[Archived] Official: Paul Lambert Appointed Blackburn Rovers Manager

[JHRover]

Can anyone tell me where Hull were after 15 games under Steve Bruce? Where Burnley were after 15 games under Dyche? Where Brighton were after 15 games under Hughton? Where Middlesbrough were after 15 games under Karanka?

Presumably if we're getting on to embarrassing cup exits as a judgment of a manager's suitability after a few months in the job then the mighty Sean Dyche deserves bucketloads of flak for Burnley's pitiful cup exit at the hands of Port Vale this season? Or not?

[sambo]

Can anyone tell me where Hull were after 15 games under Steve Bruce? Where Burnley were after 15 games under Dyche? Where Brighton were after 15 games under Hughton? Where Middlesbrough were after 15 games under Karanka?

Presumably if we're getting on to embarrassing cup exits as a judgment of a manager's suitability after a few months in the job then the mighty Sean Dyche deserves bucketloads of flak for Burnley's pitiful cup exit at the hands of Port Vale this season? Or not?

I agree that Lambert shouldn't be under pressure, but it's probably not fair to compare an early League Cup exit to a 5th round FA Cup exit at home, especially when Lambert had urged fans to fill Ewood and has already struggled to impress quite a lot of the fanbase. Burnley's exit was against the backdrop of him solidifying himself as one of Burnley's best managers in yonks, thus earning him forgiveness for subpar displays like those.

I agree on the 15 games point though, it really is far too early to make an informed decision and I hope Venky's recognise this.

[Al]

Misfit Chaddy.

Corrected for you.

[patrickvalery]

We were the better team. Played better tonight than against fulham. Not too disappointed.

The general gist of Lambert's comments.

[DE.]

Sigh. The more things change...

[yoda]

Sigh. The more things change...

Waldo Woo, who was at the game seems to think we played very well and if not for the ref we would won tonight, just saying

[Tom]

In fairness he's been brutally honest when we have played bad.

As I said in the other thread I'm still pleased bowyer was sacked but expected more from Lambert thus far.

I am still hopeful he can turn it around and would give him a year at least.

[DE.]

Waldo Woo, who was at the game seems to think we played very well and if not for the ref we would won tonight, just saying

What about the other 10 games out of the last 11 we haven't won? Not saying we played badly tonight, but as was pointed out often enough when GB was in charge, points are what count.

[yoda]

What about the other 10 games out of the last 11 we haven't won? Not saying we played badly tonight, but as was pointed out often enough when GB was in charge, points are what count.

PL is still in front on that score

[DE.]

PL is still in front on that score

Aye, just about. Roll on next season.

[DaveyB]

Can anyone tell me where Hull were after 15 games under Steve Bruce? Where Burnley were after 15 games under Dyche? Where Brighton were after 15 games under Hughton? Where Middlesbrough were after 15 games under Karanka?

I understand what you're saying and agree that 15 games is not enough time to fully evaluate a manager, but, in the position we now find ourselves, time may not be something that we have much of.

And let's be thankful that his predecessor, that non-manager so derided on here, didn't take quite so long to find his feet or else we'd have been playing a division lower for the past few years.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Aye, just about. Roll on next season.

If Lambert is marginally better in his first few months with a squad he's had to overhaul massively and training he's presumably had to make significant changes to, i think its fair to say he'll be significantly better than Bowyer 2.5 years into the job.

Given his proven track record at this level and the fact that we were on the (albeit very slow) march to relegation under Bowyer, the impatience that has greeted him from some fans has been astonishing.

[Baz]

If you get rid of PL then whoever comes in will have just a few games to evaluate a lot of players who are out of contract in the summer, so will have to make snap judgments of who to offer a new deal etc.

Lambert hasn't really had very much time to re-jig the squad yet, but in my opinion his style of play is massively different to that of GB, and he hasn't had a lot of room for manoeuvre in order to keep us un-embargoed.

I'm confident we'll stay up, and therefore Id have to give PL the summer, and the first dozen games of next season (barring an absolute abysmal start) to see where we are. If things aren't improved, then maybe you look again.

