts of unwanted records. It was clear he was completely broken. The unrest and uncertainty behind the scenes at the club could hardly have helped. Each post match interview was the same; dreariness (or weariness) and the same old line about picking ourselves up and going again. In reality, he didn't help himself in regards to the fans reactions. But when things get to a point where nothing is going right or working, there are very few people who are able to summon fresh energy and invigorate people around them. Recognising this, as he absolutely must've done, Lambert should've handed in his resignation much sooner than rather than waiting to be sacked. But as we know, in this day and age, how often does that happen? With mutli-million pound contracts, managers are in a no lose situation - they carry on until told differently, otherwise they forfeit their huge payoff.
Despite all this I do believe there are still positives to Lambert. To his credit, rather than continuing with a formula that wasn't working for us, he did at least TRY to change things and wanted to adopt a more possession based style of play. The huge problem was that it was poor timing to try and implement a completely different style of play within a struggling side midway through a season. The other major flaw was the inability to recognise the fact that the players at his disposal were not capable of adapting to such a style of play which involved crisp passing and being able to break teams down; the players were just not good enough. We suddenlty had the majority of possession, but most of it was around the halfway line; teams were happy knowing we were not hurting them and could eventually pick us off. Similarly, in trying this approach, and as previously mentioned, Benteke was not used effectively (or even at all really) because of this.
That said, I like the fact he obviously studies the game intensely and wants to improve. His connections in Germany have allowed him to study methods used by the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. The man obviously garners a great deal of respect; clubs like Bayern and Dortmund, and also individuals such as Klopp and Guardiola, wouldn't let just any tinpot manager into their circle and use them as study aids. Other noticeable placements have included time at Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen. Whether Lambert is able to implement any of the techniques and methods he picks up is open for debate, but the time and effort is being made to improve himself and that is highly commendable, and he is undoubtedly learning from the best in the game.
A great player doesn't necessarily make a great manager, but Lambert's playing career was more distinguished than most and I don't think it can be completely ignored. A Champions League winner with Dortmund, he produced an exceptional display in the final to quell the threat of Zinedine Zidane. He was also a UEFA Cup finalist with Celtic, and whilst it may only be Scottish football, he was part of the side that halted Rangers 9 year dominance in winning the title. As a player, the guy was a winner and his record commands respect. With this behind him, as a manager, he must find a way of putting this mentality into his players and work out which players are capable of playing above themselves. He obviously knows what it takes to win, and he must find a way of making this count as a manager. Roy Keane was unable to for various reasons, but Lambert is more intelligent and personable and not a lost cause like our former assistant manager.
On a different note, I don't want to say his hands were tied completely in the transfer market as he has had money to spend, but he always had to spend his budget around thinly. This was always likely to mean having to take gambles on certain players. And while I alluded to it earlier regarding the poor purchases such as El Ahmadi, Bennett, Bowery, Tonev, Sylla etc... it would be unfair not to recognise his successes also, some of which we are hoping to rely on even now for our future. The standout success, of course, was Benteke. In many ways, but for this signing, our recent spending this summer would perhaps never have happened. Benteke, undoubtedly, saved us from relegation for the last 3 seasons while he was at Villa Park and his sale, while it has left us lacking hugely up front, has contributed hugely to the rebuilding of the squad (which I still believe will prove, for the most part, successful). Vlaar was an important player for us also until his injuries took their toll. But we also shouldn't forget that Lambert brought in Jores Okore, who I think will be immense for us once he gets himself fit, and we are also seeing the benefits now of a more settled Carlos Sanchez who I think had his best game for us so far against Manchester City. Add to this Carles Gil, perhaps our technically best player we have, who we have been crying out for to play, and we actually have a fair amount to be grateful to Lambert for.
Which brings us back to the present. Lambert has been away from the game for 9 months. Frankly, I didn't even recognise the man upon seeing the pictures of his unveiling at Blackburn. He looks a world away from the haggard, exhausted shell of a man who last managed a Villa side that lost 2-0 on a cold February night up in Hull. Does that say more about management as a job, or just managing Aston Villa. The way Tim Sherwood withered considerably after just 9 months (including a couple of months of for a summer break) would suggest that the manager's position at Villa Park should come with health warnings.
It's not a straightforward gig at Ewood Park by any means, with a certain level of discontent amongst fans and not forgetting the Venky's board to deal with also. The club are currently under a transfer embargo and haven't been able to buy any players for the last year, with debts spiralling to around £80 million. So it is to Lambert's credit once again that he has taken on a job that isn't going to be a comfortable ride. Yet, this still represents a good opportunity for Lambert to begin repairing his damaged reputation. It is rumoured that the embargo will soon be removed, and the Rovers squad has some decent players within it for him to work with, such as commanding centre back Grant Hanley, Ben Marshall and obviously, in Jordan Rhodes he has a readymade proven goalscorer which is going to be vital.
Lambert has already sounded out an attacking hi-tempo approach that he will be looking to play. Many Villa fans will scoff at this in memory of the painful football we had to endure. However, his previous achievements should not be overlooked, nor should his eagerness to improve as a manager. If Lambert can learn from past mistakes and implement the style of football seen in his time at Norwich, then it could be a great move for both parties.
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