Personally I was impressed by the performance vs Fulham, and if we play like that in the next few home games, we should see some results.

[patrickvalery]

If Lambert is marginally better in his first few months with a squad he's had to overhaul massively and training he's presumably had to make significant changes to, i think its fair to say he'll be significantly better than Bowyer 2.5 years into the job.

Given his proven track record at this level and the fact that we were on the (albeit very slow) march to relegation under Bowyer, the impatience that has greeted him from some fans has been astonishing.

I dunno. It's understandable really. He was the saviour. In his words 'the white knight' (I did think that was a bit much from the man himself). After a rough ride I suppose we all were expecting better. Immediate results and all that.

All I know is its easier to have faith in a man who's done it before. I liked Bowyer and really appreciated what I considered he did for us. I wanted him to succeed so much. It didn't happen. We move on. But Lambert can do it and has done. I can't say I'm not disappointed with life thus far with him as the boss. But I'm still on board and I still think he can achieve his goals. But with the same caveat which accompanied his arrival. There's no guarantees in football and it might just not happen for him here. Doesn't mean to say he's not got the attributes to succeed. And that's a lesson I hope Venkys have learned. Although I doubt it very much.

[RevidgeBlue]

Don't think we've any real choice to stick with him and hope against hope we turn into the next "Norwich" as opposed to the next "Villa".

Based on what I've seen so far though I wouldn't lose a second's sleep if another Club did a Newcastle and took PL off our hands like they did with Souness.

[tomphil]

Play the way we did v Fulham on Sat on we should be too much for MK. He's got to get that settled side in though otherwise we'll not stop conceding soft or early goals. I thought we'd see an end to the chopping and swapping with this guy.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Its a miracle we got Lambert, if we lose him or worse he's sacked, that miracle won't happen again. A broke Championship bottom half club with attendances of 12,000 that are actually the equivalent of about 9,000 because our tickets are so cheap. Who did the likes of Blackpool, Millwall, Rotherham, Doncaster attract in this league? Because as difficult to swallow as it may be, that is how big we are now and that's the level we're shopping at. So we can either have the type of managers they get or we can have whoever is the cone-layer/reserve team manager at the club these days.

Personally I'd prefer give a proven manager a proper go.

[RevidgeBlue]

Its a miracle we got Lambert, if we lose him or worse he's sacked, that miracle won't happen again. A broke Championship bottom half club with attendances of 12,000 that are actually the equivalent of about 9,000 because our tickets are so cheap. Who did the likes of Blackpool, Millwall, Rotherham, Doncaster attract in this league? Because as difficult to swallow as it may be, that is how big we are now and that's the level we're shopping at. So we can either have the type of managers they get or we can have whoever is the cone-layer/reserve team manager at the club these days.

Personally I'd prefer give a proven manager a proper go.

You make a convincing argument. Obviously the managers you mention at the Club's now in division one didn't work out for them but as has been mentioned before I bet Wigan were cock-a-hoop when they secured Malky Mackay's services as well.

There must also be numerous examples of unheralded managers doing well. Who'd heard of Mark Warburton prior to Brentford for example?

[JAL]

Its a miracle we got Lambert, if we lose him or worse he's sacked, that miracle won't happen again. A broke Championship bottom half club with attendances of 12,000 that are actually the equivalent of about 9,000 because our tickets are so cheap. Who did the likes of Blackpool, Millwall, Rotherham, Doncaster attract in this league? Because as difficult to swallow as it may be, that is how big we are now and that's the level we're shopping at. So we can either have the type of managers they get or we can have whoever is the cone-layer/reserve team manager at the club these days.

Personally I'd prefer give a proven manager a proper go.

When pound notes talk there's no miracle

[47er]

I understand what you're saying and agree that 15 games is not enough time to fully evaluate a manager, but, in the position we now find ourselves, time may not be something that we have much of.

And let's be thankful that his predecessor, that non-manager so derided on here, didn't take quite so long to find his feet or else we'd have been playing a division lower for the past few years.

Yes, its a pity he didn't continue on that trajectory eh?

[VinjayV4]

Its a miracle we got Lambert, if we lose him or worse he's sacked, that miracle won't happen again. A broke Championship bottom half club with attendances of 12,000 that are actually the equivalent of about 9,000 because our tickets are so cheap. Who did the likes of Blackpool, Millwall, Rotherham, Doncaster attract in this league? Because as difficult to swallow as it may be, that is how big we are now and that's the level we're shopping at. So we can either have the type of managers they get or we can have whoever is the cone-layer/reserve team manager at the club these days.

Personally I'd prefer give a proven manager a proper go.

Blackburn Rovers are a far bigger club than the whole lot of them. To make comparisons with Rotherham and Doncaster in particular is laughable (based on Blackpool and Millwall having at least played top flight) there's no way in hell Lambert would have joined Rotherham recently had he still been unemployed. Yes I know people have tired of me saying "big club", "think big", etc in the past and its been toned down but no bigger than Rotherham and Doncaster? Ludicrous.

[cop]

Lambert can't wave a magic wand, he is dealing with the aftermath of the mismanagement 4 years ago.

Bowyer steadied the ship, brought in continuity and took them as far as he could. Now Blackburn, for the first time since Big Sam, have an established manager.

Luckily the teams below Rovers are doomed I reckon, it won't be pretty, but at least there is someone at the helm with a summer of recruitment who can start to rebuild the mess the club has been put in.

The future is bright for the bigger picture. If Lambert hadn't have been appointed, and Bowyer was still in charge, and the club was in the same position, then it would be really, really concerning.

[Stuart]

I understand what you're saying and agree that 15 games is not enough time to fully evaluate a manager, but, in the position we now find ourselves, time may not be something that we have much of.

And let's be thankful that his predecessor, that non-manager so derided on here, didn't take quite so long to find his feet or else we'd have been playing a division lower for the past few years.

Let's be thankful he had an inform 30+ goals per season striker to dig us out of that hole.

[Mattyblue]

Blackburn Rovers are a far bigger club than the whole lot of them. To make comparisons with Rotherham and Doncaster in particular is laughable (based on Blackpool and Millwall having at least played top flight) there's no way in hell Lambert would have joined Rotherham recently had he still been unemployed. Yes I know people have tired of me saying "big club", "think big", etc in the past and its been toned down but no bigger than Rotherham and Doncaster? Ludicrous.

But do we now have a bigger gate/commercial income than those clubs? I'd wager not.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Blackburn Rovers are a far bigger club than the whole lot of them. To make comparisons with Rotherham and Doncaster in particular is laughable (based on Blackpool and Millwall having at least played top flight) there's no way in hell Lambert would have joined Rotherham recently had he still been unemployed. Yes I know people have tired of me saying "big club", "think big", etc in the past and its been toned down but no bigger than Rotherham and Doncaster? Ludicrous.

As has been mentioned a few times in the thread about whether Leicester winning the title would devalue our own, nobody except us cares that we won the title once, or that we won a cup more recently, or that we were in the PL a few years ago. Its meaningless to everyone else, especially those that work in the game. Those that work in the game are motivated by the money a club is willing to pay them and the money a club is willing to invest in other areas to increase the chances of success.

Shearer came to Rovers for a big wage and because he was told about the other players we were buying. He didn't care about the club's history, where we used to be etc, for anyone working in the game its about the present and future. So our exploits in modern history give us nothing over the clubs I mentioned in terms of attracting talent.

As JAL rightly pointed out, Venkys were presumably willing to pay Lambert quite a lot and yeah that's the reason we got him. But it still doesn't (so far) look as though they're willing to invest in other areas of the club. If they repeat that approach again then yeah fair enough maybe we could get another fairly good manager if we briefly lost our sanity and binned Lambert. But I'm guessing Venkys wouldn't be willing to pay him as much last time, and they wouldn't be able to repeat the lie of promising investment in the squad. So whoever we got would inevitably be of lower quality.